As a proud Nikon Ambassador for nearly eight years, my friends at Nikon Asia and I have worked together on countless projects over the past 10+ years. From shooting print campaigns to judging photography competitions, from conducting portfolio reviews to leading photography workshops, from judging reality television programs to making guest radio appearances, our collaborations have run the entire gamut. However, making original integrated photography and film content together with my creative partners Mike Rogers, Meghan Shea and Annette Fausboll is by far the most enjoyable aspect of my partnership with Nikon.
Earlier this year we embarked on an exciting project with Nikon to create a series of still and moving imagery to support their award-winning NIKKOR lens family. The big idea was to produce content that would engage, educate and inspire young photographers and photography enthusiasts of varying experience and skill.
With the assistance of Caroline Slootweg, we developed the concept of exploring a beautiful and exciting destination together with a beginner photographer (and later traveling to
other striking locales with photographer possessing more advanced photographic knowledge) to experience shooting with a variety of NIKKOR lenses.
Mentored by me and documented by Mike, each of the vignettes features a different lens and genre of photography, aimed at teaching viewers about which NIKKOR lens is right for them, their subject and their style of photography. These short films are connected by a singular story arc — a narrative film introduces viewers to the destination and the world of NIKKOR lenses with integrated photography and then a behind-the-scenes video brings viewers onto the set with the entire creative team, offering a peak into the world of filmmaking.
Our first series, I AM Eyes of Nikon: Bali was shot on location on the iconic “Island of the Gods”. Along with student photographer Cazmir Leenheer, we journeyed across Bali in search of beauty and adventure and with a bag full of five NIKKOR DX lenses: Micro 40mm f/2.8, 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5, 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6, 35mm f/1.8 and 55-200mm f/4-5.6.
Together we experienced and documented timeless spiritual traditions, breathtaking natural landscapes, stunning ancient temples and beautiful seaside sunsets, while I offer suggestions and insights for how novices (and perhaps some veterans, too) can capture such imagery themselves.
Join Nikon and our team on more photography and filmmaking adventures in Mongolia, Australia, Bhutan and USA.
Credits
Client: Nikon Asia
Production: Ugly Duckling Projects
Executive Producer: Annette Fausboll
Producer (Singapore): Andre Chen
Producers (Bali): Putu Kusuma Wijaya & Gaby Wehn
Director: Mike Rogers
DoP: Patrick Nich
Writer: Meghan Shea
Editors: David Flood & Mark Chua
Strategic Consultant: Caroline Slootweg
Student Photographer: Cazmir Leenheer
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