Whisper by the River
Took a couple months longer than expected after the initial launch with learning how to edit code to make the experience much better! Check out what's currently available in men's and women's shirts and hoodies!
New camera
As some of you may know from social media (snapchat: bsmittydotcom / Instagram @bsmittydotcom) I dropped my Sony rx100iv and sent it out for repair. They ended up calling me to tell me the camera was wasted and beyond repair and since I had drop coverage I went to the store to get it replaced. I talked to one of the sales associates for a bit and he said they issue credit so I didn't have to swap out with the same camera if I didn't want to.
*The Sony rx100iv is amazing, for it being able to fit in most pockets it is the best in portability. I highly recommend this camera. I 90% of the time kept it on my Peak Design Capture Clip, which was one of the reasons I ended up making the decision on a different camera.
I got the Sony a6300, stepping up to a larger sensor just sounded amazing, which I compared it to the rx100iv, the max iso was better quality on the a6300 at 25,600 than the rx100iv at 12,800. Those are high iso numbers that aren't typically used, but a better reference is from my basic non scientific tests 10,000 iso was the same as 3,200 on the rx. The a6300 noise regardless is much more attractive.
The kit lens on the a6300 is a 16-50mm and I really think it's a great lens, mixed reviews on the internets but sometimes I feel that certain bloggers talk down on lower priced lenses based on extreme pixel peeping and it's usually an unfair comparison anyways. Get what you want or can afford. (Just make photographs)
I got the Sony 20mm 2.8 the day before I left to New York. I did some basic around the house shooting with the camera and didn't even shoot with the new lens until I was on my way to NYC.
My window on the plane was actually quite dirty, these turned out pretty well considering that.
Photographing NYC is an interesting experience, I feel I tend to photograph differently when I am there, the people and energy interests me the most. Each time I've questioned myself after if I could have done things better or differently.
Svitak - The Creative Process episode 4
Set up a video kit like Kristian Svitak:
I suggest using the GoPro Hero 4 Silver: http://tinyurl.com/znqf3kq
Another version of Sunpak handle: http://tinyurl.com/zggddz5
I suggest the Rode VideoMic Go while skating: http://tinyurl.com/zjamnbs
Manfrotto video light: http://tinyurl.com/jtbfzep
Cheaper video light: http://tinyurl.com/jogds5q
I filmed episode 4 with:
DJI Osmo: http://tinyurl.com/z8ylhmc
DJI Straight Arm: http://tinyurl.com/hyxp2mx
DJI Univeral Mount: http://tinyurl.com/jy2994n
Rode VideoMicro: http://tinyurl.com/jkh6kqn
DJI Extension Stick: http://tinyurl.com/j7aocz9
Sony RX100 IV: http://tinyurl.com/z28a6g7
beyond arm's reach - the creative process episode 3
It's not a huge light, but this is more for me it is the perfect artistic light source. It's light so it's easy to just throw in a bag, takes batteries, tripod/hot shoe mount, and has a dimmer. In the above image I have it rigged on a medium size cheap tripod that I use as a stick and photograph wirelessly while holding it in position.
The motivation room
The motivation room doesn't exist yet. I plan at some point in my life to have a room dedicated as a content office surrounded by everything that has motivated me along the way.
Photographer Richard Avedon had a space like this...
Screen grab from the American Masters documentary Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light
I have this thing that sometimes happen where I know I need to organize photos, edit, work on blog posts, but I just sit there and watch time pass.. This is something I'm working on, to create when I can because life is too fast... Something you really notice as an artist in the Darkness and Light documentary. I feel that the time I have the motivation room surrounding myself with artifacts will for sure change the way I think and work.
Cathedral of the pines
A major player in my "motivation room" is Gregory Crewdson. I'm not entirely sure how I learned of this photographer but I know it was a few years after his book beneath the roses was released, but I do believe it was the documentary that I seen first.
The documentary was a early motivator for me learning that photography can be taken to a new world. At the time I seen this I was fully submersed in skateboard photography. Many years since, it was a couple weeks ago, I was wanting to watch something to get me going and I thought of searching Gregory Crewdson on YouTube. Again, around 6 or 7 years later that same photographer gave me the same feelings of creative freedom as before. The timing of this video I found was pretty coincidental since it has been recently uploaded and SHOCKINGLY has less than 400 views at the time of this writing. The video I found was a interview where he talks about his latest book, released late 2015.
I immediately ordered the book, and I have a decent photography book collection and his work is one of few that I just stare at a photo and gives me raw feelings.
This book "Cathedral Of The Pines" gave me the green light to dive deep with photographing.
Wooded area
Been embracing the unknown areas of various wooded areas this year. I've randomly explored the woods here and there when I was younger but never really payed attention to the different qualities of the woods until I spent a lot of time in them last year. Mostly just getting lost in them with Mary and taking a 11 mile bicycle ride with Kristian through them. I started to notice how the wooded areas around me had both a beautiful and haunting quality.
In the above video I was shooting 4K with the DJI Osmo for the first time on location, This camera is on the same level as the Drone as in you could not capture the shots you can get with these without having a crew (and a lot of money) previously. I will be doing posts about cameras so I will leave a detailed post on the Osmo for another time. The 4K Osmo is available on Amazon: