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Scenes

info@natebenson.com — 2009-10-31T00:02:15-04:00

Last week, it may have even been two weeks ago at this point, I had a day off and roamed Buffalo for 16hrs taking photo's. These were the scenes ( no photoshopping, just color correcting in Lightroom 3 Beta).

There I go again

info@natebenson.com — 2009-10-30T09:17:00-04:00

We’d date for a week or two, it would be great we had a lot of fun - and fast forward a month later we couldn’t stand each other - now repeat this relationship about eight times and you have a nice healthy middle school relationship. The digital photography industry was very different in 2006 when Lightroom went into beta; 10mp cameras were thousands of dollars, there were format wars among all the leading camera companies, and we were all googling (not the search engine) over Photoshop CS2 and its kinda sorta acceptance of RAW. Now you can pick up a 10mp camera for $499 at Best Buy, you can shoot virtually every format of HD video, HDR is all the craze (or is it infra-red this year?), and social media makes or breaks our influence in the industry (and I continue to go unnoticed). ...I will state that I’m sure Adobe will throw some more gems in the full release of LR3 so I am only commenting on what they gave us in the initial Beta. ...Soccer moms who have a 16Gb SD card with 3000jpg’s need this type of function to sift through their import because they are too afraid of deleting Danny’s photo’s of the Sunday morning Soccer match. ...I'm not a huge fan or direct upload to social sites because the terms and conditions with these sites is always in question and to be perfectly honest, anyone who wants direct control over the way people are viewing their work understand that they need to come up with a solution to show that work. ...So the folklore goes, many photographers were irritated that they had to send their images into photoshop to add ‘film noise’ so they got together one day, created a few hundred blog posts to complain about it and Adobe obliged and gave it to them in Lightroom 3 Beta. To be honest its a cool little feature but i’d love for someone to explain to me why we would spend so much time reducing noise of an image only to add ‘film grain’ to it? ... Just a note, anything over 14% film grain is too much, feel free to argue about it but anyone with a traditional photo background will realize the “film look” gets old real quick. ...In the past, plug-ins have allowed us to do this but its always nice when a developer of one of the largest software companies in the world chooses to listen to the overwhelming demand of its users and put in a feature we want natively.

Wonder Bread

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-25T21:05:43-04:00

Having only moved to Buffalo in January of 2007, I’m still discovering little gems of the city. Perhaps I should keep these gems to myself, as I just drove by the Fillmore Ave Projects and noticed it’s fenced off and getting a facelift from some conglomerate that will either start construction or just keep a fence around it. Upon the request of my pal Mark Warner I headed to the Walden Ave/Genessee St. district of Buffalo the other day while I was out shooing. It seems like an obvious idea, but it’s one of those things that you don’t think about. It’s easy to go to the major landmarks in a city, but it takes patience wandering around unfamiliar neighborhoods, sometimes sketchy, to find that shot. ...Had I not been recommended to visit the Walden/Genessee district, I wouldn’t have found this gem of a building: ...The Wonder Bread Factory employed just under 150 people and different bakeries working out of it while it was operational. ... I do have a call into the real estate brokerage to see if I can get a tour of the vacant building. ...As creatives, we nee to be on the look out and go to areas we normally wouldn’t to find an atmosphere that is different to us. Too often we get comfortable and photograph the same buildings or the same models and thus get in a creative rut.

Central Terminal: One

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-23T17:30:00-04:00

First and foremost, apologies for not updating over the last two days, I have been swamped with redesigning a website and finishing up two video promos. ... One of these days I’m going to be stalked by the girls from The Shining and never make it out. ...I know efforts are underway to restore portions of it, however I’d like it to remain as is; but who am I to make such a request. ... I know some people who frequent my site likely know people who work with the Central Terminal Restoration Corp. and will likely show them. ... In the future I will coordinate to photograph the main building, like others have, but I hopefully will be able to put my spin on it. The remaining platforms have seen quite a bit of activity over the years, in fact I’m confident people were there within the last 6 months as there was garbage from a recent Tim Horton’s promotion. ... From a photographic/cinemagraphic standpoint the platforms are great because you get a real opportunity to play with a really great depth of field. The general platform area is also a good place to work on technique; I brought no tripod with me as to not draw attention and because there’s a significant lack of light I was shooting with a shutter speed between 1/8 - 1/30sec with a wide open aperture, thus it was a good chance to work on low shutter speed grip and technique. ...I guess I find it so intriguing because it is very clear that the Terminal platforms were simply abandoned one day. I could talk for hours about my opinions and theories about Central Terminal and society, but for now I’ll let the pictures speak for me:

