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Feel the Fear and go out Clubbing

Posted on by vince1970
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Club outing to St Monans, Fife Scotland

In a time where communities are becoming further reduced and in a world where often we don’t talk to or even know the name of our neighbours, loneliness is a mental disease that is starting to spread – especially amongst the older generation.

One solution to combat this insular life style is to create Cafe Coffee Corners where people can meet others to have a coffee and simply start talking.  Some corner organisers bring chat cards with a subject for people to discuss, in order to help break the ice.  People may feel they have nothing interesting to tell others about, but in reality every one has a book in them they could write about.

I myself am single and live with my feline soul mate Mr Darcy – if it wasn’t for him my life would be totally empty.  He fills a void that only a cat could.

However I have always been a member of a club since primary school age when I joined a Judo club and cross country running club for most of my schooling years.  These clubs gave me discipline and a focus with goals to achieve.  Judo and Running were hard work and I would train every week year in year out.

I could never foresee that I would give up my beloved Judo and cross country running when I would reach middle age.

I am now a member of 2 Scottish Sub Aqua clubs and have recently joined my local camera club.  These clubs provide me with plenty of social contact and support if needed.  I have learned knowledge and gained qualifications and  experiences that have enriched my quality of life.  It’s great to make new friends and exchange experiences.

I have always been mad about cameras and in a camera club you’ll find plenty of passionate camera enthusiasts who will quite happily talk tech the night away.  I have found myself often enjoying speaking to fellow club members who use the same camera format as myself, chatting about body and lens gadgetry.

After only a few months of being in my camera club I’ve made new friends, visited different parts of Scotland on photographic location shoots that I have never been to before, and now as autumn approaches, enjoy listening to Master Photographers at the club house evenings, gaining handy photographic tips from their presentations.

At college, our tutors explained that Photography is all about experimentation – you never stop trying new things or learning more about The Craft.

You don’t even have to know anything about photography to join in a club, all you need is the willingness to learn and enjoy taking pictures with others.  During our presentation meetings there’s time for a coffee break  and then after the meeting, there’s the further opportunity to socialise with members at our favourite local pub.

Now for the first time in history, Digital Photography can provide consumers with an abundant choice of cameras at affordable prices – the difficulty for some people is trying to decide which equipment to invest in.  At the moment I’m trying to help a club member to try the camera system I have enjoyed using for a couple of years and it gives me great satisfaction when I can help provide someone with a solution to making important technical decisions.

Most enjoy taking photos and camera enthusiasts experience satisfaction from being able to use a variety of lenses to achieve a creative effect.  Taking photographs brings joy and creativity into your life in such a simple way and with modern smart phones, we can edit and share these images across the world in minutes.

If you’d be interested in joining your local Photographic Society, or any local group for that matter, don’t procrastinate – feel the fear and go out Clubbing!  

Celebrating the New Video Unit with Panasonic !

Posted on by vince1970

Today I am celebrating the arrival of the new video unit to once again, start up video production in the Loch Leven area!  Last year after selling all my Canon video camera kit which used the miniDV digital tape format, I wasn’t sure where to go from there.  I spent over a year pondering this, wandering the video desert in search of enlightenment.

I still had my Canon 7D DSLR and although this camera is very capable of shooting video – it is still very much oriented to shooting still photos first, and video second.  For a start, there was no input jack for headphones to monitor sound while recording video.

Alas, the 7D was now considered to be an ‘older’ camera and I felt it was time to upgrade and keep up with the new technology of 4K cameras.  I decided that I really like being a ‘Hybrid Shooter’ I like using a camera that can take great stills and shoot great video too.

After spending many long nights going into the early mornings, I reviewed youtube video after video, trying to decipher which type of camera to buy and then what brand.

At first I was going to go for a traditional camcorder, but then viewed some videos entitled ‘the death of the Camcorder!!’  I wanted to invest in a camera that had a future, and I wanted to keep up with that future, never allowing myself to ever fall behind again.

I put my 7D on the tripod and started doing some trial vlogging videos and realised that I really liked the look of the 7D as a camera.  After visiting Calumet store in Edinburgh, the saleswoman advised me to upgrade to the Panasonic range of hybrid cameras.  While in the store I looked at a number of brands including Sony, Panasonic, and Canon.  I decided I wanted another Canon – the new 5D mark iv.  My mind was made up, although I knew the mark iv would cost a lot of money.  Perhaps I would wait another year until it came down in price.  Perhaps I would just keep the 7D.

That night I watched even more youtube reviews on the Panasonic range and realised that the saleswoman was right – Panasonic’s range was indeed more Video oriented than the competitor’s.  Suddenly I realised that the Panasonic was the camera for me after all!  I was so excited.

I am now the proud owner of a new Panasonic 4K camera and can’t wait to try it out.  It’s certainly lighter than the Canon 7D and has all the video functions a film maker could want.

Interestingly, I first used Panasonic’s video cameras back in the 90’s when SVHS was the analogue format used by wedding and corporate videographers.  So it gave me a warm feeling to make the switch from Canon to Panasonic for a change.

I look forward to testing out the new camera and producing some fantastic videos for clients in the future.

Out with the Old and in with the New

Posted on by vince1970

It’s been a long long while since I last blogged.  I’ve spent many a month meditating on which direction to proceed in.  With my last video camera becoming a tad obsolete I decided to sell it lock stock and barrel, leaving me with only my trustee Canon 7D camera kit.    I wandered the desert, still pondering for about a year before I recently came up with the decision to get back into producing more web video content.

So I face a new precipice and am excited about what the future may hold!   I intend to start the new year by investing in new sound recording and lighting equipment, improving the quality of video productions in future.

I am also looking at the possibility of combining my passion for scuba diving with film making, hence my researching of the latest GoPro action camera kit.

So, I will now have to find a suitable supplier to get the ball rolling……more to follow folks!

Farewell XHA1 !

Posted on by vince1970
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Canon XHA1 Professional Camcorder

Sorry folks, I have not been blogging for some weeks now – I was worried I might not remember how to use wordpress! Fortunately, it’s all starting to come back to me.  I have been distracted with work commitments.  Well, I made the decision that it was high time that I sold my Canon XHA1 camcorder.  After 8 years it had served me well.  This model is a tape camera and with the advent of the new Final Cut Pro X editing software (and the end of DVD production for me!!),  I felt that it was time to stick with using tapeless workflows.  The camera went to a good home along with the Sennheiser Radio Mic kit.  I intend to continue with my Scuba Diver training with a view to adapting my SLR camera kit for underwater image capture applications.  However, training will take a year or two yet, so I would like to concentrate on helping people develop websites and focus on still image capture.  I also want to spend time developing motion graphics and get back into working on some story telling media projects that have gone by the wayside.   Now that I use FCPX, I may have to re edit the story telling projects, as they were originally edited with the old version of FCP.  The only constant thing in life is change, and I feel change is good.  I have rid myself of my old diving dry suit and exchanged it for a fantastic new semi dry – my diving has improved already with new kit.  So who knows where the wonderful ever changing world of Communications will take me next.  It’s the end of an old era and on with the new – updates to follow folks.