This Week in Photo (TWiP)

Alan Hess is a San Diego-based commercial photographer specializing in concert and live-event photography. Currently the house photographer for a large concert venue in Southern California, Alan stays busy with events ranging from concerts and comedians, to hockey and the rodeo. He has photographed hundreds of concerts, three songs at a time. Alan enjoys the fast pace of shooting on the fly, the rush of the house lights going down, and the drive to capture the “show”. 

When he isn’t out shooting events, he is writing photography books.

The wide variety of bands that Alan has shot include: Billy Idol, Black Eyed Peas, Bullet for my Valentine, Death Cab for Cutie, Derek Trucks Band, The Grateful Dead, John Legend, Marilyn Manson, Robin Williams, Slayer, The Smashing Pumpkins, Steel Pulse, Widespread Panic, and Willie Nelson.

His work has been published online and in print, and his images have been used for various CDs and other promotional work.

He is the author of the best selling “Exposure Digital Field Guide” and “Composition Digital Field Guide”, and has written two books on Sony DSLRs the “Sony Alpha A700 Digital Field Guide,” and the “Sony Alpha A200 Digital Field Guide.” Alan is also the Author of the iPad Fully Loaded series and theNight and Low Light Photography Photo Workshop all for Wiley Publishing. Alan has also contributed to Photoshop User magazine and is a part of the Instructor Dream Team at Photoshop World since 2009.

In this episode of Behind the Shot, Alan joins me to discuss his image from the PBR Velocity Tour.

Alan’s Work

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Cole Thompson is a Fine Art photographer born in Salina, Kansas, now living in Laporte, Colorado, that has lived in 24 cities in-between. Self-taught, Cole never worked as a photographer, instead earning a living in business. He never mixed money with art and has not regretted that decision.

I found Cole’s work one day while browsing through 500px – if you have not lost time browsing through 500px we need to have to a talk. Cole’s work immediately jumped out at me. The way he does Black & White feels so rich in color. Seriously, the depth he gets is amazing.

Recently retired, Cole now spends much of his free time traveling and photographing. His most recent portfolio, Melting Giants, appeared in the spring 2017 issue of LensWork magazine.

Join Cole and I as we discuss an image he says is “significant to me for three reasons”. It’s “The Angel Gabriel”, on this episode of Behind the Shot.

Cole’s Work

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Recently I had the opportunity to test out the MindShift Gear Backlight 26L backpack. In this video I run through the features I liked, along with a few things I’d change. This backpack was comfortable to wear all day, and the entry system is fantastic. I am always looking for the perfect bag, and while “perfect” may not exist, the MindShift Gear Backlight 26L is now my fave bag – along with my ThinkTank Airport International V2. The bottom line is that I loved this backpack. Watch the video for more info.

Paul Ernest is a Visual Storyteller like you may have never seen before. His tagline is “Every Soul Has a Purpose and Every Purpose Has a Story”. That my friends is deep, and it is the perfect description of his approach to his art.

Paul began his career in advertising design, after receiving his BFA at the University of North Texas. Having been brought up in a family of fine artists and writers, he decided to pursue his love of photography and storytelling imagery. Experimenting with a style combining composite photography with visually tactile elements and a warm color palette, Paul creates art that not only has a story, but is visually complex. Combining his passion for storytelling, Paul released his first image entitled “Chasing Butterflies” in 2009, and since then Paul has gone on to create numerous collections telling stories of healing, growth and inspiration.

“We live through stories… stories that are handed down to us through seasons and generations. We are inspired by stories and live to write our own narrative and our own contribution of life to tell.” –Paul Ernest

Join Paul and I on this episode of Behind the Shot as we examine his image Onto Your Shore.

Paul’s Work

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Christopher Berry is a Tucson Arizona based creative person, with an out-of-control obsession with technology. Aa real estate professional he has been merging the knowledge of his profession with his love for photography in new ways. Chris is a licensed sUAS (drone) pilot and has been building and flying drones for the past few years.

Taking his love of documentary style photography and portraiture, Chris shoots his life along with anything he feels is interesting, whether that’s “pretty” or not.

Join us on this episode of Behind the Shot as we discuss one of his images from Burning Man.

 

Chris’ Work

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Anya Anti is a self-taught digital artist from Ukraine, now based in New York. A photographer since 2009, photography is not only what she loves, and what she does, but also a reflection of her deep emotions, passion for the unknown and craving for beauty.

With her art, Anya not only tries to show beautiful imagery and photography technique, but also tries to convey an idea, mood, and atmosphere. From costumes to Photoshop manipulation, her fantasies come to life as finished pieces of art. Her images are fairytale-like, mystic, feminine, fragile and thoughtful, and if you listen carefully these silent pictures will tell a story.

As you enjoy her art, it is interesting to note that she shoots mainly with vintage manual lenses, like soviet Helios.

As a workshop instructor, Anya has taught in Poland, Russia, and of course Ukraine. As an award winner and internationally published artist, her accomplishments are too long to list here, but she is a Broncolor’s GenNEXT contest finalist (Broncolor Ambassador) and 2nd prize winner in the Fine Art Photography Awards – Professional Fine Art category

Join us on this episode of Behind the Shot as we discuss her image Moon Thief.

Anya’s Work

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Peter Levshin is a Sydney, Australia born travel photographer that has lived in Los Angeles, with his lovely wife Linda, since 1988. Raised in a creative family – his father was a painter and his mother designed ceramics, pottery and tapestries – Peter now makes his living creating for the creative community. He has created books and marketing materials for people and products ranging from Paul McCartney to photographer Jerry Ghionis, and even for Barbie. In fact, his company Integrated Communications, or ICLA, is a 3 time Grammy Winner for packaging.

Peter’s latest project is Premier Artists Collection, a fine art outlet for artists that were hand picked by Peter.

As a photographer, Peter’s photographs are simple, ethereal, and mystical. He uses dramatic atmosphere and bold colors to make a statement, and yet his simple subjects create a sense of drama. Peter’s images draw a viewer in the scene, where the feel a connection to the artwork.

Join Peter and I on this episode of Behind the Shot as we take a look at his image of a Burmese Monk entitled “Praying for the Dead”.

Peter’s Work

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The End of the Beginning.

What a journey this has been. Creating these 12 episodes of Pocketshooters has been fun and educational. The world of mobile photography continues to become increasingly important and interesting and undoubtedly is here to stay. And as we’ve demonstrated over the course of this first season… the phone is quickly becoming a viable tool for professional photography, as well for as consumers looking to create priceless family photographs.

The mobile phone camera has all but decimated the point-and-shoot camera market, at least from mainstream usage. And it simultaneously has created thousands of new opportunities for image creation for both still and video based photography. And now that we’re seeing more and more professional-level post-processing software become available, we’re seeing the cycle of “capture-create-share” now happen on a single device. It’s difficult to stress how amazing and liberating this is.

The egalitarianism of ubiquitous mobile phone photography has literally changed the world from the standpoint of news gathering, law enforcement, entertainment and more — and it’s showing no signs of slowing.

If you’ve taken anything out of this first season, it should be that you have an insanely powerful tool available to you at all times… it’s up you to start using it with your new mindset.

See you in season 2! And be sure to follow my season 1 co-host Giulio Sciorio over on his blog!

While you’re waiting on season 2, be sure to check out our awesome course on mobile photography. It’s also called Pocketshooters, and is available NOW on the TWiP School.

http://school.thisweekinphoto.com/p/pocketshooters

Craig Colvin is an award-winning photographer and educator based in San Jose, CA, and his primary focus is using the human body as art. This is expressed in many forms, but his goal is to use the body to mimic the shapes and curves that are found in nature. This might be the gentle slope of a sand dune, a curve of a rock, or the rolling hills of a mountain range. Making a body conform to natural formations reinforces this similarity between the nature of the body and the nature of the land. His work tends to abstract the body shapes, so the viewer isn’t always sure at first glance if the image contains a body or not.

Craig’s work has been published in numerous magazines and books, and exhibited in galleries and shows worldwide. He teaches photography workshops throughout the US, and online photography courses through the This Week in Photography School.

Join Craig and I on this episode of Behind the Shot as we discuss his image “Rainbow Hills”.

Also, be sure to check out the behind the scenes video of the shoot for photo we are talking about.

Craig’s Work

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Dustin Jack is a Los Angeles based photographer with a wide range of specialties. With over 25 years experience, Dustin appears to see the world differently than almost anyone I have met. He shoots concerts, sports, portraiture, fine art, landscape and studio photography – all with a Dustin only style. He’s also an accomplished graphic artist, with expertise in branding, advertising, design and layout. In 2013 he won the Photoshop Guru Award for the shot we will talking about today.

After living in Hollywood for just two days heI landed a job at Butterfield and Butterfield auction house. On any given day he would shoot the Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of OZ, The Batmobile, a Rembrandt, a Warhol, The Titanic dinner menu or an Elvis’ Jumpsuit. Talk about diversity!

Today, Dustin is responsible for all guitar studio and reference photography for Fretted Americana Inc. accumulating an astounding 150,000 images of the most sought after vintage guitars in the world. He also handles the advertising and imaging for the company including logos, magazine ads, web site images, business cards, banners, posters and T-shirt designs. As a director and editor, Dustin has produced over 300 episodes of the Fretted Americana Inc. PHIL X Show, which at this time, has over 40 Million views on You Tube and led to the host being hire to be the new guitarist in Bon Jovi replacing Ritchie Sambora.

Dustin’s personal works in fine art and concert photography has been in high demand for the last several years, most recently photographing and designing the SIXX:AM Double records as well as The Final show ever of Motley Crue. He has worked with, and photographed, Zakk Wylde, DJ Ashba, Motley Crue, Sixx:AM, Nikki Sixx, Lita Ford, Tommy Lee, Daughtry, KISS, 5 Finger Death Punch, Black Label Society, Shinedown, Phil X and The DRILLS, Rob Zombie, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Alter Bridge, Slash, Tremonti, Tiger Army, Guns n Roses, No Doubt, The Beastie Boys, TESLA and many others. You may have even seen some of his work in Rolling Stone, BURRN, SABIAN, BASS Player, Modern Drummer, Guitarist, Vintage Guitar and other music related magazines.

Today I sit down to talk with Dustin about his studio work with Tommy Lee, of Motley Crüe fame, and what it takes to get a great portrait – with all the pressure of a celebrity subject.

Dustin’s Work

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Do you know a photographer you think might make a good guest on our show? Maybe it’s yourself?! Just use the form below to contact us. You, (or your suggestion) might just make it Behind the Shot!