Film Friday #01: Earl

Last summer I got back into shooting on film with my dad's old Minolta X-700 from 1981. Since then I've purchased a very cheap Nikon FG30, and in December I got my hands on a Mamiya 645 Pro-TL. I have a lot of frames that I haven't put online, so I decided that I'm going to post one of my favorite film shots every Friday!

This first Film Friday picture is of my friend Earl hanging out at the tailgate of the Clemson vs Carolina game this past fall. He wasn't smiling like this after Clemson got beat, trust me.

Minolta X-700, 50mm f/1.7, f/4, Kodak B&W 400

My First Shot at Medium Format

I've been keeping my eye out for a good yet inexpensive medium format camera for a few months. At the beginning of the year, I ran across a great deal for a Mamiya 645 Pro TL with a 55mm (35mm full frame equivalent) f/2.8 lens!

I ordered a prism finder, some Portra 160, and all I needed was a good subject. I wasted no time asking our intern Mitchell to let me take a few photos of his 1972 BMW 2002.

I knew I'd like medium format, but I am really impressed with it after seeing these first few frames. It certainly has an unmistakable depth and look to it that you just won't find with a 35mm frame.

Not long after taking the BMW pictures, a train came to a stop across the street from the office.

I snapped this picture of my gorgeous fiance on my lunch break.

These are from the old mill that's in the background of the BMW pictures.

I was really anxious to finish this roll to see how it would turn out, so I got our other intern outside for a few shots.

I jokingly told her to see if she could have a serious look for one frame since she's always smiling. This is the only time I've seen her like this...

As I was leaving the office, the sun had just set, but I wanted to get one more shot. I took this picture of one of the guys at Pancho's and fortunately I missed focus because it was a little dark. Oh well.

This last one was taken the next morning before dropping the roll off at the lab for processing.

These were taken back in January, but between getting a V600 to scan with and a halfway decent 120 film holder, it took a while to get around to scanning them.

The Mamiya turned out to be a great purchase. I just finished a roll of Ektar 100 and I'm currently using some TMax 400. Now all I need now is the infamous 80mm f/1.9...

Kopecky Family Band at the Channel

When I was first introduced to the Kopecky Family Band, I enjoyed their three EPs: Embraces, The Disaster, and Of Epic Proportions, and when I heard their first full-length album, Kids Raising Kids, I was blown away. Their songs have been featured on Vampire Diaries, Parenthood, ESPN, and they've been selling out almost all of their tour dates. They are well on their way to being the next big thing, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. (Just use The Google to see what I'm getting at.)

Last Friday I went to their concert at The Channel in Downtown Greenville, and I made sure to bring my camera. I stayed in one spot the entire concert with my 50mm Zeiss, so unfortunately I wasn't able to get good pictures of everyone on stage. I went as a fan, not a photographer. That being said, I was able to get some good pictures.

Click on the first image and use the arrow keys to navigate.

Here are a few of my favorites:

And here are the rest that made the cut:

Be sure to listen to these guys via Spotify, iTunes, or go to kopeckyfamilyband.com get their album and see when they'll be in a city near you.

One Year With The Golf TDI

Exactly one year ago today, my girlfriend and I drove up to Maryland to purchase my practical dream car - a 2010 Golf TDI. It gets insane mileage, it's fun to drive, and I've gone 25,000 miles with zero problems. Actually one of my reverse lights went out...so I guess not zero. Just before I left the office today, I heard a train coming and took advatange of a good photo opportunity.

And after the train was gone I took some more...

Now when I say insane mileage, I mean I'm averaging between 38 and 40 miles per gallon on full tanks, you can see all of my fuel-ups here on Fuelly. I get between 42 and 48 MPG on my trips to the office! I've only had two tanks under the 500 mile mark, and that's only because it wasn't convenient to get diesel after passing 500 miles. I can go to Charleston and back with a hundred miles to spare on a tank.

Speaking of Charleston...

While it hasn't broken down on me, it's still had some bad luck from time to time.

Anyway if you're looking to get a new car, get this one. I can't wait to see how many miles I can go in this thing.

My Interns Are Awesome

Every semester, we at View get a couple of interns from Clemson to help us out. This past Summer we had four because we were working as the production company of an independent movie.

After principal photography, they had a little down time in between things to have some fun...like helping me test some Ektar 100 film on my old Minolta...

Going on Starbucks runs...

And being subject to spontaneous, continuous lighting tests...

City Lights on the Porch

I recently volunteered to help my buddy Tommy shoot some footage for a City Lightspromo. Before we got rolling I took advantage of the awesome light that a covered porch on a sunny day provides. These were taken on an ordinary Minolta camera manufactured in 1981 and I love the way they look. You simply can't get an image like this from a digital camera. Film isn't dead, and it will never die (I hope).

Jeff Rodgers Sets New Masters Men Record – 1.25@43′ Off

Jeff Rodgers set a new record of 1@43' off in the second round of the Little Mountain Record Tournament on September 15th, 2012. The next day, he scored 1.25@43' off in the first round of the day, and 1@43' off again in the second round. He was the first skier to run 41' off at 36 MPH in 1997, and now he's the first to run it at 34 MPH.

Jeff's original score on Saturday was 1.25@43' off, but since he lost the handle right before the second buoy it was corrected to 1@43'.

Big thanks to Little Mountain Lake and Race City Marine for putting on the tournament.

