DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

We Built Our Own World: Wally Pfister and the Cinematography of Inception

by 3 Comments

In 2010, Christopher Nolan released a film he’d been working on for over half a decade, and the premise of it was something not too long ago thought un-filmable. Titled Inception, the story was held off as a complete secret, and when teaser trailers did release, nobody really understood what they just saw. Wally Pfister, the cinematographer behind the movie, arranged an immediate meeting with Chris after reading the script he was sent, to try and figure out “what the f*ck was going on.”

Wally Pfister has been a collaborator with Christopher Nolan for a long time now, working as a cinematographer for every film of his since 2000’s Memento. Both him and Chris share two significant things in common: their love for naturalism, and their love for shooting in film. And if there’s anyone keeping the medium of film alive in the digitally dominated industry of Hollywood today, it’s these two guys. Their last venture together with The Dark Knight Rises grossed over $1 Billion, and that was accomplished without the film ever being released in 3D; when I say they love naturalism, I mean they love naturalism.

By now, most of us are familiar with the film; it became one of the biggest original stories to top box offices worldwide within the past few years, and it was something new. And with how practical both Chris and Wally are with the way they want things shot, Inception was cinematography at its finest.

[Read More…]

Realism: The Role Photography Plays in CGI on the Big Screen

by 3 Comments

A reader brought up an interesting question last Saturday on my weekly cinematography post, this one over Eduardo Serra and his work in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; he asked how much credit a cinematographer can really claim for a shot done in CGI. Another reader answered him correctly in saying that the shots done in CGI are still directed in planning by the cinematographer himself. Basically, the work the animators do depends on the input of the director of photography.

That exchange made me want to write this post today; I’ve been obsessed with science-fiction and fantasy films since I was a kid, and CGI is something that’s impacted the films I grew up with as much as it has for many of us since twenty years ago. But there’s the films that do it well, and then there’s the films that we look back at and cringe in retrospect; remember those atrocious-looking monkeys in Jumanji?

So what sets apart the good CGI from the bad? How do they get it done right? If you’re going to make something look like it could have been right in front of the camera during filming, like it was real, then it would have to follow the same basic rules of photography that everything else in real life would. And what’s possibly the most important part of good photography in the first place? Good lighting.

[Read More…]

Restoring and Digitizing Old Photos Using a Smartphone

by 3 Comments

I was going through some old photos of my family overseas. My dad’s kept them in a hard brown briefcase since before I was born, and we decided to find a way for them to be able to be cherished more freely. I wanted to share a few tips I noted down along the way as I was restoring those photos. And you don’t need an elaborate setup. Grab your phones, guys.

[Read More…]

The Konstruktor DIY Camera Super Kit – A Review

by 3 Comments

I’ve written before about what shooting film means to me, and I almost always have a film camera in my bag alongside my digital arsenal. I find it relaxing. In many ways it becomes something of a ritual for me. Loading the film. Advancing the frames. Resetting the counter. Taking my time. Doing my best to make every frame count. Don’t even get me started on barricading myself in the darkroom for hours on end. I know that a lot of photographers talk about “making” photos rather than “taking” them, but nothing brings that sentiment home for me more than shooting film. Thankfully, there are legions of photographers out there who still enjoy shooting film– even if just occasionally– which means that there are still companies catering to our need for the film experience. One such company is Lomography, a website dedicated to cameras, films, lenses, and accessories. I recently had the chance to build and test their Konstruktor DIY Kit.

[Read More…]

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts