cameras – Page 3 – Journeys of a Hybrid

June 28, 2010June 24, 2010

Biggest Mistakes Made Shooting Video with DLSR’s

I’ve been working quite a bit lately with both the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 7D, shooting video. I’ve been shooting video with traditional video cameras for the last 11 years so I wasn’t in the dark as to how to shoot motion. But I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve made my share of mistakes with these hybrids.

Here are a few to watch out for:

Don’t forget about audio. So many still photographers forget the importance of audio and then what they are left with are a bunch of video clips with lousy or unusable sound.
Don’t capture audio with the camera mic. You’ll never get good sound if you do. I also stay away from plugging in an external mic with the mini stereo plug.
Don’t turn off the camera mic when using an independent audio recorder. It’s always good to have the audio recorded to cards through the camera to use as a reference when syncing the sound later in post.
Don’t discount reading the manuals. A lot of shooters think since they are coming from a photographic background, they don’t need to read the manuals. There are big differences when shooting video – make sure you read the manuals about some of the nuances and avoid making stupid mistakes.
Don’t shoot video like a still photographer. Remember video is time in motion – so let motion play out in the camera. Let subjects move in and out of your frame. Let the camera roll – don’t shoot moments in time.
Don’t forget about the story and sequencing. I usually see the big picture when I’m shooting. I think about the finished completed movie in my mind’s eye so when I’m shooting I’m always thinking about what is coming next – where will I go from this shot – where did I come from. If you don’t think like this then you’ll have a disconnected mess that won’t be easy to edit.
Don’t be sneaky. These cameras look and are still cameras. Don’t deceive people into thinking that you’re not shooting video and/or sound.
Get it right in camera. Unlike still photographs, video doesn’t do as well when it’s over manipulated or corrected in post, especially when trying to crop or enlarge the image.
Don’t skimp on you shots. When shooting b-roll video – you’ll need lots of it to tell the story in post. Shoot different focal lengths as well as angles for variety to cut to.

10. Don’t shoot verticals. I know, I know there will be some of you that will disagree with me but if you want a vertical – don’t turn the camera sideways – crop the vertical in post. A contradiction perhaps to #9 you say. Well there are always exceptions.

June 25, 2010June 23, 2010

Packing for 3-Month HDSLR Shoot – Too Much or Too Little?

When I embarked on my 3-month journey to create a documentary Opening Our Eyes, I posted a blog entry about what I was packing. http://tiny.cc/7pc9f

I received quite a few comments – publicly posted and otherwise and many people remarked that I was taking too much. After one month into this sojourn, I thought perhaps an update would be in order.

The main verdict is – my hunches were pretty much on target and I didn’t over pack. Sure it’s a lot to carry – but there are two of us and it all fits into two medium sized photo backpacks. I have used all the lenses that I brought except my old Nikon fixed lenses that I planned to use with the converter. Those I could have left behind – but the trip is not over yet so I’ll have to wait on that determination.

Bringing two camera bodies is a must if only from a back up point of view but when shooting stills as well as video, it’s a lot faster to have one dedicated for video and one for stills, especially when shooting with the Zacuto Z-Finder and rig.

And bringing two laptops has proven to be a very smart move. I had recently purchased a new Mac laptop with the latest operating system and there have been numerous times when I could not connect with the Internet – but the older laptop (2 years old) has had no problems. That and with limited Internet time, when we are able to get online, having two computers has saved a lot of arguments over computer time between my daughter and myself. We take full advantage in the airline club lounges to upload items and check email while waiting for flights. I have also had to rely on my extra laptop battery for the older Mac as the original battery was no longer holding a charge for more than an hour.

My audio equipment is sufficient and I am constantly switching back and forth between capturing my audio directly to the camera cards with the JuicedLink DT454 and separately with the H4n Zoom. One item I do not have that I really need is a male-to-male XLR cord. I found out that I couldn’t use my wireless set with either the JuicedLink or the Zoom because they both need male ends and I only have male to female XLR cords. I keep thinking there must be a solution that I’m overlooking so if someone has any thoughts – please let me know.

