SolDuc
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West Coast Cyclist
SolDuc and SOBC - Photo by Scott
Posts: 2,055
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Post by SolDuc on Aug 17, 2013 22:48:40 GMT -8
Just more ways to get your photos right "behind the lens" if you have a DSLR or advanced point and shoot camera: Lately I've been experiencing with the P "program" mode on my camera, which lets me sets everything to what I want except for the aperture and shutter speed, which the camera sets in order to get the right exposure. I had been using the P mode before, but it was only for two things: single point AF and continuous shooting, both of which are not available in auto modes. But now I started using other features of this mode, which make my photos somewhat better: 1. The ISO speed, or the sensitivity to light. While I keep my ISO in auto mode, I limited it to ISO 800, which gets me a lot of noise-free pictures but can ask for long exposures or flash in low-light situations. 2. The "picture style" as Canon calls it. I can set the photo to be B&W, or in Landscape/Portrait mode, but I can also customize the settings in order to get extra sharpness, contrast or saturation on my photos. 3. The White Balance, or color temperature. This is what determines the color. The way I use it is to give the right colors if the photo is too hot/cold. I'm sure many of you have noticed a blue tone instead of the real white when you shoot a ferry back-lighten. Well, that's what happens when the color is too cold. It can be easily corrected in post-processing, but I think the camera does it better.
I also discovered the A-DEP mode, which tries to put everything in focus by changing the aperture, which can lead to long shutter speeds so be aware. This is especially useful when shooting ferry cabins or portraits when you want to have the people and a landscape behind in focus.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 10, 2013 7:50:59 GMT -8
A couple of recently posted videos has me wondering about technique for filming a walkaround style of video on a moving ship. I'm posting here, because I don't want to hijack the WSF ship threads where these were posted to. And my comments might sound harsh, but if you watch both of these videos, you'll understand why I'm saying what I'm saying. ok, so my immediate question is that if a video is this unwatchable re shakiness, why upload it? And if you see the shaky result in YouTube after uploading, then why post it here? I watched both of these twice, and looked for segments where it was bearable to watch - I couldn't find any. 18 minutes of unwatchable footage. The shakiness is the obvious pervasive problem, but the indoor ceiling light reflection is also a problem. Compared to the "Curtis style" of ferry walkaround, what's different here? - I think that Curtis takes his walking a whole lot slower, thereby minimizing the shaking. I'm assuming that Curtis is also more aware of the perils and risks of shaky video, and takes steps to minimize it. My style is to stay in one place while filming a segment, and to shoot a short 10 second segment of each location on the ship. Moving around only when the camera is off. I haven't done that for a full on tour, but I've done parts of that, showing short segments of different parts of the ship. But they are separate segments, later spliced together using software. So, in the interests of learning something here, what could have been done differently, to make this style of nighttime walkabout video watchable? Ideas? ================ My walk-through tour of the Big K A Walk-through tour of the Elwha. Shot this about a week ago.
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Post by Mike C on Nov 10, 2013 9:18:08 GMT -8
With regard to the above comments, here are some tips that I think would help improve the quality of these videos (and up to the Curtis standard):
-If you're using a point-and-shoot, ensure that it is zoomed all the way out.
-Avoid doing walkthrough videos during busy sailings or poor weather. Try to do this between sailings in the berth, or quieter trips.
-Use both hands to hold the camera at all times.
-Utilize your cameras image stabilization.
-If you feel that your video would require its viewers to pop a Gravol and hunker down, and it's something common or something you can return for easily, don't post it. I personally have many hours of video footage that I hath chosen not to upload, for the reasons stated above.
-If you are unsure about your camera, please do not hesitate to ask away! Many of us are knowledgeable in this field, and would be happy to answer your questions.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 10, 2013 9:54:12 GMT -8
I'm sure everyone appreciates someone taking the time to shoot and upload videos, but these were, literally, unwatchable. Maybe a pm to the member, to save them the time spent in any more like these?
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Post by compdude787 on Nov 10, 2013 12:10:00 GMT -8
My camera has VERY good image stabilization (perfect for someone who has the hardest time keeping his hands steady while filming) but even with very good image stabilization, a video tour I did of the Evergreen State is still a bit shaky from me walking around. But, it's not nearly as bad as Cascadian Transport's videos. Now, I'm glad I didn't post it because you guys would be very quick to point this out. Cascadian Transport, many video-editing programs have a stabilization feature which can reduce the shakiness in your videos. I'd suggest trying it, and if it really improves your videos, go ahead and re-upload them. If you find that this doesn't help, try and walk slower or just film from one place.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 10, 2013 12:20:36 GMT -8
When I upload some of my videos on YouTube; they asked me if I wanted to stabilized the videos because they where shake too. But now they are stabilized.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 10, 2013 12:56:56 GMT -8
With regard to the above comments, here are some tips that I think would help improve the quality of these videos (and up to the Curtis standard): Here's an example of the "Curtis Standard" re making a walkabout tour watchable.
