Published at: 09:07 pm - Thursday July 21 2011
On a garage sailing expedition, quite similar (and possibly the same as) the one where I obtained my sweet, sweet, Bill Cosby record (see the Nerds’ Blog back log…Back Log? The Blog b-log? Blog blog…weird…anyway, see the previous blog entitled “Records” if the phrase “Bill” and “Cosby” in succession tickles your fancy), I obtained ANOTHER old camera, but this one is an 8 mm video camera, more properly called the Cine Kodak Eight 25 Camera (according to the inside of the device). Yes, that was one sentence. ANOTHER old camera you say? Yeah, see the Nerds’ Blog blog entitled “Sweet Irony” if yet again your fancy is tickled…man you’re ticklish. It’s not really rare and worth about nothing, which is good because I paid exactly “about nothing” for it. I even haggled the price down a couple of Benjamin’s…I’m KIDDING. It cost 8 bucks. I’ll probably never try and get it to work, especially considering I never even ordered film for my Brownie Hawkeye still camera…um…I’ll get around to it. The camera was produced from 1933 to 1946, and this one’s from 1934, so I guess it’s cool that it’s one of the early ones. If nothing else, it’ll look good on a shelf. Does anyone else feel like this has been a fairly non sequitur experience? Because…I do…
Published at: 08:07 pm - Tuesday July 19 2011
My Dad has always had an affinity for lighthouses, and because of this, I spent a lot of my younger years being drug begrudgingly from lighthouse to lighthouse on any vacation we took. Reflecting now, I can realize that they’re actually some pretty cool structures, and often significant historical landmarks, especially in regions of the Great Lakes. Here’s a few I managed to snap some picks of while traveling around Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
This is the The Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse near Munising, Michigan. It was first lit in 1868 and has recently been restored. It’s actually pretty cool as it is one of the oldest maintained lighthouses in the United States, and is made out of wood instead of the standard stone. At the time this was to save money.
This is the Seul Choix Pointe Lighthouse, I don’t really have anything interesting to say about it except I thought this was a pretty good picture.
This is the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. Yeah, Mackinac, it’s pretty common. You can even see the bridge in the background.
Finally here’s the Old Mission Point Lighthouse…let’s see, there was a woman lighthouse keeper for like three months…that was rare, yeah, maybe lighthouses are a little boring…
Published at: 10:07 am - Sunday July 17 2011
A young musician once said, “Don’t let haters get me off my grind; Whip my hair and I know I’ll be fine.” Taking this inspirational quote, I decided to delve into the exciting, yet challenging task of self portrait photography. An obnoxious electric green bedroom wall, remote control for your camera, and a full head of hair is all you need. Thirty minutes and three pain killers later, I knew I was on to something cool. Sure enough, whipping one’s hair to-and-fro does make those haters disappear…mainly because you’re too dizzy to see straight.
You can view these photos and more in our Facebook album.
Published at: 08:07 pm - Friday July 15 2011
Last weekend I snuck out of Springfield for a long weekend with my fellow fraternity brothers up north. We spent three days at the Dave Matthews Caravan in Chicago, listening to some great musical talent. Dave Matthews Band, KiD CuDi, O.A.R., The Flaming Lips, and Yonder Mountain String Band were some of the featured artists at the Lakeside venue.
Published at: 11:07 pm - Tuesday July 12 2011
So these last few days I’ve been at my grandparents house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Given the general lack of satellite activity in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE I’ve just now gotten access to internet and started going through some of the pictures I’ve been taking. (FYI, I’m now in Mackinaw City, which is near Mackinac Island…no, I didn’t spell one wrong, they’re pronounced the same but spelled differently, now stop asking questions). Anyway, as the story goes, there’s an old farm my grandmother grew up on near the house she’s living in now. Getting to the point, it’s crazy haunted. I don’t care if you do or don’t believe in that kind of thing, it’s creepy regardless. I mustered up some courage and took a couple four-wheelers out with my dad to snap a few pics and take some video. Here’s a couple that I thought looked pretty nice, and, with any luck, Matt and I can throw together a short video adding more detail to some of the weird stuff that goes on out there. For more pictures check out the facebook album.
Here’s an old car parked in the middle of the field, through the trees you can start to see the old farm house.
Here’s an old gas pump propped up next to the farm’s Sauna…neither of which are currently in operation.
Here you can see the farm house beyond the Sauna.
Published at: 10:07 am - Saturday July 09 2011
So I’m leaving town for a couple weeks, and I wanted to shoot some video on the road. But, while I’m gone the other Nerds have a few projects they’re going to be working on, which means the equipment pretty much has to stay here. So, I decided to take our plans for the Dolly and modify them a little bit in order to make myself a little slider in order to open up some more dynamic shots while I’m on the road. It pretty much uses all the same elements as the dolly: Roller blade wheels on angle aluminum running on a 3/4″ pvc pipe track. I even jacked the mount and pivot system from an old broken tripod and bolted it on. Overall it’s rough but quick and dirty is pretty much exactly what I was going for.
Published at: 11:07 pm - Monday July 04 2011
The Nerds wish you a fantastic Independence Day! July 4 means fireworks, so Zach and Matt got some shots out in Chatham and Downtown Springfield to commemorate the festivities. Per usual, the full album is up on Facebook with more on Flickr.
Published at: 04:06 pm - Thursday June 30 2011
We’ve been a bit shorthanded without Jake in town, and Carolyn just got back. We’ve brought in some new talent to help out.
I worked extensively with Zach back in high school at our TV station, GCNN. He’s interested in getting back into the video world, so we’re happy to announce that we’ve brought him into the fold.
Published at: 09:06 pm - Tuesday June 28 2011
So we are making a video for Ben Bedford; Springfield, Illinois native. Here are a couple behind the scenes pictures from the shoot. The album is up on Facebook. If you are really bored, head over to flickr to see the entire album. Also, check out his album “land of the shadows”.
Published at: 06:06 pm - Thursday June 23 2011
Move over Smokey. I told everyone in a meeting that the shot sheet being created was “not a bible”. Dave gave that phrase a spokesman.
