Merry Christmas Time Lapse Decorating the Tree

Merry Christmas Time Lapse Decorating the Christmas Tree, my first Christmas Cheer Time Lapse.
Hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

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Wacom Intuos 5 Touch Unboxing and Installation

The Wacom Intuos 5 Touch tablet has been on my wish list for awhile now. As far as I can tell the Wacom tablets are the best available and the Intuos 5 Touch is the best of the standard Wacom tablets. Recently I found a great deal on the medium Wacom Intuos 5 Touch, too good a deal to pass up, so I didn't. I am now the proud owner of the medium Wacom Intuos 5 Touch tablet and thought it would be a great opportunity to make my first unboxing and installation video.

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GoPro Time Lapse Airports & Airplanes Traveling to Rome Italy

GoPro Time Lapse Airports & Airplanes Traveling to Rome Italy.
Ah Italy, such a beautiful country. My wife and I were embarking on a trip to La Dolce Vita, the sweet life of Italy and I made sure my GoPro batteries were charged and it was set to time lapse mode. The time lapse feature in the little GoPro cameras is one of my favourite features and traveling in an airplane is a great opportunity to play with it and I wasn't about to let that opportunity pass me by on this flight. Once we passed through security at the airport I pulled out my GoPro and put it on the suction cup mount and attached it to the window at the airport until it was time to board the airplane. Once on the plane I attached the suction cup to the window of the plane as quickly as I could so that the GoPro was ready for take off. After the first flight, while we were waiting in the airport for our connecting flight I attached the GoPro to the window of the second airport and kept the time lapse going and got a bit of the sunset by shear luck. Unfortunately by the time we got on the connecting flight my luck had run out as it was quite dark and the lights were on in the airplane so I didn't think it was going to work, but looking back I probably should have tried it anyway.
I continued the time lapse several hours into the flight when the sun was coming up over the horizon and then finished it with the airplane landing at Leonardo Da Vinci Airport in Rome.

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Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace and Buckingham Palace London England

Victoria Memorial Outside Buckingham Palace and Buckingham Palace London England. The Victoria Memorial outside the main gates of Buckingham Palace in London England is a memorial to Queen Victoria, the first sovereign to reside in Buckingham Palace.
Constructed of 2300 tons of marble the Victoria Memorial was dedicated in 1911 by two of Queen Victoria's grandsons, George V and Wilhelm II of Germany and Sir Thomas Brock was the sculptor of the Victoria Memorial. The final bronze statues were installed in 1924 completing the Victoria Memorial outside the main gates of Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace and The Buckingham Palace Victoria Memorial London England. Buckingham Palace in London England is an obvious must see for anyone travelling to London England. As well as being the Queen's residence in London England, Buckingham Palace is also her primary workplace. Buckingham Palace is one of many historical icons in London England and seeing Buckingham Palace in person and standing outside the iconic main gates of Buckingham Palace was one of the highlight of our stay in London England. The Victoria  Memorial outside those main gates of Buckingham Palace in London England is both impressive and beautiful. Buckingham Palace is a most appropriate place for the Victoria Memorial as Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in Buckingham Palace and was the first sovereign so leave from Buckingham Palace for their Coronation. Although we didn't have time to find out about tours of inside Buckingham Palace just to see Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace and St James Park, across from Buckingham Palace was quite impressive. On the next trip to London England we with definitely go back to Buckingham Palace and find out about tours of the inside, where, I'm certain, Buckingham Palace really shines.

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Born to Run: Dryland Dog Mushing / Carting National Championship

Born to Run: Dryland Dog Mushing / Carting National Championship

I had the opportunity to be part of the film crew at the Dryland Dog Mushing Canadian National Championship in Bristol Quebec. This was my first experience at a dog mushing or dog carting competition and it was amazing to see the passion of the participants and the excitement of the dogs. These dogs are truly born to run. Dryland dog mushing or carting really is like dog sledding without the snow. For the participants, dryland dog mushing  is a sport they do for love and some travel all over the world to do it. For the dogs, dryland dog mushing or carting, provides exercise and discipline and helps keep working dogs healthy and happy.

