2014-08 Muvipix 1 minute video showcase

[Ron Hunter]

Awesome Patrice! Loved it! I had no idea Alabama was that pretty. Outstanding video. Loved the pacing and variety of shots. You are a VERY talented photographer!! Loved those pix! They really did look like post cards. What camera do you use??

[sidd finch]

Really nice job Paz, rich colors and a nice variety of shots. I linked the winter shots a lot. The postcard theme was well done and the pacing was good too. I also really like the green tile shots from the front of your house 1:06 the color with the water making them shine looks pretty almost like an emerald. For a second I thought it was Harvey Korman at 0:49. I had to do a double check.

Sidd

[momoffduty]

Wow, Patrice! Loved the edit and the post card theme too. I viewed your site and stunning photography & art. You are truly talented.

[Ron]

I've been trying to upload to the gallery. It goes through the motions, gets to 99%, says, "waiting for Muvipix" and then I get an "internal server error."
The file is only 36.7 Mb. What am I doing wrong?

I'll look into this later today.

Just to update - I'm still looking into this. Should have it resolved, hopefully, by tomorrow. It has something to do with our server updates!

Can't keep up with this stuff sometimes!

[_Paz_]

So many compliments. Thank you all. I don't know what to say... blushing. Thanks.

Yes, Alabama is beautiful. Except for my excursion to the Gulf Coast, which is a pretty common thing for people to do around here, I stayed close to home and to the land and people more than man built things. North Alabama has mountains, the deepest canyon east of the Grand Canyon, waterfalls and streams, lots of hardwoods. Central Alabama is good farming and cattle county. South Alabama has miles and miles of pine forests.

The entire State has lots of water. There is a fountainhead in my back yard that eventually feeds into the Alabama. The State got its name from the Alibamos Indian tribe who lived right in this area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Alabama

At 0:29 you are seeing the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers where they join to form the Alabama, at Fort Toulouse, the site where the French first settled this part of the country and the site of an annual historic re-enactment. We go most every year and have become friends with many of the participants.

The tractor in the peach orchard belongs to my cousin who lives across the road from me. The field with the red poppies at 0:08 is where a town used to be and where my ancestors first lived in this part of Alabama. The town was eventually abandoned due to issues with flooding. My mother grew up in a sharecropper's shack during the Depression of the 1930s in the field at 0:18. The old, two story house in the snow at 1:00 is just down the road from where I live and is one of three built by the same set of plans back in the 19th century. Even closer to where I live is where some of my ancestors lived in another of the three houses before it burned down. I understand the third was built in town. Not sure if it is still standing. I live out in the country, outside a bedroom community which is outside the relatively small city of Montgomery.

The garden at 0:04 and 0:05 are Jasmine Hill Gardens, one of my favorite places.

http://www.jasminehill.org/

The flowers are from my garden. It was especially nice having so many roses late in the season. The Sasanqua camellias begin to bloom in the fall while the Japonicas bloom from Christmas through January.

The front porch is covered with a green, natural slate. It is prettiest when wet, and yes, I guess turquoise and peach are my (think beach) favorite colors.

All the animals except the goose are/were my pets,

EDIT [and not the horse or the cattle either] /EDIT

and I feed and photograph the geese at a local park often enough that they come running when they see me. The squirrel is one of the babies I rescued after their mother abandoned them when Mr. B cut down the tree their nest was in, not knowing it was there.

Stars have fallen on Alabama, at least three times, and many artists have recorded the song.

There is a four mile wide astrobleme, or 'star wound' not far from Ft. Toulouse. It was apparently formed about 65 million years ago.

http://www.cityofwetumpka.com/Default.asp?ID=152


In the year 1833, shortly after my ancestors came here, the Leonid Meteor Shower was pretty spectacular.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_Fell_on_Alabama

In 1954 a meteorite hit a woman in Sylacauga, Alabama.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylacauga_%28meteorite%29

Personally, I hope that's the last of them!


The pics are timed at 1 second each. I tried a couple of settings. This seemed to be long enough to see and quick enough to get through a lot of images.

