linjudy

Hi - long time no post

Here are some videos that my husband made from footage he took on our trip last May/June. It was soooo cool to watch them! Can't wait to go back.

Hope you enjoy. Just click on the following link, and then "kquot;.

http://my.orb.com/orb/index.jsp?gk=3...7b39c&gm=0

Please post feedback!

Judy

matnikstym

WOW!!! How Cool! I've been watching the elephants over and over! Trying not to buy a video camera before the next trip in March but these are incredible! Thanks for sharing!!!
Dennis

spiegelcjs

Where did you travel to. The grass loks really hight but you got so close. Please more specifics on where you were.

linjudy

Sure. Almost all the footage is from Botswana. Obviously in the music video there are a few shots from Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River, and South Africa (the Cape of Good Hope). In Botswana we were at Duma Tau, Kwetsani, and Mombo. This was in early June. Was the grass inordinately tall?

linjudy

Oh, the elephant clip is from Addo National Park.

wjsonl

Hi linjudy,

I've only looked at the ele video so far... AWESOME! I was expecting one of those big guys to reach out and shake hands with you guys as it went by so close to your vehicle! And I thought I would be perfectly happy taking my digital camera and no videocam in June when I go back... aarrrgghhhhh!!!!

Thanks for sharing,
Jack

cybor

Wow, the videos are amazing - makes me feel like I was there and gets me so excited for my upcoming trip.

The close encounters with the elephants, the feast and scenery were spectacular. Loved also hearing the background sounds of nature.
Very well done.
What kind of camera were you using - if digital how much memory did you use?
Thanks for sharing Judy;
Sherry

wjsonl

Well, Judy, now that I've watched them all, I'm going to have to rethink my decision to only take a camera. I'd also like to say that I've watched many videos of Africa, primarily about Tanzania and the Serengeti, and several videos done by the well-known couple, the Jouberts. I have watched scenes shot by the Jouberts over and over and still watch them in fascination as if it were my first time. These videos froze me with that same kind of fascination. Congrats and thanks again. Jack

linjudy

Wow, Jack, what a compliment! I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed them. We love to watch them -- everytime it makes us feel like we're back there again. Like some of you, I was opposed to taking the video camera (just seem more hassle), but now I'm really glad we have the videos as they add a whole new dimension to our memories.

Unfortunately I can't answer any of the technical questions about the camera, editing, etc. This was completely my husband's efforts (I was the still photographer). You can email him at [email protected]. I'm sure he would be happy to hear that others enjoyed his videos.

Judy

linjudy

Hello... This is actually Judy's husband posting... Judy mentioned there was so interest in the videos I created...

The camera I used was an older Sony TRV9. A single CCD MiniDV camera with fairly good optics. The videos were created in Adobe Premiere and took about 10 hours to create (not including the batch capturing to tapes to the hard drive).

Three pieces of advice that I will pass along.

1. If there are two of you, I suggest one take a still camera, the other take a video camera... This worked well for us.

2. Lens care is important. It gets real dusty, bring the necessary cleaning tools. Battery management is important too.

3. Bring lots of tape and record lots of boring footage. Throwing out the boring footage is easier than not capturing the shot. I have over 7 hours of tape for 6 days.

4. Know your video camera's controls. I was able to get shots in low light where everyone else in the jeep had to put away their equipment. Turning off auto focus and manually setting exposure allowed me to get some amazing shots of leopards in the grass and lions eating(which incidently aren't in the videos). Know how to change these controls quickly, without looking if possible.

Thanks for the great comments on my videos.

waynehazle

The leopard is beautiful. I just envy anyone who saw a leopard actually MOVING!

Carol_Hill

Great videos!!

Is the leopard video at Mombo?? The guide's voice in the background sure sounds like Alex, who was our guide at Mombo.
Carol

linjudy

Hi Carol,

Yes, our guide was Alex -- it's so funny that you recognized his voice. We thought he was great. An incredible tracker.

The leopard footage was mostly at Mombo. The first one in the grass was actually from Kwetsani. Alan cheated a little and there were actually 3 different leopards

Judy

Carol_Hill

Judy--Alex was a great guide, yes! We also took some video and of course his voice is on there, but for some reason, I just remember voices almost better than faces, and I remember Alex's voice, as well as Thuto, from Savuti. Carol

cooncat

I can't access the video! Can anyone help??? Thanks!

linjudy

Sorry.. Only one person can get access at a time AND access isn't available when my VPN to work is up (usually mornings before 9am Pacific). Try again.

cooncat

How very cool! LinJudy - I recognize the leopard in your photo of him in the grass - that was really neat to see it in action like that, too! Thanks for posting these, you two!

cooncat

LOL - did that make any sense at all?? I meant to say that I remember your great leopard-in-the-grass shot, and to see it live in the video was very cool. Dang caffeine, anyway.....

linjudy

cooncat, I knew exactly what you meant . For folks new to the board or haven't seen my pictures, here's a link where you can see "our friends" another way

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-2owqy7

Femi

Brilliant! I wish you could hear my applause at the end of the musical video!

I didn't realise until the end that I was holding my breath during the elephant video!

Great Job!