Washington, D.C. is beautiful in the spring.  The panorama above, shot for USA TODAY, shows one of my favorite things about D.C.: The Cherry Blossom Festival.

I’ve had a great time in Lawrence at the Lawrence Journal-World and I will sincerely miss all the smart and creative in Lawrence.

If you are interested in my old job, apply for it here.

I try my best to not geek out over new cameras when they are released.  Honest, I do!  Unfortunately, I just can’t shut up about the Canon 5D Mark II.  In case you haven’t heard, Canon announced the new camera last week, and photo geeks are bouncing off the walls trying to get all the specs, sample images, and yes, even sample HD video.  The “still” camera shoots 1080p HD video better than most video camera do because it records on a 21 megapixel CMOS sensor with ISO 100 – 6400 range.

Vincent LaForet, a New York based commercial and editorial photographer, has been blogging his little heart out about the camera.  He got his hands on one last week (he is a Canon Explorer of Light – one of the photographers who works with Canon on making better cameras)  and produced a video with the camera.  Now, virtually every photographer on the planet is waiting for the video to go live.  Check his blog for details.  For Canon and LaForet, it is a genius guerrilla marketing campaign.

LaForet has called the camera a “game changer,” with the potential to change the photo industry forever.  I would have to agree.  I preordered mine today.

Without regurgitating camera specs and press release info, I want every photographer who reads this site to know that their workflows are about to change in a very big way, if they haven’t already.  We will record scenes in video clips and fire off a photo when “the moment” happens.  The camera can, after all, shoot HD video and photos virtually simultaneously.    Who cares about wasted video; the camera records to a CF media card.  As we download our HD video footage, we will begin editing and captioning our photos.  After transmitting photos, we will begin editing our HD video.  When the video edit is complete, we will send it to a server that encodes the video in all the proper formats for mobile, web, standard and high definition televisions.  I’m a bit of a workflow nazi, and the idea of using one camera for photos and video makes me want to explode!

You can now say goodbye to:

• Carrying around two camera bags and three cameras.
• Pixelated video screen captures.
• Grainy video in low-light situations.
• Importing your footage in real-time.  What a waste of time.

Unfortunately, we will probably see more:

• Shaky video (handled camera without a tripod)
• Poor audio quality (the camera has a stereo audio-in port…so don’t forget to use it!)
• Jump cuts during peak moments.
• Mics on hotshoes.  Yikes!  That’s going to take some time getting used to!

I am lucky to work for a company that understands how environment can influence the quality of work produced inside.  The “News Center” is a multimedia haven where journalists, including traditionally trained print, online and broadcast journalists, sit side-by-side and work in collaboration.  The building is actually an old Post Office.  Take a peek if you want.

I shared in two Telly Awards for photographs and video produced for Free State Studios, a division of The World Company, which also owns the Lawrence Journal-World and Sunflower Broadband. The awards program, now in its 29th year, honors video and film productions, amongst other things. The program presents Silver and Bronze awards. The two shows that received the awards are:

• “From Farm to Fork,” an episode of “Jayni’s Kitchen,” won a Silver Telly, the program’s highest honor.
• “Mining: A Scar on Kansas,” an episode of “River City Weekly,” won a Bronze Telly.

In all, Free State Studios took home three awards. More info can be found at LJWorld.com.

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