Mystical Asia QT 2:51min. - Best viewed in Safari Browser
File size: Approx. 18MB - DSL Broadband connection recommended.

I have been flood out the past few days with Photography and Aperture 3 workshops at the Power Mac Center at Greenbelt 3 Makati. Tomorrow I have another session the whole day at the University of the Philippines Diliman sponsored by Power Mac Center Educational Division, all this prior my departure for the US on Tuesday.

But I promised on my last post that I share with you yet another cool Multimedia Demo/Presentation and here it is, "Mystical Asia" a 2.56 min. QT file, using Photos from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) Nepal and Tibet.

I finished this demo only a few days ago, amazing stuff you can create using a MacBook Pro and of course the cool Aperture 3 slideshow with GarageBand and my new "Girlfriend called Motion" from Final Cut Studio.

Endless possibilities...with a touch of Motion your Multimedia demos or presentations can look so different and really come alive.
Now sit back and enjoy "Mystical Asia".

Please note the video is best viewed using your Safari Browser we experienced recently that in Firefox some script codes appear underneath the QT window, the video will still play correctly but it looks a bit strange.
Hopefully this issue is disappear soon.

GD

Mystical Cambodia is a Journey into the past...created for my GD Photo Workshops and my love for Cambodia.
Produced with Aperture 3, Motion from Final Cut Studio and GarageBand. The short Video clip at the end was taken with a Nikon D300s long after sunset with very little light left. I created the soundtrack for this project entirely in GarageBand which took about 20 min.
You might noticed that I am using Aperture 3 slideshows with Motion lately, it is just an awesome combination for Multimedia presentations, tutorials or just for fun.

For info on my GD Photo Workshops please click this LINK

Also on: Vimeo & YouTube

GD

The Idea about this short environmental clip came from my last trip to Palawan, when the first rain and the Monsoon arrived for this season.

Running around in the rain at El Rio y Mar capturing the freshness of the vegetation around me, I decided later to put a few images together to create this clip called "WATER" using the Aperture 3 slideshow, Motion & GarageBand.
The actual rain sound was recorded on location with my Nikon D300s and mixed together with another soundtrack in GarageBand.

Motion and final assembly: In this case I used a template from Motion modified it and added the rain drop images.
(two images one with the drop and one without it)
After this was done I imported the Motion Clip and soundtrack into Aperture 3, added text plus photos... export and it was done.
GD

Also on:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG9DwR_tLIQ
Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/12789048

A little spring-clean the other day revealed an old treasure from some 24 years ago.
Securely tucked away I spotted this old Calendar, which I produced many moons ago for the Northern Territory Tourist Commission in Australia. (the Calendar was a bit creased and crinkled but ok otherwise)
Wow …memories starting to buzz in my head… oh boy, do I remember this one!

24 years later…technology brings an old project back to life; sometimes it is nice to go back in time.
“This is like a 25 year anniversary for me since the project started in 1985.”

To cut a long story short we did some reproduction of this long forgotten marvel and after some cropping and adjusting the pages were ready for an update.

I used Aperture 3.0.3 for the editing and the final slide show, Motion from Final Cut Studio for the intro, and the Soundtrack I created again in GarageBand.

In the good old days we had no computers, everything was shot on Kodachrome 25 ASA with the exception of the moon, and in two other layouts I added the clouds manually via duplicating the film, adding the elements.

All Photos taken on locations in the Northern Territory of Australia…with some places extremely remote and difficult to reach.

At Ayers Rock we used an old fashion pushbike that we had repainted and restored, at the Olga’s the parachute setup looked simple, but the Girl almost drifted away as the wind picked up.

On the first day at Rainbow Valley the Camels didn’t arrive on time, so we had to come back the next day and get the Job done. The dresses for the girls (BTW Identical Twins) in this shot had been specially designed and tailored for this setup.

