Holdfast. "Real Life" live acoustic video

We recently completed a live acoustic music video for the band Holdfast. They’re a super talented group of really authentic guys and we loved being a part of this project. Gillian handled all the set design and handled all the camera work. We originally planned to do this outside at sunset but we had been getting thunder storms every day for weeks and decided to retreat to safety in the studio which gave us predictable light and conditions for as many takes as was needed.

They asked for a really stripped down, one camera, one take approach which sounds simple at first mention, but then when you actually start filming the truth is that a single mistake can ruin the whole take and there’s no way to blend the takes together. The guys brought all their audio and recording equipment and recorded 7 takes. Once you start getting your marks all dialed in you get really cool shots in each take, but it’s impossible to recreate the exact same magic in each one so you’re going to just have to choose your favorite one and go with it! Ultimately #6 was the one we went with.

Here’s a link to the song on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2FKrE8ILj7tVzuhgW8AP0I?si=b487b8faa9d94952

Handmade vase from burned cedar and walnut

When we built the studio last year one side was intended for photo and video and the other side was intended to be used as my workshop. In addition to my photography and filmmaking I love working with wood. I’ve made many picture frames and boxes and recently I started experimenting more with cedar which in the past I’ve used for fencing. But I discovered the Japanese technique of shou sugi ban, which is applying heat to cedar to make it permanently insect and weather resistant. I used that technique to do the siding on the studio which looks really cool. If you just give cedar wood a quick blast of high heat it won’t char but the color will change, adding more depth to the wood. So I thought it would look really cool when used on various applications like boxes, or even a vase like this which can hold more colorful bouquets.

A handmade cedar and walnut vase.

Whenever I make physical art I like to take beautiful photographs of it in the studio. Since we have a daylight studio Gillian will get to work styling it and then I’ll set up the lighting and we finish off the process. I’m really attracted to soft natural light and reflected light. So we used natural window light and some simple studio tools.

This is such a simple shot if you want to execute something similar. We used natural light coming in from the skylight which I bounced from a white foam core card available from any crafts store. Then we used a thin white cotton piece of scrap fabric to diffuse the overhead light.

The tools I’m using here are pretty affordable and easy to find as well. First you need a heavy stand to support the weight of an arm being extended. I prefer heavy c-stands like this one. Then you’ll need several of these really cheap clamps (like this small one from Impact) which are more of a duckbill design so they grab on to polls. Normal spring clamps, or a-clamps as they’re called in photography are not adequate because they’ll slip right off of an arm, or gobo arm as they’re called. The arm often comes with the stand, like the one I linked to above. Then, make sure you weigh down your stand with bag of rocks or a proper photo sandbag like this one.

You can do so much with such a simple setup! There’s no need to go over the top and spend a fortune on equipment before you’re really ready to make the leap. If you’ve got an etsy page or need simple product photos that you want to do yourself you definitely accomplish the look you’re after with a few simple tools! Good luck!

Native Botanical Fine Art Series

Last month Gillian and I went foraging for perfect specimens of last year’s native vegetation. We wandered around a nearby park with a cardboard box collecting dried plants from last year’s growth. I’ve always been fascinated with the forms and shapes plants take but people usually disregard them once they’ve died, even though they naturally preserve themselves on the stalk. I wondered what would happen if I took the color out of them and presented them on a clean background. This would force the viewer to respect the beauty of the shapes for what they are. If you couldn’t tell it was dead, would you still look past it? So, we took a day to try out whether or not the results would be worthy of sharing and we think they are. Let us know what you think and which ones are your favorites!

These images would look amazing when presented on a large format print with a white frame. UPDATE: They’re now added to my Etsy store for purchase. Local customers can always buy prints directly and get your signed copy hand delivered!

Behind the scenes in our studio during our Native Botanical series shoot.

Still life & fine woodworking

In addition to photography and filmmaking one of my other passions is woodworking. I utilize my studio space as both a workshop and a studio. When I’m done making new projects we clean up, set up the still life photography equipment and make some nice photos of the finished pieces!

Gillian gets free reign to make whatever she wanted here and I just light, compose and hit the button.

The boxes are made out of zebra wood with maple inserts and glue. I try not to use any nails or screws in my pieces if it can be helped. The lighting is all natural light with just a couple foam core books and a diffusion scrim to block or reflect light from the desired direction. Very simple, but very engaging results. I love how the wood pops off the dark cork background.

Sam

We had a really cool fashion shoot with Samantha Burton of Wilhelmina Denver last week. Gillian styled and did the makeup and I… took the pictures. Low light, low key is my thing now. So, let’s roll with it.

Everything was captured with the Fujifilm GFX50r and the 45-100f4. All images were lit with just one Westcott FJ400 strobe but I varied the modifier. I used a large octabox for the first look, and then different reflectors and grid combos. There was a wall of black cards and diffusion net to further soften the light and prevent spill on to the background and for the last look we employed a smoke machine for that dreamy, ethereal look.

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Moody studio still life

Gillian and I have been creating some new portfolio work lately and we’re really pleased with this one in particular. I’ve really been feeling the low light, low key look lately and think I may just do everything this way from now on. I think it’s who I am. I tend to change my mind on this kind of stuff every other week, so we’ll see.

