Teenage photographer going to the Super Bowl

January 31, 2009 at 10:23 pm | In Photography | Leave a Comment
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thelongestyard

That photo above earned 13-year-old Ben Queen of Bridgeport, West Virginia a free trip to the Super Bowl – to take pictures on the sideline! - in a contest from Canon and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The photo, titled “The Longest Yard” was one of many Ben has taken at sporting events, for his business, Ben Queen Photography.

Now that’s an entrepreneur!

I love his website’s tagline, “Home of the $1 photo.” He’s got photo galleries on his site that show he’s definitley on his way to a great career.

You can watch a video about Ben here and read more about his business and his winning photo here.

Makes you think… What’s stopping you and your DSLR camera from helping you be the Ben Queen of your community?

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The Oxford Project

October 16, 2008 at 2:46 pm | In Photography | Leave a Comment
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Still on a photography kick here but I spotted an article about The Oxford Project and wanted to highlight it here. It’s essentially a photo essay, involving photos of people taken in 1984… and 20 years later… in the small town of Oxford, Iowa.

Read “Photo project gives voice to ‘backbone of America” on CNN.com for the full details.

The photographer is Peter Feldstein. He lives in Oxford. By the end of the summer of 1984 CNN says he had photographed 670 people there, just six short of the town’s population at the time. In 2004, he decided to try and rephotograph as many people as he could find from 1984. Joining him on the project was Stephen Bloom, a University of Iowa journalism professor. He conducted interviews with the residents and recorded their life histories for a book.

It’s a fascinating project. And the stories and photos of people then and now, no matter how old they were in 1984, make me think how neat it would be to try this, for a small town, a neighborhood, school or business.

Amazing photos of the Sun

October 14, 2008 at 7:30 am | In Photography | Leave a Comment
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I look far and wide on the Web for great photos.

I saw these pictures of the Sun on Boston.com and wanted to point them out. These are truly amazing! Both in terms of what they show and the fact that we have the technology, through telescopes and satellites, to get this close.

Video and photography and the law

September 12, 2008 at 10:42 pm | In Photography, Shooting Video | 1 Comment
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In my career in TV news, it was common to run into situations where people called our newsroom after seeing themselves or their kids in a newscast and threatened to sue the TV station if we showed the video footage of them again.

Sorry, you were in a public place, we’d tell them.

That remains a common misconception of many people. And more so today with so many more video cameras and still cameras on the streets.

Bottom line, if you’re in a public place – a park, store, school, shopping mall – and have no expectation of privacy or are not trying to seclude yourself from public view then you may be photographed or videotaped.

And, those photos and that video can be posted or published in various places. In my video business, where I often am shooting video or photos at high school or youth sporting events, I don’t need permission of the players, coaches or fans to put that on the Web for “news” or “artistic” purposes. I do get permission, however, to use images for marketing purposes.

It’s important to note that taking photos or video and publishing or posting photos or video are two different things.

The tricky part is, if you use a photo or video to imply that the person in the video is doing something they’re not, or use their image to put them in a negative light, then you can get in trouble.

I tracked down some great resources if you’re interested in reading more about the law as it pertains to photography and video. I can’t possibly address all the various situations that can come up, so…

The Best Article Every day featured a post called “The 10 Legal Commandments of Photography” that features some good scenarios and links.

How the pros at the RNC upload photos fast

September 3, 2008 at 11:39 pm | In Photography | Leave a Comment
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A photographer working in the Twin Cities this week at the Republican Convention stopped in at my day job for a quick presentation about his work.

Because I separate my day job from my business, I won’t name him or his company. But he works for one of the major news gathering companies, and frequently travels around the world shooting photos at news and sporting events.

Anyway, I learned something about how they are able to get their photos on the Web so fast.

They shoot their photos and either get the pics into a computer via memory card and keep shooting or, in some cases, the photos can be visible instantly on a photo editor’s laptop. Once there, he or she can make some quick edits and decide which photos to upload to their organization’s website to put up for sale. All while the event is still underway.

I had no idea, did you?

3 P’s of a good photo essay

September 2, 2008 at 11:34 pm | In Editing Video, Photography | Leave a Comment
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I’ve linked before to some impressive photo essays from newspapers, etc… and it’s no secret I think the medium provides a great way to tell a story, whether it’s all with photos or uses video and interview audio as well.

Digital Photography School posted some tips to produce a compelling photo essay, from Christina Nichole Dickson, so I encourage you to read her post. But I also wanted to add my thoughts.

I agree with the post that photo essays are not just for the professional photographer or video editor. You can do one with your pictures of your baby’s first birthday, your son’s high school football season, the prom, vacations, etc…

But the difference between a photo essay and a photo slideshow is that the essay draws you in more, and creates moments out of the precise way you highlight the photos – by zooming in on faces, expressions, etc… And, an essay uses music that best matches the mood.

I see too many slideshows that were clearly done on autopilot… that is, the music isn’t timed out to match the switch from one photo to the next, the zooming in and out is done without any attention to what’s actually in the photo. iPhoto is used in that way by many people looking to save time. And, unfortunately it shows.

