Archive for the ‘Awesome Shooting Locations’ Category

Last august, we took our photography and lighting workshop to Germany. Here’s a look back at the amazing locations, the beautiful models, and the talented next generation of photographers. (See the PhotoKamp Germany photo gallery here.)

PhotoKamp 2014 is coming up April 4-6 in Los Angeles. Be sure to grab one of the last spots at PhotoKamp.com!

Special Thanks to Carsten Simon at Luminanz Studio for providing the time lapse footage, and also to Stefan Rasch, Vanessa Sofie, Joelle Lahr, and the wonderful photographers who allowed us to follow them around for this video. Enjoy!

In late August, we packed up our bags and headed to Germany for our fourth PhotoKamp workshop. Being our first PhotoKamp outside the US, this weekend workshop drew participants and crew from 9 countries—some traveling from as far as Nigeria.

On day one, we met at Luminanz studio in Saarbrücken, near the French/German border for a meet and greet with the photographers, followed by an informal Q&A. As a sign of the changing times in our industry, a majority of the questions this year focused on brand building, marketing one’s art, and making a living as a photographer at a time of unprecedented competition. We then all headed for a real German meal in downtown Saarbrücken.

On Saturday morning, we met at Luminanz studio for a full day of studio lighting. I divided the room into two setups. The first was a commercial fashion lighting setup, similar to what I’ve done for Kardashian Kollection and Neiman Marcus. The second, by popular request, was my “pinup glamour” setup, which I all but retired in 2010 when I stepped down from my last long-term magazine contract. I also covered several “one light” setups that produce striking (and super affordable) results.

On Sunday, in classic PhotoKamp tradition, we ventured out for a day of location lighting. Our German coordinators arranged for us to shoot at a vacant coal mining facility, complete with all kinds of industrial madness. We again split into two setups. The first involved lighting a massive space with minimal lighting, using a combination of natural light, strobes and fog. The second focused on mixing strobes with outdoor elements, positioning your model relative to the sun, and—an unplanned lesson—shooting in the rain.

I continue to marvel at the good fortune we’ve had to attract such amazing talents and personalities to our PhotoKamp workshops. Being that even I was out of my Los Angeles-centric comfort zone, it was a wonderful opportunity to eat, talk and bond with both new friends and old. My sincerest thanks to our German coordinators Stefan Rasch, Carsten Simon of Luminanz studio, our four wonderful models and makeup artist Miriam Regitz. Also to my amazing international SlickforceStudio crew Scot Fortino (US), Hayden Phoenix (NZ) and Peter Major (Hungary).

We’ve just created an official PhotoKamp Facebook page to learn more about PhotoKamp and for past students to stay in touch. New dates for upcoming workshops will be announced in the next few weeks on our Facebook page and at PhotoKamp.com!

CREDITS: Photos by Hayden Phoenix and Carsten Simon.

The Burn is approaching. Anyone who has ever been to Burning Man knows that it is an unforgettable circus of color, fire and stars that no photographs or blog posts can ever do justice. That said, here’s my humble attempt.

This week—and the last week in August every year—tens of thousands of “burners” migrate to the Black Rock desert in northern Nevada for Burning Man. The week-long festival transforms the barren landscape into a hub for art, expression and exhibition. In Issue 3 of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful, I’ve created a round-the-clock photo-journal in 3D, to give the uninitiated a uniquely surreal look at the art of Burning Man.

For experienced burners, here’s your chance to see the playa experience in a totally new way. WMB 3D Issue 3 is available now on iPhone, iPad, Android phones & tablets and in print.

ART CREDITS:
Photos by Nick Saglimbeni
Temple of Transformation by International Megatropolis Art Crew
Face Forward by Christian Ristow
H.A.T.U. by Terra Cronshey
Parallel Lives by John Hagar
Trojan Horse by Douglas Bevans

While staying with my nomad friends at Erg Chigaga in the Moroccan Sahara desert, I felt a calling to climb the dunes after sunset. With no light pollution in any direction, I knew that it would truly be an otherworldly experience to stargaze into the heavens.

So, at dark, I wandered into the dunes alone, bringing only my camera and a bottle of water. Given that there is no artificial light anywhere, one can easily get lost. In the dark, all dunes look the same.

When I arrived at the top of the tallest dune, I looked up and witnessed the brightest stars I have ever seen. I’ve done my best to capture it here, though I must warn you: Words, and in this case, even pictures, can’t describe seeing the sight with your own eyes. Within a few hours, the moon began to appear above the horizon, illuminating the mountains of sand. I encourage everyone to stargaze in the desert at least once in your life. It will change you.

This concludes my four-part Morocco travelogue. My thanks to the wonderful friends and guides who welcomed me into their country: Karim, Youssef, Tarek, and Brahim. See my adventures in 3D in Issue 3 of WMB 3D, available now on iPhone, iPad, Android phones & tablets and in Limited Collector’s Edition print.

When life in the big city gets too chaotic, I’ve found a few sacred spots in the world where I can decompress and hit the reset switch. One of these getaways is deep in the Sahara desert, with my Berber nomad friends in southeast Morocco.

The serenity of the north African desert is unmatched; in fact, it is the only place that I can recall ever having experienced absolute silence—sand doesn’t make a peep. When I first laid eyes on the magnificent dunes, it was every bit as awe-inspiring as you would imagine. My nomadic friends and I traveled for days on camel along the Algerian border, stopping at makeshift camps, tent villages, and even hydrating at a real oasis, lush (by desert standards) with palm trees and a stream.

