Friday, August 08, 2008

"Lower Than A Snake's Belly"

Don't you just love those graphic phrases from old westerns?
Compared with today's practice of just calling someone a motherfucker automatically, it's readily apparent to me that at least in the Hollywood version of their vernacular the cowboy put a little more effort into choosing his insults.
They are more lyrical, too.
A better flow...

In this house, the things that are lower than a snake's belly are support systems for said snake.
Mostly lights.
An 18" flourescent on a timer for daytime light with little heat, an incandescent bulb on a dimmer for adjustable heat, and a spotlight for the feeding tank.

Boring--no saloon fights or duels.



This was my first experience using the A300 on a tripod indoors, with it's tilting LCD screen.
It was much like my old camera in results and comfort, and while the F717's twisting body/lens joint was quicker and easier to use (you just grab the body and crank it around where you want it) the articulated screens on the A300/A350 cameras are more of a 'fingers' version that has it's advantages.
During this shoot I alternated between Live View and chimping because tilting LCDs make both methods easier.

2 comments:

Matthew Robertson said...

Say what you like about censorship, but you've got to admit: obscenity fines did good things for creativity.

I'm glad to see that you're enjoying your flippy screen. People who don't understand the usefulness of 'live view' are the ones who don't have that ability.

Keith Alan K said...

My so-called "flippy screen" is SO worth an extra $100 over the A200 all by itself.
On tripods and improvised substitutes, studio/night/macro, the tilt screen is more important than Live View by 41.6% due to improved ergonomics, with LV adding a some helpful technical zest.
The combination is irresistable.