We’re springing forward with new technology! Studio 3 is keeping up with the recent time change with the new Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch! Inspired by losing an hour this past weekend, we thought we would focus on the hottest watch around. According to the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, wearable devices are catapulting into todays market! This snazzy timepiece is compatible with the Galaxy Note 3 and other Galaxy smartphones. You can place and answer calls directly from your wrist, how crazy is that!? With this clean accessory, you get style and substance. Pairing with that, we had Senior Shooter David Bell work his magic with lighting to enhance the clean smooth timepiece of the future. Once the smartwatch presented itself as inspiration, we had David Bell run with it:
“Hip and happening are always connected, you gotta love technology! Very cool Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch that keeps you connected all day. The shot is inspired by the fact that it works where you are. Clean and simple, like the watch.”
Excited about the new wearable technology addition to our wardrobe, Studio 3 did some research on what this sexy little device can offer. Check out this commercial showing the ‘Evolution’ of the dreamed about futuristic watch that became real…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32_cZvpx3D0
Category: Equipment
Raising the Bar with Anthro
Recently, our video department had the exciting opportunity of shooting for Anthro Corporation. Anthro started with a plan to make technology for furniture. Our plan was to take their vision, highlight their latest addition, and bring it to life. Director David King speaks more in depth about putting together this clean and subtly sexy clip!
For anyone who has a job where spending long stretches sitting at a desk is a requirement, I’m sure there are many a day you wish you could just stand up for a while, stretch the back, get the blood flowing back into the legs, and keep on working. When I’m wearing my editor’s hat, it’s not uncommon to pull 10-12 hour shifts sitting in front of the computer. Because of this, when we renovated our edit suite here at Studio 3 Films, finding an adjustable work surface that could be used while sitting or standing was top of the wish list. Once you do any research at all on the subject, the company that tops your search list is Portland-based Anthro Technology Furniture. As an editor, I’ve been aware of Anthro’s product line for many years and was thrilled to be able to build our new edit suite around a desk from the Anthro Elevate series. Motorized height adjustment, tilting keyboard surface, cable management and adjustable monitor arms make this workstation infinitely adjustable for maximum ergonomic comfort. I’m standing as I write this!
Shortly after getting the new desk, Anthro approached us with a need for a video, showcasing one of their desks for an upcoming trade show. While I knew Anthro for their creative field products, they are also very big in the education and medical furniture fields. The product that we were asked to feature is called “Steve’s Station”; a Radiology Desk, featuring acoustic panels, dimmable ambient light, as well as Anthro’s signature height adjustment. The folks at Anthro had a vision of showcasing Steve’s Station as if it were a luxury car, using sexy, low-key lighting, subtle camera movement and a moody music score. I’ve worked on dozens of car commercials over the years so I knew exactly what they wanted and thought it would be great fun to translate that look and feel to an adjustable workstation. It was certainly easier to light without all the reflective surfaces you get from an automobile.
-David King
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Commercial Photographer David Bell Tick Tock!
Commercial Photographer David Bell had some spare time on his hands, and the inspiration to create a collection of beautiful images showcasing the technology and texture of the Diesel watch collection. A few words from David…
I decided to shoot a collection of Deisel watches in order to create a new product photography series for my portfolio. I’ve always loved how fascinating a watch can be from the technology, materials, gadgets, weight, and pure beauty of the details.
I included added textures to highlight the specific components of each watch by photographing them in different environments to compliment the design. I chose these products due to the challenge and pleasure I derive from photographing something with extreme complexity. My goal was to make the watches stand out individually and seen as a series. I wanted them to pop and stand alone from the backgrounds in a hero type fashion. I chose the backgrounds based on specific element in the watches so it had a beautiful composition. As you can see the bold watches were matched with dark and gritty backgrounds to compliment the gears.
I chose to work with the Hasselblad H3D-39 megapixel back camera with the tilt shift adapter. The decision to use this camera which is a medium format platform is due to the large sensor that allows for capturing fine details. The high res nature of this equipment is my ideal shooting device. My chosen lighting technique was either dramatic or high key depending on the background and the end look I desired. I used the Speedtron Studio Strobe Lighting kit with utilizing grids, spots and floods; that helped with creating the desired effect. I am looking forward to my next inspiration and having a day off to play and be creative. Enjoy the collection below!
Commercial Product Photographer Craig Wagner Live Hard Work Hard!
