OBX 2012

I went down to OBX this last week for the annual family vacation and to scout possible time-lapse spots for my upcoming surf film.  Here are some images I was able to capture.  Some are at night even though they look like they are in the day.  If you look close you'll see stars.  The full moon was out and kind of killing any good time-lapse shots I wanted to do at night.  I'll be going back down in a few weeks to start filming and I hope to get some time lapses then!!  I also had Erin be my model for some fake ass portrait shoots.  I suck at fashion / portrait photography but it's still fun to learn new things.

Do you shoot weddings?

I was pulled into a freaking wedding this weekend.  I was hired to shoot video and all I have to say is that will be my last wedding.  The only reason I said yes was because Johnny is a good friend of mine and his sister was the one who was getting married.

WEDDING Videography and photography is LAME.  Sorry if you do it, I have respect but I couldn't deal with the typical Bridezilla week after week would bum me out.  I even had some British wedding photographer tell me I was in her way on a few shots.  How about she was in my way on EVERYTHING.  Go eat your fish and chips and shut it!!

Anyway, here are some images I shot after I was done pressing the red button.

Sometimes long exposures are better.

Since I've got my 5d mk3 a few months ago I've wanted to take some long exposures at DCA of airplanes landing.  I also wanted to go to the King Street metro stop and take some long exposures of the trains and cars.  I was happy with the way both came out.  Lots of freaking bandwagon Yankee fans were coming back from the NATZ vs. Yankees game so it was pretty crowded.  God damn Yankee fans.

Official Announcement for my next project

As you can guess from the photos below, it's a surf film.  We do have a full list of about 15 riders, all rippers from the East Coast and I'll releasing their names in a few weeks.  We will be touching spots like Hatteras, NJ, NY and others over the course of 4 months.  We'll be tracking the swells from storms and hurricanes this summer.  The anticipated start date will be Mid July and completing filming in October.  Editing will be a few months and we plan on having the Premier in early 2013.  I'm hoping we get enough funding to film with the RED Scarlet camera and some other mcNASTY gear.

I'll be the lead principal cinematographer, Director and Editor.  Dean Freeland will be a principal cinematographer, assistant editor and executive producer.  Kevin Barnholt will be an assistant cinematographer, surf acknowledgement professional  and executive producer.  I'm super pumped for this crew and hope everyone rides safe.

Shreading

It's been a while since I've gone out on some skate sessions.  O'Dell and I went to Richmond and met up with a pretty large crew.  1 Blonde Brodie, 2 car pulls and a scooter wall ride later, I'm back at my normal job.  

Car Pull to ollie.  Can you guess what else he did over it?  The BLONDE BRODIE was in the way!!

Car Pull baby!!  SUPER SKETCH!!

Getting muddy!!

I finally got to get her dirty for the first time!!

Dirty Launch 2

Here are a few more photos from sunday.

A dirty Launch

I've always wanted to film here.  I showed up Saturday afternoon after a round of golf and I met up with some random guys who were down to film.  I only filmed for about 20 minutes but I walked away happy because I got to use my camera for something other than photos and nature shots.

UPDATE:  As you can see, the lighting on the course was a REAL BITCH.  Overblown areas with super dark shadows.  This spot would be GREAT on a cloudy day but it is what it is.

I was in San Diego recently or as Ron Burgundy calls it, "The Whales Vagina" to party it up for James' 30th and chill at the beach.  I was trying to film some surfing like 2 years ago but whenever I seemed to start filming, it felt exactly like 2 years ago but with a new camera.  Same angles, same location, same dudes doing the same shit on the same sized waves.  It's a shame to, 2 years ago we went to 3-4 different hot surf spots and for 3 days of filming, I got amazing footage.  I may roll out there in the fall to see if I can get some really solid footage.  The the mean time, here are some images I captured with my 5d mk3.

CS6-BOOM

http://success.adobe.com/en/na/programs/events/1203_16108_nab.html

CS6 baby!!!  They seem to really be listening to the consumer, which I love.  Unlike FCP where they do what they want and no one really cares.  Some of the biggest things for me is the new color correcting feature, ROLLING SHUTTER for DSLRs and just more of a cleaner overall look of the interface!!

