I’ve been doing stills for the past week for a movie being filmed in my location. Firstly, a great experience working with a very professional team. You might say we were hampered by the weather - rainy conditions and such however the scenes called for exactly that kind of weather, producing atmospheric conditions. I used predominantly 16x9 and xPan format making it easy to include extra elements in the scene. The Fuji GF 32-64mm was the only lens used and did a great job. The feet did any extra work.
Kangaroo mob
Kangaroos abound in the countryside in Australia. We have them on our property as well, usually keeping their distance. They can be seen in groups of twenty, thirty, even in their hundreds in some areas.
Filming stills
Some XPan shots from a film shooting yesterday. Really enjoyed working with this crew. XPan works well with the cinematic processes since it’s mostly spread around for the behind the scenes shots.
unscripted
I do like a good random shot. This wasn’t setup to be like this. He reached down to feel the water temperature then walked off. I did a number of shots with him - a natural model, unfussy and easy to shoot.The colours and tones of the day added something to the feeling. This was in the early days of the GFX 100S.
surfers and random wave
A quiet day with just a little drizzle and the occasional feisty shorebreak.
The Wall, North Cronulla
I couldn't pass this one up...
This piece of wreckage caught my eye. As well as taking alternative routes on long drives I make a point of doing a quick tour of country towns if time permits. This was in one of the back streets of Chiltern, Victoria.
farm shed and paddock
boulders and trees
An old bull trick
As I approached this young bull he started to show a bit of attitude and looked like he meant business. So I thought I’d try an old bull trick… I started to drag the dirt under my feet as a kind of a challenge, the way bulls do before they charge. It seemed to freak him out a little even though I only have two legs. He trotted off unwilling to take up the challenge. Of course I did all this from the safety of a fence. ; )
Old blue house
I decided to keep the original format of 8 x 10 for the colour version as a comparison.
Old 'Blue' House
I’ll walkthrough the processing of this image. I do like the colour version but the b&w is also worth the effort. I have posted the original which I took from my car window as traffic and position of the house on a road bend didn’t give me time to get out and do a walkaround. In any case I’m pretty happy with the angle. 1/55sec f11. ISO 320. Focal length 57.5 are the technical details of this shot.
Attached here is the orginal colour file. I will post the processed colour image separately. Firstly I modified the Adobe Colour image with a profile that looks less like a digital camera image. It’s mainly evident in the greens. I also reduced the blue colur of the house which people sometimes like to emphasise by increasing the saturation. Had I taken this outside the vehicle I might have adjusted the perspective and kept the original 10 x 8 format. This has been cropped to around 4 x 3 .
The ‘more silver’ option in NIK Silver Efex together with the yellow filter gave me the separation I wanted in the grass. I removed a power line and a tall stalk that was pretty distracting in front. The peeling paint job made it a prime candidate for b&w conversion.
one tree hill
Chiltern art studio
woolshed, tasmania
Old country shack, Victoria
tree in river
This is an alternate version of the XPan image previously posted. I often leave a few weeks before going back and assessing an image, particularly if they have been shot in in other formats. This is a morning shot taken in muted light. The sky although a little darker doesn’t compete with the trees and the river in the same way as a bright sunny sky would. This is somewhat more painterly.