Lido Beach Sunset with a Canon 7D

I can never get enough of a quiet evening on the beach watching the sun

slip away ending another day.  Our last few mini breaks we have stayed

on Lido Beach in Sarasota Florida.

On our last stay I broke out my under used Canon 7D and tried my best to

re-introduce my self to all the settings and difficulties of shooting video

with a DSLR.  One thing that is definitely hard is trying to follow

focus with a lens that was never intended to be used for video.

The results of my evening shoots are below, and a fun shot

my wife got of a suspicious beach walker and her dis-shoveled

husband.

Surf Sentinel

A quiet moment by Mrs. Getawaymoments.

Instagram users can find her feed @sottpa 

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GoPro Hero2 Time Lapse with a Twist

I have a lot of fun with my GoPro cameras.  Years ago I was amazed at how cool

a simple flying time lapse with my GoPro came out.  This past August 

I had a long cross country flight and decided to try something new, 

a flying time lapse with a twist.

And later a driving time lapse.

Is this a technique or shot I would do all the time? No.

But for the right project it could be very cool.

Here is how I did it. Video DIY at bottom of post.

You need to have a compact egg timer and a GoPro J-hook buckle.

Some of the egg timer "designs" are too tall to do this, I would recomend

a Golapse style , DIY here, or my original design.

I have read on many forums that folks have a problem with timers failing,

When you buy, you should pick a timer that "sounds" strong, crank it up and test it.

Also, when you run any of these units you should crank them all the way and then

set your shot.  To do the twist shot you need a strong timer, many timers may not work.

In my driving time lapse with a twist video you can see the timer slip at 1:03.

If you try this shot, use a new timer, the odds are it will have a much stronger mechanism

when it's new.

If you want to get this shot through a window I recommend using two Ultraclamp arms.

Ultraclamps are cheap and very useful for GoPro shooting.

Here is the video DIY  on how to twist you GoPro time lapse.

And a GoPro shooting a GoPro shooting a time lapse with a twist.

Rarely seen, always present.

My Mom sent this picture to me last week,  and I am amazed.

I grew up in Virginia, and only twice caught a fleeting glimpse of a red fox.

I think Mom's on her way to a second career as a nature photojournalist.

Excellent work!

GoLapse: How to make a GoPro panning unit part 4

After years of building egg timer time lapse thing-a-ma-jigs, kitchen timers, panning units

ect ect ect,  I finally have a model I like and carry in my run bag everyday.

I call it the GoLapse.

When I first built these things I had a Canon Elph, then I found the original GoPro Hero.

Since then I have been almost exclusively using GoPros for work and play timelapses.

The problem with my original and even the Ikea timers was the size, too big to put in a

camera bag.  The two new modifications save size by using the GoPro mounting shoe.

The models differ in how they mount to your tripod.  The model below uses the mounting

design from my original timer, a !/2 inch metal screw to 1/4 20 coupling nut.  I have used this

design mounted to clamps and suction cups on vehicles traveling up to 70 mph for extended

periods of time with no problem.  So I would use this one in extreme circumstances.

The other version below is not as sturdy, but is so small it will fit into the smallest

go bag.  This GoLapse mounts to the tripod using a 1/4 20 nut super-glued to the

bottom of the timer unit.  If you over tighten or put excessive strain on this joint it will

break.  Most users can make this model easily and not run into any problems. 

Any cheap egg or kitchen timer can be modified into one of these GoLapses.

The two models here were made from Ikea Stam kitchen timers for $1.99.

Below are a few shots of the GoLapse in action at the Sarasota Chalk Festival.

Let one go

So what happens when you let one of those very familiar broccoli heads go?

You get an explosion of little yellow flowers.

I love to eat fresh broccoli, but every winter I let at least one plant escape my dinner plate.

Why?  Seeds and bees.

I always need seeds for next season and winter time is a hard time for bees to find food.

Here is a post showing seeds.

Here is a video of bees feasting on broccoli flowers.

Sweet Potato Flowers

Have you ever seen a sweet potato flower? I guess you have now, but I had never laid my
eyes on one of these purple flowers till I completely neglected a couple sweet potato vines this
past fall.  I've never really liked sweet potatoes, but my wife loves them.  Last August a sweet
potato she bought at the store started to sprout, so instead of throwing it away or composting it,
I planted it.  I didn't think there would be enough time to get any meaningful potatoes from
the resulting plants but why not try.  After watching the vine grow and then slowly start to fade,
a surprise.  Who knew a simple sweet potato would have such a beautiful flower? 
The flowers only last a few days, but they are wonderful.