Captured with Fujifilm GFX50r with the 50-100mm f4 and 2 Westcott FJ strobes.

Brand new daylight studio now open!

I’m very excited to announce the opening of our brand new daylight studio. It was a hell of a project to undertake but it’s finally here and open for business! 800 square feet with a 25’ shooting wall, tons of natural light, a big load in door, skylights, heating and cooling, storage and a clear coat concrete floor.

We can do just about anything in here, so let us know what you need! Let’s make something cool together.

Construction progress gallery

Coming in 2022: Brand new daylight studio!

Excited to announce that in spring, 2022 we’ll be graduating out of our multi-use garage space to double our studio space with a brand new daylight studio! We’ll have a private space with garage doors for loading, skylights, an attached kitchen, large glass sliding door, vaulted ceiling, upgraded power circuit and, of course, AC/Heat.

Very excited for this development and we’ll post again when we have something to show! This will mean a hugely upgraded offering to our Denver and regional clients in terms of studio and still life capability. It’ll mean speed and scheduling flexibility. Plus, we’re only 25 minutes from downtown Denver and no additional studio rental fees!

New gear alert! RED Komodo 6k and Canon c70

Newly added to the kit is the Red Komodo 6k and the Canon C70 4k. I decided to let go of the Canon c300 mark II in favor of these two cameras which will complement each other for different tasks. I’ll be using the Komodo for A cam in interviews and C70 for B cam where I’ll be able to maintain multi channel XLR audio for the boom or lav audio. The C70 will be great for handheld and tracking shots with built in image stabilization and ND filters and excellent face recognition for lock on auto focus. Meanwhile, it still provides a very good codec for post processing and color grading. Both cameras offer some slow motion, but the C70 gets great 120p in 4k while the Komodo is somewhat limited in super slow-mo. The Komodo will of course give me expanded color accuracy and grading possibility with Red raw and will be the choice in the situations that demand it. Color matching between the two for multi-cam is a cinch with removing a couple points of magenta out of the Canon’s highlights.

In the studio with Canon c70 on left and RED Komodo on right.

In the studio with Canon c70 on left and RED Komodo on right.

RED Komodo 6k with Sigma 50-100 f/1.8.

RED Komodo 6k with Sigma 50-100 f/1.8.

Ansel Pierce for Wilhelmina Denver

We did a test shoot with our new buddy Ansel Pierce of Wilhelmina Denver. Gillian did the styling and we shot in both studio and location in Rino district, Denver. Then stopped for Shake Shack. Shot all of these on my new digital medium format Fujifilm GFX50r and Fujifilm 45-100. I just love the image quality and usability out of this camera. The files are impeccable and superior to even higher resolution files from full frame cameras. The black and whites are also so good it’s inspired me to shoot black and white again.

A Drop of Water now free on YouTube!

After being published on Amazon Prime for 6 years and being viewed thousands of times my film, A Drop of Water was removed in 2020 for content concerns. A decision which cannot be appealed. I have a strong suspicion that it's due to complaints about the Christian content of this film as any negative comments ever received were always directly in regards to that. And so, I am putting the film out for free on both YouTube and Vimeo. Also, I still have a couple cases of DVD’s from the original printing, so if anyone wants a DVD (or more) of the extended version message me and simply pay shipping and handling.

"Let It Shine", lifestyle film featuring Noella Wong

I just released a brand new lifestyle film featuring the very talented and sweet Noella Wong, a 13 year old actress from Denver, CO. Working with her was a joy and I’m sure she’s going to be very successful in whatever route she chooses.

I find the typical fashion films where it’s just a model posing in random locations to be pretty boring. I require some kind of story to keep my attention. So, I concepted this little story about an adventurous young lady exploring the mountain side and documenting nature. I hope you enjoy it!

A fashion film starring Noella Wong, filmed at Mount Falcon Park, in Indian Hills, CO. Directed, filmed, edited by Gus Cantavero. Styling by Gillian Cantavero. Filmed on Canon C300 Mark II with 4k RAW on Atomos Shogun Inferno. 2 opening clips filmed on Fujifilm X-T3. Music: "This Little Light of Mine" by JJ Heller

Oh, The Power

A dance to "Oh The Power" by Kari Jobe. Created for Denver United Church's Passion Sunday presentation. I was asked by Denver United Church located on South Broadway in Denver, CO to collaborate in creating a creative video sequence to be used in part of their emotional Passion Sunday presentation, which is otherwise known as Palm Sunday, the Sunday preceding Good Friday which is the day Christians celebrate Christ’s crucifixion. Lyndsi, the creative director mentioned she had a couple dancers willing to participate and wondered what we could create. I suggested using the church’s very cool large video display as an animated backdrop for the dance performance. “What about purple with a slow upward graphic?” I asked. “That’s amazing because purple is the color scheme I was thinking of!” she replied. Ok, I guess we’re on the same page.

I’m really happy with this end result as it’s just a matter of kicking around ideas and collaborating with other inspired imaginations.

Dance and Choreography: Emily Willett & Reagan Kilpatrick
Produced by Lyndsi Greer
Music: “Oh the power” by Kari Jobe
Directed, shot, edited by Gus Cantavero. Shot with Canon C300II and Sigma 18-35.