I am not a bird watcher, however I am interested in watching birds; as a mater of fact, I am interested in all things nature, not only watching birds but also watching the nature change day in day out. However, bird watching is not really a thing for a city girl from Indonesia, which means my interest is not polished yet; I still ask too many questions instead of understanding the ins and outs of bird watching.
the waterfowls by the river Avon in Bristol
Now, that I live by the floating harbour in Bristol, with a beautiful view out of my window, I can see the nature change more closely especially when the season changes, from summer to autumn or from grey winter to lively spring; I also aware that there are migration birds who visits the British Island in winter…
The biggest advantage for me of living by the water is like dreaming and watch life goes by… (as if I have nothing to do…), well, not literally…. as the better term is observing the life around me. And one of my observation is about the wildlife around me. I haven’t seen the elusive Bristol’s urban fox yet, but currently there are a lot of ducks by the reed bed near me, which population growing by the year. not to mention the seagulls that wakes us up at 4 am in the morning in Summer. But as Bird Watcher (or they say Twitcher) wannabe, the game is spotting and naming the bird that we encounter. I know the difference between a pigeons and a ducks, but types of ducks? that a bit tricky. and that goes with all different waterfowls that live within the floating harbour only.
Swimming with the body halfway into the water, unlike ducks
Cormorant or Shag
A few weeks ago, my neighbour and I had a discussion about the type of the bird living around our water. I always assume this is “Cormorant”. For those who is not familiar with this type of birds, it looks like duck, but its not; it swims low in the water – much of the body is submerged, and periodically peering under the surface to locate its food, and unlike ducks (the one living in the Floating Harbour) who dabbling and quacking, This particular type are not, they eat fish, so they dive to fish. They are not categorise in the family of Waterfowls, they are part of the family of Pelicans and relatives.
Definitely not a duck!
However, there is this other type of bird called ’Shag” which is still in the same family of Cormorant, but a bit different… So, what is the different?
This is according to Collins Bird Guide book:
SHAG: is smaller and slimmer than Cormorant, (75cm/30″) with relatively small head and thin bill. Breeding adult entirely black with green gloss; curly crest on its forehead; yellow base of lower mandible and orange/yellow gape. When not breeding, lacks crest and has some white on chin, resembling to Cormorant.
Habitat of Marine area, confined to rocky coast and island; very rare inland or on flat sandy or muddy coast. It will fish in rough seas but stays close inshore and prefers sheltered bays
unlike ducks their feather has no waterproofing system (not coated with ooil) this they spread their wing towards the sun do dry their wingsthe striking look, while onlandsighting two together
CORMORANT: is a larger bird than Shag (90cm/36″); more heavily built with stouter bill. Breeding adults are glossy black and bronze, with yellow bill and throat pouch, patch of bare orange skin below eye, and white cheeks, throat and thigh patch.Feathers on back of head and neck show varying amounts of white. After breeding season, loses white thigh patch and white head feathers.
Habitat of coastal waters, estuaries inland lakes marshes with open water. It normally fishes close to land, diving from the surface and catching fish by swimming under water. When not feeding , it often sits on exposed perches, preening and spreading its wings to dry.
With no side by side comparison between those birds, anybody has Idea what type of bird is this? Cormorant or Shag????
***
Info of Cormorant Profile, as per Nature Guide Bird of The Wold by David Burnie. 2022 edition:
The above quotes made me think of what kind of pictures I take on my holidays as I always take my camera on my travels, and not only my mobile phone camera.
A few weeks ago I was asked by an old friend to upload a series of my travel photos for 5 day period. The title of this photo challenge was “Travel Photo’s Memory”. Then my mind went wild, thinking of what is Travel Photography? What kind of photos should I include in this genre photography, or it is not an actual photography genre? Should it be a photo about me on my travels or my selfies with all the famous landmarks as the background; as a proof that I’ve been there! The downside is those pictures were either my face only with a tiny bit of the “famous background” or a good proportion of both but taken by others… not the picture I took. While it is nice for my own memory to see myself that I’ve been to those places, but I think it’s not my style to brag to people that “it’s me in front of a so and so landmark…”.
Apa sebenarnya subjek utama dari travel photo? Apakah diri kita sendiri dań menjadikannya foto selfie atau temat-tempat yang kita kun jungi sebagai subjek foto kita pada saat traveling?
To me it is the story that is more interesting. The photos could add to the story with or without me in it. Besides, for me it is the passion of taking a good picture of my travels that is more important as it creates the memory and the story behind every picture I take that provides the memory for me.
The Landscape:
So, I think I am into the other interpretation of Travel Photography, and that could be about photographing the nature of my destination, such as the seaside, or the landscape of a safari park or even the affect a wonderful waterfall I visited or as simple as the Elements and skyscape. Do I need to in the picture..? Well I think that could spoil the Landscape Photography genre. Besides, the challenge is taking the picture as you travel, not only selfies….
Visiting mount Bromo, (Java Island, Indonesia) for the first time, and the famous trip was to go up to the pinnacle to see the sunrise…. where I think it creates a nice Landscape Photography for my trip up the mountain. I don’t think this picture needs me in it.
