Our sister company Atomic Feather Design just launched a new project that has been in the planning stages for about 9 months. It finally launched on Kickstarter. The SPEEDCinema is a versatile camera motion tool for video and time lapse work.
SPEEDCinema is a portable 3 in 1 Slider/Rail/Dolly system for video & time lapse work that features an EXPANDABLE rail system and unique a reconfigurable design.
A portable SPEEDTube kit starts at $159 for Kickstarter backers and complete dolly kits with wheels and mounts start at just $298. The project needs to raise 25k in funding to go into production.
This is a system that’s been a long time and coming and it does something nothing we’ve seen has offered. It can be as long or short as you want, travels anywhere and configures for nearly any situation.
It was just awhile after sunset and I was not expecting an amazing view. We setup camp on the barren landscape of a tiny lake in the New Mexico desert, near White Sands. We ran the usual paces, unloading kids from the truck, planning dinner, getting settled. This is an image from an unlikely place that’s reminded me to never overlook potential.
I noticed what that moon was doing. A sliver moon, but with it’s shadowed area beautifully visible (there’s probably a name for that). I realized it was setting fast and that I had to do something, so I setup just a few yards from camp and started to work. It was not an easy image due to the rapidly setting moon and the low light, but I made this before it set fully and I’m thankful for a good night and an unexpected image.
Sunset's Hidden Falls - Yosemite National Park, Fall 2010.
[like]
I’ve seen amazing things in my travels. So at first glance it just seemed like a beautiful landscape. But as I took what little time I had to really look at Yosemite through the eyes of an artist, I soon begin to realize why Ansel Adams loved it so much and to see that those giant slabs of rock towering above me were true wonders of natural beauty.
I had just one afternoon for this, as it was the tail end of our Fall 2010 tour and we needed to move towards home. I was hoping to take away at least one really good frame that afternoon. I think I did just that. I made various compositions throughout the day, and though we did not get to see a fraction of Yosemite’s beauty, we wound the narrow highways and hills, seeing what we could in the time we had. We ended up down in the village and roamed a bit, taking time to visit Ansel’s gallery and peek at some of his legendary images.
We were heading out of the village, working our way back to camp near Mono Lake. I was hoping to see some sort of sweeping sunset as the night drew in, but we barley got a mile before I rounded the bend and experienced this view for the first time. Gateway to Yosemite is a sight. With a view right cross the river and down the valley. Bridal Veil falls in the distance. Some others were in the pull off, snapping photos and enjoying the view as the low evening sun cast sprawling light on the crags of El Capitan and it’s surrounding landscape. I knew this was it and I was going to take my time.
Those of you who know me, know I’m a fan of silver prints and of Ansel. I don’t want to copy what he did, but his and others work have allowed me to gain appreciation for quality silver images as I continue to refine my own approach. In the past few years I’ve started spending time in the study of monochrome. I love color, but sometimes I just want to take it away. Allowing me to explore the canvas that is tone, depth detail and density. This was one of those times.
This this was one of those places that get’s photographed often, but I wanted something above average and was willing to wait for it. I set up the tripod and gear, waiting for some people to move so I could get right where I wanted. I meticulously analyzed the composition and setup for the image. I think I spent a good twenty minutes planning it and running few test frames, refining the focus manually and just making sure I didn’t miss this.
Finally it all came together. The light, the plan and the moment. I made my final frames, then packed up. I don;t believe I took any more photos that night. This was what I had come for and I felt satisfied. After I was back in the trailer, final process proceeded. I could try it describe the scene, the flowing river, the driftwood, and the tiny distant waterfall. But I need not because I have the result of many hours of labor to show just how it felt to me on this evening in September 2010. I’m currently doing test prints on metal and this one should be officially released this year.
I’m on the road, headed to Minnesota for my HDR & LR workshops. It’s a month trip with my wife and kids and we’re getting to see amazing things. Many of which were in Yellowstone. I just did an episode on Photo Couch on Yellowstone, so if you listened to that, you know I was awed by what we saw there.
We discovered Clepsydra at the Paint Pot Geysers during our first drive into the park. Just in front of it out of the frame is the bubbling Spasm Geyser. It turned out to be an incredible sunset and after walking the boardwalks a bit, I knew that this was what I wanted to focus on. I set up the tripod and spent some time planning my frame in a way to being out a beautiful but ghostly feel. This is the result.
For Photographers. How it was made:
I don’t like to be boring, but I’m going to get a bit technical for those of you who want it. The rest can just enjoy the sunset. Because this scene was so stunning I did a few setups, but as I mentioned in the last Photo Couch I’m trying to take more time in composing an planning my fine art images. In the end I think we end up with better work by doing so, than just trying to shoot every angle.
