Saturday, December 25, 2010

Making of a Christmas Card

San Fernando Cathedral - San Antonio TX - HDR

My Christmas Card for 2010... HDR photo of San Fernando Cathedral in Main plaza on December 4th, 2010. San Antonio, Texas

I went downtown to Main Plaza around 5:30pm on December the 4th thinking that the Christmas tree was lit up at the same time as the river walk (the Friday after Thanksgiving). With the greasy aroma of fried corn wafting in the air, I quickly picked a spot to shoot from, making sure to crop out the gordiata vendor just to the right of the tree. IThe plaza was filled with tourist and locals strolling about taking snap shots and chit chatting. Knowing that I would be shooting from a prime location for an extended amount of time, I brought extra patience with me. The cool weather was just right. The few times i started to get annoyed with people who decided to loiter in front of my lens for extended amounts of time, the tranquil sounds of the water fountains brought me back to a peaceful mind. Watching the toddlers play in the fountains helped pass the time.

I set up the tripod and camera, then fired off a few test shots.  I began taking different bracketed exposures as the sun set. Knowing I would be shooting at slow shutter speeds, I remotely triggered the camera with a set of Pocket Wizards.  When 6:15 rolled around, the lights on the church came on. The Christmas tree remained dark however. As the sky grew darker, I watched a band set up off in the corner. Then the big man himself showed up. Saint Nick parked his rump in a chair in front of the dark Christmas tree. Turns out kids could take pictures of Santa Clause bathed in blue lights (that's where the blue light next to the tree is coming from).  Finally the PA system was set up and an announcement given. Turns out the tree lighting ceremony was to take place in about 30 minutes.  Time to pull out the old smart phone, peruse Facebook, Twitter and become mayor of Main Plaza on Foursquare!

At about 6:55 the ceremony was finally over. The lights on the tree illuminated. The camera locked in the same place it was at 5:45 with no light left in the sky and an aperture or f22, I slowed the shutter speed down to 20 seconds (that means the shutter was open for 20 seconds). The low shutter speed helped the swarms of people strolling through the plaza to magically disappear.

The next day I merged 6 photos (3 with the blue sky and no lights on the tree, and 3 with black sky and the tree lit up) together in Photoshop CS5 using the HDR tools that come with Photoshop. The photo merging also helped to remove more of the ghosting created by people moving about while the shutter was open.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Hound Rescue Garage Sale

If you can't make it to Austin, you can always support Hound Rescue with donations or by fostering needy hounds.Photobucket

"Just a reminder that our 4th annual, Hound Rescue charity sale - Saturday August 7th!!! It's not too late to clean out the garage or get rid of those items that are taking up space and donate them to the hounds. Last year's sale yielded over $1400, so the goal is $1700 this year and we need all the support we can get to achieve it! Wanna help donate goods or volunteer your time at the sale? Contact Christine Alt at ealt@austin.rr.com or 512-658-8487. (Christine will begin accepting donations starting on Monday, August 2nd thru Friday August 6th - contact her to set up a time to drop off your donations.) Tax deductible receipts are available upon request.

Saturday August 7th
8 am to noon
Christine's Home (NW Austin, off 183N, between Anderson Mill Rd and Parmer Ln)
8807 Black Oak Street
Austin, TX 78729"

Monday, June 21, 2010

San Jose Website Design

I've been hard at work the last month spending every free minute working on a website. Ive been so busy in fact that I haven't even updated my face book profile that often. In addition to to the website, I also work full time and I am taking a summer flex course at NE Lakeview. The first week of class we recieved 10 chapters of assigned reading . The only reason I have time to write this blog post is because I'm sitting in class waiting for others to finish a test so we can begin this weeks series of topics.

Work on the website began when I took vacation the first week of June. Shannon and I drove to Waco to visit my family. While there we spent nearly 2 days at my uncles new shop; Shannon working on the page layout while I was photographing the products. When we weren't at the shop I was working on the code or drinking margaritas with my brother and cousins. It was supposed to be a vacation afterall.



After shooting all the products I had to clean up all 60 something images in Photoshop (I.e. sharpen, adjust levels, crop, and remove dust, smudges, and fibers). That was another weeks worh of work. Once Shannon was finished with the design, I had to dissect it into smaller images and make the actual website look like her design. The home page took very tedious work to align everything seemlessly.

