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Among the many exciting things happening here at Tyler Stableford Photography is our workshop tour throughout Southeast Asia. Several months ago we shared behind the scenes footage of the making of “The Craftsman.” Since then the commercial has been airing throughout Asia. Supplementing the commercial, Canon has set up several workshops where I will be sharing tips and techniques, but mostly hoping to inspire and connect with fellow photographers. We’ve already had great stops in Singapore and Jakarta and we still have over a week to go.

My crew, Draper White and Kate Rolston will be joining me on this journey and documenting the experience here.

Every year I like to dedicate time to doing at least one pro-bono photo project. This year I was thrilled to work with the folks at DSUSA to do a series of portraits of wounded warriors on the slopes of Breckenridge, Colorado. Spending time with these men and women was truly a one of a kind experience. I am so thankful for all our troops do, but admittedly frustrated that there always seems to be money to fund and support war and seemingly not enough to support those who have paid the highest cost- the soldiers and their families. In the last year more soldiers have come home severely wounded than at any other point in our nation’s engagement in the Middle East and when they do they often need medical attention, and rehabilitation which requires money and time away from work. DSUSA is involved in a great part of that rehabilitation, training wounded men and women to get involved in sports- increasing their independence, confidence and quality of life. My team and I were amazed at the capability and spirit of the disabled athletes we were fortunate enough to photograph.
Among those we photographed are:

We are so proud that these portraits along with several others were displayed last week at the  U.S.S. Intrepid for a fundraiser gala for over 350 guests including Chairman of Joint Chief’s of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. To prepare for this event we printed the larger than life photographs on the Canon 8300 and then gallery wrapped the canvas prints. To see just how check out this video: http://vimeo.com/tylerstableford/disabledsportsbts

A very special thank you to the kind folks at Hensel, Breathing Color, Canon, DSUSA and of course the wounded soldiers for making this project possible. If you would like to find out more about how you can help visit: https://dsusa.org/donate.html

Thrilled that our film Shattered could make its film festival debut in our hometown at 5 Point Film Festival. Julie Kennedy, Justin Clifton, Jake Marty and their team did a great job selecting the films this year. Some really inspiring and beautifully shot stories.

Hi everyone,

We are just gearing up for the NAB show, working vigorously to finalize our film which will premiere there on Monday April, 16th and will also play in our hometown at 5 points Film Festival and at MountainFilm in Telluride. In the meantime take a look at this Behind The Scenes film which shows just how much we put the new Canon 1Dx through. In addition to standing up to the weather I have to give this new camera credit for it’s low light capabilities. We were able to shoot a night scene for the film at 25,600 ISO!

Hi all, last week I had the joy of working with a slew of new Canon gear on the ski slopes of Snowmass, Colorado–and wow was it all exciting! The new 5D Mark III and 1D X are truly incredible cameras. The features I am most excited about are the new 61-point autofocus system in each camera; suffice it to say that the autofocus in the previous 5D Mark II was, well, barely passable for shooting sports or backlit subjects. The new autofocus system ROCKS — I have been blown away by how fast and accurate the focus is, even when the sun is screaming into the lens, or in dim dusk light.

I also want to give big kudos to Canon for keeping the megapixel count relatively low on these full-frame-sensor cameras. In my opinion this is the single most crucial feature to enabling us to shoot in low light, and to keep noise down. That’s the reason why I’m just thrilled with the 1DX’s 18mp sensor. In our tests with both stills and video, the 1DX literally sees better details in low light than the human eye; it’s kind of like having a night vision sensor. Likewise, I’m glad Canon didn’t raise the megapixel count with the new 5D Mark III; 22mp is more than enough for our clients, even those wanting billboards etc; and this sensor allows us to easily shoot commercial-grade images at ISO 6400 and even beyond.

Anyway, I digress. What I want to share are some photos from our shoot last Friday! As part of an upcoming instructional video series on the new wireless 600EX-RT Speedlites and the ST-E3 transmitter for Canon’s Digital Learning Center, we photographed a dozen top skiers and snowboarders from the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club at the legendary Snowmass Terrain Park. Click on the pictures below to enlarge the photos and check back here for a link to the tutorial videos directed by our producer, Kate Rolston. (More info after the photos, so keep reading.)