Devils Marbles…setting up a Hang Glider on these two Rocks proved to be dangerous and a real challenge, crossing our fingers that no wind gust blowing the hang glider of the rocks including our model. To top it off, the ladders we used to get everything on top of these two balancing rocks where about 2 feet to short; solving these problems on location can be quiet a challenge in the outback miles from nowhere.

Then to Palm Valley… the track to Palm Valley is only accessible with a 4WD vehicle, following the usually dry bed of the Finke River. Within the Finke Gorge National Park, is an east-west running valley in the Krichauff Range 123 km (138 km by road) southwest of Alice Springs.

Kings Canyon… a tough climb and a long walk, Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in Northern Territory, Australia. Sitting at the western end of the George Gill Range, it is 323 km southwest of Alice Springs and 1,316 km south of Darwin.

Kakadu National Park… getting the Girls into the Kayak at Yellow Waters proved to be exciting but also very stressful, there are plenty of very large Saltwater Crocodiles around. My assistant kept a lookout with binoculars just in case, of course we had a larger boat right next to the Kayak where I was shooting.
BTW…the original color of the Kayak was white, I had it re-painted in red just for this shot.

Another cool location was Katherine Gorge, walking for hours to get to the 7th Gorge. Katherine Gorge is not just one spectacular Gorge but a series of 13 gorges along the Katherine River.

At Fog Dam we transported a complete dinning set into the swamp, another extreme, timing was of the essence here. I also flew in an Aboriginal friend of mine from the island of Bathurst just of the coast of Darwin, and the fish for dinner…that is another story.

The Gove Peninsula was some how difficult, far away at the top end of the Northern Territory, but luck was on our side. A Coast Guard Plane was parked at the airport so
I ask the pilot if he could do a few fly over for us…. which he did.

At the Arnhem Land Escarpment and Twin Falls we used Helicopters due to their remoteness. Getting into the Twin falls proved even difficult by Chopper, bringing the Crew down one by one.

More or less that was it…of course I had a small but very efficient crew; all the Girls locals from the Northern Territory were absolutely great and comfortable in the Australian Outback. Shooting over four-month off and on, covering some enormous distances.

These were the days of film…no computers existed with Photoshop, but then that was the challenge…would I do it again? Of course… any time.
GD

Also on:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMEJOURNEY#p/a/u/0/iMIjYGN4OcU

Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/guntherdeichmann

Aperture 3 Slide show including Motion from
Final Cut Studio & GarageBand.

Incorporating Motion from Final Cut Studio into an Aperture 3 Slide Show is giving us some cool possibilities. I created the Motion Clips with Motion which is part of Final Cut Studio, very nice as an intro and finish for your Aperture Slide shows.
The sound (2 separate tracks) I previously created in GarageBand and had them in my iTunes Library.

Like with everything else on a Mac a perfect integration, when open Motion I had access to all my Photos in my Aperture 3.0.3 Library and could have also used my soundtracks, but in this exercise I added the sound later in Aperture 3.0.3

It was real fun messing around with Motion and creating this short demo, with endless possibilities at your fingertips you can produce a nice and cool looking Multi Media show using Aperture 3, Motion and GarageBand.
GD

Tags: Motion, , Multi Media, Final Cut Pro, Demo, Cambodia, Nepal , Lacie Hard Drives, Photo Workshops, Slide show, Photoshelter, MacBook Pro i7, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY, Aperture 3.0.3, Movie , Final Cut Studio, Core i7

2010 © Gunther Deichmann - Journey Through Culture & Time -
Aperture 3 slideshow 2:19 min. Also on YouTube and Vimeo.
Pls. Note: Color might vary at different Screens.

I had a little time on my hands today plus I was in the right mood...so I created this short Slide show presentation in Aperture 3.0.3 using a Video Clip which I had prepared previously and using three different soundtracks.

Everything worked flawless and I encountered no problems at all...as a matter of fact it was pretty straight forward and easy.
I like the Share or Export options in Aperture 3, you can send it almost anywhere never leaving Aperture 3, this is only a short clip but the possibilities are there.