Back to photo essays. Here are three things that I think the best photo essays have, the three P’s if you will:

1) A purpose – What’s your goal in making the essay, how do you want the viewer to feel? Are you tugging at heartstrings or just entertaining them? Either way, you need emotion. If you use audio interviews, do the soundbites reflect your purpose?

2) A plan – You don’t have to use all the photos you think should go in there. And some you don’t consider at first glance, actually might work great if you zoom in or out on a focal point in the photo that’s not obvious. Also, what order will you put the photos in? How will you start? How will it end? I like to plan the opening sequence first, then the closing section. Like writing a book, know where the story is heading, then you can fill in the details.

3) Perspective – I’m talking about your approach to the photo essay here. How much you are invested in the project will determine its success. If it’s a photo essay about your kid, perspective is easy. If you’re doing one for someone you’ve just met you need to get invested in their story. Or, it’s going to fall flat.

Are you ready for moments?

August 30, 2008 at 11:56 am | In Photography, Shooting Video | Leave a Comment
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“Some of life’s greatest opportunities come unexpectedly.”

That’s what Sarah Palin, John McCain’s choice as his running mate, said in her first public remarks yesterday after being selected for the campaign.

Got me thinking.

Are you always ready to capture life’s great opportunities and moments, for that matter, on video or with your still camera?

Can’t get the shot if you don’t have the gear with you,

Creative shots for your video and photos

August 27, 2008 at 11:54 pm | In Photography, Shooting Video | Leave a Comment
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Been thinking of some advice to pass along for anyone who picks up a home video or still photo camera from time to time – That’s you – to get a little more creative.

Whether it’s for sports, family events or just for fun… Here are three quick tips:

1) Get low, get tall

No, that’s not just the advice my high school basketball coach gave me. It means sometimes you have to change your perspective to get a memorable shot.

What’s more interesting, a shot of your son/daughter jumping on the trampoline, taken while you’re standing next to the trampoline? Or, a shot you get while jumping with them, or even lying down on the trampoline while they jump around you?

My tall example is simple… put the video or still camera on a tripod and extend it high above your head, pointed down at whatever you’re shooting. Works great to get a shot of a team huddle, or family seated around the birthday child opening their presents at a party,

Don’t settle for boring.

2) For every action there’s a reaction

What does that mean? If little Sally gets her first soccer goal and you got it on video or in a photo, swing your camera around quick to get a nice close up of mom or dad clapping, jumping up and down, etc…

Don’t forget to shoot the things you’d normally notice when the camera wasn’t in your hands!

3) Peel back the layers

Layer your shots, meaning… have something interesting in a foreground lower corner of the shot you’re framing up. It could be a flower pot. It could be a picnic table at your campsite. Your dog. Have something that fills the space in front of your intended subject. The result is instantly a more creative photo or video.

I do… weddings

August 4, 2008 at 11:55 pm | In Photography, Shooting Video, Wedding Video | Leave a Comment
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About to say I do? I’ve got a proposal for you. Pun intended.

I’m not interested in being your main wedding videographer for your ceremony.

You read that right.

You see, I’d rather that you hire an expensive pro to capture your ceremony. The wedding procession, the vows, the kiss, etc…

I’m more interested in doing affordable wedding recap videos like this from the very talented Giant Brothers Films in Salt Lake City. Man, are they good!

And, wouldn’t a video like this be perfect to play at your groom’s dinner or before the wedding dinner kicks in?

In addition to video before or on your wedding day, you’re also probably weighing your options for a photographer.

Well, how about hiring the expensive pro to take all the official wedding party portraits, and I’ll serve as your official, affordable candid photo taker with my Nikon DSLR camera?

I’ll make sure you have plenty of creative photos of you, your wedding party and your family and friends before the ceremony and after. Including at the dinner and dance after your official photographer has long since gone home for the night. I’ll shoot pictures for a few hours and give you every jpeg on a CD for you to print out or store.

Or, if you’d like, I can also edit the photos into a compelling slideshow set to some of your favorite love songs, on DVD.

Now, I can’t even come close to this amazing wedding photographer, no one can, he’s awesome! But his kind of style and unique visual storytelling is definitely what I set out to do in addition to standard posed shots.

Future brides and grooms, how do you want to capture -all- the memories of your wedding?

Give me a call today at 651-402-7086 or email me at kevin@kevinhuntvideo.com and get what you pay for, for your special day.

A father and son story

August 1, 2008 at 10:18 am | In Editing Video, Interesting Video, Photography | Leave a Comment
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I’m sharing something I found on the Web that is notable for so many reasons:

The use of video, photos and audio.

The love of a father.

The struggles and sincerity of a son.

Max Seidlitz has Prader-Willi syndrome. The disorder makes him feel like he’s always hungry. Please watch this compelling story about Max and his dad Lon on the Howard County TIMES Web site in Maryland. The story is by Steve Kelly. The photos are from Maisie Crow.

Thanks to News Videographer for posting the link. I think you’ll find the images powerful and the soundbites of Lon and Max very moving.


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