The small Matthews boom stand rig that I put together is terrific. It was meant to be used for table top studio shooting but for me it is perfect because it breaks down into multiple pieces, is light weight and easy to use.

I’m backing everything up onto two hard drives and I have just now used up the first two (500 G) drives. That leaves me with 6 more drives which is just about perfect depending on how much I will shoot.

Lastly, my iPod has helped with my sanity on these long flights and layovers and my Blackberry Tour phone has worked everywhere and it simply amazes me. Many times it has been our only connection to home. So I have to give kudos to Verizon and their global service. I’m truly impressed. Still a lot of remote places to go – so we’ll see how well it does as we move on.

I stop and think about the equipment we are carrying and the new technology and how this would not have been possible just 5 years ago. It’s an amazing time we live in and I’m taking full advantage of it. Can’t wait to see what the future will bring.

June 21, 2010June 20, 2010

Photography and Video in Foreign Destinations

I’ve traveled most of my life and I’m almost always with my camera. I’ve experienced the good and the bad and the difficulty and the ease when taking photographs on my travels. Some cultures are open to being photographed and some not. I’m not just talking about the rules and regulations concerning photographing landmarks and such, which has certainly changed since 911, but rather the receptiveness of the people in various countries.

It used to be that the people in “third world” destinations were leery of being photographed and superstitious. That has given way to more of an attitude of wanting money for every click of your shutter in their direction. But then there are some cultures that it’s a bit of a surprise how open the people are to being photographed.

Istanbul was certainly one destination where the people were quite accepting of photography. And surprisingly, Moscow is another city where I have found that photography is a lot less restrictive than I thought. Aside from some museums where cameras are not allowed, I have found that shooting on the streets of this city hasn’t been a problem at all. Quite different than I imagined and in fact a bit of a contrast to what I’ve experienced lately in my own country where I feel like I’m an intruder with my camera or worse, feeling like I’m breaking the law.

It’s a fine balance when arriving in a new destination and feeling out the situation as to what is or isn’t off limits to a camera. One needs to be observant and respectful and work into the culture gradually. When photographing people, I don’t go up and ask them if I can take their picture. It’s not because I’m trying to be sneaky, but rather I don’t want a posed moment and that’s exactly what happens if I ask permission first. However, after I’ve taken a few shots and a person has noticed me, I will then question with body language if it’s ok to take pictures. If they say no, I respect their wishes and move on.

I’m on a long extended shoot right now creating a documentary Opening Our Eyes with my daughter Erin. In our free time, we are doing a bit of sightseeing and photographing the landmarks and people of the destinations we are in. From time to time we want a picture of the two of us in a quintessential setting and we seek out just the right person to take our picture. We have discovered that picking the right person is an art in itself and quickly find out if our hunch in who we ask to take the picture proves right. We have acquired quite a collection of photos that people have taken of us from the terrible to the pretty good. It’s always funny to see other people’s eye and how they frame us in the shot.

We have another two months for our journey and it will be interesting to see the cultural differences with regards to photography. I hope that we won’t encounter the obstacles that seem to be popping up more and more in the US when it comes to taking pictures. I wonder – is the change in attitude because of security or is it because everyone has a camera these days with the ever-present cell phones and maybe people are just tired of being photographed.

June 9, 2010

Back to My Beginnings

I became a visual artist , not as a photographer, not as a filmmaker, but as a storyteller using images and later video to tell the tales of other cultures, lands and people through my eyes and my journeys. My camera was my tool – it was a means to an end. The end being the story that needed to be told.

I’ve spent the last 30 some years documenting the world through my lens, whether it be for magazines like the National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian or Travel & Leisure or for major corporations. I’ve been blessed and have truly lived a charmed life. But there have been times when I’ve started to go off kilter – or stray from the essence of my being. It’s easy to do, especially in a culture that is obsessed with the drive to succeed – the definition of success being to make a lot of money and have a lot of “things”. Don’t get me wrong – I also enjoy the rewards that money brings – but for me that means having the resources that help me to live a full life.

