Ok, so heres my feedback thread. Feel free to post any comments, suggestions, criticism, and so forth.

I did all the video work my self, the opening shot is of the famous Mt. St. Helen's.

The soundtrack was the song "Out of the Black" by Overlooked Identity (link coming soon).

And thats about all I can think of... Thanks for watching my film and I can't wait to get around to seeing all of yours! It might take a little bit of time before I can though, but I will be sure to leave all my feedback!

Thanks!
~Gabriel

Like one other has said, Gabriel, this was your best film yet. Beautiful scenery, good timing and camera work on the wildlife.

Being persistent in staying after the fishing bird (I don't know my birds very well so don't know what kind it was) and his efforts to GULP down lunch...Paid off.

That was some very interesting wildlife video capture.

Your sunrise and sunset made a great beginning and ending for you.

Well done!

Hi Gabriel and congratulation on finishing uwol#3.
I had to see your film first. I guess as a youth worker I'm always on the youngest side :)
It's your best film so far in uwol, and the way you've captured the heron, it's stunning. Thats a great fish to swallow. Nice music too, it fits the plot.
Beautiful colours in your ending scene, and yes I almost forget to mention, the morning haze, (it's early morning I guess?), slightly moving across the lake. Well done Gabriel!

Well done Gabriel!
I really like what you came up with.
One thing I would have liked to see, was a close up of the bird as it was swallowing one of those fishes.
Nice beginning and ending too.

Very nice, Gabriel. That is a Great Blue Heron you have there eating the largest fish I've ever seen one attempt. I think you're doing great things with what you have. Keep it up.

Rick

whenever i get to share an intimate moment like that with one of the planet's beautiful creatures, it's hugely special. nice!

There you are! Finally, your thread is up. As you can see, we've all been waiting for it. I think the Heron scored 2 of 2, the fish 0 of 2, and you an 8.5 on this one. Nice job. We love watching your improvements. A very bad day for the fish but a great day of shooting for you. Congrats!

Cat

I really enjoyed your film, and the bookend sunrise and sunset was a classic and elegant way to frame your wildlife. The great blue heron sequences were really great- amazing to see them eating such large fish. You have captured a view of their world that is rare to see- patience and persistence paid off. The film flowed very well- as others said, this is your best movie yet.


Ruth

Hey! Great, chilled out film - i bet that heron had indegestion for a week - made me laugh!!! Good cameos from the landscape too. Well done!

Cheers,

Rob

Thanks everyone!

I had a great time for most of this challenge... I had some struggles, but I guess thats why they call it a challenge eh?

I too would have loved to see a closer shot of the bird, but that was the full 20X zoom that I have. I need to get a tele lens, but just can't afford one.

Yep, all of this was shot in two mornings. Wednesday at 5:30 to 6am, and friday morning at 4:30 to 6am. It was rough getting sleep in that time... But I think it was all worth it.

It probably would not have turned out as good as it did if it was not for Meryem! :D Thanks for the tip there, it really helped!

Thanks everyone!! I really appreciate the comments! I look forward to seeing all of your submissions tonight!!

~Gabriel

You Gabriel, said that you had nothing!
Well, the Heron sequence was a wow to me, haven't seen a bird been able to swallow a fish like that before.
Very well done, you are developing very well. Can't wait for your next uwol-contribution.

Gabriel back a while ago in jest I suggested you were holding out on us....well the joke was on me you actually were holding out. Wonderfully done I enjoyed every moment. Like the others I'm shocked at the size of the fish that bird swallowed. One slight issue Gabriel...I don't know if it was my download or what but I had a problem with the audio...a very distinct hiss? Just me or did others have the same issue??

Nice work Brian

Thanks guys! I was very shocked when I saw that Heron swallow the fish! I knew they did, I just could never imagine something that big...

I'm downloading all the films right now, I can't wait to get started on watching them!

I don't know if it was my download or what but I had a problem with the audio...a very distinct hiss? Just me or did others have the same issue??


Hmm, I'll have to look into that. Sorry for any annoyance it may have caused you! After I finished the project and put the music on it, I set the export settings a clicked the button. First try I thought it came out fine, so I uploaded it. I guess I could have set the audio rate higher. Thanks for pointing this out and I'll be sure to see what I can do to make it better!

Thanks again everyone!
~Gabriel

Hi friends:

I didn't notice a problem with the audio, so Gabriel you might be off the hook. I'll go back again and check to make sure but nothing comes to mind.

Cat

Thanks Cat. ;)

I'll still check it out and see what I can do. And maybe well I am at it, upload it to youtube for fast watching.

I'm still downloading!
~Gabriel

I didn't notice a problem with the audio

Same here, I downloaded your video again this morning, and the audio sounds just great to me.

Dude,

Nice little piece. I really liked the pulsating transitions which matched with the music (you have to hook me up with the band, very good sound). I think I read that you didn't intend to have the auto focus look in some of your shots, but I think it added to the depth of the film.

So how long did you have to sit and wait for the heron to swallow the fish, and how did you get close enough not to scare it away? When ever I get within 100 yards of a Heron it flys away...

Huge fish, curvy thin neck...physics don't quite match, but hey mother earth has her ways.

Good work,
Jeff

Yeah.. I watched the film and I did not hear anything.. Maybe it was just a bad download?