We used the 5D Mark III and the 1DX as our cameras; and we even flew a 5D Mark III on an RC helicopter overhead, chasing the skiers down the jumps. Another big improvement is that the rolling shutter/jello issues from the previous 5D Mark II is greatly reduced in these new cameras; no small feat …

These new Speedlites are amazing! They work on radio signals rather than the previous generation’s infrared signal; so they no longer require a line of sight to fire, and also work in blazing sunlight (the previous infrared signal worked poorly at best in bright sunlight). The ST-E3 transmitter can fire up to 15 Speedlites in 5 different groups, any of which can be operated in manual or ETTL mode or any combination thereof. The working range is easily 100 feet. The ETTL capabilities were amazing (and I’m not just saying this to promote the Speedlites, promise) — when we were shooting straight into the sun, with skiers jumping toward us in the halfpipe, the ETTL metering was more accurate than our manual-mode calculations. We placed the Speedlites in a bunch of positions, and even ganged 3 or 6 together using the IDC Photo Video “Triple Threat” Speedlite mounts  and the Westcott 7′ Silver Parabolic Umbrella to easily overpower midday sunlight.

Another new feature on the Speedlites is the 200mm zoom setting; essentially this features lets you focus the light into a narrow, concentrated beam that gives you and extra stop or two of working light. That’s a big deal when trying to milk the most amount of power out of these portable lights.

The biggest disappointment? Packing all these new toys back into the box and returning them to Canon this week. (Believe it or not, as a Canon Explorer of Light I still buy all my equipment; I have ordered all of these items though!)

We are madly editing the video feature this month and will post it on Canon’s Digital Learning Center as soon as possible. In the meantime, here are some sample images from the shoot. We processed the raw files in Adobe Lightroom 4 and exported them as web-size jpegs. The first 5 shots were taken with the 1DX and the next two with the 5D Mark III. We didn’t do any cloning/compositing on these shots, and you can see some of the Speedlite groups in two of the shots (an easy retouch if/when we want to remove them).

A big thanks to Melissa Rhines, Yannick Rioux and the Aspen Skiing Company for making our shoot at Snowmass possible.

Big news here at Tyler Stableford Photography+ Film. We just wrapped up our first weekend shooting for our new film which will premiere at NAB!  We were lucky enough to be the first to use the new Canon 1DX to capture all of the footage.

I have to say the camera’s low light capabilities blew my mind. We shot some nighttime footage and the camera could see better than the naked eye. I feel like it’s a game changer in terms of what we as photographers and cinematographers can now capture.

For those of you interested in the tech side of things here are the specs of the Canon 1DX and a mini tutorial showcasing the Canon 1DX and Canon’s new wireless radio controlled 600 EX speedlites and STE 3 transmitters.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you want to hear more about our film and see behind the scenes footage and tutorials check back on our blog, follow us on Facebook, or check out Canon’s Digital Learning Center. We are working furiously to edit through footage and can’t wait to share it all with you. This film in particular is one that has been in the back of my mind for years, so to see it all come together is a dream come true. Thank you to everyone who made this shoot possible!

Hello everyone,

More exciting news! The Canon commercial we shot this fall is now airing in Asia. As promised here is a link to the commercial and a behind the scenes look at our time in Silverton and Aspen with the amazing folks at Dentsu, Sng Tong Beng, his assistant Tim Greene and of course Scotty Bob and Willie Volckhausen.

Hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed being a part of it!

DSLR video has completely revolutionized our industry, and with good reason: the huge 35mm sensor on the Canon 5D Mark II is larger than almost any Hollywood camera out there, and at an incredible price point. Today’s new DSLR cameras are redefining cinematic storytelling.

That said, it’s NOT easy to navigate all the custom functions and menu settings to optimize your camera for professional video; and the hundreds of 3rd party rigs, monitors, and audio accessories are simply overwhelming. I’ve tried to simplify the confusion with a step-by-step PDF; I hope it saves you some of the endless trial and error I’ve been through! This PDF is part of a DSLR Video Crash Course seminar I gave at the PhotoPlus Expo; follow my blog to stay in touch for upcoming workshop opportunities.

Download the PDF here. And to see an award-winning short film where I put these DSLR tips to use, watch The Fall Line here.

Welcoming Kate Rolston
Happy New Year to everyone! I want to introduce our fabulous new executive producer Kate Rolston as the latest member of our team. Kate spent the last four years as an account manager and integrated producer at Grey Advertising in New York (we first met when I was shooting a Canon campaign a few years ago), and she is now spearheading our studio’s marketing and production. Kate is also a yoga instructor, skier, and a darn fine photographer in her own right. Check out some of her work at: www.katerolston.com
Welcome to Colorado, Kate!

