There are some pretty amazing photographs of the Olympic games coming out of Vancouver these days. If you’re wondering what photographers are shooting with, Pocket-lint has the lowdown on what Getty provides its photographers:

As for the kind of kit you’ll need for the job, well typically, Getty Images supplies its men with 2 x Nikon D3s DSLRs, a 24-70mm lens, a 400mm lens, a 500/600mm lens, a 1.4x teleconverter just to make sure, a tonne of spare batteries and a deck full of memory cards. The photographer would also be wise to add thermal underwear and boots, an extra set of clothes to put on when in position as well as lots and lots of chocolate. The aim of the game is to have everything you could possibly need and generally at least two of them. It’s a long way back down the mountain.

Sounds like it’s not just the athletes who need physical training for the Olympic games.

(via Gizmodo)

Even if you haven’t heard of Roger Hagadone, chances are you’ve seen his work before.

Hagadone is a talented commercial photographer whose impressive portfolio includes advertisements for the Blue Man Group and the cover of the popular young adult novel series, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

PetaPixel: Can you tell us a little about your background, what you do, and where you’re based?

Roger Hagadone: I’m an advertising photographer, and I shoot editorial book covers and dabble in fine art. I’m based in New York City. I live here and have an office in LA where I work quite a bit as well. I moved to the City after college, and met several top photographers here, one including Annie Leibovitz, who became a big influence on how I shoot people.

PP: Where did you go to college at?

RH: Purchase college, just outside of New York City.

PP: When did you get started with photography?

RH: Professional commercial photography — probably 10 years ago now. I started with magazine editorial and eventually that turned into advertising.

PP: We notice from your portfolio that you’ve worked with a number of really interesting subjects. Do you have one particular portrait shoot that you find especially memorable?

RH: That would definitely have to be the shoot with Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. It was a lot of fun to work with Mike. He’s a really awesome guy. For that shoot especially, he was really a trooper. It was about eight hours of photography.

We covered him with special ‘dirty’ effects. We layered the dirt, starting out very light and added more as the day went on. At the end, he was completely covered.  A lot of people would be very cranky after that, but he was cool. He was having a laugh.

PP: How many people worked at the shoot?

RH: Around a dozen people including crew and client. There were three people just covering him with these different substances but in the end most of the crew pitched in. We covered him with grease and eggs, bubble gum, feathers, and all kinds of stuff.

PP: That alone sounds like a pretty dirty job.

RH: Yeah, actually he said that this may have been his dirtiest job ever. His only regret was that he didn’t have his crew there to film it.

PP: How would you describe your photography and style to someone who has never seen it?

RH: I would say it’s cheerful and sometimes surprising. Never boring — that’s the main thing, I can’t stand boring photography. I like to keep it positive and fun. There’s usually a narrative to the images, something of a story, or maybe a comment or a joke.

PP: Is there an example of an image that represents the general body of your work?

RH: That’s tough. One image that I like that comes to mind is the time bomb image. There’s a bomb squad guy defusing the bomb, and there’s his pal behind him, about to pop a bag to scare him. I just like that anticipation of the joke.

The visual effect in my images, the retouching and the lighting, are kind of two halves of the images that are both equally important to me. It’s not just the photograph and the concept, but it’s also the retouching aspect of it as well.

PP: What’s the single item in your metaphorical camera bag, aside from your actual camera, that you can’t go without?

RH: It’s Photoshop, well Photoshop and a dozen strobes! I prefer to get as close to the final image in-camera as possible but it’s in post processing where my images come alive. I have several techniques that I use and they are constantly evolving.

PP: What do you shoot with, currently?

RH: I have different cameras. I shoot with a Hasselblad with a Phase One back, mostly for advertising shoots. Other than that, I use a 1Ds Mark III.

PP: What was your first camera that you ever got?

RH: I think that I was seven (years old) and I had a Kodak 35mm camera, which I still have.

PP: Is that when you started getting in photography?

RH: Yeah, I still have images from that, too.

The actual camera is in one of my photographs in my Bigfoot story. In one of the images, Bigfoot has a camera, and he’s taking a picture from behind bushes. That’s my first camera.