A few years back I was shooting a documentary on the Delta Blues Musicians and I spent a memorable afternoon with blues drummer Sam Carr. As we were winding up our conversation under the shade of old tree he sat back and said “I’ve lived a rich man’s life in a poor man’s shoes”. That comment has stayed with me over time and when Sam died last year, I was told that his family was grateful for the interview that I captured that day and used his comment as his epitaph. I was humbled and honored, but mostly felt richly rewarded that my personal project had touched the lives of others.

As we wind up our first stop in Africa on our round-the-world trip, some of the fears and trepidations I had that came with taking a risk, and heading out to the unknown for 3 months, have vanished. In their place is the calming realization that this was what I needed to do at this point in my life and I was grateful I had the means to do it and the stamina to travel on a shoestring budget. Africa puts things into perspective – this vast continent is so wild, colorful, rich, poor, exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. Africa has taken its hold on me and has sparked my true spirit.

My daughter and I decided to take some time to get out of the city and go to Murchison Falls National Park, after shooting the first part of our documentary about people making a positive difference in the world. We saw

Murchison-1772 copy — Elephants along the Nile

elephants, hippos,

giraffes,

Murchison-1311 copy — Giraffe, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

antelope, cape buffalo, baboons,

Murchison-1607 copy — Baboon, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

slept in a tent and sat by a fire in the evenings under a canopy of stars that stretched from horizon to horizon. We chatted with people from countries all over the globe – all of us different yet with a common cause – the love of the journey.

Of course I shot still photos

Murchison-1161 copy — Cape Buffalo, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

as well as some VIDEO but more importantly I absorbed this rich experience and it energized my spirit and my soul. This is the “fire” that I need every now and then. I think we all need a spark every once in awhile and to get past the science of the photographic craft and back to the essence of the art and the story. That is what ultimately leads us to create the kind of visuals that will resonate with others. That spark is different for all of us but nevertheless an essential ingredient for the creative process. It’s not the tools, nor the techniques that define the message or create the images that strike a lasting chord with those who see them. I was fortunate that I learned that years ago and now I’m reminded of those lessons as I get back to my beginnings.

We leave Africa today and continue our journey – next stop Istanbul, Turkey and then on to Poland where our next subject awaits.

May 30, 2010

Shooting Video in the Field with the Canon 5D Mark II

The first two days of our Round the World Journey, shooting the documentary Opening Our Eyes has been quite full and I’ve faced numerous situations – really putting my tools to the test.

Our first full day was spent at the offices of Wrap Up Africa, which are located in Kampala, Uganda. In addition to shooting b-roll of tailors at work, we shot several interviews. Our main interview was with Wrap Up Africa’s founder, Letha Sandison, followed by interviews of a couple of her staff members. We also did interviews of some of the cancer victims that Letha has helped. Here is where I not only needed to be attentive to my technical details but be sensitive to the situation and the people that I was interviewing. Hearing some of their stories is heartbreaking and hard for many Americans to fathom. Sure, we all watch the travesties taking place throughout the world on the nightly news, but it’s quite another experience to speak with people who have experienced horrendous tragedies in their lives that are simply unimaginable.

One woman, Evelyn who works for Letha had been abducted and held captive by the LRA, which stands for the Lord’s Resistance Army, and is not exactly a charitable group. She managed to escape after most of her family had been killed in front of her. She is now raising three orphans who had been victims as well and works with Letha, helping others.

Our set up was simple and deliberately so. I set up the Canon 5D Mark II and captured my audio separately with the H4N Zoom. I had two mics – one shotgun on a small boom stand and another lav. I will sync them later in post. We chose a room that had ample window light as we are traveling with only a small camera light and nothing else. Our biggest challenge was that the cabinet installer decided to do his work the day we were shooting – so the sounds of hammering and drilling made up our ambient background sound. But the mics were placed close to our subjects and did a pretty good job of boosting their audio above the din of the environment.

The next situation we faced was shooting b-roll in the dirty environments of a potter’s studio and a foundry. Again we used the Zoom to pick up the ambient sound of the environments. After a morning with the artists, we packed up quickly and headed to Mulago Hospital to visit the children’s cancer ward. We were not allowed to shoot video but we did shoot some still images and was happy to have the hybrid cameras that captured beautiful files – far better than frame grabs from a traditional video camera.

Then we headed to the market, which as usual is always a trying experience. For anyone who has traveled to congested third world environments, you know what I mean by “trying experience”. You must be aware of your personal belongings at all times, while shooting and I wish at times that I had eyes in the back of my head. On top of that I’m sensitive to those that don’t want to be photographed. It’s exhausting but at the same time exhilarating because of the exotic nature of the environment. My daughter wore the GoPro Hero helmet cam that is a tiny camera made for adventure sports but she had a lot of fun walking through the market recording the event with running video as we walked through the market.

I was shooting video with the Canon 5D Mark II and used a shotgun mic on top of the camera and run through a JuicedLink audio mixer. I’m embarrassed to say that somehow, even after lots of testing – I came back with no audio! Luckily the helmet cam Hero picked up very good ambient audio so I’m able to use that and layer it in post. In the chaos and confusion of the market, I probably didn’t set it up right and today I will do additional testing so as not to make that mistake in the future. But the video was captured beautifully and I will interweave those clips into the documentary with sound from the interviews and ambient sound from the Hero.

I am realizing one thing though and that there is nothing easy or streamlined when shooting video with these hybrid cameras. The results are stunning, but the shoot and workflow are much more tedious than when shooting with a video camera. Perhaps at the end of this three-month journey, I’ll be singing a different tune – I certainly hope so.

I’ll keep you posted as I get access to the Internet, which is iffy, and we’ve been off line for the last two days. But there’s something humbling about being off the grid and I’m learning to take it in stride and appreciate what I have. Today is Sunday and we are resting and storing up a bit of energy for the coming week. Please read more about our journey at Opening Our Eyes.

May 18, 2010

My DSLR Kit for a Three-Month Road Trip

For those who have been following this blog you know that I’m getting ready to depart for a 3-month trip around the world creating a documentary with my daughter – Opening Our Eyes. Here is what I’ve managed to fit into two backpacks – it just fits. Thank goodness there’s two of us.
Please follow our journey http://www.openingoureyes.wordpress.com

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Canon 16-35mm 2.8
Canon 24-70mm 2.8
Canon 70-200mm 2.8
Canon 70-300mm 4.5
Canon 1.4X tele extender
Canon 2X tele extender
Nikon/Canon lens adaptor
Nikkor 14mm rectilinear lens f2.8
Nikkor 50mm 1.4
Nikkor 85mm f2
6 Batteries for Canon
1 Battery grip for 5D
3 Battery chargers
Remote control for Canon
AC adaptor for Canon
Rycote Hot shoe extension
4 – 16 GB flash cards – all cards – Sandisk UGMA
4 – 8 GB flash cards
2 – 8 GB SDHC cards
2 – 4 GB SDHD cards
Neutral density filter kit
Polarizer
Epson P6000 digital wallet
Zoom H4n digital audio recorder
JuicedLink DT454 audio preamp
Rode shotgun mic
Tram lav mic
Sennheiser Transmitter/Wireless kit
“Dead Cats” (windscreens)
XLR cords
Headphones
HD Hero helmet camera with attachments
Flip HD
ManfrottoTripod and fluid head
Small Matthews boom stand for mic
Reflector
Zacuto Z-Finder
Zacuto Striker Rig
Flex DSLR remote
Lacie Rugged Hard drives – 4000 GB memory!
Firewire and USB cords
3 – card readers
2 MacBookPro Laptops
1 extra laptop battery
1 extra AC adaptor for laptop
Kindle
iPod
Blackberry Tour
2 Scotte Vests – with 22 pockets in each

