First Video Lesson with Valentin Alvarez

Last year I studied photography with Mauro Fuentes of Fotomaf. Learning with Mauro was a fantastic experience. In general I think that photography must be the art that most people do with the least amount of studying. And it is clear to me that some studying greatly improves your ability to take pictures. Here´s an example of my photography now. I don’t know if you will like them, but what I can say is that before I used to dislike my own photography and now I am happy with it. I wish somebody could do with my voice, for example, what Mauro did with my ability to take pictures. Studying photography is like discovering yourself.

So as a result of what I learned in photography I am now studying video. Today I had my first class with Valentín Alvarez. Here’s an example of his work. It’s amazingly beautiful.

How much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster? (DOP,Teaser of a film documentary) from Valentin Alvarez on Vimeo.

Teaser of the documentary film of which I am the director of photography

Now this is my first homework. It’s in Spanish. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II with the latest software upgrade. I was taught to shoot in 1920X1080 25. I learned how to change aperture, speed, white balance, how to focus by zoming first and then going wide angle, how to adjust for different light conditions while shooting a scene. A lot of what I learned with Mauro is applicable to what I am learning with Valentín. Valentin also told me to buy a visor, a stand, a manual focus wheel and some other video related enhancements for my camera. The good news is that I don’t need to buy a new camera.

Deberes de mi primera clase de video con Valentín Alvarez from Martin Varsavsky on Vimeo.

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Fotomaf
• Mauro Fuentes
• MV
• Photography
• Techniques and Styles