Check out Jeff's documentary to learn more about his awesome career at http://43at43.com/

Music: Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Green Onions

Dispersed Memorial

I met up with a friend of mine, Daniel Hutcherson, in New York this past summer. He's a part of a 9/11 memorial project titled "dispersed memorial." These are a few shots from our visit to ground zero. Visit the Dispersed Memorial site to learn more about their project. I hadn't been to ground zero since 2005, and it's changed a lot since then. I think that the memorial is actually a great way to pay tribute to the lives lost on that day while showing the magnitude of what happened.

The memorial is essentially two huge holes in the ground. Buildings used to be there, and people used to work in those buildings. It's a lot to take in, but it's a peaceful and quiet place, so at least it's a good environment to do so.

Soaked 2012

If you haven't noticed, I love slalom waterskiing. So when there is a tournament in the middle of downtown Orlando that hasn't taken place since the year I was born, I'm going to be there. My friend Gareth and I took the seven hour trek in my TDi and stayed with my buddy Colin of HartFX in Orlando.

It turns out that the course on Lake Eola was only four buoys instead of six, and they slowed to boat speed down to 34 from 36 MPH since the conditions were so bad. But even with those drawbacks, I was still excited to see the sport I love most literally taking place in the middle of a big city.

We started out on the north side of the lake to get a good view of the jump event.

After the jump preliminaries, we met up with John Horton of BallofSpray.com (one of the biggest waterski websites, check it out) and ended up getting on a photo boat after hanging out by the starting dock for a few minutes. Unfortunately at this point, my digital camera's batteries were almost dead, so I used the Minolta X-700 once it was kaput. The 50mm lens wasn't exactly ideal, but I still got some shots that I'm pleased with.

This was definitely my favorite boat at the competition:

We made it back to the starting dock at the end of the Women's finals and waited for the Men's event to get going. Regina Jaquess ended up winning the Women's Slalom event.

Sitting close to the starting dock didn't give me a good perspective for photographing the actual ski passes, but I got a few good shots of some interaction on the dock, and we were able to hear the judges. Thomas DeGasperi of Italy and Nate Smith of Indiana ended up tying in a runoff four times! Eventually, due to some complicated rules, Thomas lost even though he tied with Nate.

The next morning, we met up with Thomas at his ski school at 8:30am. I felt kind of bad booking a lesson the morning after Soaked, so I talked to him at the tournament and he was all for it! Even though the weather was horrible during our lesson, he immediately picked up on a couple of bad habits and was able to put us in the right direction. I have major respect for him since he was willing to hang out with a couple of amateurs the morning after a tough tournament loss. Seriously, he didn't have to do it, but he was more than willing and was great at articulating specific instructions.

All in all it was a great weekend and we had a blast. I hope they are able to have the event again next year!

Waterskiing Saved My Life – John Cox

BallofSpray.com, Radar, and Honu teamed up for a video contest this past summer. It had to mention the companies, and be about the waterski lifestyle. The winner would get a new ski! I unfortunately got second place, but I'm proud of the video I ended up producing for it. John did a great job on camera, and his story is incredible. Enjoy!

Music: Black Keys - Gold on the Ceiling

35mm Brunch

While I was in NYC, took my Minolta X-700 out to brunch one day to see how the Portra 800 performed in some gloomy weather.

Just don't ask...

Awake, O Skier

We went out to Keowee for a brisk ski, met up with some people that were attending a weekend retreat with Resonate called "Awaken Fall", and revisited the jumping rock.

Oh, & I threw some funk on the color grade, because that's how I roll.

Enjoy!

Song: Passion Pit - Moth's Wings

Mobile users view here - http://bit.ly/awake-o-skier

Jeff Rodgers Sets New Masters Men Record, 4@41, at Trophy Lakes 9-3-2011

On September 3rd, 2011, Jeff Rodgers set a new Masters Men record with a score of 4@41. Watch him ski 38' off, 39.5' off, and the 41' off record pass while talking about his recent transition to 34 mph skiing.

Father’s Day 2011

I'm very thankful for my father. He's a wise man that has taught me so much. That is all.

I can't forget my mother! She's one of the most loving people on this planet.

Jeff Rodgers: GoPro Edit

This is something I made just for fun. Jeff Rodgers takes to the slalom course with a GoPro on the front of his ski. I decided to make this after watching the USC Ski & Snowboard's "How to Make an Edit 8-Bit!" found here.

I may have gone a bit overboard with the bad tv effect but it was fun to make.

Music - "Derezzed" by Daft Punk on the "TRON: Legacy" soundtrack

43@43: Official Trailer

This is a trailer for a project that I'm working on in my spare time. 43@43 is a short sports documentary about 43-year-old professional slalom water-skier Jeff Rodgers and his ability to match the world record that he set in 1996 - 1@43. Jeff talks about his career with insights from Jeff Crouch, Kristi Overton Johnson, and Lucky Lowe. Be sure to watch it in HD if you can!

This is why TRON: Legacy was made

This video was taken at Comic-Con in 2008. It's a short technical demo done to measure the interest in a Tron sequel, listen to the cheers when Jeff Bridges opens his eyes (1:46). Creating something that makes people that excited and happy is like nothing else in the world. The closest thing I have done to that is a video of a volleyball team winning the state championship. The video was alright, but for the girls on that team, it was awesome. Creating something that makes a group of people that happy is a pretty incredible feeling, and I hope to do it again.

Waterski Video

This is a video I did back in August and September of 2006 while at Full Sail. I interviewed Lucky Lowe, got footage at the 2006 U.S. Open of Waterskiing, and hung out with Jeff Rodgers at his private lake. If you like slalom waterskiing then you'll enjoy this video.