Well, I've finally moved into the video-era, several decades later perhaps, but progress is progress. I just completed a workshop with Bainbridge Island TV on creating your own YouTube video. The project I assigned myself was the start of a hotel review series entitled: "Would Chuck Stay Here Again?" The results are on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU5rZb9xM0k.
The workshop entailed learning about the use of video cameras, video techniques, use of iMovie software, and the melding of video, graphics and audio into a cohesive video. It was really a lot of fun and I'm generally pleased with the result. With cell phones of the iPhone variety in wide use and with the newest digital SLRs incorporating video capability, its clear that video is taking on a larger role in our photographic life. If you have the opportunity to take a video workshop in your community, I strongly recommend it. Enjoy.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Best Camera is the One You Have
This past January, I posted a brief article on how my iPhone was liberating - always having a camera with you means never missing a shot. Now, admittedly, the quality of an enlargement is not the same as a digital SLR. But still pretty darn good. And for web posting, its great. I just went through my first year's worth of iPhone photos - and was really suprised as to see how many decent shots I was able to take with this most basic of cameras. Here's a sample. Looking forward to another year with my iPhone by my side (or in my shirt pocket).
Port Blakely Cemetery, Bainbridge Island
Catching the Train, BART, San Francisco
Sunrise, Mt Rainier from Rich Passage
The rusting Hyak departing Seattle
Evening Spotlight on Downtown Seattle
Quinessential San Francsico
A Grey, Foggy Morning, Seattle
Rush Hour, or Why I Don't Live in Seattle Anymore
Ocean Bent, Puget Sound, In Camera Believe It or Not
Reflection, Belltown, Seattle
Sunrise from Bainbridge Island Ferry
Port Blakely Cemetery, Bainbridge Island
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Art Night
Need motivation to work on your photography? Given how "busy" our lives are these days, its not surprising that "art" takes a back seat to most other activities in our lives. And that's just plain sad. A friend of mine and I have come up with a weekly "Art Night." We've committed to one another to spend one evening a week pursuing our artistic endeavors and then e-mail each other that evening or the next day with a progress report/update. Its gentle pressure and usually just enough for each of us to delve into our artistic interests. Some weeks the night changes, but I don't recall that we've missed a week yet.
Maybe "Art Night" might work for you too?!
Maybe "Art Night" might work for you too?!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Definitely Journey On!
Two acquaintances, one 58 and one 68, passed away from heart attacks during the past 6 weeks. You just never know when your time will be up. The obituary for Warren, as published in today's Seattle Times, included a really important insight into his philosophy of life - one that's important for all of us to consider.
Mr. Argo was born in Fresno, Calif., in 1942, and graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in mechanical engineering. After working for Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles for two years, he decided to leave the defense industry to play music full-time. "He said he had been to see some Shakespeare play where they talked about following your heart, and he cried so hard the tears squirted out of his eyes," said Leuba (his partner). "He just went blue sky. He got in the Volkswagen van and drove away. And he never looked back."
Amen.
Mr. Argo was born in Fresno, Calif., in 1942, and graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in mechanical engineering. After working for Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles for two years, he decided to leave the defense industry to play music full-time. "He said he had been to see some Shakespeare play where they talked about following your heart, and he cried so hard the tears squirted out of his eyes," said Leuba (his partner). "He just went blue sky. He got in the Volkswagen van and drove away. And he never looked back."
Amen.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Its All About the Stories
...and the experiences and the photos and the friendships and the ...
But today its about the stories. All great trips, as witnessed in the best travel narratives by Paul Theroux or A.A. Gill or Robyn Davidson, are about things that go wrong or at least not according to plan. I had the pleasure this week of being a panelist at the Meet-Plan-Go event in Seattle and of discussing travel in Japan at an event here on Bainbridge Island. And what really got my juices going were sharing the stories of travel.
Asked of my most harrowing experience on a lengthy trip to Europe, I told the story of being on a TAP Air Portugal flight departing the Atlantic island of Madeira and, half way down the short runway having an engine blow (due to a bird strike). When the 737 came to a shuttering G-force stop and turned off the runway, there was at most 100 feet left before the runway ended and the Atlantic Ocean began (after a several hundred foot drop!). The truly scary moment was 4 hours later when we reboarded that same aircraft with the same flight crew and blasted down the runway for the second time knowing what could have happened. Clearly all went fine the second time since I'm still alive to tell about it. And tell I do!
The stories of travel don't often come out of what was planned but rather out of what actually happened that could not be predicted in advance. Some stories are scary (see above) and some reflect our willingness to expand our personal boundaries (eating sashimi for the first time in a Japanese Roakan) and some are about bonding (the close bond created by four photographers on a life-altering journey to Guatemala).
