Blood Brother – A Hearth-Warming Movie Shot with Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D


John Pope talks about “Blood Brother,” and how the small form factor of the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D helped him capture some of the most moving scenes without being intrusive

Blood Brother is a feature documentary about a young man with a strong desire for a family he’ll find at an AIDS hostel in a small village outside the city of Chennai, India. The movie got the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the Sundance Festival 2013.

The movie is the product of cinematographer John Pope and his good friend Steve Hoover, the director of the movie. A short description of what Blood Brother is about:

Rocky Braat, a young man from a fractured family and a troubled past, went traveling through India without a plan. Then he met a group of HIV positive children living in an orphanage — a meeting that changed everything for him.

Rocky left his life, friends, and career in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to live with the kids. Steve Hoover, his best friend and filmmaker, was unsettled and intrigued by this drastic action. In an effort to find out what compelled Rocky to give up every source of stability in his life, Hoover decided to trace Rocky’s story, following him to India.

He witnessed Rocky and the kids endure disease, abject poverty, and death. But, strangest of all, in the midst of these troubles, he also saw their deep joy.  And he came to understand why Rocky had given up everything he had to experience it.

‘Blood Brother’ is a story of friendship. It’s a story of a life, stripped down to its essence. Most of all, it is a story about love, enduring in the face of death.

Blood Brother was shot starting 2011 over a two-year period using various gear: a venerable Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, Vixia camcorders, and a random use of smartphone video. About the full-frame Canon EOS 5D Mark II John Pope says:

At the time in 2011 […] there weren’t many cameras on the market that were as good in low light as the EOS 5D Mark II. Being able to shoot in low light is always important especially if you’re going for a natural look of existing practicals in a location that you don’t have control over. […]  Although it’s not always easy to articulate the look of a larger sensor, I think that it lends itself to a different feel of the space within the image.”

More about the technical background can be read at Canon DLC. The movie caused some controversy you can read about here while director Steve Hoover’s response can be read here. All filmmaker proceeds are donated to the children seen in the film and to HIV/AIDS initiatives.

Blood Brother:

  • Director: Steve Hoover
  • Writers: Steve Hoover, Phinehas Hodges, Tyson VanSkiver
  • Producers: Danny Yourd, Leigh Blake, John Carlin, Steve Hoover
  • Editor: Steve Hoover
  • Additional Cinematography: Tyson VanSkiver, Phinehas Hodges, Steve Hoover, Danny Yourd
  • Colorist: Allan Stallard

Video below: Blood Brother trailer

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Into Eternity – An Impressive Time-Lapse Inspired by a Witnessed Suicide

The very impressive b&w time-lapse in the video above was made by Philadelphia based photographer Bruce Wayne. He says:

About a year and a half ago while shooting a long exposure photo, I witnessed a man commit suicide off the Ben Franklin Bridge. The experience is something that I’ll never forget. The mood was so heavy and dark that one could feel the loss of the person’s life in the air. I can only imagine what this person saw and felt the day he took his own life; what the city must have felt like and looked like to him. It was pretty hard to shoot this time-lapse without thinking about what I had witnessed.

Using Black & White Long-Exposure photography, I wanted to capture Center City Philadelphia in a darker light. Rarely when walking through the city do we look up and see the towering buildings above us. In this Time-lapse I wanted to capture what we don’t see. The last scene is where I saw the man take his own life.

I dedicate this time-lapse to him. May you forever rest in peace…

More about this experience on his blog.

Bruce Wayne used an EOS 7D and a Hoya ND400 filter for this work. All b&w conversion was done in post-processing along with other effects.

Music by the “Music Bed”, song from A. Taylor, “Who Will Remember”.

[Bruce Wayne via PetaPixel]

 

Most Canon EOS 7D Underwater Housing Are Discontinued

Canon EOS 7D

I always love to hear from the underwater photography community (thanks SevetS). I was myself a scuba diver a long time ago (when it was very expensive to shot underwater)

One more sign that the EOS 7D replacement is coming very soon. Several retailers have discontinued EOS 7D underwater housings. Check it for yourself:

Aquatica housings:

Sea & Sea housings:

Subal housings:

Canon EOS 7D Replacement Build Like A Tank And Coming Without WiFi?

EOS 7D Replacement

The glorious Canon EOS 7D

A new EOS 7D replacement rumor surfaced on the web (via CR). The rumor suggests that the Canon EOS 7D replacement will have the build quality of the EOS-1 series (this was rumored in the past 1 | 2) and that it will not have WiFi built in (that’s new).

The lack of WiFi functionality may have a good reason. If the EOS 7D replacement body is a full metal body (it has to be if it is build like the EOS-1 series), WiFi transmission could be unreliable. However, it is hard to figure out that Canon would not be able to implement the antenna in a way that makes WiFi possible despite the full metal body. If true, the lack of WiFi is going to disappoint a lot of people.

The rumor also suggests that the EOS 7D replacement will have a very high frame rate. A pertinent patent was filed by Canon. And we might see a new generation of Canon’s Dual Pixel AF on the EOS 7D replacement.

The Canon EOS 7D saw some heavy discounts in the last weeks and has become a very good deal, you may want to check the price for your country: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA