shot{b}log

my brain hurts.

i feel like i'm being super obsessive compulsive (ha! no pun intended ... er, that "pun" probably won't make any sense until i'm able to spill the beans on what this project actually focuses on) with this video project ... i finally had to move all my storyboards, scripts, assorted outlines, to-do lists, etc., to a binder because i got sick of dropping my armload of papers on my way to and from my car.  that folder is now approaching an inch thick.
BUT, the more work i do pre-production on outlines, scripts, narrations, storyboards, the faster i'm able to produce.  so huzzah, hopefully.  :)  it's a little scary to be working on something this massive when i still don't have a deadline that i can bang my head against.
probably looking at a good 3-4 weeks worth of work left, depending on how easily the segment i have yet to really dig my teeth into comes together.  crossing my fingers ...
but am taking a break this weekend to work on a personal project or two, and hopefully get some sun.  have a good memorial weekend!

storyboard sneakpeak ...

another sneak peak at a massive documentary project we've been working on for the past 14 months.  am in the scripting process -- have a rough storyboard drawn out, but my producing workflow goes smoothest when i have my audio track or interview script (or narration, whatever) all laid out before i even start thinking hard about visual placement.  should have 80% of the scripting done this week ... hopefully the rest of it done by the end of next week, with producing starting up sometime next week as well.

a happy afternoon with the lensbaby :)

although i wish it was slide film.  i should have my sister pick up some velvia ... or portra ... while she's in missoula this weekend.

eddie adams workshop

i freely admit it: i am terrible when it comes to putting myself out there.  don't get me wrong, i'm not one of those photogs that sits around and bitches about how they're one of the great undiscovered talents in photography ... and then never applies for any grants or fellowships or prestigious positions or enters any contests.  oh, no - i'm proud of the work that i do, but i'm really good at squashing personal delusions of grandeur.  :)
that said, i still suck at putting myself out there and entering contests and networking like crazy and developing and maintaining a brand.  i am working on it, but it's baby steps.
a big baby step taken this weekend:  i spent, like, three weeks going through the work i've accumulated over the past ten years since my first slr, chose 20 that i thought best represented my style as a still photojournalist (thank you, assorted peers and coworkers, for helping me get through my tilt and motion blur phases ... although there was one tilt and maybe two motion blurs turned in with this "portfolio") ....
.... and applied for the eddie adams workshop.
i know, i think, six people from either the j-school or poynter who have attended the workshop, and they all reported having a super positive, inspiring experience.
so i'm crossing my fingers until july, when judging wraps up ...
and, in the meantime, a public to-do list:

1.  sign up for some web hosting for my domain name and develop an actual web site
2.  get my s**t together with this wedding photography gig.  i may be one of the few journo shooters in the world who really, genuinely loooooves to shoot weddings, and i think i'm going to make a go of it.
3.  get more involved over at flickr ... maybe even start up a new account with "detephoto" for the username ...
4.  new blog header!!
5.  enter the memory makers masters competition ...

2009 vigilante day parade

there are very few instances where i enjoy repeating myself.  annual community events like helena's vigilante day parade are one of them -- last year was the first year i covered it with the video camera, and it was a seriously good time.  this year, however, with that previous year of experience under my belt, i think i did a waaaay better job and had even more fun ... :)

film + lensbaby = big love.

so i found one of the older lensbabies (the lensbaby 2.0) online at adorama and, after obsessively checking the tracking updates, like, every ten seconds for three days, it arrived saturday.
woot.
click on the diptych to see it bigger -- these are my faves from the first roll of film i picked up today.  on the left is the view looking south from my yard, on the right is some really vibrant swiss chard growing in my parents' greenhouse.
it was really really really good to have such a great excuse to play with my canon eos 3 -- i think i've neglected it quite terribly since graduation ... and to add insult to injury, it's recently been evicted from my domke because i discovered the sony hdcam i use for work fits in the domke f2 like it was made for it.
so.  lessons learned.
1.  stop being a putz and shoot more.
2.  use a tripod if you want to get anything decent when shooting with the macro attachment(s).
3.  get the rest of the dirt for the greenhouse out of the back of the truck so you can take herri on a romp this weekend and the first photo expedition since the fall of 2006. 
4.  woot.  this lens is so worth being broke between paychecks.  :)

april edition of digital journalist

from colin mulvany:

When I first started shooting video, I would get overwhelmed at all the multi-tasking I had to do--framing, sequencing, monitoring audio, keeping the camera steady. Once all these things became second nature, I learned to slow down when shooting. I constantly reminded myself to use my video camera like I would a still camera. In many ways, I think still photographers make the best videographers. They already are able to see moment, have finely honed anticipation skills and understand composition. When I train a print reporter in video, these are the skills I have to teach the most.

this month's edition of "the digital journalist" is dedicated to video journalism - definitely worth the morning it's taken me to get through the lengthy articles :)  most notable is the personal narrative from colin mulvany over at the spokesman on how his career has carried him from stills to video, and now, sort of, back to stills.

from the sketchbook ...

just a sneak peak at a project i'm working on (re: twitter from two or three days ago about my assistant videographer for the day) ... should be launching in another month-ish.  stoked about this project because it's letting me do some pretty intensive video work, and after a year and a half of developing a pretty standard style for my news videos i'm ready to push myself in new directions.  have been watching lots of "this american life" for inspiration :) -- will post storyboard sneak peaks when i've done some more storyboarding/scripting work ...

Montana High School Rodeo

just a color piece i put together after the first day of competition ... think it turned out pretty slick.

my parents are insane.

my dad retired from being an over-the-road truck driver in october of 2007.  he has been remarkably patient during the last 16 or so months ... but during the past week he's been in my study, looking over my shoulder while we browse through craig's list and my mother rolls her eyes.  we drove up to great falls this afternoon to pick up their "new" beastie ... a 1981 winnebago chieftan.  43,000 original miles.  cherry interior.  look out world, here comes my ma and pa.