“The Morbid Sisters” web series
Some friends of mine have been writing this story for the last 5 or so years. It’s called “The Morbid Sisters” and I would describe it as a dark comedy/sci-fi/chick-flick. They asked me to be the director of photography on it and I just had to. I’ve never worked on anything action of effects driven before. We’re filming something of a “Pilot” and So I wanted to share with you the first two episodes:
Please share these videos, “Like” and Subscribe to the channel – there’s more to come, we’re looking to get some funding to make a whole series!
Western Circle Sword Fighters
Last week I took a drive to Half Moon Bay with an assistant and a trunk full of lighting gear to check out the Western Circle Sword Fighters’ annual “Best of the Best” tournament.This organization is focused on the martial art of sword fighting of all styles, fighters build their own wooden or steel swords and craft their own leather and steel armor and compete
in full contact one on one fights.
It was interesting to work with because everything was so shiny and metallic and all the fighters were wearing black leather. I wanted to them to have a very dramatic “lit” look, so we
set up a black background with a strip box on either side for a rim light, we used a 5 degree grid to highlight the face and an on-camera speedlight for fill.
We did half body shots of the fighters with their armor and swords, and then tight head shots. The photos were typically taken between fights so everyone was still pumped up on
adrenaline and sweaty. We got to watch a bit of the competition and I can tell you, these guys do not mess around.
Overall I was very satisfied with what we got and I will definitely be working with them again. Don’t miss the BTS video at the end!
GLIDE Springlicious BTS and updates
Wow, it’s been wayyy too long since I updated last, hopefully there won’t be anymore of that for a while I’ve been terribly busy this past month.
To kick off this blog post, here’s a commercial shoot I did for the San Francisco local non-profit GLIDE promoting their annual fund raiser Springlicious:
This is my 2nd year in a row working with GLIDE and it’s always a lot of fun. The models are all drag queens/kings and the shoots are always a blast. An extra bonus is I always get a couple VIP tickets to the fundraiser which includes free food and drinks as well as a drag show. Waaaaayyyyy too much fun for a Saturday night.
Here’s a little BTS video that they used to promote the event:
In other news, the “Portraits of the 99%” project is still going strong and recently received a 500.00 grant to help out with the mounting of images. I’ve got a dozen or so ready to show and I’m in talks with a few galleries and collectors about doing a show soon including the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in the financial district. Also, this guy won me an Outsanding Documentary photography award. Very exciting!
And speaking of which, you all should know that IndieGoGo has been integral in getting this project funded and they recently asked me if I would be an ambassador for them! Of course I humbly accepted so if you go to an IndieGoGo meetup in San Francisco expect to see me there as a speaker. And as an added bonus, they want to furnish their office with a few of my Occupy Portraits.
I’m working on a number of things over the next few months so stay tuned, I promise to update more often.
Film production stills
For the last several weeks I’ve been involved in a film project. Having just returned in January from traveling the country shooting the Occupy Wallstreet protestors for nearly 4 months my one-off assignments and small personal projects just hadn’t been giving me the fulfillment that the Portraits of the 99% project did. I really wanted to make movies when I was kid and now that photography and video is overlapping I decided I wanted to work on a film project. I called up several friends in the film industry and some who are still in film school and told them I had no idea what I wanted to make – but I wanted to make something awesome. So we meet once a week for several weeks in a row and discussed concepts, wrote stories and worked out characters. We decided we wanted to make a web series based in the desert with a theme of isolation. The webisodes would be short, 3-5 minutes each and jump back and fourth between several characters.
On Monday, April 9th all six of us piled into a van full of food, scripts and equipment and drove out to the Salton Sea where we had 1 scout day, 1 shoot day and 2 driving days. We recruited local actors and despite some setbacks we got some amazing footage. Once it’s completed we plan to enter it competitions and just get it seen in general. Then we pitch it for crowdsource or other funding and shoot an entire series. We want to surpass the typical quality you see on youtube or web series, taking a dramatic approach rather than comedy which there seems to be a lot of out there. I can’t talk too much about the project, we haven’t even started post-production yet. What I can do however, is share some of the behind the scenes production stills of the shoot. Enjoy!
The film crew at Bombay Beach near Salton Sea, CA
We hope to have it all finished this summer. Keep an eye out for it!
