Camera to Cloud for Photographers on Location | FUJIFILM Exposure Center – USA

5 minute read

Camera to Cloud for Photographers on Location

Fine art photographer Karen Jerzyk uses Frame.io Camera to Cloud (C2C) to collaborate in real time while photographing on location in an abandoned blimp hangar

“I grew up in the eighties, so sci-fi movies from that era had a lot of influence on me,” says Karen Jerzyk, when asked about the inspiration behind her ongoing project The Lonely Astronaut. “I love the lighting, the atmosphere, and I’ve always been obsessed with space travel and the image of an astronaut.”

“I had this idea,” she continues. “What if, for some reason, we had to evacuate Earth? Either we mess up the environment too much or we can’t breathe the air for some reason, and humanity goes and lives on another planet.

“Then, 100 years later, someone decides they want to go back there to explore Earth and see how people used to live.”

Framing The Lonely Astronaut as the only person on Earth in today’s super-busy modern world can be a challenging prospect. In order to convey the sense of emptiness essential to the story, Karen often finds herself working in isolated locations at unsociable times. The abandoned blimp hangar used for this particular session is a perfect example.

However, while her subject may be solitary and her locations remote, Karen’s creative process is anything but. She regularly works with other artists via collaboration platforms to develop her images.

These creators could be based anywhere in the world, which on one hand is an extremely exciting prospect, but on the other has the potential to cause problems.

“All the collaborations I’ve done have been with people that weren’t with me and couldn’t see what I was doing. So, there was no real-time feedback for how I could help them or make their process easier,” says Karen.

“When I collaborate like that, it typically takes a lot longer because I have to go home, put everything on my laptop, upload it to the cloud, and then edit – it’s a long process.

“Then, once the images are uploaded, it’s a case of – well this is what you get, I can’t go back in time and change it!”

On this occasion, however, things were different. While Karen was working with animator Natalie Woytko who was over 80 miles away in San Diego, revolutionary Frame.io Camera to Cloud (C2C) technology with Fujifilm cameras made that separation irrelevant.

Using FUJIFILM X-H2 with FT-XH File Transmitter and an active internet connection, Karen was able to send images directly from her camera to Frame.io, allowing Natalie to review and annotate the images in real time.

“With Natalie, it was cool. Everything was uploading to Frame.io so quickly that she was looking at these images pretty much immediately after I was taking them,” explains Karen. “This meant, before I had even finished the first batch of photos, she had already made annotations on things like the model’s pose, so I could make changes while still on set.”

Natalie was able to begin animating the image while Karen was still creating on location, cutting a huge amount of time out of the overall production schedule.

“By the time I was working on the third batch of photos, Natalie was already animating almost a final piece from the first batch I made.

“Normally, she would have had to wait until at least that evening for me to get around to uploading them – and it probably would have been even later,” Karen admits.

© Karen Jerzyk / Natalie Woytko 2023

After experiencing the efficiency C2C brought to her workflow on this project, Karen can see huge potential for the technology in her career on a broader level – not least the security of instant backup.

“I travel a lot when I create photos, and my biggest worry is always a lost or failed memory card. At the most basic level, I love the peace of mind from knowing my images are being uploaded immediately and securely.”

She highlights the countless hours wasted in the past when traveling to and from location – hours that can now be more productive.

“I’ve had crazy deadlines before. Once, I had to fly out to California at a day’s notice to do stills for a movie. They needed the images immediately, but because it took me 24 hours nonstop to fly there, make the pictures and fly back home, I just didn’t have time to upload them.

“With C2C, I don’t even have to think about it. I’m creating the images, and they’re immediately being sent to the client. That could have relieved so much stress in so many situations in my career,” she muses.

Astronaut standing in front of huge sliding doors of abandoned blimp hangar

Photo 2023 © Karen Jerzyk | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/25 sec at F4, ISO 200

Karen also has experience as a concert and event photographer, and tells us how C2C would have given her an advantage in such a competitive genre – especially in an era when expected turnaround times are shorter than ever.

“C2C is huge for anyone that does event photography because everything is so immediate – people very much say: ‘I want to see it now,’” asserts Karen.

“There used to be a photographer years ago who found a way to tether his camera to his phone, so he was uploading his images fast,” she recalls. “I remember the next day, everyone would be using his images – the band, the crowd. He would always be the first one to get his images up, and then his were the ones spreading.”

Although the benefits of C2C for professional photographers are abundant, Karen believes the technology has advantages for anyone making images, regardless of skill level – this includes families.

“From hobbyists making pictures of their families through to professional photographers and videographers, there’s a benefit for everyone who uses C2C,” she says.

“People with kids who don’t live near their families could be at a soccer game making pictures, and the grandparents could be looking at them immediately – wherever they are in the world.”

Astronaut floating inside blimp hangar

Photo 2023 © Karen Jerzyk | FUJIFILM X-H2 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/80 sec at F2.8, ISO 1250

Summing up her experience with C2C on location, Karen has only positive things to say.

“It was intuitive and easy to use. I liked the peace of mind knowing that my images were ending up somewhere else other than just the memory card, and that I could get feedback on-site from the other party I was collaborating with,” says Karen.

“That’s a game changer,” she concludes. “An instantaneous ability to see the images in the moment and give feedback – it’s invaluable.”

Want to read more? Hear from the animator on this project, Natalie Woytko, who talks about her C2C experience here.

The world’s first native digital stills camera integration for Frame.io Camera to Cloud is now available for FUJIFILM X-H2 and X-H2S via FT-XH File Transmitter and is fully integrated into FUJIFILM GFX100 II.

Learn more about the integration here.


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