Final Cut Pro 10.0.1 Review – Sofware Update

Gear, Multimedia, Tech stuff, Thoughts, Video

I wrote a recent review that was a pretty harsh critique of Final Cut Pro X and I do have to say that Apple took care of a lot of issues with its recent Final Cut Pro 10.0.1 software update. FCP version 10.0.1 (some people think it is FCP 10.1 but it’s not … not quite yet) is a nice revision of FCP X, which smooths a few of the rough edges of the first release of FCP X.

What we get with Final Cut Pro 10.0.1 is XML capability finally, as well as improved cross dissolve (and other) transitions without having to create a second storyline. This was an overlook in the first version and seemed weird, so I’m glad they fixed that. We also get solutions to other annoying bugs like the lower thirds malfunction that I described in an earlier post. It also feels a bit quicker. I do have to say that I upgraded to a new iMac this week, and FCP X really works slick and quick on this new machine. That hardware upgrade made me a lot happier with FCP X, but I do think that in general Apple is going in the right direction with the software and we’ll see more professionals using it soon.

I’m still on the fence as to whether or not it is the best tool out there, but I am continuing to use it more and more because I don’t have to transcode my Canon 5D mark II footage and I don’t have to wait for Final Cut Pro to render all the time, as I did with FCP 7. It is also a dream to be able to sync my separate audio and video files with one click (without buying an expensive plugin). And all of this costs $300. As the software updates from Apple continue to come, I am going to use FCP X more and more as my primary editing package.

Lomokino Camera Makes Analog Movies

Gear, Multimedia, Tech stuff

The Lomokino camera will be a pretty cool addition to my Christmas list this year …

I’m very excited about making some short films lo-fi style, with good old fashioned real film. It’s funny because so many HDSLR filmmakers using cameras like the Canon 5D mark II, they will say “shoot in 24p because it is so film-like.” But really no one is ever going to shoot with film, unlike with still photography where so many people do still shoot film. Well, I can really sense that a camera like the Lomokino might actually catch on. And even though using actual film to make moving pictures is time-intensive (and $$-intensive), it really does look rewarding and I am going to give it a go. Stay tuned for the results.

The Lomokino uses any kind of 35mm film that you select, and works by the use of a hand crank that you crank to move the film through the open shutter. Pretty awesome, huh? Does anybody remember the opening credits to The Wonder Years? With the Beatles song. That was the Beatles right? A Beatles cover, anyway.

Here are some short videos from the Lomokino site:

Sample videos:

Teaser Trailer from Lomography on Vimeo.

A Sunny Day On The Southbank – LomoKino from Lomography on Vimeo.

How to use the Lomokino:

LomoKino – Shooting, Loading and Focusing from Lomography on Vimeo.

Occupy Seattle Photos – Police and Pepper Spray | Seattle Photographer

My work, Seattle, Still photography

Shot for ZUMA Press. If you want to license these images please contact sales@zumapress.com.

Wednesday was a chilly and rainy November evening but hundreds of Occupy Seattle protestors showed up to show opposition to Jamie Dimon’s visit to the Seattle Sheraton hotel, where he was speaking to the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. Dimon is the CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Police showed up in force, with rubber bullets, paintballs and riot gear at the ready, but they only used pepper spray sporadically on the protestors. See some of my photographs below …

Google Maps Photojournalism | Seattle Photographer

Google Maps, Other people's work, Published work, Seattle, Still photography, Tech stuff, Thoughts

Is this the new face of photojournalism? Google Maps is certainly part of the future of photojournalism, like it or not. (Related: See my Google Maps photo essay.)

Below is a screen shot of SeattlePI.com and you can see how they have utilized a Google Maps Street View image for reporting purposes. It’s very sad that a woman was shot and in this case an actual human photographer I think would be able to cover this story quite well, but instead we have a Google Maps image taking the place of traditional photojournalism. Of course I’m sure the SeattlePI.com journalists would agree that using a human photojournalist would be ideal – and seeing Google Maps in this story probably comes down to a case of budget constraints.

I’m actually surprised that I have not seen more Google Maps images in the press, but I am wondering how the readers are responding to this. Right now there are four comments on the story but they all relate to the rather shocking content of the story, not the use of a Google Maps image. My guess is that viewers/readers do not care one bit. They probably do care that the image presented is pretty boring, but that is not necessarily because it is a Google Maps image. There are plenty of pretty and interesting Google Maps images out there, but just like traditional photojournalism it takes time, energy and expertise to find those images.

For me, I really am intrigued by the use of Google Maps images for photojournalism, reportage and photo essays, but the image below isn’t exactly a good supporting argument. Aren’t I afraid of losing my job? Not really. I actually think that the more that Google Maps images pop up, the more that media consumers will realize that their lives are constantly under surveillance. For this reason, and others, I think folks will begin to remember why they love images made by real, empathetic, human photojournalists. There is something great that people love about images made by other humans, and the screen shot below can help with understanding that. However, as a photojournalist myself I’ve found that using Google Maps can be rewarding. Part of my graduate school capstone work included a Google Maps Street View photo essay.

Breaking Barriers | Seattle Photographer

Diversity, Multimedia, My work, Other people's work, Published work, Still photography, UW Bothell, Video

I’m working with the Diversity Recruitment & Outreach team at UW Bothell again, this time to document a special project at McKnight Middle School in Renton, Washington. UW Bothell student volunteers are spending time with the middle school students each week to build leadership and communication skills as well as self and cultural awareness. The volunteers are also facilitating conversations about how McKnight Middle School can better serve these students and set them up for success in college and beyond. The middle school student group consists of mostly African American and Latino young men, which are largely underrepresented groups on college campuses. Programs like this one can hopefully change that. It really is a remarkable program.

At the end of the year we will be producing a short documentary film that explains what we were able to accomplish. In the meantime, you can watch the first video installment of a series of updates about this outreach work. I am doing some of the filming, taking photographs, and most importantly mentoring a UW Bothell senior, Amen Mengesha, who is the director of the project. He is a media production star of the future, so be sure to watch that first video installment here, or below, to see what he created. I’ve included some of my photographs from week two below.