Erectile dysfunction anyone? Not for me thank you but thanks to the demand for this hot little pharmaceutical wonder drug, Cialis, I was called upon by producer Kendall Henry @ Believe Media to DP a shoot in Aspen, CO which involved shooting various plates and scenics in and around Aspen. The spot is being helmed by Australian director Joel Pront who is shooting the live action on stage at Fox Studios in his homeland. The agency was Grey Advertising out of NCY and representing was Art Director, Hema Patel and Agency Producer, Diana Gay.
Our camera package consisted of an Arri 435, the Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm, and a set of Zeiss Master Primes. When the producers told me that the ski area would not be able to accommodate the production with any snowmobile or snowcat support once the ski area opened I knew the easiest way to work would be out of a variety of Lowe Pro camera packs. Having had years of experience shooting on the snow, in the mountains, and in remote locations with a limited crew I knew exactly how to most effectively pull this job off. My first call was to my long time First AC Tod Boyle based in Denver, Colorado. Tod and I have done countless jobs together in the mountains and in the snow so I was confident that Tod would have no problem making things run smoothly with regards to the camera package and transport.
In all we spent a day scouting and three days shooting in and around the town of Aspen, Highlands Ski area, and the Roaring Fork Valley. One day was dedicated to shooting aerials and the remaining two days were spent shooting at the Aspen Highlands ski area.
Earlier this winter, I was approached by my friend, Tyler Stableford, who is a Canon Explorer of Light Photographer about shooting a project for Adobe that would feature Tyler in the field shooting still images and then taking the images through the Adobe Lightroom workflow inside his studio. Tyler is an adventure & lifestyle photographer so he wanted to do something that would feature him working in an environment that would be exciting to both Adobe and other photographers. Since it was mid-winter, Tyler decided that shooting ice climbing in Redstone, Colorado would provide for the perfect backdrop for his assignment which in turn would also work well for me to feature Tyler shooting stills in a naturally dramatic and adventurous environment. The added bonus being that we both love to ice climb.
Shooting someone else shooting is a bit unusual. However, Tyler and I were both interested in capturing the best and most dynamic imagery possible and we worked well in tandem finding the best angles and best light to shoot in. Unlike most shoots where you are working on the ground, most of this job required both Tyler and I to be hanging off ropes alongside the ice climbing talent and having the ability to move up and down the ropes as necessary in order to get the shooting angles we needed. I brought in my good friend and safety rigger, Ted Mahon, from Aspen Colorado to help establish anchors and manage ropes to allow Tyler and I to work freely and independently of each other. Tyler was shooting stills using the Canon 1DMKIV and the EOS 5DMK2 and I was shooting HD using the Sony EX-3. As you might imagine, working in this way and in this kind of environment things take longer than normal. All said and done, Tyler and I shot while hanging off the ropes for the better part of the day before getting to solid ground where Tyler shot portraits of our climbing talent Mary Harlan.
Shoots like these are always great because they allow me to combine my passions of climbing and capturing great imagery. I also enjoyed this shoot because I rarely have the chance to watch a still photographer at work in the field. So, this was a great opportunity to see all that is involved with a photo shoot. For the most part, Tyler was shooting in a naturally lit environment at the mercy of mother nature. For the Adobe piece, Tyler will take the images through the Lightroom workflow in order to demonstrate the powerful photography software program. Keep an eye on Adobe’s website this spring for the piece featuring Canon Explorer of Light Tyler Stableford.
Recently I have been helping adventure & lifestyle photographer Tyler Stableford shoot a “mini-doc” project he is doing on disabled war veteran, Heath Calhoun. Heath is a member of the Wounded WarriorsProject and competing in the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver, BC.
Well known for his adventure and lifestyle photography as well as being a Canon Explorer of Light photographer, Tyler decided to embark on a personal documentary project allowing him to shoot motionwith the same Canon DSLR’s he typically uses to shoot stills. Because Tyler had little to no experience shooting motion he hired me to work along side him for part of his “mini-doc” project so as to guide him as he explored working in this new medium. Tyler chose Heath and his bid for the 2010 Paralympic Games as Heath’s story is a compelling one with him losing his legs in a grenade blast and despite never having skied before Heath has become one of the best disabled skiers competing today. The story will follow Heath through his training and racing regime as he prepares to compete in the 2010 Paralympics.