A Landscape Photography about the sunset at Abu Samra, taken when I lived in Doha, on a photo trip to border of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The Built Environment:
City breaks are an easy escape to another city, either for a dirty weekend to a nearby city within the country I live or another city abroad, thus ‘Urban Landscape’ is a genre of photographing while travelling. In this genre all theories of photography could be implemented: the lines of the buildings, the city street, the scale of the landmark on humans, or the history of ancient sites or even the city light that could give me a good memory of my travels and I will be able to tell stories of each and every visit to those locations.
On top of those theories, I tried to shoot with a slow shutter speed and at blue hour…. and this is the memory of Isfahan in late afternoon 🙂I love this picture, taken on my visit to Shaftesbury, one of the most iconic pictures of a beautiful English Village; yet it’s a typical sample “Built Environment Photography” which requires travel to the location.
Everyday detail and close-up
Drinking beer with this kind of pump handle is very much daily Japanese life, and having it in a bar for after hours.
While you are in the city, sometimes its the little things that tell the story of where you are, the everyday life of the place that gives you a sense of different places in the world, not necessarily having yourself in the picture or having the whole portrait.
One will know exactly where this photo was taken as it’s the Turkish flag represented on one of the bowls.
As well as this picture, as only the Moroccan cooking their dishes using this type of pot.
That includes the hand that holds their food or even the the lettering of the street signage or the items they sell in the market it all adds the picture from your travel that tells a story.
Wildlife
I don’t think I have time to have selfie with this elephant while it was charging towards us during safari in Tanzania…. It was too much suspense let alone taking picture…
When you go on safari, of course it means that you go traveling. But safari means you are encountering wildlife and I believe wildlife does not necessarily want to pose for you or even with you…. so the challenge is to get a good picture of the wildlife and get the experience chasing the animals and still get a good picture.
However, one doesn’t have to go on safari to get an exotic wildlife picture. I took this picture at Slimbridge… hence the background and foreground of the picture are not the natural habitat of flamingo birds, yet I do have to travel to Slimbridge to get this picture
Having said that, one doesn’t need to go on safari to take a wildlife picture. As simple as taking pictures of birds in your garden is already a challenge and to me, by ‘traveling’ to your window from your snug to get the garden bird picture is already an achievement.
Another sample of wildlife photography I took on my morning walk towards a nearby park, where the red deer happens to be very near to our footpath.
I love the above picture, as it shows interaction of different species, without having human in the frame spoiling the picture… 🙂
People
I like to take candid pictures of people; however, nowadays you need to ask permission to take their picture and it may not be a candid picture anymore. As I am not really a people person and chatting up to strangers is hard for me, and I think this is why I don’t really like to photograph people, and that includes taking pictures of friends, let alone a selfie.
This is a typical picture I usually take; candid, easy, a bit sneaky but I think this tells a lot of story…..
On the other hand, I do understand that the most rewarding area of photography is taking pictures of strangers in strange places and strange occasions.
Taj Mahal as the background, with the right person as the main object…. no need for selfie, yet the effort to take this picture was far harder than taking a selfieHowever, from time to time I took pictures of my fellow traveler friends, during our visit to Iran
Mode of Transport:
Most of our travels involved transportation and this is an easy object of to recognise and memorise our travels. This type of picture could be taken from the vehicle or picture of the transport mode. Transport mode could be anything and everything, from daily commuting means of transport to exotic transport and it could be either as simple as bicycle to the unusual animal for transport.
Camel as a transport mode?
Although this activity is now organised for tourist around Wadi Rum, but camel is The Transportation mode in the Desert. Aside from camels, horses are also a popular transportation mode still used in Egypt, either in Luxor or in and around Giza, Cairo.
There are many other genres of photography that could be inside the category of “Travel Photography” that doesn’t involve a selfie, and to me, it is more rewarding to show off a good quality of my own photoshoot, compared to having myself in the picture.
Having said all that, which one are you as a travel photographer?
One of my favourite places to go before lockdown is Dyrham Park; a mansion and country park run by National Trust. This is a place where I can go for a big walk and yet still enjoy the nature, and nature means the landscape and the wildlife, not to mention the beautiful background of Dyrham House.
The Tudor Mansion at Dyrham Park
I was planning to revisit next week after lockdown eases. The plan was to take a good look at all the resident animals again. As with this pandemic/lockdown situation, when we can’t do crazy travels like we used to do; hence, to travel locally did not harm anybody. So for the time being, to travel local or as they say – staycation, is the first step.
For me, Dyrham Park, is half an hour away from where I live by car where I can visit and have a full dose of wildlife. There resides a herd of 70 fallow deer; the type of deer with white spotted backs, and they have been residents of Dyrham Park for generations, or rather the last 300 years. Hence the name ‘dyrham’ – from deer – the residents of the 109 hectares ancient parkland.
Fallow Deer are the type of deer with white spots on their backMale fellow deer with their majestic antlersThey are a bit skittish and shy when humans are around.
