Bride and Groom Ride a Tandem. Well, Sort Of.

June 19th, 2009

We had a great time yesterday shooting a magazine cover for an article on marriage. The biggest challenge of the shoot was figuring out a way to safely hold up a tandem bike with two people on it. We had to construct a 17 foot wide support from 2×4’s and use some high boy stands to hold the rig. Then came some fancy cable and clamping. We got to test out our new little Canon SD780 to shoot a short video of the whole experience. Oh yeah, and we are still working on the music for the new MacShorts graphics. Maybe next video. Check it out.

http://www.vimeo.com/5234911

Brian MacDonald

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Stills meet HD Video, HD Video Meet Stills…

June 15th, 2009

The lines between video and still photography are becoming more and more blurred all the time. I have been telling friends for a while now that eventually I will have one camera that I can shoot commercial photography with, and work on our film production at the same time; one camera for both. The quality and functionality is not there yet for video, but the Canon EOS 5D II that we shoot with is a step in that direction.  Although it is just a little point and shoot, our new Canon SD780 is another example of the direction things are heading. I was looking to get a compact still camera and a Flip to throw in one of our production cases so we could do a better job getting more behind the scenes looks at our commercial shoots. I was able to find this little 12 megapixel wonder that also shoots HD video, all in something the size of a deck of cards.  I think the direction that the RED cameras are heading is the perfect example of things to come. Although the current RED camera is a bit bulky I know that it was used to recently shoot video and get still images for a recent cover shoot for Esquire Magazine. It is the future, and its not far off.

Brian MacDonald

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Back From Ethiopia

June 8th, 2009

I am back from Ethiopia having spent ten days shooting a documentary for Life In Abundance International. I have actually been back for a week now and processing the experience I had there has been an interesting challenge. The culture shock has been more dramatic than previous international projects I have worked on. Last year when photographing a book, Urban & Rural Hope, in Kenya and Ethiopia, we were working in slums with the poorest of the poor. It was challenging and eye opening shooting for the book, but this year shooting the documentary was different. I think that it was the depth of extreme pain I heard in the stories of the people we interviewed that made such an impact on me. The toughest interviews for me were when we went out until 3AM in the morning two nights in a row interviewing street kids and teenage prostitutes. It was heartbreaking to talk with little kids with nothing but torn pants and a shirt to fight off the night time cold, sleeping on the streets. We wanted to give our jackets to two little boys we met shivering in the wind but were told that they would simply be beat up and robbed by older boys as soon as we left. The desperation in the voices of the young prostitutes and the how they are trapped in a life of few options was almost too painful to hear. The fact is, that despite my inconsequential uneasiness of filming these stories, we were there with a purpose to bring light to these dark images. Our team was there to give voices to the unseen. Mixed with the despair we also found stories of hope and transformation from the work that LIA is doing. I can only hope that once this documentary is finished it will make people a little uncomfortable and challenge them to find ways to make changes for these lost kids.

Brian MacDonald

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Update from Ethiopia

May 28th, 2009

The week in Ethiopia shooting the documentary has been challenging but good. Lack of internet has made it difficult to share all that has been going on. We have seen many difficult and dire circumstances. The last two nights have been the toughest. On the first night, we were out until 3 a.m. interviewing street children and needed police escorts for the slums we went into. Last night was just as difficult as we interviewed young prostitutes and heard about the hopelessness in which they find themselves. Some really sad stories.

At the same time, joy can emerge from the harshest of realities as in this photo taken on my last trip to Ethiopia.  The folks at Life in Abundance are doing great work.  Looking forward to being able to share all of the stories from this week as we move to edit the documentary over the next few months.  Stay tuned.  More when I return next week.

Brian MacDonald

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The Hair Comes Off For Africa

May 17th, 2009

As some of you know, the head shave was coming. As part of a dare/fundraising for my Africa trip I promised to shave my head. This is the first time in over forty years that certain parts of my noggin have seen the light of day. Well, here are the results. Not exactly a pretty sight. Fortunately my hair grows quickly. The comments from friends have been very colorful so far.

We leave this Wednesday for Ethiopia and will be gone for 11 days. The documentary I am shooting for Life In Abundance International follows the lives of some street kids from the slums in Addis and some of the LIA workers and their interactions with these kids. Having been there just a year ago, I feel more aware of the challenges that will be faced, but know it will be a difficult and tiring week. Hopefully there will be internet access so I can blog about some of the experiences we have. And hopefully my hair will return quickly.

Brian MacDonald

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Shoot With Rand McNally

May 12th, 2009

Last week we had a great location shoot with Rand McNally. We photographed at a beautiful horse farm. It was a little bit of a challenge to get the 26,000 pound rig out to the set but our model and truck driver had it all under control. We had to run the generator to power up. The sky was perfect at the end of the day. I will have to get some of the images posted to my website soon. I grabbed a shot of the team before we wrapped up for the day.

Brian MacDonald

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Irving Penn: Worlds in a Small Room

April 2nd, 2009

I recently was able to find the out of print Worlds in a Small Room by photographer Irving Penn. It was printed in 1974. The images are as stunning and moving today as I am sure they were 35 years ago when first published. Mr. Penn had what he called an “ambulatory” studio that he literally had shipped around the world for his portrait sessions. He created a large natural light studio in which he photographed people from the jungle to the desert. His portable “studio” was a fascinating structure. Some behind the scenes photos in the book give a glimpse at its size and the struggle it must have been to bring this structure to remote parts of the world. In all my research of his mobile studio Irving photographed in, I never was able to find any mention as to its final resting place. I wonder if it is in the back room of some old building in New York City. The beautifully lit, haunting images have given me inspiration to create a similar environment to photograph in. As the weather warms up and I begin to spend more time photographing outside I hope to do some tests that I can share. Keep your eyes open.

Brian MacDonald

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