Wilson R. Webb

Anthony Mackie on the set of Gangster Squad. I took this on a hot, dusty California day with a Mamiya RX67 Pro2 camera. I had that amazing tank of a studio camera for many years but have since made the Mamiya 7ii one of my most used film cameras. The 7ii is also a camera that Mary Ellen Mark used quite a bit in her later life. If you aren’t familiar with her work, look her up. Believe me, it will be well worth your time. She wrote a great short book entitled, Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Moment. In it she says, “I always think that less is more. Simplicity is really important. The line between extreme simplicity and an empty frame is a delicate one.” This is a concept that I consider a lot in my work. How little can be in frame for this to work as an interesting image, one that still conveys some type of emotion. Can images appear simple at first glance and slowly change to become less so the longer that you look at them? Ultimately this image of Anthony Mackie is pretty simple. Strong, vertical and horizontal lines frame his soft gaze, the exposure and direction of light just barely allows us to glimpse into the deep shadow created by his hat and by the pole. Is he curious, is he about brake into a smile? I feel like my interest in him is equal to his interest in the viewer. The tiny cloud just barely visible…the shadow of the pole on the building…the star in the corner, the textures of cloth and wood and stone and the staples in the pole. All are reasons that photography feel so important to me. You have the time to breathe in the same short moment when the photo was taken. It’s a skill, that will make you a stronger photographer, to slow down and study images longer. It’s a skill that feels smothered by the constant quest for more in this smart phone world.

The first photo is all things that a first time Director said on a rather large, well funded film set a long, long time ago. The camera crew would write down a quote on tape, as soon as they heard it, and stick it up in the camera truck. Some of the writing is hard to see, so here is a partial list; “Wanna do a shot where they put me on the cart thing and push me around?” “We’ll print that one and we’ll print the next one!” “I feel like I’m losing my mind.” “Where are the actors?” “We need some drool!” “What is a crane shot?” “It’s one shot, everything in this movie in one shot.” “Does it matter if you block?” “Do you have to match when it’s handheld?” “I wanna be a PA for a day.” To the A Camera Operator, “Amy, can you teach me how to operate, how long will that take?” “Have we shot anything yet this morning?” “We should get a vagrant.” “Do women sweat under their arms?” “Why does “Hot Set” mean?” “I still have a funcking buzz” “If the crew goes on strike, do we still have to buy them crew jackets?” “Great….cut, I got a woody so it must have worked.” “It’s not about me, it’s about Hollywood and I’m not Hollywood.” “If we go until 4 or 5 am can we ask the crew to come in at noon?” “You never let go of your food in this movie.” “I would write a love letter to me, that’s what every actress on this movie does so far.” “Good, again. Good, Again! Good, again. Excellent! Good, again. Do we have time for 1 more? Let’s do one more. Good, again!” “The death should be violent.” The 2nd photo was from a national children’s puppet show and entitled “Allowable Excuses For Missing Work” - Out of coffee - Allergic to fake fur - My arms are turning into snakes - Inseminating hogs - Value Vision warehouse sale - Witness Protection Program - Dr’s Orders - Forgot how to count backwards - Overslept, again - Working Motocross - Norwegian Relative - Gig in Trinidad - Bob Dylan Called - Drunk, again - Pursued by shiny babies - Bass lessions - Crew too small - Ted the chicken’s birthday - Fell out of chair repercussions - Walking headfirst into bathroom door - In love with/ the best boy - Nanny problems. I encourage you to start an anonymous list, it can be fun!

Cate Blanchett from the Richard Linklater film Where’d You Go Bernadette. #mamiya7ⅱ #wilsonwebb #filmisnotdead #cateblanchette

IG and the xpan frame format are not friends. Looks good on a larger screen, try it! Outtake from a shoot with (invisible here) musician @thedylanhicks Much help from @donttellpete #wilsonwebb #xpan #summeriscoming☀️