I remembered clearly that in winter, the deer park opens early to give opportunities for interested visitors if they would like feed the deer with extra food to help them survive better in the cold. My husband and I volunteered to do so in 2017 and I think because it was so cold, no body else joined in; so we were the only couple to help feeding the deer aside from the deer keeper.
It was so cold and I forgot my gloves, but the sensation to feed them was so different… It made my day….They now how to queue…?
Normally the fallow deer are so skittish and running away from humans when we get too close to them, but this time they are like waiting for us in line for the hand out.
Bovine TB infection
Infeksi TB Bovine adalah virus yang menyerang ternak dan dalam kasus ini kijang fallow di Dyrham Park.
Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of cattle. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) which can also infect and cause disease in many other mammals including humans, deer, goats, pigs, cats, dogs and badgers. However, there are concerns by some that badgers are responsible for spreading bovine tuberculosis to cattle and maybe in this case deer as well. This has led to badger culls taking place in certain areas in the UK.
Latest news from Dyrham Park officials said that they have been battling against the disease since it was first detected at the park in 2007, and they’ve tried every measures to protect the deer, including adding extra fencing, carrying out a badger vaccination programme and stopping cattle grazing in the park had all been tried, without success.
Thus, late last week the National Trust decided that they have no other choice except to to make the very difficult decision to humanely cull the entire deer herd. :((
I will miss them terribly as I cannot imagine not having all the deer at Dyrham Park, and hoping that they will be replaced as soon as they can get rid of the virus in the area.
Salah satu penyebab Bristol menjadi terkenal dengan street-art nya adalah karena Bristol melahirkan Banksy, atau mungkin kebalikan, Banksy berasal dari Bristol, atau karena Banksy maka Bristol menjadi sararan para seniman street Art. Ini cerita lebih lanjut tentang Banksy yang di tulis oleh BBC atau Wikipedia.
There are hundreds of Banksy’s works around the world, but it all started in Bristol.
Here are some of his works in Bristol
Ada ratusan karya Banksy di dunia, dan semua itu di mulai di Bristol pada saat Graffity atau Street Art ilegal dan menjadi musuh pemerintah setempat; karenanya ada beberapa karya Banksy di Bristol yang sekarang sudah tidak bisa di lihat lagi, salah satu penyebabnya adalah karena dihapus oleh PemDa Bristol.
Take the Money and Run
Itu judul karya banksy yang mungkin pertama sekali sebelum dia menjadi terkenal, dikerjakan bersama team nya, yang termasuk diantarnaya adalah Inkie dan Mode2 (keduanya adalah artis mural Bristol dan masih beroperasi di Bristol sampai sekarang). Ketika itu mereka mengerjakan nya secara bebas (freehand) ketimbang dengan teknik stensil superit paya pelukisannya sekarang.
“take the money and run”
Seperti biasa, karena ini ‘freehand’ dan di tempat terbuka, tentunya bahan catnya pun dimakan oleh cuaca dan menjadi memudar. Uniknya penduduk setempat merestorasinya tahun 2019 dan dapat terlihat kembali sekarang
Cat and Dog
Dibuat dengan teknik freehand, menggambarkan kucing dengan menggunakan cat semprot piloks (spray can) dan dua ekor anjing penjaga yang bengis.
Salah satu karya pertama Banksy yang dibuat tahun 1990 an, berlokasi di bagian kota Bristol Easton, yang dianggap tempat Banksy mulai beroperasi dan ketika dia masih bagian dari kelompok street-artis DryBreadZ (DBZ). Apabila kita mengartikan lebih jauh dari makna karya street art tersebut sebenarnya menggambarkan dirinya sendiri berusaha mengatakan: “There are crimes that become innocent or even glorious through their splendour, number, and excess”, ada pelanggaran yang dilakukan, tetapi dibenarkan karena penghargaannya, jumlahnya dan kelebihannya.
Mild Mild West
Dibuat tahun sekitar tahun 1999
Sejauh ini Banksy selalu membuat karya-karyanya pada lokasi kumuh, yang penuh dengan masalah sosial. Banksy lalu mulai membuat karya-karyanya di tempatyang sulit di capai, salah satu contohnya adalah Mild Mild West ini:
“Teddy bear” dengan bom molotov nya
Lokasinya di Hamilton House, pusat budaya Bristol di kawasan Stoke Croft, dimana penduduk Bristol dari berbagai etnis dapat menikmatinya. Temanya pun seperti biasa sarat dengan sindiran: “Teddy bear” (seperti digambarkan di street art tersebut) sebagai binatang yang bersahabat dan ramah, tetapi pada saat terancam, seperti halnya binatang buas lainnya, mereka akan mempertahankan diri mereka dalam hal ini dengan bom Molotovnya, seperti halnya kerusuhan rasial yang terjadi di kawasan itu 60 tahun yang lalu.
Masked Gorilla:
Dibuat tahun 2000 an, dibuat dengan gaya stensil hitam+putih dengan topeng warna pink mencolok. “Masked Gorilla” ini ditemukan di daerah Eastville di Bristol, dimana kebanyakan warga Muslim Bristol bermukim.