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Post by Curtis on Nov 10, 2013 21:25:01 GMT -8
Looking at the video posted above, I thought I'd compare this to some of my early videos. Up until the last 2 or so years, my videos were done on my Olympus Point-and-Shoot which I retired from video work when I got a Kodak PlaySport for 1080p Video. This was used mainly on my Northern Vessel Walkthroughs. Then last year I got my Nikon D5100 which I've used for the North Island Princess Walkthrough Flugel posted above. As well as other walkthroughs which I hope to start posting soon. From the start, I've had some awareness of the Shaky Cam style my Walkthrough Videos have and usually I'd have warnings about the shakiness. Having said that, the videos that came after reduced the amount of shakiness to a point where it was bearable. The only times where there was an excessive amount of shakiness was when I had to walk fast or run to save time. YouTube's limit used to be 10 Minutes as some will remember and this is what caused longer videos such as the Coastal Inspiration to be split into 2 Parts. After that I started cutting corners where my videos took up a lot of time such as the Car Decks. Now though with YouTube's time limit longer than 10 Minutes I can do a full tour without restraint. Back to the subject at hand though, I would encourage anybody doing Ferry Walkthroughs to follow the advice Mike C has posted above and also follow up with a few tips of my own: -Plan out a Route: Try to cover most of the ferry and its key areas. Try to avoid any backtracking where possible. -Take it Slow and Steady: It's not a Race after all and there will be a lot less shakiness in your video. -Take Care in Crowded Areas: Particularly on Major Vessels, obviously you're trying to film the ship but try not to get mugshots of half the people on a sailing. Usually I avoid the Gift Shop or walking straight through the Cafeteria for this reason. -Avoid Filming at Night: Filming indoors is fine, but unless there is adequate lighting you'll be unable to see anything outdoors.
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SolDuc
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West Coast Cyclist
SolDuc and SOBC - Photo by Scott
Posts: 2,055
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Post by SolDuc on Nov 10, 2013 21:28:49 GMT -8
Re-ferry tours: Yeah, I really couldn't watch those videos, but they were a lot too shaky. It's not in my habits to do ferry tours but if I were to do some, I'd make sure to use the IS/VR on my lens and also get it onto a monopod/tripod in monopod-like position. It's much easier to hold a bar steady and level than a small(er) camera. It wouldn't be great in the stairs, but those parts wouldn't get filmed or would be cut-out in post processing. Movies are something that I've not tried a lot, even though I've done a bit of sped-up video. I'd like to continue doing time-lapses, but might also get into movies since I'm mastering photography well now. Especially playing on the focus/zoom, since that's fun!
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 10, 2013 23:25:57 GMT -8
Back in September, I posted a decidedly substandard (in terms of usual WCFF quality) video of the Hornby Island Labour Day 'wave-off'. My excuse was, that this was a somewhat unique event, happening once a year, on just one of BC Ferries' routes... and I'm not a photographer. Anyone who happened to watch it should have been thankful for YouTube's stabilization option... the original was worse, although the final version was fuzzier. At least you didn't need Gravol to watch it. If I do it again, I'll be using a tripod, and hopefully, I'll be somewhere where people thumping past me on a dock don't exacerbate my own shaky camera habits. Thing is... if you're chronicling an unusual event, I suppose technique isn't so important. If someone was videoing one of those rare, dreadful occurrences where a car drove off the end of the ramp apron, any sort of quick cellphone record would be an important addition to the story.
But I guess if you're just taking a turn around the decks of the Kaleetan, or the Queen of Surrey, something that thousands of people do every day, the standards for producing something watchable, and worthwhile, are a bit higher.
We're fortunate on this forum, that we have a lot of folks who've set those standards. The rest of us photo-palookas have something to aim for.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 10, 2013 23:43:15 GMT -8
Back in September, I posted a decidedly substandard (in terms of usual WCFF quality) video of the Hornby Island Labour Day 'wave-off'. My excuse was, that this was a somewhat unique event, happening once a year, on just one of BC Ferries' routes... and I'm not a photographer. Anyone who happened to watch it should have been thankful for YouTube's stabilization option... the original was worse, although the final version was fuzzier. At least you didn't need Gravol to watch it. Your wave-off video was easy and pleasant to watch. And the event was unique and your video capture of the event was something rare and special for us ferry folk to watch and enjoy. We don't get very many videos of ferry-burlesque. ---------------- Tomorrow, I'll be posting a few videos of Queen of the North and QPR which I'm currently uploading to YouTube on a 12-hour upload. These are from the early 1990s, shot as home video by my friend Ray who worked on both ships. The quality is passable, but not great. But the rarity of the content makes up for any quality issues. The result is something that is interesting to watch, even though it's far from perfect. People who miss these 2 ships will be happy to see any kind of watchable footage of them. ....and it's not everyday you see a video and hear a horn-salute between Columbia and Queen of the North, even if the audio is a bit poor.
