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The Artist nerd & the Machine
June 16, 2026
The Crow’s Way Of Photography – Learning To See
Smartphones vs. Photographic Cameras
In recent years, smartphones have had a significant impact and advancement in terms of image quality and photographic capabilities, which has revolutionized the photography industry, as more and more people use their mobile devices to capture moments and share them on social media. However, Nikon, Canon, Sony, and other manufacturers continue to invest in cutting-edge camera technology, with high-resolution sensors, multiple lenses, image stabilization, and improvements in image processing. In light of this, the question is… are smartphones going to replace cameras? – Of course, observing here that both are used to take photos. Let’s analyze the current differences: Today,
Read moreBeeswax Lavender Oil Print Finishing
I’ve been playing with some different print finishing techniques, intending to meet necessary print protection requirements while avoiding the use of heavy cover glass and those annoying reflections its use introduces. Beeswax Lavender Oil seems to be the best among them. Most coatings I’ve found don’t work. Obnoxious, sticky, some introduce more glare, all obstructing the original image in some way and degrading it. Or, as with using Museum Glass, extremely expensive and quite heavy. But Museum Glass does get the job done reasonably well. I researched preserving cotton since the papers I print on are made from 100%
Read moreSony FE Planar T 50mm f/1.4 ZA
OK, you probably know I don’t like ultra-long lens names. I don’t like lenses that are expensive (who does?). So when you throw out a 50mm lens with a long name, like the Sony FE Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZA, and price it at $1,500 I’m a bit predisposed not to like it. Seriously, that’s a lot of money for a 50mm f/1.4 lens. Let’s take a quick price comparison of some common 50mm lenses. Show 102550100 entries Search: Zeiss Otus 55m f/1.4 $3,990 Sony FE Planar f/1.4 $1,500 Canon L 50mm f/1.2 $1,350 Sigma 50mm Art f/1.4 $950 Sony Sonnar 55mm f/1.8
Read moreCredential Me DNCC
Yep, I’m cutting my Summer Vacation from writing here short and covering the Democratic Convention if the DNCC will kindly provide me with Press Credentials to access the inner sanctum sanatoriums. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and hey, if you know anybody now would be a great time to give them a call on my behalf!…
Read moreThe Making of: Three Days In August
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually shoot a feature length motion picture using only a Sony mirrorless body? Wonder no more, The movie is called Three Days In August! This first feature film shot exclusively in 4K on a Sony Alpha mirrorless camera premiered on the big screen April 19th, 2016 at the Dallas International Film Festival. Sony Artisan Jeff Berlin was one of the Producers and camera operators who made Three Days In August. So when my friends Paul Gero and Marc Weisberg, both also Sony Artisans, invited me along at Cinegear Expo to hear Jeff Berlin and
Read moreANATOMY OF AN INDIE: We Have A Trailer!
The story progresses forward! I’ll let you enjoy our first release of the Married Young trailer, and talk more about it in my next post. Any questions, please ask them in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.
Read moreANATOMY OF AN INDIE: The Language of Lenses
Every lens has a personality and a usage. Certain lenses are good for close-ups, certain lenses are dynamic for emotional moments and certain lenses work for action. I have even had an Executive Producer who encouraged me to use the “funny” lenses – in his world, anything that was a short/wide lens was built for comedy, which of course, I think is absurd to me. Consequently, when going into a movie production, we come equipped with as many lenses as possible. But what they don’t teach you in film school is that while every lens has a personality, the combination
Read moreANATOMY OF AN INDIE – Suspension of Disbelief
At the core of Western Narrative Filmmaking is an unspoken contract that filmmakers make with the audience. It is called “A Willing Suspension of Disbelief.” What that means, is that I, as a filmmaker, am going to do everything possible to make the image look natural. I will do everything possible to create and further the illusion that what we are seeing is real. The audiences’ part of the contract is to believe. They are willing participants in the ruse. We all know that this isn’t reality. We know that James Bond is a character and that romance doesn’t really
Read moreWPPI 2016: The Overview
Once again, the first hints of Spring in the air, the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International show, WPPI 2016, beckons me to Las Vegas. This conference is one of my annual favorites. I love the focus on up close and personal education, the intimate setting of the MGM Grand Ballroom & Conference Center, and having a place that lets me meet old friends to discuss gear in a less stressful environment than at CES or NAB. Bottom line, if you’re shooting portraits or weddings for a living – or want to learn how to – you owe it to yourself to
Read moreYou’re A Photographer, But Are You An Artist?
Are you an Artist? Are you familiar with American photographer Roger Ballen or his work? If not, you should be. Do you think before you shoot? This and 7 thoughts from world-renowned artist Roger Ballen on what the differences are between the way an artist sees life and the ways many photographers view the world. These are Ballen’s own judgement criteria on how to answer that elusive question about self doubts a lot of photographers face, “Are you an artist?” 1.) Do you ponder the work of others? 2.) Can you redefine your understanding of the meanings behind words? 3.) Do you see
Read moreDillon Markey – Playing With Power
The Dillon Markey story: In 1989, Nintendo released the Power Glove for its Nintendo Entertainment System. In 2015, Dillon Markey modified a Nintendo Power Glove, turning this humble Nintendo relic of a bygone generation into the most awesome stop motion animation tool ever made. Dillon Markey is an animator for Robot Chicken and PES, among other things. “Animation to me is the purest form of conceptualizing mechanical physics. Stop Motion has become my focus, primarily due to the tangibility, immediacy and direct interaction with those physical mechanics. Even the silliest gags require complex recreations of the way things move in the
Read moreNomads Of Mongolia
Life in Western Mongolia is an adventure. Training eagles to hunt, herding yaks, and racing camels are just a few of the daily activities of the nomadic Kazakh people. Global nomad filmmaker, Director, DP, and editor Brandon Li spent a few weeks living with the nomadic Kazakh people. To really understand a culture and people well enough to tell their story requires earning their trust. Speaking from experience, that takes time, and a conscious investment of yourself in learning how to traverse the local culture. Obviously, Brandon did a real good job in Mongolia. The people seem to be genial, co-operative,
Read moreSony A7 Camera Series and ZEISS Milvus Lenses
When it comes to a subject as complex as choosing what particular set of expensive video lenses to use, nothing substitutes for actual hands on experience. The experience a Professional like Jem Schofield has acquired over his many years of using the various lenses and lens combinations, gives Jem a level of understanding few of us will ever have. I love having the insight and advice of Professionals such as Jem to draw upon to assist in making our own choices. With the introduction of the Zeiss Milvus line, some thought Zeiss short sighted leaving out Sony FE mount. I’ll have to admit, I am one of those.
Read moreANATOMY OF AN INDIE – Color and VFX
In my last installment, we completed the color work grading our movie. Unfortunately, as I have learned the hard way, nothing in life is free. It is not that Paul or Mark or Michael were anything but the kindest, most generous people – they are. The issue is that at that point no film had ever been colored there before. They did not have an engineer or a conform editor on staff. And so Paul, who is a colorist, had to oversee everything – he had to be an engineer and a conform artist and everything else. Paul had a
Read moreNew Sony α6300 Is A Killer 4K Video Machine
Sony today unveiled their latest “consumer” level camera, the a6300. Although the distinction between consumer level and Pro level are getting harder and harder to tell. The successor to the already excellent Sony a6000 brings almost all of the high end video features of the latest a7 series Sony cameras, and places them into this consumer level APS-C sensor equipped body. About the only thing missing is the image stabilization. The camera records 4K internally using the XAVC-S codec and it does this using a Super35 section of the sensor with a full pixel readout, without any pixel binning. It is limited to 29
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