Sundown at the Hat Motel on 35mm

A charming stopover to capture some vintage style b-roll on good old fashioned 35mm.

Hitachi VM-2000A VHS Movie Camera

I just added some serious Cold War era tech to my arsenal of movie-making equipment with this vintage Hitachi VM-2000A VHS movie camera. Released the same year as Back to the Future and weighing as much as a Buick, this Hitachi camcorder comes with state of the art auto-focus technology and VCR compatibility.

I've also been adding unopened brands of blank VHS tapes to my collection during my province-wide thrift hunts, which might further prove that this "vintage media wall" I've been building really is (at least in part) just a big art installation. Do you remember ever seeing these giant VHS cameras in the wild? This one still had a tape with a little league game from 1991 in it.

1960s Kodak Brownie Camera

I've never been much of a show off my new equipment kind of photographer. I've always been more of a show off my new, old equipment kind of photographer. I picked up this early 1960s Kodak Brownie today. Complete with original box and unused flashbulbs, I'm a real sucker for that vintage Kodak branding. She's a real beauty!

Render Monsters & Camera Creatures

The reality is that if you're going to be locked into editing for months on end you're going to find a few distractions along the way. 

These all started out as random doodles of camera equipment that over the last few months turned into characters. I've been referring to them as "Render Monsters" and "Camera Creatures" ... can you tell there's been some downtime throughout the fine cut? 

While there was never a point to these, I used AI to texturize a few of my favourites and then organized them into a poster. I think I'm halfway to releasing a children's book.

I'd like to think the influences are somewhere between "Bump in the Night" meets "Food Fighters" meets "the Real Ghostbusters" cartoon. I would've bought these as action figures as a kid, and each one would've had a spring-loaded projectile.

So, that's where I'm at lol.

The Godfather Exhibit at the Academy Museum

A few visuals and artifacts from the production of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, a new exhibit on display at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, California. 

 

Production Winding Down & New Edit Suite

Since getting back from travel shoots earlier this month it's been an exhausting blur. 

Production on the Monarch documentary is finally winding down as post-production ramps up for June. There are still a lot of moving pieces behind the scenes, a bit more b-roll scheduled, but it's exciting to finally have a grasp on just how much has been uncovered for this movie. 

The final interview of the doc was filmed today and just last week I finished building the new edit suite .... although full disclosure, I immediately changed the desktop backdrops to a neutral image after snapping the picture of the build. I'm just a few steps away from the full on Minority Report screens lol - but it's cool to have so much versatility between layouts / displays.

Mostly, I just wanted to share how excited I am to see this all coming together after the months so many people have invested into making this possible. We're just a few more months away from having a finished movie. Stay tuned as these last few chapters unfold.

1950s Bell & Howell Movie Camera

Believing this vintage movie camera to be from the 1950s going by the undated paperwork it came with, this Bell & Howell is a double 8mm cine camera. What "double 8mm" means is that it filmed on one side of a 16mm film strip (essentially 8mm) and could then be flipped over to expose the other half (another 8mm). The 16mm film was then split when developed and would give you 50 ft. of exposed 8mm film to play in your projector. 

Unlike some of my other vintage finds, I have no intention of filming anything with this one. I was really impressed because this camera was in practically brand new condition and included the original manual for only $20. For now this vintage Bell & Howell will make a nice prop. 

 

1960s Kodak Instamatic 300 Camera

Released between 1963 to 1966, the Kodak Eastman Instamatic 300 was a simple camera intended for casual snapshots. Manufactured in England, the Instamatic 300 had an automatic light cell to help with the camera's exposure system, a pop up flash holder, and an exposure warning flag that would appear in the viewfinder in low light situations. 

Although not a particularly rare piece of equipment, this small Kodak Instamatic 300 camera was a great find and one that I was excited to add to my vintage camera collection.

Red Rock Coulee Sunset

While the giant boulders of the Red Rock Coulee Natural Area are pretty incredible regardless of when you visit, there's nothing quite like a blazing sunset to really bring out their colour. Here are a few more visual highlights from this Southern Alberta gem. 
 

I took the opportunity to capture some aerial footage.