Tamron Lenses for Good

André Costantini and Michelle Brady use the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and SP 70-200mm VC lenses to document a project helping orphans in Nepal.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Images by André Costantini and Michelle Brady

The newly married couple founded Kids for Kathmandu, a nonprofit dedicated to helping these orphans, and one of the projects they've been concentrating on is installing locally sourced solar panels at the orphanage, which has since moved to Bhaktapur. The panels provide enough electricity to power the water filtration system, as well as offer enough light at night so meals can be cooked and the children can study. Photographers André Costantini and Michelle Brady traveled to Bhaktapur in December to shoot The Solar Project , a short film documenting the process.

The Solar Project from Kids of Kathmandu on Vimeo.

"Michelle is a member of the board on Kids for Kathmandu, so she went over to Nepal to supervise the installation of the solar panels," André says. "I joined her a few weeks later to help document the process. When you're working with organizations that are doing humanitarian work, it's rewarding to be able to share a story that has real impact on the quality of so many lives. There's a great satisfaction in knowing that you're providing them with a film they can use to further their mission."

André and Michelle used the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and SP 70-200mm VC lenses exclusively for this video. "The fast F/2.8 aperture, along with the sharpness, make them ideal choices, especially for documentary work," André says. "There seems to be a lot of focus on prime lenses for film, which can be great if you have a lot of control on a set, but less can be more when you're in the field trying to catch stuff on the fly, when you want to travel light, and when changing lenses would mean missing a great shot."

The Vibration Compensation (VC) feature on both lenses proved invaluable. "In general, if you're on a tripod or panning and tilting, I'd shut the VC off - it can created a 'stepping effect,' especially with quicker shutter speeds," André says. "However, if you're trying to handhold and keep steady, the VC makes a huge difference, which is more apparent with longer lenses. Many of the night shots were handheld, along with the opening two shots, which were shot at temples where tripods weren't possible."

The DLSR André and Michelle used for this film shot video in H264 compressed .MOV files, with about a 12-minute time limit for each shot. "For most of this type of documentary-style shooting, that's more than enough time," André says. "Creating shorter shots keeps you aware of what you're shooting and saves time in the editing room."

There are other parameters to be cognizant of when shooting video with a DSLR. "With most DSLR video, you can't shoot at less than 1/30th of a second," André says. "That's because the frame rate is recorded at 24 or 30 frames a second, and there can't be a slower shutter speed then the total of the sum of the parts - in other words, 1/30th of a second times 30 frames per second equals 1 second. Shooting slower than that at the same frame rate would force you to see more in a second than what actually exists. To make your video look most like traditional movies, you'll want to set your shutter speed at 1/40th or 1/50th of a second. Fast shutter speeds can be good for special effects or high-speed action sequences, but normally you should try to avoid them. Another benefit of using a DSLR to shoot video is the high-quality stills - the Vibration Compensation used at superslow shutter speeds comes in really handy there."

Using manual focus for this type of documentary-style video offers you more control. "The camera can't usually keep up in an auto mode with moving things," André says. "Most cameras also allow you to magnify the image for fine focus, which makes a big difference when you see the image projected. I also use manual mode all the time to control exposure. If you use Aperture Priority, the shutter speed can change, affecting the way the video looks; if you use Shutter Priority, you don't have control of your depth-of-field. Auto or Program mode can affect both of those factors. Plus, the exposure can change depending on what's happening in the frame, causing the image to get brighter or darker in a shot, which is distracting to watch."

When shooting a video like this, André offers a couple of suggestions to maintain consistent, natural color. "I recommend using a preset or custom white balance or the Kelvin (K) setting," he says. "Using auto can create color shifts in the middle of your shot, which can be difficult to correct later. Also, many cameras have style modes that can add sharpening or saturation. I turn the sharpening all the way down, as well as keep the saturation to a low level."

The quality of the sound is another important factor. "Sound can make a huge difference in the final outcome," André explains. "Although some of the sound came from the microphone built into the camera, most of it was recorded using a wireless lavalier-style microphone."

Telling the story of the kids of Kathmandu meant carefully figuring out what story they wanted to tell, then executing that vision. "In this case, we wanted to show some background on how the project originated, as well as the bigger benefit to the orphans with the addition of the solar panels," André says. "Our goal was to show the before and after and to get a sense of what life is like there and how just a little can go a long way in the developing world. We were interested in showing hardworking, intelligent people who are able to get further just by providing them with resources that give them the opportunity to be successful."

Embracing the often-spontaneous nature of shooting a documentary-style video in a developing country is vital to capturing detail shots that enhance the final product. "In documentary, you don't know what's going to happen when - you may be waiting around for a day or two for an electrician to show up, or shooting things that you find interesting but that you aren't sure will be relevant to your story," André says. "The majority of the music we used in the film, for example, was field recordings of street music or the children doing their daily prayers. Elements like this may not be apparent upon first glance but ultimately bring the viewer closer to the culture."

Parsing out these elements often takes place in the editing process, which took an additional two weeks once André and Michelle returned to the United States. "It can be a little overwhelming to get started on the edit with so much footage to review," he says. "But, like most things in life, once you get into it, things really start to happen - that's when you really construct the story. In many ways, it's like a puzzle you're solving. Certain shots or concepts work well together, so you start from there. It helps if you take a day or two away and revisit the project with fresh eyes."

The solar panels changed these Nepalese children's lives (the founders explain in the video how grades and test scores have shot up since the panels were installed), but it has also changed André and Michelle's lives. "When you have a mission like this, it gives you the opportunity to go places and see things that you never would have otherwise seen," André explains. "Ultimately, it impacts your worldview. There's usually a period of culture shock when you get back, because the conditions are so vastly different. You realize that with the money spent on dinner for two at your local restaurant, you could have fed 100 people. You gain a huge appreciation for the resources and wealth that many people in the first world are accustomed to. It's both humbling and empowering."