FRAMOS supports the photographer Daniel Grund
In August contemporary art is the focus of FRAMOS: This year FRAMOS selected Daniel Grund, an extraordinary artist in the field of photography and well known to FRAMOS. He lives in Munich together with his family and is well known in the field of fashion, sports and architecture for his exceptional photography.
For years he photographed the Red Bull Air Race World Series that took place around the world. One of these images, taken in Monument Valley / USA, was submitted for consideration to the “Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2010” and won first prize in the category of ‘Experimental Photography’. The image, which shows two sport aircrafts above Monument Valley, was post-processed to produce an anaglyphic 3D effect. It was taken during an orchestrated photo shoot a day after the local air race. The original print now hangs exclusively in the lobby of FRAMOS GmbH.
Winner image of Daniel Grund (enlarge: right click > show graphic)
Daniel, what was the inspiration to take this photo?
For years I‘ve been photographing this spectacular race in which planes fly through inflated pylons at very low altitude, set in impressive places such as here in the US, Longleat in England, over the River Danube in Budapest or in Porto, San Francisco and Perth. It was always a particular aim to capture the uniqueness of close competitive flying in relation to the vastness and immense freedom of being away from the racetrack, so apparent in Monument Valley.
In 2007, one day after the race, I was given the possibility to stage the picture with two pilots and a chase helicopter. The weather and the light were perfect. Following a consultation with the pilots and a site check, all were on board for this special recording. After a few tries, both pilots were synchronized perfectly and switched on the smoke at just the right time. It all happened very fast – this was not surprising considering that I was standing on the skid of a helicopter as the two sport aircraft rushed towards me at 350 km per hour.
Daniel Grund in action
How it came to be a 3D photo?
Thanks to the extraordinary depth of the photos, the diagonal axis of the smoke effects and the different levels, this photo is very well suited as a 3D image. That’s why I decided to include this 3D effect during post-production on the computer.
Here the different levels of the image will be separated with imaging software and then bent correspondingly with 3D software. When bending the levels partially some areas will be formed without content, which should be filled later with the help of retouching tools. In the two ensuing images (with different perspectives), the red and the cyan channel will be moved before they are mounted one above the other.
With simple red-cyan 3D glasses, the impressive effect and the beautiful countryside can be seen, because each eye now sees a slightly shifted perspective.
Which camera did you use for this picture?
Among others, I have worked with the Canon EOS series for over 10 years. At that time, I had my 1 DS Mark II. It has a full-frame CMOS sensor (24x36mm) and, thanks to relatively fast image sequence and focus at maximum quality, it is perfect for this type of outdoor shots. This Canon 16.6 Mpixel CMOS sensor, with a frame rate of 4 fps at full resolution, has a Global Shutter and a pixel size of 7.2 µm. Therefore, the sensor is very well suited for shooting moving subjects that require an extremely short exposure time, like this image. The lens I used was a 24-70mm 2.8 from Canon.
What experiences did you take from this tour stop in Monument Valley?
Besides all the very urban tour stops during the air race, such as London, Budapest and San Diego, it was a special highlight to fly and to take photos in this isolated and stunning scenery.
During my stay there, I got into conversation with a local Indian woman. I was concerned with the question “Can such a traditional and spiritual place ‘agree’ with such a modern racing event?” When I mentioned this, she said that the gods probably do agree…. otherwise they would have prevented it with a storm or heavy rain.
Image below (title image): Werner Weber, FRAMOS Marketing und Daniel Grund
