UWOL 18 Tales of Wonder & Woe

[Kevin Railsback]

Well, thought I'd kick off this thread early.

I'm excited because I think I have a story idea that is simple and doable with my schedule for the next few weeks.

I'm presenting some of my UWOL films at an environmental film festival next week and I'm leaving for California the day after that.

So, Ii needed something that would work in Iowa as well as California. So hopefully I can put the story together here in a few days and get shooting.

Good luck to everyone!!

[Catherine Russell]

Wow, Kevin:

What festival is it? All the best to you! Let us know how it goes.

Have a nice trip. Shooting in both California and Iowa could prove interesting!

Cat

[Kevin Railsback]

Cat,
It's a environmental film festival put on by several organizations, businesses and churches here in Eastern Iowa. They'll be screening films like King Corn and several other notable films.
So, it was nice that they wanted someone with an Iowa connection to be a part of it as well.

Anyway, I've found my music for the challenge. For me, that's a huge part of getting a film done. When I go out and shoot for a challenge I have that music in my head. I may not be able to capture something that goes with it exactly but it captures the emotions that I feel when I hear it.

So over the next couple of weeks I will drive my wife nuts by listening to it over and over and over. But that's what works for me.

Sitting down trying to jot down some lines for a script. Have three whole sentences so far! :)

I've figured out how to tie my California trip in as well so hopefully I'll avoid the shark tank this round. Course, anything can happen along the way to trip me up but so far, we're on track.

[Mat Thompson]

Oooo this all sounds very intriguing Mr Railsback !

I have an idea. I may not get to complete it because I may have to head back to Bristol. But I hope I can, it would be something very different for me, and uwol. We will see!

[Victor Wilcox]

I managed to get a few shots Monday before the rains came. Now while I wait for clear whether, I'm working on the theme. I'm just not sure how safe it is to get intimate with my subject.

[Catherine Russell]

Hmm,

It looks like I may have set myself up and left it wide open by using the word "intimate"....

Man, you guys, where is your artistic license in creative speech! ;-)

I wonder if it's too late to change "intimate" to "infinite"..... then again, who knows what you all might come up with on that! The theme remains the same *sigh*, I'll just have to take the ribbing.... sheesh!

Cat

P.S. Come on Mat, let's see what you might think is new to uwol! We are ready!

[Per Johan Naesje]

First of all - thanks Cat for a interesting theme!
It´s time for me to get the dust of my long lenses and get some real close-ups of the wildlife in the nearby woodland. It will be interesting to see what I´m able to get.

As you maybe noticed, it´s been quiet from me the last year or so - but I´m still hooked on making wildlife films and the uwol is and will be a inspiration for me to proceed.
I´ve started to build a hide nearby my house. It´s a woodland area where there are lots of wildlife if you take your time and sit for some hours. Cons this time of year is the short days of available light for making good footage.

But I will really try to make something for this round, promise!

Below is one of my intimate friends (Certhia familiaris) not so common to get close contact to.

[Mat Thompson]

Great creeper shots Per Johan. I was lucky enough to be taken out by a nest recorder this year. The tree treepers nests are amazing, but hard to spot unless you know what to look for. Great little bird !!

Looking forward to seeing your film, this time round fella!

[Marj Atkins]

Today has been a most AMAZING day for me.

Just to encourage you, Cat: Specifically and directly attributable to this theme and trying to form some kind of a relationship with my subject I went looking for something particular for a sequence that I wanted to include. I apologise for not divulging too much detail at this point as I do not want to give too much away just yet.

I needed to hunt hard for this specific thing and while I was doing so I spotted something that looked a bit odd so I ran for my camera only to find that the breeze was blowing everything about wildly and I couldn’t film it. I snipped off the twig and took it inside to film under lights which are permanently set up for the purpose of filming insects and plants indoors.

You will understand when you see my film that I have managed to capture the impossible - a particular insect emerging after pupation. If I sat for the next hundred years entirely dedicated to the task I would never be able to repeat what I got today. Simply put – a gift from heaven! (Oh yes – sorry – but I had to use my macro lens for this!) :}

It will form a very small part of my story but more importantly it will be invaluable when I do a film on this particular insect. So I echo what Per Johan has said - thanks for the interesting theme!

BTW - Beautiful shots Per Johan.

[Mat Thompson]

Marj. That is a terrible thing to do to us! Now I'm super intrigued as to what the heck you've managed get down and I'll have to wait over 2 weeks to find out :-/....trying to catch pupal breakouts can indeed be an easilly missed and frustrating task!

[Mike Sims]

Thanks for relating that, Marj. I really love that feeling when you happen onto a “lucky shot”. Usually I look up and there is no one around to share it with and they wouldn’t have appreciated it anyway. I’m looking forward to watching. I must confess, I’m not enjoying this theme (yet anyway). When I first read it I thought “Oh, no!” The theme is absolutely perfect for a project I am going to shoot but, for several reasons, I can’t shoot it now. Because, to my mind, the two fit so perfectly, I have had rather a mental block in coming up with an alternative. Last night I finally had an idea. It has since washed out on a technicality, but at least I’m finally thinking about it. Right now I’m longing for some of the less complicated early themes. How about- Rocks? (Didn’t someone once maintain that all UWOL videos were about rocks and sticks …) It probably doesn’t matter anyway as Dale seems to have lent us some of his grey skies and high winds for a few days.

[Per Johan Naesje]

Wow Marj, can´t wait to watch what you got! Knowing you there must be some amazing footage!

Mike, don´t worry, there will be some rocks in my entry this time. As mention above, light is almost gone at my place this time of year, so I may edit a black & white entry :-)

[Marj Atkins]

Sorry to be so elusive. It’s not as though I have a spectacular insect at all but there is a specific reference to it in my story and the odds of getting one breaking out is quite slim. It was an unexpected bonus and I was really excited about that.

Here’s the problem: pupa in spherical object and adult can emerge from it anywhere - top, bottom or any place in between – east, west, north or south. How many cameras does one set up in anticipation?

It is attached to a living plant and so all equipment is subject to the elements. If you snip it off as I did and take it indoors you have a day before the spherical object starts to shrivel.

You have no idea when it will emerge – day or night – or how long you will have to wait for it (could be weeks) - so you have to change media continually - on a number of cameras.

You cannot do time interval recording for wriggly insects, it just doesn’t work.

Added to this it may not emerge at all because some nasty parasite got to it before you did.

I have neither the time not the inclination to resolve such problems - hence - amazing gift.

Mike: I must say that I too got locked into an idea at the beginning but decided to run with it because I am stretched for time and need to get on with it - I was even wondering if it is worthy of my time. This has given me some encouragement. Cat is right if you take the time to explore the subject, unexpected things can and do happen.

[Mike Sims]

Well I’m definitely committed to that original idea, possibly even as a UWOL entry. It’s just impossible right now because of several logistical issues which are completely out of my hands.

Don’t worry Per Johan! Your Norwegian rocks are some of the most gorgeous on the planet- even in B&W!

Update: Sun just came out. Winds still 35+ mph.

[Mat Thompson]

Ok well if we are playing the tantilising game. I heading out today to try and get a secondhand rain coat and some black and white photos (Can't tell you the subject). - Told you it might be a little different :-/ !