I used to post something to My Model Wish List once a week, but I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to keep up with it. Anyway, the person being added to the list this week is the beautiful Italian model Bianca Balti. She's been in numerous publications such like Vogue and Esquire and was featured in Playboy France back in 2009 and is currently in the June/July Issue of Playboy US.
My Model Wish List - Bianca Balti
NIKON Announces Their Brand New Camera the D810
Enjoy spectacular results even on the most challenging assignments. The D810 delivers incomparable image quality with its 36.3 Megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 4-image processor. 51-point AF with Group-area AF mode allows faster subject acquisition and highly accurate focusing, while extendable ISO coverage from 32 all the way up to ISO 51200 gives unparalleled low light performance. Top it off with Full HD 1080/60p video recording for the ultimate in professional, broadcast quality results.
$20,000 Smartphone features Hasselblad Camera
By Lisa Eadicicco, Business Insider
Smartphones are expensive. In most cases, you need to shell out about $200 to get a good phone with a two-year contract. Those prices skyrocket to the $600-to-$700 range when you buy a phone off-contract.
That amount of money sounds like petty cash compared to what luxury brand Vertu charges for its smartphones.
The company launched its Vertu Signature Touch smartphone (pictured) earlier this month, and it costs between $10,000 and $22,000, depending on how you customize it.
So what makes Vertu's smartphones so expensive? The company claims it's all about the materials it uses.
All of Vertu's smartphones are handmade in England, according to the company's website. Vertu handwrites its signature on each phone to show it was created by a single craftsman start to finish.
The phone's casing is made of natural-grain alligator leather and grade five titanium alloy, which Vertu claims is two-and-a-half times stronger than stainless steel but is still light.
The display, made of sapphire crystal, can reportedly withstand the weight of a "200g ball bearing dropped from a height of one metre," according to the company.
Vertu has teamed up with Bang and Olufsen for the speakers in this device, claiming its camera is certified by Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad.
Other than its appearance, the Vertu Signature Touch doesn't seem to be much different than your average smartphone.
The phone comes with a 4.7-inch 1080p display and a 13-megapixel camera and runs on a 2.3-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, the same chip you'll find in today's flagships like the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8.
It's unclear exactly what accounts for the differences in price. Specifically, Engadget reports the prices range between $10,300 and $21,900, while The Wall Street Journal reports the black alligator version costs $14,100.
Vertu does mention that buyers can choose different designs and colors. You can get your name or a phrase engraved on the phone.
Vertu's Signature Touch smartphone is unfathomably priced for the everyday user, but it's not the most expensive phone in the world.
Luxury gadget designer Stuart Hughes recreated the iPhone 5's chassis with solid gold and embedded a rare black diamond in the body. Hughes' iPhone 5 sells for an unimaginable $15 million.
Incredible Time Lapse by Joel Schat
This is definitely one of the best time-lapse videos I've ever seen. Joel Schat does an amazing job at capturing the beauty of nature that is so often overlooked by today's fast paced living. None of the shots he took are quick and easy, they all take time and that time forces one to sit back and relax while enjoying something that's all around us, yet seldom appreciated. It's seeing videos and photography like this that continue to inspire me to get out and see as much of the world as possible. Amazing job Joel and Roadtrippers.com!
First off thanks for watching my Nature DEMO REEL - Made to be Seen! To enjoy it in the best possible way turn the volume way up, Yell at everyone to be quiet and Dive into this film! If you have a blazing fast internet speed head on over to Youtube and choose 4K in the settings as the vimeo compression isn't the greatest! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzBsT1eWIpQ
Follow along with my adventures:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/joelschatphoto
Instagram: http://instagram.com/joelschat
http://joelschat.com
Alright! So basically this is my nature demo reel! My passion for the past 2 years has been to show off Creation as best I know how, which lead me to mountain tops, canyons, beaches and all sorts of spectacular places! I have been so blessed to be able to witness some of the things I've seen in the past 2 years. Thankfully I have been able to follow this passion of mine and continue to travel as I am extremely fortunate to work for an amazing company called http://Roadtrippers.com which allows me to travel and document roadtripping!
Our Films: http://vimeo.com/roadtrippers
The hardest part of this film for me was finding the right song. It had been months of casual searching but finding nothing. Then one day while I was at home (Vancouver) sitting in church my pastor used this song to help prove a point, that we have a soul and that is what seperates us from the rest of nature, the second I heard it I knew it was perfect and I rushed home to start the editing process!
The song is called: Saturn - Sleeping at Last http://sleepingatlast.com
If you want to see exactly what goes into making one of my videos check out a day in my life while on the road here: https://vimeo.com/89324153
The equipment I used for this film includes a bunch of Canon gear:
5d2, 6d, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200,
Rokinon 14mm (great for stars)
Lee Filters
A Bunch of Manfrotto tripods and my Motion Control!
Dynamic Perception makes some fantastic Sliders and now a pan/tilt head that is sweet but its the stage 1 that really changed things for me. It makes it possible to bring a slider on a long hike or on the airplane as its carbon fiber and super light!
