I actually don’t have a favourite, there have been so many films that have meant so much to me on both a personal and professional level.

Matrix was probably the film that defined me as a photographer and 20 years later it’s epic to still see those images pop up on a weekly basis. The Bourne Supremacy introduced me to two of my long time friends and collaborators Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, and of course I met my wife Maria on a Bourne film. Recently I have been working on Disney and Marvel films, and I love being part of that family. Shooting Thor was an absolute highlight and working with Chris and Taika was a dream come true.

Then of course Aquaman for DC with the Big Dog Jason Momoa and director James Wan, both amazing artists that give me incredible access.

I guess if I had to pin anything down though, it would of course be Mad Max Fury Road which was absolutely the hardest film I have ever worked on. I had to fight daily for every frame and I think it showed with what I was able to produce. Then there’s the three Bond films I have shot the stunts for, Live and Let Die was the first Bond film I saw with my buddies when I was a kid, and I’m convinced it’s why I work on action films. To shoot one Bond is amazing, but to be asked back three times is an absolute honour.

View this post on Instagram

So cool they use my photo from #thematrix lobby scene to announce that #matrix4 has started shooting. Such wonderful memories shooting still for the first 3. Massive honour in fact! #lanawachowski #thematrix #thematrix4 #matrix4 @nikonaustralia @nikonusa #nikon @nikonambassador #hollywood #popculture #iconic #actionfilm #actor @blackrapid @aquatech_imagingsolutions #nikonambassador #mynikonlife #SMPSP #unitstills #bts #stillphotographer @smpspstills #australianphotographer

A post shared by Jasin Boland (@jasinboland) on Feb 7, 2020 at 4:46pm PST

Q: YOU MUST BE AWAY FROM HOME A LOT…

As much and I am away a lot, I am actually home a lot too. I can be away on 2-3 films a year. I have been known to fly home from Europe to watch my son play hockey and be on a flight to Asia for another film two days later. Other times, especially over the holidays, I’ll get up to 6 weeks off, and every few years I can have 6 months off just being a hockey dad.

This year I am in Sydney for the whole year but I go home every weekend, and between the films I have a month off. I miss my little family and up until a few years ago, they traveled with me everywhere, but then of course they found interests. Hockey and acting for my son, and being a yoga instructor for my wife. I see how happy it makes them and there’s no way I want to take them away from that. Having a kid play hockey in traveling teams is super expensive, so I have to work anyhow, ha ha…

View this post on Instagram

@empiremagazine just named this little flick I worked on as film of the century now that’s pretty rad! Thanks for the opportunity Dr Miller! #madmax #madmaxfuryroad #filmofthecentury #movieofthecentury @tomhardy @charlizeafrica @chrispattonstunts @nikonaustralia @nikonusa #nikon @nikonambassador #hollywood #popculture #iconic #actionfilm #actor @blackrapid @aquatech_imagingsolutions #nikonambassador #mynikonlife #SMPSP #unitstills #bts #stillphotographer @smpspstills #australianphotographer

A post shared by Jasin Boland (@jasinboland) on Jan 17, 2020 at 9:45am PST

Q: WHERE DO YOU CALL HOME?

Well our house is on the Gold Coast in Queensland, but my wife was born in Berlin, so we have those two places, but we would all be happier to move to BC. Hockey for my son, cold for my wife, and mountains for me.

Q: WHAT WAS THE HARDEST SHOOT YOU’VE EVER DONE?

Mad Max and Everest

Q: WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO LENS DURING MOST SHOOTS?