The Canon 5d mark3

For the past 2 years all I could think of when I saw video footage and photos from the Canon 5d mk2 was, when is the 5d mk3 coming out!  Rumors were being tossed back and forth for the past 12-16 months about the specs, release dates and price points.  At one point about 8 months ago it was even rumored to be a 36 mega pixel camera.  I actually am pretty happy it's not 36MP because that file size would require me to buy a 4+TB hard drive.  When they finally announced the camera last month, I was like "HELL YEAH, ABOUT FUCKING TIME".  I sold all of my video gear very fast and ordered the body along with 2 great lenses, 70-200mmL V2 and the 16-35mmL.

I woke up at 5:30am both days this weekend to really test this bastard out, here are the results.  I come from an extreme sports background and I would've loved to test it on some skateboarding but I was only able to get nature type shots for the most part.  I saw a group of middle easterners playing soccer so I pulled over and shot a few minutes of them.

From what I've tested so far, the 5d mk3 is a slap you in the face bad ass camera.  Stills are AMAZING, with a 61 point auto focus system.  photos of your fast moving cat will never go out of focus again!!!  The video mode is still missing a few things including 1080 60p.  Don't get me wrong, the video quality is amazing when compared to my old Panasonic HMC150.  The image is just super clean and the low light performance is hella great!!  I also got the Rode Stereo video mic Pro which just came out as well for superior audio.

Pacers Running Stores-What's Running Done For Me

Last month I was sitting on my couch after work and I received a phone call from Chris Farley, who owns Pacers Running Stores in the D.C. area.  No relation to the dead actor although that would've been crazy freaky if his ghost called.  He said he saw some of my running videos and wanted to get me involved in a few projects they had.  I shot 4 videos of individuals sharing their stories about running and how it changed their lives.  Here is Johnny "CAKES" Auville from the local radio show "THE SPORTS JUNKIES".

Enjoy

Is Nikon Stepping up to the plate?

Is Nikon FINALLY approaching the video HDSLR plate?  It seems like they are with the Nikon D4 and the 1080p video.  This camera will complete strictly against Canon's 1DX.  I'm sure when both cameras are out, we'll see low light video and photo tests, high ISO tests, aliasing tests and a few other tests.  It's all about TESTS!!
When going off the spec lists BH is listing it seems like canon has the advantage.  Canon has a 61 point auto focus system vs Nikons 51 point system BUT when it comes down to it, how many focusing points is too many?  The Canon 1dX's FPS (frames per second) shoots up to 14 FPS vs 9FPS on the Nikon.

As for video features, they seem dead on to one another.  If I was a betting man, I would think the canon has the advantage with some colors and low light performance.  I'm not shocked that the Nikon D4 does NOT have 1080 60P because that would be asking too much.  It's 2012, all cameras should have a frame rate of AT LEAST 1080 60 frames per second progressive.  I'm only HOPING / WISHING the Canon 5d mk3 will have a 60p feature.

Nikon also released 85mm 1.4.  They can't seem to get down to a 1.2F like Canon.

VS 

On the way to Snow Shoe-GETTY UP!!

If you've ever been at Snow Shoe and thought, WHY THE HELL DONT HAVE HAVE CELL SERVICE.  The next thing you think is that adding cell service would be the first thing you think they would have set up.  Well this is why they don't have cell service up there.  I forgot the name of this place but it's basically a NASA type facility that takes photos using a GIANT camera.  When I mean giant, I'm  not joking.  This one you see above is at least 40 times smaller than the one I wasn't able to see / gain access too.  The reason you can't have cell towers around that area is because the radio waves disturb their signal to take photos.



This is a random train station in the middle of nowhere.  We saw a redneck feeding his pet dear just 1 minute away from this train station.  It was very interesting.

GO PRO 2-Review

My Family and I headed up to Snow Shoe, West VA for xmas and I thought that was the perfect time to test out my new Hero Go Pro 2 camera I got from Erin. I've used them before so I was pretty familiar with it's set up.  I also got the suction cup which was my fav of the accessories.  The first and only format I tested, I shot in 1080 30p and I stuck the suction cup on my hood looking into my jeep.  That worked VERY well and it was extremely stable.  I also used the head strap while driving to give a POV type look but I'm still getting used to the lens on it and I didn't have the camera pointing as low as I should've.

For snowboarding, it was great.  I of course used the suction cup on the front of my board.  That was cool but not GREAT.  I then held the camera when following Erin and my step brother Tom.  That came out pretty well.  As I said above, I need to get used to the on head feature because when boarding you could only see what's in front of me, not my board.

Overall, I love this camera and I will use it for paid work for double angles, surfing and other tight shots it's hard to film from.  I need to get a few more accessories then I'll be ready to go, bitches!!

2011 Demo Reel