DP Stage 1 Carbon and DP Stage 0 - http://dynamicperception.com
Emotimo TB3 http://emotimo.com
Promote Control (Best intervalometer I have by far) http://goo.gl/8aIWL
F-stop Tilopa BC
And of course I couldn't have done it without my VW Westfalia!!
All of these clips are available in 4-6K, email me at joel@roadtrippers.com for inquires.
How NOT to Pose Your Models
My cousin sent this link to me a little while ago and I thought I'd share it here. Now I'm not one to give advice on how to pose models, in fact on my shoots I let the models handle the initial poses and I might have them make minor adjustments from there. If they're good professional models they tend to have an idea of what looks natural and comfortable. Anyway, the only advice I would give is to NOT pose your models like this:
NSFW - Old Shoot with Eufrat
Some old shots I did with Jana a.k.a Eufrat:
March 2011
October 2011
Amazing Photos Taken Inside Some of the Biggest Surf
Check out some of Clark Little's amazing shorebreak photography.
The Inertia: Surfing's Definitive Community // http://www.theinertia.com Getting tossed around by shorebreak and slammed into the sand day after day is a rough go; Clark Little wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, for the North Shore local, it's all in a good day's work.
Young Madonna Posing Nude
I just stumbled upon this while browsing through reddit.
Through The Glass with Alyssa Julya Smith
A few selections from a shoot I did with Alyssa Julya Smith last year for Arsenic Magazine.
10 Things That The People Who Love Their Lives Are Doing Differently
This is a great article my sister posted on Facebook. It's written by Paul Hudson for elitedaily.com, but upon reading it, it sounds exactly like what I tell people when they ask me how I live my life.
Surprise, surprise… happy people live their lives differently. They don’t have different lives. They just do a better job at living them than those who are unhappy.
Happiness is the result of subjective interpretation of perception. Of course, what we perceive isn’t always done so by choice — life does throw things our way.
However, most of the time, we find ourselves in the situations we are in because of actions we took and decisions we made. It’s the way that you live your life that largely decides whether or not you will live happily.
They don’t bother trying to make others like them — mainly because they don’t care if they’re liked.
They like themselves and they are the only people they ever answer to. You could like them. You could hate them. You could pay them no mind whatsoever — doesn’t make a difference to them.
They do what they do because they decided to do it. They aren’t trying to gain your approval or acceptance. They don’t want to be part of your team — they’re a team of their own. They live their lives the way they see fit and if you like them for it, great. If not… then so be it.
They do things because they want to do them, not because they believe they have to do them.
They don’t believe they have to do anything. Other than pay taxes and die of course — everything else is a decision followed by deliberate action. If they are doing something, going somewhere, participating in something, it’s because that is exactly what it is that they want to be doing.
No one coerced them or tricked them into doing it because they value their opinion above everyone else’s. They do what they believe is right and don’t bother to ask for permission — they just do it.
They love their friends but don’t rely on them.
Friends are tricky because they aren’t really yours, are they? You don’t own them. They are their own people who have their own wants and needs — people who will always put themselves ahead of you and your goals. Friends are great to have, but relying on them too heavily will leave you disappointed.
Those who live happy lives have very close friends, but they keep their independence in order to avoid those moments. It’s the lack of independence and over-reliance that often comes to ruin friendships — all relationships for that matter.
When you ask them what they do, they don’t give you a job title.
They tell you about the things they are doing with their lives — the places they have visited and are planning on visiting. The projects they are starting or part of. The problems they are working towards solving and the communities they are working with to get those problems solved.
When you ask them what they do, they respond with what they do in their lives, not what work they do in order to pay for the lives they want to one day be living. The real trick is that these individuals know better than to wait to live the lives they want to live. You live life whether you accept or ignore the fact, how you live it in the moment determines how happy you are.
When you ask them where they live, they say, “At the moment…”
Happy people tend to move around a bit. Maybe it’s because traveling does the soul good. Maybe it’s because the stagnancy of staying in one place their whole lives bores them.
Maybe it’s because they love meeting new people and having new experiences. Maybe it’s because they haven’t found the right place to settle down just yet. You see, these individuals see the world as their home — no single country or city. If you ask them where they live, then they’d answer “earth” if they wouldn’t come off sounding highfalutin.
They have their own philosophies, their own religion they created and live by.
You don’t need a book to tell you how you ought to live your life. You can live your life by whatever philosophy you wish — as long as you found truths that satisfy you. They have a strong grasp of right and wrong and are their own judges.
They embrace their impermanence.
They know they’re only mortal — having this knowledge and accepting it fuels their every step. You will do. Why? Because it is inevitable. There is no way of avoiding it, only dealing with the fact.
The happiest of people don’t fear death. They don’t do their best to avoid it. They see it as the inevitability that it is in and live their lives by their terms. They may not be able to control death, but they know they sure as hell can control their own personal lives.
They see the world as their playhouse and their mind as the conductor.
They don’t believe there is a single way that the world is — a single reality that exists. Instead, they believe themselves to be the originators of their reality.
They believe they have full control over how they interpret what they perceive. They see the world the way they choose to see it because they understand the power such a skill has. We all live in a reality of our own construction. Some of us just construct our realities better than others.
