FundyBrian’s Explorations

Just after sunrise at the Bon Ami Rocks.
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Just before leaving for Dalhousie I received my new Gobe variable ND filter for my iPhone so I was keen to do more long exposure photography.
The main reason I bought it was for video. You get a more natural looking motion in video when your shutter speed is 1/60 sec, assuming you are using the standard 30 frames/sec. Or 1/48 if you use 24 FPS. In regular daylight they typical shutter speed on a mobile phone would be well over 1/1000 sec., which tends to make motion look harsh or fragmented. The neutral density filter cuts down the light at the lens allowing you to adjust your shutter speed down to the desired level. This, of course, assumes you are using a video app with controls such as FiLMiC Pro.

In this case I was using slow shutter apps like NightCap Pro and Slow Shutter Cam.
According to the metadata for this picture in NightCap Pro, my ISO was set at 22, the aperture was ƒ1.8, with the wide 1x lens, the exposure time was 15.1036 seconds, and the actual shutter speed for each individual image making up the long exposure was 1/16,129 sec. That’s a speed completely out of sight for DSLR users.

I cannot detect any difference in quality between NightCap Pro and SlowShutter Cam. Both save as tiff files. However, NightCap Pro has much better controls. Slow Shutter Cam does not give me any way to adjust the exposure level except by placing the exposure reticle on the brightest area, but even so it is too bright. My preferred way of exposing is to trip the shutter and observe the screen to see when I’m getting the desired effect and then end the exposure before it goes too far.
Stunning.
 
Even before we got home my brother had arrived and was waiting for us to get home. Then my daughter came to visit with her boyfriend and her dog plus two friends and their son so it was a bit crowded for a short time.
Somehow in all that I found the time to finish off the totem block for my latest flute.
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There’s my E-Minor Apple branch flute behind and my G-Minor western red cedar flute in front.
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Here’s a closer photo of the Raven totem/block I just finished. Finished with sunflower oil.
 
Even before we got home my brother had arrived and was waiting for us to get home. Then my daughter came to visit with her boyfriend and her dog plus two friends and their son so it was a bit crowded for a short time.
Somehow in all that I found the time to finish off the totem block for my latest flute.
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There’s my E-Minor Apple branch flute behind and my G-Minor western red cedar flute in front.
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Here’s a closer photo of the Raven totem/block I just finished. Finished with sunflower oil.
They’re gorgeous.
Still waiting on that video of you playing your flute. :sneaky:
 
Really, even in August? The water may be cold but aren’t your air temps pretty warm?
We have certainly had some hot days but at the beach we were wearing wind breakers. The wind off the water was cold! At 6:30 am it was pretty chilly. I was wishing for my down jacket instead of my windbreaker.
Most bodies of water get warm at the surface layer and are colder the deeper you go. The Bay of Fundy is too stirred up to ever form a warm layer.
 
Here it is! The long-awaited video of me playing my apple branch flute.
I'm in my kayak, out in le Baie des chaleurs, on-location at the Bon Ami Rocks in Dalhousie New Brunswick, Canada (eh?), just off Inch Arran, about 1 km from shore. I thought this would be fairly easy but the tide and wind made it harder than expected. The tide was running fairly hard which was causing my kayak to drift sideways at quite a speed, which means in the video I'm always keeping my eye on my position, because the are plenty of rocks just below the surface and once I get out onto the main current it would be that much less fun to paddle back.

I was drifting enough that I had to paddle back about 1/3km every few minutes and repeat the whole thing again. Each take was often disrupted by various things so this had to be put together from a few tries. Sometimes I ended up facing into the sun or away from the rocks. My hands kept getting wet while paddling so before each recording I was drying them off. Wrinkly fingertips would not work well for flute playing. Sun and cloud and fog in rapid succession. I had to turn to one side because the deck of the kayak was preventing me from assuming a natural playing position. Plus, I was holding my kayak paddle in place with one elbow.

Using my bluetooth remote proved unreliable. In order to film myself so close I needed my Moment wide angle lens on the regular camera lens which meant the screen was facing away from me. The times I pressed record on my remote and nothing was happening I couldn't tell until later when I reviewed what I had shot so far. After I realized the remote was not always working I started the camera manually while looking at the screen and then rotated the camera 180° so the lens was pointing back at me.

Normally I use my DJI Osmo Mobile to keep my iPhone steady in my kayak. In this case I wanted to use my Shure MV88 stereo mic that plugs into the Lightning port on my phone. However, I can't use the mic and the Osmo Mobile together so the iPhone is attached to a simple solid mount on my kayak, which meant I would have no stabilization. Luckily, close to the rocks the waves were minimal. Just around the corner in the main current it was a different story.

Later I was surprised to learn that even though I was 1 km from shore Fabi could hear my flute playing from the beach.
 
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Here it is! The long-awaited video of me playing my apple branch flute.
I'm in my kayak, out in le Baie des chaleurs, on-location at the Bon Ami Rocks in Dalhousie New Brunswick, Canada (eh?), just off Inch Arran, about 1 km from shore. I thought this would be fairly easy but the tide and wind made it harder than expected. The tide was running fairly hard which was causing my kayak to drift sideways at quite a speed, which means in the video I'm always keeping my eye on my position, because the are plenty of rocks just below the surface and once I get out onto the main current it would be that much less fun to paddle back.

