Phil's Photos - Vampires Assistant and more - 10.26.09

[PhilHolland]

Hello everybody!

I know. I know. I'm really late getting into the mob here. (Sorry Jason!) I have been super busy working though, which is pretty much what my life is all about.

Anyways, a brief introduction for those of you I don't know.

My name is Phil Holland. I have been working in motion pictures and games for about 10 years now. I've done a whole lot of things in both industries, but to get a general idea I've been a photographer, conceptual illustrator, director of photography, digital color artist, and a handful of other things. Most of the time I'm working on feature films both full time and freelance. I've been at Rhythm and Hues Studios for about 10 years now and have a nice freelance career that keeps me awake at night.

All that aside, when it comes to photography I have shot for a variety of things including fashion, event, portraiture, still photography, editorial, product, technical/scientific, and fine art.

I'm not going to attempt to recreate my older MASSIVE threads here. Instead, over the coarse of the next week or so I'll put up a few examples of my work by category and maybe a few thoughts on them as well. I'd like to keep all of the different types of work in one spot and not divide it up between sections because a lot of what I'll be talking about spans multiple avenues in terms of photography and creativity.

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Portraiture - Personal and Print Work

I've shot a lot of editorial magazine work over the last decade for a few dozen publications. Mostly headshots and story inserts. You usually have to work with an editor/art director/studio. Most of the time I'm on my own to save time and be discreet, but sometimes the client comes to the location to tell you what to do. The subjects range from actors to directors and scientists to visual effects artists. It's usually not the most creative work, but it still presents difficulties you have to deal with such as time, space, lighting issues, and directing your subject.

Here are some examples of the run of the mill headshots I've done for print.

http://www.artbyphil.com/temp/rhHeads.jpg
heads_01

Not very interesting right? Usually the goal with these type of shoots is to get in and get out. It's very covert ops sometimes.

For instance. I had to shoot a subject inside a clean room for Animation Magazine, so my equipment and myself needed to be more or less clean enough to shoot in there. Once in there the noise was spectacularly loud, so directing the subject would be difficult. I was also presented with space and power issues when it came to my lighting setup.

After setting up my gear I always use myself as a test subject to see if things look okay. Normally I would never show these photographs, but.....

http://www.artbyphil.com/temp/markbsetup.jpg
phil's_ugly_mug_01 (I have longer hair now ladies)

Things looked good to me and after client/subject approval we ended up with these two shots.

http://www.artbyphil.com/temp/markb1.jpg
mb_01

http://www.artbyphil.com/temp/markb2.jpg
mb_02


While occasionally you work on really cool editorial assignments with fun ideas, most of the time you'll be shooting somebody else's idea under their watchful eye. Which leads me to personal work.

Personal portraiture is many things to me. I usually am shooting people I find interesting and trying to get a bit of a performance out of them, both natural and not. Sometimes I have concepts I'll try to execute and find people that can fit into the "role" I'm after. The ideas range from really simple to really complex, but most of the time I'm focused on the person and what they bring to the image. Also, sometimes I like to use people over and over again. Hopefully in about 20 years I'll have a nice catalog of some of my closer friends.

Here are some examples of my personal work.
http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_WindyChelsea/images/PHFX1578.jpg
pp_01 - Chelsea in the wind. This particular shoot was much more about the adventure of essentially shooting in a windstorm. This particular shot was taken during the "magic hour" inside of a tree trunk while winds were approaching 75mph. She's a creative type similar to myself and is pretty willing to do almost anything to get the image.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_2007JayJulian/images/PHFX1537.jpg
pp_02 - Jacob's bloody face. My friend Jay came back from snowboarding one weekend with nasty cuts all over his face from a nasty fall. I really wanted to document this in some way and choose to go with some really harsh lighting, but with a contrasting expression.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_2007JayJulian/images/PHFX1555.jpg
pp_03 - Julian is one of the goofiest people I know. He makes mistakes and is really clumsy. I've always wanted to take a serious portrait of him.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_StephanieGreenquist/images/PHFX0670.jpg
pp_04 - Stephanie is an actress and screenwriter. We share a similar passion for cinema and I thought it would be appropriate to shoot her in a theater setting.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/2007_12_01_1DsIII/images/PHFX0352.jpg
pp_05 - Toby here is one of my long time colaborators. He's kinda like a little brother to me. He is a subject I'm trying to document as he gets older.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/Exodus.jpg
pp_06 - Sarah is a photographer and we share a similar passion for photography. For this big dune shoot I drew thumbnails for much of what I wanted to shoot. This pretty much embodies what I think about her.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/Execute.jpg
pp_07 - Olivia is another photographer I became friends with. She's more of a photo journalist. The direction here was basically an assassination.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/Harbinger.jpg
pp_08 - Sarah again, but this time much darker with Baby Stitches. Much of what I try to do with all of my imagery is to produce a mood, and this time I wanted it to be dark and eerie.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/LittleGiantTree.jpg
pp_09 - One more of Sarah from the dunes.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/FatherDaughterBrother.jpg
pp_10 - Father, Daughter, Brother. This is part of Toby's family and this will likely be as close to family portraiture as I'll get.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/AluminumManandDragonBoy.jpg
pp_11 - Aluminum Man and Dragon Boy. This was an idea I had for about a month before we got around to shooting it.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/conceptartdotorg/images/PhilHolland_AccordianVersusFlamingo.jpg
pp_12 - Olivia again. Shot shortly after I first met her and got a read on what here personality was all about.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_amandacake/images/XE0K2402.jpg
pp_13 - Amanda Cakes. A fun colorful shoot with a slight knock to her when it comes to vices.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_linz/images/XE0K5152.jpg
pp_14 - Lindsey Haun - One of my best friends who happens to be an actress. This is a headshot from a recent session.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/aliceproj_05/images/aliceblue_final.jpg
pp_15 - Lindsey as Alice. Alice in Wonderland was my favorite book when I was a child. I redesigned the world long ago and thought it would be fun to bring it to life photographically.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_maggieandkatie/images/XE0K2498.jpg
pp_16 - Working with Maggie was absolutely amazing. Sort of an instant creative bond. This is the first evening we met and pretty much every shot seemed to work to me.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_jagodaII/images/XE0K1466.jpg
pp_17 - Jagoda has been a friend for a while now and if you know anything about me I'm into weird clown make up.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_sarah/images/sarahP25_006.jpg
pp_18 - Sarah Ault is another one of my closest friends. She's evolved into a rather talented musician in the last 10 years.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_AlainaAtLees/images/XE0K6760.jpg
pp_19 - Alain from Porcelian and the Tramps. Another musician friend I met through making my own music. She's insane. This was shot in DJ Lethal's home.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_thestandard/images/bwp_02.jpg
pp_20 - Jack and I became friends pretty instantly. This was shot at the Standard Hotel.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/frinedsIV/images/XE0K8317.jpg
pp_21 - I have a bit of an acting background and Stephanie is an actress. This came out of just playing around and improvising.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_misc/images/tobylowlight1.jpg
pp_22 - Toby here. Some of my ideas get really strange.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/people_misc/images/tobylowlight2.jpg
pp_23 - One last one of Toby. This was shot after we discovered the joy of this damn slow churned ice cream.


Okay. So that's the big nasty first post. Hopefully you guys like what I'm doing both with the photography and the way I'm presenting this. If you have any questions about anything feel free to ask.

If you'd like to see more of my work it can be found at www.phfx.com (http://www.phfx.com).

I'll get to thinking about the next post.

Cheers,

Phil

[Nike]

Wow - it was great to read about and see your different approaches and aims. Very creative and technically great photos. I really like the way you're using light to create different and interesting atmospheres and to make it fit to the expression in the portraits - in that aspect, I think myself I have still along way to go.
I love the Toby shots. It's interesting to see the same person again and again in different set ups.

Thanks for sharing!

[rhajastan]

wow. these are great, i especially like numbers 1,2,6,10,13,16 and 20
they're the ones that stood out for me. keep up the great work.

Cheers,

Robert

[carolupus]

wow, thanks for posting these! great photos and along with the descriptions they're really inspirational!
Which equipment do you use for portraits like these?

[Gentile]

This is officially my favorite thread.