On my most recent visit, I brought along my 3D camera to capture the amazing scene for WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful . To see the full Magic in Morocco feature, be sure to pick up your copy on iPhone, iPad, Android phones & tablets and in Collector’s Edition print.

GALLERY INDEX:
1-5: Wild camels and the dunes of Erg Chigaga
7-9: The tents of Buono nomad village.
10-14: Tagine & tea during the Saharan sunset

It’s probably the alternator.

In Issue 3 of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful, I brought two of my favorite rising starlets out to Ultimate Graveyard for an apocalyptic shoot-to-remember. Kendall and Kylie Jenner’s fashion feature was styled by the insanely talented Monica Rose, who found the perfect pieces to complement the decaying location.

Here is a backstage look at the making of this shoot, with wonderful production images by photographer Joyce Park. WMB 3D #3 is available now for iPhone, iPad, and on Google Play. And check out the video below for a closer look at the shoot!

CREDITS
Photography by NICK SAGLIMBENI
Styling by MONICA ROSE
Makeup by GABY RAMOS TORELL
Hair by JAKOB SHERWOOD

Production Stills by JOYCE PARK for SlickforceStudio

This was my first shoot with Melanie Iglesias, for the premiere issue of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful. Glamour is a tricky business, because it’s very easy to fall into the “men’s mag” category. I wanted the glamour in WMB to be as classy as it was sexy.

We found this beautiful mansion in Pasadena; they had all this really great furniture and huge windows. I like to shoot at very slow ISOs, so we augmented all of the natural light with umbrellas and diffusers. For this particular setup, where Melanie is in the chair, I had one diffused umbrella on a 2400w/s pack keying her, and an Octabank outside the window boosting the ambient sun. I was using a lot of fan on this shoot, so I wanted a really fast shutter, but I opted to keep it at 1/125 so we didn’t lose the natural light exposure. Enough of the hair exposure came from the strobes so we didn’t have too much motion blur.

Mel and the whole team did a great job on this shoot, and to this day it’s still our most downloaded gallery on WMB 3D. Enjoy the behind-the-scenes video…we left the original production audio track in for a more authentic shoot experience. Download the FREE WMB 3D here for iPad, iPhone and Android.

CREDITS:
Photography by NICK SAGLIMBENI
Hair by AL INGRAM
Makeup by GABY RAMOS
Styling by SARAH WALLNER

On my most recent trip to Morocco, I visited the wonderful town of Chefchaouen. I had seen pictures of the fabled blue village in postcards and on-line, but seeing it up close is quite a different experience. The town is nestled in the side of the Rif mountains, just inland from Tangier in northern Morocco. Founded in 1471, Chefchaouen is now home to 35,000 Moroccans.

And if it isn’t obvious from the pictures above, the entire town is painted blue. Like, absolutely everything. The houses, the doorways, the sidewalks…and each a subtle variation on the hue. And though visually stunning as this was, what I didn’t expect was the hypnotically calming effect that walking around a blue city actually has on one’s mind. Besides feeling like you are actually inside an animated cartoon, I also found it strangely impossible to have any sort of negative thought while exploring the peaceful azure alleyways.

In the upcoming Issue 3 of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful, you can see the colorful Chefchaouen as if you were really there, getting lost in the labyrinths and doorways. My thanks to my guides, Karim Tibari, Tarek & Yousef Turner, and Moustafa el Habti for the personalized tour of this magical town. Pick up your copy of WMB 3D in the Saglimbeni Store here!

It’s hard to not fall in love with Morocco after the first few days. Casablanca, largely due to its’ classic Hollywood fame, conjures cinematic visions of mystery and romance. And Marrakech—with its snake charmers, night markets and brass bazaars—is straight out of an adventure novel.

I first visited Morocco in 2009, and again more recently to photograph the country in 3D for World’s Most Beautiful. I found the people friendly, the food delicious and the culture absolutely magical. A mix of African, Arab and European influences, Morocco is as diverse in culture as it is in people and terrain. The cities, in fact, are the most Western thing about Morocco. As such, I’ve broken my Morocco travelogue into four parts.

This first segment starts in Casablanca, at the spectacular Mohammed V mosque—which both overlooks and partially sits on the Atlantic Ocean. Then, we travel south to Marrakech, where we visit the bustling Jemaa el’Fnaa market square. I can still smell the steaming food stalls and taste the mint tea. Lastly, I get to play with impressively large knives at the Azlag Dagger Cooperative in El Kelaa Mgouna.

For the full adventure, be sure to pick up your copy of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful on iPhone, iPad, Android phones & tablets and in Collector’s Edition print.

CREDITS:
Photos 1-6: Mohammed V Mosque, Casablanca
7-13: Food stalls, tea carts, and brass souks line the Jemaa el’Fnaa square in Marrakech.
14: “That’s not a knife, THIS is a knife.” in El Kelaa Mgouna

Everyday, more and more up-and-coming photographers write me asking about PhotoKamp. So I figured, why not let past attendees tell you for themselves?

In this video, you’ll get a first-hand look at a PhotoKamp experience, seen from the eyes of our photographers. I am eternally grateful to these talented artists for sharing their experiences with others, and I am so proud of them for the innovative ways they’ve exploring their artistic visions, both at PhotoKamp and since graduation.

Our next PhotoKamp takes place in Germany on August 23-25. Early signup pricing is in effect until June 1. For more information, as well as a look back at past workshops, visit PhotoKamp.com!

CREDITS:
Edited by Daniel U. Magana
Videography by David Rivera and Jessica Whitehead for SlickforceStudio