In episode 13 of The Circle of Confusion, Peter discusses his recently announced Arctic workshop for 2013, Neil meets a dragon on a mountain, and Roger has nothing. All three discuss their own favourite photographs of 2011 and they talk about remarkable videos filmed in remarkable locations. Peter’s alter ego is also revealed.
Peter’s alleged supplementary income stream in Bristol:
Peter earns a bit on the side doing this and that
In the podcast, Peter and Neil refer to a terrific video filmed by Jordan Manley as part of the Skier’s Journey series. Here it is:
Lastly, the photographs chosen by the boys as their favourites of 2011.
Don’t forget, you can purchase the first episode of our landscape photography video series Dynamic Range for just €9.95, and as a bonus, the pilot episode is just €4.95! You’ll receive the download link via email as soon as you’ve completed the purchase.
In episode 12 (the second episode of the newly revived Circle of Confusion podcast), Roger, Neil and Peter discuss what’s been significant to them in their careers as photographers in the last year, and what’s coming in 2012.
Peter sounds like a dying elk with a bad case of the flu, Neil talks about his social media addiction and Roger says sensible things about the state of the social photography industry.
Have a listen and we all hope you had a great Christmas and have a prosperous new year! Tune in next Thursday for another scintillating episode.
Don’t forget, you can purchase the first episode of our landscape photography video series Dynamic Range for just €9.95, and as a bonus, the pilot episode is just €4.95! You’ll receive the download link via email as soon as you’ve completed the purchase.
‘Dynamic Range’ is a breakaway from the traditional photography tutorial video. At its heart is our belief that education and entertainment make the strongest learning combination.
In this launch episode, you’ll get first-class instruction and a duel at dawn with tripods. No other tutorial video can offer you that.
In it, you can follow Peter and Neil as they explore the stunning landscape of the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. Along the way, you’ll learn how to improve your photography, both technically and artistically.
You’ll see how the shoots themselves unfold and get honest commentary on the resulting photographs – some of which are quite good; others not so much. You’ll see what worked and, importantly, what didn’t work. After all, we learn best from our mistakes.
Need your gear fix? We’ve got you covered.
There’s also a stranded car, a missing sound engineer, and some breathtaking scenery.
This hour-long, high definition episode will make you laugh and learn.
The official trailer
We’ve had some fun over the past couple of days with spoof trailers.
To celebrate the launch of the new series, we’re relaunching the audio podcast that Roger and Peter hosted in 2010. We’ve added Neil into the mix, and the new podcast will be weekly. In this week’s episode, the trio talk about the pitfalls of making your very own video series. Take a listen!
Thank yous
Finally, we have some people to thank.
US landscape photographer Jim Goldstein has been great support in the last couple of days as we pushed towards the final release.
We’d also like to recognize our most vociferous supporter, Rene Bruun, who has lived the production of this episode with us every step of the way on Twitter.
Lastly, but most fondly and with huge respect, we’d like to thank Fiacre Muller, our sound engineer. Sourced from the college in Tralee and participating in return for little else than a bed, some food and the pleasure of riding in Roger’s car, Fiacre was a real find for us. We have nothing but praise for him and we are grateful for everything he’s done over the past two months. The production of ‘Dynamic Range’ is a turbulent sea. You couldn’t ask for a better man on the bridge with you than Fiacre.
If Carlsberg made sound engineers, this is what they'd come up with
Hi folks -
At 1pm GMT today, be sure and check in as we’ll be unveiling Episode One at long last!
Of course, it’s now here! You can purchase the first episode for just €9.95, and as a bonus, the pilot episode is just €4.95! You’ll receive the download link via email as soon as you’ve completed the purchase.
Certainly in the case of landscape photographers, a love of their subject conquers a multitude of challenges.
Early starts. Inclement weather. Draughty transport. Mud. Other landscape photographers. The list goes on.
‘Dynamic Range’ episode 1 launches in the next 48 hours, and with the above in mind, we’ve adopted a more gentle approach for today’s trailer. It is the season of goodwill after all.
As the series is now live, you can purchase the first episode for just €9.95, and as a bonus, the pilot episode is just €4.95! You’ll receive the download link via email as soon as you’ve completed the purchase.
When you spend the best part of four days filming, you end up with a lot of material. You can’t use it all. So, we found ourselves trimming and cutting.
Initially, the more we cut the better the first episode of ‘Dynamic Range’ became. That was a little alarming. We started to wonder whether the strongest version was going to be the one with nothing between the title sequence and the end credits. Luckily, we did arrive at a point where we had achieved the content and balance we wanted.
A lot of footage didn’t make it into the final edit. Some of it was quite good, but didn’t fit the flow of the programme. Other segments would have been quite good, were it not for obvious flaws. We’re still learning.
The snippet below falls into the latter category. Initially, we were thrilled to get the rainbow. But in our eagerness, we overlooked the distracting shadow on Peter.
And the fact that he was looking directly into the sun.
Apart from that it’s perfect.
Other than the sound being on the wrong channel, that is.
When you run a small business, you have to multitask.
The same goes for a programme like ‘Dynamic Range’, which is produced by a very small team indeed. Four people to be precise. And that is a 33% increase on the production team we had for the pilot episode.
Of course, if everyone is multitasking, there is a chance that several people are going to end up doing the same job at once. Though, oddly, you never get several people fetching the coffee.
In this clip, the “Talent” go all Clint Eastwood/Woody Allen and take the director reins in addition to their presenting role.
We don’t mean that. Of course we don’t. Siri is a wonderful invention.
Though when you ask her on Peter Cox’s iPhone who the best photographer in Ireland is, she answers: “Neil McShane.” We don’t know why. Perhaps she has a peculiar sense of humour.
Mind you, whatever sense of humour she has, she almost lost it when she became a makeshift camera girl for a piece of footage intended as a link in the first episode of ‘Dyamic Range’.
***UPDATE***
While the above story makes for fun reading, the “Talent” have been in touch.
While fun, it is inaccurate.
It is Siri on Neil’s phone who thinks he is the greatest photographer in Ireland.
Shall I tell you how not to make a branding decision?
Never, ever make it after you’ve filmed the first episode of a new video series in which your presenters refer to the old brand name. It makes the editing that bit more complex.
It also causes confusion.
New Series Brand
Let me give you the back story.
‘The Circle of Confusion’ is the name that Peter and I came up with when we launched our podcast last year. It seemed logical to transfer the name to the new video series. At least, it was logical at the time. We’ve now come to realize that we made a mistake – particularly now that we have formed a company under the same name. Suddenly, everything is Confusion.
We have big plans for our business together. We don’t intend to stop at a series of landscape photography videos. Other products will follow. Problem is, they can’t all be called ‘The Circle of Confusion’. That would just be… you know… confusing.
We need to differentiate between the product lines, starting with the soon-to-be-released landscape video. Consequently, we’ve decided to call the series by its own name: ‘Dynamic Range’.
We now operate as any other production company – giving each programme series its own distinct name and brand.
Why ‘Dynamic Range’?
Because Peter said so.
Well, sort of. He came up with the name. Neil and I couldn’t best it.
Besides, it fits very well. ‘Dynamic range’ is a photographic concept. ‘Range’ is a word you would associate with the landscape – as in ‘out on the range’. ‘Dynamic’ also refers to our duo of presenters and their interaction, as well as the general feel of the video series. We promised ‘Top Gear’ for photographers, after all.
The End of The Circle of Confusion Name?
No.
Far from it.
For a start, this blog will retain the name.
That’s not all. We have news. The name started out as the series title of a podcast. We’ve had persistent calls for its return. So, we’re going to relaunch it in the new year. Guess what it will be called?
