Tag Archives: New England

Snowy Moods


Shot from early morning to midday on December 26, 2012

After a major snowstorm over December’s holidays, I got up early on Dec 26, and armed with everything I thought was needed, decided to go do some video shooting around the Blue Hills area. The Sun hadn’t come out yet, and the sky was still laden with storm clouds.  It was cold! My plan called for shooting macro and closeups framing the striking looks when snow embraces plants and trees. And so, I did for a while.

As the morning progressed, the sky cleared up and the sun made its shy appearance. The crystals formed on branches and bushes began glistening and sparkling and all trees appeared to be colored with golden hues. The scenery changed totally and my plan changed accordingly. I switched from closeups to long shots, and began panning to capture the beauty of the colors. Whatever eventually showed up in film, wasn’t quite the spectacle that my eyes saw (and my brain remembers). So, here’s my humble rendition of a glorious, cold, beautiful morning after the storm.

Enjoy,

Leo

Autumn golden mist


When the struggle for supremacy between Winter and Autumn – night and day begins to unfold, we can witness amazing events, light, darkness, cold, fog, mist and colors. These are observations beginning with early twilight prior to sunrise and continuing as the day progresses, offering us the richness and beauty of the season.
I hope you’re having a peaceful Autumn, and are getting ready for the Winter.

My thanksgiving wishes to all, for a beautiful season,

Leo
~
Music: Troppo lontano da te – Andrea Rossi ::  
http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/752163/troppo-lontano
-da-te
Remix by Leo Bar
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photographed during October, 2012 in the states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Ponkapoag Native Dreams


A tribute to the Neponset and Ponkapoag nation, native Amerindians of Massachusetts.

In this production I concentrated on creating a multilayered look that was achieved by using textures and compositing. In addition, a heavy dose of color grading and antique-like look was used to give the feel of a bygone idyllic era. The scenes were created using recent, as well as antique photographs and artifacts of native tribes of Southeastern Massachusetts. What captivated my imagination were the twisted branches of ancient maples and oak trees growing in the lands where the natives of Ponkapoag Pond once walked.
Nowadays, the original Ponkapoag Plantation is contained partly within the boundaries of the Blue Hills Reservation and further into the town of Canton, MA.

I hope you enjoy a serene dreamlike presentation,
Leo
~~
Filmed at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA and Ponkapoag Pond at Blue Hills Reservation near Boston, MA.
Music: The enchanted valley – Ah Nee Mah
Textures courtesy of: Pink Sherbert and Skeletal Mess @ http://www.Flickr.com

~~
The Massachusetts Indians who had settled near the mouth of the Neponset River were known as the Neponset Indians; and Chicataubut, their sachem, was styled the “Sagamore of the Neponsetts.” It was here in a grove now known as Vose’s Grove that John Eliot, on the 14th of September, 1646 , first preached the gospel to the Indians in the wigwam of Kitchamakin, the successor of Chicataubut. Eliot continued to take a deep interest in their welfare; and it was owing to his advice that when for a trifling considera­tion they sold their lands at Neponset, they decided to move to Ponkapoag.

The aboriginal name of the territory lying beyond the Blue Hills, known to the inhabitants as the “New Grant,” was Ponkapoag. The territory derived its name from the pond, which formed one of the principal features in the landscape; and the name in the middle of the seventeenth century applied to a more extended territory than that which subsequently was included in the Ponkapoag Reservation. While the Indians sojourned at Neponset, they were known as the Neponset tribe; and when they removed to Ponkapoag, they received the name of the place of their new location. It is an error to suppose that the place took its name from the residence of the tribe within its borders-; the reverse is true. Excerpt from THE PONKAPOAG PLANTATION – Daniel Thomas Vose Huntoon (Cambridge, Mass., J. Wilson & Son, 1893)

For more information see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponkapoag
 .
Also see
http://www.stoughtonhistory.com/huntoon-punkapoag.htm

Regendans


A video poem inspired by rain. We've had intermittent rains and thunderstorms over the last two weeks, so I got out (wet) and shot around the neighborhood. Some shots (dry and lazy) were taken from inside the house.
The title means Raindance in Dutch and is dedicated to my virtual friend Ben for his Dutch tutoring. Thanks Ben!
Enjoy the raindrops,
Leo
Music: Floating – Divinity Project, Matti Paalanen: Composer :: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/18231/floating – Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (remix by Leo Bar)
Paintings Oil: Leonid Afremov
Paintings digital-animation: Leo Bar

Farm promenade


Just a little video about going out to the “country” and finding organic, hydroponic and environmentally friendly small farmers, doing what’s right and what’s trendy.