Dibuat tahun 2000 an, dibuat dengan gaya stensil hitam+putih dengan topeng warna pink mencolok. “Masked Gorilla” ini ditemukan di daerah Eastville di Bristol, dimana kebanyakan warga Muslim Bristol bermukim.
Bersama dengan usia, street art ini pun menjadi bagian karya street art yang lain
Pada tanggal 18 September 2020, akhirnya “Masked Gorilla” dipindahkan, dan tidak ada yang tau mengapa dan kemana
Karya Banksy di abadikan dalam bentuk T-shirt dan bisa di beli di Amazon
Hampir semua karya Banksy mempunya nilai yang cukup berharga, dan kadang-kadang mencapai jutaan Pound Sterling. Pada saat Street Art ini pertama kali muncul, pemilik dinding bangunan tersebut tidak memiliki gambaran sama sekali bahwa gambar “Masked Gorilla” ini ada “harga”nya.
Well Hung Lover – 2006
Well Hung Lover
Mungkin inilah karya Banksy paling terkenal di Bristol berjudul “Well Hung Lover”
Dibuat tahun 2006, menggambarkan pasangan yang melakukan hubungan ilegal dan di pasang tepat didepan ‘alun-alun’ balai kota Bristol: College Green, di dinding bantunan yang digunakan sebagai klinik penyakit kelamin. Dibutuhkan waktu 3 hari untuk menyelesaikan karya street art ini dan di buat pada saat akhir minggu.
Pada saat PemDa kota Bristol memutuskan untuk membeli bangunan yang dimiliki oleh salah satu anggota band Massive Attack, yang mana juga memberikan ijin Banksy untuk membuat gambar ini. Dengan sendirinya PemDa memutuskan untuk membersihkan muka bangunan dari coretan-coretan ilegal tersebut, tetapi ketika mereka melakukan survey, ternyata 97% penduduk Bristol tidak menginginkan mural ini di hapus. Sayangnya mural ini tidak luput dari serangan paintball (berwarna biru)
Rose on a mousetrap – 2006
Penghargaan terhadap karya Banksy bisa bermacam-macam bentuknya yang paling sederhana adalah mengamankannya dari vandalisme kecemburuan sosial antara artis jalanan juga bisa terjadi. Karenanya banyak karya-karya Banksy yang di lindungi oleh penduduk setempat terhadap kemungkinan vandalisme yang mungkin terjadi. Karya pertamanya sebagai artis tunggal yang berjudul Rose on a Mousetrap adalah salah satu contohnya.
Pintu biru tersebut adalah pintu masuk ke rumah deret…
Lokasi street art ini di kawasan perumahan disebelah pintu masuk menuju rumah deret. Menurut penduduk setempat, ketika itu Banksy tinggal dirumah tersebut.
Planning permission–2011
Pada saat ini Banksy sudah memiliki ciri khas karya-karyanya, yaitu gaya stensilan ( warna dasar + hitam lalu kadang-kadang ditambah satu warns lain sebagai aksen). Tapi makna di balik karya seni tersebut lebih dalam dari sekedar stensilan, dan seperti kita semua tau, penuh dengan kritik social.
Kiri adalah aslinya: kanan adalah kondisi sekarang
Lokasinya di bawah perpustakaan kota bristol dimana cuma pejalan kaki saja yang bisa melihat. sedianya tulisan “YOU DON’T NEED PLANNING PERMISSION TO BUILD CASTLE IN THE SKY “ seolah-olah tergantung di bawah dua lubang exhaust diatasnya. Tapi kemudian perpustakaan tersebut membuat lubang pintu. Uniknya pemilik gedung mempertahankan tulisan tersebut.
The girl with the pierced eardrum – 2014
lukisan karya pelukis belanda Johannes Vermeer
Dibandingkan dengan karya Banksy diatas, “YDNPPTBCITS” yang sebenarnya lokasinya sangat dekat dengan rumah saya, karya yang diberi judul “The Girl with the Pearced Eardrum” saya lewati setiap hari saya lari pagi.
Judulnya yang unik, mirip dengan judul lukisan karya pelukis Belanda terkenal – Johannes Vermeer berrjudul “The Girl with Pearl Earring“ . Tapi karya Banksy ini judulnya di plesetkan menjadi “The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum”, dan gambarnya pun di pelesetkan, menjadikannya gaya stensilan. Skala dan lokasinya pun sedemikian rupa sehingga dia tetap merupakan karya yang berbeda, yaitu besarnya mungkin 5-8 kali lebih besar dari yang asli. Lalu judulnya yang mengadopsi lokasi dan juga anting mutiara (pearl earing)nya dirubah menjadi pearced ear=telinga yang ditindik; sementara ear-drum= gendang telinga, jadi, pearced eardrum= gendang telinga yang pecah. Jadi secara keseluruhan terjemahan bahasa Indonesianya adalah: “Gadis dengan gendang telinga yang peach”… mengapa demikian? Karena anting kuning yang menjadi bagian dari karya Banksy tersebut adalah alarm bangunan tersebt, yang mana apa bila alarm itu berbunya dan terletak persis di telinga kita, mąką itu akan membuat gendang telinga kita pecah!
