Blackbird Fly
The folks over at 702FJCrew.net have been asking me to put this video together for quite some time now. Jerry Miller was kind enough to do the color correction a year ago, but my skills at video editing did not match the vision in my head. After my time with the Pixel Corps, my editing skills have gotten much stronger. So, I took this opportunity to play with Quicktime and iMovie to tell the story of the Blackbird.
Blackbird Fly is short (2:18), but I think the visuals speak for themselves. There is a lot I could have done in Final Cut Pro to tighten it up, especially fading the audio effects in & out, but this was really an exercise in seeing what I could throw together quickly in iMovie. For those interested, here is the work flow.
- The images were shot on a Canon 30D using a Canon 24-70mm “red line” lens.
- Jerry Miller color corrected all photos in Adobe Photoshop. Because of the relative angle of the sun, the color palette changed as the camera tracked the truck. Jerry did a great job of bringing all of the shots to one common palette.
- Assemble the stills into movies of varying frame rates using QuickTime 7. It is a good thing I have an older G5 Mac in my studio because the newer Intel Macs all updated to Quicktime X. While QTX is a better player, Apple removed some of the useful pro features like building movies from an image sequence.
- Bring the movies into iMovie then build titles and audio using the iMovie library. The music is from Midnight Syndicate, purveyors of excellent ambient music for gaming and theme parties.
- Post to YouTube and wait for it to finish processing.
So, there you have it. I little bit about how this little movie came to life. I hope you enjoy it.
Peace,
Doug
Starting Project 365
365:008 - Three Masts
In TWiP 143, Alex Lindsay chats with his sister, Jenn Stein about the their growth and history as photographers. During the show, they discussed Project 365, which both Jenn and their brother Joe Lindsay are doing this year. I found the idea really intriguing, but was not sure how to proceed.
Yesterday, as I wrapped up another busy week at the Pixel Corps, I ended up chatting with Joe about his experience with Project 365 and I realized … I’ve already been doing the most important part. I am taking my camera with me everywhere I go. A few weeks ago, I got a BlackRapid RS-7 strap, which allows me to keep the camera close at hand while keeping it secure. Since then, I’ve taken the camera with me to work everyday.
As a result, I discovered that I already had the first twenty-eight days of my own Project 365. So, I spent some today getting caught up and creating the set on Flickr. As busy as I am right now, I doubt I’ll be able to post every day, but I will shoot everyday and add try to post the photos in batches every week or so here, on Flickr and maybe on Facebook as well. I am looking forward to experience, especially the critiques of more seasoned photographers.
Peace,
Doug
PS: Family & Friends – Let this serve as a warning that you are likely to be come a subject in this project. Don’t be bashful!
I Heart San Francisco
Powell & Mason Cable Car
So far, during my time on-site at the Pixel Corps, I have experienced tremendous professional growth. Along the way many of my suspicions about the “city by the Bay” have been proven wonderfully true. The following list illustrates my point. Everything was experienced on my way into work today.
- Dropped off my clothes at SFGreenClean, a company that wet cleans “dry clean clothes in a very environmentally-friendly way. My clothes smell and feel great while looking sharp.
- Grabbed the Powell & Hyde cable car to work and watched Alcatraz Island and three-masted schooner disappear as it crested a hill.
- Texted friends with reliable service from AT&T throughout the ride.
- Listened to French, Chinese, and Japanese being spoken as locals and tourists chatted with one another on the ride.
- Smelled the delicious scent of burning wood from the cable car brakes.
- At Market Street Turnaround, a Spanish tourist asked me for directions. Within seconds, a local stopped to ask if we needed any help. I’ve seen this sort of local support for tourists and newcomers repeatedly in my six weeks here.
- Walking from the cable car stop to the office, I was treated to a wide variety of talented street musicians, including:
- Man with guitar belting out an acoustic version of Snoop’s Gin & Juice.
- A freestyle rap troupe including a human beat box.
- A talented drummer using five-gallon tubs and an old Zildjan cymbal.
