Time Lapse Take Two

Second time lapse test completed! Last night I was dreaming of the sun rising and hitting the clouds in formations of light that looked like it was shooting through blinds before hitting the clouds from below. Super crazy, but I'm totally psyched! I woke up to find that the cloudy forecast for all of today was not entirely accurate. The sun rose for maybe ten minutes before shining direct beams, as opposed to a diffused clouded light.

I ran around, got dressed, set up the capture on the computer, checked the camera's position, focus, exposure, shrank the the image size of the RAW files, and started to click away. Still, it will probably be a few days until the timer/remote comes in for the Mark ii, so I had to manually click the capture button on the computer once every fifteen seconds for an hour and twenty minutes. I started the session just as the sun rose above the remaining clouds from last night's storm were moving on. This is way better than the one last night, but nowhere near where my goal for this really is. I'd say not bad for learning how to do this last night, and taking less than five minutes to set up!

About a half an hour later, everything was ready to post. I adjusted the temperature to give the video some heat. The shadows have been brought back in some areas as well. Sadly it's not the most exciting shot, so I've got to work on taking the time to really scout out before set up. I was also limited to a small window of time for setting up in an unanticipated rush, computer charger distance, and tether cord distance (which luckily is 20 feet). I do plan on practicing at this and hope to bring in a many more exciting time lapses. 

For a starting point, I am thrilled with the results here. In the world of photography you always have to prepare for the worst, but really, I had a great situation to work with, especially considering that I was expecting to have, well, none. True, I could have sat and done a really long capture session for the whole day, but the reality of the situation is still that I would have to capture manually, with a computer in my lap. I've got patience, but eight hours of that is not happening.

Without further adieu, here is the screenshot of the process just before finalization, as well as the final product below. I do plan on putting more research into video quality, but I do feel blogger has something to do with the delivery. Oh well, it's just more to research, which is always necessary. 

The images for this video were shot at 125 ISO, 1/250, f/4.5. The video was exported at 1080p, 30fps.

Post Script: If you do try out the method used with the videos in the previous post, then keep this in mind. When you export the video file, if you'd like to play it in Lightroom to check it out before putting it on your website, youtube, facebook, or whatever have you, than I have a workflow suggestion. Export it to where ever it is that you keep your Lightroom RAW files that you import from you camera. This way you can save SO much time to import your exported video back into Lightroom, but when you import back into Lightroom as a fully rendered video, make sure you use the "Add" option, and double check where the file is going. It should look like this:

Time Lapse Attempt Nummer Eins!

I did it! Wow that was a lot easier than I thought. Alright, I'm gonna state right now. This is a sample time lapse, and the first one I've ever do, so don't be hatin'. I hope this renders clearly, but please enjoy!

I got all the info on how to do this, as well at the time lapse templates for Lightroom 4, from this site here, StillFrameMyLife. If you know very little about Lightroom, then you're in luck! He goes over every step, even if slightly painfully so, but the positive side is that this makes it easy to follow. He does reference this Pixiq page, which is where he learned it, as well as where you grab your free to download presets with matching instructions. Again, this is for Lightroom 4. I'm not sure how it would work for Lr3 personally, but I don't discourage the attempt in the least if that happens to be what you're working with at the moment.

A side mention of great importance, if you do use this. When you're at Pixiq, make sure you pay great importance to where you're looking when you do place in the templates. In both movements of placement and finding them, make sure you remember to be snooping around slideshow, instead of the usual, Library.

No, with that in mind, please enjoy!

Post Script: This isn't the clearest in the world. I'm guessing it has something to do with how the file is uploaded by blogger, but I'm still excited I did this without a clue or assistance!

Back & Excited

So, if you've been reading the blog, you'll notice a jump between this post and the last one. Life's been a little busy, but that is not an excuse. As all habits go, they take time and discipline to mature into a continuous practice. Here is my second beginning, so to speak, to make this a relative habit once more! 

On one note, I have decided not to make the book idea a permanent part of the blog. If something really stands out, and I simply must, "...SHARE THIS WONDERFUL THING WITH ALL THE WORLD!" then I'll post about it. When I get around to books like "Business & Legal Forms for Photographers," or Susan Sontag's "On Photography," then I will absolutely share a review, without question. 