Alarm bangunan yang menjadi bagian dari karya Banksy secara keseluruhan
Pada masa pandemi Covid 19 yang mengharuskan semua menggunakan masker, maka karya banksy ini pun mengikuti jaman dengan menggunakan masker …
The Girl with the stick – 2016
Pada saat ini Banksy sudah menjadi artis terkenal di dunia, karyanya ada dimana-mana di dunia barat, dari Bristol, London sampai New York, kanon karana pekerjaan resminya membawanya ke tempêta-tempat tersebut. tapi bukan berarti bahwa Banksy melupakan kota asalnya.
Satu tahun setelah saya pincha ke Bristol, Banksy kembali meninggalkan jejak nya di Bristol:
“The girl with a match stick” atau “Burning Tyre”
Karya yang ini tarletak di dinding sekolahan di Whitchurch, kawasan perumahan di Selatan Bristol. Dan karena lokasi, maka saya tidak bisa mengambil foto tersebut diatas, atau bahkan melihatnya langsung. Tapi website Banksy mengkonfirmasinya bahwa ini betul karyanya dan seperti biasa koran lokal pun langsung memberitaknannya, sayangnya karena lokasinya, maka tidak banya orang yang dapat melihatnya langsung.
Tepatnya pada hari Valentine 2020, Banksy kembali berkarya di Bristol, kali ini juga desisti kota yang lain. Karya tersebut di beri judul yang sama dengan momennya: “Valentine’s Day”
Gadis kecil yang menkatepel hati lalu menyemburkan cipratan “merah darah” dań sebagian menyangkut di tanda nama jalan.
Ciri khas Banksy membuat dan memilih lokasi tempatnya meletakkan karyanya selalu tidak terduga, dan biasanya pemilik dinding/penghuni bangunan tidak langsung mengetahui apa yang terjadi sampai ke esokan harinya muncul di berita lokal, seperti surat kabar lokal atau bahkan berita pagi di BBC nasional, dan kemudian spekulasi pun berlangsung untuk beberapa waktu apakah ini benar karya Banksy atau bukan. Tapi website Banksy kemudian meng konfirmasikannya bahwa itu benar karyanya.
“Aachooo” – Desember 2020
Karya terakhir di Bristol berjudul Achoo, menggambarkan perempuan yang bersin sehingga gigi palsunya lepas
Saya datang ke lokasi tempat karya ini di gambae segera setelah saya mendengar berita ini di BBC tv. dan seperti sudah saya duga, ada banyak orang yang ingin berfoto bersama karya ini.
berfoto bersama karya Banksy
Foto diambil dari website resmi Banksy
Lokasinya seprti biasa ditempat yang aneh, di dinding rumah orang yang tidak tau sama sekali apa yang terjadi sampai keesokah harinya. Pertanyaannya, adalah, karena ke populerannya dan ke unikannya, apakah propreti yang ada/melekat karya Banksy memiliki nilai tambah?
Ada banyak karya -karya Banksy yang lain di Bristol dan arena karyanya adalah sebagai street art, maka banyak pula karya-karyanya yang sudah hilang, terhapus karena cuaca ataupun dihapus karena tidak diinginkan atau malah dipindah ketempat yang mungkin lebih “aman”. Begitu juga dengan Aachooo ini, mungkin saja gambar ini sudah hilang dari tepi jalan Vale Road ini.
Dan seperti saya katakan diatas, Banksy tidak hanya di Bristol, tapi ada dimana-mana di dunia, dará London samba di Utah, Amerika Serikat; dari Bristol sampai Timbuktu, Mali.
Apabila anda ingin melihat lebih jauh karya-karya Banksy yang lain, bisa dilihat dan di confirmais di Websitenya: www.banksy.co.uk atau di instagramnya
Post Notes:
Hampir setiap karya Banksy punya cerita akhir yang berbeda-beda, tidak terkecuali karya terakhirnya, “Aachooo” yang hanya 2 bulan setelah karya tersebut di nikmati umum, dinding tersebut di tutup oleh multipleks, tidak jelas maksudnya apa, dan beberapa kemudian, seluruh dindingnya di bongkar dan di pinade ke tempat lain….
Berita lengkapnya dari majalah bulanan Bristol 24/7
Pertanyaannya adalah, apabila pemilik rumah tidak mengininginkan karya tersebut terpampang di dinding rumahnya, mengapa tidak di hapis dan di cat ulang, lebih murah dan lebih mudah dibandingkan dengan memotong seluruh dinding dan memindahkan ketempat lain….????
Credit:
Sebagian besar dari foto-foto diatas adalah foto koleksi pribadi, tapi ada beberapa yang bukan koleksi saya, dan saya amiba dari:
Beberapa bulan terakhir ini saya terlibat dalam pembuatan video teaser untuk webinar. Terus terang ini merupakan kehormatan, mengingat saya bukan seorang vidoegrapher; saya lebih sebagai seorang photographer atau lebih tepatnya seorang dengan hobi photography dan sekali-kali menghasilkan foto yang tidak terlalu jelek, seperti yang terkumpul di blog ini.
