I realized, at the seminar, that only a few of my skills in still photography can help me in video production. The steepest part of the learning curve for me might be follow focus. In the studio, I normally focus once and never have to mess with the focus until it’s time to set up another shot.  Keeping your subject in focus while it moves, all the while handling the camera can be a real challenge. And I never had to think about recording good sound. I have been looking at some kit to make the transition easier. I did pick up a Hoodman Cinema Kit Pro to help setting up the shot comfortably. There’s still quite a bit of gear that I’d like. When you’ve got the whole rig, the camera becomes the cheap part. I’ll probably rent some of this stuff for a while until I find out if I have any marketable skills.

It was exciting to work on these new products and all of their interesting accessories. Our client was extremely pleased that our accurate work and efficient service enabled the Motorola marketing team to meet tight deadlines for press materials, advertising, and packaging.

Recently the company has designed new botanical cladding products for architects and designers: a modular green roof system and a non structural living wall. We’ve convinced him that the best way to introduce these products to the market may be through a video. This area of green building has yet to be largely embraced in the U.S., but currently 10% of the building in Germany have green roofs.

We’re excited about this project. We’ve had the urge to try some video work, but lacked the impetus. This may be the prod needed. With the advent of digital SLRs (we’ve got a Nikon D7000 on order) that can also shoot HD video, this might become an expected part of some commercial photography assignments. While our skills should serve us well for scene lighting and the composition of video images, we have a bit to learn about sound recording. Couldn’t be too hard could it?

HDR imaging involves taking several different exposures of a scene and merging those exposures into one digital file that contains all of the range of light values. HDR software is used to manipulate the image to bring out different parts of the scene. This process is called, “Tone Mapping”.

The images below demonstrate the potential value of HDR imaging to a photographer. It’s a very difficult exposure – shooting directly into the sun — either the highlights will be blown out, or the shadows will be blocked up.

The HDR software Photomatix allows me to develop a composite of the exposures that preserves both highlight areas and shadow details. Below is the resulting Tone Mapped image with some lens flare retouched out. This image could now be refined further with standard Photoshop tools.

At TB&O we have used this technique to achieve well balanced exposures shooting at dusk for Jardines Restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining areas.

There is controversy among photographers surrounding HDR imaging because of the tendency of this technique to produce eye-candy, i.e. merely average images that have appeal because of HDR’s unique treatment of texture and saturation. Many photographers hope that this HDR “fad” will die a quick death. I think that HDR Imaging is useful to have in the toolbox. In any case, sometimes eye-candy is just what I’m looking for.

Here are some interesting links to HDR info:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/10/35-fantastic-hdr-pictures/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging
http://www.hdrsoft.com/resources/dri.html

He didn’t insert, “Christian” (too obvious and to some possibly off putting), nor, “Staunch” (again rather obvious and completely lacking in cachet) nor, “Thinking Man’s” (William F. Buckley he isn’t), nor for that matter, “Everyman’s” (meh… it might have worked). He chose: “Compassionate” Well, to be honest, I don’t know if he chose the word. More likely it was chosen for him by someone in his PR cadre. Still, he used the phrase to describe himself, I heard him do it, so I’m ascribing its genesis to him. But why that word?

I’m going to suggest it was for the oxymoron-ness of it, for its jumbo shrimpy-ness. One does not find oneself using that word to describe any aspect of the conservative world view. Not normally. He used that word to describe something he wanted us to think was different about him, something that is contrary to what is a Republican norm, something that, were we to buy into it, might help him get elected, something that Republicans normally are not: compassionate.  This tag line wasn’t trotted out in his second campaign. By that time he’d been stripped of his sheep’s clothing.

If there were ever a group of I’ve-got-mine-and-the-rest-of-you-fuck-off meanies it’s the Republicans and their testy wolf pack advance group, the Tea Party. This is where conservatism has gone to roost, in a selfish collection of grumblers who can’t think past their own wants. If Americans aspire at all to greatness one measure should be our ability to extend sheltering arms to everyone. This can’t be done, however, for free. It does cost. Caring about others, and its corresponding cost, isn’t in the Republican playbook. Shame on them.

I realize that the above has nothing to do with photography. Sorry.