- A guy and a girl singing the theme from Grease … a capella.
- A street-team marketer handed me a sample can of a high-end Italian iced coffee.
- A little old lady fell at the curb trying to get to her cab. Four random passers-by stopped to help her up.
- As I opened the door to the office building, I realized that the one thing I’ve been missing the entire time here was smog. Well, I haven’t actually missed it, but I expected to see, smell and taste in the air of a city this size. I don’t. I think the electric buses, cable cars, subway, electric taxis and ZipCars, not the mention the abundant greenery are all at work to keep the air clean.
I know that walk sounds like something from a Coca-Cola commercial, but it happened just like that. And, aside from the occasional foggy, chilly day, my experience in San Francisco has pretty much been like that every day.
So yeah, I heart San Francisco.
Peace,
Doug
Alcatraz Island (Chestnut & Hyde)
Scooner in the Bay (Chestnut & Hyde)
Octopus steals diver’s camera
I heard about this last week and then sublet on to it today. Enjoy!
DSLRs and F-15s
Doug Daulton, Richard Harrington & Alex Lindsay @ Nellis AFB. Photo by Neil Henderson
Yesterday, we mixed work and pleasure at Nellis AFB. It is not everyday that one gets to touch and photograph F-15s. Walking on to the flight line, I heard the theme from Top Gun playing in the back of my head. In addition to shooting the F-15 Eagles, we saw the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the A-10 Warthog , the B-1 Lancer, the V-22 Osprey, and the F-22A Raptor. On the flight line, we saw most of these taking off or landing. It was pretty amazing.
In between shoots, we visited the Nellis AFB “petting zoo”, a threat identification museum, which was recently declassified. It is a huge collection of captured assets, including a MIG-23, a MIG-29 and a bunch of tanks, missile systems and other huge, intense hardware. I kept waiting for Optimus Prime to rise from the mix.
We were shooting for a defense contractor with offices on base. We’ll probably be back to get additional footage over the summer. All of the footage and stills are to used in promotional materials for the company. Nothing we shot was classified and we are allowed to release the material. So, look for more images from everyone on the shoot soon. I am sure mine will be the worst of the bunch. I have so much to learn, but that is what an internship is all about!
Thanks to Alex, Richard Harrington and our hosts, Neil Henderson and his father, Earl “Obi-Wan” Henderson. That was an amazing shoot.
Peace,
Doug
UPDATE: We were shooting F-15s, not F-16s. Accordingly, I’ve updated everything in the post but the URL. Thanks to Neil for the correction. All of photos are included below.
PhotoSafariNoobs – Expedition Update
PhotoSafariNoobs.com, my project with John Hawkins, Todd Huish and Andrew Minerd, is coming along swimmingly. For additional details, check out my latest post over at the official expedition blog. Based on early feedback, our route has slightly changed to include Ouray, CO; often called the “Switzerland of America” for its majestic alpine beauty. Incidentally, it is also the home of the FJ Summit every summer! As I intend to go to the Summit in 2009, this will be a great, snowy, if not totally dry, run. Our updated route can be seen below.
Peace,
Doug
PhotoSafariNoobs.com has been greenlit!
A project long in discussion now has been greenlit and given the name PhotoSafariNoobs.com.
Hawk, Huish and I will brave the frozen wilds of Southwestern Colorado in late February as we drive to WordCamp Denver in my FJ Cruiser 4×4. We are taking what should be a very scenic route which skirts just south of Telluride. Along the way, we will hone our photography skills and generally geek out. I have plans for some roadtrip-inspired tech tweaks to my rig. More details as the plan comes together.
For a little more history on the project, pop over to John Hawkins Unrated. And, to follow our exploits via Twitter, hit the #psn09 hashtag.
Now, I am off to follow the advice of Mostly Lisa (Bettany) and RTFM for my Canon 30D, then put that baby on Manual for the whole trip. I hope my glass can save me, it’s my only hope! :^D
Peace,
Doug
