Last Friday morning I had the opportunity to visit Christopher Columbus Family Academy in New Haven, CT to photograph volunteers from Higher One, Inc. working with the students.  For those of you who do not know about Junior Achievement, here’s what they say about themselves:  ”Junior Achievement (JA) empowers young people to own their economic success. Our volunteer-delivered, K-12 programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire kids to dream big and reach their potential.”

Since Higher One is a financial services company, that mission fits well with Higher One’s mission as well.  Higher One had around 30 volunteers working with the students, in 16 classrooms, ranging from Kindergarten through 6th grade.  As much as the students enjoyed the program, I got the feeling that the employees did as well.  Not only did they get a break from their daily activity, but the chance to help young people learn valuable financial and work skills seems to be quite exciting, at least that’s how it appeared.

For my part, I wanted to do my best to stay under the radar, not be seen or heard, and generally let the students learn.  Fat chance!  In each room I entered, I was immediately noticed, talked about, questioned, and generally a disruption.  Anyone who isn’t a teacher probably doesn’t know this, but a class of 5 year olds is a tough crowd.  There’s no way I could work with those little darlings every day, but it was a nice break from the norm.

Also, a little disturbing, is that several of the students in the lower grades found out my name, and started calling me Mr. Pittman.  I can’t even say, “Call me Mike, my father is Mr. Pittman” because that’s not true.  In fact, I don’t know how far back up my family line you have to go to find “Mr. Pittman.”  Some of the middle-grade kids called me “the boy with a big camera.”  Not sure about “boy” but I’ll take that over Mr. Pittman.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOM13UyZ0A

I might as well admit it:  I loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I’m giddy with excitement over the upcoming The Hobbit movie.  I’m also in the process of learning video production techniques (although, let’s be honest, what Peter Jackson is doing with The Hobbit is, shall we say, a different game than I’m playing) and The Hobbit movie is pushing the boundaries of cinematography perhaps more than they have ever been pushed.

Since the 1920s, movies destined for the theater have been filmed largely at 24fps (frames per second) meaning your eye is presented with 24 images in one second to combine into a set of moving pictures.  Peter Jackson has chosen to film at 48fps, twice the frame rate we are used to.  There is a whole technical discussion on what this means, but the short end of the story is we’ll be seeing a movie that is more realistic than perhaps anything we’ve seen before on the silver screen.  Early reviews are that it’s discomforting, though Jackson says to wait and watch the whole movie before passing judgement.

Either way, I’ll be there to see the movie in it’s full 48fps glory showing off the countryside of New Zealand (uhm, I want to go to there) and munching popcorn.  Okay, probably no popcorn because that’s just too expensive.

In the meantime, if you’re like me, you’ll love watching some behind the scenes videos from The Hobbit production.

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After seeing some of these images on my personal business cards, a client asked why these images aren’t included on PittmanPhoto.com.  PittmanPhoto.com is reserved for my professional work — Weddings and Portraits — but I of course photograph lots of things that aren’t weddings and portraits.

In an effort to get those images out into the world, and available for purchase by people who aren’t friends or family — which, aside from the occasional gallery showing has been the only way to know what photos I have that you can buy — I’ve opened an etsy.com storefront.  As of now, there is but one lonely image for viewing, but that will change soon.  You will be able to order the prints or products for sale, or request a custom product if you so desire.

Please share this with your friends and family, especially anyone who could use a little photographic art in their lives.  :)

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(Philip Bloom’s Prague was my inspiration to look into HDSLR video)

Many months ago, I posted on my Facebook page that I was going to enter the realm of video. Years ago, I tried adding video to my wedding photography offering.  I purchased an HD camera, wireless mic, cables galore, and had a very simple goal: shoot the ceremony from the back of the church, with sound, to share with the bride & groom as part of their wedding package. I learned the camera and equipment, the techniques necessary, and did this for one wedding. Two weeks later, I sold everything and got out of the “video business.” Simply put, I wasn’t ready for the technology any more than the technology was ready for me. My camera recorded to DV tape, which then had to be played back and saved to my Mac, imported into FinalCut Pro, sync’d with the sound I recorded from the groom, edited for color, exported, and burned to a DVD.

Fast forward to mid-2011 when I told friends I was delve into video again, and it’s no wonder the reaction was unanimous “Didn’t you try that once already, and give up?” Yes… yes I did. However, like most things in technology, the landscape has changed… considerably.

Nikon and Canon, the two market leaders in DSLRs now have HD video in several camera models. This brings video to a stills camera that gains all the features of the lenses available, and in a format that a still photographer is used to. Light, ISO, aperture, white balance, etc. all work the same. It’s an exciting proposition to be able to record vide with the same camera, and many of the same skills, you use to capture stills.

