Birzer Photo

Daily Greens Cold-Pressed Juice

Brian — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:49:15 +0000

I’ve been a juicing enthusiast going on 20 years, so when I heard that Daily Greens was producing local cold-pressed juices in my neighborhood, I became very interested.
As it turns out their juices are incredibly delicious thanks to the careful crafting of some unusual ingredients including cilantro, jalapeno, kale, cucumber, pineapple, watermelon, dandelion and celery.
In collaboration the uber creative team at Crush Advertising I recently did a product shoot with the latest Daily Greens juice offerings…have a look:

Daily Greens Juice

The post Daily Greens Cold-Pressed Juice appeared first on Birzer Photo. all images © Brian Birzer

BP Fallon and the Ghost Wolves

Brian — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:28:44 +0000

I recently photographed BP Fallon in my studio in Austin for collaboration the Ghost Wolves.
Here are some outtakes from the shoot to support their new recording Black Crow

while you’re at it, check out this rare video of BP popping candies with Led Zeppelin

BP Fallon

BP Fallon and the Ghost Wolves

the Ghost Wolves

The post BP Fallon and the Ghost Wolves appeared first on Birzer Photo. all images © Brian Birzer

Interactive Brunch at SXSW

Brian — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:54:49 +0000

During SXSW last week I was hired to shoot production stills for an interactive brunch video shoot sponsored by General Electric.

The discussion included founders and leaders of the tech industry including Tumblr’s David Karp, the Onion’s Baratunde Thurston, OK Go’s Damian Kulash, Vimeo’s Jake Lodwick, roboticist Carla Diana, Makerbot’s Bre Pettis. I shot on the set without a blimp using the silent mode of the canon 5D III silent drive mode, which I’ve grown to rely on for lots of events.
…speaking of events, there was a media reception after the shoot that was a lot of fun also.

Here’s the video that was shot at the event, followed by some of my production stills:

Bre Pettis MakerBot Industries at SXSW Interactive

Damian Kulash of Chicago band OK Go

film crew at SXSW Interactive brunch

SXSW Interactive brunch

the Onion’s Baratunde Thurston

MakerBot’s 3D print results

Carla Diana at SXSW Interactive brunch

hipster robot fans at SXSW Interactive brunch media reception

robot making espresso demo at SXSW Interactive brunch media reception

The post Interactive Brunch at SXSW appeared first on Birzer Photo. all images © Brian Birzer

Mermaid Citrine Poolside

Brian — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:14:03 +0000

It’s the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere, so I thought I’d post some photos from last summer of Mermaid Citrine. The great thing about photographing mermaids is that you can take fantastical liberties in post and they seem to work. This mermaid is also a great vegan cook and caterer Check out Citrine’s website.

The post Mermaid Citrine Poolside appeared first on Birzer Photo. all images © Brian Birzer

The Sand Mandala Project

Brian — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:02:04 +0000

On Jan 9th 2013 the Blanton Museum invited 10 monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery to create a 5-foot sand mandala in the museum’s Rapoport Atrium as a part of the museum’s Into the Sacred City exhibit.

The word “mandala” is Sanskrit loosely translated to mean “circle,” a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself–a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds. Tibetan Buddhists say that a mandala consists of five “excellencies”:The teacher, The message, The audience, The site, The time

The lamas begin the work by drawing an outline of the mandala on the wooden platform, which requires the remainder of the day. The following days see the laying of the colored sands, which is effected by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-purs. Each monk holds a chak-pur in one hand, while running a metal rod on its grated surface; the vibration causes the sands to flow like liquid.

the competed mandala

the dissolution ceremony

The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. Even the deity syllables are removed in a specific order The sands are swept up and placed in an urn; to fulfill the function of healing, half is distributed to the audience the remainder of the sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing.

Yongnuo YN560 Speedlights for Travel

Brian — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:00:05 +0000

I have been traveling for the last few months and I usually like to pack light, (carry on only) so bringing a studio strobe like the White Lightening x1600 is out of the question. I recently acquired speedlights made by Yongnuo. Bought a pair of the YN 560 which is 100% manual non TTL version. The reviews were good, and the price was unbelievably cheap, but what really blew me away was how powerful and efficient these little lights are. Perfect for shooting environmental portraits. Paired with a set of Sanyo Eneloop batteries, this set up easily pulls the stage curtain closed on the days when Vivitar 285 were paired with Quantum Turbos. What I really like about the Yongnuo YN 560 is the multiple options for syncing: you can radio trigger one from your camera which will in turn fire the second (or third) one with an optical slave. Another little trick I did was tape diffusion material over the light for a slight softening without bringing a long an umbrella. They come with small stands like the canon speedlights, and the metal base helps when you want to do some unorthodox mounting. Do the math: for the price of one Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT you can buy 7 Yongnuo YN 560’s.
As I write this, it appears that Yongnuo has upgraded the non ttl model to YN-560 II which I will need to check out as well, but for new I highly recommend the Yongnuo YN560 speedlights for travel.

Here are some photos I took with them on the North Shore of Ohau… You can check out an even larger set here:

Aloha.

Grace’s violin on the beach shot with one Yongnuo YN-560

Polynesian shadow puppet at sunset north shore

north shore family portrait

Hammock Time

Yongnuo YN-560 mounted to a rusted carbon fiber pole with Manfrotto head + pocketwizard