Life is full of compromises and I'm finding myself facing another one.

Last November, I was let go from an 8-year graphic design job and decided to use that opportunity to change careers and try to go full time doing work with my camera.

At first, there seemed to be great potential

I got a call out of the blue in November from a director I'd known only from a film forum I frequent (dvxuser.com)

I teamed up with Mark Johnson and Tim Hyten of Fat Monster Films to shoot a music video for Vienna

While on DVXUser recently, I came across a post by a user who mentioned a tool called the IndiSlider by Indifocus. I took a look on their site and couldn't really figure out what this thing was. I took a look at the some footage

My family and I went to New Mexico over the Christmas holidays and one place I really wanted to see was Carlsbad Caverns. Ansel Adams took a series of shots there many years ago and they haunted me. I knew I had to shoot this place

A friend of my daughter's came to town on New Year's eve so we took him sightseeing in Seattle. The weather was unusually cooperative so I decided to document our trip. I strapped on my Letus Extreme 35mm adapter to my Canon

Over the years, I have spent countless hours sharing the knowledge I have gained working with my camera and studying film. The people on the receiving end are not the only beneficiaries, however, because I love being a teacher

Last Monday I got laid off from a job as a graphic designer I've had for nearly eight years. That stretch of time is almost unheard of these days because so many people are freelancing or just job hopping. I like stability. I like a certain degree of predictability in my life. My "real" job provided

I just got back from one of my most favorite places in the world - Yellowstone.

I cannot adequately explain why this place means so much to me. Maybe it's the close proximity to wildlife afforded its visitors, maybe it's the

Because my M.O. is to jump from one project to the next and want to constantly move forward, I tend to be more enamored with new things rather than trying to organize what I have already created. My focus has been more on creating new films and experimenting with HD of late and I realized that I really

There are many people who seem to be in search of the film look these days. For fun, Google the phrase and you will find thousands of results. Everything from elaborate post production processes to using 35mm adapters is well covered

Lake City for a weekend shoot at Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks. For those of you not familiar with this area, the terrain is full of geological wonders and the whole atmosphere is otherworldly. It is a huge departure from

I was out shooting with Linda up by Snoqualmie Falls on Saturday and on the way home caught a glimpse of the rising moon. It was big and yellow and I had to slam on the brakes and get a couple of shots. Light was fading fast and I missed the magic hour so it was a challenge to really capture this

Here is a work in progress. This is the time of the year when cottonwood trees lose their cotton and it's a pretty cool sight, it looks like it's snowing. There's a cottonwood in our yard and it was shedding its skin the

When I bought the Canon XLH1 camera I was eager to go to a few of my favorite spots to capture the beauty of nature in high definition. I was not disappointed. Although this piece is disparate in its imagery, it highlights the

Yes, timelapse shots are completely overdone. I agree. However, that's not going to stop me doing them because, to me, the world is always a fascinating place to study and no two timelapse shots are the same because

I was watching "21 Grams", a great film by the way, and was inspired to do some lighting tests and added a little Magic Bullet Bleach Bypass. I think it looks pretty good.

500w softbox for keylight, 250w Lowel pro light for fill and another 250w Lowel for a backlight (need to better position

It rained here in Seattle for what seemed like an eternity which was frustrating for me because I had plans to go out and shoot at various locations. I decided to document the falling rain which has a beauty unto itself.

The

Here's a comparison between Tiffen's much used Promist (the strength in this comparison is 1/4) and Schneider's Classic Soft filters (1/2 strength).

These filters can help contribute to a more filmic look, taking some of the sharp edge off the original video. Of course you can create something

I get asked this question a lot. Basically, it comes down to the major question of what you are going to be shooting. You could get all types of advice on filtration for optimal landscape shots but if that's not your focus then it's useless information. Some common filters include:

I've been using the XLH1 for a number of weeks now and I've learned a lot about the camera by taking it out and shooting under various conditions. Having shot in standard definition (SD) up to this point, I'm finding new challenges shooting HD. None are overwhelming but if care is not taken while