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Post by compdude787 on Nov 10, 2013 23:49:52 GMT -8
Tomorrow, I'll be posting a few videos of Queen of the North and QPR which I'm currently uploading to YouTube on a 12-hour upload. These are from the early 1990s, shot as home video by my friend Ray who worked on both ships. The quality is passable, but not great. But the rarity of the content makes up for any quality issues. The result is something that is interesting to watch, even though it's far from perfect. People who miss these 2 ships will be happy to see any kind of watchable footage of them. ....and it's not everyday you see a video and hear a horn-salute between Columbia and Queen of the North, even if the audio is a bit poor. Cool...I look forward to seeing some video footage of the most beautiful vessel of the Dogwood fleet! Can't wait to watch them.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 12, 2014 7:43:19 GMT -8
I'm curious about frequent photo/video posters, and the statistics that your host provides.
For me, my main item posted is videos, and YouTube has a good stats page that shows viewing numbers for a variety of date ranges. I find this interesting to review, because sometimes the results are surprising.
For example, this here forum is a mostly-male domain. However, my total views on YouTube are 26% by females (I guess YouTube knows this, based on the viewers' ability to follow instructions, or something).
3 of my Top-4 viewed videos, are "ferry horn" videos. This is obviously a niche market; some people like to hear ferry horns over and over and over again. For my Top-10 most watched videos, 6 are of ferry horns.
My #3 most-viewed video is my epic "BC Ferries in Active Pass" video, which is 65 minutes of footage of ships transiting Active Pass, during 2 days in July 2014. That one I can understand being popular; because I think it's interesting and well done.
Same with my #7 most watched video, which is a sped-up Route-5 Gulf Islands tour, as seen from the Queen of Cumberland.
An oddity (to me) is my #12 most watched video, which is of me walking around in Stewart and Hyder, one evening in 2010. This video gets consistent plays every month, even now. So someone who likes that area must be enjoying that sort video, over and over again.
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My least viewed video is this August 2013 item, with only 13 views.
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What do others find interesting in their viewership statistics for videos and photos ?
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Jun 12, 2014 11:16:02 GMT -8
I'm curious about frequent photo/video posters, and the statistics that your host provides. ----------------- What do others find interesting in their viewership statistics for videos and photos ? While Flickr doesn't group views by gender, it does provide information where individual photos are being referred from (search engines, etc.).
On my Flickr page, any photo involving the Queen of Sidney has always been most popular. All those photos combined have received well over 15,000 views thus far, but it's constantly increasing. As for interesting stats... ...this photograph of the Burnaby that I took on Sunday, June 1st has already received 1,122 views. BC Ferries - Queen of Burnaby en route to Westview. by BCFS, on Flickr ...this photograph of the NIP has been very popular, and on my daily stats, it is almost always in the top three that have been viewed each day. BC Ferries - NIP approaching Berth 1, Saltery Bay. by BCFS, on Flickr ...and this photograph has received additional views over the last few weeks since being used by BC Ferries and Global BC for the West Coast Wedding Contest. BC Ferries - Queen of Surrey en route to Horseshoe Bay. by BCFS, on Flickr
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SolDuc
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West Coast Cyclist
SolDuc and SOBC - Photo by Scott
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Post by SolDuc on Jun 12, 2014 16:38:39 GMT -8
I'm curious about frequent photo/video posters, and the statistics that your host provides. ----------------- What do others find interesting in their viewership statistics for videos and photos ? Just like Scott and everyone else that invested in Flickr Pro before the downgrade a year ago, I have access to stats on my account. A few thing that I find interesting: While my top-20 most viewed photos are mostly transit pictures, the most viewed is a ferry picture, the one of the Coho at DCI. MV Coho in Drydock at Dakota Creek Industries, Anacortes - Black Ball Ferry Line by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr My top-viewed ferry photos are not only the best ones (Tacoma Blurred Wake, SoK pan, etc.) but also the ones taken on special occasions (Hiyu in the SJs, Coho in drydock, all my Tokitae construction pics, etc.). For some reason my picture of my camera gear from a year ago is the 11-most viewed... Now from my YouTube account, just like Mr. Horn I found that ferry horns are the most viewed. For instance the bunch of horns I uploaded only one and a half month ago already have as much views as the sped-up videos I uploaded a year ago. Oh, and that video of the Tokitae's horn I uploaded two days ago already has 70 views. Not bad, eh?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2014 16:10:13 GMT -8
With the recent flurry of photo posts in the Washington State side of things I would like to remind all members of a very important guideline: Please caption or provide some background to the photographs that you post to the Forum. For the average person, myself included, we have no idea what we're looking at...like that photo of an Evergreen Class ship tied up at a tie up slip SOMEWHERE... I honestly have no idea what terminal that photo was taken from. A caption also makes viewing a photograph much more interesting, and provides some insight to the viewer. For example, you could share some details about your trip, what kind of angle you took the photo from, and the Shutter Speed/Aperture/ISO setting that your camera was on for that photo. You can also simply copy over the caption from your flickr by copy/pasting the entire link, however it does NOT count if the flickr caption is something like "IMG_0055." Personally, I like to vary between simply providing some background, and captioning the photographs. If I'm feeling really lazy I'll also copy and paste the entire link over from flickr. Thanks.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 26, 2015 16:57:55 GMT -8
I had been using Picasa Web Albums to host my photos that are displayed here on WCFF. But Google treats the Picasa Web Albums as a very poor child, and so I decided to find a new host for my photos, on a go-forward basis.
