brandon

Hey everyone, I got out with Mr. Bondy again today and we focused 100% on fishing for this video....Just under 3 minutes of pure action! This was all filmed from 6am to 2pm today and it was quite an interesting day weather wise. Started off overcast, then a bit sunny, then a storm, then back to sunny...anyways here it is! <iframe width="853" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8mItm11atgo?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Equipment Used: Canon EOS 1D mk IV Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM GoPro Hero

Once again thanks to everyone who's watched the video....over 3400 views now!! and Mike, A cheaper yet still very capable editing program is Final Cut Express. It retails for around $199. It was the stepping stone program I used while making the jump from imovie to Premiere and I liked it a lot.

Both of those camera and lens combos will work just fine. The xti is one of the cameras I started out with and I loved it!

It just looks like your autofocus is picking up the background instead of the subject. You should have the option on your camera to manually select which autofocus point to use. Just make sure the one you select is on the subject when you take the photo. Hope that helps!

I can't believe I forgot to mention the terrible underwater quality. But like others have said there's options out there to fix the problem. I just ordered 2 of these off ebay to allow me to shoot underwater - http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260797363588&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1119wt_1141

Hey Everyone, I just wrote up a how-to article on shooting lightning for my blog...enjoy! *copied from my blog http://brandontakesp...res.tumblr.com/ How I Shot It - Lightning Photos Lightning photos seem to generate almost as much "how did you do that?" questions as the silky smooth flowing water shots I do, and guess what, it's literally the same technique used to shoot both types of photos. Both techniques use a long exposure to allow any movement(bolts of lightning, moving water, etc.) in the image to be captured on the sensor. Some things you'll need for lightning photography: - A camera with the ability to shoot up to 30 second exposures - A wide-angle lens. The more sky you can fit in the photo, the better. - A sturdy tripod since its normally quite windy when storms roll through - Something heavy to hang from the centre column of the tripod for extra sturdiness - A remote or intervalometer(if you're lazy like me) - A bubble level for your camera's hot shoe (if your tripod head doesn't already have one) - A garbage bag or something similar to quickly throw over your gear incase the rain sneaks up on you - Last but certainly not least, you need Lightning. Find some online weather radar maps/forecasts to help predict when the storms will be passing through. Alright so now that I've listed all the equipment needed, I'll explain how to put it all to use. Oh and before I go any further, all of this info has to do with taking lightning photos at night. I still haven't mastered daytime lightning photography yet…not even sure if its possible but if it is, and I figure it out, I'll be sure to share it with all of you. Ideally with lightning photography you're going to want to stay dry. This means being ready to shoot the storm BEFORE it hits where you're shooting from. Not only will this keep you dry, but it will also allow for better quality images. Let me explain…If you wait until the storm is right overtop of you, not only will you get soaked, but there are millions of raindrops in between your camera's lens and the bolt of lightning. This is why I like to shoot the storm as it approaches and hopefully capture lightning at the leading edge of the storm without anything in between my camera and the storm. Before you start shooting make sure you have your lens set to manual focus and have it set to infinity. I like to use the 10x magnification while using my camera's liveview function to make sure my focus is dead on. There's nothing worse than reviewing 2 hrs worth of lightning photos to find that your focus wasn't sharp the entire time. Aside from your focus being manually set, your exposure should be as well. I prefer 20-30 second exposures at 100 or 200 ISO. Once those values are set I settle on whatever aperture gives me the correct exposure. Depth of field isn't a big issue with this type of shooting since your focus is already set to infinity. Another key thing to mention is to turn your camera's noise reduction OFF. If you leave it on, your camera will have to process each shot for as long as the exposure was. For example if you take a 30 second photo, your camera will take an additional 30 seconds to process the file before you can take another photo. And its usually during that 30 seconds of waiting that the lightning strike you've been waiting for happens…learn from me people. Now that you've got your shot all lined up, your focus set, and your exposure set, it's time to plug in your remote or intervalometer and start shooting. I prefer to use an intervalometer because it allows me to just set my camera to take one 30 second exposure after the other. A normal wired or wireless remote will also work fine. Now just shoot until the storm hits and hopefully you'll have some lightning photos to share with the world! Don't be discouraged if you don't get any strikes your first few times shooting. We had a pretty intense show of heat lightning the other night here in Windsor and I shot the storm for about 2 hours and only captured one image that was worthy of posting. I did get lots of other shots of lightning but this one below was by far the best. Lightning Across The River by bbroderick86, on Flickr

Thanks again everyone, glad you enjoyed it!

I actually hadn't used it for stills until earlier today. I brought with me when I went to my mom's for a swim and just set it to automatically take a photo every 2 seconds. I'll post a couple of the shots below. And not only can you have it automatically shoot every 2/5/10/30/60 seconds, but you can also use a self timer or triple shot mode. Here's 2 shots from earlier today so you can be the judge Swimming with my GoPro by bbroderick86, on Flickr Poolside with Canon and my GoPro by bbroderick86, on Flickr And here's what a still that's taken from a GoPro video looks like Musky Video Still by bbroderick86, on Flickr

young_one - thanks! I'll pass the suggestion along to Jon! NWO Fishing - lol I'll let Jon know your suggestion as well - but on a serious note I'll let be sure to let him know he's got a new customer! Thanks to everyone who's watched the video so far...Almost 2000 views in less than 48 hrs!

will do!