I created the sound tracks (3 different ones) in GarageBand some time ago and had them handy in my iTunes Library.
The Globe at the beginning of the slide show (Movie .mov) I made last week, the original lengths had been some 2.5 minutes. I just dragged the .mov file into my slideshow trimmed it down with the Movie setting in Aperture 3 to approx. 37 sec.added text, images and the three soundtracks...then hit Export and I was done.

This coming week (on Friday the 7th) we have an Aperture 3 launch at the Power Mac Center in TriNoma where you can see the same presentation in high resolution on a large screen. There will also be an introduction to Aperture 3 Q & A plus Raffle & cocktails.
For more information please contact the Power Mac Center @ info@powermaccenter.com
Tel: 470 1917 - 18

May 7 at Power Mac Center TriNoma

Aperture 3 Launch with Talk and Q&A with GD

Program:
6:30 pm Registration
7:30 pm Start of Talk and Q&A
      (Snacks to be served to all participants)
9:00 pm Software tryout with Melvin Tosino and Mark Agarin at 1 on 1 Tutorial Room
       Raffle

GD

“My Photo Gallery” the Prototype...

© Gunther Deichmann - “My Cambodian Gallery” 1.36 min QT Prototype only.
Broadband recommended 13.2MB

During my last trip in Cambodia I used the new Nikon D300s a lot (I might add for the first time) but had very little time to test the Video function on the D300s (a lot more when I get back from Nepal/India in March)
All image editing was done with Aperture 2.1.4 and the video was very quickly edited using the new Quick Time on Snow Leopard which is fast and so easy to use.

I managed to get a bit of Video footage, nothing special but easily applied in a presentation like this. Of course the music was created in GarageBand before and I pulled this track from my archives.
In due time and when I get back from India I put up a nice mix with stills and Video. Having the ability now to create presentations where we can use stills and video combined is just so nice and cool.
I hope you like this small and first demo...the adventure only started.
Also on YouTube as: "My Gallery" the Prototype http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVi8IgL1tGI&feature=channel
GD

I was in the mood last night… for "cooking,"
using only a few ingredients to create a nice meal.

Check out the final meal in YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBdyMR8fq0s&feature=channel

Recipe & Ingredients

Main Ingredients; the Images from India & original audio recording.

MacBook Pro
iPhone with iTalk app. installed
Aperture 2 ( 2.1.4)
GarageBand from iLife ’09
FotoMagico 3 Pro (Version 3.0.8)
Good Internet connection

Just follow these simple steps…after editing the images in Aperture 2 make sure you filed them in their Albums or Smart Albums for easy access in FotoMagico later via the nice build in Media Browser.
Like with any good cooking it is important you have everything well prepared before you start.
I prepared the soundtrack earlier in GarageBand using the original recorded audio on my iPhone from India, mixing it plus adding some instruments. I use iTalk together with iTalk Sync from Griffin an excellent application for the iPhone.

You record with iTalk and later transfer the audio file wireless to your Mac with the installed iTalk Sync. Now you can use the audio file in iTunes or modify it in GarageBand like I have done, mix it up a bit…and bingo! This way you created an original sound track for your presentation or in this case for our FotoMagico slide show.
Pls. Note: I only use my own compositions or paid audio, this is more original and you don’t have to worry about any Copyright infringements.

Lets open FotoMagico…you don’t have to be a Rocket scientist or a famous Chef to do some great cooking in FotoMagico as I explained in my previous post.
Everything is connected… great integration with the Mac…& yes it runs well on Snow Leopard too (I discovered no glitches in FotoMagico 3.0.8 Pro)
Open your Media Browser in FM and select Photos, you have all your iPhoto and Aperture Libraries right here. Of course you have also access the same way to your iTunes Libraries, GarageBand and Videos, yes videos… with FotoMagico 3 Pro you can also include your film clips and mix them up with your still images.
Now you select the images you like and drag them on the time line, move them around the way you see fit, add pan or zoom to each or all, set the timing and pick your transitions.
It is a good Idea to add some black frames at the start and finish like I have done to include some text/information; again FM makes this very easy. Text can also be applied to run over the images, options for different Fonts, sizes and colors are all there, plus so much more.

