The Subway

[LumenLux]

http://pte.do-some-good.com/ is my site where you can download The Subway This is not your typical subway experience and I invite your comments as requested at the end of the show. This show not yet linked on Beechbrook, but should be soon.

[ronwil]

What an epic and most enjoyable, but where was it? No titles or captions on my download. Still can't quite make up my mind about the sound of lapping waters in the background. How did you keep your equipment dry when progressing through some of the deepish water?

Off topic Lumenlux, did you get my recent e-mail about a virus?

Ron [uK]

[LumenLux]

Good morning Ron, (about to go to bed here). There should be some explanation in the manually controlled slides at the end. There should be a navigation bar etc. Please take a look, maybe the nav bar section came up too slowly for you to notice? Meanwhile, I better take a look and see if my downloaded version works properly.

As for the virus - yes, I received your mail and appreciate your bringing "it" to my attention. I can't tell you whether the mail really came (unintentionally) from me or whether it is a "spoofing" virus that was working out of your machine. I too, have at times, received notice of rejected mail from "senders" that don't seem to really be the senders. I guess this type of evil brings sadistic joy to someone somewhere, but it is a pain at best and disaster at worst.

[LumenLux]

I must appologize Ron. You would have been waiting a very long time for the manual portion of the show to appear. Based on your comment, I investigated and found I had not included the nav-bar show that needs to be linked in the first show. No wonder you had no explanation. I am currently uploading the missing file. Should be ready in about 10 minutes. I'm sorry, that you and any other "early downloaders" will need to go back to my site and download again. The corrected download will also be ZionSub.zip but will be 28 mb size and will include two .exe files. The ZionSubway forum3.exe when run will link to the rosewood.exe file which has the "explanation" .

[dagrace]

Robert,

What an experience this must have been for you! Thanks for sharing.

I will give you some "first impressions" with the caveat that all this is sooooo subjective. The next person will undoubtedly feel differently. And that's what it's all about isn't it?

The upbeat music in the first few slides seemed out of place compared to the rest of the show.

I agree that in general, the slower, mellow, non-lyric'ed music is a good choice for this show. It seems to convey the warmth of the day, your emotional experience, and the pace of the process that created the Subway.

IF there had been a tense moment (like of the rope broke or you got stuck or got chased by a mountain lion) then some faster paced music would have been a nice change. But to just "stick some in" for a break wouldn't make sense.

I personally would have not included the 2 quite out of focus slides (near the middle) as they didn't seem to be pivotal in the telling of the story, but perhaps they are important to you.

Nicely done, sir, especially in light of the technical challenges you faced. What camera did you use? Are you in any of the shots? Looks like a close group of guys. Congrats on the achievement of both the hike and the show!

[LumenLux]

Dave, you are very perceptive.

I agree that in general, the slower, mellow, non-lyric'ed music is a good choice for this show. It seems to convey the warmth of the day, your emotional experience, and the pace of the process that created the Subway.

I didn't know if anyone would relate the sound track to the natural process of the formation of such a geological environment. Like I said, quite perceptive on your part. As for Ron's uncertainty regarding the lapping of waves (?) - I may have been stretching - maybe the quiet gurgling brook sound is a more obvious fit, but the other factors of the music fit very well (I think) with the ocean type water. Of course the water today is mostly as you see it, but a flash flood can turn the scene into violence akin to the movies Twister and Perfect Storm. I am more than content to not have any contemporary evidence of that in our experience.

IF there had been a tense moment

There was indeed an increasingly tense chapter in the story, but I had no opportunity to document it photographically. An early waterfall injury to one of our guys became more haunting as the day went on and pitch black night brought a chance for greater appreciation when we eventually were safely out of the canyon.

I personally would have not included the 2 quite out of focus slides (near the middle) as they didn't seem to be pivotal in the telling of the story, but perhaps they are important to you.

Once again, you are perceptive. Those very blurry/shakey shots do remind the hikers of how frigid the water was and the alternative route we were on there vs. a much-debated water route.

What camera did you use? Are you in any of the shots? Looks like a close group of guys.

I used my tiny Minolta (Konica) G500, 5 megapixel. Camera has mostly adequate manual possibilities while still being small enough to keep in my pocket. Where actual swimming was required I would have to relinquish my camera into someone's waterproof dry-bag.

Yes, I am the one with the swollen shutter finger. Or if you can't see that, I am the one with the cleanest head in the lunch photo.

"Close" group of guys in terms of being able to enjoy hiking together. My own first choice of one word for the 5 guys would be "diverse."

Thanks again Ron and David. I hope others will still express some more reactions and oppinions.

[nickles]

LumenLux:

My technical comment: Don't change a thing or you'll mess it up!

Wonderfully done. Me and the wife thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening.

Appeared to be a wonderful adventure for 5 buddies to share together...such breath taking scenery.

Hope no one was injured...looked like a very, very vigorous hike...I bet the water felt good when you finally reached it.

I'm not one for subtitles...but a subtitle indicating the entry into the subway might be nice. The wife and I weren't sure when you reached the subway.

I did feel that the show duration was a bit long for the general public but probablly just right for the participants. I'm at a loss of advising you of what to remove though.

Thanks for sharing....

[ContaxMan]

Well - what an experience. Your images and understated music (& occasional sound effects) blend together exceptionally well to convey a feeling of pleasure in your surroundings, the excitement of a genuine challenge and the beautiful scenery. A tremendous show. Having watched quite a few that are spoilt by over using different transitions and fancy backgrounds, yours is an excellent demonstration of how important it is to make sure that the images are allowed to speak for themselves.

[LumenLux]

Thank you Ken and Roger for your comments.

I think the fancy use of transitions and multilayered slides have a place too. I think the use of them should often depend on the purpose of the show. I think there is room for creative expression at every level when using photography and PTE. Most commonly my purpose is to create nice photos and then present them in the way which will relate to the "audience". In my case, the "audience" is often the participants in the presentation. Then as I want others (such as forum members) to enjoy, I will take that into consideration. I think in "Subway" the photos are more likely to be enjoyed over my use of more complex screen placement etc. However, there may be other users with more artistic skill and PS experience who could make the show even better. But in general, I like to use the full screen in an attempt to bring the viewer into the scene.