Having been on a lecture at the Norsk Fotofagskole by one of Norway’s top photographers, Pål Laukli yesterday, I went to Kultursenteret Isak and filmed a little dance event for youth doing a photo- / video-something. Having not scratched the surface of dance I was introduced to the style Ragga, which I have learned originated from a Jamaican dance style from the 18th century. The instructor, Ida Skaret Fjøseide, has danced for twenty years and had lessons in dance in eighteen, worked both nationally and internationally. The event was arranged by Isak and MUD (Midtnorsk Urban Dans) with the host Tomas Vikeland.
Lately I’ve been working on some projects, this one is for the designer Lina-Therese Schiager Brækkan (LT Design) who is currently studying at Fashion Design Akademiet in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is one of her trousers. Model on this shot was Charite Viken from DP Models and helping me out with hair and make-up was Ann Karin Williams Aastø (OurStyle).
Having little time to finish this shoot some quick plans were made to do it in Trikkestallen Skatepark. I brought my camera, a SB-900 and an silver umbrella and tried to make the best out of this shoot.
A year ago I bought a light modifier for my off-camera flash, Nikon SB-900. I’ve been doing a great deal of off-camera flash photography lighting whole scenes with these tiny flash units. The modifier I bought was an Orbis Ring Flash. A plastic unit which popped on your flash forming an circular light making soft shadows and neath highlights on the subjects you are photographing.
The story behind this shot gives you some ideas on how you can get various shots without moving across town for new locations. Last autumn I didn’t have any permanent studio to work in when I planned this shoot with Charite Viken and the stylists from Ourstyle. I was determined to do a shoot with Charite even though the autumn so far had been quite cold and an outdoor shoot wasn’t something we sought. Having spotted this parking garage earlier the same year that might work as a location, we had to accept a compromising. The shoot itself didn’t have any theme or plan other than that we just wanted do a model test producing various looks. We had quite a few outfits the stylists wanted Chariteto pose in, some casual t-shirts and shorts, a long dress, a body and finally this body and shorts. A parking garage has quite a few great spots for shooting various photos. Even being at the same location from noon until evening gives you variations in the light. The fluorescent lighting might be for some film makers a pain in the ass because of the 50 or 60hz flickering, but shooting stills with a shutter at least twice as fast and with the correct white balance, it is really not a problem. The light acts quite large, but without any reflectors you might get some dark eyes.
First we shot some casual photos right in front of a white wall and some car ramps using just the fluorescent light. I was cold, the make-up artist was cold and the model was freezing having to wear shorts, tees and bodies. Good sports! The second part of the shoot we went a bit rougher, shooting direct flash light with the ring flash modifier. We found a stair case working as an exit on the backside of the garage with a steel staircase giving the photos a worn style. The as Charite changed into the last outfit of the day, I found this funky looking elevator with steel doors and blue walls. It was a tight fit, but with an wide angle lens we managed to shoot a series in the elevator.
Scouting locations is quite easy. Most cellphones comes with a camera and a GPS. Make sure you have your GPS turned on, and just photograph some shots of interesting places you come across. Using different on-line photo services you can keep track of where your locations are and when they are shot. Filming the locations in addition to the photos you might get a broader idea of how the location is set-up helping you to plan the shots. Keep in mind when you are shooting on location, it’s probably best to ask before you go there photographing if it is okay. It might be private property and you’ll end up needing to delete all your shots. Working on location you should always establish two bases. One for your camera equipment and tools for your shoot, and one for ‘relaxing’, where you can sit down for a moment. These two spots you need to be sure you can’t use for your photo shoot what so ever. If you are outside, remember to tell the model to wear warm clothes that is easily interchangeable and can be worn between shots. A sleeping bag is also a good idea to wrap around your model. Keeping the mood and spirit up on long days you might consider bringing food, candy, water and such. Take some breaks, both saving your back and arms from fatigue and giving your model a break.
Today I photographed a portrait series of Charite Viken from DP Models, documentary style. The sun had just set and the weather was clear and cold. Great backdrop to avoid harsh shadows. Most shots are photographed with a Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G, might be a bit to shallow depth of field (DOF), but gear that is sharp enough to get usable photos even at ISO5000. Enjoy your Sunday!
Screenshot from a promotional video I did for www.ourstyle.org
A few weeks ago Mr. Trondheim was to be decided at Clariton Hotel & Congress in Trondheim. As one of the members of the jury, Bjørg Helene Braaten, the rest of the co-workers at Agape Brud was invited to this event to show of wedding dresses in one of the breaks at the show. Ann Karin Williams Aastø from Ourstyle.org did the make-up and hair. Since this was a female only event, I didn’t get to shoot some pictures after the girls was done, but I shot a little promotional video for Ourstyle.org. The video is shot with Nikon D800, Nikon Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8G VRII and Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G. Enjoy!
