Explorers Club needs no introduction. Some of mankind’s greatest firsts, like climbing Everest for the first time and descending into the Mariana Trench, the first people to reach the North and South Poles, and of course, the first two people to stand on the surface of the Moon , are all members of The Explorers Club.
Fast-forward 119 years from the club’s founding, with the weight of all the achievements and scientific backing of its members, you might be wondering: “You photographed the Club’s Annual Dinner How are the Adventurers?” Well, photographer Felix Kunze has been doing this work for seven years and has shared the process with us in detail.
He starts by planning for the difficulties he will face during the day. At his home studio in New York, he sketches lighting and floor plans. ONE Oliphant The backdrop will be hung horizontally to create a “studio” in the VIP lounge next to the actual dinner venue. He will then execute this plan with a light test along with his puppy and friends.
Elinchrom Ambassadors decided to use only Elinchrom lamps and V-Flat World products for this year’s shoot. Equipped with a ELB 500 And ELB1200two ELC 500s and a EL One inside Litemotiv Octa Indirect Softbox 190cmONE Elinchrom Rotalux soft case 150cm, a Beauty Dish and Stripbox 14″ with mesh, he set up the lighting to complement the whole thing. The large Litemotivs and Rotalux cameras are stacked at a right angle to the subject. There’s a beautifying disc directly behind the camera that provides base fillers and softens skin features. Strip box behind 3/4 of the object to make the hair light. To the right of the camera, he erected a wall of V-Flats to bounce the light back into the scene, creating an even distribution throughout the set. A final dark V-Flat was placed to the right of the set to sharpen the subjects, with a slatted black reflector on standby for single portraits.
The biggest challenge of this type of work is the logistics of knowing who you are filming, how long you have them, and making sure you work through a long list of VIPs. To make the process go smoothly, Felix assembled a top team to assist him. From the assistants setting up the scenes and adjusting the lighting to the people who arrange to track and prepare the guests for a period of 4 and a half minutes in front of the camera. He also has a trusted art director and DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) behind the screen, marking selections and validating usable shots. All of this was necessary for him to overcome the huge number of portraits. He can focus on posing and instructing respected scientists, team members, and explorers to get good photos that seem to tell the whole story of a particular person or group.
Felix believes it’s really important to “enhance the status of scientists and explorers through photography,” and that’s why he’s self-funding the project. He wanted to name these extraordinary people and has made many friends in the club over the years. Representing the important people and those behind the important feats through images is a responsibility that all photographers should take on. The photography community at large has become so obsessed with its own celebrity status that we have forgotten that part of our privilege as photographers is to honor pioneers, brave and eager to learn.
Image used with permission of Felix Kunze.