PP: So we discovered your work because you did the covers for Twilight, and that imagery is evoked in a lot of fashion, a lot of types of advertising nowadays, that uses a very similar color scheme: black, white, red. How did you conceptualize and visualize this?

RH: It’s really a collaborative process. It begins with the publisher and they have some concepts in mind. And then I interpret these concepts into photographs. Sometimes, they have a pretty good idea of what they’d like to see in the image. It could be a background, an object, and then it’s just the interpretation of that into a final image. When I shoot a cover for a book, I usually take the basic idea and shoot several different variations of that one concept.

Things change very quickly in the publishing world. Once I receive the assignment to photograph a cover, by the time it’s complete, things may have changed, and the images that I shot might end up on the cutting floor.

Or, I may be asked to re-shoot it with a slightly different idea. It’s a collaboration, and it’s important to be flexible.

When it came to the Twilight series, the first image of Twilight, the hand with the apple, set the tone for the rest of the images in the series: simple graphic composition. The use of red, white, and a warm black background. That pretty much set everything else.

PP: When you see this style used in other images, it’s as if it’s become a part of cultural memory and become almost iconic. How do you feel about that?

RH: It’s kind of huge that it’s crossed over into what I guess you would call pop-culture.

The first time I saw an advertisement similar to the look, I was taken back, but I wasn’t really sure if I was seeing it correctly, if they were really using inspiration from the cover in their advertisement.

But now, as you say it, I do see it quite often and it’s fun to see. Artists borrow from each other all the time, and I’ve been on both sides.

Other images that I’ve shot I’ve seen similar advertisements pop up six months later, but it’s give and take.

PP: Do you enjoy the attention you’ve received from your work on Twilight, or would you rather be known for your other work?

RH: I get a lot of inquiries about Twilight.

I don’t mind it at all, really. It’s kind of nice. The Twilight fans are really great. I get a lot of emails from them.

The weirdest thing that I’ve seen is the original Twilight cover — the hands and the apple — I saw someone with a tattoo of it. That was really bizarre, to see the photograph I shot tattooed on somebody’s arm.

That was shocking. It’s too bad I didn’t get a picture of that.

PP: Let’s go back to you. What advice would you shoot to fellow photographers about interacting with their portrait subjects. From what your portfolio looks like, it seems like you’ve got a really good relationship with the people you shoot, or at least you know how to bring out their personality and emotion.

RH: The main thing is trust. They have to trust you. What I usually do is talk to the model before the shoot, before we start shooting to get that rapport going.

During the shoot, I keep it fun and fast-paced. Things are always moving, and I give them a lot of direction, so the model never gets bored or too distracted.

Also, I’m pretty silly when I photograph, so I think that element of fun brings out what I’d like. I also ask that from my crew, just to keep a really fun atmosphere.

PP: How long does it take you on average to do a photo shoot, for instance, the Bigfoot project?

RH: That one I shot in two days, and did all the post work within three days. So probably about a full week. They’re all different, though, depending on what’s involved.

A book cover may take one day to shoot and depending on retouching, it could take several days to finish up with revisions.

PP: And it gets bounced back and forth from you to the publishers too, right?

RH: Exactly. Like with the Twilight image, we got to the point where it was pretty much finished. And then there was a comment that the apple needed to be a little larger. So it was back to the drawing board, and we had tweak the apple just slightly.

PP: How did you think of these image concepts for a lot of your personal work?

RH: Well, I’m an avid note taker. I just take tons and tons of notes.

The cliché is the pad by the bed, but I use an iPhone by the bed.

I use essentially a digital notebook and I just write all of my ideas in there. Sometimes it’s a full, complete idea that’s ready to go and I can shoot it; sometimes it’s just a little piece.

I’ll add little things to that piece later, but as soon as it’s ripe I can shoot it.

Our jaws dropped when we came across Matthew Albanese’s work. He uses everyday materials to create astonishingly detailed small-scale miniatures of stunning landscapes, and then photographs them using forced perspective techniques.

