Recently the folk at Nikon Professional Services got in touch with me to see if I’d like to work with them on some videos that they wanted to make. They are starting to produce a series of videos highlighting the work of some Australian photographers and they wanted to shoot this one with me — their first one — entirely on the new Nikon D3s camera. I’ve been using the D3 for the last 20 months and their new D3s is an upgrade with a new sensor and, at the press of one button, shoots high-definition video. Would I like to play? Wot me? HECK YEAH!!!
So check out what we came up with. The first video is a two minute “feature” starring cranksters Vince Day and (the most divine) Monique Forestier. It is shot here in the Blue Mountains.
For maximum cinematic effect I’d recommend watching it in high definition. Here’s some tips in case you don’t spent 50% of your free time watching YouTube videos: the selector for high-definition isn’t available at first, so press play then pause it immediately. The high definition selector should then appear and you can change it from 360p to 720p and then press pause again. You want to pause it and wait for the video to fully load before letting it rip… You can also select full-screen (the button with four arrows pointing outwards). Check your boss isn’t in the room, crank up the volume, and…
The second video is a longer “Behind the Scenes” where I show the set up I used to get some of the footage and stills that I took for the first video. I also talk about climbing photography generally. I’ve been promising to talk about climbing photography techniques on this blog for a while now, and I think this video is a good way to show some of the things I do in my work.
I hope you enjoy the videos. Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions I’ll be happy to try to answer in the comments below.
Awesome Simon. It really shows the depth of the process… something that few would consider when looking at the results of your work as a print in a magazine… good stuff.
Cheers
Dan
— Dan J · 18 February 2010, 11:07 · #
Thanks for sharing – got really nervous watching you change lenses;-) How many have you dropped in your career?
— Randy · 18 February 2010, 13:04 · #
Thanks Dan.
Hi Randy, yeah sometimes it’s tricky changing lenses but, fingers crossed, I’ve yet to drop one. I have been lucky though; there have been a few occasions when I could have tipped out the entire camera bag contents… Also I’m happy to have never dropped a roll of film because that could have been easy to fumble. I have however dropped about 20 lens caps so usually carry a few spares!
Cheers!
— Simon Carter · 18 February 2010, 22:05 · #
Awesome images!. Thanks for these.. I hope you will continue to amaze me for a long time.
regards,
Pascal
— Pascal Heger · 19 February 2010, 23:18 · #
Brilliant video Simon, loved the landscapes and the mix of still and video footage. Makes me want a D3s!
What climb was Monique doing and where was the crag location in the Blue Mountains?
Cheers.
Peter.
— Peter · 20 February 2010, 16:47 · #
Cool.
Can we look forward to Commin’ at ya Hyper 2 soon? :-)
— Jason Smith · 22 February 2010, 12:37 · #
Thanks guys.
Hey Peter, the video was shot at three locations: the arete is Debris (23) at Pierces Pass, the orange wall is Wild Wild West (23) Hanging Rock, and there was some video from Boronia with clips of Monique on Tripe (30) at the 54 and 56 second mark.
Hi Jason, well that would be cool eh? It’s not in my current plans but who knows but who knows what I might get psyched on after cruising around with the D3s for a bit…
— Simon Carter · 22 February 2010, 14:43 · #
Hi Simon,
stunning videos, especially the making off is very interesting for photographers. Impressed as I was, I wrote a small article in my photography blog (which is in German only, unfortunately).
Generally, what you describe as your vision for your photography on My Nikon Life can be motivating for many photographers, I think.
At the very end some tech talk: One can embed the youtube vids with parameters (like I did on my article), so they are displayed in higher resolution right from the beginning. Its like
<object width=“853” height=“505”><param name=“movie” value=“http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/F37rsS0KUXk&hl=de_DE&fs=1&rel=0&hd=1” /><param name=“allowFullScreen” value=“true” /><param name=“allowscriptaccess” value=“always” /><embed src=“http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/F37rsS0KUXk&hl=de_DE&fs=1&rel=0&hd=1” type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=“always” allowfullscreen=“true” width=“853” height=“505”></embed></object>
Kind regards, Patrick
— Patrick G. Stöesser · 23 February 2010, 03:38 · #
Hi Patrick
I’m glad you like the vids. Thanks for posting the videos and writing about my photography on your web site.
Yeah I saw YouTube gave an option to embed the high definition video but I decided not to impose that on viewers.
I’ll be posting my “Vision” blog here soon.
Good luck and enjoy your photography.
— Simon Carter · 23 February 2010, 10:13 · #
SIMON CARTER TAKES AMAZING PHOTOS! I have listed the URLs for both those videos on VIMEO. If you are like me and prefer Vimeo over Youtube! Once again amazing stuff and amazing camera!!!!
http://vimeo.com/9513466
http://vimeo.com/9337388
— Jay · 23 February 2010, 10:43 · #
Dear Simon,
Your every shots is great , you job is awersome. envy u
Thx for sharing with us , you are so nice.
I cannot waiting for your coming blogs about climbing photography techniques
Gordon in HK
— gordon hon in hongkong · 23 February 2010, 19:45 · #
Great shots and great video Simon! I really enjoyed watching them. can’t wait to see more of your work in HD. =)
— Scott · 25 February 2010, 01:37 · #
Hey Simon – As always amazing footage which captures the essence and feeling of climbing. It is a pleasure to work with you
Paul
— paul niland · 4 March 2010, 01:14 · #
Hi SImon,
I’m a photojournalism student in the states and a climber. I’m decent at both and so I’m trying to combine my love of the two. For me though, the hardest thing is figuring out all the additional stuff you need, climbing wise, to get out into position to get the shot. Thus, I have several questions:
How do you move up and down the rope? I see that you don’t have climbing shoes on, so how does that work? It seems the most logical thing to do would be to rappel off the side, then when you get where you want to be, attach an ascender to the rope and clip into that. Is that how you do it? If so, how do you move back up the rope when you’re done to get more shots of the climb? If that’s not what you do, then how?
What make/model is the chest harness you wear?
What climbing gear to do you typically take on an assignment? What gear besides the normal climbing stuff (ropes, harness, quickdraws) do you take? Ascenders? Extra webbing? Extra ropes? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
What do you do when the only way to get up a wall (to shoot down) is to climb it? Do you actually climb it or have someone else climb it, build an anchor and then hoist yourself up?
Lastly, do you ever do work in America?
Thanks so much,
Anthony
— Anthony Souffle · 11 April 2010, 04:59 · #
I would be interested in the answers to Anthony’s questions and any tips you would have for climbers who would like to do this just on a amateur level, but would still like to get some decent shots (without getting killed)
Thanks again and the videos were awesome,
Jeff
— Jeff · 16 April 2010, 04:22 · #
Your photos are fantastic and motivating!
— John Dyck · 13 May 2010, 03:18 · #
Definitely with Anthony and Jeff here. I’d also be very interested in the ‘climbing’ side of things. Do you use ascenders, what do you use for pulling yourself outwards, do you attach a safety to your camera or just trust the neckstrap, stuff like that :)
Oh and what bag is that you’re using in the video? Is it one of those rotating ones of a brand i cant remember right now but have seen online before?
— Jelmer · 13 May 2010, 15:11 · #