Forbes Magazine Cover Shoot

I was fortunate to be asked by Forbes magazine to shoot the August cover story on Kevin Systrom, founder of Instagram. This was a particularly fun assignment because I was able to use the Hasselblad h4d with an Imacon back that produces 180mb files when processed, plus my trusty Nikon d3s and my iPhone. Getting to use what is the appropriate camera system for the shot is something I have championed for some time.

Kevin helped me app some of the Instagram photos. Who else would know how the final look would be on a shot but the man who wrote the code. The most important thing I came away with from this shoot was hearing Kevin say that Instagram was designed to be a social networking tool and that the photography aspect came afterwards and all the filters are a byproduct of something he love to do. He loves that old fashion retro look that one can get from toy cameras. He basically designed something he liked and everybody followed suit.


 Inside spread working the Instagram thang.
 Kevin Systrom, me and cofounder Mike Krieger posing for an Instagram shot

Jody's story on "Storytellers"

This story about "Intimacy and the iPhone" was posted yesterday on the iPhoneography blog iPhoneogenic. Thank you Edi Caves for giving me the opportunity to share Jody Frost's story.
Below is the transcript of it.

Intimacy and the iPhone

Photographs have always been a marker in time for me. I remember taking my first photo when I was five years old sitting on my father’s shoulders in Yosemite. Capturing what’s in front of me and recording my life with a camera is in my DNA. People who are close to me become a life long subject. Looking at these photos take me back to places in my memories of the moment. Using the iPhone to capture markers in time has become more convenient. The iPhone is always in my pocket. It’s unobtrusive. It’s ubiquitous. Because of that I can sometimes become more intimate with my subject. This small device is so accepted in our culture that most pretences fall by the wayside. People tend to be more themselves when the iPhone comes out of my pocket.

This brings me to my very dear friend Jody Frost. We became friends because of our mutual love for art, photography and images captured with the iPhone. Jody is very use to being in front of the camera. Being a beautiful woman she had been photographed all her life. With those experiences comes a certain preset list of expressions, poses, and self-awareness. The more I got to know her, the more I was able to capture authentic photos of her being. Soon an intimacy would come. A time of trusts and total acceptance. A photo capture at that time becomes an authentic moment. We were able to capture these genuine photos before she was diagnosed with cancer. With the onset of her fight we never discussed if I should document her journey. It just happens, because she is a part of my life and I take photographs. It’s just acceptance among friends.

Most of the photos are shot with a DSLR because of the fantastic technical capabilities of the Nikon d3s. This is important to know as how I roll. I love a good crafted piece of art. Be it photographs, painting. Architecture or music, I appreciate the skilled hand of the artist. I love results of a thoughtful and practiced hand. From this comes beauty. This goes for people as well. Jody represents beauty in its purest form. Her beauty goes way deeper than skin deep. It goes down to an understanding of life and appreciation of what is around her. Of course she has her demons and fears. This is what makes her human. What make our photos together so compelling is her trust in herself and in me. Because of that trust there can be an intimacy with the moment and captured with the camera.

While Jody was in the hospital coping with the heinous side effects of chemo and radiation I would shoot a few images from time to time with my iPhone. This was very challenging for me because I am in the trenches with her as well as trying to document her journey. It’s a hard place to straddle, emotionally and technically, but it’s also the most precious of places as for intimacy of the moment. Using the iPhone to capture the marker in time was the perfect tool at that moment.

As for post-production on these types of photos I take, I tend to do minimal processing of the image. That is because these photos I shoot with my eye and heart are the evidence of how I felt at that moment of capture. Sometimes these photos may not be pretty, but there are always truthful to how I see things.

This single photo of Jody was shot during one of her most trying of times with pain. She tries to cope with meditation and relaxation, along with some very powerful pain medications pumped into her body. What moves me the most about this photo is that there is still evidence of an inner strength and magnificence in her soul, even in the midst of so much abuse on her body, there is grace and beauty.

Mixing and Matching

I was doing some inspirational research about classic painting techniques, then I recalled some photos I did a while ago for a client. The shots never ran. I decided to play around with them and see what I can come up with running them through my iPhone.

A new video on Suzan Mikiel

Suzan Mikiel is a street photographer who recently moved to Los Angeles from New York City. She is another iPhoneographer that I know. She shoots in the more traditional style of street photography and tries to keep her post production stylization to a minimum. In this video she describes what it is like to transition from one city to another in search of new beginnings.

Click on the image to see the movie.


One of my iPhone shots of Suzan during the filming in LA.

http://vimeo.com/25783292

My photo on AOL


Life on the web is shorter than a fruit fly's life span.
My photo of "Candace Pulling the Sheets" was up for only a couple of hours, but it got some attention because of the teaser tag line AOL used. I guess cheap tricks will work sometimes.