[PhilHolland]

Nike - Thank you. Glad you like what's going on. Much like painting, photography and cinematography rely a lot on lighting to set the mood and atmosphere of a scene. I feel it's important to study different light setups so you can recreate your vision more clearly when it comes to taking the photograph. I think today's post will be about how I studied that over the years.

rhajastan - Thank you Robert.

carolupus - No problem man. I promised I would so I'm doing it! Equipment used for most of my photographs are either a Canon 1Ds Mark II or my Canon 1Ds Mark III. When it comes to lenses I prefer to shoot on primes typically ranging from 14mm to 200mm. I do own two zooms though. I also have adapted some older glass to use on my camera and made a few lenses.

Gentile - :) Nice! Glad you like what's going on here.

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On to today's notes and thoughts.

Initially my early interest in photography was to help improve my drawing and painting technique. However, once realizing that the rules of composition, color theory, rhythm, and design applied to artwork, photography, and cinematography in the exact same way I found myself shooting more and more. My interests in art helped my interests in my photography and vice versa.

I often get asked about "where I learned my lighting techniques" from. The simple answer is studying. And by studying I mean like really studying, like taking notes and making critical observations. There is a difference between "looking" and "seeing". This is something for you to discover. Mostly what I studied was a combination of educational art books, paintings, photographs, real life, cinema, and experimentation.

Experimenting is the key here. Much like most things in life you can read and learn about something, but the knowledge gained from actually doing it generates experience and confidence in what you are doing. Which really helps in situations where you are shooting people or working on a job.

Q: So how the heck do you experiment when it comes to light?
A: Shoot stuff under miscellaneous lighting conditions a whole bunch.

Q: What the heck do you shoot?! Models are scary to talk to!
A: Shoot yourself!

Which leads me to.....


The Importance of Self Portraiture.


I'm not a pretty man, but I have all the parts that other people do. A head, a body, and the ability to make silly faces if need be. So for several years I shot a self portrait every day under different lighting situations. Some inspired by drawings, some inspired by films, and some are just about playing around.

The key goal here is to take a whole bunch of photographs of yourself and try to make them look different as possible by experimenting with light, composition, posing, and expressions.

Personally for me I spent about 5 years of my life color correcting feature films and am still involved with this work today. Experimenting with different lights, gels, and post processing techniques directly effected and helped my career.

Another advantage of shooting yourself is you get to directly experience what your subject will be experiencing when in front of the camera. Observations from this can help you when running into weird problems when shooting other people in terms of posing, facial expressions, composition, and "finding the light".

Here are a few examples of self portraits I've shot over the years with the general themes and concepts I'm toying around with. I don't shoot them everyday anymore, but I still shoot a few a month to stay fresh.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/yellow.jpg[/img]
sp_01 - This was inspired by the yellowish look from films like "The Crow, City of Angels".

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/zombie.jpg
sp_02 - This shot was inspired by the influx of zombie films. The light is meant for high contrast and the post processing is emulating a "bleach bypass" look that is sometimes used in motion pictures.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/shower2.jpg
sp_03 - The cartoonist/illustrator R. Crumb always stressed the importance of black and I was heavily influenced by comics when I was younger. The blacks are being crushed here so there's almost no tonality from the transition from where light is and shadow begins. Good for very graphic looking photographs.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/shavedside.jpg
sp_04 - Soft lighting and limited dynamic range can produce some interesting effects. There is a lot of detail in the shadows of this shot and the tonal range of the highlights and the blacks is fairly limited. This greenish tint was inspired by films like Fight Club or anything shot under the greenish tint of fluorescent bulbs.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/orangebluelight.jpg
sp_05 - Warm and cool gels exaggerate the effect of what a core shadow is. At some point Ron Lemen did a speed painting of this particular photograph.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/pimple.jpg
sp_06 - I am fond of really deep shadows. Deep shadows can really carve out form and emphasize specific shapes when used carefully. This particular shot is not black and white, but monochrome with a green tint.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/oof.jpg
sp_07 - Not everything needs to be in focus. Mood can be generated in many different ways. In photography they call this effective posing, in art it is referred to as a gesture. This pose/gesture is producing a certain mood, hopefully the lighting enhances that. If this was lit like a sunny day it would have a completely different feel.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/mentalasylum.jpg
sp_08 - Goofing off and having fun is totally in bounds when it comes to this stuff.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/green.jpg
sp_09 - No eyeballs?! Single source heavy lighting and my neanderthal brow. Effectively a two tone image using gels.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/darknose.jpg
sp_10 - Contrasty point light, but muted palette.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/twistoffhead.jpg
sp_11 - Bluish monochrome effect, with a secondary light for a rim lighting effect. Rim lights really can pop out a shape.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/arg.jpg
sp_12 - Hard main source light top and soft bounced light below. Hard light is generally good at cutting out shapes, soft light generally is good for making people look nice.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/70mm.jpg
sp_13 - A softer aimed light and precise composition.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/XE0K1905.jpg
sp_14 - Something I notice a lot is people get stuck into specific lighting schemes. When shooting self portraits note that you can move the light in three dimensions. You can look at this and say the light is above my head and be right, but if you said the light is above my head and slightly in front of me you'd be more correct.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/XE0K3807.jpg
sp_15 - Here is a soft light above my head, but slightly further back than the above image. Slight changes like this can really change the entire photograph.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/after4daysawake.jpg
sp_16 - Really contrasty with pure white and black. A yellowish/green palette again, but changing the tonal range produces a radically different effect.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/XE0K7427.jpg
sp_17 - Four lights all gelled and shot through barn doors. Steel blue on the top, Aqua Green in front, to daylight orange gels on the side. This is what I refer to as lighting something to death, because there really isn't much hidden in terms of detail. Also there are many highlight sources defining shape.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/secretchanges.jpg
sp_18 - Same light positions as above, but moving forward and different post processing changes the mood completely. I am fascinated by photographs and artwork where you can't see the subjects eyes.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/rockandroll.jpg
sp_19 - Very soft lighting as a key light and extremely harsh lighting on the rim. There is almost no shape definition to my forehead.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/halloween07.jpg
sp_20 - Shallow depth of field is fun tool to emphasize features. There are three light sources here.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/howidraw2.jpg
sp_21 - Multiple exposure using a stroboscopic flash. Lots of fun and lots of experimenting to get something that works. Strangely these were done to sort of mimic how I draw.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/PHFX3495.jpg
sp_22 - Another experiment in producing photographs that look more like my artwork. This is by far the closest I've ever gotten.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/selfportraits/images/PHFX4038.jpg
sp_23 - Have fun with different focal lengths. Even ones that aren't really meant to be used for portraiture. This was shot with a 15mm fisheye lenses.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/kanzuru_show_2007/images/BigBoySpike.jpg
sp_24?! - This is not me. However, if you find yourself getting bored shooting self portraits to study lighting you can always find a doll, a toy, or some sort of rock to shoot. You can really go crazy because they don't even move.

http://www.artbyphil.com/temp/RingLDM.jpg
ring_01 - This is also not me. This is Naomi Watts in the movie The Ring. I color graded this feature while we had it in the studio. I'm posting this shot because I want to show that experimenting and researching different techniques is extremely important. This was color corrected to mimic a film process known as "low density matting", but in digital space. LDM is basically a technique where back in the day they bipacked a black and white print of the film with a color print to enhance the contrast and produce richer colors. I developed a technique that would be considered as a digital LDM correction as well as a luminance push to really pop the colors for the film. If I didn't research that LDM process though I don't know if I'd ever come up with a solution or idea like that.


So, enough of my ugly noggin. If you are not already shooting self portraits start setting them up and shooting. All you need is a timer or a trigger remote for your camera. If you're shy, don't worry. You don't need to show them to anybody. If not, find a doll or a friend/sibling/corpse to do some test shoots with.

Really work on experimenting with all types of lighting. Continuous and strobe. Also try to work with mixing and matching soft and hard light sources as well as different color temperatures with gels and bulbs.

After a while you will develop a "knack" for lighting if you are making those important observations. Instead of trial and error you'll see your ideas in your mind, setup your lights, get your shot, and processing will be quicker than ever. Eventually you'll learn to control light and not let it control you.

Cheers!

Phil

[Nike]

Thank you so much for this post! It's incredibly helpful (and also very pleasing to the eye - so, after all, your mug can't be that ugly, see :) )! Thank you for taking the time to write all this and illustrate it with your amazing photos.

I admit I have never tried to do self-portraits, but I think I'll shut down my comp now and get started.

Cheers!

[Gentile]

I'm agreeing with Nike here. This is not only the best thread because of the amazing pictures but also the instruction and explanation that comes with it. I must say I'm learning some awesome stuff :D

I can't wait to see more!

[seth1]

Thanks Phil this has been an amazing resource of information.

[PhilHolland]

Nike - Good! Get started shooting and hopefully keeping track of them over time. In about a year you'll look back on it and feel it was totally worth it.

Gentile - Thanks so much. I don't know if it's the best thread, but I wanted to deposit a lot of this information down somewhere.

seth1 - Glad you like it mate. Just got back after a whole bunch of work. So I'll do a couple of these soon. Starting with this one......

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I was racking my mind about what to write about next, but now that Iron Man is out in theaters I feel I should talk a little bit about working on set with talent, crew, and capturing what the client needs. Mostly discussing some of the professional aspects of this whole photography thing.


Working on the Big Shows


My career in motion pictures and video games has indeed been an interesting one. Much of what my days are filled with today is shooting. Both still and motion imagery. I'll focus on the still photography aspects here. I'd encourage anybody who is pursuing a professional career in photography or motion pictures to read this as well as anybody looking to get into any field of entertainment.

There are a lot of photographic jobs during pre-production, production, and post production that can be accomplished.

Some are:
Reference Photography for Concept Art/Set Design, Location Photography, Talent Photography, Still Photography, Production Photography, Miscellaneous PR Photography, Texture Photography, Reference Photography, Miscellaneous PR Photography, and Behind the Scenes work.

There are other more specific technical image capturing jobs like creating 360 panaromic images or shooting cross polarized texture photography, but the above is a good amount of what is done typically.

I'll try to keep the wordy stuff brief, but just wordy enough to get the thought across. I also pop in some photos here and there to make it worth looking at :)



http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/ironman/bigs/XE0K8794.jpg
Iron Man 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/ironman/bigs/XE0K8656.jpg
Iron Man 02 - One of the challenges of shooting on Iron Man was working on Edwards Airforce Base. There were a great deal of safetly guidlines and rules for shooting because we were on an active tarmac near top secret drone development.



"The work you do is extremely important."
One of the first people I worked for in motion pictures told me this and she was painfully correct. I try to remind myself of this when the days get long or the shooting gets tedious.

When hired onto a project it is important to take note of exactly how your images will be used, what needs to be shot, and remember how valuable they are to those down the pipeline. In terms of still photographs shot while the movie is filming your images will be published and used to "sell" the movie. In terms of post production and say texture photography your images will be used by texture painters, who in turn will have those textures applied to models and lit by lighters and animated by animators.

Without high quality and usable images you may indeed be holding back many artists from doing their work. They are likely on a deadline and you will likely not have a chance to go back and shoot what you previously shot to make up for lost imagery.

So remember at all times what your are doing is not only important towards your career but for the entire team working on a project.



http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_cast/images/devilgirl_026.jpg
Devil Girl 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_cast/images/dj_013.jpg
Devil Girl 02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_cast/images/othercast_097.jpg
Devil Girl 03

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_cast/images/othercast_103.jpg
Devil Girl 04

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_crew/images/crew_016.jpg
Devil Girl 05

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_fay/images/faydance_015.jpg
Devil Girl 06

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_fay/images/fay_077.jpg
Devil Girl 07



Acting
A great deal of what you'll be doing when working on any show is interacting with people. It is very important that you have good people skills. And by people skills I mean being able to communicate your ideas clearly, listen carefully, and interact with people in a friendly yet professional manner.

Developing a good working relationship with crew members like the director of photography, electricians, grips, and the director will only help your cause. Specifically if your job is shooting the stills for the film. You will need to make sure you're not in the way, or see if something or somebody can be moved for you to get a shot. If they don't like you they will likely not want to listen to you.

Also, you may be interacting with main talent, producers, directors, art directors, vfx supervisors, etc.... It's important to know that your actions will reflect directly on you and if applicable the studio that you are doing the work for. In entertainment the reputation you develop can make or break you. If you were rude on set, you likely will not be doing work for those people anymore. However, if you do your job well and people enjoyed having you around they may even ask for you to shoot on their next project or even talk about you enough to others to get some good word of mouth networking going.



http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/devilgirl_fay/images/fay_030.jpg
Devil Girl 08

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_Sam_Hell/images/XE0K3009.jpg
Sam Hell 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_Sam_Hell/images/XE0K3036.jpg
Sam Hell 02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_Sam_Hell/images/XE0K3093.jpg
Sam Hell 03

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_Sam_Hell/images/XE0K3128.jpg
Sam Hell 04

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_Sam_Hell/images/XE0K2964.jpg
Sam Hell 05



Work Ethic
This one is simple and also complicated. The obvious comment would be to do your job and do it well. However, it's important to show that you are confident in your abilities when on set. Equally as important is knowing that you can get the work done and on time. Sometimes you'll have tremendously frustrating deadlines, but it's important to know what you can do within a given amount of time. And perhaps even more important to know what you can't do.

For instance. This is what my last 30 days looked like in terms of work days and shoots.

Cirque du Freak (movie) - 1 week in New Orleans shooting all main talent for textures and PR, shoot props for VFX texture and reference.
Land of the Lost (movie) - Several spaced out days on set shooting main talent, props, sets, special reference, texture reference for VFX and PR.
The Incredible Hulk (movie) - Released a processed image of Tim Roth to Marvel for PR use, shot texture reference of splats and damage for the Hulk.
The Mummy 3 (movie) - Technical cinematography shooting HD and still photography of a practical magma effect.
Fast and the Furious IV (movie) - Shot for modeling reference and texture reference a big ass tanker truck.
They Came from Upstairs (movie) - Processed special 3 cam rig photos for vfx shots. Had meetings to set up talent shoots in the next two weeks.
Goldfish Pepperidge Farm (commercial) - Photographed a "goldfish cracker" for use as modeling and texture reference.
THQ Ultimate Fighting Championship (video game) - Photographed about 30 fighters for texture/model reference for the game as well as PR shots of each fighter and comedian Joe Rogan.

What you don't see up there are the meetings and conversations to set up these shoots. Also, what's not included up there is the processing time and organization of the images for each photoshoot. Which adds up fast. I believe the images from Cirque du Freak took about 3 full days of organizing and about 10 hours of processing time on the computer. The Land of the Lost stuff processed for about 5 hours and took 2 days to organize.

Now the back side to the operation. I turned down work on 5 different shows in the last 30 days because I knew through either scheduling or purely time conflicts that I could not get the work done. If you take work that you can't do, people will hate you quickly. So just don't.

The more work experience you gain, the better your knowledge or your abilities and limits will be.



http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K1099.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K1131.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K2449.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 03

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K3701.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 04

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K3947.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 05

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K4120.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 06

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K2733.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 07

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Cast/images/XE0K1805.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed 08


Shooting Technique and Problem Solving
When shooting production stills you may only get one chance to get the shot. So it's important to know that you can get that shot. When you do more and more work you'll notice moments were you can mount a camera somewhere and you'll need to know how to do that effectively and safely.

If you are lighting your texture photographs for others you need to figure out how to setup your lights. Whether your shooting a goldfish cracker that's about the size of a quarter to a 35 foot long tanker truck inside a cargo bay. You'll need to come up with unique solution to light things soft and flat.

In terms of organization, start to form good habits quickly when it comes to keeping your photographs on your hard drives. Put things in named folders, mark them somehow with the date, make sure you can track invoices, and most importantly make sure you are extremely proactive about backing up your work. I still get requests from jobs I've shot on over 3 years ago. If I had to dig around through crap to find that I don't know how I'd get anything done.

