A Virtual Tour Of The Long Lake Wetlands

I have since the last post added to my equipment following the advice of Nancy J. of NZ. The addition is a LCD screen Viewfinder from Seven Oaks that mounts on the camera using the tripod screw. It covers the screen allowing for bright sunshine shooting in the video mode. I'm a little miffed at the addition, because I think Nikon should have covered off the problem themselves. The trouble with Japanese engineering is that it inherently stays in the box.Think about this. All companies extol their models and lens for wildlife shooting, but none are naturally waterproofed  for rain or snow.They're a fair weather product.Clearly, the engineers need supervision.
The cost was 130.00 Cdn$. Before I bought the device I faced up to the problem that perhaps the SLR is really not a video camera, perhaps not much more than a little toy for shooting birthday parties. This took me round the web again reading about video and SLR's, because I was considering a video camera along the lines of the Canon XA10 , which I'm still interested in.The pros on the web said the the SLR has unique advantages in video because of the sensor size which permits less depth of field problems and a unique 3D effect, which you can see in my close up water scenes. So here we go again.
In answer to some of the responses: You don't shoot video in broad sweeps because a lot will be out of focus, and jerky. Rather you  shoot clips. Take a deep breathe and continue on and return again. The editing will let you cut out the jerky garbage, join clips by fades, and cover up mistakes. You don't really think a made for money film gets shot at once. It's shot in clips and put together by a film editor. So your soft wear is all important because you're the director, the cameraman ,and the film editor.The parts that are jerky in today's film are the result of my poor editing, not my camera skills.
But you do need to keep your video on track, and I'm just learning that.So you need to block it out, and limit it. My last video was too long. I also shoot stills in video mode with the device on and peek through the viewfinder. Before using the video I use the still viewfinder to focus, because it's sharper than the screen.
I'm a simple person, and I'm quite fascinated with nature, especially the wetlands, which are home to so many forms of life. This video deals with a wetland and its Riparian vegetation-the wildflowers that inhabit its shoreline.You've seen my forest up close. What isn't rock is sand on clay. Yet the flowers grow like mad and are such vivid colours. Only the Iris grow in the boggy black soil.
I could do a criticism of my video, but I'm running out of space,so enjoy. This one is five and a half minutes long.
To return to the still blog click here: Me,Boomer and TheVermilon River. A post to: Our World Tuesday.