Tour de Diversion

Of Curiosity and the Discovery Channel

2010-10-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were a little kid and life seemed to pass so slow? How the dastardly clock in fifth period grade school would tick by at a snails pace? Compare that to now. This past month and a half has flown so fast! Between photo assignments, video productions, editing, and traveling, I can still feel the whiplash!

Below is a snippet from a video production that I assisted.

So, "Curiosity." A couple of months ago, I received a call for the Discovery Studios program. A long story short and fast forward to a week and a half ago and a 6:30am call time later, I was assigned assistant duties to the show's Associate Producer. Therefore, at least on this shoot, the only camera I got to shoot with was my Panasonic LX3 for production stills.

Featured is the DP videoing the host of Curiosity using the 5D Mark II.

More after the jump...

The crew minus the executive producer and two associate producers, after a take. Featured in the background is Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay.

Three days and a helicopter later we wrapped production! Fun shoot. Airdate: TBA 2011.

-W

Food Wars: Reno Presented by the Travel Channel

2010-07-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

Big. Scrumptious. Delicious. Hot. Tasty! These are only a few of the words that describe the one and only Awful Awful hamburger!

So about a week ago, I received a call from a New York production company about the Travel Channel production Food Wars. Have you ever heard of it? Apparently it’s this amazing television show that bouts local varieties of well-known food against each other. For example, on a past episode, local Philadelphia shops were pitted against each other in a taste off of their unique varieties of cheese steak. Yum! Anyway, the producers heard about the Biggest Little City’s famous Awful Awful and sent a crew to capture it in HD.

It was my duty to shoot b-roll with a very familiar HVX-200! Did I mention, I LOVE that camera!

So…

After scouring the area (and my phone book) for production assistants, we started production early (around 6:45am) on June 30th at the first Awful Awful location, the John Ascuaga’s Nugget. It was interesting to see the behind-the-scenes kitchen and baking areas of the luxurious casino. After helping the DP set-up lights for the first camera interview location.

We ended up working over 14 hours! Therefore the day was very grueling but worth all the effort of making time based images for the production. Not to mention the Food Wars host, Camille, was super super nice and always full of energy!

Here is Camille with the crew on top of one of the towers of The Nugget!

As well as an overview shot of the sun setting over Reno.

After the first day had ended, the second day had flown by with shots at the rival restaurant and casino, The Little Nugget! It’s a quaint casino in the heart of downtown. I didn’t get a chance to shoot any stills inside, but it feels similar to a 50’s style diner.

Last but not least, the Food Wars CHALLENGE DAY! It was the day of reckoning for the delectable gargantuan hamburger. The public was invited for the taping of the showoff as well as food specialists.

And the crowd goes wild! Here I am, the middle camera (i.e. the lower far right and the only girl holding a camera!!!), shooting the “three shot” of the three people featured in front of the crowd.

Without further ado, I have to get back to work…so little time! Be on the look out for new media updates on my website as well as links to corporate media and photography work! Be sure to check out my friend Clarissa's account of the last day of filming as well! Tune in September to see which restaurant won the honor of being the Travel Channel’s Food Wars champion!

-Winter
(P.S. A very special THANK YOU to Sebastian, Heather, Clarissa, Aaron, and Chris for production assisting! You guys ROCK!)

Update and Green!

2010-05-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

Time flies!

In media news. I covered the annual Walker Lake Day yesterday for a local tourism office. The weather finally settled long enough for spectators to enjoy a calm day on the shores of Walker Lake. There were paddle boarders, fisherman, and families learning about the activities as well as the history of the pluvial body of water. The event's organizers allowed the media (i.e. the photogs and journalists) to venture onto the day's first boat tour of the lake. Truthfully, I haven't been on a boat since I was a child! But 25 minutes later, all was well and some of the "nature shots" were incredible. Anyway, if you're in the area next year, you should definitely check it out.

Here's a link to the Nevada Urban Indians. It's a great non-profit, outreach, referral, and community based agency that I had the pleasure of working with. I photographed studio portraits of the 2010 NUI royalty (Miss NUI, Little Miss NUI, and Jr. Miss NUI) as well as made photographs of the health fair and pow wow. I'll keep you updated on when those photographs will be posted online as well. :)

More after the jump...

Last but not least, the green. Weather in Northern Nevada can be very unpredictable. After a barrage of rain, snow, and hurricane recorded wind gusts, new vegetation was bound to pop-up at one time or another. Hey, it's spring time! Basically, three weeks ago, on a day I had off, I noticed a slew of green blanketing my whole drive-way and backyard. At first I sloughed it off and didn't really pay attention to it. A rain shower and two days filled with warm temperatures later, the fuzzy green vegetation morphed as fast as a power ranger into a dastardly patch of 8-10 inch long green mustard weeds! Yuck! Moral of the story, pluck the green before it grows. -- Too funny. Just thinking about this makes me chuckle.

Have a good Monday!

-W

Finally, Nat Geo Video Links...

2009-10-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

Video I - "Earthquake Swarm"

Video II - "Earthquake Swarm"

As promised, here are the webisodes that can also be seen here. It's definitely humbling to see the webisodes after the countless hours of research by the producers, 7 days of production, months in post, and finally distribution. All which is translated into something that everyone can enjoy!

Now, I'm off to sleep. Have a great night!

