Dec 03 2010

The Simple Battery Power Tracking System (BPTS)

Category: In-Camera Techniques, Technology Insights — Ethan G. Salwen @ 8:42 am

AfterCapture Blog_101203_Battery Tracking_AI’m photographing frantically with my AA-powered external flash and I need fresh batteries — now! I reach into my gear bag, see gobs of batteries and pause. Which ones have the juice? Clearly, photographers in action need a way to avoid this confusion.

I’ve tried a number of solutions — separating “deads” from “alives” in different locations in my bag or in separate Ziploc bags — but in moments of photographic furry I’ve gotten confused.

Packets of Power Ready To Go

How simple, I realized a few years back, to simply wrap fresh batteries in rubber bands — packets of power ready to go. It really is a good system.

Nonetheless, the unwrapped, fizzled-out, loose batteries tended to overtake my gear bag. Also, when going to recharge, I didn’t trust that “unwrapped” = “uncharged,” and so I wasted time with head-scratching. (Yes, a battery tester would have helped.)

A few months back — using modern humanity’s most invaluable tools (paper and pen) — I finally came up with a simple, effective battery power tracking system (BPTS). It’s been working great.

The BPTS Workflow

Required Equipment: rubber bands, slips of paper, pen.

• On one side of the slips, write “C” — for “charged.”

• On other side, write “C” and mark an “X” through it — for “dead.”

• Bundle fresh batteries with rubber bands and slip in a “C.”

• When dead, bundle again and slip in an “X”ed-out “C.”

The BPTS Illustrated

OK. So I’m not photographing frantically with flash, but is still the BPTS in action.

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Sep 10 2010

The Value of Shutting Up

Category: In-Camera Techniques, Multimedia & Video, Viewpoint — Ethan G. Salwen @ 11:30 am

AC_Blog_100910_Shut Up_1More than once Gail Mooney has advised photographers new to video to shut up when recording audio interviews. I got the point — I thought. If we are not quite, in general, or jump to quickly to the the next question we risk making a mess of our audio files, making editing a real bitch, possibly losing precious soundbites. That made sense. But I’ve discovered that Mooney’s advice actually is much more deeply valuable than had thought.

When Mooney was here in Buenos Aires finishing up her “Opening Our Eyes” reporting, she invited me to help her and Erin Kelly (her daughter/project partner) with one on their interviews. My job: to help with translating. Mooney gave me a quick prep talk before the interviewing, insisting that I shut up as much as possible, and advised me to nod my head, make eye contact and try to encourage further talking — on the subject’s part — by not doing any talking on my part.

If you’ve ever met or been interviewed by me, you’ll know that one of the hardest things for me to do is shut up. I talk, talk, talk, talk.

But then, on location interviewing Maria Eugenia Cuyas, with Mooney working the camera and Erin and I asking the questions, I saw the value of shutting up in action. It wasn’t — as I had thought — just about not jumping on top of the interviewees final words. It was about eliciting much more interesting, expansive answers by using the power of silence.

A Chance to Shut Up for The Master

On Mooney and Erin’s last day in Buenos Aires, I was honored to have the chance to interview them both. That’s right, in the “making-of” video short Mooney created on returning home, she and Erin are responding to my questions — and even more, to my silence. They had tons on their mind, and just needed a little prompting.

The more silent I forced myself to be, the more Continue reading “The Value of Shutting Up”

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Aug 27 2010

Buying Audio Equipment with a Little Help from My (YouTube) Friends

Category: Multimedia & Video, Technology Insights — Ethan G. Salwen @ 8:52 am

If you are already using YouTube to research equipment, make buying decisions and to learn tech tips, you can skip this post. If you are not, I want to invite you to the YouTube audio/video technical learning fest of which I have been ignorant. For example, recently this simple, nerdy audio test by onelonedork helped me immensely.