I had the opportunity to sit down with Tamara Lackey in New York City this fall for her show reDefine to talk about adventure photography, cinematography and how volunteer work has enriched my life on a personal and professional level. Click here to see the episode.

Thank you to Tamara and her crew for having me as a guest!

Last month I had the fun experience of working on the “other” side of the camera, as the subject for a Canon television commercial running in Asia this season. The story focuses on fellow Canon Explorer of Light Sandy Puc’ and I shooting at ScottyBob’s custom ski factory in Silverton, Colorado, and in the high peaks with Aspen ski athlete Willie Volckhausen. Snow is scarce on October 1st in Colorado, so after leaving ScottyBob’s shop we ventured up to 12,000 feet to shoot on permanent snowfields.
One highlight of the shoot was working with the incredibly talented director Sng Tong Beng from Singapore. His DSLR cinematography is simply beautiful — with sparse, simple compositions, his clips dance in and out of focus. He shot almost the entire piece with a fixed 50mm lens, and I learned a lot by watching him work. Check out some of  Tong Beng’s previous work here.

Another highlight was getting to know the good people of Dentsu Singapore and Canon Asia who traveled here for the shoot. For the wrap party we feasted on fresh elk prime rib from my archery hunt the week prior—perhaps the tastiest meat on the planet!

When the commercial airs next month I’ll post a full behind-the-scenes video of the project; stay tuned.

Hello friends. If you are in New York City or traveling there for Photo Plus Expo next week sign up for one of my talks!

Really excited to be sharing a DSLR Video Crash Course, if you find yourself overwhelmed by the options of DSLR video workflows and accessories you’re not alone, but a few simple tips will help you hone your process. Or maybe you’re looking to improve workflow in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS5? Then join me for a detailed seminar in image processing. For more information and to register click here.
In addition to the two seminars I will also be giving Live Speedlite Shooting Demos. So if you are at the Photo Plus Expo stop by the Canon booth Thursday at 10 a.m. or Friday at 1 p.m. It’s an interactive live shoot so bring your lighting questions!

If you can’t make it to Photo Plus Expo I will also be giving a talk at the New York City Sierra Club Photography Wednesday, October 26th at 6 p.m. Tickets are only $5! I’ll be sharing some of my latest work and revealing tips on how to capture a dramatic shot.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Shooting this series of the Fighter Pilots was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had on a shoot. Not only the sheer thrill of flying in an F-16, but getting to know the citizen-airmen and their families was incredibly enriching. To then be awarded 1st place in the International Photography Awards is just an amazing honor.

Special thanks and congratulations to my 1st assistant Draper White, imaging specialist Armando Martinez, and the fighter pilots of the 120th Fighter Squadron — especially my pilot, Captain TenEyck LaTourrette.

To see more F-16 Footage, watch Fighting Falcons.

Often I’m asked where I draw inspiration from. Really there are many things but one favorite photographer I am consistently drawn back to time and again is the Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson. Having been to Iceland 4 times, I have become enchanted with the rugged landscape and the equally rugged people. Axelsson has a perspective on his country that is especially inspiring.

As an adventure and heavy-industry photographer in western Colorado, I frequently shoot with miners, ranchers, wildfire fighters and the like. And before many of my shoots, I turn through the pages of Axelsson’s book “Faces of the North” for inspiration on shooting workmen in unique, gritty ways. I could explain more, but when you see his images you’ll understand …

For those of you who don’t know his work, this trailer for his upcoming documentary, ‘Last Days of the Arctic,’ showcases not only his beautiful photography in Iceland and Greenland, but also his interaction with the people and landscape he loves. Take a look. Get inspired.

I was honored to be a part of an hour-long TWiT.tv interview with Catherine Hall and Leo Laporte. I had a great time discussing portraits for Wide Horizons, what it was like to film in an F-16, and all of the projects we’ve worked so hard on. I also got to present some unique photo tips, such as: shoot into the sun, take your flash off the camera, and other advice that may surprise you (like using Pam cooking spray on location!). Special thanks to Catherine Hall, Leo Laporte and everyone who tuned into listen and ask questions.
If you missed it you can check out the episode online or download the podcast.