LehrerDance

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-21T06:38:10-04:00

Jon moved back to Buffalo in winter 06/07 and quickly formed his troupe together with dancers from all around the country. ...I had been working on a new promo for 2009 as the last one we cut together was in early 2008. We had a show recently at Artpark and we had our intern shoot some close up footage with a consumer level Sony Handycam. ... I will admit for a consumer level camera there’s a lot of manual features that can make the video look pretty solid, the only problem is they are not readily accessible (all menu based options). ...

LehrerDance 09 Promo from Nathan Benson on Vimeo.

There are a few clips that have a little to much noise for my taste but, again, for consumer level you have to expect a little of that. ... Edited using Final Cut Pro 7, and only one motion graphic was made in Motion because FCP’s text editor and I were not getting along. You’ll likely see more LehrerDance work up here shortly since, as I said: “I have a special practice, I handle one client.” - The Godfather.

Sabres

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-20T12:41:59-04:00

I’ll preface this with the following: Every time I go to a Sabres game they lose. ... I’ve been to five games in two years and they have lost all five. That being said, this time I brought my camera gear with me to document the game. I was surprised and delighted to know that HSBC arena has a relatively lax photography policy for Sabers. If you have a pretty decent lens, such as a 300mm on up. We were sitting in section 109, so we weren’t that far away. My problem was my lens wasn’t very fast focusing, but that’s no excuse. Perhaps I’m just too slow. Regardless, not too many shots from the game, but a couple decent ones, I guess I need to go to more and get a press pass. Gallery can be found here.

Chernobyl, New York

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-19T07:55:06-04:00

I’m fascinated with the amount of urban abandonment throughout Western New York. Any local you talk to will give you the song and dance that this building or that building is “just about to make its comeback.” We’ve been hearing that about the same buildings for twenty years, and it likely wont change anytime soon. The big hoopla are area’s like the old Central Terminal site, and the Jefferson Projects. While local government insists they will force federal government to invest in these landmarks, it remains to be seen. I’ve been going to several spots for the last twelve months as part of a two year project about the Urban decay in the greater WNY area. Hopefully I’ll eventually be able to show this in some setting but that also remains to be seen. ... Naturally its title gives the project a certain gloom and doom, but it’s meant to be optimistic. I’m in favor of not restoring these landmarks, but that’s a debate for an artists statement. ...I’m hoping to be able to display this exhibit in winter 2010 or spring.

Have Heart - Thank You

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-17T15:04:28-04:00

Last night, 9.16.09, two hundred and thirty people witnessed a band say their final farewell to that town. Have Heart, a band that has played the Syracuse/Rochester/Buffalo area a dozen times over the last 7 years, said goodbye on their Syracuse leg of their final tour. Have Heart means a lot to me personally, more than I will ever get into on a public forum. But I will say this, I have never witnessed a band that had more passion, more drive, more integrity than Have Heart. I cannot say there has been a Have Heart performance that I didn’t enjoy, whether it be at the Westcott or in a larger venue. They made the Westcott seem like an arena and larger venues seem like living rooms. Seeing Have Heart as much as I have over the years, last night was a fulfilling conclusion and end of a chapter in my life. ...It’s time for band to take their place and evoke the same amount of passion in a crowd as Have Heart did. Two bands that could easily do the same are Forfeit and Cruel Hand, both of which played with Have Heart last night. ... There’s dozens and dozens of hardcore bands that are awesome, but will any of them touch my life the Have Heart did....we’ll see.

Buffalo

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-16T08:22:56-04:00

I find that a lot of shorts are very frantic, perhaps it’s this new age of youtube media and if you don’t engage the viewers attention in seven-seconds you’ve failed as an editor. As I hone my vision and technique, I forced myself to be patient with this short and let the image speak for itself. It seems like a very easy concept, but a simple search on the internet shows us several examples of decent video masked behind trendy music or intense motion graphics. ... But more and more we find that more video’s are using these to attract hits and views, instead of critical analysis. I fully expect a portion of the audience to not enjoy my work, but I also expect that the percentage that don’t be able to tell me why. An opinion holds no bearing if the only reason they dislike my work is because it lacks in motion graphics or intense music that is also embedded in three hundred other videos online. ...As an editor, if I am not disciplined then my work will be overshadowed by the tricks I implement to attract views. ...

Buffalo from Nathan Benson on Vimeo.

Tomorrow a High of Snow with a low of more Snow

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-14T19:22:24-04:00

Luckily I own the proper coat otherwise I’d probably photograph hot water heaters or ovens for a living. Buffalo has the best summers in the world, anyone who lives here is a testament to that. Winter in Buffalo is arguably more beautiful than summer, depending how you look at it. For my wife who insists I call the landlord if the heat falls before 67.9 in the winter, she wholeheartedly hates winter weather (loves christmas cookies and houses that smell like cinnamon though). For me, nothing is better than putting on layers and walking around the city photographing its wonder. As it turns out, Lake Erie (at its shallow parts) gets about 15 feet solid during the winter months. It is somewhat intimidating hearing all the ice shift under your feet, especially since any second the ice could cave and I’d be nothing more than a fossil. The mound of ice above was about 9 feet high of solid ice, sand and snow. There isn’t much in this world besides steel that is as solid as that mixture of elements. But everything in Buffalo isn’t as gloomy in the winter:

Hitchcock - The best $20 I've ever spent

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-13T09:31:34-04:00

HItchcock is a “mobile storyboard and pre-visualization composer designed for Directors, DP’s, Producers, Writers, Animators, Art Directors, film students and anyone who wants to be able to visualize their story.” - Cinemek Description on iTunes. ...I’m a very visual person, and often I would find myself leaving voice memo’s about shot ideas on my phone, or going old school and grabbing a pad and paper. The problem with those methods though is that down the road when you go back to review the voice memo or doodle I tend to forget what I was trying to portray. ...Hitchcock allows me to take photos from my camera roll (or on the spot) add them to a storyboard, determine what type of shot it is, duration of the shot, the ability to add extras, and even watch your story board in real time. ...When you’re done with your storyboard, Hitchcock lets you export it as a PDF and download it from their website, here’s a quick sample of something I threw together this morning: ...As described anyone from a Director, DP, Writer, Animator can take advantage of being able to, on the fly mind you, visualize their story. I know I will be using it for some upcoming projects and really think it will make my job a lot easier when I get behind the camera. ... Imagine as an editor being on the set and snapping shots throughout the day on your iphone and then throwing together a preliminary rough cut before you even get to your Final Cut suite. By being able to watch the story board in real time and adjust the duration of each frame, editors now have a field editor when they normally would have sat on set making notes. ...Even if Cinemek only allowed you 24hrs to download the clip so it doesn’t bog down their cloud the ability to throw your sequence into quicktime would be fantastic.

Tora, Tora, Tora, as my grandfather use to say

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-12T18:56:35-04:00

He would scare the death out of me as a child and go running and yell “get outta the way!” when the fighters would pass over; and because I was naive I would dive under his old Mercury until he did the all clear sign. ...In may I was hiking and ended up near Silver Creek and I was reminded of the jets and my grandfather while photographing some Sea Fowl diving into the water for small fish. ... I think photographing/filming nature is one of the best ways to keep you on your toes technically. While on the surface this may sound absurd, I think if you give yourself adequate time your technique will improve. ... After spending time photographing fast paced nature you will realize that you are better equipped mentally for the common ‘shotgun’ type of work that my generation seems to be getting accustomed too. ... All the while you’re keeping your subject in frame and because they aren’t making it easy they are flying or running in any direction at any moment. ...While hiking that day I heard a tree fall and had one of those “if a tree fell” revelations. By photographing a bird diving into the water, or a snake bathing in the sun, you’re documenting a part of history that no one else is likely witnessing. In fact if you were to ask someone if they’ve ever seen Sea Fowl dive into the water for fish there’s a good chance they’d say no.