Once you happy with the flow of your images open the Media Browser again and pick your Music, select the track you like and drag it on the audio time line. It is a good Idea to determine before you start the approx lengths of your show. You can also adjust the soundtrack by moving it into the right position
Options for voice over and additional audio tracks are available, but we keep it simple today…I created the basic Journey Through Colors & Sound slideshow in about an hour of course not including the editing in Aperture 2 and mixing the audio in GarageBand.

One last check in the Preview before you share your show via YouTube or all the other options including a HD presentation direct from your Laptop.
If you export direct to YouTube like in my case, make sure you have an account or create one before, the rest is fully automatic but could take some time depending on the lengths of your show and of course your connection speed.
We finished our cooking for today now lets serve a good meal to our friends or clients…believe me, FotoMagico 3 Pro made cooking very easy & tasty…Enjoy your meal.

GD

Thanks to Incredible India and Shroff International Travel

Wake up early in the morning...


© Gunther Deichmann - early morning
on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

A short QT fun movie created with FotoMagico from our last Photo Workshop in Cambodia;
Behind the scene... Giggles... and a little fun with Aperture 2, GarageBand, FotoMagico and final export using Quick Time. The Title...Wake up early in the Morning... came about that all our excursions started around 4 to 5 AM everyday and the Giggles where part of our daily routine... just a fun and great group. The Soundtrack was entirely produced in GarageBand and since we had so much fun I just couldn't help myself in getting this one out...of course I had to add some Giggles...
Now listen to the "Giggle Band" & Wake up early in the Morning just click the LINK below. Plus all the info on FotoMagico below too.

http://www.deichmann-photo.com/page8/page8.html

© Gunther Deichmann - having a bath? Early morning,
the water Village on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

I have mention FotoMagico a few times in my previous Blog post's, but the latest FotoMagico 3 Version 3.0.8 is so cool and for those of you who are not familiar with it I can highly recommend it.
I also introduced it to my students recently in Cambodia and they fell in love with it.
An excellent software easy to use with superb quality, you have all the settings you ever going to need for producing high end slide shows/presentations (including HDTV) or export it to the web.
You can add sound, text plus some cool transitions at your finger tips, great integration on the Mac with access to your
Media Browser for Aperture, iPhoto, iTunes etc. for more info go to:
http://www.boinx.com/fotomagico/overview/
GD

Present on: Options upon opening FotoMagico


The interface, easy and simple to use


Share... plenty to choose from

QT file approx. 7MB, best viewed using a
Broadband/DSL connection
Leading up to the Power Mac Center Event... 7000 images later, Aperture 2 & beyond I have produced a Presentation in Keynote using GarageBand for the soundtrack.
I converted the Keynote presentation into a small Quick Time file to give you a small Preview on the Net, join us at the Power Mac Center for more on Aperture 2 & beyond. Watch the high resolution Keynote presentation & all the other things you can do on a Mac using your images from Aperture 2.
GD

Also on YouTube NOW in higher resolution,
click here or the Logo.

A Journey Through Rajasthan India...
how to cope with 7000 images after
the shoot, plus the integration on the Mac.


Poster production using Pages from iWork ’09
creating a pdf file for final printing.

June & July ’09 Aperture 2, a Power Mac Center special, Images from India on display through out the Store plus get the chance to win a limited edition Book (available in August ’09) with the images from Rajasthan, India... entirely produced using Aperture 2 plus a lot more.

Photography & Aperture 2 Training/ Free Seminars & WORKSHOPS at the Power Mac Center incorporating Keynote & Pages from iWork 09 ...plus a little GarageBand using the iPhone as a Recorder.

