Garden Grove, CA:
It was HOT.. I drank 5 Mountain Dews
Archive for the Photography Category
Thanks to Jay, Ben and my crew for a great day shooting the Kickstarter video for ArtBus
Posted in Photography, Video on August 25, 2013 by William HooksOrange County, CA- The ArtBus Kickstarter video is to be shot 24-25 August 2013
Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Photography, Travel, Video on August 13, 2013 by William HooksToday I finished the preliminary shot list for the 2 day shoot, and the other details are being finalized. We’re going to advertise this project, which will hopefully extend high-quality works of art to be enjoyed by underpriviledged children. The bus would travel to many locations and host a variety of other functions:
– Traveling Art Museum
– Mobile Art Classroom
– Corporate/Private Events
– School Activities
– General Use for Public Art Appreciation
– Independent Curated Art Exhibitions
I’m very proud to be the DP for this project, and wish it all success.To Jaydee Dizon, who asked me to participate: thanks.
The Induro 75mm Hi-Hat and custom apple box- info and initial review
Posted in Photography, Photojournalism, Travel, Video on August 9, 2013 by William HooksThis ingenious tool allows stable placement of the camera in very tight locations, such as vehicle interiors; it also doubles as a fully functional video tripod, achieving full height when put on a desk, table or other secondary support. A full, complex rig can easily be mounted onto this hi-hat as it is rated to withstand a load of up to 165 pounds.
I can put a wide variety of photo or video heads on the hi-hat; because of the 75mm bowl, it’s easy to set up Dutch angle shots and to level the head to the horizon- or to the included bubble level. The leveler can be used whether or not the bowl is employed, due to its location on the base.
Construction: build quality is excellent. It’s very versatile in terms of height options due to the adjustments possible in each independent leg, and the swiveling rubber mounting feet permit bolting or spiking of the hi-hat as shown below, when desired.
I highly recommend combining a hi-hat with a good fluid head to get the most out of both- they were born for each other and are a wonderful asset in addition to jib and slider for achieving the kind of camera motions which contribute to the production value of projects.
Manfrotto 502 AH fluid head, custom wood apple box (platform)
used 3/8″ flathead hex bolts and wingnuts
side view
included: Rode Stereo Videomic Pro on articulated arm and 5″ HDMI monitor
there are 3 attachment points built into the unit
Covering the OFA members who attended President Obama’s arrival in Burbank, CA
Posted in Photography, Photojournalism, Video on August 8, 2013 by William Hooks
Updated my Blogroll today- new links
Posted in Music, Photography, Photojournalism, Reviews, Studio Portraiture, Video on July 28, 2013 by William HooksI included several programs from the Adobe Master Collection CS6- my core software along with Lightroom for video and still imaging file storage and manipulation.
Also added was Nikon Camera Control Pro 2, which I recommend to Nikonians who want to be able to tether their captures. It supports stills and video.
My Dropbox has been added today
Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Music, Photography, Photojournalism, Science Fiction, Studio Portraiture, Travel, Video on June 8, 2013 by William HooksFor those who wish to share video, audio, text and/or photo files with me, please send them to my Dropbox if you have access to this feature.
Southern CA USA- Local Climate Change Issues
Posted in Captain's Personal Log, Photography, Photojournalism, Video on May 30, 2013 by William HooksSouthern CA USA- Local Climate Change Issues
This link is to a recent video I created which documented a visit to US Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office in Pasadena, CA during which Organizing for Action (OFA) interviewed her representative. We established a calendar for planning future collaboration with Judy in making climate change more prominent as a regional media issue,and formulating effective ways of mitigating its future impact here.
Review: Hoodman Custom Finder Baseplate
Posted in Photography, Photojournalism, Reviews, Studio Portraiture, Travel, Video on May 6, 2013 by William HooksI found this baseplate for $99 (no tax) last weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center, while attending a Big Photo Show. The Hoodman rep was at the Samys section and I was intrigued by the prospect of using a compact, lightweight ‘rail’ to add or remove my 3″ Hoodman loupe to a DSLR monitor. This would make use in bright sunlight much easier.
After a short demo I decided to buy it, and I assembled it this afternoon (see images). The box has excellent schematic images showing the location and names of all of the parts. This is a modular design with 3 components: the onboard 1/8″ hex Allen wrench, the rail which accepts the loupe, and the baseplate which attaches to the camera base.
I’m pleased with the very lightweight of this unit, its build quality, and the ease of attachment and removal of the loupe assembly. The fit to the 3″ Nikon D600 monitor is excellent. Controls are positive and smooth. And it’s in Nikon colors- the main set screw is gold….[sorry, non-Nikonians]. I can easily reach the LiveView and other camera controls, because none of the baseplate extends over them.
This unit also adjusts for a 3.2″ monitor such as the D4, and all hex screws are of the same caliber so that the entire apparatus can be completely adjusted in the field with no additional tools.
SUMMARY: I highly recommend this item for DSLR videographers and still photographers, especially if you do a lot of field work and/or do not use a matte box. You won’t notice it until you need it.
baseplate (L), rail (R)
baseplate from below
attacheing the baseplate to the grip for Nikon D600
The bracket also fits 3.2″ loupes
microadjustments to fit the 3″ loupe to the bracket
the lower left portion of the vertical adjustment rail contains the 1/8″ hex wrench
no interference with battery swapout from Nikon grip
lateral view of complete assembly on tripod, with D600
closeup of main setscrew to adjust rail (gold) and QR plate from baseplate to tripod mount
Arca-Swiss compatible (Acratech) tripod quick-release plate attached
Kupo hardware: excellent for AV grip use
Posted in Photography, Reviews, Studio Portraiture, Video on April 5, 2013 by William HooksI’m beginning to use Kupo’s line of grip equipment alongside my Matthews gear and have been impressed- it’s very good quality, at a price considerably lower than Matthews’s lineup, and easily available in the southern CA area. I get mine from Samys Camera.
My 40″ extension arm and grip head w hex stud have been helpful for interview setups, instructional videos and studio stills; they make it easy to rig a light, microphone, flag, scrim or reflector with freedom of movement and great stability. I like that the grip head on the extension arm is permanently attached and will not rotate. They attach to any standard light stand.
At the same time, I can reserve the boom/jib for mounting a B or C camera.
Trying to stay ‘low key’….thanks, Libby.
Posted in Photography, Studio Portraiture on March 8, 2013 by William Hooks
Nikon D600, 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor, 1/160 f/11; Lightroom 4
William Hooks
maximpactphotography 