Getting distracted with new toys and other things

The months seem to tick on by so quickly and we’re now half way through the year.  I find myself getting distracted a lot of the time, pushing back the things I have promised to complete months ago.  Things just don’t happen as I plan them.  It also doesn’t help when I get new toys like my Ninebot Mini by Segway.  On a recent sunny afternoon, I took it around the Wellington waterfront and tested it for glide-cam filming.  Here’s a small video on my Instagram page showing how that went .

I’m pleased to say that my Wellington production is coming along.  I’ve been spending a lot of time synchronising various clips to the music and also working out how to do some kaleidoscope effects.  It’s rather fiddly and that’s where the time goes, but the effects are very cool.  It’s rewarding when when I finally accomplish my goal.  Here’s a few clips from the production.

I’m off to Central Otago for 5 days in early July.  The weather is good so that I can capture some great winter scenes to add to my latest time lapse collection of landscapes.  In my last blog, I complained about lugging heavy gear.  But I’ve since sold that for something more light-weight.

I’m also super excited to do a new day-to-night evening shoot here in Wellington City from the State Insurance Tower looking directly down Lambton Quay over the rush hour. This will be about mid-July.  It’s great to be rewarded with a ‘yes’ when I go into building asking for permission from tenants.  I can’t wait to make that happen in July, but I know I have to get it right first time without any light reflection in the glass.  It’s going to be a technical shoot which I expect will be quiet hard to accomplish.  I’ll do some practice in the office building where I currently work to ensure it goes smoothly.

I’ve been away in Fiji over Queens Birthday weekend shooting a wedding for a friend from way back.  I’ve moved away from photographing weddings, but this was one-off special.  It’s very difficult trying to a get a perfect shot when a special moment happens so quickly.  The moment can be easily lost if you’re finger is not on the shutter, the auto focus is not fast enough, or there’s poor light and a low shutter speed which causes unwanted blur.  What made this wedding a little more challenging for me was the bride’s desire to have me do some video footage too.  I look forward to making the movie which will be a fusion of their favorite wedding photos and video clips squeezed into a 4 minute video, overlaid with their favorite song.  I hope to make that available on here, with their permission soon.