Gregory Heisler, on Stripping with Derek Jeter

We pre-empt our regularly scheduled programming today, as we do pretty much any time Greg Heisler whiteboards one of his shoots.

(Ditto you too, Dan Winters, or Peter Yang. Seriously, whip up a good BTS and the joint is all yours for the day.)

For a little sense of chronological scale, this video lasts about as long as Heisler takes to shoot Jeter. For an SI Sportsman of the Year cover, no less.

Quick takeaway: Hiding a face light on-axis of a bigger strip light (sorry for that misleading headline, ladies) for "a little more oomph" on the face. "Oomph" being one of those light qualities Heisler learned about when studying with the Great Masters.

And on the Profoto strip lights -- if you have to ask, you can't afford them. They are not strip boxes. They are strip lights. Completely different animal. They are apparently made in Sweden by elves using pixie dust or something even more expensive.

I am working on a DIY version for speedlights, made out of polished, inside-out Diet Mtn. Dew cans.
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(More Heisler vids on the Profoto site.)

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Bob Dudley, Chief Executive for BP Response, answers your questions about the oil spill

It’s been 71 days since the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Since then, we’ve used our platforms to make sure that people can watch and participate in real time, access all the latest information on the crisis and response and share concerns through various programs and initiatives.

Now we’re teaming up with PBS NewsHour to take you to BP headquarters in Houston for an exclusive interview with Bob Dudley, President and CEO of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. In a live session moderated by the PBS NewsHour’s Ray Suarez, Mr. Dudley will respond directly to your questions.



Now is your chance to ask BP questions on accountability, the clean-up plan, recovery efforts in the Gulf Region, environmental impact, the status of the relief well drilling, the role of the U.S. government, the future of offshore drilling and of BP as a company.

Using Google Moderator on youtube.com/citizentube, submit your questions and vote the best ones to the top. Then join us for the live interview tomorrow, Thursday, July 1, at 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT on CitizenTube. Portions of the interview will also be aired Thursday evening on the PBS NewsHour and available on YouTube.

Early on, we partnered with NewsHour to bring you a live stream of the oil gushing into the waters of the Gulf. On June 15, we streamed President Obama’s Oval Office address on the oil spill crisis on CitizenTube. After the President’s speech, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered questions submitted by YouTube users, who cast nearly 200,000 votes to select the top questions from 7,000+ submitted.

We hope that these various opportunities to engage and participate in a current event help you and fellow citizens stay more informed and have your voice heard.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, and Ginny Hunt, Google Public Sector Manager

Professional caption services get “YouTube Ready”

Captioning is becoming increasingly important to YouTube and videos all across the web. Captions ensure that many more people can understand what's happening in your video, from deaf and hard of hearing viewers to people who speak a different language from you and choose to auto-translate the captions into their language. Captions also make your video a lot more discoverable. People searching for content on YouTube might encounter your video if your captions contain the words or subjects they're looking for.

You may be able to manage creating captions for your videos on your own, but sometimes you have too many videos or your video has elements that need special care. Today, thanks to support from the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP.org), we're pleased to roll out a new "YouTube Ready" designation for professional caption vendors in the United States. The YouTube Ready logo identifies qualified vendors who can help you caption your YouTube videos.


If you're interested in having your videos captioned, here's DCMP's current list of YouTube Ready vendors who may be able to help. Please keep in mind that participating vendors:

• Have passed a caption quality evaluation administered by the DCMP
• Have a website and a YouTube channel where you can learn more about their services (see playlist below)
• Have agreed to post rates for the range of services that they offer for YouTube content. Typical rates range from $2/minute for a transcript to $10/minute for full professional captions.

The first launch of the program includes 12 qualified vendors, with more to come. We're happy to have them on board, and hope they'll help to provide even more options for captioning your videos. If you're interested in finding a YouTube Ready caption vendor, check out our Help Center or visit DCMP's page.
 


Naomi Bilodeau, Caption Evangelist, recently watched "Deaf Mugger."

Video game fans pick their E3 fave

YouTube’s video gamers have spoken. First, they were treated to four days of live streaming from the gaming industry’s annual trade show, E3. The coverage elicited over 30,000 comments on the channel, as enthusiasts gave shout-outs to their favorite games, characters and platforms. They were also able to vote on their favorite E3 game trailer, which turned out to be this:



Congratulations to “Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3: The Video Game”! To see the other trailers in the top three, check out the E3 channel, and don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll get notified when we launch our 2011 coverage -- because it’s never too soon to be thinking about where the gaming industry will take thumb-numbing action next.

Mark Day, Gaming Manager, recently watched “Amazing Fire Animation!”

Rumblefish launches user-friendly music program for YouTube community

Do you ever wonder how to find music you’re allowed to use in your videos? Have you had a video blocked due to unauthorized use of music? Well, we are happy to show our support for a new site called FriendlyMusic. FriendlyMusic gives YouTube users the option of purchasing a lifetime license to edit a song into their video. How does this work? Go to www.friendlymusic.com and browse through their catalog of pre-cleared music for YouTube. You then have the option to purchase an mp3 and download the track. Once you download it, the track is yours and subject to your creativity. Add it to a YouTube video, create a mash-up with, or add it onto the existing audio in your YouTube video. Videos with Friendly Music soundtracks are licensed for unlimited views for the life of the video all over the world.

Since its launch, YouTube has pioneered ways for users to get professional music into their videos while respecting copyright -- and generating revenue and promotion for artists, songwriters, and music companies. Through Content ID and a series of unprecedented deals with music labels and publishers, we’ve turned user-made music videos into a business opportunity as well as a form of expression. With Audioswap, we built a library of songs you can drop right into your existing YouTube uploads. And with countless artists, we’ve hosted DIY music-video contests and film festivals.

To be clear, many of the FriendlyMusic tracks are still available for free in Audioswap. What’s new is that the FriendlyMusic store offers you up-front reassurance that specific songs are pre-cleared for your video -- plus the ability to edit those songs in your own video editing tools, at the point of creation. This marks the first time a music company has offered YouTube users a direct license. We’re excited about it and we hope you are too.

Try it out and let us know what you think.

Ali Sandler, Music Partner Manager, and Glenn Brown, Head of Music Partnerships, recently both watched "Baby Samba Dance!"

Using ND Filters to Kill Depth of Field

UPDATE: Just answered many Q's in the comments. -DH
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It's simple math. If you are shooting outside in the sun and limited to 1/250th of a second sync (or worse) you are are going to be shooting through a tiny hole as your aperture. Even if you crank your ISO down as low as it will go, you'd better like that background. Because you are going to see it in pretty sharp focus.

Or maybe not. In addition to high-speed sync, there are a few ways to bleed some aperture from your exposure settings in full sun.

Three blurry choices, inside. Read more »

Good TIMEs!

The entire staff here at Strobist International Headquarters are quite pleased (and more than a little surprised) to have been included in TIME Magazine's 25 Best Blogs of 2010.

If you are just stumbling in from that article, welcome! This is no ordinary photo blog -- you can see what we are all about, here.

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