Category: Photography

The Shot List

March 14, 2021

I came across this amazing series on YouTube by StudioBinder. Their YouTube channel goes over everything video and photo production. Their series the Shot List is a must watch on a series of ultimate guides to camera shots, camera framing, camera angles, Depth of field, Camera Gear, Camera Movement, Camera Lens, and Frame Rate. This is a must watch series to increase your knowledge in cinematography and photography. Definitely worth the investment. Enjoy.

If you want to study other movies for their cinematography these two sites are wonderful resources:

Cinematic Reference Resource Library

June 14, 2020

There are a multitude of ways to build up your own Cinematic Reference Library. I’ve talked about created your own cinema library.  I’ve been using Evan E. Richards website for years. My VFX/concept artist friend, Adam J. Ely recommended it to me long, long ago.  It’s been a phenomenal resource and has been a trusty go-to tool for me. Whenever I’m looking for inspiration or to do composition/lighting studies.

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There is now a newer website called SHOTDECK. It’s in Beta mode now but you can email them to be added to their website. It has an amazing catalogue of films and search parameters. I first heard of it from Jan Urschel. Here is a link to his free youtube link talking about it in more detail.

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Both sites are great for you to search out key cinematographers and top visionary films.

Here’s a little run thru using both.

 

SLib Browser -HDRI

November 18, 2018

I’ve talked about SLib browser as means in maya to have an organized asset library. Another great feature is ability to import HDR images with sky domes based on your renderer of choice.

 

Photogrammetry

January 8, 2018

There is no shortage of Photogrammetry software these days.

Take a look at this list

Here is a great talk from Siggraph on the process (and using Unity’s delighting software):

They are using Reality Capture for scanning. It’s pretty cool. I’ll have to do some tests to compared it to Agisoft’s Photoscan. Autodesk has their own software as well, ReCap. Things have really taken off since the days of RealViz’s Image Modeler.

 

Figure reference and stuff

October 16, 2017

So, Inktober surprising takes over my time through the month. I’ve used this website character designs for figure reference. It’s pretty cool.

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There has been an increasing amount of places where you can find (either free or small fee) tons of high resolution imagery for reference. Gumroad has some good spots, like Photobash. Continue reading “Figure reference and stuff”

Royalty Free Photography and Paintovers

March 6, 2017

Royalty free photography is nothing new, stock photography has been available from companies for some time. But now artists have started to use websites like Gumroad to sell their photography individually in a more even playing field with larger companies.

I also wanted to highlight the power of doing a quick paintover on top of a detailed matte painting to resolve some elements of it’s design and look.

 

For Memorial Weekend

May 30, 2016

To all the men and women who have died in service to our country, we remember and honor you today.

My wife, Tamiko, and I went down to Lyon Air Museum with her Dad. It was the last weekend where an official Tuskegee Airplane was on display. It’s located on the west side of the John Wayne Airport in Santa Anna. It houses an exhibit comprised of authentic aircraft, rare vehicles and related memorabilia, with emphasis on the defining event of the 20th century – World War II. The pieces in the collection are just stunning.

Here is a sampling of the photos I took as we experienced this wonderful museum.

085A0269 Continue reading “For Memorial Weekend”