30 Days of Happy

So at the end of January I was glued to my computer screen as I watched the ever creative Hailey Bartholomew teach her style of film shooting and editing on the learning forum CreativeLive. It was a bit of a slow time for us which really allowed me to explore filmmaking both through my own lens and by researching other filmmakers on Vimeo and Youtube. I spent days shooting hummingbirds and lovely little objects that looked interesting. We took day trips to the beach and Redwoods to get more and more footage. Every time we went out I grabbed my camera and Fig Rig. The more I learned the more my mind exploded with other ideas but I had to rein it all in for this project and just focus on finishing it without burying myself in clips. There was really no theme other than 30 days of shooting so the challenge was to create something that looked cohesive but still expressed the diverse and rich life I get to live on a daily basis. It was a wonderful struggle that left 95% of what I shot on the floor(including my previous video), never to see the light of day. I have a long way to go but am excited to continue down this path. Please look for more videos in the near future but in the mean time here is my 30 Days of Film

Playing with Video

I have been dabbling in video on and off now for a couple of years, learning the software, making mistakes and just figuring out if it was something that I truly wanted to pursue.  A year ago Sue Bryce was on CreativeLive and she showed a promo video done by the incredibly talented Hailey Bartholomew and I was sold. I have been following Hailey since that day, so I was thrilled when Sue brought Hailey to CreativeLive to teach how she tells stories through video. Sue and Hailey also created a challenge to shoot every day during the Month of February and then edit a video to music for final review and judging(Learn more about the challenge on Hailey’s blog). I must confess that I haven’t been shooting every day but I have been shooting a lot more and this little video is one of the results of that effort. Once again I have to thank CreativeLive for everything they do and all the inspiration their presenters share. If you haven’t checked out their site yet, I suggest you do, it may just change your life.

PS. I still plan on doing my 30 day challenge and will post it here when it is done.

Huge thanks to Broadway By The Bay, artistic director Amanda Folena, volunteer cat Adrianne Walters and Margaret Toomey for helping with the costume and make-up.

Photo Shoot Video

Seriously? It has literally been months since I posted anything. That is an abysmal record. Perhaps if I had some kind of following that held me accountable I could summon the time to, at the very least, post once a week. Someone? Anyone?  Of course one could argue that if I posted more often I could generate a following. Sigh. In the end it really does comes down to me but I swear that I have not been idly sitting on my laurels twiddling my thumbs. Building and growing a business in a tough economy when your primary clients are in the arts is no easy task and we are working very hard to build our brand while delivering great photos to our clients.

I am also beginning to experiment with video as an extra service that we can offer especially since both Mark and I can’t shoot the studio shoots at the same time it gives me an opportunity to showcase and document how we work. Take a look and if you have any feedback I will happily take it.