“Portraits of the 99%” fund raising continues
I’ve started fund raising again to get the “Portraits of the 99%” photographs mounted! There are 77 that I have selected for this process, and I’ve got a few done already to show to galleries. I’ve been shopping these around for 2 months now and I’ve got some places interested. You can check it out and donate here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Portraits-of-the-99-percent
You can also “Like”, tweet, +1 and share the page with your friends and family. Thanks for all your help!
Portraits of the 99% exhibition catalog
For the last month or so I’ve been talking to various art galleries and collectors about having an exhibition of the “Portraits of the 99%” series. The images are 12×18 and are mounted on 7/8″ thick wood with a white vinyl siding and they are absolutely beautiful. However, it’s very impractical to carry around all 354 of them to show to people, so I’ve put together an exhibition catalog that features all of the images up until now along with some behind the scenes photos, a forward by myself and a few color versions of the portraits. It’s a 26 page perfect bound catalog a book practically, and I’m really excited about it. You can get your hands on one for $20.00 from Magcloud, as well as a digital download for 5.00. The entire catalog is online for preview as well, so you can also just check it out and let me know what you think.
All proceeds from the sales of these catalogs go into the mounting and framing process in preparation for exhibition. You can get it HERE.
Portraits of the 99% on TV and now in COLOR
Quick post today, I wanted to share the interview that KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland did with me on the project last night. (I can’t post the video but you can click the thumbnail and watch it on their page)
Click the thumbnail for the whole story and the video!
I’m very excited at the opportunities that could come of this, some of you know that I have been shopping around for a gallery to hang these images in and this has already gotten me a few phone calls.
The other thing I wanted to share was the jump into color:
I’ve been working on a new promo to send to magazines showing that I am a portrait photographer. I thought what better way to do this then use some of my most well known work but something felt a bit off to me. So now I’ve been playing with really tight crops and color images from the “Portraits of the 99%” series. Let me know how you like it!
Portraits of the 99% – San Diego, CA
San Diego was an interesting location to photograph. There were no tents, as they were considered illegal to be pitched in the Civic Theater, so there were many people who protest all day, go home for the night and then come back the next day. It is my understanding that San Diego CA has the 6th highest arrest rate for the Occupy movement, which is crazy because it’s so small. Everyone was very friendly and enthusiastic about the project and they were eager to contribute and get in front of my camera. (Images will be posted on Portraitsofthe99.com shortly)
The IndieGoGo fund has been going great, and we’re almost out of time. With the launch of Portraitsofthe99.com you can donate at either or, and it will go to the project if you wish to support it, it’s greatly appreciated.
Announment: Portraitsofthe99.com
After all of the hard work I’ve put into my “Portraits of the 99%” project (With still a lot more hard work to come in the future) I’m proud to announce the launch of www.Portraitsofthe99.com, a site dedicated solely to the project. The IndieGoGo page is what initially got this project off the ground, but it’s going to expire soon – so I wanted a more permanent place that people could go to donate, buy prints and posters or just look at all of the photos. The site not only showcases all of the portraits but it also has a schedule of my travel and a press section to show when and where the images have been published.
If you’re interested in purchasing a specific print go and check it out. The portraits are sorted by city so if our photo is on my site or your friend’s photo or you’re a collector choosing a favorite this is the place to do that. All of the money goes back into the project (After shipping/printing costs etc) and will contribute to me traveling the country and documenting this massive upheaval of people across the world.
Thank you once again for all of your support. It really has been amazing and while it’s a little late it’s looking to the be one of the main things I am thankful for this year.
Portraits of the 99% Published in the SF Chronicle
After a few back and fourth phone calls and some meetings, on Saturday November 19th the SF Chronicle dedicated not one, but 2 whole pages to the “Portraits of the 99%” (even though they didn’t use that title) and a story about me and the project. The datebook is the Chronicle’s most popular section where it features gallery openings, movie reviews of course, the comics. The Chronicle has a circulation of 1/4 million and is distributed all over California. After it was published I received a slew of emails, phone calls and donations to the IndieGoGo fund. The feedback on this project has been so wonderful and now with the fund raiser in full swing I can do this project right. I’m going to San Diego on November 29th, LA in December and New York in January. I’ll be setting up meetings with various big name publications in New York and LA and I’m talking with galleries about doing a show.
I’m so thankful that this opportunity has come to me and that I’ve been able to do just the things I have done already. But now, I get to take it that next extra step. Thank you, everyone who has donated, everyone who has been spreading the word and everyone who reads this blog. These photos are about you guys, not me. Thank you.
