Blog Archives
Photography Tip: Stop. Pull Over. Pay Attention.
Today’s photography tip doesn’t require you to buy any special equipment of grasp any concepts or even practice to get it right. I just want you to slow down in life, notice what’s happening around you and find things you want to capture in your photography. Sometimes when you’re driving, you might want to pull over and park, because you see something that you want to take a photo of. You might want to walk a new area or even your own neighborhood, to seek out interesting subjects.
When you get in this mindset, you’ll see photo opportunities everywhere. While you’re doing that, you’re also training your “eye” and your photo framing will get better and you’ll find interesting perspectives. Don’t worry about any of that now, just remember: STOP. PULL OVER. PAY ATTENTION.
The past few days, I’ve been doing just that with my Lumia 1020. Let’s see what I found! 🙂
Images to Video on my Lumia 1020
I needed to be down in Hollywood for an appointment and I decided to do a little tourist walk. I took 10 minutes and gathered some pictures and a couple of videos. Later, I had some Pho for dinner. You don’t know what Pho is? Not to worry, you’ll see it in the second video.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 is perfect for capturing great images. The Windows Phone ecosystem has a ton of apps to use with imaging, as well. Today, I’ll show you examples of two of these apps I used to quickly put together video content to share on social media.
Just PROSHOWing Off Some Fave Lumia 1020 Pictures
The Nokia Lumia devices are not just all work, although you can see the good work that can be done with these phones in my last post. No, today I discovered the ProShow app for making slideshow videos out of you still pictures. Here’s my first one!
Some notes:
Lumia Gets REAL…estate
I have to tell you that the Nokia Lumia 1020 puts in work. I’ve used it on paid video jobs and paid event photography jobs. Now, it just got REAL. My friend asked me to do a shoot of his new real estate listing. I brought along my trusty DSLR because “size matters”, when people are paying for pictures.
I took about half of the photos with the DSLR and half with the Lumia 1020. The Lumia had a wider angle, which is great for capturing smaller rooms where I couldn’t back up any further to frame it properly with the DSLR. That wider view was also great for capturing the totality of the yard spaces.
I’m only going to post pictures taken with the Lumia in this posting. If you are interested in the house, please check out the listing here: 10521 Northvale Rd – Represented by Cory Holtzman.
It’s a Wonderland of Goodness
My friend Melanie’s kids go to this great school called Wonderland, here in Los Angeles. Part of what they do is to give the kids an experience with growing ingredients and making healthy recipes. Why am I droning on? Here’s how it was described to me:
‘Wonderland school is dedicated to providing its students with a quality education. From the Ground Up is the school’s Garden program that informs and teaches students about environmental stewardship and allows them to explore the connectivity of nature’s processes in the garden and the kitchen.’
They’ve filmed some of these tastings before, with parent volunteers, but weren’t sure about this one. Melanie had seen the Lumia devices in action before and contacted me about shooting. Let’s see how that went…
I used both a Lumia 1020 and a Lumia 920. I got a little help from a shotgun microphone plugged in with an XLR to phone adaptor. You will hear that when I used the audio from the phone, that you pick up more of the ambient sound, the children playing.
Here’s the segment on how you can make a citrus salad with freshly harvested rosemary. Be sure to watch in HD.
I can tell you from 1st had experience that this citrus salad is really good. Go ahead and try it at home.
My PureView of the Hollywood Sign Hike
Last week, I was in Portland and the change of scenery was great, but you gotta come home, right? My friend John reminded me that we often forget how interesting the place we live can be. With that being said, I decided to share one of my favorite hikes in Los Angeles.
In my pursuit of entertainment fame and fortune…or just the ability to pay my bills by doing what I love…I sometimes need perspective. It’s the kind of perspective that tells you that your awesome even when you can’t get a meeting or a referral or an audition. Yes, perspective feeds the ego and shuts out negative talk because OBVIOUSLY “they” are the one’s missing out.
OK, enough of that (for now). Let’s get to the hike. Every picture was taken with the Nokia Lumia 1020. Most were taken with the Nokia Camera app, but some were taken with Fhotolens and 4Blend HDR apps. Finally there are some panorama shots taken with the Nokia Panorama app. I’d like to say that this was a sponsored piece. Seriously, Microsoft, Nokia, etc…I’d LOVE to say that this is a sponsored piece. How ‘bout it?
Yes, there’s the hike. The picture above is on Beachwood Drive which takes you to the trailhead. Much like going to the movies or watching TV, the sign reminds you of your destination for the entire journey. Keep reading past the break to experience the journey with me.
My PureView of Portland
I’d heard the legends of Portland. I’d heard about this “dream of the 90’s” vibe. Actually, I’d only really seen the TV show “Portlandia” on Netflix.
When the opportunity came up to visit Portland, I jumped at it. What did I find out? What did I see? I can tell you that I spent time with a relatively new friend and friend that I’ve known since high school. I traveled from Portland proper to places named Bored, Happy Valley, Damascus and Tigard. Beyond that? Well, you’re going to have to follow along after the break, to find out.
Does Size Matter– In Pro Photography?
I have owned a Lumia 920 for over a year and been using the Lumia 1020 for a couple of months. They both take excellent still photographs and amazing video and in many scenarios, I can see using these devices on professional jobs.
Whereas the image quality is up to par, I think that paying clients have a “gear bias”. Meaning, that they expect big gear and lots of it to justify that they are paying for the shoot. Is the bias real or am I just imaging it?
Let’s delve in and let it be known that I have big equipment and I know how to use big equipment. In no way do I have lens envy. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get going.
Lumia 1020 Photo Roundup
It’s been a while since I’ve done a entry that’s just about photography on the Lumia 1020. It’s not that I’ve stopped taking photos, but I’ve settled into a posting them in a places with a built in photographic community. You can regularly find my pictures on my Flickr account and my Phonetogaphs Blog and in the Fhotoroom community.
The picture above is one of my favorites from this device. I love the contrasts of color and texture.
OK, let’s dive into some more…
My MOvember in PureView
If you’ve been following along, lately I’ve been highlighting my experiences with the Nokia Lumia 1020. I’ve been so enamored with the device that I almost forgot about Movember. Movember is a time that not only gives men the excuse to grow a ‘stache, but it also promotes men’s health awareness as it pertains to different kinds of cancer. That’s a good looking bit of exposure for a good cause, huh? I thought so too.
I had grown my facial hair for a character in another video project and I decided to cut it off except for the moustache. I also documented the whole things with the Lumia. See, I can multi-task, especially when both tasks are filled with insane amounts of goodness. OK, Let’s expose My MOvember!
A DalyDose of...Jeff Daly 