The important thing here always is to take high quality and printable, print worthy, and usable images.



http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K0040.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K0350.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K0450.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 03

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K0499.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 04

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K0542.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 05

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K1602.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 06

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K2371.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 07

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_ThePrince_Crew/images/XE0K3144.jpg
The Prince, the Pimp, the Jackal, and the Spayed - Crew 08



You are a Ninja
Well not really. While I am making the above seem very serious and cold there will certainly be times where you'll be able to share a laugh with cast and crew members. But, when it comes down to actually getting the work done it is your job to stay out of production's way and let them do their job while still getting the shots you need.

Something that seems to never be spoken about is physical fitness. Set photography is rather physical work. You'll be holding a camera, likely a few cameras, lenses, and a soundblimp for anywhere between 3-20 hours sometimes. Your back will get sore. Your neck will ring. Your knees and feet will hate you. Your hands will hurt and taking pictures will suddenly become difficult. So try to stay on the up and up in terms of health or you may find yourself in a real bad spot. You'll certainly have breaks. Know that it's important for you to stay hydrated and to sit when you can.



http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_GoodIntentions/images/XE0K6546.jpg
Good Intentions 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_GoodIntentions/images/XE0K6547.jpg
Good Intentions 02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_City_Flower/images/XE0K0738.jpg
City Flower

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/stills_NarcolepticOrgy/images/PHFX5136.jpg
Narcoleptic Orgy

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_UpUpAndAway/images/PHFX6512.jpg
Up, Up, and Away 01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_UpUpAndAway/images/PHFX6533.jpg
Up, Up, and Away 02



Final Thoughts
Remember when you are hired you are working on somebody else's project. Their baby. Their lover. Their creation. Everybody has a job to do. And they hired you for a reason. They hired you to get that job done. And there's a lot of trust that comes with that.

If you do the job and do it effectively and professionally you will reap the benefits of doing a good job on a show of that caliber. Meaning you'll likely get more work.

It's a lot of pressure to handle, but if you keep it light and know what you're doing it's not a bad gig to have.


Hopefully this is useful to some of you. I certainly have a lot of tips I can distribute about how to take better pictures for use as textures and what not, but this is general conduct advice that usually isn't taught in school. I feel it's important to get this information out there for anybody considering getting into the "biz". Every little advantage can help.

Phil

[Gentile]

Thank you for this post. I'm seriously thinking about going into photography as a career and this gives me some things to think about. =]

[ivy'sgrandkid]

iron man.. dude.. that car.. *jaw drops*

[klips]

Ah, the legendary Phil Holland returns! About time too, you took your time getting here :P

Great to see some new stuff plus a bunch of things from the old thread. Your secret dunes set is still one of my favourite sets of all tie, especially the pp06. Your work reminds me why I need to be constantly improving and experimenting, especially with my post-processing (something I don't really do at the moment). I've just set foot into the world of gelling my flashes, so you've provided me with some more inspiration for that too.

My two questions to you: what is your most commonly used light source, and what is your favourite to use [and why]?

Thanks :)

[PhilHolland]

Gentile - No problem mate. One word of caution before you make the leap. Photography is a bumpy career path. Things will be hard for a long while before they get good, but if you stick with it and believe in what you are doing things will eventually get better.

ivy'sgrandkid - Yep. Those were some pretty sexy wheels. I think everybody wanted to give it a spin.

klips - Legendary! I'm that old? Kidding. Gelling flashes is extremely fun, but to answer your questions.

Q?= What is your most commonly used light source?

A!= I guess the easy answer would be the sun obviously, but for work stuff I use set lighting and my Hensels a lot.

Q?= What is your favorite to use and why?

A!= I think my Hensels or my hot lights are my favorite to use. The Hensel studio strobes give you so much flexibility in terms of depth of field and stopping motion. However, I like to use hot lights just like if you were lighting a movie set.

I really like using all forms of lighting though. Portable flashes to flashlights. I just use what I feel is right for the job or what I'm feeling most of the time.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's post will be different from my last few. This is more about what's been going on lately.

Lets see where to start.

As I mentioned earlier I worked on The Incredible Hulk for the last year over at Rhythm and Hues. I, for whatever reason, have worked on a lot of comic book movies at this point in my career. Luckily I was a big comic fan as a kid and much have this has been extremely exciting. Some fun facts if and when you guys see the film. 1. The skin texture of the Hulk is a couple of employees skin, including myself. My eyes were also the "base" for which the Hulk's eyes were developed. I've worked on a ton of Marvel properties and as strange as it sound I met Stan Lee about a dozen times before I was even working in film.

The Incredible Hulk

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/smash/images/EdwardNorton.jpg
hulksmash_01 - Edward Norton. Very fun to shoot and speak to. He is extremely smart and quick, but you can tell he is evaluating you and reading you as you converse with him. bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/smash/bigs/EdwardNorton.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/smash/images/TimRoth.jpg
hulksmash_02 - Tim Roth. Tim went to art school and is actually and avid photographer! Marvel ended up using this image as a promotional image for some posters and websites. bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/smash/bigs/TimRoth.jpg)


Golden Ducks?!


http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3852.jpg
gd_01 - Have you guys ever seen golden brown ducks before? These guys have been hanging out on my patio for the last two weeks!

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3856.jpg
gd_02 - I've never seen ducks of this color before and believe me. I've seen a lot of ducks.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3858.jpg
gd_03 - Dey makeh da babeez.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3859.jpg
gd_04 - Here's the mallard. He's golden brown with a dark brown noggin. I'm laying on the floor in this photo and we were both staring at each other for an awkwardly long time.


Juan Sculpts


http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/juan_sculptures/images/BarStoolPhilosopher_05.jpg
js_01 - My friend Juan is a great sculptor. He made a couple of new sculptures that he asked me to shoot.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/juan_sculptures/images/LaMariachi_04.jpg
js_02 - These two are much more monochrome than his last peices. These were both shot using flashlights.


Dead Moth


http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3872.jpg
dm_01 - This dead moth flew into my little world one day.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3909.jpg
dm_02 - I scooped him up and shot some pictures of his very colorful wings.
bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/temp_2008_06_Update/bigs/PHFX3909.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3940.jpg
dm_03 - Sad, but pretty I guess. bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/temp_2008_06_Update/bigs/PHFX3940.jpg)


Along came a spider.


http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3956.jpg
ow_01 - Its summer time. And that means, where I live at least, the spiders are coming out to play. bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/temp_2008_06_Update/bigs/PHFX3956.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3971.jpg
ow_02 - We have nocturnal orb weavers where I live. They keep us safe from pesky mosquitoes. bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/temp_2008_06_Update/bigs/PHFX3971.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/temp_2008_06_Update/images/PHFX3973.jpg
ow_03 - Here's his belly. bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/temp_2008_06_Update/bigs/PHFX3973.jpg)


Chatsworth Reservoir


http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2008_05_22_chatsworth/images/pano.jpg (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2008_05_22_chatsworth)
cr_01 - Click for spherical version. (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2008_05_22_chatsworth)
I've been shooting all types of panoramas for work and personal projects for several years. Years ago I worked with Greg Downing, http://www.xrez.com, as he was interested in producing "gigapixel" panoramas. At the time I was creating cylindrical and spherical layered matte paintings for large projection displays. He seemed to be more focused on very technical aspects of this type of photography, where I was much more interested in where you could push it creatively, such as animated layers and what not. Just last weekend they shot all of the "walls" of Yosemite with several motorized panoramic heads.

Anyways, that's what I got for now. I need to shower up and head down to Universal. I'm shooting for Land of the Lost today and smell like a dead ox.

Phil

[Morbid]

Just wanted to say I apperciate the effort you make by posting here and sharing your work, it's all very interesting and helpful!

[carolupus]

Oh wow, you got to shoot Edward Norton?! He's one of my favourite actors! Interesting description you gave of him..

Could you go into more detail about your macro photos, please? what equipment did you use for the moth and spider?