You see, Gail Mooney had suggested that I make the Zoom H4n my tool of choice for recording audio for multimedia projects. Instead of just taking her word for it, I spent a lot of time reading reviews on traditional sites and blogs to see if I couldn’t get something just as good for less than $300. Finally convinced to go with the Zoom, I hit a major stumbling block. What accessories to buy?

From Mooney and others I knew that multiple external microphones are critical for best sound recording. But as I looked for a cheap mic or two, I quickly learned there is no such thing as a cheap mic. Most are more expensive than the recorder itself, and that was already straining my budget. Most frustrating, I had no way of knowing if I would really need one, at least at this point in the game.

I simply had no way of knowing how the Zoom recorded in the real world — at least not until I stumbled upon the test by onelonedork. His great, dorky test test shows the position of the Zoom, and helped me realize that, for now, I would be fine with the recorder alone. No accessories needed. I could simply buy the Zoom, begin recording interviews and ambient sound with the on-board mics, then consider further purchases after I’ve created some content.

Wait! I stumbled upon one more nerdy, wonderful audio test (by KalaniPrince) that made me decide that I just had to shell out $50 bucks for a little fuzzy hat for the zoom. It seems ridiculous to pay 1/6th of the price of the recorder for a bit of fuzz, but this video made it clear to me that it’s a must

The Wonderful YouTube Community of Multimedia Nerds

There are tons of YouTube videos featuring Zoom audio tests with all kinds of mic configurations. Besides helping me Continue reading “Buying Audio Equipment with a Little Help from My (YouTube) Friends”

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Aug 11 2010

A Photojournalist (Published) in Argentina

Category: Business & Marketing — Ethan G. Salwen @ 1:04 pm

AC_Blog_100811_HRW_1Today an image of mine from yesterday’s Human Rights Watch press conference appeared in “Pagina 12,” Argentina’s biggest progressive newspaper. Images of mine from the press event also ran on a number of international news Web sites. Yes I’m pleased about this, but I’m also quite surprised.

When I arrived at the Human Rights Watch press conference (to unveil “Illusions of Care”), I had two goals. My primary goal was to meet contacts to help with my multimedia project for HRW. My second goal was to experiment with photographing still images while also capturing video and, gulp, recording audio as well.

I figured that the material likely would not make it into my multimedia project, and so I didn’t have to worry about the low quality of the video from my Canon G9, nor about the fact that I had no idea how to record audio with my brand new Zoom H4n, which looks like a spaceship and comes with an instruction manual that left me confused an anxious.

In other words, although I was messing around with a lot of equipment, I wasn’t nervous. No pressure. But then. . .

I noticed that there were no other photographers at the press conference and I thought, um, shouldn’t we be putting my work to use for HRW? At least, I thought, I should make sure I get one or two suitable images for press use, just in case.

I only really got my head on straight regarding press images after the conference, back at the hotel that HRW was using as their strategic center. There were giving lots of interviews and so I finally said, “Shouldn’t we be offering my images to the press?”

Indeed!, the team said. So I rushed back to my computer, set up a gallery of selects, and started responding to emails and calls that were coming in.

Marianne Mollmann speaks at Human Rights Watch press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 10, 2010, to release report "Illusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina"

Marianne Mollmann speaks at Human Rights Watch press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 10, 2010, to release report "Illusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina."

Thinking About the Client

I realize, of course, that daily news photographers think very clearly (and in advance) about how to get their images quickly into print. I’m not that kind of photographer, and so I don’t think that way. (That’s not an excuse; I’ll be more alert in the future.)

In terms of getting my images published I wasn’t thinking about how to make a few extra bucks on licencing a few tiny images. The important thing for me was to make myself part of the HRW team, help them with their press efforts and — no small matter — show them what I look like working in action.

Yes, I’ve already got the “go” for the multimedia project, but I am working with only one contact, who already has my confidence. Yesterday, two of her colleagues saw me go the extra mile for HRW, and I’m sure that, at some point in some way, this will serve me well.

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