Shot with Nikon cameras and lenses and GoPro cameras

Double Decker Buses London England, A Double Decker Must Do On Our British Travels

Double Decker Buses London England. A double decker bus in London England was an absolute  must for us on our  trip to Britain. Double decker buses are synonymous with London England and  Britain for that matter and so no travel to Britain, and especially London England is complete with out a ride on a double decker bus. Finding a double decker bus is easy,you can't go down any major road in London England without seeing several double decker buses. It was due to this abundance of double decker buses that we used the double decker buses as one of our main sources of transport while on our stay in London England. Although the iconic double decker buses were retired a few years ago, the new double decker buses are still double decker buses and it is still London England, so enjoy a double decker bus ride on your travels through Britain.

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The Millennium Bridge or Millennium Foot Bridge, London England

The Millennium Bridge or Millennium Foot Bridge, London England

The Millennium Bridge over the River Thames in London England has got to be the coolest looking pedestrian bridge I've seen. The London Millennium Footbridge, as it is officially know, was opened in June 2000 Linking the Bankside and the City areas of London England. The Millennium Bridge is positioned on the Thames between the Southwark Bridge and the Blackfriars Railway Bridge in London England.  The Millennium Bridge links a few must see locations in London England, including St Paul's Cathedral, The Globe Theatre and The Tate Modern. I think The Millennium Foot Bridge will become a London England icon given enough time and enough photographs. The London Millennium Foot Bridge is a great example of how the modern and the ancient work together in London England. I crossed the Millennium Bridge twice. I first crossed the Millennium Bridge an my way to the Tate Modern Museum. I crossed the Millennium Foot Bridge a second time to get back to the St Paul's Cathedral.
 

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Underground Subway Station in London, England or THE MATRIX?

Underground Subway Station in London, England or THE MATRIX?

Underground Subway System in London, England or The Matrix? Was I descending into the Matrix or the Underground in London, England? The Underground is the subway system in London England. The architecture in the Underground or subway in London England is from a variety of periods, some modern and some I think are almost original, depending on when that part of the Underground or subway system was build or renovated.  As I was descending into this Underground, or subway, station in London, England, the architecture reminded me of the movie the Matrix so I pulled out my camera and started shooting. Sorry the clip is so short but I was already half way down the escalator into the Underground or subway system, by the time I got the camera out.
Shot with a Nikon d7000 camera and a Nikon 24-120 f4 Lens

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BOROUGH MARKET London England Food GLORIOUS Food

Borough Market London England is a food market on the south side of Thames River in London England. Borough Market is not far from Tower Bridge and the Shard building. My wife stumbled upon Borough market in her London England travel guide. After ready the travel guides description of Borough Market we knew it was for us. Borough Market is all about food, glorious food. and what food does Borough Market have, cheeses, meat, veggies and salads, bread and other baked good all beautiful and ready to be eaten. The only problem with Borough Market London England is deciding what to eat.... it all looks so good.

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GoPro Time Lapse from the Bottom of the Swimming Pool

I love splashing around in a swimming pool, so when we were invited to our friend's house for a swim we were more than happy to accept the invitation. I grabbed my GoPro camera and my towel and my swim suit and we headed over. I decided to try making some kind of time lapse in the swimming pool so I tried a couple of position on the bottom of the pool and here is how it turned out.

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La Gelatiera The Best Gelato or Ice Cream I Had In London England

I love ice cream and the only thing better than ice cream is gelato. La Gelatiera is a little gelato, or Italian ice cream shop we found in Covent Garden in London during our travels in England. The gelato we had was great, the chocolate was beautiful, and on our next trip to the UK we will definitely make our way to London's Covent Garden to have more gelato at La Gelatiera.

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Tower Bridge, The Iconic Bridge of London England, UK

Tower Bridge, The Iconic Bridge of London England, UK

Show anyone a picture of Tower Bridge in London England and they will very likely recognize it, the might mistakenly call it London Bridge but they will know that it is in London England. It is this iconic status that makes Tower Bridge a must see for anyone traveling to London as it was for me on my first trip to London.
Construction on London's Tower Bridge started in 1886 and took  8 year to complete. Tower Bridge connects the north shore of the Thames in London England with the south shore. On the north side Tower Bridge connects at Tower Bridge Approach and on the south side it connects at Tower Bridge Road. On the north side Tower Bridge is close to the Tower of London which, I would guess puts, the Tower in Tower Bridge. 