Here’s his statement and a taste of his work:

My work involves the construction of small-scale meticulously detailed models using various materials and objects to create emotive landscapes. Every aspect from the construction to the lighting of the final model is painstakingly pre-planned using methods which force the viewers perspective when photographed from a specific angle. Using a mixture of photographic techniques such as scale, depth of field, white balance and lighting I am able to drastically alter the appearance of my materials.

Tornado made of steel wool, cotton, ground parsley and moss

Paprika Mars. Made out of 12 pounds paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder and charcoal

Volcano, “Breaking Point”, made out of tile grout, cotton, phosphorous ink. This model volcano was illuminated from within by 6-60 watt light bulbs.

Aurora Borealis. This one was made by photographing a beam of colored light against a black curtain to achieve the edge effect. The trees were composited from life ( so far the only real life element in any of these images) The stars are simply strobe light through holes in cork board.

Fields, After the Storm. This model is simply made out of faux fur(fields), cotton (clouds) and sifted tile grout(mountains). The perspective is forced as in all of my images, and the lighting effect was created by simply shifting the white balance.

To see more of Matthew’s work, you can visit his website.

Award-winning portrait and landscape photographer Nadav Kander recently launched a new YouTube channel that you might want to check out if like viewing high quality work and listening to the thought process behind the photographs. The above video features Kander discussing his project, Yangtze, The Long River. The channel only has two videos so far, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

NadavKanderTube’s Channel (via The F STOP)

Spanish photographer José Luis Rodriguez recently received the prestigious winning title as the Veolia Environment Wildlife photographer of the year, along with £10,000 (about $20,000 $16,000) in prize money for his image, Storybook Wolf.  The photograph depicts a rare, Iberian wolf hopping a fence to enter a corral where the photographer had placed meat to attract the animal.

However, rival photographers along with a wolf expert allege that the shot was set up, suggesting that the wolf would not naturally jump over the fence, but would be more likely to squeeze through the openings.  Additionally, they allege that Rodriguez may have used a captive, tame wolf from a zoological park near Madrid, and trained the animal to hop the fence until he got the shot.

The contest prohibits use of a captive animal unless specified in the description, and the judges noted they would give preference to photos of natural wild animals.

The description that ran with photographer Rodriguez’s image explain the painstaking efforts he made to get the shot, baiting the wolf with meat, camping out and anticipating its entry into the corral.

Now, the photographer not only has prize money and the winning title at stake, but now his reputation as a photographer is on the line as judges decide the image authenticity during the next few weeks. However, the Guardian quotes contest judge Rosamund Kidman Cox, who said,

But until one bit of evidence can be verified I don’t think it’s possible to accuse the photographer of cheating. [...] It’s not 100%.

(via The Guardian)

Ben Cooper is a freelance photographer who works with the NASA imaging team. In addition to having his work published by NASA, he has been featured by publications such as Yahoo! News, Time magazine online, and the New York Times online. You can visit his website here.

PetaPixel: Can you tell me a little about yourself, your background, and what you do?

Ben Cooper: Well, I’m from NYC and have been taking pictures since I was a kid. My taught dad me, he was a photographer. I started getting interested in the space program and following shuttle and rocket missions sometime around 1998 and decided I had to go see one in person. So naturally, combining photography and space became my thing and I haven’t looked back. Finally, after three tries, saw my first shuttle launch in 2001 and then decided to attend school in Florida at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University studying engineering. Since August 2003 I have shot almost every launch out of Florida, and soon enough began garnering interest from some media organizations.
 
I love shooting what I do also because there is only one shot at it, no do overs with launches and other one-time space events that we have. A lot of pre-planning has to go into it, as opposed to less often spur of the moment type captures though we certainly have them.

Shooting launches in particular requires skill – and access, as media or otherwise – that not everyone can attain, and the main different is how you shoot launches up close when no one is allowed closer than several miles from the shuttle or rocket that’s launching. You have to keep in mind we are talking about sticks of dynamite as tall as 15-20 story buildings packing a tremendous amount of power, sound and heat with them when they lift off. So, we set up cameras 12-24 hours beforehand at the launch pads and leave them there, protected from weather and, hopefully, from the launch. And while you’re setting up you deal with alligators, snakes, spiders and swampland. Not to mention the mosquitoes.

