Yesterday I had an all-day meeting in Mt. Union – about an hour and ten minutes from here. I managed to put together a quick-rig to keep my DSLR on my truck’s dashboard and decided to try shooting a sequence of images during the drive.
My dash-mount rig:
The “mount” cost me all of about $5 ($1 for the sponge and $4-ish for the sticky-mat that I put underneath it). I cut out a notch for the DSLR in the sponge to give it a somewhat ‘safe’ seat for the drive and I lashed it to the sponge with a piece of para-cord I had.
My trip TO Mt. Union was my first-chance at a driving time lapse. I set the camera to shoot every 5-seconds. I was disappointed when I managed to export the shots into video format:
I decided to adjust and try to shoot a time lapse on the way home, too, so I set it to take a shot every 2-seconds this time, hoping for a more ‘fluid’ time lapse.
It’s definitely more “fluid”, but still needs some refinement.
What I’m learning:
I think I need to put the camera back on “auto” settings as far as shutter speed – it’s amazing how much the light-changed outside in just an hour-drive! By the time I got home last night the images were super-dark.
I also think 1-second intervals for something like driving is necessary to achieve the best results. This makes me nervous, however, because I captured nearly 2000 images for the trip from Mt. Union to Shippensburg and that was with shooting once every 2-seconds. 4000 images for an hour+ time lapse will probably max-out my little 8GB SD memory card.
I’m definitely still learning and can’t wait to use this method next week as we decorate the church again this year for Christmas!
I purchased a Timer Remote Control for my Canon Rebel XS DSLR yesterday and thanks to Amazon Prime, it arrived today!
I could hardly wait to rip open the box and attempt to decipher the instruction manual (poorly translated from a foreign language into Chinese in many parts). I managed to figure it out enough to set up my first-ever time lapse shot tonight using my DSLR (all previous time lapse videos have been shot using a simple webcam connected to a laptop or actual video sped-up!) Time lapse on DSLR = MUCH higher quality!
So here it is – my first-ever DSLR time lapse:
I learned a few things while filming my first time lapse:
1. Don’t move! After I flipped the timer it was quickly apparent that I didn’t want to sit and watch the 15-minutes-or-so of the red gel pouring into the bottom half of the timer while my camera shutter went off every 1-second, so I didn’t. I left the room, shut the door and tried to forget what amazing sorcery was taking place just 30-feet away. It’s noticeable in the beginning of the video that I moved and when I did, the tripod/camera shifted ever-so-slightly and changed the framing of the shot ever-so-slightly. Not enough to make me cry, but my perfectionist mindset knows how to fix this next time. (add a short delay to when the shooting begins to give me ample time to get out!)
2. Use better lighting. This one is enough to make me ill. As you’ll notice (if you watch the video), there is a sort of strobe-effect near the end of the video due to the horrible desk-lamp I was using to light this scene. I will never use that lamp for anything other than bedtime reading again.
3. Compiling takes time. Compressing 1644 images into an HD-friendly video via QuickTime took longer than I expected. The original file size of images was 7gb, the final video – 4mb. That’s a lot of compression, so it makes sense. I need to plan for that better next time.
So, what would YOU like to see a time lapse of? I’m thinking my next shot will be of me driving – I have an hour+ road trip coming up on Thursday morning – could be the perfect opportunity to give this another shot! Now I just need to figure out how to mount my camera securely to my dashboard.
Stuntman Damien Walters is back at it again – this time he has released his 2011 Official Showreel showcasing some of his amazing talents:
Finger Parkour:
“If you can’t laugh at yourself…” Gov Rick Perry is willing to do just that by appearing on Letterman’s Top 10 list:
Bommerang skills:
Fantastic Christmas commercial from John Lewis. This has sermon intro/illustration written all over it:
File this one under, “most creative business card idea ever”. Seriously wished I had more than just a fascination for flying-things to make me legit-enough to have these as MY business cards:
Director Peter Jackson goes into detail (10+ minutes worth) of how they’re filming The Hobbit in 3D:
Funny mannequin-head prank:
Dubstep beatbox on the streets of Milan, Italy:
“The Global Position System (GPS) is basically just a big clock in space”:
I finished reading “78: How Christians Can Save America” late last night and knew as soon as I finished that I needed to get a review of it posted as soon as possible.
This is a fantastic book. I’m sure it helps that it was written by a collegiate friend and peer of mine, Peter Heck. Peter writes this book with a healthy amount of “fire in his belly”, I believe and addresses some important issues that the church has literally sidestepped and allowed to take roots in America. The book is addressed to us, the “78” – Peter quotes a recent Pew Study polling Americans and publishing that around 78% of us hold what are labeled as “Christian traditions”.
Reforming the Church – The American church has lost its way, and must stop exchanging true, Biblical Christianity for emotionally-driven entertainment.