[PhilHolland]

Hello all! I'm back from the abyss. It's been almost a year since I've posted so I figured I'd come by and show everybody I'm still alive.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_YaelLinzSarah/images/PHFX1902.jpg
nu_01 - Lindsey.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_YaelLinzSarah/images/PHFX1914.jpg
nu_02 - Here's Sarah.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_YaelLinzSarah/images/PHFX1872.jpg
nu_03 - This was really just a fun shoot for our friend Yael's farewell to Isreal.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_WaltJonesSM/images/PHFX0834.jpg
nu_04 - A coworker/friend of mine Walt Jones has been after me to shoot him for a couple of years. We finally did that in January. I lost a flash head to the sea sadly :( - - view the entire shoot (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/shoot2009_WaltJonesSM)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009/images/PHFX2304.jpg
nu_05 - This was an image I shot trying to illustrate Einstein's "theory of everything" for his birthday.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_SarahBdayGemini/images/PHFX5051.jpg
nu_06 - Sarah had a costume party at the Gemini Manor for her last birthday. The house is pretty much the way the owner left had it back in the 70's. It's got this crazy time traveling effect once you step in there. - view the photos from Gemini Manor (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/events_2009_SarahBdayGemini)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/2009_Reverie_Main/titlecard.jpg
nu_07 - I was one of the instructors at the Dallas ConceptArt.org workshop in March. Did about an hour presentation and an hours worth of speedpainting. The next workshop will be in August and in Germany! - workshop mini site with photos (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/2009_Reverie_Main)

This is a video of Andrew Jones's live performance art/collaboration with Phaedra Ana from the Dallas Workshop.
http://vimeo.com/4309474

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_PillowFightLA/images/_MG_3839.jpg
nu_08 - International Pillow Fight Day :) - fluffy warfare (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/events_2009_PillowFightLA)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_PacificAquarium/images/PHFX5547.jpg
nu_09 - I attended a very cool Photographers Night at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Basically the museum was closed off so photographers could bring in lights and tripods to shoot the fishies. I didn't really use a tripod, but I did muck around a bit with a couple of flash heads. Lots of fun. - more fishies! (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/events_2009_PacificAquarium)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_3142.jpg
nu_10 - Artist Tommy Hollenstein painting with his wheelchair. I was really fascinated and inspired by his drive to create.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009/images/PHFX3949.jpg
nu_11 - Tattoo artist Kim Saigh for Inked Magazine.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009/images/_MG_4965.jpg
nu_12 - Drummer Josh Freese and my dear friend and also drummer Nikki G. I brought her to lunch with Josh. He's her favorite working drummer.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_2451.jpg
nu_13 - David Lovering (drummer) from the Pixies riding his unicycle.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_2470.jpg
nu_14 - Joey Santiago (guitarist) from the Pixies jumping into the pool with his "bathing suit" on.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_FreakDance/images/_MG_4810.jpg
nu_15 - Before I was behind the camera I was very much involved with acting and improv. I've been supporting a few groups around town, but UCB Theater seems to be the one I'm drawn to most. This was the final show of "Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo". I'm actually thinking about taking a few classes there this summer. I hit up UCB about 2 or 3 times a week. - more freak dance (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/events_2009_FreakDance)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009/images/chatraintrees_lp.jpg
nu_16 - Spider Hill panorama. I am very fond of this particular area. I used to play and jump bikes here when I was younger. - view panorama (needs flash) (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2009_03_23_ChatsworthTreesRain)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009/images/chattracks_invlp.jpg
nu_17 - Tunnel Number 28 panorama HDR. I used to live very close to this tunnel as a teenager (30 feet away from the tracks!). I would jump onto freight trains from the top and take the train to Simi Valley to get tacos, then jump back on the returning freight, dive off and be home. - view panorama (needs flash) (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2009_03_23_ChatsworthTracks)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/2009_EasterAdventure/images/MistletoeField1.jpg
nu_18 - During Easter I adventured to an area that is sort of off the map that I am calling Mistletoe Field. This and the two shots below are from that location.- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/2009_EasterAdventure/bigs/MistletoeField1.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/2009_EasterAdventure/images/MistletoeField2.jpg
nu_19 - The oak trees and yuccas serve as a host to the mistletoe that grows on top of them.- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/2009_EasterAdventure/bigs/MistletoeField2.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/2009_EasterAdventure/images/MistletoeField3.jpg
nu_20 - This area is surrounded by mountains and when the sun is going down magical things seem to happen with the light.- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/2009_EasterAdventure/bigs/MistletoeField3.jpg)

I just got back from Vancouver after working on Joss Whedon's new film for a bit. While I was up there I had a small window of time to go adventuring.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_020.jpg
nu_20 - Hybrid Porpoise - Straight of Georgia

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_027.jpg
nu_21 - Dall's Porpoise - Straight of Georgia

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_056.jpg
nu_22 - Dall's Porpoise - Straight of Georgia

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_216.jpg
nu_23 - Spouting Gray Whales near Boundary Bay.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_261.jpg
nu_24 - California Sea Lions rafting.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_287.jpg
nu_25 - California Sea Lions

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_318.jpg
nu_26 - Sleeping California Sea Lions.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_VanWhaleWatch/images/whalewatch_333.jpg
nu_27 - A territorial California Sea Lion.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/images/CreaseUnit_Riverview.jpg
nu_28 - Riverview Mental Health Facility - Dr. Crease Building.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/images/Sandman2207Final2.jpg
nu_29 - View from room 2207 at The Sandman Hotel.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_AngelsAndDemons/images/AngelsAndDemons_AllThree.jpg
nu_30 - Zurer, Tom Hanks, and Ewan McGregor for Angels and Demons. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/set_AngelsAndDemons/bigs/AngelsAndDemons_AllThree.jpg)

I think that's all I can squeeze into this post today.

Many of the films and games that I've been working on over the last year or so are finally coming out, so I'll have much more to update with soon.

[Nike]

yay, good to see you posting again! :) Great work as usual, and I love the diversity of your work. Your use of light in the portraits is really inspiring - it's also obvious, that you create a very warm and natural atmosphere during the shootings - one can see it in the expressions of the poeple.

I also like the landscape shots a lot - the mistletoe field photos are really beautiful - and the whales and sea lions are truly amazing. My favourite shot of these is nu_25 - where one of the sea lion seems to watch the seagulls ...

As always I'm really looking forwards to seeing more! :)

[BgDM]

WOW! Officially one of my favorite threads here now.

As a complete amateur, I thank you for the insights and information.

BgDM

[EvrEst]

I had a chance today to read through your entire post. Your abilities and the depth of your knowledge is amazing. I would like to know how you got into the paid industry. I am positive about photography being my career for life and Just dont know what i need to get in. should i pay 80 grand for a degree that gets me the contacts or is there another way to get my pictures to the right audience? Im ready to move in the right direction and Im willing to take a hit as far as investing goes as well.

If you could give me some tips I would be in your debt!

[PhilHolland]

Nike - Thanks Nike! When shooting people creating that atmosphere I find is very important. Most of the time when I'm shooting actors they are coming into such a strange environment. Very quickly, I try to make them comfy by reading their body language and seeing what sort of person they are. The Sea Lion in nu_25 was actually waving back and forth, kinda stating that this was his territory.

BgDM - Thanks. If you guys have any questions about anything really, feel free to ask!

EvrEst - Thanks Ethan. When it comes to making photography your career there are no set rules. I started making $$ by shooting bands at shows. I did that for about 2 years and generated a name doing it. At the same time I was flexing my muscle with portraits and landscapes. Generating a portfolio and such. Then it was just a matter of networking and I imagine the most important part, earning people's trust that I can get the shot needed. I don't have a degree in photography, and I firmly believe that the technical aspects of photography are well documented and can be learned outside of a school. However, the real work comes down to studying light, composition, discovering what is unique or beautiful about a person and trying to bring that out. That will come with experience. I checked out your thread and see some nature, portraits, and event work. Actually a lot like what I was shooting when I started out. I would try to network with the event staff or performers and see if they need a photographer. Work on your shooting technique and make sure you're focusing on what's important in the frame. I studied color and compostion through painting and the same rules apply when it comes to photography. Get some books and start experimenting with lights and different compositions. It will work it's way up from there.

------------------

Meh. I'm still waiting for clearance to show stuff from Night at the Museum 2 and Land of the Lost. Hopefully I'll have that in a week or so. I shot Anthony Hopkins on Friday for The Wolf Man during the last day of photography on the film. I won't be able to show that stuff for a year, but I have to say it was a very, very cool shoot. Anthony is very professional and it was a complete honor to shoot him.