Although we cannot get too close on the space shuttle, we can on rockets and I’ve lost a couple of lenses getting shots that are seemingly “right under” the rocket.

The remote cameras I use are mostly sound activated, though not everyone uses that method but it is the most common. They are homemade, not something you can buy in the store. Some are active all the time waiting, while others are on timers so they come on and listen at specific times around the launch window. Occasionally I may use a timer instead of a sound device, if there is a shot worth capturing where sound cannot come soon enough.

As people we get to watch from wherever the press site is or, sometimes, a public site further away depending on what shot we want.

PP: How did you get a job as a NASA photographer?

BC: Soon after graduating in 2008, even though my major was engineering, I really wanted to do something that at least combined photography, and with a lot of experience already shooting for media and myself (especially the remote cameras) I was hired to help shoot with the NASA imaging team.

PP: What was your first camera?

BC: A plastic Olympus point and shoot; I still have it but it’s at my family’s house so I don’t remember the model!

PP: What equipment do you use now?

BC: Today I have a couple of Nikon D200s personally, as well as sharing a few Canon digitals with friends of mine (we share equipment a lot and help each other out). I’ve gotten to use a wide range of cameras in both Nikon and Canon, anywhere from Nikon D70 (my first digital) and Canon 10D up to D3x.

PP: Do you use your own gear or NASA’s when shooting launches?

BC: On the job I use NASA’s gear, but shooting for myself or media outlets I use my own. I have used anything from Canon 10D and Nikon D70s, to Kodak Pros, to Nikon D3Xs.

PP: How close do you actually get to the launch site?

BC: For launch itself, you the person are several miles away at the closest (for the space shuttle, three miles is the closest anyone gets and this is limited to press, employees and VIPs. For the public, it’s 6.5 miles). Setting up cameras at the pad, the “remotes”, for the shuttle it’s about 1500 feet closest; and for unmanned rockets we can place them as close as say 100 feet away, much more in the danger zone.

PP: What’s the process of photographing for NASA like?

BC: All I do is take the raw images and hand them to the photo editors, whether for public display after a launch or event, or for documentation records on other things. I don’t think they do much post processing for public images at least because I never see corrections made. Which is probably a good thing to an extent. No, I don’t do anything from home.

PP: Do you travel to different launch sites, or do you mainly photograph at the site closest to you?

BC: The United States has two main launch sites, Cape Canaveral, FL and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Obviously, the shuttle is here in Florida, as are the majority of US launches (Cape Canaveral and Baikonur in Russia are the big, busiest ones).

I have not gotten to Vandenberg yet, however I did have the opportunity of shooting the launch of a smaller rocket out of Walops Island, Virginia, on the Delmarva Peninsula. They decided to revive this NASA facility as a small-rocket launch site in 2006 after a 21 year absence. I shot the first one they had in 2006, and there have been two more since.

PP: What advice do you have for someone who dreams of doing what you do?

BC: Start off by trying to see a launch! There are only six shuttle launches left as of now and an uncertain future in manned spaceflight until a decision is made later this year. Advice for coming to see one.

Garnering some experience shooting launches or aerospace events, say airshows and such, would probably be a plus. It’s hard to anyone to get close enough to shoot things other than launches, though.

PP: What are some mistakes you see photographers commonly making?

BC: Assuming what they are going to get and what it’s going to look like. Until you see one for the first time, you might not have an idea of what you are about to shoot. And with no second chance on any particular launch (or if you aren’t coming back) could lead to a disappointment. With astrophotography, except in cases where it’s a one-time event, you can always try again because objects stay where they are and you can practice. With a launch I would advise doing a little research or asking around to make sure you get the shot right. I did that my first time ten years ago, and still do it today sometimes despite all I know and can teach. The learning never stops.

Most common mistake, though? Not enjoying the launch. “Watch with your eyes and not in the viewfinder” is my usual advice to people who email for information. I do that myself any chance I get.

PP: Who are some of your favorite photographers?

BC: Boy I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that too much. I might have to think about it.

PP: Who is one person you would choose to be interviewed by PetaPixel?

BC: That’s a tough one, especially in another field.