The little portrait of me on the upper left corner of the 2nd page/image was shot by my friend Bonnie Rae Mills. My favorite part of the article was the mention of how cool I think Dinosaurs are and that I wanted to be Indiana Jones.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (Berkeley)
Occupy Berkeley was definitely the smallest occupy protest I have shot thus far. But like a small, midwestern town the people were absolutely wonderful. Only got about 20 portraits total, but I’m happy with the quality of the individuals we’ve captured today.
Don’t forget you can donate and help make this project happen by donating at the Indie GoGo page. Donations go towards travel expenses and you’ll get some cool free stuff out of it like signed prints, posters or even a book!
Portraits of the 99% (cutting room floor)
Some left overs from my edits of the OccupySF portraits. I was much pickier before about what I was posting, but now I’ve decided that all of the portraits need to be seen.
Don’t forget that you can help me continue this series by donating a few bucks to my Indie GoGo page!
Occupy CA fundraiser video!
As you can see, I’ve been busy. I decided to put together a video to actually show me working in the field on this project. Not many people were willing to talk to the camera, but we were able to snag an interview with one of my contacts in Santa Rosa about the project. Please help out with this massive and wonderful project, you can donate at the link below. Thank you for all of your support.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (Oakland)
Oakland was by far the most difficult city to shoot in. People were much more weary of me, especially since no one had responded to my emails or calls. So I showed up and introduced myself to the people there, told them what i was doing and showed them some pictures. I was also working with a writer so that seemed to intimidate some people. As the day went on, people warmed up to us, and we got enough photos to be satisfied.
If you want to donate to this project, mostly to get me flying around CA click HERE.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (San Jose)
San Jose was the third city I visited to continue my portrait series on the Occupy Wallstreet movement. I actually got the most portraits here than any other city, but the whole process is exhausting for both me and my assistant so we can only do so many in a few hours. If you’re interested in helping me travel to other cities to do portraits there, go and check out my indie go-go page. Anything helps.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (Santa Rosa)
Today I made my to the Occupy Wallstreet protests in Santa Rosa, CA. It was a HUGE event, well over 1000 people showed up for it. It was a little overwhelming to say the least. I shot as many people as I could before the march started. Tomorrow we make our way to San Jose…
Note: This project is beginning to span all of California and possibly all of the US so if you want help out in the form of a donation, you can do HERE. Thanks for the support!
Portraits of the 99% Project
Many of you I’m sure are aware of the Occupy Wall Street protests, whether your with them or against them makes no difference to me. I saw the protest as an opportunity to photograph a variety of passionate people from all walks of life so I recently set up a mini photo studio on the block near the OccupySF protests and took over 60 portraits of the individual protestors. Feeling very satisfied with the results of the shoot, I thought it was done right there.
In less than 24 hours after I posted the images they had 4,100 views. My servers crashed. The images started popping up in various places, facebook and social media, news sources and more. People contacted me and told me they were inspired. This project suddenly became much bigger. I have setup a fund to raise money to fly to various other cities around California and do the same thing there. The images will be donated to the Occupy Wallstreet effort, in an attempt to raise awareness of the individuals involved. The money donated will go towards getting flights, train tickets, hostels and fuel to make this project happen. Donors will receive limited edition prints, posters, cards, books and more.
http://www.indiegogo.com/Occupy-California
If you don’t want to contribute, that’s fine. But please, unless you are deadset against this movement, spread the word. Forward this to a friend. Post the link on Facebook. Go and “like” the indie-go-go page. This project means a lot to me, and I want to see it through.
Thank you for your time.
The 99%
The Occupy Wall Street protests have been expanding nation-wide, and even internationally in the case with Occupy Toronto.
During the Occupy San Francisco protests I saw an opportunity to photograph a variety of passionate people in a very diverse city. So I hauled a c-stand some white foam core and a reflector over to 101 Market st (in front of the federal reserve bank building) and my friend Kevin helped me out some mad reflector holding skills.
I’m considering turning this project into a broader “Occupy Calfornia” type thing and hop around the state and do this same setup at all of the protests. LA, San Jose, San Diego, Santa Cruz… you get the idea.
A slide show of the photos is below, followed by an image gallery.
{Edit} I have set up a fund to further this project by visiting other cities and states and doing the same thing. You can find the fund HERE. Thanks for your support!
BART Protest, Powell St Station 9/8/11
The only reason I did not stay inside the station when they shut it down was because I did not have press credentials because I don’t usually do this sort of thing. I was simply at the right place at the right time. Some will say that I’m taking sides with No Justice No BART but to be honest I don’t agree with how either side handled this situation. I Think it was very foolish of No Justice No BART to think that they could get away with blocking the turnstiles or that it would even make a difference beside anger and inconvenience hundreds if not thousands of commuters.