It took about 2 weeks to code all 12 pages. I finally finished all the major work last night at midnight (instead of studying for my test). Now minor editing and tweaking remains before we launch the new site. I hope to have it done by this weekend so I can enjoy my birthday weekend (and a few margaritas ). 


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

HDR Photography

This is my first ever attempt at High Dynamic Range, or HDR, photography. HDR photography involves a process of bracketing shots and then composting the individual shots with software. I also followed some of the techniques in this Photoshop tutorial, minus the sky portion. Its  not as great as I had hoped, however, shooting at 2pm is not the ideal time.



 


























Sunday, May 16, 2010

Cactus Bugs

While shooting some pictures of the flower on this cactus, I noticed all these bugs hanging out on the back side of it. I have no idea what they are and not sure if I should kill them or let them hang out.  A quick Google search left me thinking they might be Cactus Coreid Nymphs.

Of all the links I found, none have indicated weather or not I should try to get rid of them.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Bluebonnets

A couple weeks ago, I took some pictures of Texas Bluebonnets.  According to Texas A&M, bluebonnets:

  •  Bloom between March and April
  • Can also be white, pink, purple and Aggie Maroon
  • Will not produce mature seed until June
  • Are extremely cold hardy
  • Help produce nitrogen in the soil
The time to spread wildflower seed is actually in the fall, not early spring. "September and October are the months for planting cold hardy fall annuals which bloom profusely the following spring" (Parsons, par 10)

According to the USDA, Lupinus subcarnosus Hook (a.k.a.
Texas bluebonnet ) is drought tolerant, and a member of the pea family.


Lupinus subcarnosus became the State flower March 7th, 1901. 70 years later, the state legislature added another species of bluebonnets, Lupinus texensis, to Lupinus subcarnosus as the state flower in addition to "any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded", and lumped them all into one state flower.  Among the many things the Legislature did not know then was that the big state of Texas is home to three other species of Lupines and the umbrella clause makes all five of them the state flower. And, if any new species are discovered, they automatically will assume the mantle of state flower as well" (Parsons, par 6).

Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to pick bluebonnets in the state of Texas. Just because you can do something, however, doesn't always mean you should.

Burnet and Chappell Hill have annual "Bluebonnet Festivals."


"Ennis was designated by the 1997 State Legislature as the home of the Official Texas Bluebonnet Trail and was designated the Official Bluebonnet City of Texas" (Ennis Convention and Visitors Bureau).

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Curbside Garden Update




It's been a while since I have updated my curb side garden progress. Last year I planted cantaloupe, pineapple and basil with the lantana and bulbine.  The cantaloupe became overgrown last year and took over most of the bed. That combined with the feral cats making it their litter box, I decided not to plant anything edible out there.  The hard freeze we had this winter wiped out the pineapple and I thought the lantana was a goner also. Much to my delight, the lantana came back. Instead of running the water hose across the side walk and risking a lawsuit, I installed a pipe under the sidewalk. I can hook the water hose up on  one side and the soaker hose on the other. I also added a few stepping stones on so that hopefully people will stop trampling the plants.











Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I-phone Art - Mission ConcepciĆ³n


Mission ConcepciĆ³n is one of the famous Spanish missions along the San Antonio river. For more information on the Missions, go to the National Parks Service website.  While working on a news report, I snapped a few shots on my phone. These photos were taken with my I-phone 3gs and edited in the Photoshop.com Mobile app.  All images are copyright 2010 and may not be used for commercial purposes. For non-profit use please credit WilliamCaldera.com










Original Images

Monday, May 3, 2010

Qik! video - Bravo Mayo

On May 1st, while showing my cousin around the Riverwalk, we came across a dance performance at the Arneson River Theater put on by the San Antonio Parks department.  Naturally, I pull out my I-phone and live stream it via Qik!


Collection of other's videos shot with the Canon 5D Mark II




After a quick search, these are a few videos I found online that were shot with the Canon 5D Mark II. The first one is from Sam Lerma who contributed to my essay about the camera.

Image courtesy Dan Terry






Inside the House of Usher from sam lerma on Vimeo.





Reverie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.




