“from prep to page” – an orbis™ documentary

Before the most intense creative rush to my head fades, I’d like to show you my latest project, “from Prep to Page”. It’s the first orbis™ documentary, featuring adventure photographer Graeme Murray working on a real magazine assignment in the middle of nowhere.

Watch Graeme going through his thoughts before a big job, prepping, working and shooting, talking about how he works with adventure and extreme athletes. Then for a bit of fun, I shot Carena West, orbis™ muse and FHM’s “Girl Next Door 2010″. Look closely and you’ll spot the   photos that you’ll see Graeme shoot.  Before heading over to Carena’s to film her, the shop where I was buying a video tripod head excitedly showed me some new stock of Voigtlander lenses. I needed no prompting to ask cheekily if I could borrow one, a 58mm f1.4 II and that’s how I got the delicious shallow depth of field and general look in the closing scenes.

Wierdly enough, pro photographers are often the most reluctant to pick up a camera for fun. When you do something for a living, it almost always loses its appeal. I never took fewer photos than when I was working as a full-time photographer. I got so focussed on the operational side I forgot what it was like to shoot for the love of it.

Shooting and editting this latest and greatest orbis™ ring flash video has totally brought back the love of image-making to me. The love of photography and a newfound love of video. Graeme also reminded me about the love of photography… he seems to have never lost it at all. Maybe because his background was as a TV cameraman, who has relatively recently switched over to stills, and who now gets as many video assignments as photo.

To get inside his head and watch him work, check it out.