Photowalk #39 November 30th, 2009
Tonight I braved the cold to try some nighttime photography. It’s late November here in the NE Indiana, and that often means freezing temperatures at night. Tonight was no exception. My plan was to photograph houses decorated with Christmas lights. I didn’t want to haul around a tripod, so I grabbed a monopod instead. I know from past experience night shooting means longer exposure times. Therefore it’s often hard to get decent shots at night when holding the camera by hand. Now I should point this is my first attempt at shooting night pictures with a Canon 5D Mark II, and I’m definitely not an expert. Read the rest of this entry »
Photowalk #38 November 28th, 2009
While visiting my mom for Thanksgiving weekend, I noticed a new walking path in my hometown of Huntington, Indiana. Built along the Wabash River, the path takes walkers through the historic Forks of the Wabash meeting place. The path then continues along the towpath of the old Wabash & Erie Canal. Although I grew up here, I learned very little about the rich history that was literally in my own backyard. Fortunately the town has embraced their historical roots, and now have a nice visitor center at the Forks of the Wabash.
Photowalk #37 November 25th, 2009
I took my Mom up to Northern Michigan for a few days just to do something different for Thanksgiving. Specifically we are staying in Gaylord, Michigan, which is one of my favorite places to visit. Unfortunately the weather this time of year trends toward cold and rain, which was the case on this day. So what’s a fun thing to do on a cold rainy day in Gaylord? Visit the Snowmancam, of course!
Photowalk #36 November 22nd, 2009
Near my home town of Huntington, Indiana, is the reservoir Roush Lake. Built in the late 1960s to control flooding, Roush Lake provides year round recreational activities such as camping, boating, hiking, and hunting. In the fall, the lake is drained down to its former river level. This provides an interesting opportunity to explore the exposed bottom of the lake, and seemed like an excellent candidate for a photowalk. Read the rest of this entry »
Photowalk #35 November 19th, 2009
Last week during a spell of nice weather I made a visit to Hanging Rock near Lagro, Indiana. This geologic oddity is surprisingly impressive and has been the source of legend and ghost stories. With the leaves now fallen from the trees, Hanging Rock is easy to spot along the Wabash River. There is a small pull off area where visitors may park. There are two paths for hikers to explore. The path to the left heads up to the summit of Hanging Rock. The path to the right heads down below the rock to the Wabash River.
Noodling around with Ramen November 17th, 2009
In the past week, I’ve been messing around with a pre-alpha version of Ramen. This open source compositing project recently surfaced in a number of software and visual effects (VFX) news outlets. Compositing software is what VFX companies use to create the complex computer graphics shots we’ve come to expect in big budget Hollywood movies. Ramen is a node-based compositor, like Nuke or Shake, as opposed to a layer-based compositor such as After Effects. In node-based compositors, networks of image operations are strung together with connectors called noodles. I suspect that the name for this software (Ramen) might have something to do with an inexpensive yet popular brand of noodles (Ramen).
How much for Red? November 14th, 2009
Many people have now heard of the Red camera. For those working in film production and visual effects, Red camera discussions are a hot topic. And with Red now posting updates about new products that are on the horizon, interest in this unique camera company seems to be accelerating. For some time now, I’ve been curious about the costs of owning a Red One. I’ve often read the price for a Red One is under $20K. However I’m sure there are other costs for accessories that are required to have a functioning system for production. Fortunately the Red website has the answers to such questions.
Photowalk #34 November 11th, 2009
Today I spent Veteran’s Day at Grissom Air Museum near Peru, Indiana. Given the mild November weather, and my close proximity of the old Grissom Airforce Base, it seemed like a fun place for a photowalk. Named after the second American to fly into space, and Indiana native Gus Grissom, this air museum has a surprisingly large number of historically interesting military aircraft.
IMDB Invite Part II November 10th, 2009
In Part I of this series, I explained how my low budget film Spooky Hollow received an invite for an IMDB title page. After filling out the lengthy data forms, I hit the submit button and waited. About a week later I received an email stating the Spooky Hollow title page was active. However only the film title was visible, and all the other information I had painstakingly typed in was missing in action. Over the next few days, more data started to trickle onto the page, and about a week later most of the information I had entered was visible.
Photowalk #33 November 9th, 2009
Yesterday was an unusually warm day for November. These last remnants of the days of summer have been given the title Indian Summer. Since I was already in Northern Michigan in the morning, I decided to spend Indian Summer at Indian River. Located about 30 miles south of Mackinaw City, Michigan, this small town is built along the river that connects Burt Lake to Mullet Lake.