Frequency in blogging have gone down by 100 percent, I am very sorry. From my Google Analytics-statistics I can see that I have lost a lot of followers the past three months because of this. I am not sure if I am capable to continue the frequency of new posts as I did before Christmas. Why? Well, I’ve got a job at an advertising agency, Centerteam Reklamebyrå A/S as a photographer assistant and I haven’t really found time to write about ongoing private projects, but fear not, I am doing a lot of fashion photography in addition to products and editorial stuff I do at work.
In February I covered Oslo Fashion Week (A/W 2012) for Runway Passport doing both runway / catwalk and backstage documentary. My campaign for Dronning Mauds Minne Høgskole have been running at both cinemas in Trondheim and billboards around town.
So, what is this youtube/vimeo-video about? Since it was Easter and I had some time off to do private projects, Charite Viken, who I did a music video for in January, and I brought some camera equipment on location and did this little piece mainly just for fun and experimentation shooting moving pictures with a DSLR.
Roomer has it that moving pictures are the thing of the future and I will not be stuck in the past. I like working with new technology and I will not be left behind. I am trying to find my style and find out how the technology works and how I will get the best results that I am looking for. I have received a lot of criticism that both this and my last video with Charite lacked of storytelling and I must agree. There is this third dimension, time, that is more prominent in motion photography than in still pictures and each clip as a in pictures need to tell a story. The discussion for me is more about me to take my criticism and do something with it, or continue as a mere photograph and film pretty and interesting clips based more on composition and detail. My trend is pointing in the direction that I want to do just that, planning the small clips instead of putting together a coherent story and instead let the sound and finish the connecting link.
Regarding the soundtracks for the movies I produce, I can see that there is a violation of copyright law to pick pieces of music artists and bands to use in my videos. I’m just as unhappy when someone tampers with the images I shoot. I can only apologize to all those I have stolen music from and going to steal music, but the reason is that you make so damn good music and it that helps me to set the mood for my moving photos . I have done and will always put the band and artist that plays the sound and the song is taken from.
Enjoy my little moving picture with Charite Viken as main actress and model. If you like the tune, listen to the full length at Spotify.
Here are the official promo-video I shot for Charite Viken in January. The song is written and produced by Dsign Music and styling was done by ourstyle.org. Assisting me on the set was Ane Aspén. Here are some behind the scenes shot at the different locations. Enjoy the video!
I thought the last post was the last for a while, but then I got a little time before my flight to Denmark too off and then I could post some more pictures from the photo shoot I had with the Charite Viken (DP Models). Here we are in a fairly narrow elevator. Nikon 24mm f/2.8, SB-900 and Orbis Ring Flash is the extra equipment I used in addition to my trusty Nikon D700. Make-up and hair was done by Ann Karin Williams Aastø from OurStyle.
Well, now I’m leaving on a jet plane, leaving the snow, rain, ice and cold. 2 degrees Celsius and sun is a fairly good upgrade.
Second part from the series I did for Charite Viken, artist represented by DP-Models. As the first part, this is shot with natural illumination in a dim staircase in a parking garage in Trondheim. The reason for all the noise in this picture is that I had cranked up the ISO-speed to 2500 to get a decent exposure at f/2.8 with my 24mm lens. Even tough it’s not done perfect technical wise, I felt that the rawness in both the style and posture of Charite expressed and the noise all over the image says something about what I am trying to express. First I wanted the photo to be in black and white, but the dirty green light the fluorescent bulb was casting set the mood perfectly. Make-up and hair was done by Ann Karin Williams Aastø from OurStyle. Thank you for helping out and doing such a great job at this photo shoot.
The recent days I have been assisting Lars Erik Berg from Centerteam doing a commercial job for Mascot Høie A/S. Høie is a manufacturer based in Fosen making bedsheets and pillows. It was fun and experiencing two days at the studios of Centerteam.
Yesterday I did a model test with Charite Viken an artist known from her early years as a child star from Melody Grand Prix Junior. In recent years she has become more adult in the style of music and is now working at Agape in addition to working as a songwriter. She is also represented by the newly established model agency DP-Models ran by photographer Ronny Manuel Danielsen. Hair and make-up on this photo shoot was done by Ann Karin Williams Aastø from www.OurStyle.org.
Here are some behind the scenes-shot by Ann Karin Williams Aastø
behind the scenes with Charite Viken and Bjørn Christiansen, photo: Ann Karin Williams Aastø
behind the scenes with Charite Viken and Bjørn Christiansen, photo: Ann Karin Williams Aastø
behind the scenes with Charite Viken and Bjørn Christiansen, photo: Ann Karin Williams Aastø
Hi and welcome to my blog / portfolio. My name is Bjørn Christiansen I am a 29 year old and live in Trondheim where I currently I work as a freelance photographer shooting fashion, commercial, documentary and portraits. Enjoy my site!
