by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, photography, photography education, video
Humble.
And, extremely talented.
His name is Alan Ames.
He shared with me that he was pleasantly surprised that he was able to play along with the ‘A’ team of musicians assembled on the stage at Sound Bites Grill. I had enjoyed Alan’s playing before, he’s already on the SBG ‘Wall of Fame’ but I heard lots more. When I asked band leader Eric Miller about the additional sounds I was hearing he told me that Alan had built his own instrument. It’s called a Violyra. (I’ll check with Alan on the spelling of this) Instead of the violin’s traditional four strings Alan added two extra strings in the bass range with a different body design. His creation is so original the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix has commissioned him to make another for display in the museum. A true honor indeed.
Here’s a quick sample of some of the sounds Alan creates with his Violyra…
Still frame pulled from 4K video captured by the Lumix GH4.
The sounds Alan can make from this instrument are extremely varied. He said he has fused the old techniques of instrument building with the new technology and this allows him to create an incredible range of sounds from traditional violin to cello and more…
Pretty amazing the new technology available in musical instruments and cameras. It’s a great time to be a creative. What are you experimenting with??
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, photoshop tutorial, video
Finally started playing with the 4K video capture to make still images on my Lumix GH4.
Why would you want to do that? Well having access to 30 fps images allows you to capture micro expressions during a fast moving shoot of a baby or if you want a photo from a video you made and couldn’t grab stills from. I didn’t realize how useful this could be until I started trying to photograph hummingbirds at the new feeder my wife put up. This is a pretty good image that will print fairly large. If you are using the entire frame you can grab an eight megapixel image from 4K video.
After grabbing the Frame for the video I opened the file in Adobe Camera Raw so I could use those controls by highlighting the image in Adobe Bridge and hitting Cmd R (Cntrl R for PC users). After some additional adjustments for color and sharpness and removing the bird feeder in Adobe Photoshop here’s the still photo result.
This image came in at 15 MB after cropping. Depending on the output media this could easily make a 20 inch or larger print.
Here’s the video.
YouTube Video on the original 4K video capture.
I’m thinking that his has more applications than I originally thought. When I first heard about this idea I was thinking there’s no way I’d want to dig through that many images for an expression or specific moment. Found out it wasn’t that hard stepping through the frames in Adobe’s Premeire Pro CC.
The photography landscape is changing as the lines between video and still capture get closer together.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | landscape photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, video
The water dances, trickles and flows across the red rocks leaving music in it’s wake accompanied by the morning song of our avian friends…
Thought I’d share a video on beautiful Oak Creek at Red Rock Crossing in Sedona, Arizona. I am once again extremely fortunate to live in absolutely beautiful place. Here are a couple minutes of peace and tranquility. Turn up the volume sit back, relax and listen.
Two Minutes of Tranquility. Enjoy!
The Initial photo starting the video is an HDR rendition blended together from a five stop capture. Processed three of the images in Camera RAW and layered them together in ®Photoshop and used masks to blend them together. This allows me to process the image exactly the way I want without the strong ‘HDR’ look. The scene definitely called for some help in taming the dynamic range.
Here’s the HDR version….
Here is a single capture from the Cathedral Rock scene…
Images and video were captured with Lumix GX7 and the 12-35mm f2.8 Vario Lens. Just after sunrise for about an hour. I was not pushing things captured in Mpeg format cause I know I’m only going to make a YouTube Video. The files were processed in Adobe Premeire Pro. Been trying to learn the program but found it to be a bit deep (because it has so many possibilities) so I’ve been a bit slow to take it up. But I found on KelbyOne.com there are some great Premeire Pro intro videos from Brandon Ford that got me over the hump and this is my first official test.
By the way, if you are/were a NAPP member don’t let it lapse as you are now subscribed to KelbyOne training at the old NAPP rate of $99 per year. If you let it lapse you’ll only get back in at the higher rate. I’m finding the content there to be professionally produced and a great value. Tons of tutorials and tons of videos on all the Adobe products and they are producing more each week. Even at the higher rate it’s a great deal if you want to learn a lot from the best.
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH3, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, video
While capturing some images of Esteban for the Sound Bites Grill ‘Wall of Fame’ I set up the Lumix GH3 to capture some video.
TECH STUFF – Panasonic H-HS12035 LUMIX G X VARIO 12–35mm/F2.8 ASPH X Series Lens set to 18mm at f3.5 1/60 sec ISO 3200. We didn’t have the capability to get sound directly from the house sound board. I mounted the shotgun mike on the camera and gave it a shot. In order to minimize wait staff traffic and too many heads in the frame the camera was high on a tripod. Instead of jumping on a chair or small ladder I turned the articulating viewfinder so I could see it from below for framing and focusing.
PROCESS Stuff – No real fancy editing here. I used ScreenFlow from Telestream (Learn more here). It’s actually a pretty versatile piece of software for the MAC OS 10.7 and higher that’s designed for capturing video and audio from your computer. It does allow you to do most video editing like add transitions, split clips, delete video sections, add captions and text and do some minor color correction and sound processing. I added video actions to gently zoom in and out to give the piece a little more professional feel. For under a hundred bucks you can’t beat this software especially if you also want to produce how-to tutorials on your computer.
Esteban with his daughter Teresa Joy on violin and percussionist Emilio Santiago
live at Sound Bites Grill in Sedona, Arizona produced with ScreenFlow
I am an affiliate of SreenFlow but I think this is a kick-a** product for the money. You can also get a trial version to see how you like it… If you have any questions give me a shout.
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, video
For a little test of the video capabilities this is one cool study of city life…
I had the Panasonic Lumix GX7 for a little while and was experimenting. Previous I hadn’t shot much video and definitely not on the street. I had been shooting testing some of the pre-sets in the camera and thought, “Let’s see what a video would look like shot that way. I set the camera on Illustrative Art then braced it on the railing and pushed the red button.
A New York Minute shot on the Lumix GX7It is quite an interesting study on life in the city. In this single minute there is so much interaction. Maybe it’s because I’m a small town guy at heart but each time I watch this I see more and more things going on. There’s a couple joggers crossing against the light. A bicyclist rolls through and rings his bell. People chatting, walking, holding hands. The ambulance sounds in the background and enters the scene and all the different things that go with that.
Sound is very important in video and even in this ‘New York Minute’ it makes a huge difference and was captured by the built in stereo microphones. Enjoy… And let me know what you think. (yeah the art setting blocked up some of the shadows but I think it adds to the grittiness of the ‘film’)
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH3, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, video
I was a virgin before this project. Videographer that is…
My partner in this production, Neal of Promo Films West has been after me to do video for a large number of years. With my move to micro 4/3rds Lumix cameras I finally aquiesed. Since getting the Lumix GH3 and Lumix GX7 I’ve been experimenting with bits of video but this project for Sedona Real Inn & Suites was the first time to go into full production. These cameras capture great video and Neal was super impressed by some of the features but one in particular got him very excited, The ability to shoot at 1080 and 60P. I had no idea what a big deal this was when we started but after seeing the motion used in the clips I get it. Neal did the editing on this project and was quite creative.
Here’s the promo… Let me know what you think.
Sedona Real Inn & Suites Promo VideoLooking to get some video for your property or project? Let’s talk. Neal and Promo Films West are ready to go to work for you. Give me a shout or drop an email.