We all agree around Studio 3 that Craig Wagner is one of the hardest working photographers around. And his lighting skills are truly amazing! What he can do with an ordinary pile of broken concrete and a pair of work boots rocks! A few thoughts from Commercial Product Photographer Craig Wagner!
This was truly a smoke and mirrors shot. I returned from a location shoot to a pile of rubble sitting in the studio. This was left over from a previous project. How could I let this opportunity pass? I pulled a few tools from my garage for props, contrasted the rough concrete texture with smoke, and asked my producer to locate a pair of boots. Nothing like a bit of inspiration after a shoot day!
I found myself in a rock and a hard place on this project due to working alone, which I may add, I do prefer sometimes during photo testing. It can greatly help with the creative juices. Normally, as a team we get extremely involved in the concepting process, but this project was extremely spontaneous. So it was completely up to me!
I had to operate the Hasselblad and the Roscoe Smoke Machine at the same time. What to do? I recently downloaded Phocus App for my Iphone 5 that enabled me to trigger the camera and operate the smoke machine while being away from the eye of the camera. I am not trying to do a big recommendation for this App, but its pretty cool. It allows me to completely control the camera functions with not being tied to the camera or the computer and it even gives me a preview mode so I’m not running back and forth to the computer screen. This is a really great tool for our Commercial Photography clients and one of the great things about working at Studio 3 is we are always up to date on the latest technology!
Technology Photographer Henry Ngan Up Close and Personal!
Tech-Guru and Photographer Henry Ngan takes us on a micro journey into the inner workings of an Intel board. If you have ever wondered what runs the high processing computer systems of today check out these beautiful images. Read on for a few words from Henry on this tech savvy shoot and yes we call him the Technology Photographer here at Studio 3!
If you look at this internal computer hardware in ordinary light, it would look very industrial and a little on the rough side like maybe an uncut diamond. So my inspiration was to make this motherboard look more like polished jewelry basking in really nice golden light.
The other image was more Star Wars like in cool light. I had to handle the board and attached components very carefully guarding against static charges which would render the product useless. There were only 2 light sources used but the lighting was expanded in many directions using lots of reflectors of different sorts and mirrors. This was shot with a Canon 5D MkIII camera with a 100mm lens and some depth of field optimizing software.
On board the DQ77MK is Intel’s 3rd Generation Core i5 3570K unlocked, based on the 22nm Ivy Bridge Architecture. The 3570K seems to be the gamer and over clocker’s choice at the moment. So I decided to capture this Intergalactic Battleship with the 3570K mounted in the LGA1155 socket cruising overhead in the night sky. The other image of the Q77 chipset board shows off the amazing array of input/output headers, including SuperSpeed USB 3.0, high power USB, dual Intel Pro 1000 NICs, DVI-I plus DVI-D, eSATA, and even legacy support for IEEE1394 (firewire). The board is actually more of a mainstream business board with support for Intel vPro Technology. The i7 3770K is also supported on this board if you need HT for video editing. Sorry for geeking out but this is what goes through my mind when I’m shooting technology. – Henry Ngan
Product Photography by Craig Wagner!
We love testing out the latest gear releases, so when we had the chance to test out the Broncolor Scoro S power pack we decided we wanted to test it to the limit! What better way to see what it can do then to combine it with an afternoon of water splashes and fruit drops. Here are a few words from Craig Wagner who loves Product Photography!
My first intention was just to test out the pack. What I found is that the Broncolor Scoro S pack is extremely versatile with the ability to adjust flash duration, as well as the triggering delay. We setup a 33 gallon tank filled it with water powered up the Scoro S pack, attached two heads, one with a medium umbrella on the background and another with 7-inch silver reflector coming from just right of camera. Sometimes with the newer photo equipment you have to refer to the user manual in order to figure out all the little intricacies of the equipment. But the Scoro S is very user friendly with a fantastic display menu allowing the user to easily navigate and adjust to the desired settings. We played around a lot with the adjustable flash duration settings dialing it one way or the other depending on if we wanted a little motion drag or tack sharp precision in our image. For the first image I suspended the apple just below the water surface and used a stream of water to create the burst.
The second image was created by dropping the peppers into the tank of water. Using the studio’s infrared triggering device allowed us to consistently capture the peppers in the desired placement.
For this shoot I used the Canon 5d Mklll with the Canon 100mm lens. With the camera attached to the infrared trigger we were able to simultaneously remotely fire the camera when the infrared lazer stream was broken by the motion of the falling peppers. – Craig Wagner