Revolutionizing the Government – The best government is self-government, but apart from the moral restraint taught by Christianity, freedom flounders.
Renewing the Culture – Restore the sanctity of life, defend the Biblical model of family, and train our children in truth and we rescue a dying society.
Some of my highlights and underlines from the book:
“When you teach young people from their first day in public high school biology class that human life is nothing but a cosmic accident with no ultimate value, destiny, or purpose . . . when you teach young people that their existence is nothing but the worthless conglomeration of molecules that came together purely by chance billions of years ago . . . when you teach young people that murdering an infant is a choice . . . when you teach young people that killing off the unwanted elderly is humane . . . when you teach young people that suicide is acceptable if it’s assisted by a physician . . . when you teach young people that eliminating the sick and the terminal is ethical and justifiable . . . when you teach them such things, you have successfully ingrained into the minds of an entire generation that life itself is worthless.” [page 17]
“To put it bluntly, the church is failing America.” [page 21]
“If concern over offending the masses supersedes the church’s mission to correct and rebuke misguided beliefs and thoughts, has the church not neutered itself to the point of being a mere social club?” [page 27]
“But as a minister of the Gospel message, if the atheist feels comfortable and the Muslim feels at peace with your sermon, there’s something dreadfully wrong with your commitment to the primary mission of urgently seeking and saving the lost.” [page 29]
“…the church in America has grown proficient at making congregants, not disciples.” [page 31]
“If we seek to preserve the blessings of liberty to our posterity, we must acknowledge that our government today is coming to eerily resemble not the kind our Founders created . . . but the kind they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to war against.” [page 102]
“At the behest of those whose motivation is not respect for all beliefs, but rather bitter hostility to one, the presence of a moral authority is being removed not just from buildings and books, but from the conscience of our people.” [page 118]
“The removal of God from the public square. . . the removal of a moral authority from our society is not liberating us. It is shackling us. It’s not delivering us. It’s destroying us. It’s not freeing our children. It’s forging their chains.” [page 119]
“My preacher and my president have separate jobs to fulfill, but both act under the authority of, and are both answerable to God for the way in which they fulfill them.” [page 134]
“If our civilization is to survive, we – the 78 – must end the killing (abortion). We must, as previous generations, find the strength and courage necessary to illuminate the gab between our culture’s obsession with convenience and self-gratification and the eternal truths espoused in our Declaration of Independence.” [page 147]
“Remember again that 78% of Americans claim the Christian tradition. If 78% of the population was following the Biblical precept to dwell only on what was true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable, would HOllywood find the profit margins they need to keep peddling smut? Would magazine companies find it lucrative to put less than half-dressed women on their covers? That they do is an indictment on those of us who have been instructed to, “not conform to the pattern of this world,” but transform our minds and hearts to the Biblical command of self-control.” [pages 176-177]
“No one is compelled into any sexual conduct. Even those who choose to abide by God’s design for sex within the confines of a married, monogamous, man/woman relationship, how, when and if they engage in sexual behavior, it is a choice.” [page 189]
“A person’s natural state is that of male or female. From there, people choose what kind of sexual behavior, if any, to participate in. They choose whether to conform to biblical standards, societal standards, or no standards at all. But since what they do sexually is always chosen behavior, it has nothing to do with their identity. Who a person is, is different than what a person does.” [page 190]
“But for whatever the reason – fear, intimidation, passivity, complacency, apathy or ignorance – silence is quickly becoming the defining quality of Christianity in America.” [pages 250-251]
78: How Christians Can Save America is currently available on Amazon.
Here is a video-preview of Peter’s LIVE presentation of “78” to an audience:
Incidentally he does have a 4-part DVD available of the presentation – I’ve ordered it and am looking forward to watching it!
On the recommendation of my buddy at Hausofguns.com, I picked up a 1lb Star Exploding Target a few weeks ago and just finally today was able to set it off with my dad while visiting their home here in Middleburg.
This was a first for both of us.
We used a 55-gr .223 bullet to impact the target to set it off.
Star Targets are very safe when used as intended and the directions are followed. Once mixed it must be impacted with a high velocity round to set it off, it will not go off if it dropped, shaken, kicked, even lit on fire. You can hit it with a hammer, shoot it with a pistol, or throw it off your roof. It takes about a 40 grain bullet traveling at 2200 FPS directly impacting it to cause it to go off, anything below these requirements will not set it off.
Each target contains two components, a base and a catalyst which is pre-measured for each target and sealed in a bag within the target. To prep the target for use (first read and ensure you understand all directions and safety instructions), simply open the target, remove the catalyst and dump the contents back into the target container. Seal the container back up, mix vigorously for 45 to 60 seconds (the entire contents should be a light grey color with no white left). Place the target at a safe distance and location then you are ready to shoot. Not for human consumption.
I can honestly say that I have NEVER set off such a large explosion in all of my life. These things are absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to get my hands on a few more!
