Rick Sammon and Rob Knight: 2010 Digital Photo Experience Workshop in Atlanta

Rick Sammon and Rob Knight - 2010 Digital Photo Experience Atlanta Workshop Highlights from Carl Olson on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago Rick Sammon invited me to tag along his and Rob Knight's two-day Digital Photo Experience workshop in Atlanta (August 14 & 15, 2010). The first day featured Rick Sammon's digital photography seminar. Rick covered many of the principles for making - not taking - photographs that he has developed over the years. Rick also covered HDR photography tips and techniques using Photomatix and Topaz Adjust. Rob Knight then shared a wealth of Light Room 3 techniques ranging from media management to emulating toy camera looks and black & white photography.

On the second day we went to Little Five Points just east of Atlanta. It's a village with a distinctive Bohemian feel - full of interesting people and colorful settings. The storefront of the Junkman's Daughter was the setting of working with model Rachel using available light, using reflectors and diffusers, and flash. After lunch, the DPE class went to the Krog Street Tunnel in Inman Park - another unique village in metro Atlanta. The tunnel is covered with graffiti and street art. There the students again worked with model Rachel using flash and reflectors. A few of the students also applied Rick's HDR techniques.

Rick and Rob were gracious hosts, instructors, and mentors. As you'll see in the video, what makes them special is how they interact with the students. They each made learning fun.

I shot over three hours of footage - so, yes, I got carried away in the moment. It was just so much fun to video Rick and Rob and the class. My son, Eric, patiently assisted me throughout the day always anticipating what was needed - whether it was time for a fresh battery, time to do a CF card download and backup, or simply hand me a cold bottle of water.

It was all shot with a Canon 5D Mark II. The footage was then transcoded with Rarevision's 5DtoRGB to Apple ProRes 422(LT) and edited in Final Cut Pro 7.

Be sure to watch pass the end credits. Rick and Rob have a bit of fun with an unexpected guest. :)

Blues Man - Portrait of an Artist - Michael Darrell

Blues Man - Portrait of an Artist - Michael Darrell from Carl Olson on Vimeo.

This film is the second in a series I'm doing called "Portrait of an Artist." Featured is Michael Darrell - a playwright, song writer, poet, musician and actor - who lives near Atlanta, Georgia. Michael loves the blues and playing the harmonica. He's written a number of songs in this emotive genre. Michael's plays have been performed in a number of venues on the West coast prior to his relocating to the Atlanta area. Michael has also played a few bit parts in feature films. His most notable appearance was as the "Van Man" in Steven Spielberg's movie "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial."

Equipment used: Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 24-70mm L lens. Kessler Crane CineSlider, Sennheiser G3 wireless mic system, Beachtek DXA-5D

eric + jenna - the proposal

eric + jenna - the proposal from Carl Olson on Vimeo.

Eric kindly invited us to tag along (at a respectable distance of course) and witness him propose to his long-time girl friend, Jenna. The setting is Ansley Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. The temperature was in the mid 90's so it was hard to tell if the sweat on Eric's face was from nerves or the high heat and humidity. Jenna did not suspect that Eric was going to spring the question and the ring. For all she knew, it was a Sunday afternoon drive on the way to a nice meal and then a show at the Fox Theatre.

Was she surprised? Oh, yes!

But did Eric "get" the girl? You will have to watch the video and see :)

Father Mother Daughter Son

Father Mother Daughter Son from Carl Olson on Vimeo.

In Villa Rica, Georgia, there is a small cemetery. The graves date back to the 17th century. Some of the oldest graves at Hillcrest Cemetery belong to Cherokee Native Americans. Among the graves, too, are soldiers of the failed Confederacy. It was a cold, windy, cloudy day. Perhaps that was appropriate for the melancholy I felt as I walked among the dead. For here lie fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons.

Filmed with a Canon 5D Mark II at 24 fps native. Some of the moving shots were filmed with the aid of a Cinevate Atlas 30 LTS slider. Edited in FCP. The clips were ingested with the new Canon EOS Movie Plugin-E1.

Reets Drying Academy Uses 16x9 Cinema to Tell Their Story

Reets Drying Academy IICRC WRT/ASD Class

Reets Drying Academy Student Testimonials

About These Videos

Recently, I had the pleasure of producing a number of videos for Reets Drying Academy - an education facility designed to train professionals in the water damage industry. They conduct multiple classes each month, and are booked solid for each class. Jeremy Reets, the founder and CEO of Reets Drying Academy, invited my crew to document each of the main courses they offer. After spending time in the class room and in the field, I can now see why Jeremy's classes are so popular.

We filmed a number of "talking head" shots of the instructors talking about the class offerings. We also filmed a number of student testimonials. The remarkable thing about filming the testimonials was how spontaneous and enthusiastic the students were. None of this was canned or scripted. You could tell that the students really valued the classes and bonded with their instructors.

I used a Canon 5D Mark II camera for capturing video. The reason I prefer to use the Canon 5D Mark II is twofold: 1) it produces beautiful, cinematic footage, and 2) it has superb low-light sensitivity. I'm able to film in locations with available light that I would not be able to with other video cameras. A lot of the filming took place in the "flood house" - an actual house built on the Reets Drying Academy's premises that is flooded. The students use the flood house to put into practice the principles and techniques they learn in the class room. I was asked to follow the students around as they went about their excercises. The quarters were very cramped, and the lighting was dim and contrasty. It was a challenge to find the right angle and exposure with available light. Yet, using the Canon 5D Mark II allowed me to capture great video in a subpar environment.

One other advantage of using the Canon 5D Mark II is that I can also take still photos, too. You can see several shots I took of the flood house on Reets Drying Academy's Flood House Tour web page.

The videos shown here are representative of the several we produced. This week (March 24, 2010) the videos will be used at tradeshow exhibit to show cases Reets Drying Academy's offerings.

As you can see, the videos convey in just a few minutes what students can expect in attending a class at Reets Drying Academy. It's hard to convey that experience in paragraphs of text.

If a picture is a thousand words, then a video is a novel! Why not consider video to tell your story?