This project involved the use of many different pieces of equipment, and techniques.  I've detailed the process below, but I'll be glad to answer any questions in the comment area. 

1) LENS

I used the 12mm Fisheye optic mounted in the Lensbaby Composer.  This unique lens allowed me to include the architecturual features of Grand Central Terminal while still capturing the activity on the floor below.  The Fisheye optic comes with a series of aperture discs that control your depth of field.  I used f8 to make sure I had sharp focus from the foreground to the back wall.   For more on Lensbaby, check out the interview I did with CEO Sam Pardue back at Photo Plus in NY.

2) FOCUS

Since you cannot autofocus with a mounted Lensbaby, I had to rely on my eyes to manually focus.  While I have 20/20 vision, I didn't want to leave anything to chance so I used the wonderful "LiveView" feature.  By doing this I was able to magnify the display on the LCD to 10x.  It's like zooming in on the entire scene withouth actually changing the effective focal length of the lens.  At 10x everything is much larger which allows you to micro focus on any portion in the scene.  Previously I had only used LiveView for Macro work with tiny subjects, but it really shined here as well. 

3) SUPPORT

The camera was mounted on the Gorillapod for DSLR's.  While this little item will never replace my trusty Gitzo, it was perfect for this project as I was able to set everything up on the bannister without being bumped by the bustling crowds.   

4) CABLE RELEASE  

I needed the camera to remain completely still so I used a cable release.  I know there are special wireless and programmable cable releases, but I just used the good ole' manual remote.    

5) TIMING

This scene was shot over 25 minutes.  I took a shot approximately every two seconds for a total of 750 images.  How did I time it?  Easy; everytime the previous image popped up on the LCD I took the next shot.  This worked out to be roughly every two seconds. 

6) SHUTTER SPEED

To create a Time Lapse it's helpful to use a slow shutter speed. This is sometimes referred to as "dragging the shutter".  The idea is to make the motion more fluid and less like blips popping in and out of the frame.  For this piece I found a shutter of 0"6 to be work really well.

7) CAMERA SETTING DETAILS

I used the Canon 40D.  My exposure was set manually.  This is necessary to achieve consistent exposures even with any shift in lighting conditions.  The settings were ISO 400, 0"6, and f8.  I also used custom white balance.  Instead of RAW, I opted for JPEG as RAW files do not generally work with Time Lapse software.   

8) SOFTWARE 

The trick is to have all of your images in numerical order in one folder.  I did this upon the initial upload from the CF card to Lightroom.  I then used Quicktime Pro to open the image sequence and select how many frames per second the photos would play back at.  I experimented with 24 frames per second and 15 fps before deciding on 12 fps for the final piece.  Again, JPEGs are the only file types that would work here.  The software also had a bit of a processing issue with the LARGE/FINE files.  It seemed that Quicktme Pro could not handle 750 ten megapixel files.  I had to use Photoshop CS4 to do a quick batch process and resize the images to 6x9 at 72dpi.

9) MUSIC 

The amazing ominous track is by Nine Inch Nails from their album Ghosts (Disc 1).  It is part of Creative Commons Licensing and is therefore legal for me to use.   My sincere thanks to them as it is one of my favorite instrumental albums. 

I've been a big fan of Time Lapse productions for quite some time now.  I hope you enjoyed this piece and use the above technical details to create your own film.  I'd also love to hear your feedback.  Thanks! 

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Here is a short video in which I detail the gear and techniques used to photograph the Veterans Day parade in New York.  The piece ends with my tribute to our men and women in uniform.   

In this short video, President and CEO of Ritz Interactive, Fred Lerner, is inducted into the International Photographic Council's Hall of Fame at the United Nations in New York.  I wanted to share his speech with you, as he discusses the "power of photography".  I recorded it with the Flip.

If you're not familiar with IPC, they slogan is "Peace through understanding, understanding through photography, the universal language."  For more about this organization, check their website here. 

 Also, at the luncheon, NYIP was recognized on their 100 year anniversary. I took an iPhone picture of the sign.

The Layer mask is one of the most powerful, useful features in Photoshop. While the process is considered an advanced technique, it doesn't have to be difficult. In fact, once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite easy. In this, my first ever Screencast, I show you how to create a layer mask in less than two minutes. Since this is a trial run for me, I'd appreciate your feedback. If there is something you'd like to see in the future, please let me know. Thanks!

Many movie industry people believe a film will only be successful with A-list actors, a multi-million dollar budget, and the biggest, loudest special effects.  Unfortunately, they fail to consider what ultimately makes a movie really memorable; the story.  I recently watched a short film that left a lasting impression on me.  It's called "Notebook on Santa and Elves" by Ted Fisher, an award winning film maker, photographer, and video editor in New York.

 I had an opportunity to speak with Ted, and he was kind enough to share some of his thoughts and processes with me. The interview is below:

CC: "Notebook on Santa and Elves" makes use of many still images.  How did that come about?

TF: When I moved to New York in 2005, I began to notice locations and landmarks that seemed strangely familiar. I realized I knew these places from famous images by street photographers. When I'd first started in photography, studying in California at the end of the 1980s, I'd become fascinated by the work of Garry Winogrand, Elliott Erwitt, Lee Friedlander, Diane Arbus, and a dozen others who shot on the New York streets.

So as 2005 came to a close, I found myself walking the New York streets and shooting what I found there. As it got colder, I designed a circuit that took me past areas famous for shopping and holiday events. I walked it dozens of times throughout the season. I looked at everything on the street, but quickly found I was most fascinated by the traces of Santa in New York. As I gathered images, I started working with them in book form. That made sense to me, and followed from my interest in street photographers -- the end product was often a photo book.

CC: When did you start working on films here in New York?