A flurry of rather frenetic projects lately has kept me away from my blogging duties…well, no, not duties, rather… ahh…joy, not to be confused with ah..chew. Let’s recap: My son Lucien, you’ll find him as a fan of TBO, was, until last week, also an employee. The guy can make paths!! He did some journeyman work here, but is employed more lucratively for the summer with his step father in constuction. He drives a dump truck. He’ll be back in the fall with the start of Cabrillo’s school year. Before leaving we conspired on a location shoot at Jardines in San Juan Bautista.   A bit different than the usual fare what with food and models involved.

We’ve also started a lifestyle project for SanDisk. The success of the shoot was do in great part to the quality of the models. We were fortunate to work with skilled models and have a great location, although were plagued by fog for most of the day. One shot we needed was by the pool and the sun finally cut through about 4:00 in time for the models to get on their bathing suits and pose for some stuff by the pool. It was about 62°. I was nice and warm behind the lens though.

Links in this article

http://www.sandisk.com/

http://www.jardinesrestaurant.com/index.htm

On Tuesday morning a couple of weeks ago my friend Katie brought her Photo 1 class to the studio to disabuse them of any notion they may have of pursuing a career in commercial photography. TC and I put on a cart and pony show, demo-ing some gear and talking a bit about lighting.

We usually finish with a simple set for them to take their own shots. Since we work tethered, they can see their efforts in something like real time.

While this was a photo 1 class, (their efforts  in class were all with film, not digital), this does bring up a gripe I have with too much of the educational focus (no pun intended) of college offerings. They provide too little technical instruction. There’s not enough about the physics of photography, the behavior of light, or how the choice of lens can affect the outcome of the image, of how these things aren’t the art, but the brushes with which you craft your art. Katie doesn’t entirely agree and I would probably have to confess that I’ve probably been locked in the studio for far too long to be objective.

That said, check out the efforts of these guys. In the days of digital, they take photography back about 150 years. God bless them.

Links:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/wallflower/detail?&entry_id=62778

Every time I visit Phoenix, I’m struck by contrasts — the beautiful desert, unrestrained development, water delivered over 300 miles from Colorado River dams, fantastic golf courses, a fountain that blasts water 300 feet in the air, the sweet smell of citrus blossoms, — a state where the former Republican Presidential candidate is too liberal.

Sometimes I think the adaptations we’ve made to live there are kind of nuts. The temperature reaches or exceeds 100°F on an average of 110 days during the year, and tops 110 °F an average of 18 days each year. That’s hot, Riyadh and Baghdad hot.

To cope with all that heat Arizonans live in air conditioning, and to run them they built the largest nuclear power plant in the U.S., Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Even with three reactor containment vessels, it’s a little hard to find. As it turns out, it was right on my route home. I find this sort of thing fascinating, so here are a couple of photos.

The grass has riz

I wonder where all

The flowers is.

-Anonymous

This effort is the first blog by one of the Others. TC and I went off to shoot for one of our oldest clients.

Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)

Well, we found them, at our location shoot for Sakata Seeds in Salinas. We travel there several times a year — in the spring it’s flowers, in the fall it’s broccoli, and in the heat of summer we’ll head out to the Central Valley to shoot melons.

Astronomically speaking, spring arrived back on March 20. But, here in Santa Cruz this past Easter weekend felt as if spring just arrived.

The temperature hovered around 70 degrees Sunday afternoon as the kids walked around the yard carrying Easter pails to look for bright colorful eggs.

Spring has definitely sprung, and it’s a great time to celebrate the new beginnings — and warmer temperatures — all around us.

“We’re collaborative animals, it turns out, and joyful amateurs, interested more in entertaining and informing ourselves than in being entertained and informed by professionals.”

It takes a couple of reads, but if you’re willing to slog through the word soup and get your knickers wet, there is a lot to find in Michael Wolff’s article in Vanity Fair, “Ringside at the Web Fight” What doesn’t make sense to my old brain when first read, gathers meaning, sometimes more than one, with review.

Very difficult to know where one fits in all of this, but it does mean that we’re swimming in a much bigger pond, that your words and thoughts are nested right there with everyone else’s, just as valuable and fraught with meaning (or not) as everyone else’s. If he’s right, there is some sorting out going to happen in the next few years. It seems that the internet ain’t over yet. I think, though, there’s place for photography in the mix.

Now for something completely off topic and totally cool. My friend Mike sent me this link: