Almark

Paul, I would be tempted to convert all the images to mono and perhaps add some grain.

Thanks Colin for your detailed feedback. I recently bought one of Barry's DVD's and that will prepare me to think more about AV's while on holiday - rather than thinking about an AV when I get home ;-) I think I will have another go at this with just horizontals only.

A travelogue: Hong Kong, New Zealand, and LA. The CDROM version was 228MB, this version has been compressed to a mere 48MB! Just photos and music.

I want to thank all members who have, privately, sent me emails. I fully realise that this is not in any way a 'normal AV'. It is just my way of coming to terms with my grief. Please forgive me for using (or abusing) the forum in this way. Mark

Thank you all, very interesting stuff here.

Another great Av, well done.

Most impressive, well done.

This is a very short AV. The photos are from scanned prints from when Robert was just a child. Although he was 29 when he died, my wife and I love to savour these great times. We had hoped to use these images at his wedding, just for a bit of fun. Indeed I had most of this all ready to go, but sadly I have changed it from a 'wind up' at his future wedding, to simply a parents photo tribute of when Robert was young. ====================== Life and Death are a mystery. One day, my son Robert said he felt a bit ‘strange’ two minutes later, it had passed and was forgotten. One day later, Robert sat down in his bathroom and went to sleep. He didn’t wake up and no one knows why. Death is a mystery. I didn’t know he needed me, I was elsewhere. I was on top of a hill; admiring a beautiful view and sunset and musing over of the minor pleasures of life, I thought “life can’t get much better than this”. Suddenly screaming, someone had sought solace in a bottle of sweet sherry and sixty paracetamol. The young man kept swallowing his tongue, choking on his sick and – dying. It took me almost two hours to get him to hospital, but he survived. Life is a mystery. One day later, I discovered that I knew his father. He phoned to offer his heartfelt thanks; the hospital docs told him it was a very close call, another 30 minutes, and his son Mark would have died. One week later I found my son Robert, sitting and waiting patiently for me to find him. At St Mark’s, as I sang ‘Abide with me’ and ‘All things bright and beautiful’, I found special meanings in almost every verse. Life and Death are a mystery. Four Marks: Robert Mark Allen: 1979 – 2009 Marc Robbins: 1984 – Mark Allen: 1959 - St Mark’s Church of Ireland, Dundela, Belfast. Man Plans, God Laughs http://www.markallenphotography.co.uk/mark...ries/robert.exe I have also created an on-line memorial page using the 'gone too soon' web site. If you have time please visit and light a candle. You can visit the site here.

No probs dave, glad to be able to offer some feedback

Oh I am sorely tempted, but there is so much to see in the world and so little time (or money)

Good point, how well did it achieve its purpose? Well the folks at the camera club liked it, my wife didn't - as she wasn't in it - so I did one for her with all of the 'me in front of' type shots for one of her 'girlies' nights ;-)

Thanks John, I must fix this, I thought I had ;-) Back to my resizer and PTE for some more fun and games

Hi Folks, It all depends on the intended audience. As an example of what PTE can do, yes it is very impressive. I showed the HD version to members of my camera club, and while they were most impressed with what PTE can do, and many PTE users wondered about how it was done, other members thought they were watching something from MTV and were not impressed...

Dave; this is a great show, I liked the photos of the boots and imprints of the boots, and of course the landscapes. I have been to the GC a number of times, over many years, and every time it seems to get more and more haze. Last time I was there I was told that the haze is smog that comes from LA! As a mere tourist, from Ireland, I have only had time to walk down (and up) a mile or so on the day we arrive and the same again on the next day - when we have to leave. I would love to take the journey you and your friends have taken. It clearly illustrates what a tourist misses ;-)

I thought I had sorted this, but clearly I haven't!

The Dom Thank you for your detailed reply, Yes I think you are right, I will re do this soon, taking your comments on board.

Itsallgood, thank you, i will be back to Aotearoa.

Hi Folks, I have to hold my hands up and admit that for me, up to now, the photography has been the key. I get the photos in the right order, so that the context and colours blend as best I can get. Then I simply look for a piece of 'appropriate' classical music. Clearly it depends on the audience and sometimes the audience is just the author and immediate family. Other times the audience are members of a camera club - who are more interested in the quality of the photography - and as long as the music or sound is pleasing and appropriate - they are happy to have it as a backdrop to the photos. However: as others have mentioned (above) much more can be done to use the music and sound to link more directly, and even subliminally, to the photography.

OK, give me a link to one of your shows, tell me who it is intended for and I will happily show it at our next CC meeting - report back. Let me know where and how you want the feedback.

Thanks Ralph, Yes the John Dunbar theme goes well with this. Thanks Davy back to Ireland's 40 shades green indeed.

Davy, I agree with morturn. You could be searching to find that one extra image that you think will improve things. But don't, just stop now and if in a years time you think it needs updating - then fine. But for now leave it as it is.

I agree. I am a nice pics, fade / in fade out, nice music - sort of AV worker. But it is good to see how others approach it. It gives me ideas and makes me think if there might be better and more effective ways of 'displaying' my photography. DavyC's 'The Man Comes Around' clearly illustrates how the lyrics and music can be matched with images - and it makes me wonder how I could do it the other way around. How can I arrange my photography so that the music not only supports and underpins it, but also builds on the photography and 'highlights' certain images in an emotive way? For example; I recall being told that an image of a fireplace and flames should be moved to match the 'brass' tones of the music, because the brass tones of the instrument conjured up images of the colours of the French Horn - golden and bright. I would never have thought of this and when I moved the image it did seem to work so much better. While the sync of DavyC's is clear, it makes me wonder about the sub conscious links that can be explored and exploited. The bottom line is simply that a breathe of fresh air is good for you!

Ken, this was actually a camera club day out. This evening at my camera club other members showed their photos - all very similar - in that the greens appeared far too bright. Some members didn't bring any photos to show they had suffered from what you mention above: raindrops keep failing on my lens smile.gif While a lens hood offers some protection, if you are using a ND Grad filter then it attracts raindrops like a magnet!

Ken, thanks for sharing those links to Morasoft's work. There will be no stopping DavyC now ;-)

Andrew, I showed your (updated) show again this evening at my camera club, as some members hadn't seen it. At the end there were some exclamations of "Wow" and so on... Members thought it was a thought provoking piece of work and during the show occasionally questions / comments were fired; like, "Are those beds?" Your AV generated much debate and some club members who had been to Auschwitz reflected that it was a great representation of what they had seen and felt emotionally. FYI: I also showed DavyC's suggested intro. Opinions on this were mixed. Some members thought it would be an excellent way of setting the scene (albeit slightly shorter). Others disagreed and thought it would be too much and the silence and the text at the beginning (and end) allowed viewers to think. You have clearly put a lot of work and thought into this AV, and so I thought you would be interested in some more detailed feedback. Again, well done, a superb AV.