Archos 70 tablet my take

I have been using the archos 70 for 6 months now. In fact I am writing this blog post on it. I am in love with the tablet experience. Every night I get into bed early  and check my facebook/ twitter, then read a magazine or book. I download apps, try them all out, its fun! The archos has been a great device for the following:
Clear responsive screen
Nice size 7 inch. Easy to hold and read.
Sound is great.
Most apps work well
But!
It is very slow
Video does not pay well or fast enough

Lately I have been trying out the newer tablets. Very nice! Mostly it is the speed of the dual core prossesor and newer more responsive screens. I am wanting one! However the new android version 4 OS has been announced but not yet in devices and the next round of tablets will be even better/ faster and just possibly cheeper.
  So what do I do?  Sell my Archos? Help me out here people.. coments?

Skateboard Video

  This summer is flying by..don’t they all? I have had not had much time for projects and I miss it badly! I have taken footage in Algonquin Park and Muskoka Lake and trying to edit them together. Most of that footage will be for stock agency. I will be posting it to my portfolio site. For now I finally got a new skateboard video up. I went to the Huntsville skate park one Saturday when the smack-down was going on. Local skate shops in town were sponsors and it was run by the Huntsville parks & rec. It was a hot sunny day with harsh sunlight and the boys were having a hard time with the heat. I color corrected the exposure added some slow motion and used Magic Bullet Looks to add some effect.

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NAB 2011

Ok, I am pissed I could not make it to Las Vegas for this years NAB show. NAB is a trade show in Las Vegas showing video and broadcasting gear, software and everything about the industry. My business would have been able to use it for a write off. I would have met many people I have been interacting with on the internet and I would have met some contacts in the industry.

Fortunately the internet has taken me there with live video and many stories from the show floor in great detail. Anything worth seeing is shown in pics and video’s probably better than fighting crowds and waiting in line to hold something. I am very sure I would have bought something quite expensive, so I saved there too.
All I am missing are the smells and sights of Vegas in all its glitter and flashing lights. Oh and the cards. I love to play blackjack at the table. The internet can not reproduce all of that!
I did promise myself I will put some cash away this summer so I can attend next year for sure and I also promised my wife. It has been at least 10 years since we were last there and I am starting to miss it.

New Commercial Video

Had some fun with this one, actually I have fun with all my videos. This time I tried to tackle a Commercial video or a video that a company would get done for a web promotion or introduction. I just used video and music, but have been thinking we should have had Ken talking in the background describing the bottling process. Next video he gets we can do that.

  Ken Inglis has worked for Years to get his dream of a water bottling plant going. It all started with a local spring next to his property. He just wanted to start filling bottles. The Town of huntsville owned the property the spring was located on and wanted to get rid of the liability of the spring and peoples health. The town sold Ken the Property with the understanding ken would assume liability and build a bottling plant.

  After many years and many hearings, drawings, studies and hoops that every possible government and agency and group could throw his way, he finally was underway. His plant has won some awards for management and water quality. Here is the inside of the plant on bottling day.

Maple Syrup Season is Here!

 

Hey folks again its maple syrup season again!! woohooo!! I have been waiting all winter for this and have been busy making a new stove or “Evaporator” and purchased an new stainless pan. I got a     3’ x 2’ pan with a valve outlet and hole for a thermometer. I get most of my supplies at Atkinson's Maple Syrup Products.

The evaporator is an old home oil tank cut in half. Then I welded a steel frame around the top,Added a chimney and door. I will let you know how it worked.

  Last Thursday I went back to the bush you see in the picture and tapped 20 trees and then on Friday I tapped another 20 trees. That is more then twice the amount of taps as last year Link to last years video. I had some friends look around last summer at yard sales for taps and pails and ended up with 40 in total.

  Making Syrup is so much fun, it does not seem like hard work even though it is. If anyone has any questions or comments, please let me know in the comment section. Or if you want to see more on syrup.

   Now For The Shameless Advertisement

Tint-it graphics has a new web page after many years. I used SquareSpace to build the new site and I need input as to  what you like and don’t like. Also, If you need help making a web page I would love to put one together for you on Sqarespace.

Fire in Huntsville

STOP THE METER

I had a great Christmas Holiday!

One of the highlights of the week was a photo shoot in Barrie. Bill Minton and Christopher O’Driscoll rented a hall and organized this shoot. 7 models and a makeup artist and a great location made for a great day. However I decided not to take photos, rather I took video since that is what I am working towards doing mostly.

After I got home and looked at the footage, I realized I need more practice. I did get enough shots to put this short video together. I had allot of footage that did not work out for a number of reasons.I do know what went wrong and I learned allot and had a blast. Thanks to everyone involved, I want to try this again!

Moon Eclipse on Winter Solstice

I heard the news and got all excited and started making plans for a night of creativity. Well it turned out CLEAR, very important to have a clear sky. Unfortunately when the sky is clear is is always cold and it was very cold. I was concerned for batteries, lenses and tripods. My plan was to set up a time-lapse with my canon 60d. I used a photo tripod and my 70-300. I had a problem with movement of the moon would pass through the view of the camera more than once. I had to wait until the moon was almost out of the frame them move it to the other side of the frame at least 5 times. I set the lens to manual focus so it would never change. The other challenge I had was exposure, As the moon changes through the eclipse. Every so often I had to get out in the cold and change shutter speed so I could see the red part of the moon in the dark or not blow out the moon at the bright times. the intervolometer worked well taking a shot every 10 seconds.

The next issue I had was in post. I set it up in Photoshop opening the first image and check box set to open folder as a movie. Then I had to export as a movie at the correct settings and wait until it finished rendering.

Next in Premiere pro CS5 I imported the clip and used the tracking feature to keep the moon stationary in the frame. It was a bunch of work and the end product is very short. Have a look!

Winter Solstice Moon Eclipse

Then I took some of the best shots and made this image in Photoshop.

I also took my Pentax K-7 and attatched my 2000mm telescope with a simple adapter. I had to shoot with mirror up and use a remote shutter to reduce camera shake. I could not overcome the movement of the moon

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Comments?

Creating Again

I have been busy with photography and video before Christmas. I was working on a self promoting video for my video business. I felt like I was sticking my neck out…way out on a limb and petrified I would look stupid or embarrassed. I know it is important to be transparent, open and real to market in this new era. So I sat down and worked this concept until I was satisfied with the final product.

So have a look and leave a comment even if it is critical. It was fun to make and it took a long time. I need to know how to make my work better. I suppose practice is the best way. I am also looking for companies who need a video for there website or showroom.

 

Why Video?