Because Tyler is always using the most recent Canon DSLR’s his equipment quiver consisted of several canon 5D Mark II and 1D Mark IV bodies and a plethora of lenses. The majority of the shooting we did was with the 5D’s due to it having the full frame sensor however we also shot extensively with the 1DMKIV’s as well. We were using Canon L Series lenses which were fantastic and my favorites being the 85mm t1.4 and the 17mm tilt shift lenses.
Because we were typically shooting on snow in very bright sunlight and Tyler wanted to shoot at with a shallow stop we had to stack several stops of ND in front of the lenses so as to shoot at 24P or 30P and nearly wide open with an ASA at 200. Having shot a lot of skiing over the years I was well prepared for the task at hand however what was very challenging was trying to follow the action while looking through either the on camera LCD monitor or the external 7″ Marshall monitor in bright daylight. Fortunately for us we had several pieces of equipment on hand from the likes of Zacuto and Red Rock Micro all of which made shooting motion with the DSLR’s more user friendly in that we were able to configure each camera to shoot in a more traditional cinema style set up.
I am just back from a week of work in beautiful Steamboat, Colorado where I was shooting a couple of projects for Eddie Bauer. The first part of the week I was shooting ski footage of athletes Lynsey Dyer and brothers Reggie & Zach Crist clad in the new ski line of Eddie Bauer/Whittaker First Ascent technical outerwear which will have its debut in the fall of 2010. Joining me on the shoot was still photographer Will Wissman, an accomplished ski photographer who I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. We spent two days shooting in and around the Steamboat ski area and we couldn’t have had better timing.
This winter northern Colorado has not seen the banner snowfall it has experienced in recent years. Fortunately we arrived in Steamboat right on the heels of a storm cycle that left a fair bit of fresh snow in its wake and on our first day of shooting the skies were blue and the conditions were excellent. Experience has proven that any ski area with decent terrain and devoted locals will have its fresh snow tracked up in a matter of hours. Therefore this shoot was no different than any other in that we were going to have to work a bit harder to find terrain to shoot in providing us with untracked snow and good light. Because I was not that familiar with Steamboat’s terrain and neither were any of the others on the shoot I called upon my friend, long time Steamboat local, and Warren Miller ski talent Dan Gilchrist to give us a hand sniffing out good locations. Thankfully I made this call because without Dan’s help I would not have been able to shoot the quality nor amount of footage that I was able to. With that said, only having two days to shoot ski footage is very unusual. Typically I will spend anywhere from one to three weeks shooting ski footage so as to shoot in the best terrain with the best snow conditions and in the best light. When shooting skiing several stars have to align in order to capture great imagery including good snow, good terrain, good weather, good skiing, and good camera work. More often than not you don’t wind up with all of these elements at play so you have to continue shooting until the mix is right. Fortunately for everyone involved we had a fantastic couple of days shooting.
The later half of the week I was shooting for the 2010 Eddie Bauer Christmas Holiday campaign. This was a bit of an unusual shoot for me as this shoot was primarily designed as a still shoot and I was to working along side NYC based still photographer Didier Gault . 
I have worked along side plenty of still shooters before but typically they are on board a shoot I am directing and they work into my shoot. On this particular shoot however I was having to work into Didier’s shoot and as I expected it was a bit of a challenge. Unlike cinematographers, still shooters only need their models or “talent” to walk a few steps or move through an action only so far as they shoot several frames to capture a good image. 
However in my case I need the talent to walk several steps and carry their look all the way through an entire action so as to capture the action from beginning to end. Needless to say this was a tricky scenario for me, especially at first. Several times as I was capturing a great moment my camera would get bumped by Didier as he moved over to shoot from a different angle or the hair and makeup folks would walk into my frame to make an adjustment to the models. Most difficult was when Didier or the Art Director would say “Great, got it!’ and the models would fall out of character right in the middle of my shot. The fact is this was nobody’s fault in particular. As photographers and cinematographers we have different needs and the only way to blend the two shooting styles in my opinion is to either have two separate units shooting or double the length of the shoot so as to allow the still shooter to get what they need and me to get what I need. Despite the challenges, Didier and I developed a rhythm and we were both able to capture great imagery of our models.