Yang menjadi masalah dalam membuat video kali ini adalah: jaman pandemik; dengan lockdown seperti ini, tentunya tidak mudah untuk membuat video yang melibatkan orang lain, yaitu para aktor yang harus berakting didepan kamera saya. Jadilah tugas saya adalah editornya, yang menjahit hasil video orang lain. bagian yang tidak pernah terlihat divideo itu sendiri.
Video yang dihasilkan cuma video “teaser” untuk sebuah webinar, yang berdurasi antar 1 menit sampai maksimum 4 menit. Nantinya akan di unggah di Youtube, artinya ada beberapa standar yang harus di ikuti, dan tidak cuma standard Youtube, tapi juga dasar-dasar membuat video:
Membuat video ternyata sangat berbeda dengan membuat foto, walaupun itu sama-sama menggunakan kamera telepon genggam.
Tips membuat video mandiri
1. Orientasi Landscape
Standard youtube layer Youtube yang diminta idealnya adalah panting berbanding tingginya adalah 16:9, tapi itu mungkin terlalu teknis, intinya gambar yang dihasilkan harus berorientasi landscape, dan ini tidak bisa ditawar.
layar standar landscape Youtube.
2. Pencahayaan
Kamera HP memiliki sensor Masalah pencahayaan sering kali terlupakan, tapi film/video yang dihasilkan akan menjadi lebih jelas dengan kualitas lebih bagus apabila video itu direkam denna menggunakan cahaya alami atau dalam ruangan yang memiliki pencahayaan yang cukup terang.
Apabila cahaya luar yang masuk kedalam ruangan menjadi terlalu terang, maka pastikan cahaya tersebut datang dari samping kamera, bukan dari belakang objek sehingga tidak terjadi ‘backlight”
3. Suara
Sering kali kita tidak sadar bahwa ada suara-suara latar belakang yang tidak diinginkan dan tiba-tiba terdengar pada saat kita mengambil video. Itu karena ada jarak antara mic camera, yang membuat suara-suara lain ikut terekam. Cara menghindarinya adalah dengan mendekatkan mic ke mulut kita. Cara mudah adalah dengan menggunakan microphone yang terpisah dari kamera.
Anda tidak perlu membeli microphone khusus, anda bisa menggunakan earphone wireless yang bisa disembunyikan, atau dengan earphone yang dengan kable pun jadi, hanya saja kabel tersebut harus cukup panjang, untuk tetap tersambung dengan kamera phone anda.
4. Still
Video yang bergetar/goyang adalah menjengkelkan untuk di tonton. Sialnya kamera dari telepon genggam sulit untuk di pegang secara steady, tanpa ada getaran/goyangan dengan posisi horizontal (‘landscape’).
Tapi anda bisa menggunakan tripod atau gunakan alas dan sandaran yang solid untuk menahan gerakan-gerakan yang tidak di inginkan. Atau apabila ana terpaksa harus memegang telepon genggam anda, tidak ada salahnya anda bersandar pada dingin atau mungkin sandarkan siku anda pada meja, sehingga seluruh badan atas anda tidak bergerak selama pengambilan gambar dan gunakan kedua tangan anda untuk menggenggam telepon genggam / kamera anda.
5. Framing
Sering kali kita melupakan ada apa dibelakang kita pada saat kita memotret atau merekam video, tapi itu semua terlihat pada saat kita atau orang lain menikmati video itu. Dengan kata lain, perhatikan latar belakang video anda sebelum mulai shooting, pastikan subyek gambar anda tampil jelas dibandingkan dengan latar belakangnya.
Close up dengan fokus wajah saja, tidak jadi masalah, tapi pastikan wajah itu semua terekam dalam video anda, jangan terpotong. Sering kali kita terlalu fokus denga mata dan ekspresi wajah, dan melupakan bahwa wajah itu juga termasuk kepala secara utuh.
Wajah yang terpotong…
lebih utuh
6. Fokus
Video yang merekam setengah badan atau seluruh badan dan latar belakang yang agak sibuk, atau dengan pencahayaan yang agak gelap membuat kamera kehilangan fokus. Tap atau sentuh layer LCD dari kamera telepon genggam anda sehingga fokus kamera akan secara otomatis terkunci di titik itu dan menjadikan fokus baru.
hampir semua komposisi dan warna bagus, tapi subjeknya justru tidak jelas/tidak fokusPastikan AE/AF Lock untuk mengunci fokus dan exposure sensor kamera.
7. Posisi kamera terhadap subyek
Sering kali kita melupakan sudut pandang /angle kamera terhadap subyek. Yang paling mudah tentunya adalah berhadap-hadapan langsung dengang kamera/subyek. Tapi tidak ada salah nya apabila aktor/artis memiliki posisi miring terhadap kamera. Tapi jangan lupa, sudut pandang itu bisa juga vertikal, yaitu pada saat kamera lebih tinggi dari pada subjek, atau lebih rendah dari subyek.
kamera terletak di bawah
kamera diatas kepala subjek
Sudut mana yang ingin anda rekam dari subjek anda?