Dude,

Nice little piece. I really liked the pulsating transitions which matched with the music (you have to hook me up with the band, very good sound). I think I read that you didn't intend to have the auto focus look in some of your shots, but I think it added to the depth of the film.

So how long did you have to sit and wait for the heron to swallow the fish, and how did you get close enough not to scare it away? When ever I get within 100 yards of a Heron it flys away...

Huge fish, curvy thin neck...physics don't quite match, but hey mother earth has her ways.

Good work,
Jeff

Thanks for the comments!

I could probably hook you up with Overlooked Identity... I'll see what I can do.
The part where the geese walk of screen and the focus goes nuts then fades white was actually really useful! I thought it helped with the music a little.. But the focus was an accident, but when it fades out I did that to make it look better, lol.

Umm, thats a good question... Both times (I went there twice, he was there both times) I was there before it.. I think the trick is to be there before the time that all the fish start jumping and feeding on the mosquitos. For thats when the Heron comes in to eat.. He was in the exact same spot both days. Me and my "show-fer" were both just standing about maybe 100ft away? I had my full 20X to get as close as you could see on that clip.

Haha, I know! I was so shocked when he ate that huge fish!

Thanks again!
~Gabriel

Hey Gabriel,

I'm headed out the door for Yellowstone so your film will be the last one I can give feedback on for a while unless I get some downtime in Montana.

I just wanted to say quickly how impressive your lates film is. Of all the "regulars" there's no doubt that you get the most improved.

I think this is your best film yet. Go back and watch your UWOL1 entry and compare it to this one.

Herons are called confidence birds. Ducks and other birds see them and they are more likely to land because the heron is very wary and will usually fly off at the slightest disturbance. So for you to get the footage you did is a hats off to you!!

Congrats on this film Gabriel. You should be proud of the work you've done and even prouder of how much you've improved over such a short amount of time.

Ok, gotta run, I hear grizzly bears on Speciman Ridge calling my name! :)

hi gabriel,

enjoyed watching your film. with the slow pictures and the lively soundtrack it has a nice pace and rhythm to it.
good work.

Mr Yeager .....hats off to you ! I second what Kevin has said your improvement is fantastic. I great little film youve done there with some wonderfull shots, the heron with the small whale ;-) well wow...great stuff! Man I was just screaming cut to close up, cut to close up...but I'm guessing you were maxed out on range....a problem I have on most shots however close I am!
I would say this shot held too long as well and cutting to the same shot again is probably not so good. How about go to something else 'introducing some time' then back to the heron who gets his fish the second time showing some persistance...., you could even horizontally flip it to change things up a bit...just a thought, hope it helps.

Great wides by the way :) Nice film fella, I think we should be watching our backs in uwol4 :-) !

Thanks guys!

Thanks Kevin. :) Have a great time in Yellowstone!

Thanks Mat. I was maxed out on zoom the hole time... :( It was really to bad..

I originally had a "time-lapse" piece there in-between the two clips of the Heron. But then I decided to cut it cause it was way to slow and just made the film a little more boring for my taste. I wish I had some footage of a flower on the waters edge that I could have put there, but I never saw any when I was there. :-/

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all the comments/suggestions!
~Gabriel

Hello Gabriel:

I went back and did a second download....no hiss on the audio this time it must have been an issue on my end....sorry about that.

Brian

Gabrial,

I loved your piece!!!

I thought the heron was fine and did not need a closer look, but then I am familiar with them.

What I wondered was about the fish!! It appeared dead when he caught it. Or, did he kill it and the only footage you got was of the washing and swallowing?

If you baited it that would be a cool idea to get them in a little closer!!!

It looked like a large rainbow trout.

amazing what they can swallow.


good Job!!!

Good to hear Brian, sorry for the inconvenience!

Thanks Dale. I believe he killed it right then? I am not very familiar with them so I am not sure of their eating habits.. I got about 20 minutes or so of the Heron over all.. I could look through it and see if I could find out... I don't think he killed it before that shot though. I kept a pretty good eye on him the hole time, and I think he killed it right then when he picked it up (this is all based on assumption). Really a fascinating bird... I would like to get more of him.

Haha, the bait is a good idea! I should try that some time, work on my fishing skills that way (I've only fished once, and it was in a man made pond)!

Thanks for the comments!
~Gabriel

Gabriel
I have to say you just keep getting better and better. Considering the equipment you are using you got some great shots. I've watched alot of herons and they are hard to work with as they are spooked easily. I've never seen one swallow as big a fish as that one. I agree with Dale that the fish appears dead in the second attempt. It looks like you could use a little more tape to let your shots for timelapse run a little longer. Anyway I think you have a very good video.

Gordon Hoffman

Thanks Gordon!

Yes I could use more tape. This hole challenge was shot on one tape (The most tape I have ever used in that amount of time). I only have three tapes; one is full, the other one I filled up with this challenge, and my last one only has about 30 minutes on it left. So be prepared for the next Uwol to miss some stuff.. :(

To much money, not enough pay.

Thanks for the comments!
~Gabriel

Gabriel,

If I could, with your permission, I would like to show your entry at our local photography club meeting in June.

Private email has the full request.

Bruce, I replied to your email.

Thanks for asking!
~Gabriel