In addition to the meandering book review idea, I'll be sharing helpful things that I see up from sites like PopPhoto.com, Creativebloq.com, 99u.com, or ASMP.org. I personally used to hate it when I'd sit on one site all the time and try to mooch it for all of its wisdom, but that habit is simply one to "shutter". It's like the never-ending facebookathon some of us get trapped in. Most of us are familiar with the self-perpetuating vortex of likes, shares, and angry opinion sharing. No bueno I say. As I'll be checking all these sites with you guys in mind, hopefully I'll build some sort of way to filter out all the not as useful posts from awesome ones more quickly, and slowly create larger windows of time in my day where I can do things like, I don't know, shoot stuff. 

What's the point in having a Canon if you can't just shoot with it all the time? My goal this summer is to take a sick shot of fireflies along the horizon with good ol' Vera. (Please get this reference.) 

Either way, I digress. My point is I will filter out great articles from numerous sites far all of you, so you don't have to go through that process yourselves! Not that you can't do this, but some of us have insanely busy lives. To that I say, "Great for you and congratulations. You're living life!"

To close this post, I am tossing out my attempt into new horizons tonight. Literally. I'm working on my first time lapse tonight. I sat for a little less than a half an hour, and pressed the capture button in Lightroom, once every ten seconds, while tethered to the camera via USB cord. I'm waiting for the remote/timer for the Mark ii to come in the mail any day now, but for now, my impatient self is going to play it out tethered. It's not going to be a great shot, since it's through trees, but I'm hoping for at least smooth results. Tomorrow morning shall be attempt two. Hopefully, though tonight I'll have the plug-ins and software to do this figured all out. Unluckily for yours truly my wonderful audio-visual tech of a boyfriend is working a noon to midnight shift tonight in center city, so I'm without a crutch on finishing off any video.... stuff.... I think.  I know how to edit in Premier, but I'm not sure I'll even need it. Does that make sense? Wish me luck! Hopefully I'll have something to post by morning, before I shoot the sunrise time-lapse.

A Family View

So, just for the sake of the name of the blog being photographically referenced, I figured it was time for a quick peek at the previous work that was generated while I was in college. These here are some 4x5 digital imacon scans that I created while working with my beloved view camera. There really wasn't much applied here as far as tilts, swings, vertical shifts, or horizontal shifts, but there was an appreciation for the high resolution and tonal range which the camera provides. Using the strobes and getting amazing results was the best part of the whole project. This project didn't really represent the bulk of what I worked on, but that's fine. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot from it. Just click to enlarge for better viewing purposes and feel free to let me know what you think!

99u Is My Support System

"As creative thinkers, we want to make progress, and we want to move big ideas forward. So, it's no surprise that the best motivator is being empowered to take action."

It sounds inspirational right, like something out of a story book: People wanting to work for work sake? *sigh*

I'm always discouraged, and frankly rather annoyed whenever I've heard coworkers over the years complain about their job as their doing it. It brings my mood down, it makes me hate working with them in times when I usually like to, and it truly ruins the rest of my working day. "Oh this doesn't work," or "God, when is this going to be done," or "I don't get paid enough to do this!"

In this article from 99u.com the author talks about how the creative differs from this, while also explaining that the dangling carrot is slowly becoming a lesser reason for better performance as the individual themselves becomes more of the reason and origin of advanced job performance. Self motivated people making things work is all that's really going on here.

P.S. Tonight is the night that I essentially rip apart my old blog, bring it's four total posts over here, and finally eliminate it. I'm starting a new chapter in my life, if you couldn't tell, and part of synchronizing with the new and learned me has everything to do with shuttering off the dead parts. BAM!!! And yes, I do know that I can set for blog posts to post themselves on a later date, but I choose not to.

Creating Consistency

Alright, I will be posting about said books mentioned in the previous post soon, but for now I'll supply you with an explanation as to why exactly this would even be a part of this blog.

My wonderful significant other has been on this great journey in the past few months. Initially everything started when he began tearing himself apart at an accelerated rate about how he didn't know how to attack his long term aspiration to become a writer. He read books about how to get started, how to deal with editors, and so forth, but still struggled putting pen to paper without killing himself over it. Eventually, a published friend of ours, who went to Pitt and majored in English, mentioned this annual November writing self challenge called NaNo WriMo (National Novel Writers Month). In this, he has made a serious push to keep up with his dream of becoming a successful novelist, writing 1,667 words a day, leveling out to the 50,000 word goal by the end of the month. He's got a cute little plastic trophy, about two inches in height sitting below his iMac, reminding him to write as much as possible, and to keep up with his long term novel writing goals. It's a small reminder, but that cheap plastic trophy is a true treasure won. Also, as to further motivate himself, he has gone further and now meets up with the Philly NaNo WriMo group when he can. Even a step further than that, he has also created a local chapter in the area which he attends to as religiously as a true Catholic to mass, going at least once a week. 