8. Cut & Action
Ok, anda mungkin sudah mengikuti semua poin-poin di atas, saatnya shooting… Sebenarnya bagian yang tidak kalah pentingnya adalah mengeditnya, supaya rangkaian clip-clip yang dibuat itu menjadi cerita yang berarti… dan untuk itu editor membutuhkan “ruang” untuk bergerak dan melakukan transisi antara satu klip dengan klip berikutnya. Jadi tidak ada salahnya sebagai “cameraman” video klip yang di buat di shoot 5 detik sebelum mulai “action” dan cut 5 detik sesudah action silesai.
Sebenarnya masih banyak tips lain untuk membuat video kelihatan lebih professional. Saya terbuka apabila anda mempunya masukan lain, tapi mungkin delapan tips ini ada baiknya di coba di terapkan lebih dahulu. Dan jangan lupa tuliskan pendapat anda dibawah ini
Belum banyak video yang saya hasilkan, tapi apabila anda ingin melihat hasil video saya, bisa dilihat disini channel youtube saya: Nina S. Pearson
ISO 200 5.0sec at ƒ/18 focal 40mm, kamera Nikon 750 on 27 December 2020
Tinggal di tepi sungai tidak terlalu buruk sebenarnya… itu bisa terjadi apabila kerja sama antara sesama penghuni berkesinabungan, maksudnya adalah dari manusianya yang tinggal di lokasi tersebut, alamnya, perencanaan kelestarian alamnya (dalam hal ini manusianya), pemeliharaan kelestarian alam tersebut (juga manusianya) dan juga satwa liarnya, yang membantu membuat suasana menjadi asri… Foto diatas adalah contohnya
As an avid movie goer, I am always interested in the movie scenes, not just the look of the actors, but the colour of the movie, the background, the setting, the period, the location and a lot of other things beyond the storyline. As I watch any movie or advert, with a friend and especially my husband; I like to make comments and critique, and that’s not only the story line, but also the acting, the background, the properties, and all the rest.
I have tried to make a jokey video clip of less than 60 seconds but it’s hard…. too many things to be considered; let alone a long and proper movie. However, I had to volunteer to produce a video clip/teaser, as short as 60 seconds or max 5 minutes short video, the idea was to deliver information about a webinar. Good news is, I don’t need to create the script, I have many assistants, cameramen…., and I don’t need to act in front of the camera, as I am no good at acting, even as an extra. However, I think there are a lot of other drawbacks, as I have to do the rest….
However, there are some drawbacks: as much as I like to play around with my camera, taking nature and wildlife photography, I am still an amateur and only a photography enthusiast, and everything is about trial and error, let alone taking a good shots. Making a video clip means I have to take moving scenes instead of just an image…. The question is “… should I graduate from photography and move on to filmography?”
However, I take the challenge! And I am eager and willing to learn….
Another obstacle is off course the technical issue…. the apps and software and other fancy gadgets to support the editing after the shooting…. they are all in the category of shabby amateur…. well, what do you expect?
The third obstacle was the actors… they are all amateurs, non of them are professional actors (or I should consider this as a blessing in disguise?) except maybe one real actor, and one real professional extra. Some of them are not natural actors (even though all of them like to do selfies with their mobiles, and like to see their own pretty faces in closeup), and…. they all doing this as a volunteering activity, in their spare time, and at their convenience; so if I asked them for a retake…. I might get snapped at… 😦
Or in simple term, I actually need at least a week to complete a video clip after everything and the final cut.
Worst of all, none of them understand the concept of a deadline, which if I have to submit the final editing on -say- Wednesday 5pm, this doesn’t mean that they can submit their clip an hour before 5 pm. Or the fact that every 1 minutes of shoot taken, will involve more than an hour editing, or another simple technical issue such as how to hold the camera/mobile phone? or which orientation? or the importance of lighting so that the face will not be too dark, the ambiance noise that could be a noise hazard, the distance between the camera/mobile with the actor, not to mention the intonation when reading the script….. and many other little things that added to the frustrations… and yet this is only a volunteering job like the others, I spent 50 hours on this alone this week, neglecting my chores!
So, forget about the step by step of video making, such as :
Concept…. well, may be!
The Script…. thank God we have a script, let alone the modification along the way, up to the end of final production, that make the post production time shortened to after hours work.
Pre-production concept and planning…. not really planning, more of spontaneous changes all the time, and no room for a creative approach!
Create a story board…. well, forget about this!
Plan and schedule the shoot…. too short of time, this is only a volunteering job, the only schedule made was only on spare time, thus location, ambiance, etc, will not be able to be adjusted.
Shoot the footage! This bit is crucial…. there’s no real camera person, no real direction of acting, or no director involved. So there’e no such things like: “Film shoots are best left to the professionals.”
