Johnny's Blog

People tend to think of behind-the-scenes photography as showing the crew in action, which is of course the brief for a set photographer - along with trying to nail a good publicity shot. But I’ve always considered myself a photographer as much as a filmmaker so it was natural to want to capture stills of my productions, whether a big scene on a sound stage or a documentary in a wild and wooly location. All of the images in this post were taken during film production.

"Les Absintheurs"  Florence 2007    Canon 5D

What really allowed me to capture so many shots while making films was the handy Point and Shoot camera.

Whether shooting a feature film, a documentary or a crappy tv show, I have always carried a still camera with me. As a director and cinematographer I’m often too occupied to lug around my Nikon Z... or F100. So I’ve always had a little point and shoot in my pocket: First I used 3 variations of the Olympus XA throughout the 80’s (one fell into the Pacific ocean off the coast of New South Wales, one was stolen from a film set in LA (fuck you, asshole), and the last one simply got trashed and abused)...

G. E. Smith - Tokyo - "Hall & Oates: Rock 'n Soul International "  HBO - 1985    Olympus XA

... and then around ‘91 I got my trusty Contax T2

I was never completely happy with the images from the Olympus. The lens just never seemed sharp enough, and it lacked any real controls. The Contax T2 was a revelation in that sense, with some degree of manual control and a remarkably sharp lens. Despite its size, the T2 is much more than a traditional point and shoot camera.

“The Little A'Le'Inn,” Rachel Nevada.  "Area 51"  Fox Television 1995    Contax T2

Our film crew stayed at the lovely Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel Nevada before sneaking into Area 51. 

Agent X  Freedom of Information Warrior  "Area 51"  Fox Television 1995    Contax T2

Agent X led our film crew onto Freedom Ridge in the dark of night so that we could film the goings-on within Area 51. You can read more about what Area 51 was like at the time we filmed there in this New York Times article "Area 51"

My Contax T2 eventually got lost in a move, but I was lucky enough to find a replacement some time ago at Foto Dotti in Modena. Still in its original box, I don’t think it had ever been used. (Even the cinghia was still in its orignal sealed bag.)

The Highland Games - Scotland - 1997   Contax T2

Pacific Flying Fox, Tonga  -  "Where Time Begins" Discovery Channel - 1992    Nikon F100

Oenologist. Cult Leader. Psychopath.   Fabio Marini as Fosco in "Terroir" - 2014    Canon 5D

This photo is my pride and joy. It represents perfectly my feeling that behind-the-scenes photography can be stand-alone and artistic in its own right. It also shows my sick sense of humour… and my ability to get actors to do whatever I want. Or rather, to trust me. Fabio Marini is an actor with whom I've worked on multiple films and he's a core member of our Tuscan ensemble. He’ll embrace a crazy character idea of mine and run away with it. He does the same in his theatre troupe. In Terroir he was Fosco, and I probably couldn’t have created the character if I didn’t know I had Fabio to bring him to life.

Eurogliders  "Groove" Sydney 1988   Nikon F2

Ann Sheldon "Sleep Comes Down" Psychedelic Furs  - New York City - 1982   Nikon F2

See also: Behind-the-Scenes: Sleep Comes Down for the full story, and more images.

"Kilauea"  Discovery Channel - 1993   Contax T2

During my time on Kilauea I kept saying to myself, "I can't believe what I'm looking at". 

"Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills" Raleigh Studios, Hollywood -  USA Network - 1994

Lost in the Outback, New South Wales, Australia - 1991   Hasselblad 120mm

Gaetano Guarino "Terroir" Tuscany - Amazon Studios - 2014    Canon 5D

Caroline Zimmermann  "Il Boscetto"  Tuscany  -  2007   Nikon N80

Art Director Caroline Zimmermann created the painting en plein air, and then the actress sat in for the scene.

Anoushka Jänicke "Il Boscetto" Tuscany - 2007 Nikon N80

Keith Carradine in "Terroir"  - Tuscany - Amazon Studios - 2014   Photo: Federico Caponi

Federico Caponi was the set photographer as well as 1st Assistant Cameraman on Terroir. Since we were filming this scene from outside the villa window, how is it that Fede was inside taking this photo and not outside with the crew? It's a mystery deeper than Terroir itself.

"Villisca Ax Murders"  Villisca, Iowa - 2000    Photo: Van Carlson

Me, photographed by cinematographer Van Carlson in a diner in Villisca, Iowa. Scary place.

John Waite "If Anybody Had A Heart" New York City - EMI Records/TriStar Pictures - 1986  - Nikon F2

I hated directing pop clips for songs from movies because we always had to include film clips, and they were usually shitty films. This clip was no exception. We created a nice set on the rooftop of the Empire Hotel on the Upper West Side and shot the clip at night under the massive neon billboard. In this shot we used a skylight for lighting which put a nice glow on John Waite's enigmatic gaze. The great Fred Elmes was the cinematographer and Karen Bellone was the producer I tortured.

"I bevitori di assenzio"  Arezzo - 2005    Nikon N80

"The Twiddler" court-metrage, Provence - 2023   Nikon F100

In the Before Times I had access to 35mm motion picture film repurposed for still cameras. This always gave interesting results, but the stocks got harder to come by as did the labs to process them. But now with film processing viable again I’m discovering new cinema stocks, and labs across Europe willing process with them, so we can really play again.

My Labs: 

Grainyroll  Rennes, Bretagne (including Cinema ECN2)

Nation Photo  Paris (they also sell a wide variety of film stocks)

PhotoMan  Paris. Mario does a great job of processing and quick turnaround - in under 24 hours. Less if you're nice.

Center Chrome  Firenze, (Prato)

Carmencita Film Lab  Valencia.