Here’s a short video from Think Tank‘s new video series, The Story Behind a Photograph, which gets pros to talk about their most iconic photos. First in their series is Saul Loeb, member of the Agence French-Presse and part of the travelling press corps covering last year’s election. If you can recall from all those months ago, there was a viral photo of President Obama being bear hugged — though manhandled sounds more appropriate — by a small business owner. Loeb was the one lucky enough to have taken that photo.

In this video, he reveals how he got the shot and gives his theories on why it became so popular. Which all I can say is hats off to him and his crazy quick reflexes. I know I wouldn’t have been able to captured that moment. No, I probably would’ve been stuffing my face with hot cakes and patties of sausage, hoping to get it on the President’s dime.

Enjoy!

About A Photograph : Saul Loeb from thinkTank Photo on Vimeo.

“As a whole, in the broadest sense, what the universe is made up of . . . can be beautiful.” No truer words have ever been said. And this video is a testament to the beauty surrounding us up there. Brought to you by the fine — and supremely wise — folks at PBS, The Beauty of Space Photography is a short introduction to why some photographers, scientists, and mathematicians, focus their livelihoods to the beauty of space.

And if you have any inkling of interest for those distant stars, then this video is a perfect explanation of why astrophotography’s worth your time. I mean anyone can capture a cityscape or beautiful sunset, but can you tame the dark void and its discontents, make it beautiful, and have a photograph to share? A billion dollar telescope, probably wouldn’t hurt….

When glamour photographer Chamonix Thurston-Rattue was struggling with self-esteem issues in high school, she would imagine herself years far ahead, at the age of her beloved grandmother, looking back to her doubts. She then realized that this perspective of age instilled a knowing confidence. Thurston-Rattue wishes to unveil this beauty of confidence in the women she photographs. She views it as her job to help their unique personalities reveal themselves, regardless of self-doubt or fears.

Thurston-Rattue is based in Seattle and her personal projects have been garnering much attention (check out my post about her “101 Years of Beauty” project). She is also launching a new project entitled “Did You Know She was Beautiful?” and will publish a hardcover of the portraits featured in 101 Years.

In this interview, Thurston-Rattue talks about how she got her start in glamour photography, explains her post-processing workflow, and reveals why there is beauty at any age.

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Here’s a video to start the weekend off right. It’s a short timelapse of the Danang International Fireworks Competition  . . . . .  Yes, Fireworks. Competition. Let that sink in a little bit. Can’t believe there’s really such a thing, can you? Well, this to-the-point timelapse covers several days & nights of it. And because fireworks are never enough, it uses some cool motion captures and saucy music to add more fuel to an already bright fire.

Here’s to nostalgia. Happy Friday!

Danang International Fireworks Competition 2013 from Rob Whitworth on Vimeo.

If you have more than 25 DSLRs hanging around your room, 8 hours to setup a rig, and 4 friends who are beautiful dancers — plus you know how to play piano and can score a documentary — then you got the talent and the resources that Eric Paré shows in this short documentary.

Equal parts music video and technical commentary, the video is a dazzle to look at, and offers some insight into how he exposed for his crazy shots and how he setup his behemoth rig. You can also check out more details over at the LightSpin project page, which includes BTS galleries, a stop-motion player, and useful tutorials.

LightSpin Documentary Film from Eric Paré on Vimeo.

French-Senegalese photographer Delphine Diaw Diallo is one of my favorite artists. Her images have kinetic force. They are not photographs you ponder, while twirling your hair, or sipping your white tea. These are photographs that, because of their sheer eloquence, enter your mind and silence everything else. Force you to pay attention and unplug those headphones, pause the music, and abandon your Reddit surfing.

And I’m not the only enchanted by her photography. Diallo was named by PDN as one of thirty “new and emerging artists to watch out for”, and has worked with many clients including Nike and Converse. In addition, she has had her fashion/fine art/and portraiture exhibited in galleries around the world.

In this interview, Diallo talks about how she went from $300 in her pocket to successful photographer, reveals why she’s disillusioned with current media consumption, and explains how her subjects are her heroes.

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Olaf Heine has shot everybody, from Sting to Snoop (Lion . . . Dog?), and has great advice for approaching a portrait. Instead of trying to reveal the “soul” held within the subject, he sees his job as merely directing a story that mirrors truth. He likens his approach to that of a film director. Both are conveying reality, but neither are confined by it.

I don’t know if I agree with abandoning “soul”, or personality, or however you call that certain feeling you get when seeing a powerful portrait. To me, the less a photographer interferes the better. But then again to each their own. I’m not the one getting paid to hang with celebrities.

So much of landscape photography depends on the beauty of sky. An ideal photograph would have it filled with vibrant colors, dynamic plays of sunlight, and balanced composition. Its frame weighing sky and ground equally. Now imagine our night sky: dark with blistering stars, a lonesome moon, and there — majestically, because this is fantasy and you can do as you please — you see Saturn’s rings. Bright and multicolored. Wide and larger than anything else.

Can’t picture it, you say? Well here’s a video to jolt your gears. It comes from youtube via Petapixel and is simply stunning. Though the graphics are so 2012, it’s still a pretty cool visualization and a wonder to see.

Landscape photography would be so much better if we had rings!

The photograph above is from a series entitled Young Love by documentarian/portraiture photographer Laura Pannack. There are a total of 12 images in it. And like many of Pannack’s photographs, the images are tender explorations into their subject’s moment. They all have that remarkable intensity (or oftentimes desperation) which many of Pannack’s images shout. Their faint backgrounds and stark expressions melding together to utter what needs to be said. These are images meant to be taken whole and taken at their quiet-loud volume.

Laura Pannack has received many awards and nominations including first prize in the Portraits Singles category of the 2010 World Press Photo awards. Her work has been featured by Le Monde, the Guardian, and the Wall Street Journal. She has also worked with several non-profits including Save the Children.

In this interview, Pannack reveals why she prefers shooting in color, how she got her start in photography, and why photography is an extension of drawing.

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A while back, say 6 to 8 years ago, I played a sport really big here in Texas. The game was simple, run with a ball until you can’t run no more. I probably suffered several minor concussions, and some deep purples — these were bruises crumpled so deeply they actually went from purple to black, some even formed pus.

Back then, I was 240 pounds of fish sticks and jerky. I can’t even imagine how gruesome playing football would be now. The guys in this video are huge! (But however tough, still look silly posing for their photographs.)

Watch this BTS video and learn a bit about sports photography.

Gamecock Athletics Behind the Scenes Photo Shoot from James Quantz Jr on Vimeo.