Edit the video… roughly and quickly only…. 😦
Add graphic and special effect… with my limited knowledge, this is the bit I like, but I am not sure this will be relevant to the final product, the organisation I do the video for would like it, let alone appreciate it.
Mix music and sound track.… this is a huge area, however, movie making apps such as iMovie might help saving big time….
Voice over…. what voice over?!
Formating the video…. by the end of the day, you can’t have a big file, this is just to be emailed, uploaded to instagram and youtube!!! Why the fuzz?!!!!
The question is:
Should I graduate from a frozen picture to moving pictures…? broaden my range interest, abilities and maybe expertise? or just stick with photography and sharpen my skill from what I have so far?
If I move on to movie making, should I get serious and invest in more equipment and software and hoping that I get a real commissions? or carry on practising as a new hobby… (as if I am not busy enough doing my photography).
Having said all that, with all the agro and the hassle, will I do it again? definitely NOT, but if I have to do it on my own term, and time…. YES, I will do it again, I like the challenge, especially when I have the room to play around with the creative of the video, aside from watching the actors acting…
And this is my video blooper I made with iMovie, which I love more than the real clip.
What do you think?
Write me your comment…
Anyway, the first webinar was kicked off on the 20th of December 2020 and life with Bristol Indonesian Society Facebook Page; about Indonesian Immigration rules and regulations for Indonesians living abroad and conducted in Indonesian (language). If you are interested, you can watch the replay on YouTube
Bristol is a hilly city, it has lots of hills, in fact the steepest road in the UK is in Bristol. So, logically, to cycle or riding a bicycle around Bristol is hard work, or that was what I thought when we moved to Bristol; thus buying a bicycle was not a priority. However, to my surprise, there are lots of people cycling around the city, using it as a means of daily transport as well as leisure cycling within the inner city as well as around Bristol. More and more cycle routes were created to encourage people into cycling, especially with the current Covid-19 pandemic situation.
About 3 years ago I was intrigued to take up cycling again as a means of transport locally, plus having exercise at the same time. Growing up I was never a big cyclist, I guess it makes sense that I didn’t push myself to get a bicycle straight away after we arrived in UK. Not until my very kind neighbour gave me her mountain bike as an exchange for looking after her dog when she was away on holiday. That kicked me into being more adventurous with my exploration ideas, though I understand that riding a bike together with normal vehicle traffic means another level of cycling skill.
Not long after I was given my bicycle 😉 , Bristol had a cycling event, where I could try out my ‘new’ bike on the road. From then on I braved myself to cycle further… on proper cycle routes off-course. At the same time, I also learned there are lots routes designated for recreational bike rides around Bristol and other surrounding villages, towns, and even other cities.
Me, cycling again for the first time for more than 40 years ago
To travel doesn’t mean you need to go abroad, or stay overnight somewhere. A day trip is good enough!
Having not being able to gallivant around the world (which I haven’t done for more than 2 years now), my interest now is more of traveling locally within UK. However, since early this year, even traveling within the UK was banned because of lockdown. So one has to be creative; to travel doesn’t mean you need to go abroad, or stay overnight somewhere. A day trip is good enough!
Sustrans is the non profit organisation who claim that they are the custodians of the National Cycle Network; using old railway paths and tow paths along canals and sometimes less traveled roads, the network of traffic-free paths is now UK-wide and for everyone, connecting cities, towns and countryside, loved by the communities they serve. I think this is a wonderful facility for cyclists and pedestrians.
There are plenty of cycling routes that connect Bristol with its surrounding areas, and unlike cycling within the city of Bristol which have a lot of hills and up and down routes, once we are outside of Bristol, mostly the travel was flat, especially when the route is using an old railway track or towpath along a canal.
Bristol – Pill
I had been cycling to the surrounding towns of Bristol on and off now and the most regular one was Bristol to Pill, a little fishing town at the mouth of River Avon, west from Bristol. It’s not too far, only 6.5 miles or total 13 miles visa versa. Starting point should be the Millenium Square, by the Ibis Hotel, and within 5 minutes cycling we are sort of in the Bristol country side, with lots of interesting views.
Walking under the Iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge is only possible on this route
The route was following NCN 3, a little bit of 33 and then all the way with RCN 41 along the River Avon to Pill. This track is only max. 3 meters wide, sometimes they have an off road surface, but most of the time they are tarmac, if not covered with compacted gravel. Its not really an off road trail, one can bike with a normal hybrid type of bicycle, but I wouldn’t suggest to ride with your nice city Brompton bike.
“Better by Bike” is another nonprofit organisation in South West England that teaches you how to improve your road skills and understand what to do and the etiquette on the open road for cyclists. It has a lot of cycling routes and trails around Bristol that you can follow; however, the above map is my routine route which is not on their set route.
The special entrance gate to the bike path, making sure that no motorbikes can join the facility.
Cycling through a very nice park before reaching Pill
Small fishing village at the mouth of River Avon
You can still have a rest along the way
View of Bristol when approaching the city you could never have seen from anywhere else
The Iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge with the city of Bristol in the background
Nins' Travelog 