Ely, Minnesota and a few in Tower. #ely #quietstreets #bigfootwoodsmovie

I was lucky enough to be the Director of Photography on a film entitled Bigfoot Woods about a year and a half ago. It was a great experience and the entire crew worked very hard try in bringing the story, by Bruce Pavalon and Abel Pavalon, to life. We shot way up north in Ely, Minnesota, a town of about 3400 people that was once very important in the mining history of iron ore. Today much of the town profits from people going to Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a 1 million acre wilderness of interconnected lakes and rivers that hosts more than 150,000 visitors a year Needless to say, it’s a very unique place with unique people. The film received the Prairie Spirit Award from Fargo Film Festival and will be shown in a few weeks, on 3/21/2026. Thank you to the entire cast and crew, you should all be very proud of the film that we all had a part in making. Below are a few xpan images that I took while filming. FYI, IG crops in this multiple window format. Boo. Eventually I will put the uncropped images, with more selections, on my website. 1.   Director Elizabeth Chatelain @emchatelain in production office 2.   Random Town Rooftops + wires 3.   Actor Rich Sommer @richsommer as Paul Benally 4.   Key Grip Eugene Langlois @eugene.langlois near Tower sign 5.   Part of the camera crew, DTI Kyle Krause @kyleskrause , 2nd A/C Jade Jacobus-Chase and1st A/C Deb Peterson 6.   Lonely camera in the woods 7.   Actors Ambrose Velasco Jenkins @insert_existential_crisis as Bridget/Jonah Benally and Tristen MacDonald @triznasty as Taylor Benally 8.   Key Grip Eugene Langlois with gimbal bike rig 9.   Normal chaos 10. Key Grip Eugene Langlois, Gaffer Brian Robertshaw, Best Boy Grip Zach Green @honourablementions and Best Boy Electric Daniel Owens @dowensss 11. DTI Kyle Krause with an eyeline mark on his hat 12. Key Grip Eugene Langlois, Best Boy Grip Zach Green and Director Elizabeth Chatelain near tree #wilsonwebb #fargofilmfest #filmmn

Photographer Matt Infante @wanderinginfant with his Yashica stereo rig. I had the pleasure of having Matt assist me, here in 2021, with some studio shoots during the filming of the film Call Jane. He has since gone on to be a great on-set photographer in his own right. The stereo camera was endearing to see as I too, have always been a big fan and shooter of stereo photos. #Ilford400 @photographers_at_work #makeshiftstudio #wilsonwebb

Be experimental and don’t worry about the outcome. #wilsonwebb #expectnothingappreciateeverything #automaticdrawings

Two still photos from the same set on Noah Baumbach’s meditative, and thoughtful film JAY KELLY (2025), here with Billy Crudup and George Clooney. In the 2nd image it is an unknown Electrician. This is an excellent example of how my brain works. The 1st image is what I know will work well to promote the film in articles and on-line, the 2nd image is what interests me on a different level…with a different camera. My eye perceives an photo and my brain considers how it would look with what ever camera I have on me at the time, often I have a minimum of 3, one digital and 2 film. Always observing, calculating and hunting for frames of interest. The different frame sizes and formats have their own purposes and help me to stay curious in an attempt to prevent slipping into repetitive actions that make it more likely for me to shoot less interesting images. #wilsonwebb #onsetphotographer #NoahBaumbach #xpan

25 years ago a small, but determined, Minneapolis film crew (led by writer, musician and director Eric Tretbar) got together and made a sweet film about two people reuniting, sharing their past and coming to terms with their future. It was my among a few of my first short films as a gaffer (responsible for the lighting) and, of course, I also took a lot of stills along the way…some are included here. In 1999 Robert Redford came to Minneapolis in support of SNOW’s premiere on his Sundance Channel, so you know it’s worth seeing! This Sunday (2.15.26) the film will be shown again at The Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, with a Q+A afterwards. Featuring Shane Barach + Rose Mailutha @erictretbar @rosemailuthaofficial @theparkwaympls /all-events/snow-25th?mc_cid=e57b059ac0 #wilsonwebb #mlpsmusicscene #snowthefilm

I spent days thinking about what I would say on this video but in the end decided that nothing would be enough. Take care of each other. #Iceout

Last year I had the good fortune of working on a Spike Jonze/Halina Reijn short film for Gucci entitled TIGER. As much as I enjoy shooting and documenting a project what I also really love is seeing how every Director works differently, and how they bring their own character to what is being created. I try to capture a small part of that. Through all the hard work and chaos there are often magical moments.  I guess that’s what a lot of photographers are looking for and with practice, location and luck we sometimes succeed. Left to right, Actor Alia Shawkat, Boom Operator Danny Maurer, Actors Keke Palmer and Elliot Page, Director of Photography Jasper Wolf, Director (with still camera) Spike Jonze, Unknown, Focus Puller Unknown (Mark Connelly +Steven Wolfe?) #wilsonwebb  #SpikeJonze #JasperWolf #mamiya7ⅱ #ilford3200