Nikon D90 on the L train on Vimeo

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1. Nikon D90 on the L train

by Mike Kobal

11 months ago

shot mostly on the L train with d90 and mixed stills from my ongoing subway project. 17-35mm 2.8 wide open with soft filter.For more information about this shoot, you can check out
mikekobal.com/blog/?p=5
music from the album Ceremony by Daniel Lauter & Suru Ekeh. buy it here: amazon.com/Ceremony-Daniel-Lauter-Suru-Ekeh/dp/B0000000CJ

Credits

130 Likes

Bianca Cenuşe
3 days ago
Raul Zort
10 days ago
Daniel Johnson
1 month ago
Atelier Guevara
1 month ago
- Alejandro Ortiz
1 month ago
Minh Bui
1 month ago
cameraz
2 months ago
Timothy Keen
2 months ago
maurice perry
2 months ago
Phil Hough
2 months ago
See all 130 likes

Tags

Second Law 11 months ago

Nice video. I liked it!
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you, second law. glad to hear that.
Roosh V 11 months ago

Awesome! Do you ask people to take their pictures or do you just snap away?
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

Thank you! mostly snap away. sometimes i ask.
David Buchanan 11 months ago

Very cool. Do people ever get upset that you take pictures of them?
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

i try not to get cought :) but yes, sometimes they do.
Beatrice Murch 11 months ago

This is really well done! I was wondering how you got the shot of the train from overhead. Was there a pedestrian bridge?
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you beatrice. yes, there was a bridge.
BenSeese 11 months ago

Well done, for the most part. The photo at 0:32 is exposed really oddly. Black tones aren't nearly dark enough. Seems like there's a few shots throughout that are like that. I'm curious -- are these wildly underexposed shots that you've photoshopped the hell out of, or is this just Active D-Lighting on Extra High?

Also, you obviously know how to use the exposure lock (i.e. the last shot), but you're not always using it. Some of the video clips have the ugly auto-exposure jumps. Maybe it's just that as a D90 person I know to look for it, but I find it really distracting.

Finally, while I'm at it, the soft filter is too strong for my tastes. But again -- good stuff!
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

hi ben, thanks for your comments. sometimes the ae lock was not on. the idea behind the video was to show the chaos and movement and focus on "moments" with the stills. i am aware of the shortcomings in the video. i chose the softfilter to blend out faces and not have the imagery of the clips compete with the stills. some still shots are wildly underexposed, i saw something and there was no time to adjust. glad you still liked it.
Cody G 11 months ago

I really enjoyed this, and I find the concept to be really interesting. The subway is the perfect place to take candid photos because everyone avoids eye contact. You can see it in the photos: blank stares in any direction but the camera (except for that interested-yet-annoyed looking looking girl at 00:36). I find this tactic of avoidance to be a very interesting social behaviour to observe, and you've captured it very well. But you've done more than that. You've captured people from a wide variety of ethnic and class origins who are all dependent on the subway. Although their lives may be a world apart from each other they all come together in this metal tube deep underground and when they're there, they all act the same: bored and unable to make any kind of social contact. But perhaps I'm rambling again... I really liked this and I think you're portraiture is wonderful.
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

Cody, thank you so much! glad you like it. this is the thing that fascinates me about the subway. esp in nyc. the train becomes an equalizer, whoever takes it, regardless of race, gender or age ends up sitting next to each other, enduring the journey. everybody pays the same fare, at the same time stays in their own world by avoiding contact despite the closeness.
bud hines 11 months ago

Hey Mike...nice job, I am from Chicago but I shoot a lot of street stuff in NY. I thought your video was extremely well done. I was more interested in the content than the minor technical problems that BenSeese pointed out.
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you bud. glad you liked it. benseese has a point with his critique. it doesnt bother me too much but of course i will try to improve -esp the video part in the future. i think it works well in this particular piece and the shortcomings help communicate the basic idea, even look intended, maybe better than a perfect technical piece. i am tempted to do another version in the future with "perfect" or "cleaner" video clips and compare the results. for now this baby will do.....
nshack 11 months ago

I thought this was really well done. Are you pleased with the overall quality of the HD video footage that the camera shoots? It seemed like many of the shots had softening going on, but I was curious if you have compared it with other video cams you've used.
The choice to use black and white made it even stronger. Saved some W/B trouble too... Did you shoot it that way, or change it in edit?
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you nshack. the video quality is fine, esp if you can work with shallow depth of field, low light, change lenses-the softness you are seeing was created using a soft filter. i wouldn't be too happy if that was the camera output :O) shot in color but i always planned this to be b/w.
Roberto Lepe 11 months ago

enjoyed the video, By any chance where you inspired by the "Magnum in Motion" ( inmotion.magnumphotos.com/ ) video's? The way its edited together greatly resembles them. I've been wanting to do the same with my stills.
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you, Roberto. no, i was not aware of "magnum in motion" thanks for the link!
Jaraku 11 months ago

Beautiful!
I like it!
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thanks Jaraku.
Vinh Luu 11 months ago

Hi Mike, I liked this video so much that I had to create a vimeo account just to comment on it. The mood of the video, the music, and the photography... they all really come together. I liked it a lot. You have a really great eye, and I can tell you are an artist. Keep it up, I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

Vinh Luu, thank you very much for your kind words. i should have something new very soon!
SMS 11 months ago

Very nice! I like it
what program do you used for editing and how you solved the edgy line of the shots
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you sms. used pinnacle for editing.
Joseph Allen 11 months ago

Nice work Mike!