Beauty Shots of the Camera


5D Mark II from Edgar Lƶhr on Vimeo.







Alexandra from oliver gray on Vimeo.

The Canon 5D Mark II - 5 page essay

Photo courtesy Nick Wheeleroz “At first it seemed like just hype, but after using the camera and reviewing my footage, I was blown away” (Lerma, par 2). Sam Lerma, an independent film maker and instructor at the Film School of San Antonio at Harlandale High School, is talking about his use of what is primarily a still photography camera that is blazing its way into the video production market. Ten years ago, most professional photographers were in the beginning steps of making the transition from film to digital. One early digital camera was a hybrid between a Canon or Nikon body and a Kodak digital chip that was only capable of capturing images up to two megapixels. At that time, two megapixel resolution was cutting edge technology. The photography industry has dramatically changed in the past decade and continues to change. The lines between video and photography cameras are blurring, and one camera is leading the way. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a great camera because of its impressive imaging abilities, available accessories, easy to use interface, and reasonable price point.

There are some aspects of the camera that could be improved, the majority of which are in regards to the video capturing. Since the camera is predominantly designed for photography, the ergonomics of the 5D Mark II are not well suited for shooting video. Many third party manufacturers, however, have created many accessories to make the camera handling imitate traditional video cameras. Even with the third party accessories, the 5D Mark II is not close to completely replacing more traditional video cameras. Robert Paniagua, who has two decades of experience as an international video journalist and proprietor of ETC. Video Pro, notes that under tight deadlines and projects that need a quick turnaround, shooting video with the 5D Mark II is “not very practical for everyday use because of the necessary attachments” (Paniagua, par 6). There were some problems with “jerky” video when the camera was first released. Canon, however, has since released a firmware upgrade that fixes many of those initial issues. Firmware is a “computer program contained permanently in a hardware device” (“firmware”). The 5D Mark II is also limited by the amount of time that video can be continuously recorded. Sam Lerma, whose short film, Trash Day screened at film festivals around the world and won several awards including best director at The Long Island Latino Film Fest, employed the Canon 5D Mark II on his recent documentary, Inside the House of Usher. He observes, “The camera can only record in 10 minute clips…stopping interviews to change out cards can get annoying” (Lerma, par 5).

The Canon 5D Mark II is capable of creating stunning images, with a shallow depth of field that gives independent film makers a filmic look they crave, while holding up to the strict standards of a professional photographer. The 5D Mark II is a digital single lens reflex camera, or DSLR, that boasts a full frame complementary metal-oxide semiconductor, or CMOS sensor. It is capable of capturing 1920 by 1080 progressive high definition video at thirty frames per second. The 5D Mark II’s closest competitor is only capable of shooting 1280 by 720 video and photos at 12.3 megapixels. Most cameras on the market today, including many professional cameras, have smaller sensors that crop and magnify an image when used with 35 millimeter lenses. Full frame sensors are the same size as a 35 millimeter film frame and have a better dynamic range or contrast. The full frame CMOS sensor with a twenty one megapixel resolution and Canon’s DIGIC 4 image processor combine to make stunning images. “The first thing we noticed after shooting off a fair number of stills was how sharp and clear the images came out. The color processing is outstanding” (Holland, par 4). The 5D Mark II has an ISO range of fifty to two hundred fifty six thousand. ISO is a measurement of how sensitive film is to light. As the ISO increases, less light is needed for a properly exposed image, although the amount of noticeable grain increases. “The capability to shoot at an ISO of 25600 lets you practically shoot in the dark. While I wouldn't shoot everything at such a high ISO… the camera will be able to perform in the low-light situations I might find myself shooting in” ("Canon EOS 5D Mark II," par 18). Because of its impressive image quality, the 5D Mark II has been used in the production of national commercial spots, the new show open for Saturday Night Live, primetime television shows on major broadcast networks such as the 2009-2010 season finale of “House” on the FOX network, and many other high profile productions.

