fstopinertia - photography of angela marklew » general

The Child

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:42:46 +0000

Back in December I worked on a music video for a Los Angeles band called The Child (on Manimal Vinyl). It was a pretty simple concept – high contrast black and white imagery using a couple different light sources (one of which we built specifically for the video). The video made it’s debut yesterday on L.A. Record and here’s an excerpt from what they had to say:

“…the bright lights and exacting shoulder blades strike a mix of fear and desire in one’s heart, a feeling that doesn’t diminish as more shapes and severe silhouettes beam messages into your eyeballs between flashes of stark optical illusions and girl on girl grabby action.” If this doesn’t make you want to watch it, I don’t know what will. Check it out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Zombies!

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:36:37 +0000

So I’m slowly trying my hand at cinematography/camera operating. It’s interesting (and sometimes frustrating) going from shooting stills to video. The first hurdle I had to overcome was my desire to shoot vertically when I saw framing that was screaming to be shot in that manner (I will admit that my first iPhone videos were all shot vertically). Still photography for me is very intuitive – I didn’t study it in school and I still don’t know every technical term out there – but it’s OK since, for the most part, photography is a very solo thing (in that I’m the director of my models, I set my own lights, and sometimes the creative director of my own shoots as well). Working on video generally involves more people that you need to be able to communicate with – so not knowing the technical terms can be a problem. I can look at a scene and visualize how it should be lit but I need to translate my vision into words so that the gaffers can set everything up. It’s kind of like starting over in a way – which is freeing but a little terrifying at the same time.

Over the weekend I got to try my hand at both DP work and camera operating – on a music video shoot for the band Super Black Market. My man, Rich Ragsdale, was the director (and he also happens to be the driving force behind me making the transition to working with moving pictures). The first day we shot at an amazing location in the Angeles National Forest called Singing Springs (check out the photos below). It’s family-owned and the two couples that live there were amazing! (one of the women even became a featured extra). The second day we filmed in Venice at an old group of houses on the boardwalk (which was awesome for me since I live right down the street). I brought my camera as I had planned to take some production stills but I was just way too busy (between helping Rich with the blocking and lighting, camera operating, and putting my no-nonsense attitude to work to keep people on task) – so I had to make due with using my mobile phone to capture some behind-the-scenes photos.

Oh, and did I mention the video involved zombies? Check out some BTS shots and a small teaser video after the jump.

Day 1 at Singing Springs

Day 2 in Venice

My friend Shayla (who is a great actress and model) played our zombie bride – and she was phenomenal! When she was in character it even scared me a little…

Adam (guitar player for Super Black Market) and his girlfriend Kelly – who played a great zombie (when she wasn’t being super cute).

A friend of ours, Euth (aka Haunted Euth), who is a great street artist – helped with production design by plastering the walls in the house with his art.

Rich Ragsdale (director) getting his brain eaten by one of our extras.
And now check out this little teaser Rich whipped up to give you an idea of what this video will be like…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Me + DPP

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:43:54 +0000

I am the “cutting edge of the youth movement”, according to the cover of this month’s Digital Photo Pro. I was kind of floored when, last December, the editor emailed me telling me they wanted to feature me in the magazine. I was interviewed by Amanda Quintenz-Fielder, who wrote a really great article (she also writes for Rangefinder which I read all the time). Good things are happening right now.

Bellflower

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:32:03 +0000

One of things I enjoy about not having a “regular” (as in 9-5) job is that I can go see matinee movies whenever I want. Today I saw a film called “Bellflower” and it blew me away. I absolutely love that the filmmakers chose a style and just went with it (not to mention that it was their first film). Seeing this movie has left me incredibly inspired – I loved everything from the lens choice to the colouring to the music. Check it out if you get the chance, you won’t be sorry.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Madeline

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:20:51 +0000

My shoot with Madeline marks not only my second attempt at bringing more “lifestyle” into my fashion work, but the first time in years that I’ve photographed a person using film. I found some LONG expired (think 1996) 120 film and shot a roll of Madeline with my Holga (I also tried using a Diana camera that I found but I prefer the Holga). I took some “straight” shots and then played around with double exposures a bit.

Seeing these images has re-kindled my love of shooting film – I mean, the grain and colour are SOOOO beautiful and you really can never 100% emulate that with digital. Now only if it weren’t so damn expensive, I’d be a very happy photographer.

Check out the portfolio and Flickr for more from the shoot.

Hannah

admin — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:55:41 +0000

A few images from a (kind of) recent test shoot with Hannah, from Industry models.

Visit flickr for more from this shoot. Hair and makeup by the lovely Chelsea Allen.

Mini-Golf

admin — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:18:56 +0000

A couple months ago, I explored an abandoned mini-golf course in southern California. It was pretty trashed (generally something I don’t like to photograph) but if you wandered around enough, you discovered little pockets of magic amongst the graffiti and garbage.

Check this out to see the rest from this adventure.

Bill Cunningham New York

admin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:48:30 +0000

“…most of the time I miss it. But I try.”
- Bill Cunningham (on photographing the clothing that captures his eye – whether on the street or at Paris fashion week)

Over the weekend I went to see a documentary about an 80-yr old street fashion photographer named Bill Cunningham. Cunningham has worked for major publications and currently contributes to the New York Times Style section. His work is purely about documenting trends – he doesn’t consider himself an artist.

Click here to view the embedded video.

No matter what genre of photography you work in, or what discipline of art you practice – I think we can all take a page out of Cunningham’s book. The pure dedication he has for what he does, the passion he has for clothing is inspirational. Definitely a film worth checking out.

Quote of the Day

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:51:32 +0000

“Image quality is not the product of a machine, but of the person who directs the machine, and there are no limits to imagination and expression.”

- Ansel Adams (1984)

Chanice

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 23:27:32 +0000

I did a quick beauty test last week for a new agency model. We did a clean beauty shot (which was what her agency needed) and then two more creative looks (which is what I wanted).

(Make up by Teal Druda)