Onward.

One of the games I worked on last year was UFC Undisputed, which was released in late May. First month's totals are in and the game sold over a million copies between the XBox360 and PS3 versions. I'm sure THQ is happy to hear that. My job on the game was to shoot a whole lot of UFC fighters for texture and PR purposes over a few month period. Here's a few of my favs from the bunch.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX0272.jpg
UFC_01 - Rich Flanklin - Ridiculously funny. This guy used to be a teacher before he was knocking people around the ring!

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX4235.jpg
UFC_02 - Quinton Rampage Jackson

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX4707.jpg
UFC_03 - Chris Leben - Probably the craziest of the bunch.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX4781.jpg
UFC_04 - Thiago Silva

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX4911.jpg
UFC_05 - Drew McFedries - Drew and I talked a lot about the realities of fighting, family life, and what really drives him. A very introspective and interesting guy.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX7647.jpg
UFC_06 - Houston Alexander - Houston was probably my favorite dude to shoot. We did a bit of sparring and I thought I was going to get killed. Houston's also a DJ (DJ Strongarm) and probably the nicest guy you'll meet who looks this mean.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX7563.jpg
UFC_07 - Herb Dean Referee

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/game_UFCUndisputed/images/PHFX8838-copy.jpg
UFC_08 - Joe Rogan - Well Joe's an interesting guy with lots to say about a lot of things.


I've been shooting my friend Juan Balandran's, the Red Rooster, sculptures for a few years now for an as of yet unpublished book project. He's finally getting aroundt to getting the book made for this year's Comic Con and we did a shoot for the book's back cover. He's got a sort of a Charles Bukowski vibe and that's the general mood we were going for. Here are few of the setups.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_JuanMarisolBook/images/PHFX0980.jpg
rr_01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_JuanMarisolBook/images/PHFX0934.jpg
rr_02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_JuanMarisolBook/images/PHFX0944.jpg
rr_03

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_JuanMarisolBook/images/PHFX1001.jpg
rr_04

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_JuanMarisolBook/images/PHFX1051.jpg
rr_05

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_JuanMarisolBook/images/PHFX0910.jpg
rr_06


I've been working on a large scale theme park project for Ferrari that will be opening up in Dubai for about 2 years now. This last Thursday we did a gear test shoot for equipment we may or may not be using on an F-1 racecar in Italy next week. So we trecked up to Buttonwillow Raceway with a small crew to test film cameras, new HD cameras, and different HD recorders to see if they'd hold up to the g-force and high frequency vibrations while strapped to a car. We weren't able to get a F-1 for the test, but Dion Johnston who works at Technicolor allowed us to mount rigs to his car. At the end of the day we broke two HD recorders and lost a few protective filters.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6319.jpg
fer_01 - This is an Arri 235 with a 12mm lens attached.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6321.jpg
fer_02 - A better look at the lens.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6342.jpg
fer_03 - And the final mount for this setup. Lots of gaff tape, straps, and an amazing rig built by two very expereinced grips.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6349.jpg
fer_04 - And here's what it looks like on the car.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6393.jpg
fer_05 - Here's a setup with the Cunima camera from the Fraunhofer Institute and 12mm C mount lens with a portable Codex HD recorder box. Note the use of a battery belt!

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6413.jpg
fer_06 - The Codex Portable is nice because it records to SSD drives and we were hoping that it would be able to stand up to the fairly extreme test conditions. It did not. Neither did the other two recorders :( However, I do like the Codex box. It's extremely well designed. I think the last big project this was used on was Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland which was shot on the Genesis and Dalsa cameras.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6423.jpg
fer_07 - And the most compact setup. A Canon 5D Mark II with a 16-35mm and a small Sony CX12 AVCHD camera. I have used the 5D Mark II to shoot footage for Land of the Lost and Night at the Museum 2 previously. The Sony camera was more of a worst case scenerio and to see how well the compression would hold up projected.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_f27_ButtonwillowShoot/images/_MG_6434.jpg
fer_08 - The conclusion from the test pointed out that vibration is severe, the g-force less so. The F-1 really only has a single mount point for the camera and the rig itself cannot touch any other point of the car. So the final rig will need to be compact, likely use something like a K8 gyroscope stabilizer, and I've designed a 3 axis motion dampener to get machined soon.


I made friends with a model named Lipa from the last ConceptArt.org workshop. She came in town and visited for a heartbeat. I couldn't let her escape without shooting a portrait of some sort. I wanted to do something a bit anti-model if there is such a thing. So this was sort of quick and mostly goofing off.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1413.jpg
Lipa_01

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1424.jpg
Lipa_02

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1425.jpg
Lipa_03

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1433.jpg
Lipa_04

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1435.jpg
Lipa_05

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1443.jpg
Lipa_06

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1448.jpg
Lipa_07

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1453.jpg
Lipa_08

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1457.jpg
Lipa_09

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1464.jpg
Lipa_10

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1474.jpg
Lipa_11

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot2009_LipaBeatleLady/images/PHFX1480.jpg
Lipa_12


Lastly, here's a photo of a tomato.
http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/PHFX2153.jpg
tom_01 - This was shot for a commericial. I just had to toss it in here for no reason.

Until next time!

[EvrEst]

As always, impressed by your work and the trip to rig the car must have been so much fun! Inventing and creating contraptions has always been a love for me since early childhood.

I have decided to quit this admissions job as soon as I end my lease and can move to a cheap apartment. From there I will take an associates program for commercial photography and probably go back to work for a regular mall photo studio if I cant get an assistants job. I figure I need the school because degrees are just plain useful. I need to master the skills and any forced practice is always good! Its also going to teach me some graphic design and web skills and they will come in handy. And finally it will force me to do what I dont want to do and thats the environment from mall photography. I look forward to the challenge of learning how to read people better and use my sales skills to communicate as an artist to take good pictures. The two years on and off that I worked for a studio before was hard because I hated having a few minutes to plan a 30 frame, 3 outfit shoot and then expect to sell it for thousands. I figure now its time to master the art of taking portraits that really show who the person is, no stiff poses and lots of communication. (I lost my CD of work so sorry there arent ex. of my portrait work on the scrapbook, it took place after the work with the girl from my first post)

Sadly Dallas is not a good place for photography right now I just found out. Saturated to death. We will see but I will be studying. My collection of books goes from world history of photography to advanced photoshop for the photographer, composition, and I just picked up a few books on portrait lighting. This will be a summer of experiements and hopefully my portfolio will be the better for it!

Thank you so much for your guidence and I will be watching this thread and I hope to meet you someday during a shoot!

Ethan

[PhilHolland]

EvrEst - Wow Ethan, that's a big step, but you sound driven for sure. Due to the availability of quality cameras at pretty low costs I would say most markets are going to be saturated with photographers. I know in Los Angeles you can't walk 3 feet without tripping on one. When it comes to reading people and shooting more interesting portraits, that will certainly come with experience. Get to know people and figure out what's interesting about them, then try them out in a portrait setting. I would advise bringing out what you see in them and attempting to guide the shoot that way.


-----------------------------------------------------------


So. I'm finally able to show some film stuff again. I think this is one of the stranger aspects of working in entertainment. I still have work from 2001 that I'm not able to show and that bugs me! Yeesh. However, this stuff is actually much more recent and personally two of the more rewarding feature films I've worked on during the last year.

I worked on Land of the Lost and Night at the Museum 2 for about a year and a half as well as a few other films in there. I shot thousands of photographs, footage, panoramas, etc. These are a few of my favorite shots from both movies.


