This trailer makes me a little dubious as to how faithful Guy Ritchie is going to be to the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle character. From a personal perspective I find that a little sad as he was brilliantly conceived and is as successful a character because of how he worked rather than in spite of it.
From the trailer it looks a little like they have let John Woo or Jerry Bruckheimer run away with the production. In actuality it has Bruce Berman as the Exec Producer who was responsible for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which was a singularly brilliant movie but he was also responsible for Catwoman which was a spectacular failure. Who knows maybe the combination of the Bruce and Guy might produce a gem.
So is it going to be Lock Stock/Snatch meets Sherlock Holmes or will he actually do the story and the character some justice? If it were down to the actors Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law then I'd say yes but they have to work with Guy who has, if we're being fair, produced less than stellar movies of late. Here is the trailer - not much story substance there but lots of explosions, women, action and excitement - all things entirely synonymous with Sherlock Holmes *cough*...
Tuesday 19 May 2009
The Golden Hour
Following on with the photography theme I've come up with my initial entry to the OcUK photography competition. It is not strictly adhering to the theme at least according to the Wikipedia definition however it will have to do until there is some decent weather. The Golden Hour is the hour in both the morning and the evening when he sun creates a golden hue and the shadows are long and interesting.
This was my first attempt at the theme and unfortunately I missed the best of the light but I think the end result is acceptable. It was done with some dark filters on the lens so that I could extend the exposure out to around 20 seconds. It is the long exposure that makes the Thames look so smooth and also creates the light trails from the boat movement.
I have some other ideas for the Theme but it is entirely dependant on there being some decent weather between here and then end of the month. Having lived here for 4 years I often struggle to find London terribly photogenic without making a really stereotypical image.
This was my first attempt at the theme and unfortunately I missed the best of the light but I think the end result is acceptable. It was done with some dark filters on the lens so that I could extend the exposure out to around 20 seconds. It is the long exposure that makes the Thames look so smooth and also creates the light trails from the boat movement.
I have some other ideas for the Theme but it is entirely dependant on there being some decent weather between here and then end of the month. Having lived here for 4 years I often struggle to find London terribly photogenic without making a really stereotypical image.
Friday 15 May 2009
OcUK Photo comp
The theme just gone on the Overclockers UK photography forum was 'Street Life'. I decided to veer away from the obvious subject matter of homeless people and instead went for what the view from the street would be if it were alive. This presented several issues, the most obvious being that barring digging a hole in the pavement, I don't think that I could've gotten quite the perspective I was after. (As an aside, this has given me an idea for another photo that will involve me climbing into a hole in the road where roadworks are occurring and trying for a perspective shot from there - just an idea at this stage!)
So end result? Well I enlisted the help of a good friend of mine, Laz, and headed out to a local footpath that had potential for some good perspective. It ended up being just around the corner from my house/apartment.
The first edit:
This was a fairly good shot in the grand scheme of things, at least that is what I initially thought, until my significantly more observant Fiance pointed out a fairly major problem... Laz was monkey walking! Monkey walking is when you step and move your arms and legs on the same sides, i.e. left arm and left leg forward and then right arm and right leg - the end result is that not only does the body look out of kilter but it doesn't look remotely natural as a movement.
The other thing that stood out was due to the process of getting Laz to pose, which was basically "stand there with your leg out like you're walking" you don't get the shift in body weight that is associated with walking. This can be seen in both his body position and in his trailing foot position.
Of course I noticed none of this until we had gotten back in front of my computer and looked through the shots. Colour wise it was great, composition wise not too terrible, motion wise it was not that great at all. It really was a case of 'back to the drawing board'!
Take 2.
This time I had a more definite idea of what I wanted however this time the weather was not quite as co-operative as it had been the first time.
We both agreed that the better way to get the shot was to actually pace out the walking and then I'd just have to time the shot so that I caught it at the right time. This was a significantly more productive technique and in the long run a lesson learnt - don't try to emulate the movement, actually move!
So end result:
I think it was composition and movement wise a far superior image only let down buy the sky which was cloudy. Due to the cloud the sky is 'blown out' or over exposed. I would have preferred to have some blue sky and retain the colour in the image but I decided that a desaturated image with a hue shift was the better option. I also got closer to the ground which I think made for a better take on the 'street' perspective. Overall I'm pretty happy with the shot.
From a photography perspective I'm enjoying getting out and about with 'models' and interacting with what I am shooting. I'm still not quite brave enough to walk up to a random and start shooting away but I'll get there in the end!
Incidentally the next theme is 'The Golden Hour' or the hour between when the sun is either going down or coming up. During summer/spring in the UK this is around 5-6am and 9-10pm. Again the intention here will be to think outside the box a bit. Sunrises and sunsets are something of a greatly shot subject matter but rarely do I find it entirely engaging.
So end result? Well I enlisted the help of a good friend of mine, Laz, and headed out to a local footpath that had potential for some good perspective. It ended up being just around the corner from my house/apartment.
The first edit:
This was a fairly good shot in the grand scheme of things, at least that is what I initially thought, until my significantly more observant Fiance pointed out a fairly major problem... Laz was monkey walking! Monkey walking is when you step and move your arms and legs on the same sides, i.e. left arm and left leg forward and then right arm and right leg - the end result is that not only does the body look out of kilter but it doesn't look remotely natural as a movement.
The other thing that stood out was due to the process of getting Laz to pose, which was basically "stand there with your leg out like you're walking" you don't get the shift in body weight that is associated with walking. This can be seen in both his body position and in his trailing foot position.
Of course I noticed none of this until we had gotten back in front of my computer and looked through the shots. Colour wise it was great, composition wise not too terrible, motion wise it was not that great at all. It really was a case of 'back to the drawing board'!
Take 2.
This time I had a more definite idea of what I wanted however this time the weather was not quite as co-operative as it had been the first time.
We both agreed that the better way to get the shot was to actually pace out the walking and then I'd just have to time the shot so that I caught it at the right time. This was a significantly more productive technique and in the long run a lesson learnt - don't try to emulate the movement, actually move!
So end result:
I think it was composition and movement wise a far superior image only let down buy the sky which was cloudy. Due to the cloud the sky is 'blown out' or over exposed. I would have preferred to have some blue sky and retain the colour in the image but I decided that a desaturated image with a hue shift was the better option. I also got closer to the ground which I think made for a better take on the 'street' perspective. Overall I'm pretty happy with the shot.From a photography perspective I'm enjoying getting out and about with 'models' and interacting with what I am shooting. I'm still not quite brave enough to walk up to a random and start shooting away but I'll get there in the end!
Incidentally the next theme is 'The Golden Hour' or the hour between when the sun is either going down or coming up. During summer/spring in the UK this is around 5-6am and 9-10pm. Again the intention here will be to think outside the box a bit. Sunrises and sunsets are something of a greatly shot subject matter but rarely do I find it entirely engaging.
Wednesday 13 May 2009
NYC - 360 Photo Flyover.
Spotted on the Chase Jarvis blog
This is a gorgeous presentation of New York City - a must view with sound. It's very peaceful.
http://www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/2009/newyork/
This is a gorgeous presentation of New York City - a must view with sound. It's very peaceful.
http://www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/2009/newyork/
Thursday 7 May 2009
International Space Station Tour
Found this on Youtube - just brilliant. I had no idea how big the ISS was - and it is BIG!
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srQdr6kGii4
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswCuvcA7YQ
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srQdr6kGii4
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswCuvcA7YQ
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