Fall Color and Slider

[Mark Williams]

Finally finished assembling my slider parts from Igus. Ended up using extra short center column on my Bogan 3221WN tripod that goes very close to ground level and a cheap Vanguard PH21 2-way head mounted to the carriage. The Vanguard has a nice big quick mount that mates well to my HPX170. I chopped about 4 inches off the 1000mm rail to lighten it up as I just didn't need one that long. Here is some fall color stuff I shot last weekend with a few slider shots included.

A Hike Along the Upper Tallulah River on Vimeo

[Annie Haycock]

Great stuff. You've just increased my appreciation of what a slider can do by about 500%.

[Mike Beckett]

Quite simply beautiful, Mark. Very pretty and well shot too.

A perfect example to inspire me to add a slider to my ever-growing shopping list!

[Mark Williams]

Annie and Mike. Thanks for the nice comments. I shot a historic building ruin today with my slider and its adds a lot to what otherwise would be a static scene. Although it does take practice maintaining a steady speed.

[Lauri Kettunen]

Mark, like this very much. Nice mood and enjoyed also the technical details such as the slowly moving camera in the opening shot.

[Mark Williams]

Thanks Lauri. Much appreciated.

[Sam Mendolia]

Mark,

excellent work.

That's the kind of video that I personally am drawn to, and like to do for my personal enjoyment.

I was out earlier this summer with my home brew slider, but have not had a chance to edit the footage, never mind even looking at it.

Now I'm motivated to go back and look at what I've got.


Thanks for the inspiration to get off my duff, and get back to what I enjoy doing in my spare time.

[Mark Williams]

Sam, glad I could provide some inspiration. It really is a lot of fun to work on personal projects.

[Buba Kastorski]

I'm not a big fan of a nature shots, so I'll comment on tech side only :)
perfect slides, how do you achieve such a perfect continues motion, looks great

[Mark Williams]

Buba,
I move the carriage on the slider by placing a thick rubber band on the carriage and pulling the band. I had to experiment with finding a band with the right resistance to get a smooth slide. Also it helps for the carriage mounts to be properly aligned since they can be jarred during transport. To align it I place a 5 lb. weight on the carriage and adjust the 8 bearing guide screws opposite of each other until tight.

[Per Johan Naesje]

Hi Mark! Finally I got time to watch the video. This was very nice and the slidermovement was amazingly well done!
Thanks for sharing your secret about the rubber band too! I think I will try out something myself in the upcoming uwol round.
Technically the video was very good. Nice fall color and you have a good eye for details!

Keep up your good work, you should consider to participate in the uwol challenge group?

[Alan Melville]

Mark,

Very nice piece. Lovely colours. I really enjoyed it.

Al

[Bob Safay]

Mark, that was some beautiful footage. I was up on the Blur Ridge a few weeks ago videoing the fall colors, but nothing came out as nice as yours. Great camera movement, very smooth. I have been in Atlanta since 1984, living in the Va-Hi area, spitting distance from Piedmont Park just off Monroe. What part of Atlanta are you in? Bob

[Mark Williams]

Bob,
Thanks for the compliment. I am up in the north Alpharetta area.

[Ervin Farkas]

Hi Mark,

I am just realizing, we're almost neighbors... I moved a lot closer to you compared to a few years back when you sent me a DVD for evaluation. I'm in Suwanee now.

I took my family up to Talullah Falls just a few weeks ago, when the colors started turning. Obviously, you are not staying on the tourist paths when doing these... did you go up (north) or down from the Falls?

Excellent work!