A time lapse of a simple DSLR shoot set up using a GoPro hero2 and a few bars of original music.

How time flies…

Sarah and I take our new waterproof gopro camera out for a swim with Lewis, and we decide to take it slow…

(The music’s from the ol’ dot deluxe and garageband for ipad)

Weird and embarrassing and fun — all at the same time.”

You don’t have to hang out with me very long to know that I almost always have a notebook within reach.

It’s a habit I’ve had since I was about 13. That’s when I finally realized that I forget almost everything that I don’t write down. When I fill up a notebook, I put it on the shelf, and start another.

Funny thing about these notebooks is how my relationship with them changes over time. My current notebook is like a bank. I deposit ideas, thoughts, and doodles for safe keeping — and hope for future…um…”interest.”

When I thumb through previous notebooks, they’re less like banks and more like mirrors. I see my past reflections, a blurry image my former self, and that view shows me some of what I’m like today. How I’ve changed. How I’ve grown or slipped. What core passions link my present decisions with my past desires.

Sometimes the image in the mirror makes me smile or laugh out loud. Sometimes it’s sobering wake-up call to see what I was and what I’ve become.

garageband for ipad

I was itching to try out recording with my new (to me) guitar last week when I came across an old notebook. There were some quotes to remember, some books I wanted to read. And here and there were a few lines of verse and some chords.

So I fired up the ol’ iPad and gave it a whirl. I remember playing this song at my little country church a few weeks after Christmas about a dozen years ago. Refreshing myself on the picking pattern was like crawling inside the attic and finding boxes of old photos from high school. Weird and embarrassing and fun — all at the same time.

Life was simple. Dreams were big. Odds were long. Risks were easy.

I had a good heart back then.

Photos are great, but they’re also flat. Two dimensional. And sometimes 2 “Ds” just aren’t enough. That’s when you need 3D. Today I stumbled on a powerful Photoshop tool that can transform photos into 3 dimensional spaces inside After Effects. It’s called “Vanishing Point.”

Basically, you use Vanishing Point to set the edges of the visual elements inside your photos. Then, let Photoshop auto-magically export the photo in a format AE can open as a 3D object. Then, set up your AE cameras to move through the 3D environment to your heart’s content.

I slapped together a quick test using a photo I had on hand of the Ft. Worth Stockyards. In the clip below, I first show you the photo, then the 3D version. Even my novice effort landed some promising results. Since photography is my first love, you can bet I’ll be working this tool into future video projects!

Vanishing Point will work best on images with flat planes — like buildings, landscapes, and roadways.

Rather than me try to confuse you with a walk through, here’s a very good tutorial from Video Copilot to get you started. Vanishing Point is a simple way to make 2D…disappear.

It’s happening.

I opened up this banjo, tuned it, and recorded a little sample with my iPad. I don’t know many chords yet, so I picked something simple in honor of olde tyme church….

I’ve always liked the punchy twang of the banjo. It’s got a drum head. And strings. And it doesn’t take batteries or light up. Nothing says “I’m kickin’ it old school,” like lickin’ it on five strings of folk fun! You didn’t see much banjo work in mainstream music for a while, but the sound is coming back with bands going for that vintage-y sound. Mumford & Sons is one of my favorite examples.

For me, this banjo is a journey back to my roots. Simple life. Simple folk. Simple faith. There’s an honesty in the sound that resonates with my thirst to approach life with authenticity and energy and to abandon cynicism in favor of hope.

Learning so big, you need a wide angle to fit it all in.

That’s exactly what Sarah worked on this weekend for the kids at church. It was amazing to watch her transform this drab grey room divider into a colorful display. Oh…and by the way? The entire thing can be folded and rolled away for storage.

High five, Wildwoman!

Click here to watch in HD on vimeo…

It was a rather expensive party.

Here are some photos of Sarah encouraging to keep his partying to puppy-approved items.

Let’s just say Lewis has good “taste.”

If he wasn’t so popular with the ladyfolk, I’d probably send him to the pound. As it is, we’ll probably keep him around for another month.