about that other thing that I do...

Julianna Forlano seriously rocks, this could get interesting, and a film to keep an eye out for...

My day job, so to speak, has pretty much been as a camera operator for films, commercials, and music videos. I mention this because recently there has been a lot of change on the tech side of filmmaking some of it good and some of it not so much.

Such is progress.

On the good side, some changes in tech allow me to shoot a lot of professional stuff with a hacked DSLR (a Panasonic/Lumix GH2) that costs a fraction of what a "proper" HD or film camera would and, even more important, for someone based on a boat it takes up a lot less room...

...than my twenty-seven Anvil cases did.  While I admit I really miss shooting film, HD/2K/4K does have it's perks!

The other nice thing about smaller more affordable gear is that I can now afford to make the sort of films I want on subjects like sailing and cruising without having to spend more time trying to raise money and sell others on the idea than the actual film-making process...

But, more about that later...

Listening to Mr Big

So it goes...

I'm in GoPro heaven...

Something of a Catch-22 situation, this comic apparently makes right wing nutcases heads explode (can't wait till Rush and Ms Coulter gets to read a copy), and does the phrase "Be excellent to each other"  ring a bell...

I'm always looking for cunning and clever ways to mount cameras to stuff on boats and dinghies. So, the other day when I came across a camera mount designed for bicycles that cost less than $10 a pair that would work very nicely on boats, well, you could say I was one happy camper!

Doing the happy dance!

Listening to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

So it goes...

A fix for that focus issue...

Not exactly a trebuchet but it certainly kicks some ass, about that brave new economy, and a very cool backstay setup...

As much as I like the GoPro cameras it has had something of an issue with focus and vignetting when used as a dive camera...

Problem solved! GoPro just came out with a new housing sporting a flat glass lens. Better yet, at just under $50 for the housing and lens, cheaper than most third party lens replacements alone... Is that seriously cool or what?

Listening to Sons of Bill

So it goes...

A very litle camera that kicks some serious...

I'm in total agreement with Donkey Mountain, two words but a world of difference, and something about how it isn’t a crime to steal in America if the thefts are executed with a computer by white people in suits...

I come to cameras from a slightly different tack than most folk... You can blame it on the fact that shooting film and video is what I've done for a living for a very long time and, as such, a camera is both a tool and a means of putting food on the table.

One camera that makes a lot of sense for both professionals and boatfolk alike is the GoPro... They are cheap, waterproof, and provide a reasonable image. Not, I might add, a great image but in the places you'd be using them an image that you can use to tell a story. Which, is after all, the whole point of the exercise...

Anyway, there's usually a lag between the arrival of a new camera and the point where it becomes a serious contender due to the addition of third party bits and pieces that expand on a camera's virtues and make them better and more professional.

So here's some fun stuff.

A very cool cage and a lens from Unruly that gets around some issues and makes the GoPro a better tool...



Something very cool from GoPro that will be real handy filming on a boat...



Or, how about the Holy Grail of interchangeable lenses?

Listening to Amy Rigby

So it goes...

Making headway...

An interesting solar water still, the key word here is "adapt", and DoryMan points us to a cool scow project and makes a point...

Yeah, I keep having all sorts of warm and fuzzy thoughts about a scow cruising boat. So much so, that it's hard for me to concentrate on the various jobs and projects I need to be doing. You know how it goes...

That said, the weather is good (spelled n-o-t-r-a-i-n-i-n-g) and even though the last couple of days the anchorage has been rolling like a drunk pig, stuff is getting done.

One of the current small projects is building a few dedicated camera mounts into key areas (hard dodger/spreaders/mast head) of "So It Goes" for our plethora of GoPro cameras (soon to be made larger with the addition of the new and even better GoPro2). A pretty easy task as the camera mounts are simple stock FCS skeg mounts designed for surfboards so it is a simple matter of drilling a hole, sealing the area with epoxy, and then gluing the fixture in place...

In the now for something completely different department, is this cool or what?


Near Tag Quality from Graffiti Research Lab France on Vimeo.

I'm thinking it would be a very cool way to give "So It Goes" that dazzle paint job I keep threatening to do...

Listening to Quicksilver Messenger Service

So it goes...

Some boat camera details...

Tech Dirt says something interesting, the skies are safe from toy hammers, and Steve Audio makes a point...

Face it, nothing says GO CRUISING like reading the news in the morning!

We've just added another dinghy/POV cam to our film-making quiver here on "So It Goes" and we are looking forward to putting it through its paces.

The GoPro makes all kinds of sense as a clamp it to a stanchion, stick it on the end of a boat hook, or fly it from a kite if the urge strikes HD video waterproof camera.

Sort of a modern day Eyemo...

We bought the "Surf Hero" as a starter system but added the tripod mount and handlebar/seatpost mount (perfect for attaching the camera to stanchions) and that pretty much covers all foreseeable mounting needs for "So It Goes", the dinghies and any surfboard/kayak needs we might have.

We will also be glassing in a number of FCS X2 Plugs in various locations around the boat (hard dodger, interior, the end of the boom, masthead, and various deck locations) to give us a plethora of bombproof mounting locations... The only downside is I still need to come up with a clever mount for my speargun!

Fun stuff!

Actually we like this camera so much we have plans to add several more to our quiver in the very near future.

Listening to Melissa Etheridge

So it goes...

A decision has been made... The perfect dinghy cam!

Cleaning up the mast and getting it ready for carbon tows and glassing is a great way to clear your mind and sort out undecided issues as you work... There just seems to be something about the act of planing wood mixed with the output of the iPod  (Little Feat) to make all things clear!

Which is why I have finally come to the decison of the right camera for the sailing video project I'm doing which calls for something able to be mounted remotely, stuck on the end of a boat hook (for those up-close-and-personal shots of a shark or MahiMahi about to be landed) and as a general workhorse camera that will shoot HD video and be the perfect dinghy cam...

Hell, I might even mount it on a surfboard... Speaking of surfboards, I'm pretty sure I'll be thinking about which surfboard to build in today's mast travail...