Cheating: Turning a DSLR into a powerful motion picture camera.

When ever people see this type of footage of mine,



they always go "ooooh" and "ahhh" and then it never fails... the question arises; "how'd you do that?"

Of course there are occasions where simply put, you let a camera roll for 20 minutes up to an hour (tape length) or so and then speed things up in post production. This is somewhat a long process and sometimes can yield weird results as well. For me, this does work after hours of experimentation, fighting with artifacts, hick-ups and ...

But a really clean way and also a very super hi-res way is with my handy dandy Canon Rebel series DSLR. But really any brand of DSLR will work as long as it has a so called "bulb mode". Sort of. Let me explain why you don't want to settle for less than that feature. Please note, I am not talking about the new DSLR's that also have HD video features. I am talking about "run of the mill" DSLR's that only take still shots.

Look, I am not telling you to go out and by a new camera for the sake of a new camera if you don't have that "bulb mode" - you can still do this process. But I can tell you, you will get some weird results by going fully auto on everything.

By not having "bulb mode" and going auto everything, you will get different light settings (brightness), shutter speed, f-stop, focal length etc.. for each frame depending on the action in frame. If a dark car is in frame, the camera will compensate and try to balance the whole shot... but that car no longer exists in the next frame, so guess what? Understand? It will take a bit to get used to. Of course sometimes this might actually make for some good "grunge style" stuff. :) Here is an example of this:




So, by having bulb mode, you can now concisely control the consistency from frame to frame. Hence, you won't get any of those irregular bright flashing, drive you insane and may trigger an epileptic attack feature. Here is what a smooth session looks like with everything manually locked in:



I know this is a subjective call, but this last or prior clip really works even with the stray light and shadows. Hence the changes in light had no effect on the camera settings because they were locked in. Cool? Or in other words, if this was on automatic, it would have been a good half hour of my life that I would never have gotten back.

So moving right along, what else do you need to be successful with this method? So here are some camera possibilities:




Here is a very important, no, mandatory device you will need - and make sure it works with your camera model. These devices are called timers, remotes, intervalometers, incronometers and probably many other scientific names.. but here is a good variety for starters:


And last but not least, you need something to hold that camera super still:



As an alternative to tripods, I have been known to use sandbags, the type we use as weights or counter weights on lighting equipment and I have also used a plastic bag filled with packing popcorn, but the best is a strong cloth bag filled with real popcorn seeds. This will easily "grab" and hold the camera nicely as long as you don't overfill it. If you use a bag of this nature, do not set it on a car hood, roof or anything that can even slightly move or shake from the wind (or people getting in or out of, while slamming the door). (Experience talking here!) - It's a real problem when you have the camera moving, particularly if you use things like, oh, let's say a 400mm zoom lens.

In any case - this is just one method to make your digital still shot camera become a very powerful video camera. Very cool indeed. Stay tuned.. there will be more to come on this topic.

It was a Wednesday, not a Friday the 13th.

It was definitely not a Friday the 13th when this little, and I use the term "little" loosely, storm passed through my backyard. So to speak. This thing literally came out of nowhere in just a short time as monsoons typically do.

But this was one of the easiest times I have ever had in regards to capturing lighting in the form of hi-res still shots. So, now I wonder, is the 13th really a bad luck thing, or as some cultures believe, it may just be real good luck.

This storm passed through in about 50 minutes, or just short of an hour. The shots are in sequence, unmodified or touched up. Dramatic to say the least. Some of you will pick up on the fact of why I had to quit when I did. Just observe the last few shots. Yes, the strikes were getting a bit close, and very loud. Enjoy.

For those of you that are wondering just how to shoot lightning like this, here are some quick notes:

1. Make sure you are a safe distance from the activity!

2. Make sure you are a safe distance from the activity!

3. Use a tripod.

4. Use a camera that has a manual mode.

5. Set the shutter speed to "bulb" (keeps the shutter open for as long as you wish)

6. Set the F-stop to 8.0

7. Make sure you are a safe distance from the activity!

8. Use manual focus!

9. Make sure you are a safe distance from the activity!

10. Set the focus to infinity. (Don't over crank or you will get macro on most lenses, which will in turn give you out of focus, rotten, miserable, garbagey shots - not that this ever happened to me. ;))

11. Make sure you are a safe distance from the activity!

12. Use a remote trigger so that you don't shake the camera.

13. Make sure you are a safe distance from the activity, and by activity I mean specifically lightning! Wow, 13 steps. Coincidence?