May 16, 2010

Being Candid

I was going through some old personal photographs over the weekend. There were lots of pictures of people smiling for the camera but amongst the school portraits and posed group shots were a couple of candid snapshots that caught my eye.

brian and dad — Brian and Dad. Rochester, NY (early 1960's)

There was a photograph of my dad with my youngest brother – a candid moment, either right before or right after the “posed” moment that captured their spirits. There was a cockeyed shot of my other brother asleep in a barber chair.

jay at barber — Jay at the barber. Rochester, NY (early 1960's)

And then there was a shot of me with my sister and cousin that left you wondering. It was a picture of my sister and cousin, sitting in a wagon that had been abandoned on a sidewalk in a newly built “neighborhood”, taken in the early 1950’s. And there I was, younger and smaller than my sibling, but standing defiantly on my own, refusing to pull the wagon any further.

gail and wagon — Janice and Jeanine in wagon. Me standing defiantly. Chicago, IL (early 1950's)

When I was growing up taking pictures wasn’t like it is these days in the digital era. The cameras then were totally manual and you were quite lucky if your pictures “came out”. You didn’t really know what your results would be until weeks, months or even years later, after you finished the roll of film that was in your camera and had dropped it off at the drug store to be sent off to Kodak to get developed. Depending on how frugal you had been with snapping pictures on that roll of film, looking through your prints after they came back from Kodak was sometimes like seeing the whole year in images with each holiday neatly documented. So with the odds against you for capturing good pictures, you tended to be very cautious and shoot only the sure-fire posed situations. Those shots were hard enough to get, let alone trying to get candid moments. One of my favorite songwriter/musicians, Jackson Browne writes about the candid moments caught in an image:

Looking through some photographs I found inside a drawer

I was taken by a photograph of you

There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more

But they didn’t show your spirit quite as true

These days of course taking photos is almost seemless because of automatic features on digital cameras giving us instant gratification in seeing our results immediately. Everyone is taking pictures and in a much more spontaneous way – taking more chances because what’s the harm if something doesn’t come out right – you just erase it and try again. It’s quite interesting because we are all documenting our times and our culture for future generations to see beyond the smiling face.

I love to shoot the candid moments and I’ve spent a career documenting our times and our world through the lens of my camera. I’m an observer and a visual communicator but I’m also a historian, knowing that my images will be a legacy of my time in history. It’s a powerful thought to know that someday someone may look at a photograph that I shot and wonder. Or at least I hope my images will make one wonder, beyond the smile of the faces captured.

May 11, 2010May 11, 2010

Shooting With the Canon 5D Mark II

Two weeks from today, I will depart for a 99-day journey circling the globe working on a passion project Opening Our Eyes. It will be both an adventure and a humbling experience. But right now I’m getting down to the wire and trying to tie up a million loose ends.

This past weekend, I took a break from the details to attend the wedding of my nephew – my sister’s oldest son.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to really do a test run with my new Canon 5D Mark II with the Zacuto rig Striker. I wanted to capture good audio as well so I ran the Rode mic via XLR connection to the JuicedLink DT454. To be honest, I was going to capture the audio two different ways – via the JuicedLink and also straight from the mic to the camera via mini jack, but I forgot to bring the XLR to mini jack cord so I ended up capturing all my audio via the JuicedLink. Because the 5D has had a firmware upgrade where I was able to turn off the AGC, I used the JuicedLink with the AGC disabler turned off. But until Canon issues a firmware upgrade for the 7D that allows you to turn off the AGC, you can use the JuicedLink to disable it.