We shot at some beautiful locations including the 1,717 acre Marabou Ranch located just outside of Steamboat. 
At our disposal we had amazing landscape, dozens of horses, a beautiful barn, corral, and all things ranch.
Just on the heels of Africa I was off to Texas to shoot on a campaign for Toyota with my colleagues at VRA. Director/Cameraman Allan Vajda was at the helm of the shoot with Executive Producer Joe Ramey keeping things running smoothly. I was brought on to shoot aerials and additional ground camera as was Joey Cicio who was on board in the Pursuit Arm. The majority of the shoot revolved around a complicated stunt sequence where three car carriers loaded with new Toyota trucks, SUV’s, and sedans made there way down 3000′ of an airport runway as an assortment of Toyotas came into formation from behind. In all we had five camera rolling with me in the heli shooting an Arri 235, Cicio in the Pursuit Arm with an Arricam LT, and a Canon EOS 1DMKIV, 5D, & 7D rigged on each carrier. Flying aerials was veteran aerial pilot Rod Tinney, owner of Air Center Helicopters, who was hands down one of the best pilots I have ever flown aerials with.
Following the stunt sequence we were into the Toyota plant shooting car assembly with both the Arricam LT and the Canon 1DMKIV. I had a Canon 800mm lens on the 1D and between the portability and the low light capability of the Canon I was blown away. There is no doubt that these cameras are becoming an integral part of the motion picture process. We continued to use the 1DMKIV for interviews with the Toyota plant employees and again we were blown away by the image quality and ease of using the Canons.
All in all a fantastic time and a very successful shoot thanks to a fantastic crew and the great agency folks at the Intermark Group and Saatchi.
Morning light on Kilimanjaro
Summit On The Summit-Kilimanjaro was a great success with every member of the expedition and film crew reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa at 19,341′ and one of the famed Seven Summits, on January 12, 2010. The logistics and planning for this shoot were no small feat with 45 members making up the expedition including film crew. In addition to the team I was working with shooting content for Summit On The Summit, Radical Media was also on board with four DP/sound crews in place to shoot a MTV documentary about the climb which will air on MTV March 14th. Thomson Safaris did an incredible job of putting the infrastructure in place to handle the group size and provide for a great trip. This certainly had to be one of the wettest trips I have been on in recent years with daily rainfall which turned to snow as we moved hire up the mountain. Our summit day was cold, snowy, and wet with limited visibility though despite the conditions everyone made it to the top.
Our equipment quiver consisted of a Sony EX-3 HD camera and the Canon EOS 5D MKII and 7D DSLR’s with a variety of lenses. All of the gear performed very well considering the less than ideal weather conditions we had to contend with as well as the cold temps at high altitude. Tune into MTV on March 14th to learn more about the expedition
It was a fantastic project to be a part of and kudos to Kenna and the production team for pulling off what was certainly no small feat.
Mt. Meru as seen from Kilimanjaro
As the new year sets in I am off to Africa for a great project where I will climb and film on Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro 19,341′, to bring attention to the global clean water crisis. The project is entitled Summit on the Summit and brings together several iconic individuals noted as either educators or influencers who are attempting to climb the tallest peak in Africa to bring attention and to speak out about the global clean water crisis. Global influencers and educator will climb Kilimanjaro as a team; communicating about the issues around access to water, learning solutions to the problem, discussing how to improve social awareness and embracing the idea they are now the example for showing ways to take action and give back to those with little or nothing. Announced participants include Kenna (musician/activist), Bernise Ang (activist/Singapore), Jessica Biel (actress), Alexandra Cousteau (activist), Lupe Fiasco (musician), Elizabeth Gore (UN Foundation), Simon isaccs (water expert), Kick Kennedy (activist), Isabel Lucas (actress), and Santi White (musician). A major sponsor of the event is Eddie Bauer/First Ascent who I have been working with for the last year on their recent branding campaing. Eddie Bauer will be providing all of the technical outerwear and expedition gear to the participants for the climb.
