The General

The General from David Stephenson on Vimeo.

The day after it was officially announced that I would be “voluntarily laid off” at the Lexington Herald-Leader, I received an email from Craig Duff, a multimedia director at Time.com. The timing seemed more than coincidental. My primary profession post-Herald-Leader would be that of photojournalism advisor/coach/cheerleader/pot-washer at the Kentucky Kernel. But to keep my shooting appetite whetted, I plan to ramp up the freelance and work on some selected projects that have been rattling around in my head for some time.

On my to do list among many other things: Start networking the national news outlets – the ones I’ve worked for in the past, and a whole slew of others – to let them know I’m available and looking for some shooting and multimedia work. So imagine my delight at seeing an email from a multimedia director from Time.com. Craig had seen the Turtle Man video that Amy Wilson and I had produced and wanted to talk about it. At the end of his email, he mentioned a possible interest in a piece previewing the Kentucky Derby. Doubly odd about his timing was the fact that I had that very day posted the Keeneland Blossoms video which previewed the spring meet and Keeneland Race Track.

After a brief discussion with Craig, I decided I would attempt a video based on the outcome of the Blue Grass Stakes race at Keeneland. So I spent the day at Keeneland focusing on the favorites. Naturally, they didn’t win. An underdog named General Quarters, owned and trained by Tom McCarthy, won the Blue Grass Stakes and was headed for the Kentucky Derby.

After the race, I made contact with Tom’s son and asked if I could come back for an interview in a couple of days. Three days later, Amy and I were at the stall of General Quarters on the backside of Churchill Downs. We shot Mr. McCarthy working through his regiment with the General, which took about four hours. The horse wasn’t ready to go out to the track that day, so I came back a few days later to shoot the General on the track.

Amy did a great job of writing – as usual. Our goal, whenever we work on a piece together, is to be as complete as we can in the time we have. While our videos tend to be a bit unconventional, I like them for that. As I’ve become more and more accustomed to working with the 5DMKII, I’m realizing why I like it so much. It is allowing me to “see” much the same way I looked at things when shooting stills.

Only now, the photos move.

---

Some technical stuff about the video:

All shot with the Canon 5D Mark II

70-200 f/2.8 with 1.4 teleconverter

24-105 f/4

300 f/2.8

Interview mic was Sennheiser wireless lav

Ambient sound from the track and bath was recorded with the Sennheiser MKE 400

Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with Gitzo 2180 fluid head

Glidecam 2000 HD steady cam

Really Right Stuff plates allowed quick switching between tripod and steady cam

Neutral density filter

Edited in Final Cut Pro

Keeneland blossoms into spring

Before the sun is up, horses are on the track. Riders in thick jackets and leather chaps ease them up the stretch and gallop them back down, around the turn. Hooves pound. Puffs of steam pour from big nostrils. The grandstand casts a giant shadow, holding winter’s last chill.

READ TOM EBLEN’S FULL COLUMN HERE

This video was shot with the Canon 5D Mark II on a beautiful morning before the Keeneland Race Track 2009 spring meet was to open in Lexington. I used the 24-105 f/4 IS and the 70-200 f/2.8 with the TCEII teleconverter. All shot with a Gitzo tripod and 2180 fluid head – with one exception: there is a brief shot where I used a Glidecam 2000 steady cam. First time I’d used it – need to practice!!

I love shooting at Keeneland – who doesn’t, really? This was the first chance I had to shoot at Keeneland during a race meet with the 5D Mark II. Weather was good, light was nice, time was right. I got out at the track before sunrise with no intent other than to just shoot and see what came out of it. I shortly ran into HL photog Charles Bertram (no big surprise there – he was working on a daily piece for the paper to preview the opening day of the meet).

Not long after that, I spotted HL columnist Tom Eblen shooting photos. He’s a darn good photographer and shoots his own photos to go with his column. After he gave me the general idea of what he was doing, it seemed to fit perfectly with what I was shooting. A few hours later at lunch time, I recorded him reading his column. I kept the beginning and the end as they were, and spliced up the middle to fit my clips and for brevity.

Infrared conversion: Keeneland in another light

One of the things I enjoy most is showing people things they don’t normally get to see. The infrared camera is another way to do that.

We all know what horses look like, and most of us in Central Kentucky have a good idea what Keeneland race track looks like. But I’m pretty sure none of us have ever thought about what Keeneland might look like in the infrared light spectrum.

About a year ago, I converted an old Canon 10D digital SLR camera so that it shoot only infrared photos. Infrared film used to be the only way to do this and it was always so finicky and expensive. But with a camera dedicated only for infrared, I’m able to check what I’m doing on the spot and I can use any of my lenses.

I spent $100 on a filter that had to be installed in the inner guts of a camera I didn’t use much. I decided to try the installation myself, using instructions provided by Lifepixel. When completed, the camera only records infrared light, which is at the end of the visible light spectrum.

Now, Lifepixel will offer to convert your camera for you for a fee, but since I’m cheap and a relatively bold DIYer, I thought I’d follow their free online instructions on how to install their filter.

Not for the faint of heart. I’ve never opened up a digital camera before, and I certainly wouldn’t do this with one of my better cameras – I considered my 10D an acceptable risk. Their instructions are quite good and the conversion went well with only one rather large hitch. I went to Radio Shack to get my supplies and was sold some black lubricant instead of the black epoxy/glue. I apparently didn’t notice the difference and ended up with a major mess on my new filter that was nearly impossible to clean off.

Take good care to keep things clean and organized. Don’t be in a hurry. I printed out the instructions, which came with nice photos, and placed the screws that I removed on the photos as I took them out. That way I could put them back in the correct places when reassembling the camera.

And then on to the fun part! Shooting infrared photos has the most impact outdoors where there is plenty of foliage and partly cloudy skies. Infrared light reflects off of leaves and grass and such intensity that it makes them appear white. And blue skies turn dark and the contrast between the clouds and sky is enhanced. This gives images a very dreamy, other-world look.

The photos above show what the paddock looks like in the normal light spectrum and in infrared.

I did not have my camera/lens focus calibrated which made things a bit more difficult for me, especially on an overcast day. I had the best luck in strong light so I could shoot at f/8 and higher. Exposure was critical, so bracketing is a good idea when possible.

Overall I really like the 10D infrared conversion, but I’m not a big fan of the 10D anymore. After using the 30D, 5D, MKII and MKIII, the 10D powers up slowly and reviewing the photos is painful. There is also quite a bit of noise in the images relative to what today’s cameras are doing. Having said that, I think a 20D or a 30D would make a great converted camera if you have one to spare.