Scouting. It's part of the job. Sometimes it's a job-saver.

I'm shooting some video for a department at the University of Texas. The project revolves around interviews with six or seven students and five or six lecturers. The interviews are quick and informal but I still wanted to see what options we might have for locations and whether or not we could shoot in multiple locations so that all the interviews don't look exactly the same. I suggested that we scout the location at least a week before the project day, just to make sure there's no lurking job destroyer that might show its ugly face just when we have a stack of people waiting and no other options. Scouting is a magic thing that not only gives us a good idea of where we'll be but also how the light looks in each location and what sort of audio challenges there might be. 

Once we've put together a list of options the gap between the scouting day and the shooting day gives the client the opportunity to reserve the spaces we've selected and to make styling adjustments and technical fixes to the locations, if necessary. For example: we'd like to shoot in one lab but there is a vent hood in one corner and it seems as loud as a diesel lawn mower. I'd like to turn it off when recording video but it might be critical for the vent hood fan to be running continuously. There is a "guy" the client must check with before we know what options we'll have at that particular location. Without the check-in with the expert turning off the fan is not an option. Multiply this by every location. 

Scouting also means that we know where we're supposed to park, how long it will take to get equipment into the building(s) and how long it will take to navigate hallways and the spaces between buildings. We have three different macro locations selected in the campus area. Within each of these master locations we have two or three "micro" options. We got answers to questions like: Is there a usable elevator to get between floors? Are there conveniently located electrical outlets? What's the air conditioner noise like? And the perennial question, "Can we turn off those florescent lights?"

We also now know that under no circumstances can we mess with the air conditioning. The discontinuation of air conditioning in Texas in August is (justifiably) a reason for instant dismissal. In a University of Texas facility it is close to a capital crime. This means that it will be comfortably cold while we make video but that we'll need to use lavaliere microphones to minimize the noise. 

I brought along my consumer camera (an iPhone XR) to take visual notes as we walked around and scouted. The images below are either germane to the scouting or are of things which caught my attention. The camera you have with you....

Un-digital archiving.

Yes. Acres and acres of magnetic tape.

flat files with secret maps.

20th Century Filing Systems.

And gear. So much gear.

This is...emphatically....not the gear we'll be packing in....

We spent a couple of hours scouting which will save us at least twice as much time on the shoot day. It also gave me and the two main clients time to get more detailed about our shooting plan and our goals for the production day. I have a much better idea of their expectation and also a better understanding of what kinds of gear I need to bring in order to do the job.

We're going to do a two camera set up for the interviews and we've been promised a treasure trove of b-roll from expeditions all over the globe. We will need a small light kit (3 units) and a couple sets of wireless lav. mics. Some stands, a couple cameras, a bag of lenses and a relaxed attitude. I'm hoping this video project will be heavy on the fun side but I want to be ready to do it right.

I wish I could scout next Tuesday's portrait assignment in Knoxville, TN. but the only chance will be on Tuesday morning, just before we ramp up and get our lighting in place. If we didn't bring something along with us then we'll just have to amp up our ingenuity levels and be creative. That's the flip side of the scouting equation. Nice to have, not always available.

Finally, we scouted the cafeteria. I think we'll certainly be able to find healthy options here. On my plate you'll find about two pounds of vegetables along with a vegetarian enchilada entree. That, and a bottle of mineral water. I might live forever.....

Golden beets and Brussel sprouts???

Belinda and Dr. Rhodes will be so proud.....

Don't take perfect operation for granted. Test every used camera that you buy. Make sure it works before the short term warranty runs out....