First up. Night at the Museum 2 - Battle at the Smithsonian.
http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/titlecard.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/titlecard.jpg)
NATM2 was directed by Shawn Levy and he creates a nice and fun set to work on. Even on a feature of this size and budget he kept things moving along.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/NATM2actors.jpg
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NATM2_01 - The Cast. Left to right: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Robin Williams, and Crystal.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/AbleDexter_008_pOff.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/AbleDexter_008_pOff.jpg)
NATM2_02 - I've shot Crystal now 3 separate times for different films. By far the most famous monkey I've ever met. She's rather intelligent, almost childlike in her curiosity. She plays both Able and Dexter in the film.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/lincoln_031.jpg
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NATM2_03 - Lincoln comes alive in the film and I had special access to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC as well as the Air and Space Museum during the first week of principal photography. I shot both reference and plates for the shots.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/NATM2_lunarpano1.jpg
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NATM2_04 - Besides the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, production built a redesigned interior for the museum up in Vancouver. This set was built in a ferry production building and was about 5 stories tall. The scale of this set was amazing. This is the ground floor of the set.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/PHFX6729.jpg
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NATM2_05 - And this was taken 5 stories up in the rafters of the building. Those planes are to scale and so is the Apollo Lunar Module. Something also to notice, is just how many lights production stuck up in the ceiling. I believe that each one of those lights are 12k ARRIs, there were about 100 or so. Which is insane.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/PHFX6781.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/PHFX6781.jpg)
NATM2_06 - I had the set to myself one evening and was able to goof off by the Apollo Lunar Module. This week was the 40th anniversary of NASA landing that sucker (the real one) on the moon.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/NATM2_castlecommonsblue.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/NATM2_castlecommonsblue.jpg)
- view panorama (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/NATM2_CastleCommonsBlue)
NATM2_07 - Another very cool set for the film was Castle Commons. These sets were just absolutely massive and the detail work was top notch. Hard to believe this and other large interiors were all inside a sound stage. I loathe the fact that many of these sets are torn down and destroyed after production wraps.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/set_[b]NATM2_ProdPeeps/images/PHFX6104.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/set_NATM2_ProdPeeps/bigs/PHFX6104.jpg)
NATM2_08 - Another vanity shot of myself goofing off on set wearing my typical work armor. I remember taking this particular shot last year. It was around hour 16 of being on set and I was getting a smidge loopy.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/NATM2_fountainocto.jpg
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NATM2_09 - This was the hallway of the foutain set. I took this particular shot because the set was just torn down and they rolled away the giant green screened octopus stand in over in the right corner there. I just thought that this wasn't something people see every day.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/NATM2_foutain2pano.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/NATM2_foutain2pano.jpg)
NATM2_10 - This is a stereographic panorama (or "little planet") of the actual fountain area of the set.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/NATM2_TeddyAlcovePano.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/NATM2_TeddyAlcovePano.jpg)
NATM2_11 - Another stereographic panorama, this time reversed 180 degrees, of "Teddy's Alcove". I shot this pano during lunch one evening when the crew stepped off the set. They put the red hoody over the camera to protect during the break and I thought it had an earie quality to it.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/PHFX4896.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/PHFX4896.jpg)
NATM2_12 - This is a production still of the thinker and one of the actors who plays a sercurity guard in the film.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/PHFX4919.jpg
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NATM2_13 - I stepped in as a still photographer a few times on this film. This particular shot is Robin Williams in his Teddy Bronze costume. He was a favorite of mine to shoot and I got along with him very well. Lots of joking. A few months after production wrapped Robin was hospitalized for heart issues, aortic valve replacement. I ran into him last month playing pool in Hollywood about three months after his surgery and we shot the breeze briefly and joked about the situation. Sort of strange and random encounter, but it was nice he remembered me even after all that.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/PHFX5779.jpg
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NATM2_14 - Here's a photo of Amy Adams, Crystal, and Amy's then boyfriend Darren. A couple of days after I shot this Darren proposed to Amy and they were engaged to get married. On these longer features I have a bit more time to get to know the actors and learn about their lives. Amy is an absolute gem. A true talent. Darren seemed to be a nice guy too.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_NATM2/images/PHFX5781.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_NATM2/bigs/PHFX5781.jpg)
NATM2_15 - Crystal on the other hand found that Darren's head was more useful as a bongo drum.



Next up is Land of the Lost.
http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/titlecard.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/titlecard.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/LOLactors.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/LOLactors.jpg)
LOL_01 - The Cast. Left to right: Will Ferrel, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone, Enik, and a Sleestak.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/lolportrait_0011.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/lolportrait_0011.jpg)
LOL_02 - The man in the Enik suit is stuntman Daniel Barringer, who has worked on a great deal of motion pictures, including The Shawshenk Redemption. Nice dude and great to talk to.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/lolportrait_0009.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/lolportrait_0009.jpg)
LOL_03 - The actor in the Sleestak costume is Doug Tait. Doug was also the "long faced" alien in the newest Star Trek film. In this photo two artists from Spectral Motion are rigging him up. The suits were made of neoprene, foam, and secured with velcro. The Sleestak eyes popped in and out magnetically to allow air to get circulated into the seemingly air tight costume.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/lolportrait_0002.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/lolportrait_0002.jpg)
LOL_04 - This is Bill Westenhofer, he was our VFX Supervisor on LOL as well as Narnia, Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Golden Compass (Which brought home the Academy Award for Best VFX). It's always a pleasure working for this guy.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/lolportrait_0010.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/lolportrait_0010.jpg)
LOL_05 - Jorma Taccone who played Chaka is part of the Lonely Island comedy team that now does those SNL digital shorts. He's a pretty damn funny guy.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX2650.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX2650.jpg)
LOL_06 - Here's a still of the Caldera mountain set while Bill goes over the scene with director Brad Silberling. The entire surface of this set is foam and plastic.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX2716.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX2716.jpg)
LOL_07 - This is what is illuminating that Caldera set from below. I can only describe the temperture under there as "sun-like". The large pipe going through there is the air conditioning duct trying to circulate cool air, but it was still bloody hot.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4036.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX4036.jpg)
LOL_08 - Curtis showing his expertise with the Grumpy Eyeline Device. This pole is what the actors used to "look" at the cg t-rex in the film, prior to visual effects being done in post. I've worked with Curtis on a number of productions now.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4236.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX4236.jpg)
LOL_09 - Everybody wants to play as Grumpy. Here Erik sets up Grumpy's position while Sam snaps some shots of the frame from the platform. The weird light in the background there is one of those awesome soft lights that floats around and is filled with helium.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4250.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX4250.jpg)
LOL_10 - Bill, who came up with the "Grumpy Eyeline Device" shows off his technique.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4251.jpg
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LOL_11 - This is what it actually says on the label of the Grumpy Stick. Gotta love that.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4760.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX4760.jpg)
LOL_12 - In comparison, Sam with his "balls".

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4292.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX4292.jpg)
LOL_13 - This rig is the motion control setup for Will's Grumpy ride in the film. It's really amazing to see all of this up and working with the previz and camera control.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4837.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/PHFX4837.jpg)
LOL_14 - This is a different Grumpy setup. This was the dolly move on the Grumpy busting through the trees gag. It's crazy how large this particular blue screen is. It's even crazier how big the softbox above is.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX9094.jpg
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LOL_15 - Another still from set near video village. The device on the right is the Technocrane that the camera is mounted on. I think all of this particular sequence was shot with the Panavision XL2 camera with 17.5mm-75mm T2.3 Primo Zoom.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX9206.jpg
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LOL_16 - Bill and Karey are taking a breather while a new shot is lined up. There is a crew member with an abnormally large rubber duck, I believe it was his responsibility to guard it with his life.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX9753.jpg
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LOL_17 - Here's a look at all the Sleestaks in costume and lined up. Kinda creepy when they all start hissing, but occasionally, like the guy on the right, they break out into dance.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/Altrusia_001_TungstenWGel.jpg
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LOL_18 - This image is of the Altrusia miniature set used for Enik's hologram flashy thing.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4759.jpg
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LOL_19 - The background of the miniature is a matte painting.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/PHFX4767.jpg
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LOL_20 - Director of Photography Dion Beebe sits a top a J.L. Fisher Dolly and shoots the Altrusia miniature with Frazier System for maximum depth of field. Dion won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 2005 for Memoirs of a Geisha.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_LOL/images/lolportrait_0001.jpg
- bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/film_LOL/bigs/lolportrait_0001.jpg)
- view panorama (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/landofthelost_temple)
LOL_21 - Lastly, here's what a Sleestak Skull looks like. I shot this while I had a moment inside the Temple set. Most of this movie was shot on the soundstages over at Universal. This particular stage is the same one that the lion got loose in when I was working on Evan Almighty. Good times.