Outside 24-120 F4, and inside 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8

View this post on Instagram

It’s nearly here team! “Extraction” drops onto @netflix April 24 featuring the best boss a guy could have @chrishemsworth and directed by @thesamhargrave who may possibly be the best action director of this new decade! So stoked to work with these two not only sensational film makers but beautiful humans along the way. My little buddy @rudhrakshjaiswal1 stars with Chris along with my pal @randeephooda Can’t wait to see the finished product! #extraction #netflixfilm @netflixanz @netflixfilm #davidharbour thanks for the epic access @leecleary1 @therussobrothers @agbofilms @nikonaustralia @nikonusa @nikonambassador @blackrapid @aquatech_imagingsolutions @hoodmanusa #nikon #nikonambassador #blackrapidambassador #aquatechambassador #mynikonlife #seewhatisee #livethemoment #SMPSP #unitstills #stillphotographer #bts #behindthescenes @lakinreps

A post shared by Jasin Boland (@jasinboland) on Feb 18, 2020 at 12:01pm PST

Q: WHAT ELSE IS IN YOUR GEAR BAG?

Ha, how much space do we have?

Well my general onset studio unit kit consists of 3 Nikon Z mirrorless cameras so I can shoot silent on sensitive scenes, clipped to my custom BLACKRAPID straps.

I have Z35mm f1.8, Z50mm f1.8, Z24-70 f 2.8, Z85mm 1.8 and 70-200 f2.8 in one bag, and then for action scenes or super low light I have 2 D5’s in Aquatech sound blimps with 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f 2.8. Plus six Hoodman steel CF express cards running all my Nikon Z cameras. I’m amazed at how much faster they are than the XQD.

I also have fast Nikon primes 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 58mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 when needed for ultra low light or portrait work. When needed I will also run a 200mm f2, 200-400mm f4 and 400mm f2.8.

Then in my action kit, which is what I use for mounting on vehicles or anywhere I can stuff a camera really, I use 2 x D4s’s, 1 D850 and 1 D750 and various lenses like 35mm f2 and 17-35mm f2.8 and a 24-120 f4. All of them I expect may get taken out at some point. On Spectre an airplane wheel knocked one over, and on another film a car hit one. Lots of bumps for my Nikons, but they just keep on going.

The key is when you are in an impact zone, you need to allow your camera to move or in fact fall over. When you are mounted to a vehicle, the important thing is they don’t move at all due to safety for the drivers, cast and crew.

As well as all my rig mounts, I also travel with a lot of safety gear, harnesses, helmets, ear protection, anything you can think of really. My traveling kit is around 100kg so I never fly with it, everything gets shipped ahead. Currently, the kit I have with me on this film hasn’t been home for nearly 2 years.

View this post on Instagram

My buddy @frankiestills posted a shot of the Big Dog himself @prideofgypsies and reminded me how much fun this beast of a man is to work for! Can’t wait for the next one! #jasonmomoa #amberheard #jameswan #mera #arthurcurry #dceu #comics #movie #film #actionfilm #photography @nikonaustralia @nikonambassador @blackrapid #nikon #bts #behindthescenes #picoftheday #photooftheday #vfx @lakinreps

A post shared by Jasin Boland (@jasinboland) on Nov 17, 2019 at 2:21am PST

Q: WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO GO TO FOLLOW YOU?

You know, when I first was told by Nikon I should be doing Instagram, I laughed and said, “I’m not having an app tell me how to frame my shots.” I thought it would never catch on. Of course, I was wrong. If I had bothered to mask myself or use a Instacrop app, I’d be a lot further down the track with my Instagram than I am today.

My last 5 or 6 new clients all only looked at my Insta page. It’s great for staying relevant and I try to be on point with only film posts. I frequently pick themes and just do images from one film for a week, or what’s in the news.

I find most new followers only really look back 10 or so images, so I think it is important to go through the back catalogue and repost from time to time, otherwise those images get lost and you may have well just left them on the hard drive.

Another observation I had early on was I felt like people were just going to Insta to experience other peoples lives, and for quite a while that was true. But at some point it changed, and it encouraged people to get outside and experience life for themselves. It’s helped nurture peoples creativity and in my eyes that’s a fabulous thing.