I will be working with several of the team members I worked with on Everest this past spring including editor Tom Grimshaw, Producer Cherie Silvers, and Executive Producer Joe Ramey of VRA, a fantastic production company I often work with. New to this group but someone I have worked with and climbed with over the last 15 years is sound recordist Dave Ruddick from Portland, Oregon who also is a long time climber & mountaineer.
This is an exciting project and one we are all happy to be associated with. Be sure to visit www.summitonthesummit.com to follow along with the climb and learn more about what you can do to help raise awareness about the global clean water crisis.
What an incredible year 2009 was having the chance to work on some fantastic projects with both new and familiar faces around the world. A year ago January I climbed the highest mountain in South America, Aconcauga at 22,841′, where I was directing and shooting a branding campaign for Eddie Bauer and their new line of technical outer wear First Ascent. The same project took me to the Himalayas form March to June where I climbed and filmed on Mt. Everest reaching the summit on June 23rd. These two projects were really dreams come true not only because of the summits achieved but because nearly 20 years ago I set out to combine my passions for cinematography and climbing mountains and at that time I could only dream I would actually be doing what I am today professionally.
Fortuitously my experience shooting action in the mountains has translated well into shooting commercials and action on Hollywood features. Just when I thought things couldn’t get better after Everest I arrived home to begin working on the action unit for the upcoming sequel Iron Man 2 . Once again I was working under the helm of the masterful 2nd Unit Director /DP Jonathan Taylor and along side his incredible crew whom I have had the pleasure of working with on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Spiderman III, Iron man, and GI Joe and who are all very good friends of mine now. Following Iron Man 2 I was blessed to find myself working with another favorite of mine, action unit director of photography Paul Hugen. From September to November I was in Albany, NY and Manhattan shooting on the action unit of The Other Guys which was a great time thanks to Paul and our fantastic NY crew.
Come December as the days got shorter and the snow began to fly I wrapped up 2009 directing and shooting for the 6th year in a row Arctic Cat snowmobiles line up of sleds for the 2011 winter season. This has become an annual shoot which is a ton of fun in cold temps and deep snow with a really tremendous crew and agency folks.
You can read about all of these shoots below and always feel free to leave me a comment or contact me with any questions. I have much to be grateful for in 2009 with regards to work, family, and friends. I am very excited for 2010 as there are already several projects lining up that look to make this a great year. Happy New Year to you all and thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. All the best in 2010!!
Currently I am in western Wyoming directing & shooting a running footage campaign for Arctic Cat snowmobiles and their 2011 line up of sleds. This is my 6th year doing this shoot and every year the shoot is a blast and the footage looks awesome thanks to my tireless crew, a great client, and fantastic agency folks at Periscope based in Minneapolis. I would love to show off the new sleds but because these sleds won’t be shown until the dealer show in March the new designs and styles are top secret so I have had to take some liberty in photoshop to disguise the new sled designs.
Early morning light
This year’s shoot is a cold one! On our first day of shooting the temp was -26 degrees but the skies were crystal clear which has made for beautiful footage. This year Arctic Cat has trucked out 26 great new sleds and like every year the sleds are incredibly fast and amazingly powerful. I am shooting the main unit and aerials again this year in the always reliable super 16 format using an Arri HSR3 and a variety of great glass. New this year I have decided to have my 2nd unit shoot rig mounts with the Canon 5D MKII and 7D DSLR’s and so far I could not be happier. Once again I am fortunate to have been provided technical support and information from Canon’s professional technical reps on this project. This rig unit is being helmed by producer Chris Keig and the rigging geniuses Matt & Mitch Stelling of Stelco Grip. For this unit I have two 5D MK II’s shooting 30P and two 7D’s shooting 24P & 60P with a variety of lenses. Despite the extremely cold weather and vibration associated with snowmobiles the Canon cameras have not missed a beat and the footage looks awesome.
Stelco rig mount
I am also using the Canon cameras to shoot my snowmobile to snowmobile footage and what has certainly made this work well is Tyler Camera Systems new Mini Gyro Mount. Once again I gambled on a piece of equipment I had not used let alone even seen before and I have to say I am very happy with the results. From racing down snow covered roads at incredibly fast speeds to carving in deep snow the sled to sled footage I am shooting looks great and I would certainly not have been able to do it without the use of the Mini Gyro.
