Casey Neistat on #COVID19

[VIDEO] One of my favorite YouTubers Casey Neistat has his own experience with the coronavirus. His friend and fellow filmmaker Dan Mace had been diagnosed with this very contagious pathogen. He's going to be fine, however, he experience issues with his breathing for example and trying to get tested. That seems to be a recurring thing once this became a real issue in American society, you don't get tested unless your condition is grave.

Three years ago this month I visited the Grand Canyon #olloclip

[VIDEO] In 2016 I went on my west coast jaunt. The purpose was actually a family reunion however we wanted to make stops not only in Las Vegas, Nevada, but also the Grand Canyon. I haven't visited either location since my first visits as a child. And conversely I was too young to gamble and yet have very little interest to put my money on the line in such a fashion.

Either way, I've decided to start using my YouTube channel more and this video of my trip the Grand Canyon is one documented video of my visit. Not the best cut I have, but it's certainly raw and shows the magnitude of this massive geological formation. I'm glad I was able to capture it in pictures and on video.

In commemoration of my trip to the west coast I posted webcam feeds on this blog under "Railcam" that shows the three stops along the way on Amtrak's Southwest Chief. The Chief was how I got back and forth between Los Angeles, California and Chicago (in the case of my visit to the Grand Canyon my folks got on the train in Flagstaff, AZ which is one of the webcam feeds you see). It was an amazing trip that I hope to find another excuse to make in the future. Perhaps even during a future "polar vortex" episode in the winter time!

BTW, time to experiment with photoshop and create something of a YouTube brand image to advertise my channel.

Also here is one photo I shot of the Grand Canyon using an olloclip fisheye lens

Videoblogging: A YouTuber's process...

[VIDEO] YouTuuba does a video about the process for producing some of his videos for his channel. This video is about 30 mins and shows the cameras he uses (mainly still cameras), the storage media he uses, the GPS devices for his train trips, and of course his editing process. Some good pointers for those you who are looking to find ways to really up their YouTube game.

I've only recently started uploading videos to YouTube. I have hours of footage I have yet to upload and edit from an old miniDV camera (I still own one, but haven't used it in years). Of course in recent years many of the vids were shot n an iPhone with the added accessory of olloclip lenses for cellphones. Most of the time I'm very satisfied with the results.

One the other hand I see what YouTuuba is saying. If you're planning on any photography/videography have some redundancy. You don't have to do everything on these wonderful smart phones no matter the quality of the image or video. Something I need to get into the habit of myself as I could shoot pics or video with either my iPhone or my iPad.

Though one thing is true in my case, the reason I do use my iPhone or occasionally my iPad is that often they're readily available. Especially my iPhone as it's usually always on me when out and about. As far as a camcorder especially my miniDV camcorder it's bulky and not as easy to fool with when you realize it's time to record a moment for history. It's not as convenient.

So perhaps I should invest in a camera similar to what YouTuuba uses. That or buy a camcorder more up to speed for 2019. MiniDV camcorders are very aughts and largely obsolete (I probably would have to search far and wide for a miniDV tape. Though memory cards as the one seen in the above video are currently readily available to consumers.

Weather video shot by me in Chicago

[VIDEO] I don't think I've ever seen the Chicago River this high! And another fun fact, the Chicago River normally flows to the Mississippi River. It has been this way since the turn of the 20th century when engineers changed the flow of the river away from Lake Michigan. Today because of the recent rains and flooding around the area the flow of water has been reversed back to the lake as the storm drains (or a deep tunnel that holds up to 2.3 billion gallons of water) are at capacity. Over the past day 5 inches of rain has fallen and according to WGN's meteorologist Tom Skilling that amounts to 80 billion gallons of water. WOW!

The video you see here I shot on the LaSalle Street bridge today looking west. The flow of the river is heading east towards the lake. As states earlier the river was a bit higher than usual.

V-LOG: Detroit Riverwalk

Flash

Video I took along the Detroit Riverwalk last month. Across the Detroit River is Windsor, Ontario, Canada. You can at least hear some sounds of this nice area.

BTW, if I ever show my original videos here they will be called "V-Logs". That way you will know that I made them myself. Otherwise I may or may not denote that a video is a part of this post. History is being made with this post the first Video bLog. Get it? Video Blog (V-Log). Enjoy!

If you have any issues playing this video thru vPIP let me know, also I have it here on YouTube as well.