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Goose In St James Park London England UK

St James Park in London England is just in front of Buckingham Palace and is like the Queen's front garden. It has a great pond, actually I think it's a lake, full of ducks, geese, swans and a host of other water fowl. I saw this goose bathing and washing itself and grabbed my camera. I got at least five minutes of footage of this goose washing, I think this goose was determined to be the cleanest goose in the pond. St James park is another great example of urban parks in London and England and the UK generally.

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Time Lapse Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and Parliament 

From Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel 

London England

This time lapse of the Westminster Bridge at night was shot from the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London England. The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel is at the south end of Westminster Bridge, right across from Big Ben and the British Houses of Parliament, and steps to the Thames River. The lobby of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel is on the second floor and has this great view of the Westminster Bridge and the British Parliament Buildings as well as Big Ben. At night the lights of the Westminster Bridge, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and all the traffic crossing the Westminster Bridge just added to an already spectacular view.
Westminster Bridge is very busy and I thought that all the traffic and the pedestrians and of course the double decker buses and all the lights would work well for a time lapse.

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Hyde Park and Hyde Park Corner, London England Traffic and Tranquility

Hyde Park and Hyde Park Corner, London England Traffic and Tranquility. Hyde Park and Hyde Park Corner, in London England, are a great example of the tranquility of a stream in an urban park, right next to the traffic of double decker buses, taxi cabs and cars at a major intersection in one of the world's largest cities. Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in London England and Hyde Park Corner is one of the busiest intersections in London. The two being right next to each other is an interesting contrast of traffic and tranquility.

Time Lapse of Waterloo Train Station and the Shard from Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel London UK

These time lapse views of Waterloo Station trains and the Shard building were shot from our room at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London England. I looked out the window and saw Waterloo Station and all the trains and thought I've got to try a time lapse. 

I set up the tripod and left the camera on it taking a photograph every 3 second while we got ready for our day of London exploration. Just before we left the hotel room I stopped the camera and removed it from the tripod and took it out for the day so this time lapse is made up of about an hour of shooting. It is actually all the same scene which, because of the resolution of the camera I was able to break up into tighter scene which looks like I changed composition of the shot. 

Swimming Pools at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Beach Resort Varadero Cuba

Personally I'm more the guy relaxing on beaches than the guy hanging out at swimming pools but if the crystal clear waters of swimming pools is more your thing, the Iberostar Laguna Azul beach resort in Varadero Cuba has six swimming pools for you to indulge in. The two largest swimming pools at the Iberostar Laguna Azul are at the centre area of the beach resort with one of the two swimming pools having a swim up bar and the other swimming pool having a water fall. The other swimming pools are located near some of the other buildings on the beach resort. All the swimming pools at the Iberostar Laguna Azul beach resort are easily accessible with the crystal clean water that invite you to go for a swim and plenty of lounge chair to relax in afterwards.

GoPro Snorkeling with the Fish off a Catamaran Iberostar Laguna Azul Beach Resort Varadero Cuba

GoPro Snorkeling with the fish off a Catamaran at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Beach Cuba
One of the great things about snorkeling is that  you don't have to be an expert at it to have fun, especially when there are lots of fish swimming around the spot you're snorkeling.
At the Iberostar Laguna Azul Beach Resort there is the opportunity to be taken out on a Hobie Cat catamaran sailboat to a spot off Varadero Beach to snorkel and swim and see some cool fish. We went and had a great time. The water was relatively calm so it made snorkeling easy and there were lots of fish around. I had my GoPro running the whole time we were in the water. It was great.