The Seminars: An introduction to Aperture 2 the workflow after the shoot and the things you can do with your selected images using iLife ’09 GarageBand and iWork ’09 working with Pages and Keynote plus a lot more. How to use Aperture when traveling, things to watch out for.
Total integration using the Mac.

The Workshops: Travel Photography and Aperture 2, tips and tricks while on the road plus the integration on the Mac using Pages and Keynote from iWork ’09 the possibilities after the shoot. Tips when you’re on the road using your Mac and Aperture 2.
How to record traditional music when you’re miles from nowhere by just using your iPhone and mixing sound tracks later in GarageBand for your slide shows and Keynote presentations.

Consultation on Aperture 2: Trouble shooting, performance improvement, ideal set-up & storage solutions, choice of Hard Drives, how to back up your images and any other Questions you might have to make your workflow easy using Aperture 2 after the shoot.

For questions and special requests, you can call 729-7087 or 88,
or email us at training@powermaccenter.com
http://www.powermaccenter.com/training.php

June 19 - 6:00PM to 7:00PM (seminar)
June 27 - 3:00PM to 5:00PM (workshop)

July 10 - 6:00PM to 7:00PM (seminar)
July 18 - 3:00PM to 5:00PM (workshop) 

FREE Consultation on Aperture @ PowerMac GB3 Store
July 4 , 25 and 31 please check with the Power Mac Center for the Time.

A Journey Through Rajasthan India...
7000 images later.


Created with iWork ’09 using Pages
How I work with Aperture 2 & deal with 7000 images after the shoot, visit my Seminars and Workshops at the Power Mac Center in Makati, Greenbelt 3, see the dates below.

June 19 - 6:00PM to 7:00PM (seminar)
June 27 - 3:00PM to 5:00PM (workshop)

July 10 - 6:00PM to 7:00PM (seminar)
July 18 - 3:00PM to 5:00PM (workshop)
For questions and special requests, you can call 729-7087 or 88, or email us at training@powermaccenter.com
http://www.powermaccenter.com/training.php

The Seminars: An introduction to Aperture 2 the workflow after the shoot and the things you can do with your selected images using iLife ’09 GarageBand and iWork ’09 working with Pages and Keynote plus a lot more.
Total integration using the Mac.

The Workshops: Travel Photography and Aperture 2, tips and tricks while on the road plus the integration on the Mac using Pages and Keynote from iWork ’09 the possibilities after the shoot.
How to record on the road by just using your iPhone and creating real sound tracks later in GarageBand for your slide shows and Keynote presentations.

A very short introduction into the new GarageBand in iLife ’09... a little bit of Blues,
“When I wake up in the morning”

It is the weekend again, so why dont we take some time and compose some cool Music with the new GarageBand.
The new and improved interface of GarageBand is just so very cool with endless possibilities, and once you have added some Jam Packs to it you be amazed what you can create if you’re a musician or not...but it helps if you like or like me love music.

Click on the title: When I wake up in the Morning
1:50 min.

Start with Magic GarageBand first, familiarize yourself and later get more adventures and explore all the other possibilities, the trick is to work in the beginning with Magic GarageBand, from the menu choose Magic GarageBand and move the various instruments around until you’re happy with the overall sound. After that click on Open in GarageBand, now you have your instrument tracks in front of you and the real editing and mixing can start.
Add some Voices, Guitars, Effects (there is so much to choose from) or what ever you feel like, split and separate the tracks and move them around until you have a nice and now very different sound track. Send it to iTunes and you’re done, well almost... dont be shy,you do have to spend some time and experiment with GarageBand and if you love Music it is a lot of fun too.
“When I wake up in the morning” was created entirely in GarageBand. I know it is not Tina Turner but not bad for someone who cant even play an instrument or knows anything about musical notes.
Now turn up your speakers...

GarageBand Screen shot, start with Magic GarageBand red square and have some fun.