Tyler Mini Gyro
Working with me on the main unit is the always fabulous Creative Director from Periscope, Brien Spanier. Also on board are 1st AC to the stars Tod Boyle who has worked with me for the last 5 years on this shoot. My 2nd AC/Loader is Colin Witherall who is well versed in working in these conditions and was well prepped for the cold of this years shoot having just come from a project in Antarcitca. My AD is the tireless Sean Waterman who is simply the glue to the operation and knows this drill inside and out. Also on my unit is 2nd AD Eric Lohman and video assist/DIT/Photographer Tony Wilhelms. There is no doubt that without the help of this great crew I would ever be able to accomplish what I do on this shoot. This shoot always goes down as one of the most exhausting shoots of the year due to the cold weather and remote locations we are traveling to shoot in. My unit sets out on snowmobiles each morning in the dark around 6:30am and travels to a location determined on the scout which is often several miles away. All of the gear including cameras, lenses, sticks, & accessories goes on our backs packed up in Lowe Pro packs. We move stealthily and fast and know the locations like the back of our hands and are therefore able to capture a lot of great imagery. Brien Spainer, the CD at Periscope, has told me that we get more done in one day than previous crews from years back used to get in consecutive days of shooting because these crews would attempt to work out of hard cases which they would haul along in a trailer towed by a snowmobile. I simply can’t even imagine trying to do a shoot like this that way given the limited hours of daylight and extensive distances required to travel in order to get great imagery.
Chasing afternoon light
At this point we have had two beautiful days of shooting with clear skies and cold temps. Now the snow is falling hard which is welcomed as it provides for a variety of footage showing off the sleds in different environments. Fortunately our helicopter has arrived with the Tyler Middle Mount ready for shooting the aerials. Mike Carisch, pilot extraordinaire from Bozeman, MT., will once again be flying the ship. I have flown with Mike every year that we have been able to fly aerials on this shoot and he is hands down the best aerial pilot I have been able to work with for this type of a project.
Fortunately for us the temperature has gone up to a balmy +10 degrees and both units are cranking along capturing great imagery. Once again we are nearing in on the end of a great shoot for Arctic Cat!
Mountain Cat hill climb
This call came last minute as well and it too was a welcome one. To shoot World Cup champion and US Ski Team member Lindsey Vonn training in Vail, CO for a segment in next years Warren Miller ski feature film. I have worked with Warren Miller Films as one of their director + dp’s for over ten years however I unfortunately haven’t been able to work with them much the last couple of years due to other film projects that have had me busy. For this shoot I’ve teamed up with line producer turned cinematographer Josh Haskins to cover Lindsey’s downhill training runs. Despite there currently not being much snow in the Colorado rockies right now the course is in good shape. Fortunately on day one we had great weather and blue bird skies providing for some great back lit, high frame rate shots. On day two the day broke with cloudy skies, snow falling, and wind however by mid morning the sun was out and we again had another great day of shooting. One of the things I like most about shooting for Warren Miller is that we still shoot film. 
Because much of the ski action we shoot for the Warren Miller movie is in slow motion and is in very high contrast environments, film is still the preferred format. There is no doubt that there are digital formats out there that deliver a great image however those cameras tend not to perform as well in the cold & snowy environments we expose the film equipment to. Shooting for Warren Miller is all about run and gun. Being fast on your skis, finding the best terrain in the best light, setting up fast, nailing the shot, and moving on. There is little to no time to have to worry about sensitive electronics or back focus issues due to the cold. I work with a very stripped down Arriflex SRII camera package and everything goes on my back in a Lowe Pro pack. I don’t ski with poles and I carry a tripod in one of my arms. I have worked in this style and with these tools shooting skiing and mountaineering projects around the globe including the Himalayas, the Alps, the Cordillera Blanca, and the Alaska range and I have never once had an equipment failure. Shooting for Warren Miller over the years has provided some of the best training I have had. I have no doubt that the years of shooting ski action for Warren Miller eventually led me to shooting on the big Hollywood action units I shoot on now. When shooting ski action there is never a rehearsal nor a second take and all of your shooting takes place in the winter months when there is a limited amount of daylight so you have to move fast and trust your instincts.