They live in the moment, but dream in the future.
Happy people have hopes, dreams and goals. They have wants and aspirations, but they don’t allow themselves to get caught up and lost in them. There isn’t so much a time and place for dreaming as there is a maximum allotted amount recommended.
You can’t live life doing nothing more than looking towards the future because you’ll miss the only time that things actually matter or exist: the present. The present, the immediate moment is the only moment that you can actually live in. The rest is only an illusion.
They don’t bother changing others, but instead learn how to deal with them appropriately.
Devoting your energy to changing other people is a waste of it. People do change, but they only do so on their own accord. They have to decide to change themselves and that only happens in time — you can’t push and force because it doesn’t work.
On the contrary, it often does the opposite of what is intended. Instead of wasting time and energy trying to do the impossible, why not do the next best thing? Learn to deal with people as they are in order to get the result you desire. If you can’t change them, then guide them to do as you wish. Otherwise, let them go.
Fall In Lust
My beautiful friend and amazing model Gabriella just launched her new website www.fallinlust.com. If you like great photography and appreciate beauty then you should definitely check out her site. Gaby and I have shot a few times and have become great friends over the years and I'm really happy to see her website come to life because I know how much work she's put into it. Check it out!
Shooting with Cynthia Chavez
Model: Cynthia Chavez | instagram.com/missbolivia20 | twitter.com/MissChavez20
Photographer: Steven Williams | instagram | twitter | facebook | tumblr
Sunset in Santa Monica
Here's random sunset shot from the other day when I was hanging out in Santa Monica.
New Projects with Gabriella
I was in LA the past two weekends to meet up with my good friend Gabriella who was visiting from Hungary. She and I have known each other for a few years and try to meet up whenever she's in LA. We've shot together a few times in the past and from our first meeting we've thrown around the idea of doing some sort of road trip project together in Europe. Recently I've been talking to a friend of mine at a production house based in Silverlake and we've been trying to develop this idea a bit more. This past Friday the three of us were able to meet while Gaby was in town and he gave us a homework assignment which was for us to shoot a bit of random content of ourselves that can be used to help put the pitch together. Since we didn't have a whole lot of time to do something cool before Gaby left town we decided to throw a GoPro in the car while driving around LA to show us interacting with one another. I'll shoot some more content of myself over the next month that will show some behind the scenes stuff at a photo shoot, content of an ammo project in Nevada and South Africa, and a wine project I'm working on up in Santa Barbara County. Gabriella will shoot a bit of content back home in Budapest and then we'll throw together a little 3 minute reel.
In West Hollywood on our way to Urth Caffé for some boba.
Wearing eyewear provided by our good friends at William Painter.
William Painter On Set w/Arsenic Magazine
I was able to snap a few shots with the models sporting the very awesome William Painter's during yesterday's shoot for Arsenic Magazine.
Models: Jesse Golden & Cynthia Chavez
Behind the Scenes - "Spring Fling" for Arsenic Magazine
I was in LA yesterday taking photos for Arsenic Magazine's "Spring Fling" photo shoot. This shoot was more fun than usual because my good friend/photographer Janet Vuong was hanging out on set shooting some behind the scenes stuff. She also let me borrow her Nikon D800 and play around with some of her lenses as well. I'm definitely feeling the need to upgrade soon. Here are some of the behind the scenes shots, I was able to snap a few of Janet as well.
Models: Jesse Golden & Cynthia Chavez
MUA: Daniela Grasso | www.danielamgrasso.com
Tips From A Friend
You can learn a thing or two from my friend Alyssa Smith:
A short version of Alyssa Julya Smith hosting Esquire Network's "Women We Love" Special. Aired 11/2013. She is Represented by NEXT Los Angeles.
From the Archives - Alyssa Smith
Alyssa Smith and I met last summer on a shoot we were doing for Arsenic Magazine. We got together a few months later at her place in Los Angeles and shot some stuff for fun, here's one of the images from that day in September 2013.
Magic Fingers Will Blow Your Mind
I just stumbled upon this, really fancy finger work!
Lindzee - Amelymeloptical Illusion
GorillaPod by Joby
Awhile back LowePro and Joby sent me some really awesome bags and accessories. The bags I use all the time, but up until this point I never had an opportunity to put the GorillaPod Focus to use. Last weekend I was working on a photography/video project with an ammo company called Battle Born Munitions outside of Reno, NV. The first day I shot some footage inside their warehouse and the following day we went off the grid to capture footage of their ammo in action. While we were out there I used a 3 camera setup which consisted of two Nikon D7000s and one GoPro Hero3 Silver Edition. I had the GoPro on a tripod near a steel target about 250 yards away from where we were shooting and I had both of the Nikons focusing on the shooters. The GorillaPod came in handy because I was able to set it up really low to the ground to capture some cool video footage from a lower vantage point and on top of that my steady cam rig broke and the GorillaPod actually worked as a good substitute. I think they should create some accessories to transform the GorillaPod into a highly portable on the go steady cam rig. Anyway, here's a shot of the GorillaPod on the ground in front of the firing line, it was shot with my iPhone so it's not the greatest of shots, but you can see how the GorillaPod was placed and used.