Archive for the Music Category

Au revoir, Whitney Houston.

Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Music on February 12, 2012 by William Hooks

I am deeply saddened to have heard of the death of Whitney Houston, one of my all-time favorite vocalists, at age 48 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in southern CA this afternoon.  Cause of her death has not yet been determined.

I have to say that in all honesty, I’m in mourning. Tomorrow afternoon will be the Grammy Awards presentation, and  I intend to watch for the tributes paid to Whitney. In my lifetime I don’t think I’ve ever heard greater vocal talent than she and her cousin- Dionne Warwick- displayed. It ‘s at least a comfort for me to know that Dionne is still be able to create her magic.

First time in a while that I’m having trouble seeing straight, because of the tears that won’t stop….

Guest Blogger page added

Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Music, Photography, Photojournalism, Reviews, Science Fiction, Studio Portraiture, Travel, Video on September 7, 2011 by William Hooks

This page was designed to respond to recent requests and if there are further questions, please relay them.

To those who’ve inquired: thanks.

Stay thirsty, my friends……. and on my birthday this Sunday, 9/11, I hope that all of us have the chance to reflect upon how that Day of Days has affected the last 10 years- and our future.

China: Paintings, Broccoli and Hospitality documentary- nearly completed today

Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Music, Photography, Photojournalism, Reviews, Travel, Video on August 27, 2011 by William Hooks

All my thanks for the  music which helped inspire this documentary: THE SYMPHONIC SESSIONS by David Foster (The Ballet); soundtracks from INCEPTION  by Hans Zimmer,  CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, and THE DEER HUNTER.

Most of the narration is complete. With a few modifications, it’s ready to send to my most helpful and gracious Chinese associates in Jinan and I ‘d love to return at my earliest opportunity.

I have to say that Premiere Elements 9 did the editing job well on my Fujitsu Lifebook computer- after some intensive care  to deal with crashes and glitches.

Nikon, you just make my projects so much fun and so easy… after over 40 years, I’m in awe.

Finally, to Rick Yen and David Wu I owe so much for the invitation to travel to a country I ‘d thought I might never be able to visit. Both of you get free mammograms for life.

Initial planning for possible return to China in Sept 2011

Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Music, Photography, Photojournalism, Travel, Video on July 27, 2011 by William Hooks

Today I had a conversation with my main contact in Jinan, China (Ma Xiudong), Dept Director of Shandong Economic and Information Technology Commission, regarding the possibility of extending my documentary to include the Confucius Festival there in September. In addition, we are continuing plans to bring Hu Meng to the USA as a guest artist to exhibit his paintings and conduct a tour.

My schedule will hopefully allow completion of the first edit of my doc’ by around mid- August, at which time I ‘d relay it to them as well. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?

Here’s to international cooperation and cultural exchange- I’m excited to be a part of it, and with luck I may even be able to expand my exploration of Chinese art to include its music in the future.

First week with the Nikon D51C (5100): an early review

Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Music, Photography, Photojournalism, Reviews, Travel, Video on May 6, 2011 by William Hooks

So far I have these observations:

– The Selective Color and Color Sketch Effects modes seem most appealing to me, partly because I enjoy their looks and partly because, like the others, they can be applied either in capture (with Live View) or retouching JPEG’s already shot.

-Having native ISO to 6400 available is expected to be very useful for my style of shooting- both stills and video.

-Ergonomics seem very good, although distinctly different in some ways from my pro bodies. I find that the button placements are generally very intuitive given the presense of the articulated screen and have been easy to use. I like the operation of the LV lever, it would be nice if there were a concentric video button as with the D7K – a minor issue.

– I intend to work with this camera mounted to a Matthews or Manfrotto SuperClamp, since it allows remote triggering.

-The layout of the left panel output access ports is appealing. Having a GPS-ready camera this size is exciting and like the new Nikon ME-1 microphone, the GP-1 doesn’t have an internal battery (to fail or corrode). I’m going to look for that microphone and evaluate its features as soon as available.

– Shutter lag is definitely much greater that with my pro bodies and AF is slower to much slower, very much depending on lens choice. I ‘ll experiment more with my upper-end FX lenses in coming weeks to evaluate how much of a factor that may be, should I try shooting limited sports with this camera.

– The  AC adapter has eliminated battery life as a factor in the studio , or where a generator is available.

-I’m definitely going to scarf that 12-24mm f/4 DX from Grant to use in the backcountry…..

One of my greatest regrets in life

Posted in Music on April 11, 2011 by William Hooks

will be that I did not write the score to CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982), the film I saw the night I passed my radiology board examination in Louisville, KY.  That music has inspired me ever since.