Hey Art, I love my GoPro! Last week I took it skydiving and this week I had it musky fishing so it's quite versatile. It's waterproof to 180', wearable/mountable pretty much anywhere, and can take either photos or videos in full HD. Here's a link to the full specs http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-helmet-hero-camera/ And if you scroll up to Post #7 in this topic, I posted the video of the GoPro on the net as the net fell overboard just so you can see the qualities of it's waterproof housing...

Glad you guys enjoyed it! And Mike, the GoPro is waterproof and thankfully I was able to grab the net quickly with my left hand before it sank! And for those interested, here's the netcam footage from when the net fell overboard! <iframe width="853" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yvbq_7GLGXI?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I got out with Jon Bondy again yesterday to do some more filming. This time we focused on Jigging for Deep Water Musky. It's a very informative video and at around the 9:10 mark a Musky makes an appearance! Enjoy! <iframe width="853" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sCniMseL7Vk?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> For those interested it was shot with a Canon 1D mk IV and Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L Lens with a shotgun mic on the camera's hot shoe. The section of the fish being netted was shot with a GoPro Hero. The video was edited using Adobe Premiere.

Trust me guys I still can't get over the fact that i left the ground in an airplane and returned safely not in an airplane...but it was so much fun. Being so high above the ground you don't feel like you're falling...just feels really really really windy. Then as soon as the chute opened it was dead quiet and so peaceful. It's something I will definitely be doing again! Glad you guys enjoyed the video!

Some friends and I drove across the border yesterday to Tecumseh, Michigan for a 14 000 ft tandem skydive. It was my first time and will definitely not be my last. It was honestly the most fun I've ever had! I brought my GoPro camera along with me to record the day. I had it mounted to my chest for the jump and did some handheld shots with it before the jump. For those interested there's a photo of how I had the GoPro attached below the video...enjoy! <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SkrxRsU735Q?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> My GoPro Skydiving Setup by bbroderick86, on Flickr

Awesome shots Justin! Also, lovin' the blog!

I headed out in search of Herons to photograph this morning...here are the results! Green Heron by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/1250 @ f/4.5, ISO 1250, 500mm A Green Heron and it's reflection by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/640 @ f/4, ISO 2500, 500mm Green Heron by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/2000 @ f/4, ISO 1600, 500mm Green Heron in Flight by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/2000 @ f/4.5, ISO 640, 500mm Green Heron by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/2000 @ f/4, ISO 800, 500mm Green Heron in Flight by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/2000 @ f/4.5, ISO 640, 500mm

lol yeah she was named after my favourite camera manufacturer. And a tripod and 40D will work just fine. There's not need to use a dolly thing...but i can't guarantee that once you start doing stationary ones that you won't be tempted to get a dolly and start making them move lol

A couple weeks ago I shot a time lapse from my balcony as a trial run with my new time lapse dolly. It ended up generating a lot of questions regarding how I did it so I put together a how-to video on time lapses as well as the dolly system itself...enjoy! <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q9_tf_ZJZjE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is what it looked like here in Windsor yesterday around 6pm... Storm Clouds May 23, 2011 by bbroderick86, on Flickr 1/160 @ f/7.1, ISO 640, 16mm I know this storm passed through most of southern Ontario so feel free to post your shots too!

great series Joey!

awesome shots!!

thanks again everyone! Brian, the way I shoot lightning is basically the same way I shoot a time lapse. I manually set the exposure, then I take one exposure after the other hoping to capture some lightning. Each exposure is anywhere from 2-30 seconds. Hellfish, the 800 ISO was just what I was trying that night. I'm still new to lightning photography and was merely experimenting. Next time will be smaller ISO with a longer exposure.

Thanks guys...Hellfish, I've added all the shot details below each photo.

Last night insomnia proved to be productive. As I was laying in bed I started to see flashes of lightning coming from west of Detroit. at about 230am the storm got within shooting distance so I got my camera out and started firing away..enjoy! Lightning Over Windsor, Ontario by bbroderick86, on Flickr 2.0 sec exposure @ f/22, ISO 800, 20mm Lightning Over Windsor, Ontario by bbroderick86, on Flickr 5.0 sec exposure @ f/11, ISO 800, 20mm Lightning Over Windsor, Ontario by bbroderick86, on Flickr 2.0 sec exposure @ f/7.1, ISO 800, 20mm Lightning Over Windsor, Ontario by bbroderick86, on Flickr 5.0 sec exposure @ f/11, ISO 800, 20mm All shot with a Canon 5D mk II and Canon 16-35 lens....2 to 5 second exposures