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Dec 202014
 

O.K., it may not be as glamorous as shooting professional models or as fast paced as breaking news events but photographing real estate can be very rewarding. I used to have to lug my studio lights to make each interior look its best but by using the latest High Dynamic Range shooting methods, I don’t even have to bring a flash. Of course, even with plenty of automation, I’m still spending more time behind the computer than during the shoot but the results are incredible. I recently shot a beautiful home in the foothills with an indoor swimming pool and adjacent game room. The challenge, like in so many situations is to compress the wide range of exposure and color values into one natural image. The game room, despite the roof lighting, was quite dark and the pool room and outside very bright. The first shot is the base image that correctly exposes for the highlights and the one below is the final that is a composite of about 7 images blended together.

Real estate photography made easy. Base image exposed for highlights.

Real estate photography made easy. Base image exposed for highlights.

Real estate photography made easy. Final image composed of 7 blended shots.

Real estate photography made easy. Final image composed of 7 blended shots.

Jan 032014
 

Trying to schedule a day between recent rain storms was a little tricky when trying to image a sunset time lapse for Chico Volkswagen. But we got lucky and had good weather for the couple of hours needed to get the closing shot. We also did a little more 3D graphics than we normally get to do so this was a particularly fun production.

Jun 072013
 

This is the first commercial production I’ve had a chance to create using our new Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Since the images were placed in frames with flaring and reflection effects, the full color and resolution cannot be appreciated here. But I can tell you the original footage, after grading in Resolve, looked incredible. All scenes were shot using two lenses, a 17-40mm f4/L (for which I used a variable ND to control exposure) and a 70-200mm f2.8/L. Some scenes required slipping a graduated ND in the matte box as well to keep some color in the sky.

Feb 072013
 

Videomaker Magazine asked me to review the game-changing new production camera that is capable of capturing 13 stops of dynamic range, 12-bit color and all in raw format. I am lucky to have been the Editor in Chief of the magazine so I often will get first crack at reviewing what I think are the most exciting new products. And this is certainly one of them. In fact, if the camera does what Blackmagic claims it can do, I’ll be getting on the long waiting list like so many others (No, I don’t get to take cuts just for doing the review). Check it out at Videomaker.

Aug 212012
 

I have always admired the work of fine craftsmen. I have also lusted after great sounding guitars. So it was natural that I eventually sought out accomplished guitar builders. I met Brian Burns a few years ago when I thought I could become a guitar builder myself. I have since come to appreciate even more the experience, patience and attention to detail that a great builder must possess to hand-craft a great sounding guitar.

Mar 232012
 

I have recently completed production on an 11-minute mini-documentary following the development and construction of phase 3 of Butte College’s solar project. This record setting project makes Butte College the first in the world to become “grid positive.” It was an exciting 2- year process being there from the start all the way through to the ribbon cutting and final commissioning of the arrays. Being a one-man-band, I enjoyed every step of the process from shooting to writing scripts to narrating and final editing.

Mar 172012
 

Local visionaries decided to give the big stock agencies a run for their money. After years of planning, Student Stock has taken flight and is well on the way to becoming the next major resource for innovative images. This was a very graphics intensive production and much of the work went into the concept development and communication with the client so that the end product was precisely what they wanted.

Jun 092011
 

After 22 years and a few hair cuts, I may be returning to KHSL-TV (and now KNVN) to anchor the weather portion of the newscast on a fill-in basis when Kris, Robb or Cort can’t rearrange their schedules to cover for vacations and illnesses. Yep, 4th string weather guy…so no, I’m not leaving my day/night/weekend job of actually producing videos for my clients. It will only be an occasional gig that is fun and keeps me very sensitive to what I ask many of my clients to go through when they face the pointy end of my cameras.

While I’m not a meteorologist, I did take meteorology courses in college and became intimately committed to weather forecasting in northern California as an active glider pilot. I’ve been training with chief meteorologist, Kris Kuyper, to learn the the station’s new computer graphics system for the last couple of weeks and meeting the staff and crew, several of whom I had to supress the urge to blurt out that hackneyed quip, “you weren’t even born the last time I…”

Unfortunately, today, one of the young crew members declared that fact before I could deflect the obvious. To underscore that aged feeling even more, here are a few clips I found in a dusty old box along with a can of pretty toxic looking hair spray.
Then:

Now:

 Posted by at 6:50 pm