A video of me working in the field

[John Brady]

I'm getting my 15 minutes of fame! this is a video that features me as a segment in a new PBS pilot for South West Florida.
I thought some of you might get a kick out of seeing it.

The conditions sucked the day we went into the swamp so I just pretend to take a picture. This concludes my 15 minutes...

http://youtu.be/-ha-QuU2c2w

www.timeandlight.com

[C_Remington]

That's so impressive. What's the back story? How did this come to be?

I sure wouldn't want to drop anything out there.

[jackies]

Great video. Great work. Love it.

J

[Gem Singer]

You forgot to remove the lens cap on that last shot.

Check minutes 7:14-7:15 on the video.

[Peter Mounier]

Pretty cool!

[Pete Watkins]

That's great but I'm sorry to say that Gem's right. I really enjoyed it 'cos there's nothing like that over here!
Pete.

[John Brady]

Thanks all, as mentioned I was only pretending to take an image. I don't think I pulled the dark slide either.
This is his rough cut so maybe I can get him to clean that up for me.

[Shootar401]

Great Video! You have me wanting to take a trip down to Florida now.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Thanks for that. It should be informative to bring some people into LF.

... in return, I will not show a video of me working in MinneSnowta this month. :)

[Ari]

Very good video, and congratulations, John.

[matthew blais]

Nicely done John

[Scott Walker]

Pretty Cool John!

[Thom Bennett]

Sweet!

[John Brady]

Thanks all! It was a lot of fun working with the videographer on the project. I wish the light and wind would have been better, I would have loved to photograph that Cypress in the prairie with the setting moon in the background!

[Ed Bray]

I thoroughly enjoyed that video. Amazing character in those trees, Pete is right there is nothing even remotely like that over here.

What about the Gators? I would be more than a bit concerned once I had my head under the darkcloth.

Your images in the gallery were very good too, absolutely stunning, just debating whether to give up large format now!

[ross]

Nice John, I like it!

[John Fink Jr.]

Nicely done John.
Nice historical and environmental perspective in the presentation.

[John Brady]

Thanks again everyone!

[joselsgil]

John,

Very nice work. The video is very entertaining too.

I have one ?? What backpack are you using to carry your camera?

I am looking for a backpack I can use in the field with my Kodak 2D.

Thanks,

Jose

[John Brady]

I have one ?? What backpack are you using to carry your camera?

I am looking for a backpack I can use in the field with my Kodak 2D.

Thanks,

Jose

It is a photobackpacker pack. My camera is a non folding Ebony 810slw, unfortunately the largest internal case from them is just a little to small for it to fit so I just put it loose in the case. I think their cases work best for folding cameras so may be fine for your 2D.

[Ken Lee]

It was just right from beginning to end. And inspiring.

[photoevangelist]

I miss the deep south! Thanks, John. This reminds me of Savannah and parts of Georgia.

[ROL]

Very, very nice (work and video). It might be helpful to include a description of the project with the video, so YT viewers can get a broad view of what its purpose is. BTW, I bet there will be more than a few of the "uninitiated" who will question why you were taking a self portrait at the close of the video (7m:16s).

[Ron McElroy]

What kind of foot gear do you wear? I too shoot in wetlands, but rarely wade in because of the mess.

[John Brady]

What kind of foot gear do you wear? I too shoot in wetlands, but rarely wade in because of the mess.

On this day as many others I am wearing old sneakers. The majority of the Florida swamps have nice firm limestone based bottoms. Not at all what you would imagine. But when you forget about your shoes and leave them in your car on a hot day after wearing them in the swamp the aroma is indescribable!

The swamps of the Florida Glades are a cool and comfortable place, the view camera is right at home there.

[John Brady]

Very, very nice (work and video). It might be helpful to include a description of the project with the video, so YT viewers can get a broad view of what its purpose is. BTW, I bet there will be more than a few of the "uninitiated" who will question why you were taking a self portrait at the close of the video (7m:16s).

Ha ha, I know that last reflection shot of me looking at the ground glass is kind of funny!

The video will be used for a local PBS program, it's a segment of a pilot for a new South Florida Magazine. Thanks to all of you for the encouragement!

[Kirk Gittings]

you honestly have the nerve to call that work! :)

[David Higgs]

I've got a family holiday to Orlando in April, but we are stopping for a week in Naples. I'll be sure to visit your gallery, we have nothing like that environment in the UK, and I'm all the more excited about going to FL now. I'll see if I can sneak a tripod and a 6x6 into the holiday packing, I'm not sure I'll get away with LF.