Ultimately this combination was a nice way of working candidly. I had the Rode mic and JuicedLink attached to an extender on the top of the camera, although I will probably attach the JuicedLink to the Zacuto rig in the future, leaving just the mic on the camera’s hot shoe. But either way, I was able to get good ambient sound and/or spontaneous sound bites from people. I had done previous testing to know that I first needed to calibrate the camera audio by going into manual settings and dialing the audio down half way. Then I dialed the volume down on the JuicedLink to whatever setting is necessary according to the meter levels. In a noisy atmosphere with loud music like a wedding reception, I had it dialed way down. You never want “hot” audio where the volume levels are spiked.

The image is simply stunning and I am really sold on the look. I shot in late afternoon sunlight as well as on a dark dance floor and the camera handled both beautifully. The Striker rig with the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro 3Xworked great for stabilization and I didn’t find the focusing to be as hard as I thought it would be. The Z-Finder Pro 3X is very sharp with built in diopters. The striker is light and with the camera strap around my neck, it was easy to be in standby mode, relieving some of the stress on my hands.

I did notice though that I tended to start shooting more with a still “moment” mentality rather than in video/motion b-roll. When I shoot video I have a mantra running through my head to “shoot and move” – meaning shoots lots of variations, from wide shots to close-ups from a variety of angles. When shooting at the reception I found myself defaulting to one spot – rather than covering the angles and focal lengths, but then again I was caught up in the “personal” moment of the event so I wasn’t thinking too much about “getting the job done”.

All in all I have to say that I really loved working with this camera and I definitely love the “feel” of the images. I can’t wait to really test it out over the next three months, and I’ll keep you posted. See a short video “snippet”.

May 4, 2010

Gearing Up For A HDSLR Documentary

Most people have no idea of how much really goes into planning for even the simplest films. My biggest job was to come up with the right mix of gear that would enable me to shoot both still images and video in a high-end way, yet remaining to be portable and lean as far as what we would be bringing with us. That can be an overwhelming task – but the more I break it down and prepare for it with a Plan A, B and C – the more confident and relaxed I feel as our departure date nears.

Please watch the video that I created (nothing fancy) showing the gear that I’ll be bringing around the world on a 99 day shoot for my passion project Opening Our Eyes.

I’m embracing the HDSLR system since I want to shoot both stills and video but by no means is it streamlining my equipment needs. Quite the contrary, I’m bringing an assortment of lenses that I wouldn’t be taking if I were shooting with a traditional camera, as well as a lot of third party gear to augment audio capture and rigging for stabilization. What you don’t see in the video are the two (redundant) MacBooks that are essential when shooting any tapeless workflow.

Of course there are a million other details to cover for a 3 month trip around the world.
I’m still trying to determine my mobile phone and service needs. I’ve set up Skype on both laptops – yes 2 laptops because when you’re shooting tape less you are totally dependent on a computer and a back up if one fails. I’ll most likely upgrade my Blackberry because it’s been two years and that’s light-years in the tech world of communications. And I need to activate travel/medical emergency insurance as well as register my equipment with US Customs and add new gear to my business insurance policy.

There are also accommodations for 99 nights and a slew of internal airline tickets that needed to be taken care of. Read about it more at: Opening Our Eyes

April 30, 2010

The Future of Photography

Ethan G. Salwen posed the question on his After Capture blog “Where do you see the photography industry going in the next 5 years?” He asked that the answer be stated in 50 words or less. I’ll give it a try – and this paragraph doesn’t count.

Still photography will be delivered via electronic platforms – the web and mobile devices. Print magazines will still exist but only in genres that don’t deal with timely subject matter. Still cameras will continue to morph as hybrids capable of shooting video and sent wirelessly to the Internet.

That was 48 words but maybe just enough. Who really knows what the industry will look like but I do know it will continue to change with the exponential growth of information technology. And along with the technological changes will come new business models. That part is predictable.

Two years ago I attended the Photo Plus Expo in New York City. I saw a talk listed in the schedule called “The Future of Photography” so I headed to the theater to listen. When I got there a sign was in the doorway and it read “The Future of Photography – Canceled”. I hoped that wasn’t an omen and then I thought “I’m glad I learned video”.