Juene Femme de Reve


I was asked to produce a movie using the iPhone for the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art exhibition on "Art of the iPhone." Along with four of my photographic prints, I created a 5:58 long piece using my iPhone. I decide to explore the duality of a woman's sensuality/sexuality. These two internal feelings and emotions than garner for attention in one's psyche.

I would like to thank Rachel Abby for her unselfish spirit and opening up her inner being. Keke Vasquez-Tamali'i for transforming Rachel with wonderful makeup and hair artistry. And Jody Frost for her unflappable support and guidance in keeping me inline as to not sway from the core meaning of the story.

Please enjoy.
Christian

http://vimeo.com/22488731

Smoking a Cigarette

Here are a few photos shot on my Iphone of Candace smoking a cigarette. This was part of an experimental movie shot on the 4G Iphone. In the world of acting, smoking a cigarette is sometimes called business. It's gives them something to do with their hands.


Latest iPhoneography shoot




Shot and APPed with my new 4G iPhone. It's a little different working this device as to my 4x5 camera. But the way one lights and relate with the subject stays basically the same.

Reminds me of a funny comment I hear once in while, "Nice shot! What did you shoot it with?"
I reply "Nikon" They respond "Thought so. That why it's so good."

Father/daughter project





Natalie is getting close to finishing her schooling at the Cinta Aveda Institute. Soon she will be legal for doing hair. Did you know one needs 1600 hours of schooling before you can take the state exam? Her friend Danielle came over yesterday. Natalie colored and cut her hair, plus did the makeup. She asked me to take some photos. Here are a few samples using different cameras.

Iphonegraphy and the Stylized Image


Photo:Christian Peacock - Image Stylization: Joan Bada

I first became aware of iPhongraphy when Knox Bronson asked me to be a judge for this year’s Oakbook Iphonegraphy exhibition. This was my introduction into the world of dedicated artist and their highly stylized images shot with the iPhone.

Knox is the curator at http://pixelsatanexhibition.com/ I recommend you visit this site to see some very stunning images done with the iPhone.

These submitted images were refreshing and exciting to see. The styles were wide open. The fact that they were produced with an almost ubiquitous piece of equipment is what makes it exciting. There is a feeling that anyone can do this. It’s always in your pocket or handbag, ready at any given moment.

The actual act of snapping the shutter is just momentary, in most cases the real art comes in the great efforts during the post-production aspect of the process. Some call it APPing. An abbreviated term for application, those famous add on’s that has made the iPhone so popular. In the world of Iphonegraphy there are numerous APPs developed to aid the artist in their stylizations of their captured image. Some as simple as lighten a photo or color adjust to very sophisticated as constructing a montage then stressing the image to like something from another genre. It is evident there is great skill and patience in producing the final outcome of the more stunning images. There are some APPs on the market that are gaining notoriety for their ease of use interface. They are like the flavor of the month and soon become oversaturated in usage.

Then there are artist who spends hours working away with their fingertips on a piece of the most modern of technology. Resulting in a personal statement done with the provided resources. I have dabbled in the APPing phase but always seem to lack the time and patience to produce anything truly remarkable. There comes to a point where I wanted try an experiment. What if I photographed a series of photos with my iPhone and have some of the Iphonegraphy artist stylize the images. The photos I would submit would be somewhat different from what most of the work I’ve seen being produced with the iPhone. I was to shoot a session photographing a model. Something pre-visualized and worked through, a set of images that can work as a thematic body of work. The twist being having other people collaborate in the post-production end. Knowing the limitations of camera and lens in the iPhone poses unique challenges in capturing compelling images. Being a photographer my whole life I had to learn to let go of totally controlling every aspect of the technical end. Kind of go with the flow, well almost. With the limited contrast capability of the camera and the tendency for lens flair, I scouted locations that would work best for the iPhone camera. I could also use constant lighting and fill cards if needed. Plus a tripod, always a tripod! That one piece of equipment will make the most dramatic improvement to a photograph.

The actual session is treated the same way as any other photo session I have done through the years. There will be a good edit after the shoot. Then the images are shipped off for the artist to do their magic. After reviewing the results, I have learn quite a bit on what to do the next time I shoot with the iPhone and submit for final stylizations. I can predetermine a certain look and shoot for an effect. I’m excited to delve deeper into this process and my head is swirling with new ideas. I must hurry before the next new generations of APPs hit market.

To view more samples of the Sarah project visit. this page.
http://pixelsatanexhibition.com/people/nudes/the-sarah-remix-project-3/





Christian Peacock August 26, 2010

Cousin Chuckles


I met a long lost relative on my wife's side of the family. Cousin Chuckles! What a unique guy. He lives in Tucson AZ. Wherever he goes, he hands out "Chuckles" candy bars. The staff at the restaurant waited in line to receive a complementary "Chuckles" bar from him. His pants pockets are just loaded with "Chuckles".