-W

"Earthquake Swarm" and Photo

2009-10-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

BIG UPDATE: The National Geographic project, "Earthquake Swarm" that I was an Assistant Camera last semester is going to air on November 5th at 7pm PST. The show will feature insight into the Reno Mogul earthquakes from last year. Including UNR professor commentary and shots around Reno, Nevada!

Check it out here.

According to the producers that I worked with, the Nat Geo website will also feature video webisodes as the November 5th air date nears.

If you have the National Geographic Channel be sure to tune in!

People wanted to know what I've been up to lately. Basically, I have been shooting photos and video all around the Reno area. As well as pushing around ideas for a gut wrenching, in your face and subsequently makes you think photo portfolio. I've also been illustrating fun little projects for friends as well as myself.

My photo instructor gave an outstanding speech today that can only be summarized as "thinking outside the box." Sure, this statement has been used an infinite amount of times. And I'll admit, it's tough to think outside the box. Anyway, here is a video thinking along those lines as well as a social commentary on the future of print journalism:

Living Magazine Cover & Spread - Outside Magazine.

Have a great week!

-Winter

Flickr.

2009-09-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's Flickr time! Yes, for some reason, it feels like I'm referencing an old Mc Hammer song.

Seriously though, I created an acount to house my "fun" and "interesting" b-side photos. You can find it here.

Ciao,

-W

Travel Summer 09

2009-09-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

I apologize to all those who have emailed me (Aunt Paula especially!) as I haven't replied as promptly as I would have liked. But I've been extremely busy since May. Working on personal projects and editing video. So have no fear, I'm back!

In May, I went to Kansas. The “Heartland of the U.S.A.” and the childhood home of Superman. My sister had invited me to drive home to Nevada with her after her last final. Having had a taste of adventure last summer, I definitely could not pass another travel opportunity. Therefore having found that a certain airline was having a special one-way ticket deal. I bought my ticket, packed a couple of cameras (i.e. my DSLR and a point-n-shoot) as well as a small bag of clothes.

I was ready for a Midwest adventure. 72 hours later, I was in Kansas City!

Here's a small sample of photos...

Waiting to board my flight.

Cornfields greeted us until Wyoming.

It took us around 3 days to get home.

Hasta,

-W

Update: National ABC Affiliate Video

2009-04-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

Update:

Here's the link to short video piece that I production assisted/gripped for that ran nationally on ABC affiliates:

Muscular Dystrophy Drug

Here's the youtube link too:

Interesting.

Ciao,

W

National Geographic, Pentel, and May

2009-04-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

It’s early Monday morning and the sweet sounds of the Across the Universe soundtrack are blazing through my cheapo ipod earphones. The faint echo of flamenco music from Spain also is audible from one of my roommates’ computer downstairs. Did I mention, I love my roommate’s taste in music?

Well, things have been a little busy in my ‘parte del mundo’. For one, I received a call and then was hired from New York City to PA/grip for a National Geographic production ---we had an excellent and efficient crew---Thank you producers, sound, and lighting. Thank you Andrea for that pen! It saved my life! If you’re curious and happen to be watching either World News Tonight or Medical Minute on your local ABC affiliate on April 20, 2009, you can see the segment (that I was a production assistant/grip for) that was shot at the medical school in Reno. You can also see the article HERE or a high quality version HERE. It was a short piece that was shot by my boss as well as gripped by a co-worker as well as myself at in the engineering building. Here's the youtube version that is posted on the New York Times.com.

If you followed my blog or have seen my sketchbook that I kept while I was in Spain, then you know that I used a special pocket brush pen, the Pentel kind. Well, my inventory of ink cartridges is pretty much depleted! I knew I should have bought 100 Euros worth. Fortunately, I found a website that is based out of the U.S. that sells the ink refills! If you want a good quality pen with good customer service check out Jetpens.com.

Hasta,

Winter

2009: An Aesthetic Odyssee

2009-02-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, 2008 has ended. Good-bye, sayonara, buuneduah! 2008 was definitely a year that was all about change. A change that effected everything from politics to my new found interest in seafood and love for travel! But that's besides the point. The fact is, it's 2009 and I'm actually, physically, typing on my mac blogging! If my late brother were still around, RIP 2008, he'd call me and tell me to update this blog more often...pronto! Well little brother, I'm online and typing.

A project that I directed is finally published online. Three other students and myself had the unique opportunity to work together with the University of Nevada, Reno Digital Initiatives Office to produce a video for the unr.edu website. It was the first video of its kind to be published for the homepage and in the process we made some history by producing it. The project was edited and finished in December and was supposed to be published in that same month but the date was pushed back to January, roughly the time the campus was to be back in session for the spring semester. We were fortunate to work with a swell group of cyclers from the UNR Bicycle Club. The interview content translated into a good documentary hopefully for you guys (the viewers) you'll find it entertaining and informative. Its humbling to see your work posted online and also to hear feedback from professors, students, alumni, and random people from around the area. If you're curious, you can see the video on the main homepage (as of this writing) here and here.

Moving along, I'm 98.1% finished with a free-lance illustration project I've been collaborating on with another young professional. You might know his work and you can check him out on his blog Calvert Photography. Before I layed down the first frame, I did some research on classic cartooning styles. Think Craig Thompson combined with Eisner and Scott McCloud. When I look at the finished product, it feels very clean and precise. If I could, I would illustrate all day!

Well, with the 2 1/2 hours remaining for today, I better get back to offline world and creating new and innovative aesthetic content for 2009.

Cio,

--Winter