What's the quickest way to shoot a still when you are in the middle of a video? Can you just click the shutter release to shoot a regular frame?
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thanks Joseph. yup, just click the shutter while you are in movie mode. there is a slight delay however, the shutter closes and you will hear two mirror slaps. it stops the movie and you will have to press the record button again.
Farrell Kramer 11 months ago

Excellent. I really enjoyed the video as a total experience. I liked the mix of stills and video.
I shoot a D300 and have been thinking about the D90 for this kind of thing. However, I could use that same money for a good 35mm adaptor for my HV30. Which would you recommend?
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thank you! you could do this: hv20.com/showthread.php?t=2825
looks promising - i have used the canon hg20 and its great. the sensor is tiny. prefer the d90. i shoot d3 and d700 mostly, used to have d300, in terms of image quality compared to d90, almost the same, d90 better dynamic range and a bit softer. of course the camera body does not compare. d300 wins here.
ghostcar 11 months ago

All hail L-train that was really good Mike.
Mike Kobal 11 months ago

thanks ghostcar, glad to hear you enjoyed the ride :O)
Patrick Wright 10 months ago

i'll have to agree with BenSeese - the soft filter effect was a little bit too much for me. BUT i think it's a cool video overall and the stills are definitely the strong point. thanks for putting together and uploading.
Mike Kobal 10 months ago

thanks patrick, glad you liked it.
Dan Lauter 10 months ago

Hey, cool music, what inspired you to use it with your photos?
Mike Kobal 10 months ago

oh, daniel lauter! amazing, unbelievable album, it was the perfect track! no rational decision making, just felt right.
Mario Strim 9 months ago

Beautiful shots and presentation....very well done!! What program did you use to create the slideshow?
Mike Kobal 9 months ago

thanks mario! pinnacle pro - very reasonable and capable program.
Jonathan Wing 9 months ago

You have some amazing shots in there, reminiscent of Robert Frank. I really like the shots at 0:32 and 2:12.

And the combination with the dusty, mysterious video footage is pretty great. I could picture this in a museum.
Vanessa Paxton 8 months ago

My professor would LOOOVE you. It takes a certain skill to be able to shoot strangers. I mean, even if you don't ask permission, actually, especially if you don't ask permission.. because you just don't know how they'll react. I tend to shy away from this kind of photography but you're great at it. You have some really killer stills in there that really stuck out. Good stuff!
Paul Davis 8 months ago

Captivating! I love the photos mixed with the ambience of the subway and the drums beneath.

So many great photos!
Damon Harryman 7 months ago

Hey! I really like this, great contrast! Are the stills taken with the D90 also?
Mike Kobal 7 months ago

Some of them are.
Steve 6 months ago

This is hawt...love the footage of the womans feet waiting for the train
Mike Kobal 6 months ago

hehe, the fashion element. thanks Steve.
Thomas M. 6 months ago

Wow! j'adore!
Ray Anderson 6 months ago

That's good, Mike, that's damn good. I was going to say that you have to understand New York to get it, but it's the other way around. You have to see this to understand New York. This is rare work.
Mike Kobal 6 months ago

thanks Ray!
Michael Kelly 6 months ago

This is excellent Mike, It has been at least 30yrs. since I've been on the subway. Seems little has changed. The dour faces are the same. People who ride on these metallic earthworms simply turn off their personalites.
Johannes Courtens 6 months ago

I can completely relate to this video! Really enjoy going to the city to photograph how funny and interesting people are. vimeo.com/4384952
rick ash 5 months ago

great use of stills and motion, i love portrats and these portraits are fantastic, i love how the music u used makes me ask the question what is going on behind the eys of every face we see, a million stories
Mike Kobal 5 months ago

Rick, Johannes, Michael, thanks!
Art and Light 5 months ago

Really Great Stuff

Love the different approach you took with the project.

Backing track works very well also.

One of my fav videos :-)
abadrivera 5 months ago

amazing work mike. very inspiring as i am trying to get back into photography.
Mike Kobal 5 months ago

thank you abadrivera.
Sahar Hussain 5 months ago

This is sooo inspiring Mike. Great job!!!! : )
Mike Kobal 4 months ago

thanks Sahar.
Nikanorov Timofey 4 months ago

I looked at persons of people and understood that they very much are nervous. But it has beautifully been photographed. A print of emotions.
Mike Kobal 4 months ago

thanks nikanorov.