TF: In the fall of 2006, I went back to school, studying documentary production at The New School. The program was structured with a preference for making the type of documentaries I call "struggle and result" -- that is, films that follow a subject as they try to do something and either succeed or fail. Will the team make it to finals? Will our character overcome her fear of raccoons when she visits the zoo? I jumped right in to making films with that model. I made "12th and 3rd in Brooklyn" with two other filmmakers. It's about "Brooklyn's Best" playing their once-a-year stickball match on the same street they played as children.

CC: Tell me about the making of "Notebook on Santa and Elves" 

TF: When I considered making a film about Santa in New York, I hit a wall. The documentarians I spoke with felt it was really a first-person film. It would be about me shooting photos -- and who cared about that? Did we really need another first-person film, anyway? And there was no built-in result: it wasn't about Santa trying to do something, so what kind of ending could it have?

Still, I thought something could be done with the concept, so I brought two fellow documentary-production students to SantaCon in December 2006. We'd decided to shoot it based on the day-long rampage of hundreds of drunken Santas as they visited the city. Mostly, the bars of the city. My friends quickly gave up, however, and the day ended up being me dragging a huge camera bag with two DSLRs and a camcorder. Fueled by an occasional slice of pizza, wearing a Santa costume and trying to balance fitting-in with keeping an objective distance, I stayed with the tribe of Santas for about 16 hours.

CC: Once you had all of the material, how did you piece it together?

TF: When I started editing, I discovered my film advisors were right: this was a first-person film, and I didn't want to make a first-person film. Not exactly. I'd been a fan of Jay McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City" -- a novel written in second person singular voice  -- and I realized that I could use that form. It would allow the viewer to experience a descent into the world of debauched Santahood, but defer the questions on morality and significance. "You" could become Santa, and go along for the ride, only later wondering if it was the right thing to do.

The final form of the film became a hybrid: a mix of stills and video, internal monolog and external action, and themes of belonging and loneliness. It's 18 minutes long, and starts -- purposefully -- slowly. Still, I think it gets somewhere as it goes along and has a few surprises.

For more of Ted's work, check out his website, photography blog, and film blog.  You can also follow him on twitter.

I had the extreme honor of meeting a real American hero at the end of the 2009 Veterans Day Parade.  His name is Bill Toledo, and he was a Navajo Code Talker during World War II.  As a marine, Mr. Toledo and the other Code Talkers used secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms to create an unbreakable code.  This helped the United States prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles. Here's his official BIO from the Navajo Code Talkers website. 

"Bill Toledo was a Navajo Code Talker for three years from October 1942 to October 1945. He served in many engagements including the Battle of Bougainville in the British Solomon Islands, and the battles for Guam and Iwo Jima. On the island of Guam, while filling in as a messenger, he narrowly escaped sniper bullets by means of some quick footwork. Impressed by his moves, some of the Marines jokingly asked about his football career before the war. Not all Marines were so jovial, though. On one occasion, while marching through the jungle, he was mistaken for a Japanese soldier and taken prisoner. After being marched back to headquarters at gunpoint, he was assigned a bodyguard to avoid future misunderstandings. Although the danger is gone, he still gets calls to this day making sure he's okay. Bill Toledo feels it is important to share experiences like his with new generations so that they may understand the cost of freedom and the sacrifices which were made on their behalf."  My sincere thanks to Mr. Toledo for all that he has done for this country. 

This is a small segment from a larger "On Location" piece I'm putting together for NYIP.  It was filmed by Alex Baker with a Flip HD. Although the audio capabilities on the flip are surprisingly good, I find the output from the Zoom H2 to be far superior.  It helps to cut down on background noise.  The trick is then to sync the audio track with the video.  I did this with a quick edit in iMovie and Garageband. 

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The video is now completely done and includes voice overs, and more.  If you've ever wondered what it's like to photograph a political rally I think you will enjoy this.  I talk about the gear, but more importantly the technique, and philosophy involved in the shoot.  Special thanks to Alex Baker for his hard work with all of the editing.  I think he did a fantastic job.  This was made as part of an "On Location" series for NYIP.

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Way back in April, I covered a small but passionate protest against genocide in Sri Lanka.  I was surprised that there was little media coverage.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I was the only one there.  To document the story and help increase awareness, I created an audio slideshow.  Not long after, things grew progressively worse, and by May, the United Nations called it a "bloodbath".  The war finally came to an end on May 19th, but there were reports that over 200,000 people were being held in government-run camps.  Several months passed with little news of what was happening.  Then just this week the NY Times ran an article that said "tens of thousands of displaced Tamils held in closed camps would be allowed to leave immediately, but would be required to register with local authorities so that their movements could be monitored."  It goes on to say "Rights organizations cautiously welcomed the move, which made it more likely that Sri Lanka would meet its self-imposed deadline of releasing most of the war displaced by the end of the year." Of course there are many questions that still need to be answered, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction.  The old slideshow can be viewed below, but please note that it contains some disturbing images.

The "Christmas Machine" is a short video I made in response to the madness that ensues every year after Thanksgiving. While I love the holidays, I truly dislike the blatant ways in which retail outlets try to increase their bottom line. People get killed on Black Friday by shoppers who must get the best deal.  The internet slows to a crawl on Cyber Monday.  Employees are forced to come in to work at three or four in the morning, and work long hours while being underpaid by corporate giants. 

I created this with flip video footage from the Macy's window fronts on 34th Street, and music by Nine Inch Nails from the album "Ghosts".  The music was used legally as it falls under Creative Commons licensing. 

Spending the day photographing these heroes was an unforgettable experience. NYC really knows how to throw a great parade. Thank you to all of the soldiers, and military families for your incredible sacrifice. This is my tribute to you.

Music by Kevin MacLeod used with permission.