Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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A single plastic bottle doesn’t make for a terribly compelling photo. But what about 10,000 plastic bottles and an brightly costumed model? That’s a different story.
Benjamin Von Wong’s latest project seeks to call attention to the problem of plastic pollution. Von Wong quotes research that says 50% of plastic is used just once before it’s thrown away, and by 2050 the world’s oceans will contain more plastic than fish.
Von Wong wanted to call attention to the problem, and came up with a concept that would help represent his subject beautifully – colorful mermaids lost in a sea of plastic. To do so required a massive number of plastic bottles and an equally large space to stage the scenes. You can read more about the logistics on Von Wong’s blog.
Using a Sony a7R II and a 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS, Von Wong captured the scale of his creations by rigging the camera to a system of plywood and pulleys, suspending it high above his model. He controlled it remotely from an iPad, and previewed images on a borrowed 52″ TV. See how it came together in the behind-the-scenes video below. If you want to take action, you can sign a petition to pledge to reduce your use of plastic.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Photographer Benjamin Von Wong, never one to shy away from extreme conditions to get a shot, has released a new set of images and behind the scenes information from his most recent shoot among the lava flows of Hawaii’s Big Island. Setting out at midnight, he and his crew trekked several miles through rough terrain to reach the glowing lava, where they set up to capture a model backlit with a battery-powered monolight. Using a Sony a7R II and FE 16-35mm F4, Von Wong worked quickly – the intense temperatures meant his model could only stand in position near the lava for very short periods of time.
You can see some of the resulting images above. For more behind-the-scenes info, head to Von Wong’s blog. Images from the shoot are for sale, with profits benefiting victims of Hurricane Matthew.
See Benjamin Von Wong’s PIX 2015 talk
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Photo by Benjamin Von Wong
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong has released photos and a video from his new Shark Shepherd photo shoot, which features a model in a white dress in the sea as sharks swim nearby. The shoot took place in Fiji and aims to expose a less-often seen side of sharks as peaceful creatures. ‘I wanted to create a series of images that would help break those stereotypes and show that it is possible for us to co-exist together in perfect harmony,’ said Von Wong in a post on his blog.
In his PIX 2015 talk, Benjamin Von Wong discusses his journey from taking what he describes as ‘ordinary’ photos to creating ‘extraordinary’ imagery. Throughout his career, he’s made a name for his surreal images that blend practical elements, fantastic locations and post-processing. For Shark Shepherd, nothing has been added in post-processing – the photo shoot features model Amber Bourke, a champion free diver, with assistance provided by divers Steve Hathaway and Kris McBride. According to Von Wong, the shoot took place over three days with more than six hours of waiting for curious white tipped reef sharks to swim up close. The sharks were described as being like ‘squirrels at a park,’ getting close out of curiosity but darting away quickly when someone moved.
Benjamin Von Wong profile, part 1: Engineering a Dream
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Benjamin Von Wong isn’t afraid of a little drama. His work incorporates elements of fantasy, turning models into otherworldly creatures and fire-breathers. So who else might you expect to find at the helm of an underwater shoot with two models, a team of divers and a shipwreck? Yep, he went there. Take a look at some of the photos and watch a behind the scenes video to see how he pulled it off. See gallery
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Last memories of my 95′ VW GTI MK3 VR6. Just sold it and bought an 03′ Jetta GLI 2.9L VR6 Turbo. This was my first car and spent my whole high school year working on it with my father. It was my daily and I built it the way I wanted to. -New starter and new battery -New G12 coolant coversion -New cross drilled and slotted rotors and pads. -New radiator, thermostat, thermostat housing and radiator hoses -New spark plug and spark plug wires -New slave cylinder, master cylinder, serpentine belt and water pump -Custom Platinum Grey paint job -Dubtechnik R32 front bumper -FK Sport Edition Plus Coilovers, adjustable height and 6-way dampening -Neuspeed upper strut bar -Neuspeed 25mm front swaybar -Neuspeed 28mm rear sway bar -Custom Cold Air Intake -Custom polished and painted intake manifold -MK4 Hella E-Code Headlight conversion -6000k HID kit -Custom 2.25″ exhaust. Test pipe, 12″ glasspack resonator, single dual exit Sebring muffler with dual tips -Corbeau A4 style Racing Seats -Sparco 4-Point Harness -NRG flat bottom black leather steering wheel with Momo hub -Autopower Street Sport 4-point roll bar with removable harness bar -Interior LED’s -Shortened shifter -Rear wiper delete, windshield wiper reservoir delete -Original Wink Rally 5 panel mirror -ESM 002 16×9 wheels wrapped in Hankook Ventus V2 Concept 205/45/16 tires Shot with: Nikon D3000 & Kodak Playsport ZX3 Song: Linkin Park- Numb (Dubstep Remix) Follow me on Instagram: kevin_wongg
Video Rating: 4 / 5
In which i start a year-long project of posting a video of a drawing once a week. Hopefully i’ll have 52 new drawings/ videos by this time next year! Unless i fail, which is also not that unlikely. www.flickr.com This is a stop-motion video i took with my Nikon D80. I took about 12000 photos, one every 2 seconds. (By the way, does the slightly metallic noise when i take a photo that my camera now does mean that my shutter is dying? Nooooooooo :'( ) The lighting was a bit problematic – it was sunny, then cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy and then it was the night. Anyway. I hope i don’t fail. I hope my camera doesn’t fail. (But i’ll probably start taking photos with slightly longer intervals so the videos will probably be shorter.) Also, I love my ink pen 🙂 Also, i don’t really know which category these videos should go in? Entertainment? I’m not sure many people would find this entertaining… Film and animation? It’s technically both, but really neither.. Ah.. Driving me mad. Edit: added a song, Röyksopp – “Eple”
Video Rating: 4 / 5