I have a friend who I have known a while who has also focused on a specific photo type and become quite good, and that’s shooting trains.

I have other friends who do what I do who I have learned from over the years, and we exchange ideas regularly. Bill Hartenstein is one; James Brown is another.

PP: Anything else you’d like to say to PetaPixel readers?

BC: I try to encourage everyone to come see a launch, especially the space shuttle, before it’s too late. Everyone should see one once and soon it will be too late. It’s an experience you’ll never forget, especially at night. And I’m happy to help with any advice people may seek!

Adam Taylor is a commercial photographer based in Sydney, Australia. His clients include Coca-Cola, Olympus, Rogaine, and Canon. Visit his website here.

PetaPixel: Could you tell me a little about yourself and what you do?

Adam Taylor: My name is Adam Robert Taylor. I am a photographer. I work mostly here in Australia and increasingly throughout other parts of the world.

PP: How did you get started in photography?

AT: My dad was into it. I remember being 5 or 6 and discovering his collection of kodachrome slides from all his travels before he met my mum, and also some beautiful stuff from when they first met and the beach parties they used to have with all their friends. I was super fascinated with the feel and colour of those images. I remember having slide nights with our family and friends and the atmosphere within the darkened room , the images projected onto the wall and all that gorgeous colour massive on our lounge-room wall, and everyone just looked so young and attractive! It was totally intoxicating!

So that was the early seed being planted or blueprinted into my imagination and it just grew from that. Setting up my own darkroom under our house in the cellar. Digital hadn’t arrived just yet so I was processing and printing all my own black & white film.

I remember having a really interesting art teacher in high school, she was into photography and we had another darkroom there that we could use during art lessons. All this gave me a wonderful base to start from with photography. I developed a real passion with photography and a way of interpreting my world. Also I was incredibly shy as a teenager and it was a great way to be a little isolated and outside of things with a camera and a darkroom. I used to photograph my family, friends and girlfriends. The whole feel of being the “director” when you’re doing a portrait session was just awesome.

When I was about 20 I went for this job as a photojournalist and I had no experience at all in journalism but the editor really liked my photos, so I got the job and was thrown in the deep end and really learned a lot. I had to work quickly with the capturing of images and juggling the interview side of things as well. I became quite social, the shy teenager had disappeared . I did that for a while then decided it wasn’t really my thing and then went onto a wonderful art school in Sydney “National Art School” for 4 years and majored in photography – this was very liberating and such a discovery. I finished Art school and went over to London and assisted advertising and fashion guys for a couple of years, I traveled and explored some incredible cultures and peoples with my camera during that time. My first jobs as a freelance photographer were doing portraits and fashion stories for surf and music magazines.

PP: What was your first camera?

AT: A Canon F1 – which was stolen from our car! Then I saved up and got a Hasselblad.

PP: What gear do you use now?

AT: I like to shoot with the Canon 1Ds Mark 3 – or the Hasselblad with a phase, leaf or imacon back – I don’t really mind through – whatever is available.

Mostly broncolor lighting – but profoto is good too.

PP: How do you go about taking a portrait? Can you tell us about your process?

AT: I do my homework and have a few cards up my sleeve for the day of the portrait. By “homework” I mean having worked out a creative angle for the shoot. Also if the person is well known, I do research on the Internet. This is always helpful. I see how that person has been photographed before, this helps me find my own path for the portrait. I do all the work beforehand in my head. I pre-visualize the image that I am aiming for and I also have backup image(s) that I’m thinking about as well.

My approach is to find the “humanness” to break down the barriers and the power. I go a lot on my intuition and gut feeling with people. Sometimes you have to ease your way into the portrait slowly, other times “wow” you can get the portrait in the first few frames.
I was a boy scout when I was about 11, and the scout’s motto’s was: “be prepared” !

PP: What advice do you have regarding photographing strangers? How do you go about doing this?

AT: Strangers, people in the street, someone you walk up to and say, “excuse me, can I take your photograph”. This is always so challenging and the fear of rejection is ever prevalent. I find that you really have to be totally 100% committed for approaching people like this. People can sense when you are honestly enthusiastic, excited and buzzing about them and will feed into that vibe and 95% of the time you will get a positive response.