100% shot on GoPro

Our Amazing Room Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London, England

The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel is in London England at the south end of the Westminster Bridge on the south side of the Thames River. On a recent trip to England, the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel was our base camp while we spend a few days in London. When we walked into the lobby of Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel after arriving in London England by train, a relatively short subway ride and a very short walk across the Westminster Bridge, I was very impressed. But it was our room at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel that truly stood out. Our room was amazing and made our evenings at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel superbly comfortable. The central London England location of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel is incredibly convenient, just across the Thames, at the other end of Westminster bridge, from Big Ben, the British Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and a 2 minute walk to the London Eye and the Waterloo train and underground station. We had a great time in London and at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel and would stay there again next time we're in London.

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Hobie Cat Sailboats Sailing off the Beach at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

Along Varadero Beach in Cuba there are a number of spots where there are Hobie Cat sailboats lines up on the shore. Hobie Cat sailboats are a small catamaran sailboats, manufactured by the Hobie Cat company, that are a lot of fun to sail and can be launch from a beach. You can hire one of these sailboats and be taken out sailing for a few hours. This video is a beach perspective of the Hobie Cat sailboats sailing off the beach and returning and the crew packing up the sails and putting the sailboat up on the beach after a great day of sailing.

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GoPro Kids in the Pool Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

 GoPro Kids in the Pool Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

The Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort on Varadero Beach in Varadero Cuba has six swimming pool, six!
We were traveling with our friends and their three children and those kids were ready for a swimming pool as soon as we got to the resort, any swimming pool, it didn't matter which one of the six, as long as it had water. So when we got to our rooms, the kids got changed into the swim suits and they hopped into the nearest pool and were as happy as, well, kids in a pool.
Now I'm more of a beach guy but the pools at the Iberostar Laguna Azul are beautiful, clean, clear and inviting and I had my GoPro camera with me so who could resist capturing some footage of kids having fun, splashing around in a swimming pool.

Hope Beach Volleyball Tournament Ottawa Canada

Hope Beach Volleyball Tournament Ottawa Canada
Every summer Ottawa hosts the HOPE Beach Volleyball Summerfest on the beach at Mooney's Bay. The HOPE Beach Volleyball SummerFest, is the largest one-day outdoor  beach volleyball tournament in North America. More than 10 000 players participate in this beach volleyball tournament on 1032 teams using  86 courts and 162 Volleyballs. It's always fun in the sun.

A Great Start to the Day Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

A Great Start to the Day Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

I'm not sure there's a better way to start the day than getting up early, in this case 6am, and walking along a beach, in this case Varadero Beach near the Iberostar Laguna Azul rsort in Cuba, and watching the sunrise.

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Waves Crash on Coral Shore and into Blowholes at Varadero Beach Cuba

Waves Crash on Coral Shore and into Blowholes at Varadero Beach Cuba

Just up the beach a little from the Iberostar Laguna Azul is this out croppring of coral. It rises up out of the sand and stretches to the sea. On days when the surf is a little stronger and the waves are a little higher like this one, the waves crash into the coral and push through the blowholes and sprays everywhere. 

Up Early at Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

Up Early at Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

This trip to Varadero Cuba was very much like a déjà vous. I'd been to Cuba before... I'd walked through the sand on Varadero Beach before... I'd stayed at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort Before... and I did it with exactly the same people before. What was going on??
Well, to make a long story short we had such a great time travelling with our friends and their kids on our first trip to the Iberostar Laguna Azul, that we wanted to take another trip with them. We search the travel and airline site and the resort that had availability that fit with everyones schedule and was price at a point that suited everyone's budget and had flight times that didn't mean arriving in the middle of the night, was, you guessed it, the Iberostar Laguna Azul. 

Beach Time Lapse Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Beach Cuba

Beach Time Lapse Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Beach Cuba

I love time lapse video. I love watching time lapse videos and I love making time lapse video. I love the beach. I love relaxing on the sand on the beach and I love splashing in the waves washing up on the beach. Is it really surprising then that I would make a time lapse video while I was on a beach vacation at the Iberostar Laguana Azul resort on Varadero Beach in Cuba? Not really surprising especially considering that it was such a beautiful day, although they all were, and Varadero beach is such a beautiful beach.

I use the built in intervalometer on my Nikon D7000 to photograph this time lapse and if I remember correctly I set it to 1 frame every 3 seconds.