As much effort as the camera manufacturers have put into making video available in these cameras, they still have one very minor (j/k… major) limitation: they are, at heart, a stills camera. An SLR is (relatively) small, designed to be hand-held, light weight, and easily maneuverable. While this seems great, using an SLR for video takes considerably more effort than just picking up a camera, hoisting it over your shoulder, and shooting.

There is now a market entirely devoted to producing products to make HDSLR video more like shooting with a “real” video camera. Devices to help with focus, camera stabilizers, small camera dollys, large camera dollys, tripods, sliders, LCD screen viewers, external LCD screens, microphones, audio recorders… the list goes on. Like most things in tech, the prices vary. Take for example a an LCD screen viewer — a loupe that blocks light from the LCD to make viewing easier, some of which offer magnification as well. I can (and did) get on eBay and buy a loupe for $35 that has 3x magnification, diopter adjustment, and a metal frame to mount to a camera. Or, buy a Zacuto Z-Finder that comes with a mounting plate, 3x or 2.5x magnification, diopter adjustment, and anti-fog lens inserts for $375. I’ve had both, and now have neither. The $35 eBay option was crap (duh), and I couldn’t justify the $375 Zacuto (as awesome as it is!) since I’m making bubkis while I learn this process.

Over the next while, I plan to slowly build up my video equipment, shooting and editing skills, and if everything aligns, put some video together. Hopefully along the way, I’ll blog about it, show you guys what I’m up to, and maybe… just maybe… find something fun and exciting to add to my repetoire.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYW49bsiP4k

A great video from Kodak published in 2006.  Too bad that 6 years later, Kodak filed for bankruptcy.  I learned on film, shooting Kodak (for flesh tones) and Fuji (for the reds & greens) and am sad to see Kodak fading into the distance.  I guess American car companies are too big to fail, but the company that America entrusted her memories to was not.Kodak “Winds of Change” Corporate Video

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Back in November, I posted a quick preview of Keith & Jason’s wedding. Well, I’ve finally finished their full edits and now have a wedding slideshow to share. Even though I said it back in November, I’ll say it again: Keith & Jason’s wedding was one of the most touching and moving I’ve shot to this point. It was easy to see that everyone who attended the wedding truly cares for them, and that shines through so clearly to me in the photos.

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Joe McNally, one of those photographers who at once inspires me, and makes me want to give up, posted a great blog post today simply titled “Gifts.”  Toward the end, he links to a great short film from RC Concepcion about the power of photography in his life titled “Proof.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVR3dGK1MwE

This is a great video, a bit touching, and so very accurate.  RC is also one of those photographers who inspires — and drives to depression — as evidenced by this fantastic photo of his daughter on Santa’s lap.

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For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a fantastic Christmas with friends and family this year.  I had the privilege of joining my “extended family,” and we all had a blast!  They have a tradition which I totally embrace and am going to do all I can to ensure it’s started in my family.  Each Christmas morning, the family bakes a loaf of monkey bread to get through the gift-exchange extravaganza.  After that, when they’re all tuckered out from the craziness, it’s time to go out for some Chinese food!   What better way to spend Christmas than with your family, not worried about cooking and cleaning, but instead celebrating and enjoying your time together.  This year, as an added benefit, we were joined at Grand Sichuan in Chelsea by Jesse Eisenberg (of “Zombie Land” and “The Social Network” fame).

With that out of the way…  the photo above just spoke to me.  I love the lines in the snow, the shadows… well, just the photo!  I hope you do too.

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I’ll keep today’s post short & sweet.  Central Park and Rockefeller Center, when decorated, are the epitome of a New York Christmas.  To you and yours, I wish a great Christmas, and for those of you who do not celebrate, I wish a great holiday season.

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The Holiday Season in New York City is simply magical, and nearly impossible to explain until you’ve experienced it personally.  I’ve lived in the South (North Carolina), the Pacific Northwest (Washington State), and now the Northeast (New York City) and there really is something abou the city.  One thing that amazes me is the difference in decoration timelines, and it must be a northern thing.  In NC, we started decorating on Thanksgiving Day, and left decorations up until the new year.  In Washington and New York, trees and decorations go up about 2 weeks before Christmas, but you still see people rocking their decorations and lights until early February!

Living in New York City is quite different than living in either North Carolina or Washington State.  I had a whole yard to play with in both places, not to mention a living room that was big enough to add a tree without removing furniture!  In New York City, space is a commodity, and those of us who live here so we can live in the greatest city on earth make do with the small space in exchange for location.  During the holidays, though, you’d never know it.  Fences become decorations, fire escapes glow with lights, windows have wreaths in them, many of the cab drivers even take the time to decorate their cars in the spirit.

This photo epitomizes everything that is New York City at this time of  year.  Lights in unexpected places, a light snow falling, a dusting of snow to cover the ground, and that crisp bite in the air that rejuvenates you after a long day.

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