So I've joined Flickr!
I will attempt to keep my Flickr newbie questions to a minimum, and next month's flagship nominations should be a good test for me. (I get to practice what I preach - which is to learn by observing what others do).
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Post by northwesterner on Apr 26, 2015 19:37:42 GMT -8
I had been using Picasa Web Albums to host my photos that are displayed here on WCFF. But Google treats the Picasa Web Albums as a very poor child, and so I decided to find a new host for my photos, on a go-forward basis. So I've joined Flickr! I will attempt to keep my Flickr newbie questions to a minimum, and next month's flagship nominations should be a good test for me. (I get to practice what I preach - which is to learn by observing what others do). Don't worry, Yahoo! treated Flickr as a very poor child for many years. Luckily, Flickr's original architecture was much better than Picasa's, which leaves it as pretty much the best product out there.
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on May 8, 2015 16:39:47 GMT -8
Flickr has just introduced another major change to their site. My initial impression of the changes are favourable, unlike changes made several times in the past.
I reserve the right to change my mind from favourable to unfavourable as I become more accustomed to these changes.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 8, 2015 22:11:56 GMT -8
A question about Instagram:
Does anyone upload photos taken from a "real camera" to Instagram? I assume it can be done, using some sort of website utility.
I'm not an Instagrammer, but I've had friends suggest that I use it. But my good photos are from my real camera, not from a phone.
I appreciate anyone's advice or experience with this.
thanks.
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Dec 8, 2015 22:59:10 GMT -8
I know very little about Instagram, but what I have seen of it leads me to believe that it is an inferior photo site. Perhaps I am wrong. I know there are members here who use it & I too would be interested in their experience with it.
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Post by Queen of Nanaimo Teen on Dec 9, 2015 4:44:47 GMT -8
I am a frequent user of instagram, and quite enjoy it for the social aspect that it has. I upload photos 90% of the time from my phone, as that is the fastest and simplest way. If one wants to upload camera photos, you have to send them to your phone, and then upload. Instagram does have a internet platform, but that is only for viewing.
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Post by Mike C on Dec 9, 2015 19:07:36 GMT -8
Those of you who have me as a friend on Facebook will know that I am a reasonably frequent poster on Instagram (about once weekly). I really enjoy the medium, and now that it offers very basic photo editing tools (such as shadow/highlights, saturation, sharpness, etc), I feel as though the images that I post from my phone are no longer total trash.
I also occasionally upload photos from my camera (linked from my Flickr) to Instagram, if I think it's worthy and relevant. I do that by saving the full resolution image from the Flickr app on to my phone, and then upload that to Instagram.
I primarily use IG to document my travel, as it's the easiest and fastest way to do so, especially from my phone. The timeline format tells a better story.
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Post by northwesterner on Dec 9, 2015 19:45:27 GMT -8
Those of you who have me as a friend on Facebook will know that I am a reasonably frequent poster on Instagram (about once weekly). I really enjoy the medium, and now that it offers very basic photo editing tools (such as shadow/highlights, saturation, sharpness, etc), I feel as though the images that I post from my phone are no longer total trash. I also occasionally upload photos from my camera (linked from my Flickr) to Instagram, if I think it's worthy and relevant. I do that by saving the full resolution image from the Flickr app on to my phone, and then upload that to Instagram. I primarily use IG to document my travel, as it's the easiest and fastest way to do so, especially from my phone. The timeline format tells a better story. This. I'm a relatively late adopter of Instagram, but in my short period of time there I love it. Let's start with what its not: Its not a place to archive your photos. Its not a place to post dozens of photos at a time. Its not an app that interfaces well with more traditional technology. What it is, however, is an amazing place to show great photos that capture a certain moment. Whether that's a night out with friends, a great dinner you're at, or, yes, even a ferry captured a sunrise, there is no better way to share that moment with others.
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