January 14, 2013
January 13, 2013
Camera Technique: Lens Whacking
Here’s a cool shooting technique I just learned about called Lens Whacking. It’s the process of shooting photos or videos with a DSLR while simultaneously pulling the lens slightly off of the camera body itself. This lets light leak in and hit the sensor directly from behind the lens and can create a really dreamy effect if it’s done well.
Check out this example reel by Vimeo user James Miller:
This looks like it can be pretty difficult to master, not to mention potentially harmful to your equipment in terms of exposing the sensor to dust and moisture or even accidentally dropping your lens; however, if used effectively I’m sure you can pull off some pretty impressive shots with this technique!
January 12, 2013
Video: HTDA – The loop closes
Amazing new song and video from Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig’s How To Destroy Angels. This video has the unmistakable stylings of Rob Sheridan and features the clever use of analog and digital video manipulation to degrade the image in really creative ways. Watch it at full screen in a dark room with the volume all the way up.
December 4, 2012
Morning Drive
I needed to test the battery life on the GoPro Hero3 for an upcoming project so I let it run while I drove to Mountain View for work this morning. So here’s my morning commute condensed from one hour to about four minutes. About two-thirds of the way through the sun starts to shine directly into the lens making things go kind of dark. Anyways, this a fun and speedy look at traffic patterns on the 101 from SF all the way to Google’s campus on a typical commute day.
The good news is, the Hero 3′s battery life is quite good! It lasted the whole 1-hour commute and still had more than 20% left when I arrived.
Song: Trash80 – Within Time
November 24, 2012
Podcasts You Should Listen To
With my new job I now find myself commuting to Mountain View from San Francisco a few times a week, and so I’ve found myself ravenously listening to podcasts now more than ever. Here’s a list of shows that I currently make an effort to listen to every week:
Back To Work
It’s equal parts hilarious inside-jokes mixed with witty insights and profound life advice dished out by Merlin Mann and co-host Dan Benjamin. The show can be a bit of an acquired taste since each episode begins with a 20-30 minute random, yet always interesting, conversation that blends into some of the most on-point advice for work and life in general. I’ve gotten more out of listening to this show over the past year than any other podcast I’ve ever subscribed to. Definitely check this one out.
Roderick On The Line
Another Merlin Mann helmed show. This podcast is a weekly phone conversation between Merlin Mann and his long time friend, indie rock musician John Roderick. This show is always hilarious and filled with great insights about life, society, and culture at large. This is one of my favorite podcasts to put on whenever. Fun fact: this show is actually spun off from an episode of Back To Work, so if you’re looking for a good introduction to this show check out this episode of Back To Work.
Planet Money
An extraordinarily well-produced podcast put on by NPR and co-produced by the folks behind This American Life. The focus of this show is usually economic questions, mysteries, hypothetical situations, or interesting stories involving money.
This American Life
This show doesn’t need much explanation as it has been at the top of the ‘best podcasts’ list since podcasts have been a thing. Each episode is centered around a theme and the show contains a selection of stories focused around that theme. I always get something out of every episode, it’s just a fantastic example of journalism and storytelling at its best.
The Vergecast
A weekly roundup of current tech news and opinion hosted by the lead editors of The Verge. I’ve grown to enjoy hearing the opinions of each of the hosts on a range of tech news topics, and it can get really fun when there’s a polarizing topic or issue being discussed.