Remote Zoom

 One of the advantages of using a Blackmagic camera for live video work is that either remotely or via the ATEM I can control the zoom. This is idea when I am teaching online and am the only one in the studio as I can control everything. 

Filming

 Selecting the right lens and dialling in the perfect depth of field is key to showcasing the desired part of an image. 📷 #PhotographyTips

Is it worth kitting out the camera.?

 Is it worth kitting out the camera with a large battery, an extra monitor, a Mattbox and a frame to hold it all, or is it better to shoot light? The best answer is both, depending on the circumstances. The real answer depends on which system creates the best video.

New Organ Covers

New seat cover completed for the Wersi Organ. Matches the curtains and quilt and fits well. Much better than the black. Now to persuade my wife to make more covers in different colours.

 

Fabricating a new bolt head

Out in the workshop: I had to fabricate a new bolt head when the unsuitable plastic one broke. After a bit of filing a new head was made and then it would slide into a slot

 

A tilt and shift lens

 Seriously looking at getting a shift and tilt lens. The question is will I get enough use out of it. I know there are times when it is just the right sort of lens to use, but will I use it enough to justify the price for the amount of use I might get out of it.

A tilt-shift lens is a versatile tool in photography that allows photographers to control the plane of focus and perspective in an image. Here's what you can do with a tilt-shift lens:

1. Selective Focus: By tilting the lens, you can choose specific parts of the image to be in sharp focus while blurring others. This can create a unique depth of field and draw attention to specific subjects in the photo.

2. Miniature Effect: The selective focus capability can make real scenes look like miniature models, a popular and visually arresting effect.

3. Architectural Photography: The shift function is particularly useful for correcting perspective distortion in architectural photography. By shifting the lens, you can keep vertical lines parallel, avoiding the "falling over" look that wide-angle lenses can sometimes produce when photographing tall buildings.

4. Panoramic Images: By shifting the lens from side to side without moving the camera, you can take multiple images that can be stitched together into a seamless panoramic photo.

5. Landscape Photography: The tilt function can be used to get the entire landscape in focus, from the foreground to the horizon, even at wider apertures.

6. Creative Effects: Through the combination of tilting and shifting, photographers can create unusual and striking effects that wouldn't be possible with a standard lens.

7. Product Photography: Tilt-shift lenses can be handy for product photography as well, where control over focus and perspective is key.

8. Enhanced Control in Post-Processing: The ability to control focus and perspective in-camera can save time in post-processing and provide a level of control that might not be achievable otherwise.

In short, a tilt-shift lens offers creative control and technical corrections that are difficult or impossible to achieve with standard lenses, making it a valuable tool for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts.

Media Offline

 When looking at an older video and trying to remember where you filed the raw footage.

Modifying Dummy batteries

Purchased 2 Dtap dummy batteries for the cameras. Both were too big to fit into the handgrip battery case so I had to file off a tiny sliver of plastic to get them to fit. I shouldn't have to do this on a $35 piece of plastic.
 

Fixing a Mac

 A friend had lost his emails on his Mac, so Paul and I spent much of the day recovering his files on his Mac. Some we could do remotely using  @Splashtop. Not part of the business just helping out a friend in need for free.

Music Work Room

 My Music work room has just got a bit bigger with the Genos added to the Wersi and Eminent organs and the laptop with the DAW software. Put a few cameras in here as well and it is becoming a struggle to move around.

Getting the Angle Right

In filming, as much as taking photographs getting the angle right is really important when you want to try to demonstrate something.

New keyboard new problems for filming

 I have the new keyboard, but I want to video this and the other two organs. So we needed a way to get the cameras to show the different keyboards. Moving the jib from this position to the side and then being able to rote the camera during the shoot, we can now get an overhead view of either the keyboard or the organ.

Playing the Genos

 New instruments like the Yamaha Genos have a large and long learning curve. I am learning my way around the menus trying to find where the features I want to use are, and learning about connectivity and how this machine differs from how I work.

Genos Arrives

 The Yamaha Genos arrives. Adding to the being creative and music writing part of the company. Using software and hardware to create royalty-free music for the company.

Web Page Creation

 I was a University and College lecturer in Web-based technology for many years, so producing websites for a few clients is easy. Nowadays, the hard and expensive part is getting to the top place on search engines for as little cost as possible.

Setting up an interview

Interviews are face-to-face, sitting opposite one another, but they don't have to be. Sometimes the same can be achieved using different camera angles and clever editing. Creative camerawork at Philip M Russell Ltd.

New GoPro camera Mount

Placing a monitor on top of the Wersi meant that we needed a more minimalistic camera mount to hold the GoPro in front of me. The GoPro is ideal here because of its wide-angle lens and how close it can be to me, at Philip M Russell Ltd

 

Capturing Lead Iodide

The creation of Lead Iodide in hot water creates thousands of sparkling yellow crystals as they come out of solution. Here we are trying to capture the moment.

 

Sundial

 With all the modern technology, it is sometimes worth stopping and looking at more ancient technology, like the sundial. It doesn't work well on BST, but it is clever how the hours have different distances between them. Maybe a few physics questions in here.

Day off

 Some days it’s nice to relax - other days it’s drive to visit my Mums, do her garden, cut the hedge, lop the trees, go out the local garden centre and cook dinner for her before the drive home. Nearly relaxing.

A little Light

 Science experiments often seem to require more light when filming. We can't get away with mood lighting, but we need to get very even light with no shadows to show off the experiment

Broken Safety Specs

 I use Bolle Safety Specs because we find them rather good but this pair didn't survive the third student wearing them.

New phones

Two new HiHi phones installed and working ok. Still having issues with all the Dect phones not ringing. So will be contacting 4Com tomorrow to get it resolved 
 

Big Box

 A rather large box of new phones and other telephonic equipment has arrived. Hopefully, the upgrade will go to plan tomorrow at Philip M Russell Ltd

On the Phone

Do you ever get one of those days when you don't seem to have got off the phone and the day has ended and you haven't even started work? at Philip M Russell Ltd