This makes me proud, but still I'm unsure of my goals. Back to the point of the blog, I'm finding what I want in life, and this is part of the journey. Well, to start something off, and keep my literacy continuous, I'm again taking the advice of that same friend from Pitt. Being a person with long term goals, she's made an effort to read one new book every week. Now, most of this is to give her mind a break from her extreme work schedule, coupled with the ever present need to keep up with the times and remain as educated/competitive as possible. This sounds pretty crazy, but hey, why not. I'll have a long term goal sometime, so might as well start now. I'll be trying to post on the topic of a new book once a week, with the exception, of course, which may arise with a heavy work schedule or crazy, long book. 

Wish me luck, and stay tuned.

P.S. If there is anyone out there who dares to comment, a sad rarity in todays blogging culture, please feel free to suggest any good books out there which you'd like to hear a review on before you read. The review could take about two weeks, and will obviously be subject to my own bias.

I Was Blind, and Now Through the Miracles of Science and Observation......!

In the past few months, while on my daily commuting and travel on the rail systems of Philadelphia, I've come across two men who needed help in direction. I don't say that in a preaching type sense, I mean they literally needed help in direction as neither of them had the sense of sight. Helping both them out in the cut throat traffic panned out to be really simple. Just a hand on the arm and a direction, "Door three feet to your right," or "The stairs are twenty feet to your slight left." The younger man of the two was on the same route as me, so I got to spend a few minutes with him from Race & Vine up to Cecil B. Moore. To shorten the story, I was left to my own meandering thoughts for a few minutes after wondering if my choice in major, and ultimately line of work, was truly of any value. What value is there if everyone can't appreciate it?...... And then I found the story of the blind photographer.

This story of Amy Hildebrand was truly inspiring. It's almost biblical. "I was blind, and now I can see....", although this take is a little more, "I was blind, and modern surgery has totally flipped my world." Amy gained something new, something earth-shattering, something spectacular, something that is entirely impossible to ignore, and fell into a passionate love affair with this amazing gift she very likely could not contemplate prior. After basically moving through the world with a perspective much akin to always looking through tracing paper for years and years prior, photography would seem to be the perfect thing to get into. 

Still, even after reading this article, the same thought lingered in the back of my head for quite some time. "What exactly is the worth of this line of work? Why do I sometimes feel like I don't deserve to be a part of this awesome thing?" Instantly you can see the paradox in this kind of thinking. One second I am questioning the worth of the entirety of the field, and then the next, bam, the field of work itself becomes awesome and I don't feel that I am worthy of it. This sort of thinking only leads to a downward spiraling effect, and ultimately creates self defeating thought processes. 

Luckily, this was months ago, and still this mind set has perished, although not without constant self assurance. I've learned that I doubted the line of work, because I doubted myself. I did not see my self worth, so, really, all of this questioning defaults to the second question: Why do I sometimes feel like I don't deserve to be a part of this awesome thing? 

In more recent history I've finally come back to a realization that I know I can always give the time and effort to myself to contemplate in this world of  "GO, GO , GO!" Nowadays I get to look through the answers I have been sending myself, but in my own little time-capsule type style.

Throughout the past four years I've been acquiring books, but never seemed to have the time to read any of them between school, my significant other, and whatever job I happened to be in at the time. Although, more likely than anything I was chickening out, and felt that work and school was an adequate excuse to not look too closely at myself. "Beware of the looking glass," would ring daily. I've finally been reading these books, and what I noticed was that they all reflected exactly what I was placing myself as blind to this whole time. Books on meditation, the creative process, business and legal forms, and, ultimately, a message between all telling me that my self confidence was not where it ought to be, and I did deserve what I was working toward. If you have a dream, don't turn a blind eye toward what is sitting right in front of you. To think you're unworthy is to play the part of the fool. The instructions are infinitely simple: See it, pursue it, learn it, grab it, and conquer it. You're the only one who can trip you up. Acceptance is the hardest part.

From now on, I'll be working through the motions with eyes wide open, and the occasional helping hand.