I also believe that the SFPD were far too aggressive – I was shocked when they locked everyone inside the station and surrounded the protesters. I saw at least 2 people get beaten up and dragged away. The protesters were all very young – 18, 19, 20.
Gathering for the protest
SFPD preparing for what's coming
The arrival of some masked protesters
Banners arrive
Police forming a peremiter around the turnstiles
Protesters rushing the turnstiles
Locking up the station with the protesters still inside
A girl calling to her friend who is inside, being arrested.
Stuff the Streets Mission art fair photo-booth
Over the weekend I was asked if I could run a photo booth at an art fair being thrown by local Antiques dealer Stuff. They had food and music and plenty of artists selling their wares, but they wanted something fun, something more interactive. They got in touch with me and I was invited out to run a photo-booth, and I could sell my own wares as well.
I don’t often get to do these sorts of things, so I decided to run with it. I grabbed some old prints and got a small table and set up shop. I sold a few things and people had a blast at the photo booth. Here are some of my favorites:
For those of you wondering, I used a Polaroid Pogo printer, which prints unique 2×3 images that double as stickers. It’s battery powered, works with most digital cameras and is loads of fun to use.
Photoshop & you – 2 weeks of free awesome
For those of you who live in San Francisco who haven’t yet been to Adobe‘s Photoshop & you event at 550 Sutter St: Shame on you. Even if you’re not big into photoshop, or still shoot film – you should go. The event takes place over the course of 2 weeks from July 23rd to August 6th. They offer classes, lectures, demonstrations and raffles – all for free. You can view the full calender of Events at their website.
I’m really busy over the next week because I’m working on 2 films that are being submitted to Sundance, but I was able to make it to some of the weekend events – WOW.
Scott Kelby, if you don’t know who he is, is an educator, photoshopper, founder of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and an excellent photographer as well. He also tours the world giving his famous “Light it, shoot it, retouch it” seminar which he normally charges hundreds of dollars for. At the Photoshop & you event, he gave it to a room full of people for free.
It was an amazing talk, he worked with 2 models and did exactly what the name of the seminar says: He lit it, shot it and retouched it, all live. What was different about this session was he was working with continuous lighting so he let the crowd photograph the models as well. Personally, this is not something I did because I like to create my own things rather than work on something that has been done for me but it was still a blast.
After each shoot he demonstrated some retouching techniques in both Photoshop and Lightroom, and in the end did an amazing composite with the above model by placing her into a grungy alley and making it seem like she was really there, all in a matter of minutes. It was very educational and entertaining, Scott is a great presenter and a pretty nice guy as well.
After his seminar he agreed to do an interview with The Candid Frame’s Ibarionex Perello, which should be coming out next month.
Like I said, even if you’re not a photoshop junkie you should go. Go check out the calender of events, there are some great things happening there until August 6th. There’s some great people there who are happy to meet other photographers or retouchers and the chance to see and experience all of this for free is a really great opportunity.
Pay a professional
Photo credit unknown
The next time you hear a friend say “They’re paying me 100.00 to shoot their wedding!” show them this picture. It’s more then pressing a button, it’s more than perfect timing, it’s more than knowledge of your camera – it’s all of those things and THEN more. Shooting weddings is hard – that’s why people hire professionals to shoot them, and pay them professional rates. This goes for every type of photography, you get what you pay for. Digital photography is so accessible and inexpensive now, it’s no surprise that some families are opting to have Uncle Bob who just got a DSLR shoot their events.
Focus on making great pictures. It’s slow for everyone, but this business is cyclical. It always comes back around.