Polar Bear Club_Forfeit

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-12T00:00:00-04:00

So besides working a 12hr workday and then going to a show, I thought I’d quickly import/color-correct a bunch of shots from the Polar Bear Club Record release show from earlier tonight. Per usual, Polar Bear Club did not disappoint and Forfeit is still one of the best hardcore bands around, and I’m not being bias. At any rate the show was intense and glorious. It reminded me how much I love going to shows and that I need to make a more valiant effort to go to more of them and bring my gear with me. I had wanted to post a dialogue about shooting shows, but I need to collect my thoughts so I don’t come off the wrong way. That being said here’s a few snapshots and a gallery of Forfeit and Polar Bear Club from tonight’s show: gallery can be found here

Niagara St. Fire, Summer 2008

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-11T08:19:12-04:00

The I-190 was shut down for a chunk of the day, several blocks surrounding the fire were blocked off, and residents in the area had to shut their windows or leave their homes due to the burning chemicals spewing into the fresh June air. ...As we now know, the fire department had the blaze under control but sometime in the afternoon lost control when the brick building heated up again and caused the blaze to start up again. As fate would have it I was driving along the 190 when a huge plume of smoke rose into the air, not knowing what was going on I got off the nearest exit and followed the smoke on the surface roads. ... Naturally the very.....very polite county sheriffs wouldn’t permit me to get within two blocks of the fire, which was useless to me due to my lack of expensive telephoto lenses. The advantage for me was that a month earlier I had a gallery showing for one of my undergrad classes in one of the warehouses that were in that area, and I remembered that a train track ran along all the warehouses. ... Knowing that CSX would have shut down the rail for safety reasons I walked back a few blocks and cut between some buildings and headed down to the tracks. ...I’ve learned that if you respect what their doing, firemen will allow you to hang around and do your job, they’re not as ‘polite’ as county sheriffs tend to be. ...I eventually got too cocky and headed back to the front of the fire by Niagara St and nearly was arrested by a Buffalo Policeman, granted he was just doing his job so I haven’t held a grudge. However yet again I did out think him and the only reason I didn’t get arrested was because I told him I was with the Rochester Times and I would surely be fired if I didn’t report back to my editor with at least one shot of the fire. He let me shoot for five minutes then sent me on my way, so I thank him for that, but there’s just one, minor detail...

The Work

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-10T14:16:38-04:00

Back in Undergrad, when life was simple, I was charged with a project to do a multi-channel video. Like most ‘art school’ projects the adjunct masters student who could care less about teaching assigned us a, and I’m quoting, ‘multi-channel project’ make the screen have many screens and I don’t care what you do.” Yet another reason why I love college courses taught my masters students who don’t care about anything, Moreover I love it when I know more about software or technical jargin than they do, but their excuse is that they’re a “theorist.” But I digress, I put together a very simple three channel video. The ultimate goal was to make it look like the female and male were bonded together, but due to some technical limitations in the studio we weren’t able to completely achieve the look. Ultimately the piece makes no sense as it was more of a technique test. It’s interesting to look at older work and compare it to newer work, and how far we progress at our craft. ...If not, that’s fine to, let me know regardless. Play ‘The Work’ »

There's nothing to discuss.

info@natebenson.com — 2009-09-08T21:52:48-04:00

With the very best of intentions, I refocused my career goals. Within those goals was a networking/self-promotion blitz in the form of revamping my website and establishing a daily blog to set in motion a daily schedule. At 6am I post something, 6:20 I workout, 6:25 I go back to bed. At any rate, there will be things I talk about here that will excite you; tech news/reviews, personal projects, promoting my fellow filmmakers and editors. There will be things that bore you, such as critical analysis of Love Actually or random shorts with our friend Jacob staring at his iMac (truely avant garde). All in all, this is merely a way to stay networked with a larger group of associates. They will push me to post content, I will push myself to do it, and my wife will push me to madness because I’m using the “computer magic” too much and neglecting our schnoodle. Expect more content tonight and tomorrow, and so on.