Robert Paniagua
, who after a recent trip to the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas, noted the “5D Mark II was at many of the major exhibits” (Paniagua, par 2). New accessories to enhance shooting video with the camera, such as “follow focus” devices and steady cam rigs for smooth camera movement, are coming to the market nearly every day. The camera is also compatible with many pre-existing accessories designed for other camera bodies in Canon’s EOS line, allowing the 5D Mark II to be easily integrated into the equipment already owned by many photographers. Wireless transmitters, memory cards, lenses, flashes, and flash accessories are just some of the types of equipment that are compatible with the camera. “The big bonus, however, is the glass - the ability to use the extensive collection of photographic lenses available for DSLR cameras, giving you amazing flexibility in controlling focal length and depth of field” (Dixon, par 3). Other accessories allow the camera to instantly transfer photos wirelessly, as they are snapped, to a backup server and can be instantly seen from anywhere in the world with internet access.

The easy to use interface is very simple and similar to other cameras in Canon’s EOS line of digital single lens reflex cameras. The 5D Mark II allows fully manual operation, fully automatic operation, and various levels of control in between. The controls include shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance and focus. The photographer can change the auto focus setting to focus on objects in the center of the frame or one of nine focus points within the frame. The 5D Mark II also has a 3 inch “live view” liquid crystal display, or LCD, giving the photographer the option to either look through the view finder, or at the LCD display while shooting. There are several file formats to choose from while shooting. When shooting in “Raw” mode the image remains uncompressed and all the raw data is saved resulting in a much larger file size. Several compression settings save photographs in the .jpg format while video is saved as a .mov file.
Independent film makers and photographers love the 5D Mark II not only for its imaging abilities but for its relatively affordable price also. Former National Press Photographers Association president, veteran photojournalist, and wedding photographer Todd Stricker comments, “The 5D Mark II is a great camera, far superior to any of the others I have used in the past. And in my opinion better suited to the work I do than other more expensive Canon cameras that I have worked with” (Stricker, par.3 ). While other camera bodies can capture up to 54 megapixels, they also carry an exorbitant price tag. The Mamiya DM56 retails for over thirty two thousand dollars. The 5D Mark II delivers a powerful professional camera body at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of two thousand five hundred U.S. dollars. That price does not include a lens which is standard with professional level cameras. Independent film makers are now able to achieve the coveted film look that previously required very expensive film cameras that were predominantly available only to large budget film studios and commercial production houses. Dave Williams, of Dave Williams Films in Philadelphia, comments “In skilled hands, these cameras blow away what is available for even three times the price in video right now. I don't ever see going back to regular video cameras" (Merfeld, par 6).

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is an outstanding camera that is shaking up the creative imaging industries because of its exceptional imaging capabilities, easy to use controls, wide range of accessories available for both video and photography, and relatively reasonable price point. As new accessories are developed, the few inadequacies the camera may have are fading away. As video cameras and photography cameras merge, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is an innovative leader. In the relatively short two years it has been on the market, the camera has had a profound effect on an entire industry. The 5D Mark II could be the genesis of a transformation in the video production industry the way digital cameras revolutionized the photography industry nearly a decade ago.

Works Cited
"Canon EOS 5D Mark II." Studio Photography & Design 12.3 (2009): 34. General OneFile.
Web. 12 Apr. 2010. Document URL http://proxy.nlc.alamo.edu:2058/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&docId=A196293654&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=txshracd2907&version=1.0

Dixon, Doug. "HD video DSLRS: a different kind of camcorder." Videomaker 24.10 (April
2010): 41(5). General OneFile. Gale. Northeast Lakeview College. 12 Apr. 2010 .
"firmware." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. Merriam-Webster Online. 13 April 2010
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/firmware
Holland, Brent. "DSLR in motion: Canon 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera with Video."
Videomaker July 2009: 18+. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. Document URL

Lerma, Sam. Personal interview. 12 Apr. 2010.
Merfeld, Elizabeth Avery. "Adventures in fusion, part 1." EventDV 22.9 (2009): 30+. General
OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. Document URL


Paniagua, Robert. Personal interview. 18Apr. 2010.
Stricker, Todd. Personal interview. 14 Apr. 2010.



Sunday, May 2, 2010

Canine Literacy

Volunteers from the Kerrville Humane Society of Kerrville take their canines into an area elementary school to assist students in learning to read.









Celebrate SA 2010

This is from the Live Stream I did from the 2010 New Years celebration in downtown San Antonio.  Using Sprint 4g and livestream.com, I  hooked the Sony XDcam to the laptop via firewire and streamed my shot from on top of the live van. The fireworks start about 33 minutes into the video.








Friday, April 30, 2010

Career


Career
My passion for photography and video editing began my senior year in high school when I put together a video montage using two vhs players, a vhs camcorder, and a stereo to lay down the music bed. While working on the video montage, I began to notice that photos cropped a certain way look much better. Little did I know, I was actually recognizing the rule of thirds before I had ever heard of the term.

     Instead of going to college to become an automotive mechanic as I had planned all of my high school career, I chose to pursue a career in photography and enrolled at Texas State Technical College in Waco. In August of 2000, I completed an Associates of Applied Science degree in Media Communications and Information Technology. While a full time student at TSTC, I also worked 34 hours per week, and for a quarter, held an internship at Joe Griffin Photography. During my internship, I shadowed Joe Griffin and his assistants during photo shoots, in the darkrooms, and editing the amazing images Joe created. I especially enjoyed assisting Joe with lighting in the studio.

     During my last quarter at TSTC, I accepted a position in "Master Control" at KWTX-TV in Waco. My duties included pushing a button to play commercials and writing down the exact hour, minute, and second that each commercial played on the FCC Log. After all the commercials played, I had to push another button to go back to programming. I was also responsible for playing syndicated programming at the exact times. I call it the George Jetson job. After a two year tour of duty in master control, I was given a chance to become a photojournalist. It was in that position that I learned a great deal from the chief photojournalist, Jim Peeler.

     A year later, a coworker spotted a classified add in the Waco Tribune Herald advertising an opening for a photojournalist at a station in San Antonio and passed it along to me. Much to my surprise I received a call back from the News Operations Manager about a week after mailing my resume. Soon after, I loaded all my stuff into a small U-haul and headed south on I-35.
I have worked with some truly creative and incredibly talented people at KSAT-12 TV. I arrived just in time to cover the 2003 Spurs Championship victory. Since then, I have covered a wide spectrum of news stories, and have seen the best and worst of man kind. I have covered death, destruction, disasters, tragedies, celebrations and everything in between. While many of my colleagues dislike covering it, Fiesta is my favorite annual event to cover.
In 2005, I covered the largest national story since 9/11; Hurricane Katrina. Although I never made it into the flood waters of New Orleans, I stood on I-10 in Metairie where patients were being unloaded from helicopters and transported in Ambulances and military style vehicles. We spoke with parents who didn't know where their kids had been taken, and children who were separated from their families living with thousands of strangers at the shelters.




A few weeks later, I was covering Hurricane Rita in Houston and Galveston. The most memorable part was the eerie drive into downtown Houston. A major US city, notorious for its traffic congestion, was a ghost town during what should have been a busy Friday afternoon rush hour.


In early 2006, I traveled to the Chicago Auto Show where Toyota unveiled the new Tundra model that would later roll off the production lines at the new plant in San Antonio. The best part of the show was seeing the Camaro Prototype years before it would become available.




I have also covered numerous stories throughout the state including immigration issues along the Texas and Arizona boarders, Spring Break in South Padre Island, the Fort Hood shootings, and sporting events across the country.


In 2007 I traveled to Cleveland with five of my colleagues to cover the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers. When the Spurs swept the Cavs in game 4 we carried live coverage until 3 am. After our coverage concluded, we checked out of our hotel and caught a flight back to San Antonio just in time for the river parade and celebration.


I have also covered the Dallas Cowboys training camp in San Antonio and Oxnard CA, as well as many NFL games across the country.




 Shooting Tony Romo Walking off the Field after being knocked out of the 2010 Playoffs.


Shooting a stand-up during our "Winter Weather" coverage
(I know. Its south Texas)



Jacksonville, FL

Nashville, TN

Seattle, WA

Tropical Storm - Mustang Island

Miami Dolphins

On the Field @ Vikings Stadium

On the Field at Giants Stadium - NY

Editing in Live van

Outside Vikings Stadium



Shooting a news story at the San Antonio Food Bank





 On the Field at the new Cowboys Stadium


Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI

Dallas Cowboys Stadium - Arlington, TX

Washington Redskins


The Detroit Lions



Preparing for a live shot at the River Mist Subdivision slope fail.