Otherwise it’s a reportage approach and the trick is to capture your subject totally unaware — a moment of grace. This is very difficult with the large bulky 35mm SLRs. I find it works better with the smaller more discrete cameras.

PP: Is there anything you wish you had known before becoming a professional photographer?

AT: Not really – what I’ve learned is that there is no set path to becoming a professional photographer.

PP: What is the most challenging aspect of what you do?

I’m continually challenged – that’s what I love about it.

PP: Can you tell us a little about how the advertising photography business works?

AT: I will try my best to talk about this – but it’s such a large subject we could talk all day on just this subject !

I think the first thing is to have a really strong folio of your work. Once you have a great portfolio its time to get around and see as many art buyers and creatives as you can.

Its difficult, I started out in editorial – doing work for magazines before I moved over into advertising. I am pretty lucky now because people come to me for my unique style. I usually get to approach the project like I’d do if I did it on my own.

The creatives send over a layout, we talk about it, I try to understand and get my head around what they are trying to accomplish. Once you get an advertising job its up to the photographer to work out how you are going to achieve the results and put together
estimates and sometimes a treatment for the campaign. I work with my producer on the nuts and bolts of the shoot and I take control of the creative direction of the shoot.

I spend quite a lot of time researching and envisioning how I want the campaign to look. Usually you are bidding against other photographers at this stage until you win the job. Then its time to move ahead on the job. I always spend weeks of time and effort planning for the shoot. Double-checking everything to the nth degree so that I’m satisfied everything will go smoothly on the day of the shoot. Fine tuning the creative, location scouting, castings, pre-production meetings with the art director, copyrighter and the client. Then the shoot day(s). Usually a lot of people are involved – producer, talent, crew, agency people, clients, stylists, hair & makeup. Then into postproduction and working with my retouchers and the creative team for the final outcome of the image(s). Mostly my projects are quite involved and can take anything from a week to a few months. It’s a collaboration of a whole bunch of people – a team effort.

PP: Why did you choose to do advertising photography rather than other types of photography?

AT: I do like the collaboration of working with talented people on exciting concepts and ideas. I get to travel and make great pictures. I love it.

I get to do personal work too. At the moment I’m looking for a gallery to exhibit some of my personal work next year and publish my first photo book.

PP: Would you recommend a beginning photographer start out in film or digital? Why?

AT: That is a good question! I learned so much by starting out in film. You become more thoughtful and more considered when you are using film.

Digital gives the more instantaneous results that can be reviewed and applied. It’s so easy now to go out and buy a relatively cheap digital camera and just start shooting. Digital is great, you can craft and finesse angles and lighting a lot quicker than with film. A lot of the photographers that I really admire have started out in film and have that filmic sensibility and thoughtful composition to their work, even when they have gone on to shoot in digital.

But in saying all this – the most important thing is the strength of your vision, what you have to say and your passion for making images. This will shine through no matter the medium – digital or film.

PP: Are there any specific things you’ve learned along the way that caused big improvements in the quality of your work?

AT: Always try new things and take risks. Show your work to as many people as you can and seek out those people who you trust to give you honest constructive criticism on your work.

Surround yourself with good people, mentors and friends.

Don’t be in it for the money. Do it because you enjoy it. The money will come.

PP: If you weren’t a photographer, what do you think you might be doing?

AT: A painter or a sculptor.

PP: How many hours a week do you work?

AT: It’s a way of life, so I’m always working. I love it.

PP: Can you tell us a little about the Canon 1Ds Mark 3?

AT: Excellent camera. It works great for me for a lot of my work. Lots of great features – I like the zoom and toggle control for reviewing images on the back screen, also the focusing points to choose from are very helpful. Works wonderfully with all the canon lenses.

On the downside it is quite heavy and it’s taken them too long to finally get it all good for working tethered to the computer with the capture one software.

PP: Who are some photographers you’re a fan of?

AT: Henri Cartier Bresson, Irving Penn, and Larry Sultan.

PP: Who is one person you would choose to be interviewed by PetaPixel?

AT: Larry Sultan.