A tale from way back when…
It was 11am on a Wednesday and I approached a large office building on the 400 block of Sansome Street, surprisingly nervous. I didn’t think I would be nervous, seeing as I was simply meeting with someone to review my portfolio and not get a job. What made me nervous I think was the person’s title. Charli Ornett, the Creative director for Yoga Journal Magazine had told me a few days prior “We are very busy, but if you come by Wednesday at 11am we will see you for a few minutes.” Her tone was that of a very busy woman, who had no time for lowly students like myself. I checked in to the building’s security desk and they directed me to an elevator. Instead of floor buttons this elevator simply had company logos and brands, such as Flickr and other behemoths in the contemporary business world. This did not help. When the 8th floor came, I nervously walked into Suite 850 and was greeted by a rather cluttered waiting area filled with boxes overflowing with magazines. Standing in one corner was a UPS man, who was rather impatiently waiting with a dolly stacked with boxes. There was no receptionist. An older woman walked in and spoke with the UPS man and didn’t even look at me, she simply took him further into the office with his dolly. Another woman walked by, and I caught her attention. “Excuse me,” I said in my most confident tone which probably didn’t sound very confident at all. “I have an Appointment with Charli Ornett, my name is Rob Schultze?” She nodded and kept walking. A few minutes later an older woman with ling black hair and glasses walked in, the kind you would expect to see in a church wearing a Nun’s habit. “Hello Robert,” she said extending her hand quickly, which I promptly shook for fear of taking more of her time. “I’m Charli, you can come in now.” This was accompanied with a warm smile that made me feel much more comfortable. “I’ve asked our art director Ron Escobar to sit in with us, I hope that’s ok.” “Of course, that’s great.” I said, all feelings of comfort once again removed. We sat down in her office and I placed my humble little portfolio on her desk awaiting judgement. Ron entered her office and greeted me with a smile and a quick handshake and the two of them sat down and dove into my book. The first photo, a self portrait stopped them. They were silent. Their eyes traced over the image up and down, left and right. After nearly a minute of unbearable silence they turned the page, “Very good.” Charli said. The next pair of images were photos taken in a yoga studio with a fairly advanced yoga practitioner. I put these in my book specifically for them. Again with the silence. They turned the pages, saying nothing. I was terrified. The rest of my book consisted of portraits and editorial portraits. They spoke very little, until they came to the final image, an image of a girl standing in front of a string of christmas lights. “You’re images are too dark for print.” Charli said very matter-of-factly, and Ron nodded his head. “But they are so moody and full of visual identity, it’s very nice.” My heart rate slowed for the first time since I arrived. They then proceeded to go back through my book and point out what they liked and didn’t like. “I love your compositions, they are very clean.” Charli said. “The lighting is beautiful, but I want to see more detail in the faces, maybe a higher depth of field?” Ron said with a smile. “I want to see more images like this,” Charli said referring to an image of a man staring into the camera standing outside a window on a deck. “It’s very mysterious, and it’s begging for a story to be told.” When they turned back to my yoga images, they were both silent again. “I like this a lot,” Ron said. “The only thing I would do different is have her wearing a lighter shirt, and putting a bit of fill light on her face. It’s very moody, but almost too moody. It’s Yoga, not a Lars Von Trier film.” We all laughed. “It’s very nice to see a student who already has such a strong visual identity,” Charli said. “But if you want to work in magazines you have to start thinking about how your images will be used. Ninety percent of these images are too dark for print, so that’s something you need to work on and think about if you are serious.” With that, Charli and Ron seemed to have some sort of psychic connection that said “We’re done here,” and we all shook hands and I was shone the door. I walked out of their office feeling very accomplished and confident, them having confirmed things I have been working so hard on to achieve. Clean composition, beautiful lighting, a strong visual identity. They seemed very pleased with my work, but insisted that until I brighten up my images a bit that they would probably hire someone else. That being my first meeting with a creative director I felt I could live with that. Especially since now I get to do it every day until the day I die.
My general approach to yoga photography.
Photojournalism love
Those of you who know me know that I have a secret love-affair with Photojournalism. It isn’t something I would want to pursue as a career, but I certainly can appreciate and enjoy the process. I recently purchased a Sony NEX-3 (I know, I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought I would EVER buy a Sony) to have on hand as a point and shoot camera, take with me on trips etc. Man this thing is awesome.
I recently have felt that I have lost my connection to spontaneous photography, which is a big reason I got into the field in the first place. This camera being small, quiet and not too professional looking has opened a lot of doors and allowed me to do somethings I could never do while lugging around a bulky DSLR and a case of lenses. It still gives me all of the options that my DSLR does, but it’s in a smaller package. Plus it shoots HD video, so it’s perfect for what I’m doing.
So to celebrate my new ability to shoot much higher quality images on the go than the images taken with my camera phone for the Some-Photog-Tumblog I have started Back to the Streets, which has a lot more direction that my other tumblr. The Some-photog-tumblog is not going anywhere, I just feel like I don’t really have any real attachment to the images I take for it. The images there are usually humorous and lack much meaning. It’s more of a “fun-time-photo-blog” so to speak. Back to the streets is much more serious, and I feel way more connected to the images I shoot there.
Check it out!