You guys already know this but... when you buy a used camera, even from the most reputable source, you need to take some time to reset the menus to the settings you like to use, try out all the controls, and also shoot a bunch of test shots to make sure the camera is focusing correctly and exposing images the way it's supposed to. Otherwise you are unwisely tempting fate. The photo gods love to punish hubris by sabotaging you when you least expect it and when the cost to you is greatest. Don't even let me start the story about the freshly overhauled Leica M3 I brought along as my only camera on a trip with my wife to Paris in 1986. First day out, in marvelous light, in the perfect setting, and a loose screw in the guts of the camera brought the entire day to a halt. But, enough digression. Just a reminder that all cameras were assembled by humans and all humans are fallible. Check yours before you bet the farm.

A new-to-me Fujifilm X-Pro2 made its way to me yesterday and I pulled it from the box, charged the battery and installed a shiny, clean SD memory card. Then I reset the menus, clicked all the settings I wanted (including new settings for the function buttons) and made sure the camera basically worked. 

After my swim this morning I spent hours pretending to be financially/investingly savvy and researching various investment strategies, but as soon as I became terminally bored with learning about icky stuff like compound interest I picked up the new camera and headed out the door. My rationale for taking a break from grown up stuff was the desperate need to test out the new camera to make sure it didn't need to be returned. I hate sending stuff back. 

I finally got over to my favorite, shady parking spot at Zach Theatre around 3 p.m. at which time the temperature was hovering around 105 (f) and when the humidity was factored in, the "feels like" temperature was supposed to be something like 110.  I took precautions to combat the oppressive heat; I brought along a cotton bandana which I used to cover my black camera when it was not in use. 

I've decided to get more use out of the Fujicron lenses so my test run today was done with the 35mm f2.0; it was too hot to carry and use an assortment of lenses so I left everything else at home. 

When it gets this hot it's a good idea not to stop for more that a few seconds on black asphalt. The surface heats up so much that sometimes, if one is not careful, the heat melts the soles of people's shoes and then the shoe ends up sticking to the pavement. If one waits too long the melted sole and the asphalt bond and trap the unwary pedestrian in place where they are soon overcome by the heat and sometimes perish. We lose a few Californians this was each Summer. It happens too often when they stop to chat and reminisce how much better everything was back in Malibu.....or something like that.

I followed all the general procedures for a safe adventure in a sea of elevated infrared and pulsating UV energy. I wore the wide brimmed hat, sunscreened the skin that wasn't covered by clothing, and made sure to drink a few pints of water before I left the house. Someday I will become wealthy with my newest idea: sunscreen for cameras! 

I had a modest and easily attainable destination in mind; I was heading to the new library where I looked forward to swilling down a cup of their coffee and maybe even indulging in one of their cafe's wonderful toffee, almond, pecan, chocolate chip and sea salt cookies. I was almost to the library when I ran into my son, Ben, who was also walking around downtown this afternoon. He was heading off on some errand so I only delayed him long enough to pry an agreement out of him to come over on Thursday evening for dinner. Thursday being our traditional night for sharing pizzas. 

The library cafe was quiet, cool and nearly empty of people. The cookie was easily one of the top three cookies I've eaten in all 63 years of my young life. The coffee was fine too. I savored the view and the quiet for a while before finally completing another walking and photographing loop through downtown. After that I headed back over the pedestrian bridge toward my car. Halfway across the bridge I ran into Ben again, he had changed into running gear and was on the last quarter of his 5 mile run around the lake. He looked none the worse for wear. There is something about being a skinny, daily runner that seems to make Ben and his friends immune to the heat. Although, from a parenting point of view I do wish he'd run in the morning when it's cooler. 

I used the camera in the OVF mode for the most part. Everything seems to be working fine and, as you can probably tell by the included photographs, the focus seems to be right on the money. Now that the camera has passed my initial test and my heat torture test I'll put a small piece of white tape on the bottom and give the camera a number. I'll also change the file name identifier so I'll know which camera is which. 

Be sure to test used cameras that come your way. It could save you some grief down the road. 

Yay! The boy is coming for dinner! 

A view from the pedestrian bridge looking east to downtown. 

A Whole Mess of Pentax K-1 Files for Roger. By Request.

Click on the images to make them bigger.