Archive for the ‘Awesome Shooting Locations’ Category

Professionals understand that no art is worth risking the safety of their models and crew. This behind-the-scenes image captures the making of a seemingly dangerous shot. What you don’t see are the pre-planning, the permits, the insurance policies, and the strategically positioned lookouts (in both directions) “just in case.” Never attempt a shot like this without taking redundant safety precautions.

(Photo taken at UltimateGraveyard. For location rental information, visit UltimateGraveyard.com.)

Breakthrough.

This morning, we were notified that an image from our 3D fashion feature, Warehouse Wonderland, made the finals at the Sony World Photo Awards in the 3D Category. The piece, entitled “Breakthrough,” was featured in Issue 2 of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful in 2012.

This is the second year we’ve been recognized by Sony and the WPO. In 2012, we won the Grand Prize in 3D for our fashion piece, Nuclear Summer, also shot for WMB 3D (See pics from last year’s award win here.) It is an honor to be in such esteemed company as our fellow nominees, and it is a personal thrill for me to see our wonderful art house get recognized for its landmark achievements in 3D photography.

I also must thank our team for helping me create this beautiful image. Fashion model Aryn Livingston graciously allowed me to dirty her up in the industrial warehouse. Genius stylist Monica Rose wowed us all again with her out-of-this-world wardrobe styling. Hair stylist Gio Campora and make-up artist Gaby Ramos Torell—the same glam squad that brought you our globally-reknowned desert shoot with Bollywood superstar Mallika Sherawat, returned to lend their enormous talents and create their signature brand of magic. My thanks to WMB 3D Executive Publisher Howard Misle and the WMB staff, and to the entire Saglimbeni3D technical team, including lead engineer German Pinchevsky, post-production supervisor Joyce Park, production coordinator Kevin Savarese, and art director Clint Davis.

Read more about our Sony WPO nomination on FStoppers.com, and watch the making of Warehouse Wonderland below!

WMB 3D: 02 Warehouse Wonderland High Fashion from Nick Saglimbeni on Vimeo.

The first time I saw pictures on the web of the Ice City in Harbin, I nearly lost my mind. I had never seen so many vivid colors contrasting against the night sky, and I couldn’t believe it was real.

I made my first trip in 2007, and I recently returned from my second visit to photograph the city, this time in 3D. Harbin is a mid-size city (relative to mega-populated Chinese cities, anyway) in northeastern China. Each year, they hold an Ice and Snow Festival which boasts lifesize castles, cathedrals, labyrinths of caves and tunnels, and even a few heated(!) restaurants where you can stop to eat. I was particularly fascinated by the “___ on a stick” cart, because, as I quickly discovered, there is no discernible taste difference between subzero meat on a stick and subzero fruit on a stick, or anything else subzero and on a stick for that matter.

Even if you’re not into frozen meat-sticks, traveling to Harbin still comes with it’s share of adventure. The temperatures hover around minus 25 degrees Centigrade, and each time I removed my gloves to attempt a Twitpic, I found my hands instantly numbed by the cold. Condensation also formed regularly on my camera lenses, making these long exposures even trickier than usual. Here a preview of my trip, though these images can only attempt to convey the sheer scale of the structures. Look for a few tiny people silhouettes in the shots. Enjoy!

PHOTOS:

1-7: Ice City!
8-9: Cold!!!
10: Dragon Fruit!
11: Starbucks lesser-known Chinese counterpart, USABucks.
12: Frozen meat on a stick!

Alright guys, this might be my favorite SlickforceGirl video yet. You’ve seen the beautiful Vanessa Veasley in harness training, and she’s walked you through her spaceship set. Now, go backstage with SlickforceGirl Stunt Coordinator Alex Wen as we put it all together and make Vanessa fly. So proud of Vanessa for being a consummate professional and a tough-as-nails trooper on this intense shoot—I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable it is hanging from a string, but she makes it look easy.

This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had on set. My thanks to Alex Wen, the entire SlickforceStudio team, glam squad Gaby Ramos Torell, Al Ingram and Diana Chan, and everyone who made this shoot possible. Up, up and away!

Here’s the first in-depth look at the making of the very first SlickforceGirl shoot. I’m not going to say too much here because the video speaks for itself.

