Laurent Terzieff in Cologne, May 2010 © Cedric Arnold / realfeatures.com

French cinema and theatre lost one of its great talents last week when Laurent Terzieff passed away. I had the honor of working with him on what turned out to be his very last day at work. I arranged a portrait session between scenes – Above are some of the resulting images – shot with my trusty old Bronica SQ.

It felt very strange when I heard the news; after all, we’d only wrapped filming just over a month before… The conversations I had with him were extraordinary, he was so giving, he told me about his experiences with Godard, Luis Bunuel and all the greats… We chatted on several occasions throughout that day in Cologne while lighting and camera gear was set up for different scenes… About cinematography, the superb candle-lit scenes in Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, the magnificent tones in Welles’ The Third Man… How actors need to adapt when moving from the stage to the film set, the eye line, the pace of sentences…

It was fascinating and I wish I could have spoken longer with him. I was humbled by his experience, knowledge and kindness. The first assistant came to tell us he was needed back on set – Mr Terzieff could see I was not done yet and said “lets finish this roll shall we, it won’t make any difference if I’m a few minutes late and we’ll make sure you have what you need”. RIP

A jeep flies up in the air as an explosion is triggered. The whole set was eventually blown up © Pan Europeenne / Cedric Arnold
It was a privilege to work with a great team and some of the best camera men, special effects and props people in the biz. Learned heaps, ready to shoot my first doco when I come back to Asia in July. Doing jobs and showing portfolios in Paris, London and NY until then.

Here are a few more images from the shoot. Obviously, I can’t show much until just before the release of the movie, but this will give you an idea… The movie is due out on Feb 16th 2011.

Largo Winch, played by Tomer Sisley, knocks out his opponent © Pan Europeenne / Cedric Arnold

The military camp set before it was blown up! © Pan Europeenne / Cedric Arnold

A flame thrower in action on the set, that’s one scary device… © Pan Europeenne / Cedric Arnold

www.largowinch2-lefilm.com

keep an eye on my main site www.realfeatures.com for updates with portraits of the film’s actors

Phuket vegetarian festival fire crackers see the feature

Takraw players in Bangkok. See the feature

Just finished redesigning my website. You can see all the new pages here

If wet plate collodion field photography, trekking and weight lifting happen to be your 3 hobbies, then this one’s for you.  Complete with a portable lab, that folds up into a massive wooden backpack the whole kit weighs a “mere” 12.4 kg (without tripod), circa 1870 that was apparently ultra light. When you see how small the camera (about the size of a 4×5”) looks compared to the lab case, it gives you an idea of the mad proportions of this “travel photographer’s” kit.

Dimensions: H. 107 x L. 92 x P. 80 cm - 12,4 kg.

This is one of many amazing cameras on display at the “Musée français de la Photographie” (the French photography museum in Bièvres, a small town near Versailles. The place is absolutely crammed with cameras form the classic Rolleis and Leicas to some incredibly strange modified large format models…

L: A camera for a carrier pigeon!

R: A modified technika Linhof 4×5, turned into a giant twin lens reflex, now that must be really light!

L: This large format camera was huge at least 20×24″ couldn’t find any info on the strange periscope-like lens. Designed for a narrow L shaped studio perhaps!

R: A Rolleiflex with a transparent panel showing the mechanism inside

ZEISS IKON - Contarex in perfect condition with a selenium cell

Musée français de la Photographie
78, rue de Paris
91570 Bièvres
Tel : 01 69 35 16 50
Fax : 01 60 19 21 11

http://museedelaphoto.fr/

© Cedric Arnold

The Polaroid 52 print rendered a huge amount of grain - it obviously doesn’t “age” as well…

© Cedric Arnold

Sunday morning in Brick Lane © Cedric Arnold

Another Sunday morning in Hoxton Sq © Cedric Arnold

More to come soon…

Don’t miss this if you’re in Bangkok this weekend March 13th-15th

At Raindogs Bar

© Michael Coyne www.michaelcoyne.com.au

By photographers for photographers, the second annual meeting of PhotoZero will take place next week in Bangkok. World class photographers including Nic Dunlop, Jason P. Howe, Paula Bronstein, James Nachtwey, Michael Coyne & Thierry Falise will showcase their work, and engage the audience on the important social role played by documentary photography. And everyone is welcome.

We hope you can make the time and join the discussions and be part of this experience.

Entrance fee: 200 baht (includes food)

Drinks and food from 1700. Slideshow at 1900 sharp(ish).

More info map and detailled shedule here

www.photozero.org

Email:photozerobangkok@gmail.com