Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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!
Monday, January 3, 2011
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!
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.