So what else is new? Well I turn 30 tomorrow and I'm about a month in on working on my album, I've gotta take the next week off from that to go shoot on a film for about a week, but I'll have another month and a half of solid working time when I return. Other than that I'm enjoying the summer and rolling around in my own filth!

[Frutsel]

man you have the most beautiful shots i've ever seen!

Must say i'm quit jalous about your job, would like to be in that business also...

[carolupus]

Hey, happy birthday in advance, Phil!
love your thread, it's a joy to look at your photos.

[Hookswords]

You know a Sleestak? I'm jealous. Really cool stuff. The space suit monkey is great and the girl on the sand dune with the conjoined baby doll is 10 kinds of great

[EvrEst]

Thanks for the advice! Its such a great help to read about all the things you have learned. I cant wait to see more of your work!

[PhilHolland]

Frutsel - It's a hard business to get into and it's a hard business to be in. That said, it's also the best business to be in :)

carolupus - Thanks! I'm 30. Time to make babies and retire?!

Hookswords - Ah. If you like the baby stitches photos you'll love what I'll be working on soon!

EvrEst - Thank you. It's only be *gasp* 3 months?! Sorry about the delay. Been working tons :(

------------------

Let's see. Another season has passed, that must mean it's time for a post! (Remember when I did this like weekly? I have no idea how that was possible these days)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_7152.jpg
Oct09_01 - It is the Hollywood sign. I've been super reflective this year about my career and I found myself one evening staring at the Hollywood sign and remembering what this industry once was to me as a child and is to me now. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/bigs/_MG_7152.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_7210.jpg
Oct09_02 - I also found myself at the beach a lot during the end of summer. Usually arriving just before daybreak, watching surfers, birds, and sand blow by.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_08_marmshoot/images/_MG_7734.jpg
Oct09_03 - I then found myself getting called away from vacation to fly up to Vancouver and worked on Marmaduke the Movie. I felt very distant from the world as I was previously in a deep creative state for about two months prior to this. I'm glad I had my anamorphic glass with me on this trip. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/trip_2009_08_marmshoot/bigs/_MG_7734.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_08_marmshoot/images/_MG_7310.jpg
Oct09_04 - I remembered I got really hungry and saw this stand. I knew it was a bad idea. My friends warned me, the locals warned me, but I desired whatever was going to be a "Japadog". I shot all my "out and abouts" with anamorphics this trip. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/trip_2009_08_marmshoot/bigs/_MG_7310.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/images/OthelloTunnel_336.jpg
Oct09_05 - Then I was reminded of a trip to Vancouver just a few months prior. Shooting in strange locations like Othello Tunnels. - view panorama (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/cabin_Othello)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/images/OthelloTunnel2.jpg
Oct09_06 - Strange wonderful noises came from the river below. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/bigs/OthelloTunnel2.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/images/river.jpg
Oct09_07 - They shot Rambo around here. I wanted to pretend to be a drifter. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/trip_2009_05_Vancouver/bigs/river.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/trip_2009_VegasJayBday/images/_MG_7828.jpg
Oct09_08 - Then I remembered something about Vegas..... I think.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/TujungaFire.jpg
Oct09_09 - Back home the world was ablaze. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/random_2009_b/bigs/TujungaFire.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_08_HaunSoloBeach/images/_MG_8107.jpg
Oct09_10 - I shot some friends at the beach. They make music. It's called The Haun Solo Project. CDs soon. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/shoot_2009_08_HaunSoloBeach/bigs/_MG_8107.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_8092.jpg
Oct09_11 - Toby was there. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/bigs/_MG_8092.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/OakForestIII.jpg
Oct09_12 - Then I took a trip down memory lane back at the forest. - view panorama (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2009_08_29_OakForest3)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/ElMatadorBeach2.jpg
Oct09_13 - Remembering it was a hot minute since I was at the beach, I went back. This time hungry for blood. - view panorama (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/2009_09_07_ElMatadorBeach/index.html)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/_MG_8482.jpg
Oct09_14 - Somewhere in there the Santa Monica Pier turned 100 years old. People celebrated. - see the fireworks (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/random_2009_b/bigs/_MG_8533.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_b/images/caldera.jpg
Oct09_15 - I remembered back in 2008 standing atop Caldera while working on Land of the Lost. - view panorama (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/panoramas/landofthelost_caldera/)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_09_13_HarlowGold/images/_MG_8603.jpg
Oct09_16 - Then I was brought to my knees by my beautiful and talented friends at Bordello via Harlow Gold. - view punchdrunkinlove face (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/events_2009_09_27_HarlowGold/bigs/_MG_0163.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_09_25_Sanctuary/images/insectsvsrobots001.jpg
Oct09_17 - I remembered being in a church late at night and listening to music produced by a wild and lovely bunny lady.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_c/images/_MG_1611.jpg
Oct09_18 - Then watching little boys see big planes for the first time. - bigger (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxview.cgi?image=photography/random_2009_c/bigs/_MG_1611.jpg)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_10_08_LucentDossier/images/_MG_2467.jpg
Oct09_19 - Only to again be amazed by my outstanding and wonderful friends in Lucent Dosier. - view lots of photos (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/events_2009_10_08_LucentDossier)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/random_2009_c/images/PHFX7239.jpg
Oct09_20 - I remembered making new friends last year with Josh Freese. Went to the wedding dressed as a clown and met most of my musical heroes from Trent Reznor to Danny Carey. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. The Vandals, Devo. Their friends and family. I'm so grateful to have this moment, the conversations... Don't know what I did to deserve it.

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/events_2009_10_17_CarnivaleOfCreation/images/everybodydance.jpg
Oct09_21 - Then I was finally able to do some distorted portraiture and for a good cause no less. I made many happy, and for those who were insecure, extremely fearful. - view funny faces (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfx_lb.cgi?images=photography/events_2009_10_17_CarnivaleOfCreation)

http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_VampiresAssistant_Main/images/castshot.jpg
Oct09_21 - Then I remembered a movie came out. Vampire's Assistant. It seems like it was only a year and a half ago. - view doodles and set photos and pictures of actors (http://www.artbyphil.com/cgi-bin/phfxgv.cgi?link=http://www.artbyphil.com/phfx/photography/film_VampiresAssistant_Main)

So that's life in a nutshell the last few months. It's been strange and weird and introspective. All that. But it's been great! And horrible! But wonderful! All that too. Certainly creating a whole lot lately, which is a plus +!. Not too much minuses --.

Other news from outerspace:

*Website* - I tried to simplify my photo work a bit. Added some new stuff. Rearranged a couple things elsewhere. Also, I've started to put up some of my panoramic work. I think I've shot a few thousand movie sets or so and will populate that as I get releases. <-- That part is sometimes stupid and hard.

*Feature Films* - Alvin2 almost done. Cabin in the Woods, close too. Wolfman not done, but soonish. Marmaduke, not done. Started on A-Team and Yogi Bear.

*Music* - No surprise, not done with the new album. I'm such a slacker it hurts sometimes. Promise/maybe February. Trying to make it actually be good and of some quality. Might have some surprises in there too. Fingers crossed. Really working hard on this.

*Screenplay* - Wrote a screenplay, landed on a desk of a big wig. Liked it. Asked for revisions, working on that in free time. Fingers crossed.

*Artwork* - I'm such a slacker :( The only section on my site that has like nothing going on :( Will do something about that hopefully.

That's the news international internet friends. I miss you, I love you, I drink your milkshake.

[claudeEGYPT]

Phil! Wow man! I'm so glad you're doing so well with your career! Sheesh! The photos are pretty sweet! I love the colors and lighting.. great stuff :)
(OCT 09-10 in particular)

Now, a question:
How does one climb the photography chain? - How do I go from Hobbyist to set photographer? Or even, perhaps, breaking the fashion photography business?

I'm a film student.. I graduate in a month's time without a clue as to what to do next.. or how to achieve it, So any suggestions would be great. But my query specifically revolves around breaking into the business as a photographer. How?

All the best! Let me know if your travels ever bring you down to Cape Town.. the buzz is here! cheers.

(my last thread: http://www.photographymob.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1826)