View this post on Instagram

Happy new year team and what a year we shared! Here’s my #topnine2019 interesting spread clearly you all love @chrishemsworth he’s well worth loving by the way and the big surprise for me is #thematrix looks like everyone is looking forward to seeing #4 in the next decade. Thank you all for dropping by to see my work you fill my heart! #happynewyear #dhaka @therussobrothers #thematrix4 #chrishemsworth #keanureeves #ghostintheshell #scarlettjohansson @taikawaititi #taikawaititi #aquaman @creepypuppet @prideofgypsies @amberheard #jasonmomoa #amberheard @carrieannemoss @nikonaustralia @nikonusa #nikon @nikonambassador #hollywood #popculture #iconic #actionfilm #actor @blackrapid @aquatech_imagingsolutions #nikonambassador #mynikonlife #SMPSP #unitstills #bts #stillphotographer @smpspstills #australianphotographer

A post shared by Jasin Boland (@jasinboland) on Dec 30, 2019 at 1:08pm PST

Hi, I’m Jasin Boland, a motion picture still photographer based in Queensland, Australia.

Come visit my Instagram @jasinboland. I haven’t updated my web page since forever.

The post BLACKRAPID Ambassador Spotlight: Jasin Boland – Make the Job Work for You, Don’t Work for the Job appeared first on BLACKRAPID.

OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER THERE HAVE BEEN

various pieces of equipment that come along and fundamentally change the way I work. The Leica M6, the Canon 5d MK III, and my introduction to BLACKRAPID camera strap support system are a few of them. Whilst on assignment in the forests of Quebec on “Chaos Walking” with Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland, I had the opportunity to fully road test the BLACKRAPID camera straps wading through rivers and hiking up hillsides to keep up with the fast paced hand-held filmmaking.

2018 STARTED WITH A PRETTY BIG BANG WITH THE RELEASE

of “Red Sparrow” starring Jennifer Lawrence and I have also been shooting Mark Wahlberg again this time on a production called “Mile 22” in Bogotá, Colombia. The filming called for major traffic arteries to be closed to enable us to blow up vehicles and to stage a massive gun fight in the center of the Colombian capital. With 5 Panavision cameras filming the action I was separated from my working bags for most of the day and relied on my BLACKRAPID Double Breathe harness and Sport Breathe single sling camera strap to support 3 cameras around my body and a BLACKRAPID Wrist Strap Breathe to keep my M10 close at hand. In an ideal world I wouldn’t want to load myself down with so much gear at one time, but this configuration allowed to me to work on the run and not be without any lens or camera I might require.

ARRIVING ON SET ARMED WITH THE CORRECT EQUIPMENT

and necessary background preparation to collaborate with the project effectively is essential. It is important to understand the content of the film, the message it is trying to convey, and who the targeted audience is.

MY PREPARATION WILL INCLUDE READING OF THE SCRIPT,

reviewing the “mood boards” and breaking down the script to ensure that I have the correct equipment readily available. This is a key point since by understanding the potential filming scenarios of rain sequences, special effects scenes, etc. and will dictate my equipment package. I always use my Think Tank Photo cases and BLACKRAPID camera straps for my Sony and Leica systems. I like to keep duplicate kits with different lenses to help with my work flow and I find the BLACKRAPID Hybrid Breathe and BLACKRAPID Double Breathe strap essential to my work.

IN ADDITION TO THE PHYSICAL PREPARATIONS I ALWAYS

like to spend some time talking with the DP and Director about the look and tone of the visuals to be photographed. I strive to ensure that my work reflects the vision of the filmmakers and provides a consistent representation which is quite often the first visual seen by the public. With the prep complete and the sleepless night before the first day of photography over it’s time to get the sleeves rolled up and begin filming. Knowing the background and experience of the crew is always helpful especially if I’m not familiar with the core group, although after 75 shows its rare that I am the stranger on set.

MY ADVICE TO PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTING TO GET INTO THE INDUSTRY

would be to get as much experience as possible and hone your craft whether it working on short films, additional 2nd unit still photography, or aiding an experienced established photographer who may be able to provide insider’s advice. Your portfolio will be your “calling card” so ensure it is up to date and shows the viewers a range of work in different working situations.

Murray Close is a BLACKRAPID Associate Ambassador. Discover more about Murray and his work at http://murrayclose.com/.

The post Photographing Hollywood Movies with Murray Close appeared first on BLACKRAPID.