I was drifting enough that I had to paddle back about 1/3km every few minutes and repeat the whole thing again. Each take was often disrupted by various things so this had to be put together from a few tries. Sometimes I ended up facing into the sun or away from the rocks. My hands kept getting wet while paddling so before each recording I was drying them off. Wrinkly fingertips would not work well for flute playing. Sun and cloud and fog in rapid succession. I had to turn to one side because the deck of the kayak was preventing me from assuming a natural playing position. Plus, I was holding my kayak paddle in place with one elbow.

Using my bluetooth remote proved unreliable. In order to film myself so close I needed my Moment wide angle lens on the regular camera lens which meant the screen was facing away from me. The times I pressed record on my remote and nothing was happening I couldn't tell until later when I reviewed what I had shot so far. After I realized the remote was not always working I started the camera manually while looking at the screen and then rotated the camera 180° so the lens was pointing back at me.

Normally I use my DJI Osmo Mobile to keep my iPhone steady in my kayak. In this case I wanted to use my Shure MV88 stereo mic that plugs into the Lightning port on my phone. However, I can't use the mic and the Osmo Mobile together so the iPhone is attached to a simple solid mount on my kayak, which meant I would have no stabilization. Luckily, close to the rocks the waves were minimal. Just around the corner in the main current it was a different story.

Later I was surprised to learn that even though I was 1 km from shore Fabi could hear my flute playing from the beach.
Ahhhh! I can’t play it!!!
 
Here it is! The long-awaited video of me playing my apple branch flute.
I'm in my kayak, out in le Baie des chaleurs, on-location at the Bon Ami Rocks in Dalhousie New Brunswick, Canada (eh?), just off Inch Arran, about 1 km from shore. I thought this would be fairly easy but the tide and wind made it harder than expected. The tide was running fairly hard which was causing my kayak to drift sideways at quite a speed, which means in the video I'm always keeping my eye on my position, because the are plenty of rocks just below the surface and once I get out onto the main current it would be that much less fun to paddle back.

I was drifting enough that I had to paddle back about 1/3km every few minutes and repeat the whole thing again. Each take was often disrupted by various things so this had to be put together from a few tries. Sometimes I ended up facing into the sun or away from the rocks. My hands kept getting wet while paddling so before each recording I was drying them off. Wrinkly fingertips would not work well for flute playing. Sun and cloud and fog in rapid succession. I had to turn to one side because the deck of the kayak was preventing me from assuming a natural playing position. Plus, I was holding my kayak paddle in place with one elbow.

Using my bluetooth remote proved unreliable. In order to film myself so close I needed my Moment wide angle lens on the regular camera lens which meant the screen was facing away from me. The times I pressed record on my remote and nothing was happening I couldn't tell until later when I reviewed what I had shot so far. After I realized the remote was not always working I started the camera manually while looking at the screen and then rotated the camera 180° so the lens was pointing back at me.

Normally I use my DJI Osmo Mobile to keep my iPhone steady in my kayak. In this case I wanted to use my Shure MV88 stereo mic that plugs into the Lightning port on my phone. However, I can't use the mic and the Osmo Mobile together so the iPhone is attached to a simple solid mount on my kayak, which meant I would have no stabilization. Luckily, close to the rocks the waves were minimal. Just around the corner in the main current it was a different story.

Later I was surprised to learn that even though I was 1 km from shore Fabi could hear my flute playing from the beach.
Wow, that’s such a calming tune and your flute is wonderful! :notworthy::notworthy: I’m gobsmacked.
 
I love this!!! The birds in the background are the perfect accompaniment, and your flute sounds absolutely beautiful. I think you should record more songs on video. :inlove: :notworthy:
Thank you! It was hard to train them to squawk on the beat, not to mention in the right key.

I have a couple of other locations in mind. Right now the water is so low the waterfalls are quiet.

I started working on another flute this evening. This time bamboo.
 
I’ve been kept busy by adding some space to the side of my carport to store my firewood.
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Previously when I got 3 tiers of wood lined up it made it cramped to get the car in. From the blue tape right is the extra part.
 
I think this one is finished now.
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The Raven totem/block added some flair and today the raven feather added with wood burning. My first try at wood burning.

It’s interesting to me how my shopping / buying has changed recently. I used to go to town and visit each different store I thought might have what I wanted. I like to see and hold the actual object before buying. However, so many things just cannot be found locally. Some research online and then scout for the best price, which usually ends up being Amazon. Then two days later it arrives at my door. The most useful YouTube video About woodburning was made by a young teenager.
 
Your flutes are works of art. :hearteyes: Maybe create an Etsy shop and sell them?
I appreciate your encouragement. I do hope to sell some flutes. I’m still getting tooled up. I was hoping to sell locally to start with. Do you think an Etsy store is a viable idea? I plan to make each one unique rather than making several the same.

I understand a west coast THOW is in your future. How’s that going?
 
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