H&H Shootout concludes
1000th post
Hot job on a hot day
Working on a short documentary that will be released in a couple weeks. This will be a little different than the typical shoot: get everything while on location and put together for a quick turn around. Instead, this was a process; a video I shot over the second half of the summer. Looking forward to putting it together.
And this became the 1,000 post.
Oklahoma Steak Out: Boulevard Steakhouse
Boulevard Steakhouse is the first of our Steak Out series hosted by Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor. You can read Cathey’s article here for more on the history of Boulevard Steakhouse.
Truth be told, I’ve spent a lot of time at Boulevard Steakhouse. Especially in the adjoining Martini Lounge. My wife Melinda worked at Boulevard and at the Lounge a few years ago before we were married. And my band has played at the Lounge a few times.
It goes without saying I’ve eaten at Boulevard: the chopped salad, the steaks and the toast points. Those toast points are addictive. They keep them (or used to) in a handy bucket in the back for building salads. They are awesome. And buttery.
I had never met Chef Jimmy Stepney despite my time served at 5th and Boulevard in Edmond. Chef Stepney fired up two steaks and a couple sides for us during this shoot. The great ones make it look so easy but the resulting taste is top shelf. Great guy, great chef.
Boulevard has a dark interior. I shot this around 4pm on a Tuesday earlier this month. For some reason the lighting kept changing during the kitchen shot. I don’t know if curtains were being open and shut behind me but I was riding my settings constantly. The Canon 7D does a nice job in low light, but the dark dining room was a challenge. Another test during this shoot was shooting hand held with the 7D. It’s not advised without a proper rig, but you can get along with the neck strap as a third point of contact. I wasn’t happy with the results, to me it still looked too sloppy. A proper rig, slider and dolly make a huge difference.
USRowing Masters National Championships
Spent some time at the Oklahoma River this weekend shooting video of the USRowing Masters National Championships.
The video below is more of a glamour piece. Honestly, it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I found a tripod upstairs, a real beast of a tripod, last week. So I lugged it out to the river. The sticks really are not very good, but the head is awesome. While I could tilt, pan and move better than with my usual Monfrotto, the sticks were almost impossible to level and it didn’t have a fluid head. So it was a struggle in the 100 degree heat.
And The Oklahoman’s Sarah Phipps shot the video below. Phipps did a great job with the interviews and getting really solid b-roll. She has a great eye.
Sugarland stage collapse video
Reports say at least five have died from the accident in the above video. Dramatic footage. Unreal to watch.
Highlights from USRowing Masters National Championships
Big props to USRowing for their prompt response to my request for video highlights. The above footage is from various heats involving OKC Riversport teams during Saturday’s heats.
The event started Thursday and runs through 2 pm today.