Had a tough time putting this one together, since once I downloaded the clips I’d shot, noticed that they were too shaky (all that healthy organic stuff, and lots of wind). After 10-12 different tries, found a way to “disguise” the shakiness and make it look halfway decent (not perfect).

Here it is: slow the clip down by 25%, change the gamma by minus 5-10%, apply a slight blur (3%), combine all these and render without compensating for motion blur or resampling. If the first render still looked shaky, repeat again with less % of the same technique. Once I looked closely at the outcome, one could not tell the difference, unless warned.

The trip was a blast, we tried all kinds of goodies, some better than others. We met honest and hard-working people being true to nature and loving it. Not much monetary returns involved yet, but they hope the future will be more rewarding.

Enjoy the trip, outing and food,
Leo

Summer colors


Experiencing some oppressive heat wave and out through the woods, the idea came to my mind… “Shoot summer scenes from a different angle, perspective and color.”
The result is somehow oppressive, whimsical and a touch way out there! But it came out as I intended it.
The surrounding scenes span from southeast MA, Easton, Borderland State Park, Cohasset, and other nearby areas.
The application of wildlife over masques and the use of origami figures contrasted to real life was a way to accentuate nature and art and how they always connect and compliment. I also, experimented with color grading, B&W and other means to highlight the light distortion that is caused by extreme sun, haze and heat.

Enjoy the journey,

Leo

The Shore


This composition was produced using film and photographs taken over the months of April and May of 2011.
The images were recorded during trips to the coastlines of southern MA, NH and ME. Because I was so taken with the beauty and power of what I was seeing, the music I used is of a powerful and dramatic nature as well. It is a remix of Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957) Symphony #2 second movement, adapted and cut to fit into a shorter time frame.

When putting together this piece, I decided to color grade to a deeper, darker tone and remove as much of the light blue I had on most of the shots due to sky and ocean views. Thought this effect could add to the drama and power I was attempting to portray. Split screens were used to accentuate coloring and showcase flora and fauna. Some animations were performed at the opening aerial sequence and with seagulls shots to imitate movement. Slow motion was applied to several clips to enhance the delicate maneuvers that these marine birds perform while on flight.

Enjoy the production,
Leo

Very Berry


http://www.vimeo.com/22437850

As springtime begins to unfold and birds are preparing to nest, I thought I would share some photographs and video taken over last year (some are two years old).

What as always amazed me is the symbiotic relationship between trees/berry shrubs and birds to facilitate their survival and propagation. By swallowing the berries whole, birds digest the fruit’s pulp and over time expel the seed (nut) in a different locale. With luck and some help from nature, a new tree or berry shrub starts its life. Over the years we have been the recipients of such gifts and our home is surrounded by berries and trees bearing fruit. The more berries, the more birds, and so on and on… Thanks for the gifts!

Enjoy the show,
Leo

Elements used in this production:
~ I asked Don DesJardin at http://www.Vimeo.com for some clips of wild birds eating berries, and as usual he was generous and open to sharing. Thanks Don!
~ Have used HDR (pseudo) treatments of single photographs to accentuate the images.
~ Also, digital art has been applied to several other photographs.
~ Several images were gotten from the web (they were taken in Massachusetts and New Hampshire)
~ Sound recordings of birds are true to the species.
~ All berries are delicious!

Hopefully I was able to show the interdependency of flora and fauna to benefit each other in differing ways.

Autumn Backdrop


This is the second installment of an Autumn outing through Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts countryside. We managed to stay out of main roads for most of th trip, hitting small farming communities and less touristy sites. What a wonderful and reinvigorating trip… It’s (my) our favorite season of the year!

I incorporated some of the unusual animals we saw on the way. Also, I made use of multiple screens (split screens) and other light and coloring techniques on this production.

Enjoy the colors and the landscape!
Leo

Colors of Vermont


From a recent trip to Vermont. Went to film, photograph and follow the change of colors. Not much more to say, let the images speak for themselves.

Enjoy,
Leo