Baltic Cruise

[JRR]

I have not posted a presentation on Beechbrook for a long time, but a few days ago Bill kindly hosted my Baltic Introductory show. Introductory in that it is a summary of 10 AVs produced from a 10 country, 16 city cruise in the Baltic (plus two stops in the UK).

Comments are always welcome. (preferably constructive ones :) )

[rick235]

Very nice AV. The map was a good idea and worked well, loved the voice over and the music although i was not keen on the blurry pedestrians.

Well done.

Rick

[David Porter]

Hi Jim,

Looked at this when it was first on Beechbrook and thought it was an excellent A/V with a very good voice-over if slightly staccato in places. The photography was well up to standard and the whole worked well together. I think you could sell it to the cruise line. Now comes the difficult bit - another 10 shows. I really hope you have enough material to keep the interest going and will be interested to see the results.

[JRR]

Hi Jim,

Looked at this when it was first on Beechbrook and thought it was an excellent A/V with a very good voice-over if slightly staccato in places. The photography was well up to standard and the whole worked well together. I think you could sell it to the cruise line. Now comes the difficult bit - another 10 shows. I really hope you have enough material to keep the interest going and will be interested to see the results.

Thanks Mickp. Appreciate your thoughts.

I wouldn't mind selling it to the cruise industry, but there is the slight matter of copyrighted music. I have sold 4 shows in the past that used royalty free music. Unfortunately finding appropriate royalty free music is next to impossible, especially for 10 shows. Now if I were a composer like Andrew Lloyd Weber or John Williams...

The other 10 shows are finished, there is some minor duplication with the introductory show, but not much. In all but one case I managed to find music that was tied into the country and appropriate to the presentation (images, pacing etc etc)

The whole process however took over 6 months of full time work, and because of that, after 15 years of doing AV shows, I have now turned to other ways of presenting my images. I still would prefer AV, but the work involved vs the "payback" is just not there especially when there are other demands on one's time.

[JRR]

Very nice AV. The map was a good idea and worked well, loved the voice over and the music although i was not keen on the blurry pedestrians.

Well done.

Rick

Rick:

Thanks for taking the time to watch the AV and providing comments

[David Porter]

Hi Jim,

I thought this might be a work in progress stretching over the next 3 months but can appreciate the work you have put into it to get it ready now. I hope you will be putting it on general display. Having done a small show for a Turkish Gulet website (for free), I know the problems with copyright music - you cannot take the chance with commercial work that the copyright holder will find out about it and it could cost the earth.

I look forward to seeing your shows but also interested what other medium you are using to show your work.

I have a Canadian lady friend who also has an excellent speaking voice for doing voice-overs - must be something in the Canadian genes.

[JRR]

Hi Jim,

I thought this might be a work in progress stretching over the next 3 months but can appreciate the work you have put into it to get it ready now. I hope you will be putting it on general display. Having done a small show for a Turkish Gulet website (for free), I know the problems with copyright music - you cannot take the chance with commercial work that the copyright holder will find out about it and it could cost the earth.

I look forward to seeing your shows but also interested what other medium you are using to show your work.

I have a Canadian lady friend who also has an excellent speaking voice for doing voice-overs - must be something in the Canadian genes.

Hi Mickp

My wife did the voice overs for the AVs. I have been putting images up on www.fototime.com for a few years (mainly family ones, some for a nature area nearby and some related to a photoclub I belong too, but am now putting more up travel related shots with greater descriptions. The other route I am using is Google Plus. I have posted some travel pictures, some misc bird images as well as doing a daily bird posting.

In G+, I have 4000 people following me (where they all came from I don't know !!). Usually 150-300 people will look at the image full screen, but one I posted the other day has had 14,800 open it fully !! (I am having problem believing that number...) People also give pictures a "+1" (equivalent to FACEBOOK's "LIKE") and provide comments.

[Ken Cox]

Jim

years ago i remember the Florida show

was great

ken

[JRR]

Jim

years ago i remember the Florida show

was great

ken

Thanks Ken

You have a great memory

[Rickl]

Hi Jim!

Loved the show! The maps made it so interesting. I'm a little further west of you in Manitoba, and enjoyed the the geography lesson. The narration was most professional, and by all indications it must have been a great cruise! Thanks for sharing!

Dick

[alrobin]

Jim & Gwen,

Very interesting and informative as usual! Excellent photography too! It's like "old home week" back here on the Forum!

[JRR]

Jim & Gwen,

Very interesting and informative as usual! Excellent photography too! It's like "old home week" back here on the Forum!

Hi Al

Glad you enjoyed it. Did Liz have anything about how we treated her homeland ?

[Esc]

Nice intro-AV. Sad I didn´t know of your trip.

We could have had a chat and a beer in Copenhagen.

Pictures perfect and voiceover very good.

Looking forward for what´s coming.

/Lennart

[JRR]

Nice intro-AV. Sad I didn´t know of your trip.

We could have had a chat and a beer in Copenhagen.

Pictures perfect and voiceover very good.

Looking forward for what´s coming.

/Lennart

Thanks Lennart

I did try to contact you, but the e-mails were returned. I wasn't smart enough to try contacting you through PTE.

[morturn]

I found that a very entertaining slideshow, it was very interesting how you presented what saw as the highlights of other countries.

I thought the photography was excellent, clear and not over processed. I think on this type of presentation its best not to over process images, as there is a temptation to exclude very interesting but cluttered street scenes, which normally break composition rules. What this then achieves is a great travel record to look back on and share, and not just a display of ‘photo club’ images.

I did not see anything that could be added or taken away that could improve this presentation, the duration was fine and you chose a track that suited the presentation well.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

[JRR]

I found that a very entertaining slideshow, it was very interesting how you presented what saw as the highlights of other countries.

I thought the photography was excellent, clear and not over processed. I think on this type of presentation its best not to over process images, as there is a temptation to exclude very interesting but cluttered street scenes, which normally break composition rules. What this then achieves is a great travel record to look back on and share, and not just a display of ‘photo club’ images.

I did not see anything that could be added or taken away that could improve this presentation, the duration was fine and you chose a track that suited the presentation well.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thanks Moturn. I tend not to over-process my images as a rule, especially for a travelogue AV. The "rules" of composition are in my mind when and if I crop, but I don't always fllow them if there are elements in the picture that I want to retain.

Appreciate the feedback.

[davegee]

Very entertaining!

Excellent narration - is she available? I can think of a few people who's work would benefit from the addition of her voice!

One thing puzzles me - why did you find the need to use that much Exposure Compensation in the UK? ().

DG

[JRR]

Very entertaining!

Excellent narration - is she available? I can think of a few people who's work would benefit from the addition of her voice!

One thing puzzles me - why did you find the need to use that much Exposure Compensation in the UK? ().

DG

Dave:

Thanks for the comments and sorry "she" is only available to me on a private contract :)

Guess my brain is not working well this morning as I am not sure I "get" your second comment.

[davegee]

"plus two stops in the UK"

[JRR]

"plus two stops in the UK"

gotcha !!!

As I say I am kind of slow this morning