An Apology
I owe you an apology.
Multiple apologies, in fact.
Sorry for letting the blog lie dormant for more than a year. Sorry that we’ve not done NEARLY as many “Good World Gone Bad” and “What Were You Thinking” video segments as we’d have liked. Sorry that we haven’t kept you abreast of our workshops, photowalks, travels…life.
Chalk it up to the tension among art (our ambition), commerce (a constraint on our priorities) and politics (our preoccupation when we aren’t focused on the other two) brings us to this newsletter.
We HAVE been busy.
In the past week alone, for example, we released five videos, six if you include our documentary short entitled “ralph & doris.”
Social Impact Filmmaking
Yesterday, we submitted “ralph & doris” to the 2020 Cannes Short Film festival.
I labor under no illusion that it will win, let alone be selected for inclusion. It wasn’t created for film festivals: it was created to make a difference.
But it would be AMAZING (and this is why we entered it) if Ralph & Doris’ story could reach a wider audience.
We filmed them (and many others) to help spread the word about a hazardous liquids pipeline being rammed down the throats of residents across Pennsylvania -- as those catastrophic risks were being imposed upon them.
In 13 minutes and three seconds, these childhood sweethearts (now septuagenarians), share how and why they’ve taken on fossil fuel giant Energy Transfer Partners -- and their own elected officials -- to save their farm.
Inspired by the citizen journalists and drone pilots of Standing Rock and Studs Terkel’s “Working,” our ambition was about getting their story out while it mattered - while there was still time to change things. Take a look — and if the spirit moves you, please share.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals
Of course, we did a few videos on THE best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals (there’s one day left!), but reflecting my own cognitive dissonance about the silly season – there aren’t actually that many great deals, and I think the whole consumerist thing has gotten completely out of control (from which I am FAR from immune: I just got myself a Leica SL2) – I listed only TWO deals truly worth sharing: the Panasonic G9 for $998 and the FujiFilm X-H1 with battery grip for $999. The deals are/were even better when you bundle the body with a lens.
Pricing & Availability: Panasonic Lumix G9 here: Adorama | Amazon | B&H
The G9 is still available, and with the 2.0 firmware update a crazy deal ( down 40% from launch price) just got crazier. I think it is now a better GH5 than the GH5 for most of us. Though if you need unlimited recording, want to use the XLR Mic adapter – things like that – the GH5 is now the lowest I’ve ever seen it too: $1,300.
Pricing & Availability: Panasonic GH5: Adorama | Amazon | B&H
The $999 X-H1 deal is already gone, but FujiFilm’s X-E3 is on sale for $500, almost a third off from its price a few weeks ago. Of course, it doesn’t have the IBIS, ergos, dual card slots, build, and EVF of the X-H1 – but at $500 the X-E3 is an exceptionally cost effective entry point into the most complete dedicated portfolio of APS-C lenses out there.
Pricing & Availability: FujiFilm X-E3: Adorama | Amazon | B&H
I also gave an honorable mention to the Nikon Z7 and Z6, two cameras that I think got a bum rap when they launched last year, especially given the optically outstanding, keenly priced 1.8 primes and their recently release 24-70/2.8.
And then there was our 2019 awards video – heavily weighted to gear, of course – but it was important to me that we go beyond gear.
Award winners with pricing & availability:
00:32: Audio Gear of the Year: RODE Wireless Go Adorama | Amazon | B&H
01:37: Lighting Gear of the Year: Boling P1 Adorama | Amazon | B&H
03:16: Drone of the Year: Mavic Mini Adorama | Amazon | B&H
04:48: Lens of the Year: Leica Summicron-SL 35 (and others!) Adorama | Amazon | B&H
08:18: Compact Zoom Camera of the Year: RX100 VII Adorama | Amazon | B&H
09:55: Compact Full Frame Camera of the Year: Leica Q2 Adorama | Amazon | B&H
11:20: Street Camera of the Year: FujiFilm X-Pro3 Adorama | Amazon | B&H
12:21: Video-Centric Hybrid Camera of the Year: Panasonic Lumix S1H Adorama | Amazon | B&H
13:18: Medium Format Camera of the Year: FujiFilm GFX 100 Adorama | Amazon | B&H
14:33: Design of the Year/Personal Favorite Camera of the Year: Leica SL2 Adorama | Amazon | B&H
17:15: Concept of the Year: Hasselblad 907X Adorama | Amazon | B&H
18:11: Overall Winner, Camera of the Year: Sony a7R IV Adorama | Amazon | B&H
20:09: Deal of the Year (tie): Panasonic G9/(FujiFilm X-H1 sold out) Adorama | Amazon | B&H
21:33: Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sound (free 30 day trial here)
22:03: Web Site Builder: Squarespace (sorry, no discount code – it’s just what we use)
22:39: Photography or Movie-Centric Film of the Year: Show Me the Picture - the Story of Jim Marshall
24:54: 2019 Elephant Award: The Disturbing Case of Lu Guang
I want to spend a moment with you on this last one - The Disturbing Case of Lu Guang. There’s been an update, so while I hope you check out our 2019 Awards video above, here’s what you need to know (how this case got started).
What’s Coming Up in 2020
We’ve got a PILE of videos and gear to review in 2020, new conversations to be hand, and new Streets of New York workshops coming up in May and October (details being finalized, but to see our most recent one, check it out here). We are looking for the first time at taking our workshops abroad. I promise to keep you posted.
That’s it for now. Although I now understand that Thanksgiving is the triumph of revisionist history over what actually transpired, with that proviso Claudia & I still want to wish you and yours a happy/healthy/merry holiday season.
NB: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. We are also part of the B&H, Adorama smallrig, and Epidemic Sound programs..