#65 — Saturday, May 13th, 2017 — Detroit Street Photography Session #65 — Ryan Ellis Photography — Walk and Talk To Tyros #001
12 pm until 8 pm — Eight piddly hours out — 430 photos and 44 videos — 74 “keepers” among the photos (17% success rate [10% has been a happy average for me, so this marks an increase in my effectuality]) — Only around 50 photos per hour (was I more thoughtful or less observant?) — Downtown to Midtown to Eastern Market and back to Downtown on foot — Lots and lots of footage was captured — Something different was created today
Winston Churchill once sent a close friend a very long letter; he began it by apologizing for its length, saying, “I am sorry that I did not have enough time to write a shorter letter.”
I have done this before. Here I am doing it again. My initial thoughts are always longer than my finished thoughts. In fact, I had to stop myself before I turned this novella into a book. I hope to come back later and whittle this exploding hedge down to three parts.
Instead of filming a formal lesson, I had my camera person film me walking from Eastern Market (where I worked for a year) to Downtown, capturing all the photos I took along the way. I am importing the “primary” footage from that right now into my movie editor, which will take “about 2 hours.” This does not include the b-roll or the “macro moment” or the sign off. I will have TONS of footage to comb through to turn out a five to ten minute video. I have never done a video like this before, and there will certainly be hiccups. I am 6’4”, and my camera person had trouble keeping up with me. I guess I walk fast and have big strides. I also was rushing around (as I normally do) to “get the shot” before it went away. I could not wait for my camera person. Also, I did not wear a mic, and the audio was from the on-board mic on the Nikon D800, which is awful and omnidirectional. There are many issues to be combated from the start with composing the footage into a video. This is a step into the dark. This is a risk, and I am happy I took it. It was the funnest video I have ever shot, and I just hope it will be fun for those that watch it.
I do not have a clue as to why my ten year old Nikon D200 held up the whole day. I looked up the issue it has. The shutter is not the problem. It is the mirror that locks up. People say it is due to a mechanical issue caused by using a battery grip with it. I am not sure of that, since it seemed to die when the weather was cold. Today was a pretty warm day. Maybe this camera is a summer-only camera, since it first exhibited its issue in the fall of last year. Either way, I am messaging folks on Craigslist often in search of a Nikon D600 with a battery grip. That is going to be my new second camera. I will be able to use it to film and then use my beloved Nikon D800 to shoot while on film.
I am excited to take on this latest video. I am not ashamed that it will not be perfect, since it will teach me so much. I was in front of the camera for the video, so this editing process will transport me behind the camera. I will get a priceless look into what changes would have to happen for a better sequel to this video (if one is warranted).
I loved shooting today. My photos did not much fit a theme, which saddened me. I was shooting too many types of shots. I was trying out different approaches, which is nice in the moment but scatterbrained for the later time when explaining them as a whole becomes necessary.
I guess I am trying to pull together many different thoughts lately. There are many good things that would compound in goodness when added together just right. I am messing around with the formula of a day out in the city taking photos and videos.