Journey On!
But today its about the stories. All great trips, as witnessed in the best travel narratives by Paul Theroux or A.A. Gill or Robyn Davidson, are about things that go wrong or at least not according to plan. I had the pleasure this week of being a panelist at the Meet-Plan-Go event in Seattle and of discussing travel in Japan at an event here on Bainbridge Island. And what really got my juices going were sharing the stories of travel.
Asked of my most harrowing experience on a lengthy trip to Europe, I told the story of being on a TAP Air Portugal flight departing the Atlantic island of Madeira and, half way down the short runway having an engine blow (due to a bird strike). When the 737 came to a shuttering G-force stop and turned off the runway, there was at most 100 feet left before the runway ended and the Atlantic Ocean began (after a several hundred foot drop!). The truly scary moment was 4 hours later when we reboarded that same aircraft with the same flight crew and blasted down the runway for the second time knowing what could have happened. Clearly all went fine the second time since I'm still alive to tell about it. And tell I do!
The stories of travel don't often come out of what was planned but rather out of what actually happened that could not be predicted in advance. Some stories are scary (see above) and some reflect our willingness to expand our personal boundaries (eating sashimi for the first time in a Japanese Roakan) and some are about bonding (the close bond created by four photographers on a life-altering journey to Guatemala).
Journey On!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Upcoming Free Event on Bainbridge Island
Cherry Blossoms, Torii Gates and Geishas: A Japan Odyssey
Spring break, cherry blossoms, Geisha performances, frequent flyer miles, Torii Gates. The combination points in a clear direction - Japan. Join island photographer and travel coach Chuck Kirchner for an evening of photographs and stories on the Land of the Rising Sun, focusing on a family spring break journey to Tokyo, Miyajima Island and Kyoto.
Chuck Kirchner, a photographer and travel coach as well as a transportation and environmental planning consultant, has traveled extensively in the US and abroad for both pleasure and business. And he’s always planning the next trip! His photographs have been published in local and national publications and have been exhibited at various Puget Sound area venues.
Friday September 17, 7:30pm, Island Center Hall, 8395 Fletcher Bay Rd NE, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Spring break, cherry blossoms, Geisha performances, frequent flyer miles, Torii Gates. The combination points in a clear direction - Japan. Join island photographer and travel coach Chuck Kirchner for an evening of photographs and stories on the Land of the Rising Sun, focusing on a family spring break journey to Tokyo, Miyajima Island and Kyoto.
Chuck Kirchner, a photographer and travel coach as well as a transportation and environmental planning consultant, has traveled extensively in the US and abroad for both pleasure and business. And he’s always planning the next trip! His photographs have been published in local and national publications and have been exhibited at various Puget Sound area venues.
Friday September 17, 7:30pm, Island Center Hall, 8395 Fletcher Bay Rd NE, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Depends on Your Definition of "Experience"
I've written several times about the importance of "experiences" when it comes to travel. I just came across an advertisement in Conde Nast Traveler where the tag line reads "Collect Unforgettable Experiences." Sounds really good so far. Aimed at the "discerning traveler," the ad goes on to say that travel is "about collecting experiences that bring you closer to the heart of every place you visit." It then goes on to offer clients a chance to "roam those storied aisles [of Harrod's Department Store] after closing with a personal shopper and then to arrange a "perfect night out to show off your new finery,"
Well, I guess that's a travel experience for some. Its all a matter of perspective, I guess. More to my way of thinking is the following:
In last Sunday's Frugal Traveler column in the New York Times, Seth Kugel talks about going "off the grid" in traveling to a town in Mexico for a week's stay - a town not covered in travel books - truly off the tourist/traveler grid." He discovered that the town "was jammed with intriguing customs, welcoming residents, unforgettable meals, beguiling landscapes and rich history. In other words, all the things that may travel great." www.nytimes.com/frugaltraveler
Different experiences for different folks.
Well, I guess that's a travel experience for some. Its all a matter of perspective, I guess. More to my way of thinking is the following:
In last Sunday's Frugal Traveler column in the New York Times, Seth Kugel talks about going "off the grid" in traveling to a town in Mexico for a week's stay - a town not covered in travel books - truly off the tourist/traveler grid." He discovered that the town "was jammed with intriguing customs, welcoming residents, unforgettable meals, beguiling landscapes and rich history. In other words, all the things that may travel great." www.nytimes.com/frugaltraveler
Different experiences for different folks.
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