FUTUROOM is an experiment in hyper-local and Social Media news reporting on a national level in the Czech Republic.

This is a story of how a national news organization was built from the ground up, based on hyper-local journalism and social media.

The finished film will be posted as soon as it is done.

Technical details:

This film was story-boarded and shot in four days.

I used a Canon HF100 camcorder, a Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless lavaliere kit, a Manfrotto Modo tripod, and for some sequences, a Sony T500 point and shoot camera.

Total value of my equipment: $1350

Is this truly lo-fi? In this case I would say yes. This is the cheapest I could make this type of film: HD, great sound and steady shots with a tripod.

This entire setup fit inside of my small laptop bag. I had a portable shooting/editing setup wherever I went, and it was incredibly discreet and convenient.

I hope to shoot many more projects with this same setup.

-Kirk

Oatman Cowboy. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

Rebel Flag. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

Earth Ship. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

Open Desert. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

I’ve been down in Arizona visiting my family for Christmas for the last few days, and for the most part have not been actively creating.

Just resting.

And it feels good.

Today we visited the mining town of Oatman, Arizona to see the staged gunfights, roaming feral donkeys, hoards of tourists and fantastic shops full of the most ridiculous kitsch.

I brought my Canon 5D with 50mm lens again, since it was so easy to cart around. The whole time while in Oatman I only took a shot here or there if I felt like it.

Though I am on vacation I was able to produce several cool shots without too much mental effort. Obviously the best photo of the day was the photo of the cowboy.

While waiting for the rest of my family to exit the restaurant we were in (a famous one at that, the Oatman Hotel) this photo opportunity just fell into my lap. I saw this cowboy turn for second to light a cigarette, and I snapped a picture. He took a drag and I snapped a second picture, then the cowboy walked away.

As it turns out, the second picture was better where he’s just turned out of the wind after his first drag.

A woman whispered something to me after taking the frame:
“That’s a really nice shot, you got a good shot there, good job.”

She then went outside, stood next to the cowboy and lit up a cigar.

-Kirk

Merry Christmas everyone!

I wasn’t sure WHO I was going to photograph because the session was a prize I donated for the the all-girl alley cat race. This way of finding a subject was unique for me because the relationship was inverted. I did not seek out my subject. Rather, through a series of semi-random events, my subject came to me, and ultimately it worked out well.

Sonia has a great personality and was really easy to work with. I decided on 2 rules for this shoot:

1. Use only my 5D + 50mm
2. No directing the poses, and going for as much of a neutral situation as possible.

Both of these rules were a way to get as close to the truth of the moment as I could. Of course, the moment two humans interact at all, there is some chemistry which alters the situation in some way. These two rules were meant to head that off at the pass, as much as was possible. A 50mm lens is pretty close to human sight in terms of angle of vision. By not directing poses and encouraging Sonia from the beginning to self direct her position and to be neutral, I attempted to divert the idea that most people have to ‘smile and say cheese’ when someone is taking their picture.

We all have masks we wear in front of others in life. We show people what they want to see, or at the very least, hide some of our inner feelings to prevent from being vulnerable. It’s only natural.

My favorite portrait photographers break through the masks of their subjects and reveal something true. I’m not saying I nailed it this time. However, I can say that I was being mindful of it. Hopefully, some of that mask came away in these photos.

At the very least, I hope you, dear reader, find them interesting.

-Kirk

Double Rainbow. I-5. Washington, 2008.

Totem Pole. Somewhere in Oregon, 2008.

Blue House Smoke. I-5. Washington, 2008.

Christmas Trees. Beaverton, OR. 2008.

We Have Secured a Tree. Beaverton, OR. 2008.

I’ve just come back from a lovely visit to my girlfriend’s sister’s house in Beaverton, Oregon.
We managed to get a great tree for real cheap (thank you economic recession.)
As usual, most of what I shot during the weekend was with the Canon 5D and either a 50mm or 90mm lens.

All I can say is that I’m forgetting what it’s like to use anything else…and I don’t care.

Nothing looks like a 50mm lens.

It’s something about the flatness of the image, the lack of distortion.

It just feels…right.

The lens I used to hate so much is now my only lens. The 90mm came along as a food lens, for some close up pics of what we baked that weekend (cupcakes.)

As time passes I have become more firm in my belief that if a picture isn’t good it isn’t good. No matter if it’s shot with the artifice of an extremely wide or extremely telephoto lens.

If it doesn’t look good as it truly is, (and the 50mm is as close to the truth as you can get…it mimics the field of view of a human, have you heard?) then you can’t make it look good.

Not in the long run. Not with fancy filters, not with any actions, no way, no how, nada.

Most of the classic photos from the past were shot with a 50mm. The original lens. The first optical formula. The easiest, simplest formula.

I love ‘normal.’

I love the 50.

-Kirk

Gosporod Monument. Canon 5D + 17-40mm

I have passed this strange monument many times on the way from Seattle to Portland. This time I could not resist stopping.

Each time I passed I marveled at the weirdness of this place alongside the highway. To me it looked like a new-age-chakra, pyramid power center, crystalline green, weirdo monument to the Aztec Calender. Or maybe a state project gone awry.

It’s actually about this.

Robin in a field, in front of the Gosporod Monument along I-5 on the way from Seattle to Portland. Canon 5D + 50mm

Winter Apples. Near Gosporod Monument, WA. Canon 5D + 50mm

Rubble, 9th Ward. New Orleans, LA. 2008.

This is a photo from my two week trip to New Orleans this year as Director of Photography for the film Independent America: Rising from Ruin.
Canon 5D + 50mm.

Hair. Coeur D’Alene, ID. 2008.

Taken during the annual Car D’Alene Parade in Coeur D’Alene ID. Canon 5D + 50mm.

Slain Coyote. Priest River, ID. 2008

While hunting moose in Priest River ID with my dad as part of his 65th birthday, a hunter in a white truck pulled up to show us a coyote he had shot as part of a bet with his buddy (who apparently said that there aren’t any coyote in the Priest River area.)

While talking I shot a quick picture with my iPhone. Yes it is weird to pull out an iPhone when around hunters. It’s like an alien technology…

So the big announcement is……drum-roll please…..

My website has been updated! YES truly!! And this time it will incorporate my film portfolio as well.

So head on over to www.kirkmastin.com, check it out and let me know what you think!

-Kirk

Robin I. Discovery Park. Seattle 2008.

Robin II. Discovery Park. Seattle 2008.

Shipyard/Cranes. Seattle WA. 2008.

Water Slide/Red Bush. Seattle WA. 2008.

Fixed Gear Wheelie. Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle WA.

Sir Bryan Clark. Gas Works Park, Seattle WA.