Tropical Rain Storm Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Beach Cuba

Tropical Rain Storm Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort Varadero Beach Cuba

We had had a beautiful day on Varadero Beach up until we felt the first drops of rain.  The sun had been shining all morning and into the afternoon. It started to get a bit hazy around mid afternoon and by late afternoon the clouds started to roll in. When the first drops hit us we started packing up to leave the beach and it was lucky we did. Our room at the Iberostar Laguna Azul was in one of the buildings on the resort that was located very close to the beach and we only just made it to that building when the wind started to really blow and the downpour began. I filmed most of this footage from the balcony of our room.

Photo Gear I brought to the Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort, Varadero Beach, Cuba

Photo Gear I brought to the Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort, Varadero Beach, Cuba

After the first trip we took to the Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort in Varadero Cuba, I made this video of the gear that I brought with me on that trip. Deciding what camera gear to bring while travelling is a balancing act. You want to make sure you have all the gear you need to get great photos and video in all the situation you want but camera gear is heavy and so you don't want to be lugging around a bunch of photo and video gear you don't need or worse yet don't use. The only way to figure out the balance when travelling with photography / videography gear is to travel with photography / videography gear. There really is no substitute for experience, seeing what you use and what you don't and adjust for the next trip, but seeing what gear others take with them travelling is also useful for ideas. I made this video for that reason, to give ideas on what gear might be useful while travelling... and maybe, just maybe so I'd remember what I brought.

The photography / videography gear I brought with me to the Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort at Varadero Beach in Cuba was as follows:

Nikon D7000 camera body
Nikon 24-120mm f4 lens
Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 lens
Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens
Kata 3in1-20 gear pack
Gitzo Traveller Tripod

GoPro Fun in the Sun Varadero Beach Cuba

GoPro Fun in the Sun Varadero Beach Cuba

A little GoPro Camera, a beach, some kids, a few waves and the sun, what more do you need to make a fun video? Ok, ok maybe using an awesome waterproof camera like the GoPro helps... and maybe being on holiday in the Caribbean helps... and I guess staying at a beautiful resort like the Iberostar Laguna Azul also helps a little... and just maybe being on a beach as fantastic as Varadero Beach helps too. The reality though is that the camera you have and where you are doesn't really matter if you filming happy kids being themselves and having fun your videos can't help but be fun.

GoPro Kids on the Beach Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

GoPro Kids on the Beach Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Cuba

I Love the whole concept of the GoPro camera, a very small camera in a waterproof case that records certainly decent if not great video footage. The real benefit of a GoPro is that even though the video quality isn't stellar it doesn't matter because at least you have footage. I mean the GoPro gets footage in situations and points of view that most people wouldn't risk thier regular camera for. Such as this situation, our friends' kids splashing around in the waves at Varadero Beach during our vacation at the Iberostar Laguna Azul resort. The kids had a great time and so did I with great afternoon light, cute subjects and a great little GoPro camera.

Sunrise at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Beach Cuba

Sunrise at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Varadero Beach Cuba

For me there is nothing better than a sunrise over a Beach with waves washing up against the sand... ok maybe ice cream is better but that's about it. It does mean getting up early on your holiday but hey, some things are worth it. Although I didn't get up quite early enough because when I got to the beach the sun had already breached the horizon. This sunrise was at Varadero Beach in Cuba, while we were staying at the Iberostar Laguna Azul Resort. Maybe next holiday I'll make it to the beach before the sun start rising above the horizon but it's still a pretty sweet view and a great way to start the morning off.

I Switched From Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere Pro

I Switched From Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere Pro 

Quite some time ago I made the switch from Apple Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere Pro. There were a number of reasons people had for switching, Apple made a lot of mistake with the initial version of Final Cut Pro X and Adobe did a special limited time drop in price on the Premiere Pro Production suite to entice grumpy Final Cut Pro uses to Premiere Pro. My reason for switching was a bit more basic than that. Final Cut Pro X wouldn't work on my Mac Pro and although it didn't officially support all the components in my Mac Pro Adobe's Premiere Pro did at least work on my machine. So I switched. Now I'm looking at a new Mac and I will probably try the updated Final Cut Pro when I do so there is potential for me to switch back... but I'm getting a head of myself, that will be another video.