Audio Slideshow Selects

Here are a few slideshows that I thought had some interest. I looked through a lot of slideshows - it seems that none were perfect, but I picked these either because the pictures, the audio, or both were good. Some are better than others.

St. Louis Dispatch
From Afghanistan by David Carson
http://www.stltoday.com/multimedia/

Elvis is Leaving the Building
By David Carson
http://www.stltoday.com/mds/news/html/673

Dallas News
*Evi’s Still Evi
By Cheryl Diaz Meyer
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2007/EviHulls/

Elvis is Leaving the Building had an intriquing way about it - I'm guessing it is the story that is intriguing - who does this. The pictures aren't that great, but the audio is what captures the story. But I did feel that it did a good job showing what the museum was about, from the flow of the pics with the overall sound. It had a good variety of pics (indepth pics of the memrabilia to normal shots and wide angle shots) of which it enhanced the story, but also the interview was very well done and enhanced the story. Had good opening pics, with the Elvis recording that drew the viewer in (I was definetly intrigued), and I felt the closer pic wrapped up the story. Although most of the pics show what is inside the museum, I felt that was part of the narrative. The owner was selling the contents of the museum, and those things he enjoyed. For him, it would be hard to let them go.

I liked From Afghanistan by David Carson because it showed the different aspects of issues going on in Afghanistan. Each segment brought the viewer into the story. The segment on the hosipital was probably the best, because the sound and the pictures give it more depth. I don't feel that this is a perfect piece - it seems there could be less pictures, and the pictures could line up better with the sound. But overall, I understood what was happening there. The pics captured what was lacking for the hosipital in this community, and the sound gave the listener the intent of its doctors and the community's desire to keep the hospital running. I had wished that the audio had lined up better with the pictures, but in some ways with the doc talking about his experience within the hospital, the audio backs up the story, and the audio doesn't necessarily have to match up.

Eve's Still Evi
I felt this soundslide was overall put together well, from the technical aspects to the sound meshing well with the story. It just seemed to flow. And I liked how they opened up with the song, the focus on the subject of the story, the little girl. The pics showed her personality, her courage, and her adjustment to life with her new legs. The story portrayed hope for her life and her ability to handle her circumstances well. I also thought the pics were strong, good content, and they kept the viewer interested. The only flaw is the ending. I think it could have been cut off at the end of the mother speaking. The girl's voice was distracting and it confused the viewer as how it related to the story.

Fill, Balance, & Blend

An Elvis impersonator dances with one of the women from the Wilson’s Total Fitness booth at ‘Dream Night in the Tropics’, a fundraising event for Dreams to Reality on Saturday, November 10, 2007. Dream Night in the Tropics is a fun-filled evening for woman to have a girl’s night out. The event brought together area merchants and service providers such as spa services, boutiques, wellness centers to area restaurants and local chefs. The proceeds from the event goes toward the daily operations of Dreams to Reality, a not-for-profit organization based in Jefferson City that serves low-income women from Mid-Missouri counties. Their mission is to provide interview-ready apparel to low-income women of Mid-Missouri who seek employment, thus promoting self-esteem and enhancing their employability.


Critique

For the blending technique, I shot at an event on Saturday, called Dream Night in the Tropics, at Truman Hotel in Jefferson City. But it was extremely difficult to shoot there, because the room was packed with people elbow to elbow in this tiny conference room. I tried to shoot the Elvis impersonator, but he was constantly running around and (I couldn’t catch him fast enough through all the people), get a good picture compositionally, or without so many people jammed into me, pushing me out of the way. This is pretty much the only one I got that looked good. I think my select is pretty cool, and it was pretty much given from the Photo God.

For my select, I shot in front, off center just a tad, with my flash on camera, directed at the subjects. I shot at F4.5 at a shutter speed of 1/1/6 at an ISO of 250. I used TTL flash, dialed down to 1 stop. I also had an orange gel on my flash for the tungsten light. This is from my blending outtakes.

Blending Light Set Up

Color Correction

Sara Hotop, a senior at Hickman High School, shares her “hi and low” of the week at a Young Life Campaigners event as Molly Sjurson, a senior at Hickman, and Mary Kate Loring, a junior at the University of Missouri, look on. Young Life is a parachurch organization that trains leaders to develop relationships with kids in high school and middle school. Each week, the girls meet with their leader, Amy Neal, as a time to study the Bible and share their experiences with each other.

Critique

I enjoyed this assignment, BUT . . .why is flash so dang hard to learn? And boy is it hard to find interesting content for F-light, something that isn’t someone sitting at a desk. For this assignment, I found myself fumbling over so many of the details entailed in this project that I lost track of what is important. It was frustrating to find that when the shoot was almost over I had my settings set at the wrong place, my flash wasn’t gelled at the appropriate time, or my flash got dialed down a stop.

However, it was fun to see how each picture comes out depending on the gel used and the temperature of light. I had always wondered why pictures looked a certain color over others. But why do my pictures have such an orangish and greenish cast after the gel is on the flash? It seems that the pictures without the gel look better. Am I doing something wrong – maybe my custom setting wasn’t right, I’m not sure!

Anyway, my select was shot from the right of the subject, at a 45-degree angle. I shot at F4.5, 1/200 at ISO 100. I bounced the flash off the walls. I was kind of limited with space, but felt I did an adequate job. I felt I couldn’t do off camera flash, as it would have been too disrupting. I think maybe the shadows under the subject’s eyes could be a little better? Not sure and the yellow cast to the picture is a little strong when printed out. But the subjects’ skin tones seem to be right on. This select was from my Tungsten shoot.