There are not a lot of artists who make an indelible impression upon a medium. We just lost one of them.

With a storytelling mindset and a unique approach, Duane Michals broke rules.

Writing on the photos to move the story, or titling a series illuminating the concept was refreshing approach to this young photographer. Real Dreams: Photostories was my 1^st exposure (sorry) to his work.

“I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody’s face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways.” — Duane Michals

It was a freedom to infuse your story with multiple images and narrative.

Having always been taught that the singular photo should do all the talking, this was an extension and the cuffs were off.

Then he went and visited one of my favorite painters of all time, Magritte, and did a book. I was all in.

Through the years I saw him at various events, always with a great humor, and openness to his fellow photogs and audience. Here he is with with Eikoh Hosoe, at a Lucie event

I advise you to seek out his books, and be entertained. Not in a frivolous way, but knowing you have been told a story. A good one.

It all started when I decided to put one of my Nikon lenses on the Fuji -X-H2. All I needed was the Fringer, my go-to adaptor,  that I knew I had.

It was somewhere. I knew it. But where?

I went through all of my Pelican Cases, camera bags, drawers, and more.

Sure, I could ask St. Christopher, as I just wanted to find it.

Finally, I found it under some cables, in a Nikon centric Pelican case. Whew!

It set me on a path.

In my mind there are 3 main ways to store your gear for access. As photographers/videographers, we pick up lots of bits of kit along the way, knowing it will be a right tool at the right time. Now, where to put it all??

So, the big re-org began!

First stop : camera bags (I don’t think I’m alone here when I say I have a lot of camera bags. Or just enough!), and hard shell cases. Continue Reading »

Doing a podcast usually ties me to a studio, with all of the wires connecting the headset, the mixer and of course, the mics.

To be honest, it is usually just me, and each piece of gear has been selected to give me the maximum quality audio.

Hollyland has just introduced the Melo P1, available on kickstarter, and I now feel comfortable taking my podcast to the great outdoors!

OK, maybe just on my roof.

Here is a full walkthrough of the set-up with demo sound near the end: Continue Reading »

Sony Introduced their latest camera with a hands-on event at an Upper East side mansion. The 7R VI

You can click this link to see all the specs. 

The event was complete with multiple shooting opportunities. Sets with models, and even places to get your own portrait done, although I can never understand that part of these events.

We were given a drink ticket, a poncho for the possible rain later, and some cookies.

OK, the most important part was being able to put your own SD card into the camera with a variety of shooting scenarios and lenses.

To be fair, the images you see here are just from the jpgs, as the RAW files cannot be processed by LR. Yet. Continue Reading »

Taking notes can take your focus away from what is being said.

But you HAVE to.

Some folks feel that once you write something down, it sticks better.

I don’t necessarily agree and here is why.

There are a number of devices out there that can record, transcribe, and summarize your conversations or meetings and each one has a primary purpose.

One of the jobs I do is interview filmmakers and for those calls, I am usually on zoom.

In those cases I use an in ear bud called RecDot from Viaim

It’s a noice cancelling earbud, fitting inside your ear like what you are probably used to.

After the calls, the software can give me a transcribed text,  a summarized recall, and going further, breaks down my questions and adds the answers in a format I can work with.

This unit connects to the phone and records on the app.

When I’m at a conference, or at an event where there may be a conversation on stage, I turn to the OpenNote from Viaim which is an open-ear design so gives me situational awareness.

NO need to connect to the app, as a simple 2 tap on the either left or right ear bud starts the built in recording module.

I then later on download to the app and get the same assets as the RecDot. I find that this unit is great for those audience based events, and I was honestly surprised at the quality of the assets generated.

My first test was when I was about 15 rows back, on the side of a theater, with 20 ft between the 1^st row and the stage.

The transcription and summarized content was exceptional.

The simplest unit, the NoteKit, plugs into a laptop and captures a meeting, does realtime transcription and downloads to the desktop app. Yes, it has a mute function to control the recording.

When on the road or in a place I am doing a call on the phone, the Plaude Note Pro comes into play, as it’s a magsafe unit, that attached to my phone and a simple button press starts the same functionality as the rest.

In addition, this unit can be laid on a conference table and record a meeting. This has a slightly constricted area to capture the sound, as it’s not the largest reach.

PLAUD NOTE Pro

An upgraded version of the standard Note that includes an InstantView AMOLED display, 4 microphones for a longer pickup range (up to 16.4 ft), and automatic phone call detection.

The use cases above are how I actually employ the various units.

In all of the cases, having a transcribed convo leads to all parties confirming information, as you can also do a follow-up communication to make sure everyone is on the same page.

With the RecDot and the OpenNote, you download to the app on the phone, and the upload the format you require. Same with the Plaud Note Pro

The OpenNotes and RecDot advantage for me is the fact that both do not need to be connected to a phone, and are freestanding recording devices, with Bluetooth to download to the app at a later time.

One thing to remember about all of these units are 2 things:

1. Each one is subscription based for the services ( transcription, summarization, translation, to-do list) Viaim is free for 600 min total a month, no matter how many units are connected to the app. Plaud gives you 300 min a mon. free for the same time

2. When ever you record another party in a meeting or conversation it will announce” this call is being recorded”. It is a legal requirement, and I’m sure you’ve hear this on many business calls. I have used this to my advantage in a business dispute, as sometimes when people know they are being recorded you get the right info. Check into your state for the rules on this. NY is a one party consent for recording a convo.