Please note: I recommend when running Garageband to turn off all other Applications, Garageband does require a bit of processing power, but on a MacBook Pro you should have no problems at all. Also dont run to many tracks once you left Magic GarageBand and you’re in the editing phase. I know it is tempting to keep adding tracks but be careful it my slow down your Machine.
GD

“Elevator Blues”
But where is Eric Clapton? Guitars out side the Lift
at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manila

It was during a Coffee Break that my good friend Arnold and myself stepped out of the Lift and almost fell over this cool line up of Guitars. “Arnold...the only thing missing is Eric Clapton,” as it turned out there was a major rock secession in progress in one of the Ballrooms, sorry folks no Clapton, John Mayall or even Bob Marley otherwise I would have not gone back to my meeting.
This strange scene reminded me of a song by Ten Years After...
”The Band with no Name”
I could not resist and pulled out my constant companion the little Leica D-Lux4 and shot some frames, remember in one of my earlier Blogs never leave Home without it, (the camera that is) even when you have to attend a meeting you never know what is around the next corner or outside an Elevator in this case.

This image triggered todays blog and a very short introduction to the new GarageBand ’09, now you might ask what has that to do with Photography or Aperture 2?
Actually a lot!
Let me use the magic word again Total Integration even with music...create your own sound easy and feel good about it that it is yours and has not been copied from someone else. GarageBand is perfect for your Slideshows, Keynote presentation and of course your very own Podcast, the Media Browser is always right there.

The New look when you open GarageBand ‘09

I like the revised and new interface a lot, simple and clean and for those who like to learn an instrument GarageBand’09 has now some very cool tutorials guiding you step by step through the learning process for Piano or Guitar.

GarageBand’09 and the Media Browser right at your fingertips

Check out the new GarageBand ’09 play some Guitar tunes and create your very own music for all your presentations, GarageBand’09 is super cool and a big improvement from its previous versions. GarageBand’09 is part of iLife ’09 which also includes iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb and the cool new iMovie.
GD

2008 Video © Dirk Fahrenbach edited and sound track mix by © Gunther Deichmann
Click on the images above and go direct to the Music Video/Podcast section. Please have some patience some of the Clips could take several minutes to download, of course this depends on your connection.
The video has been compressed to fit within the web standards, but Broadband/DSL connection is recommended.

Tags: Underwater Video, Sounddogs, Video Cam, Dugong Dive Center, Dirk Fahrenbach, Club Paradise

Create YOUR own Music and SOUNDTRACKS in advance for your
Slide Presentations & have fun doing it...

Whenever I get the chance I open GarageBand and create my own music tracks they come in very handy when putting together slide shows or presentations later.
I have included a small soundtrack PODCAST below which was created using GarageBand only .
I usually do this late at night or early in the morning; I can concentrate and don’t get disturbed by phone calls and other noise.
The integration on the Mac makes all of this very straightforward and you don’t have to be a musician, as long you have a good feel for music and a little patience.
I love creating soundtracks in GarageBand with thousands of loops to choose from plus the option to purchase a variety of Jam Packs. A word of caution, the Jam Packs do take up some hard drive space.
Creativity is un-limited, it is all up to you, use the existing Jingles and sound tracks or create an entire music track from scratch, there are so many possibilities.
Experiment with GarageBand, you soon find out its enormous capabilities, besides it is a lot of fun.
As mention above Aperture 2 is at your fingertips and of course you have access via the Media Browser to iPhoto, iTunes & iMovie as well. I have a whole collection of sound tracks tucked away in my iTunes Library just for the occasion when I need to put together a presentation in a hurry, creating your own sound is not only fun but you have something you made and this will set you apart from all the others.

GarageBand - Podcast setting with the Media Browser open at the right,
just drag your images into the main window upper track.

Drag your images direct from the Media Browser, you have also access to your iMovie, choose a Jingle small red square this will open all the Jingles, now you can choose which one you like, right large red square. Drag any one of them you like on the time line and have fun...
the soundtrack below was created using Garageband only .
Podcast

Tags: Creativity, Sountracks, Media Browser