All these shots were taken with either a Canon 10D or 7D. More important than the body, in my opinion, is the lens. I'm am amateur photographer and cannot justify L glass. My best landscape lens is a Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical Lens (IF). I've been told that Tamron manufactures some of the Canon lenses for Canon. I figured if they are allowed to do that, then Tamrom must know what they're doing. However, when I buy Tamron, it is only their highest quality level. The low end Tamrom is not worth spending money on. The highest level Tamrom is (in my opinion, anyway) better than the low level Canon lenses I own. Many people report that a good copy of this particular Tamron lens is nearly as high a quality as the equivalent Canon L glass, at least in the center. I've always been happy with mine and it has the added advantage of having an extremely short minimum focal distance. I can be within a few inches of a flower and get a focused shot. Tamrom makes this lens with a Nikon mount too.

Steve, peach pie is my specialty. I'll have to see what I can do.

Thank you all again,

Patrice

[Francesco Carzedda]

Paz, the pace of your video is what I most appreciate, it makes it so dynamic and full of meaning.
While reading the information about your places I tried to figure out how nicely you might compose historic information and images in a non-still version of the video (and, of course, what an animated version could be missing, because I find the development of this one very very significant).
It was just - perhaps - a mental exercise I was doing, I had in mind your "A day at the Beach" and what it tells about how people relate with the environment in dimension, dynamics, energy, contemplation, attitude, challenge.

[momoffduty]

Thanks Patrice for the background info on the stills. I would love to visit that part of the country. And thanks for the lens info. A friend's brother has a large pawn shop in CA and she told me to put together a wish list and he will give me a good deal. I'll have to research some of the lenses you mentioned.

My neighbor has an abundance of flowers and sometimes I lurk in her garden with my camera.

[_Paz_]

A friend's brother has a large pawn shop in CA and she told me to put together a wish list and he will give me a good deal.

That's great, Mom!

It would be really nice if you can get a guarantee that you can return any lenses you buy that may not be in the best shape.

There are ways to test lenses to see if you have a good copy. I'll do some web searching to see what I can find about that for you.

I've bought used photo equipment from a company called KEH in Georgia. They have a grading system and everything I've ever bought from them has equaled their ratings. I've never been disappointed.

https://www.keh.com/

I've also bought used photo equipment directly from photographers who regularly post at Fred Miranda's forum. It i a good idea to research the individual photographers before making purchase, of course, because there are some people who only come there to sell. I'd never buy from anyone who wasn't a long time member in good standing - on the other hand, there are folks there I've 'known' for years and years and I definitely would be willing to buy from them. A lot of those guys want only the very best and as soon as the next thing comes out, they're ready to upgrade.


http://www.fredmiranda.com/

Good luck!

[momoffduty]

Thanks Patrice. I have looked at KEH. I'll check out the other link too.

[_Paz_]

CORRECTION TO MY POST ABOVE:

I said all the animals were my pets - um, well, I've never owned any livestock. No horses, no cattle. That horse lives down the road. Lots of horses around here. Another neighbor often has rodeos on his ranch. The cattle live on a thousand acre ranch on the next road over. My 2+ acres is minute in comparison!

Mom,

You'll find some fabulous photography, of all varieties at Fred Miranda's site. I especially like the landscape forum.

Some things to look for in lenses, with special mention as related to video:

http://muvipix.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=13386&p=113382#p113382

[Ron]

I've been trying to upload to the gallery. It goes through the motions, gets to 99%, says, "waiting for Muvipix" and then I get an "internal server error."

FWIW, this is resolved. Had some server configuration issues.

Sorry 'bout that!

[Ron Hunter]

Alright, it's October 1st so the contest should be finished. How do we vote on a winner?

[Steve Grisetti]

Just tag onto this thread, Ron.

Anybody have any nominees? Our top choice gets the Muvipix Guide of his or her choice!

[momoffduty]

Why not start a new thread with all of the entries and a poll? Or just keep it for fun.

[Steve Grisetti]

Good idea, Cheryl!

You can all vote for a winner in this poll. You can select up to two videos.
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=13399