The scale of this shoot was larger than even I had anticipated, but it was also ultimately the most exciting single production day of my career. What a blast to be able to see so much of what’s inside your head manifest before your eyes into a reality.

My thanks to the amazing team of artists and assistants who helped us pull off this stellar shoot. Stay tuned to the SlickforceGirl website for the latest updates. Lots more to come from our space-traveling hero. Enjoy!

Melanie Iglesias 2012 Swim Shoot from Nick Saglimbeni on Vimeo.

Melanie Iglesias’ star has certainly been rising this year. Since we first met her at our WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful shoot in 2011, Melanie has become an internet phenomenon, sporting hundreds of thousands of fans around the globe. She also currently leads the cast of MTV’s Guy Code, and has recently starred in projects for Tiesto, Adidas, Samsung, and more.

This summer, I photographed Melanie in Malibu, California for a swimsuit project amidst crashing surf, hollowed sea caves, and Pacific Ocean sunsets. Here’s a behind-the-scenes video from our beautiful and incredibly fun shoot. Limited Edition Posters from the shoot are available at MelanieIglesiasStore.com.

And if you want to see Melanie on the day we met, watch her WMB video here. My thanks to all who helped out. Enjoy!

CREDITS:
Photography by Nick Saglimbeni
Make-up by Therese Williams
Hair by Al Ingram
Swimsuits provided by Sexxy Addictions
Cinematography by David A. Rivera for SlickforceStudio
Edited by Daniel U. Magana for SlickforceStudio

Recently, Sony invited me to join a panel of speakers at PhotoImage Brazil. The PhotoImage convention is the largest photography and image expo in Latin America, showcasing top photography-related gear and unveiling innovative new technologies. Over 30,000 attendees turned out at this year’s show, held August 14-16 in São Paulo.

Saglimbeni3D post-production supervisor Joyce Park joined me on our Brazilian adventure, and we gave two presentations at the Sony booth on the latest advances in 3D photography. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with a brilliant group of photographers, including digital pioneer Pedro Meyer, National Geographic photojournalist Reza Deghati, and UK-based rising-stars Palmer & Pavel and Andrew Scriven. We also met many aspiring photographers in the audience, several of whom came out to see us after we announced our appearance on Twitter and Facebook.

After the convention ended, Joyce and I headed north to Rio de Janeiro for some beach time and to see the sights. I fell completely in love with the city within minutes of arrival. Beaches surrounded by lush jungles are my version of paradise, and the preponderance of fruit markets and natural juice bars made me feel instantly at home. We walked the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema on Friday night only to discover what a physically active city Rio is: the bike lanes were filled with night-joggers and rollerbladers, and the sand was packed with locals running obstacle courses, slacklining (you’ve got to see it to believe it) and playing midnight beach volleyball. On Saturday we made our way to the top of Sugarloaf mountain to take in the jaw-dropping views of the coast. Far too short a trip for such a vast and beautiful country, but a perfect introduction to all that Brazil has to offer.

My sincerest thanks go out to Sony Brasil and creative director Astrid Merget of the World Photography Organization for inviting us to spend time amongst such esteemed company. I will never forget the sights we saw, the friendships we made, nor the wisdom we picked up along the way. I also cannot wait to get back to Rio. Vou sentir saudade, Brasil!

CREDITS: Photos by Nick Saglimbeni & Joyce Park 

TOP A: The stunning view of Rio from atop Sugarloaf mountain. Note the Cristo Rendentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue illuminating the sky from the mountaintop in the distance.
TOP B:  (Left to right) Pedro Meyer, Astrid Merget, Nick Saglimbeni, Joyce Park, Reza Deghati, Jared Palmer, Pavel Vizner, Andrew Scriven

For the third year, we held our annual PhotoKamp workshop in Los Angeles. Students flew in from 6 countries—from as far as Morocco and Malaysia—to learn photography and lighting. Our attendees also illustrate the changing face of the modern photographer: we not only had an eye-opening 60% female turnout but also our youngest student ever. It is exciting for me to watch how this new energy will change the photography industry over the next generation.

On the first day of our 3-day event, we enjoyed Texas barbecue (with veggie options), courtesy of longtime SlickforceStudio friend Craig McNelley, owner of grip & lighting company Berkeley Avenue Productions. (If you’re in LA and need affordable motion picture grip & lighting gear, there is no one better.) After dinner, I took the class up to a skyscraper helipad, high above the LA cityscape, for an evening of long-exposure night photography.

On day two, we met at SlickforceStudio, where I spent the morning teaching the class about lighting modifiers, power packs, and grip equipment. Then I demoed several lighting setups for the students—from fashion to glamour to portrait—before turning them loose on their own. Models Lela Hazary and Vilayna LaSalle gave excellent performances for their photographers—who each built sets and experimented with many types of creative lighting setups from the inexpensive to the ambitious.

On day three, I took the team out to an amazing location in Lancaster for a day of complex pro location lighting. My Slickforce team taught the class how to build large-scale rigs, safety the equipment for the models, and work with generator power. Then I lit two lighting setups—one indoor and one outdoor—before letting them take the reigns with stunning models Remi Nelson and Regina Prasad. As with previous workshops, we separated the class based on experience level, and then rotated them between positions of photographer and various assistant roles. Many of the students expressed to me that they learned more assisting the other photographers than when they were actually shooting.

I’m proud to call so many of these talented photographers my new friends. I first met photographer Karim Tibari while traveling around Morocco for WMB 3D, and it was wonderful to see him again. I was also very happy to see so many repeat attendees this year, including photographers Kyla Schultz, Raffael Dickreuter, and Tracey Lea. My sincerest thanks go out to everyone who participated in this year’s PhotoKamp—I learn as much from the students as they learn from me, and let me tell you, the talent pool is growing quickly. 15-year-old photographer Julia even taught me to use Instagram! I could not pull off this workshop without my amazing SlickforceStudio crew, hair stylist Tony Jones, make-up artist Angela January-Taylor, and PhotoKamp coordinator Kevin Savarese.

Take a look at these cool behind-the-scenes taken by our team over the weekend!

CREDITS: Photography by Jessica Whitehead, David Rivera, Daniel Magana and Nick Saglimbeni for SlickforceStudio. ©2012 Slickforce Inc.

This past Saturday, I was in Las Vegas photographing Paul Oakenfold’s show at Marquee. By magical coincidence, it also happened to be Earth Hour at the exact time our shoot was scheduled. So Paul, Christian Arias and I all watched from our balcony as the landmark lights of the Las Vegas strip went dark one by one. (Well, every major casino except Treasure Island.) It blew my mind how much ambient light remained from the street and surrounding city, but it provided the opportunity for some wild exposures. Enjoy!

Unleaded? You're looking at Diesel, son.

I first noticed Mallika Sherawat in the early stages of her meteoric rise in Bollywood. It was clear she communicated with her audience on a different level than other actresses, and I always told myself that if I could get her in front of my camera, I would jump at the chance. I take the title “World’s Most Beautiful” very seriously, and after our launch I figured I had the perfect opportunity—and a responsibility—to showcase beauty on a global level, and perhaps introduce Mallika to a new hemisphere of fans in the process.

I met with Mallika a few weeks before our shoot, and she insisted on being heavily involved in the concept. We decided that an Americana-themed shoot would capture her in a way she had never been photographed, and it would also mirror her recent move to the US, where her Hollywood career has since begun to grow legs. I’m a big fan of Bollywood films, and I have the deepest appreciation for the stunning cinematography and glossy visuals used in their storytelling. However, to contrast Mallika’s previous work, I wanted to make sure this shoot looked very raw and dirty and American, hoping it would bring out a side of our star not-yet-seen.

As I expected, Mallika hit this one out of the park, bringing her own unique brand of jaw-dropping mystique to each frame. To see the full 2D & 3D photo feature, grab your copy of WMB 3D Issue 2, available for iPhone, iPad, Android and in print.

Go behind-the-scenes of Mallika’s shoot with these fantastic stills from WMB 3D photographer Joyce Park, and this awesome video directed by David Rivera for WMB 3D.

Credits:
Photography by NICK SAGLIMBENI
Styling by SARAH ELLIS & AMANDA CARTER
Hair by GIO CAMPORA for The Wall Group
Makeup by GABY RAMOS

Download WMB 3D Issue #2 from iTunes App Store, Android Market, or 9×12″ Limited Print Issue.