As you can see in this photo of Rickets the Dog, the effect of the grid spot is useful in small areas where you don’t want light bouncing around. My faithful subject was sitting in a narrow hallway, maybe four feet wide,with bright white walls.

so this:

is a video i shot/cut for a friend’s band, bus-stop shanking. shot it like 6 weeks ago, but finally got it finished last night.
it actually came out pretty close to what i saw in my head beforehand:

the exceptions to the realization of that vision being
A) not being able to get ahold of a single tarp/sheet big enough, and having to use 3 bed sheets instead, and
B) having to deal with a drunker-than-expected, and astonishingly uncooperative, band. which of course led to fewer usable takes, fewer takes…period, and therefore VERY limited raw footage to work with.
but i gave it the old college try, and am mildly pleased with the outcome.
we finished another one too, which i will put up here as soon as i figure out this vimeo thing…
so this: is a video i shot/cut for a friend’s band, bus-stop shanking. shot it like 6 weeks ago, but finally got it finished last night. it actually came out…

I’m Doug. I’m a Photojournalist with a CBS affiliate in Florida, trying to branch out into documentary/educational territory. For my Freshman effort, I present to you:
Fun with Photons: Episode 1-In a pinch…

So I was doing a routine “Satellite Center” shot all morning today. That’s where we set up in master control (where they switch between local and network programming) and *.reporter talks about *.the lead from last night.
Simple shot, controlled environment.
…unless you have the palsy.
—Somehow I slept on a 9v battery a couple weeks ago, and I suffered radial nerve palsy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrist_drop)—
So in my limp-wristed state, I apparently wasn’t able to tighten the lock on one of my light stands enough. 90sec out from a live shot,
SHHHINK…CRACK. POP!
80sec.- No back/hair light, no extra bulb.
70- Run to the other side of the room, steal the operator’s chair. Stand on it.
60- Struggle on tippy-toes, on a rolling chair, to reach the track lighting above the switcher.
45- Get the light pointed roughly at *.reporter‘s head. Leap from chair.
40- Get back to camera. Realize track light is considerably weaker than the backlight that popped.
35- Adjust key light, pulling further away from subject. Take a guess on appropriate distance/brightness, no time to double-check in viewfinder.
25- Back to camera. Slam iris to full open, engage shutter option(1/250). Hope the shallower DOF will make up some of the separation lost with a weaker backlight.
15- STAND BY- Zoom in, re-focus because the backfocus on the camera will never stay set.
10- Re-compose shot, because *.reporter got flustered when I jumped on the chair and wasn’t in the right spot any more. Damn, you can see the program monitor over her shoulder! The whole shot will look like one of those hallways of mirros that create endless reflected subjects!
5- Kick/slide tripod about 5-7in to the right, which tucks said monitor back into its place, BEHIND the reporter. Re-re-compose shot.
ON AIR. Clean.

I’m Doug. I’m a Photojournalist with a CBS affiliate in Florida, trying to branch out into documentary/educational territory. For my Freshman effort, I present to you: Fun with Photons: Episode…