[mandoman7]

Very courageous to post the link to a forum of potential critics. You've got a nice, calm manner in describing what you're doing, and thankfully stay away from too much self aggrandizement. Excellent work as well.

[John Brady]

you honestly have the nerve to call that work! :)
It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it ;)


I've got a family holiday to Orlando in April, but we are stopping for a week in Naples. I'll be sure to visit your gallery, we have nothing like that environment in the UK, and I'm all the more excited about going to FL now. I'll see if I can sneak a tripod and a 6x6 into the holiday packing, I'm not sure I'll get away with LF.
Hope to see you, if you have time while you are in Naples, I can point you to some good spots!


Very courageous to post the link to a forum of potential critics. You've got a nice, calm manner in describing what you're doing, and thankfully stay away from too much self aggrandizement. Excellent work as well.
Thanks for the kind words Madoman!

[DennisD]

Hi John,

That's a great video and a wonderful tribute to large format and nature photography. Keep up the work - it's needed to educate people about preserving, rather than exploiting, the natural gifts we have.

BTW I think even Ansel would be impressed not only with the video in general, but also with that last shot. Don't recall he ever made one of his remarkable photos without removing the lens cap !

Thanks for your contribution to the view camera world !

[tgtaylor]

Great video and images John - thanks for posting! I was born and raised in New Orleans in a house made of Cypress with a magnolia tree in the front yard. Cypress, as you noted in the film, is practically indestructable, and a worthy subject for photography.

Thomas

[munz6869]

Smashing video John! Beautiful environment. What tripod and head are you using with your monster Ebony?

Marc!

[John Brady]

Smashing video John! Beautiful environment. What tripod and head are you using with your monster Ebony?

Marc!
Thanks Marc! My tripod is the largest Induro carbon fiber with center column and the ball head is an Arca B1. It has been a good combination, I went through three gitzo cf tripods. The swamp ets them up, so far I have found the Induro to be more durable and a lot less expensive!

[Ed Bray]

John, you never answered my query about the Alligators. How do you guard against them when you have your head under the darkcloth?

[tgtaylor]

In my experience Alligators are not so much of a problem as long as you don't step on one (they look like logs) and they are not starving - which they never are as there's a lot of food available in the swamp. A far bigger concern for me is the water moccasin which is a mean snake that will go out if its way to bite you.

Thomas

[John Brady]

John, you never answered my query about the Alligators. How do you guard against them when you have your head under the darkcloth?
Sorry Ed, Thomas is correct, they are not as scary as the movies make them out to be. They don't look at people as a food source except when the idiots go out and feed them. You can tell the ones that people have been feeding because they will swim up to you.
I try to treat them all with respect, I stay out of their way and they usually stay out of mine. When one gets a little too close, a gentle tap on the snout with a tripod or walking stick sends them on their way. with all that said, the really big ones, like 14 feet scare the crap out of me, I give them plenty of room.

As for protection while under the dark cloth, it's kind of like when I was a little kid and put my head under the covers to keep the boogy man away :) When I'm under the dark cloth the whole world goes away, the mosquitoes too.


In my experience Alligators are not so much of a problem as long as you don't step on one (they look like logs) and they are not starving - which they never are as there's a lot of food available in the swamp. A far bigger concern for me is the water moccasin which is a mean snake that will go out if its way to bite you.

Thomas
Thomas, you have obviously spent some time in the swamp. Those freaking water moccasins are always a concern. They're just flat out mean! The wild pigs are plenty scary too!

[Ed Bray]

Thanks for the insight, as we stated, we have nothing like that in the UK at all, and very few wild dangerous creatures to be afraid of.

[Robert Langham]

Very nice piece of video and good clear explanations. You do have a wildly disfunctional piece of headgear. Maybe it's edible or used to make signal fires in case of emergency.

Good job!

[John Brady]

Very nice piece of video and good clear explanations. You do have a wildly disfunctional piece of headgear. Maybe it's edible or used to make signal fires in case of emergency.

Good job!
That hat is another reason why the gators leave me alone! I'm hoping that when the show airs, viewers will start a fund to get me a new one...

[stormpetrel]

Great video indeed! It is time to go out from my office and shoot!