AACIL – UM Art Collaborative Celebration, Shot on Canon 7D from Ted Chen on Vimeo.

After the recent release of Access magazine, the Ann Arbor CIL called me up to see if I was interested in covering their celebration event, which showcased the final works of a clay course. The course was held over several weeks in the fall, in collaboration with the University of Michigan.

Although I have been mulling over new video equipment for the past couple of weeks (was eyeing a viewfinder enlarger and some kind of stabilization system), financial constraints meant I would still shoot with the same Canon 7D and Rode Video Mic. Not that you can’t do a good job with it, but being hand-held, there is still some noticeable shake in the video.

One of the bigger problems from the day was the incredibly cacophonous background conversations. The exhibit area — where most of the video was shot — was no bigger than a conference room. With everyone trying to shout above each other and the walls echoing those voices, I might as well had been in a dance club. And here’s where I feel the Rode Video Mic performed admirably, picking up the interviewees voices above the din even though they were speaking to us in a low, muffled volume.

Solely relying on the 7D’s LCD screen to acquire pin-point focus is inadequate, I’ve come to realize. While the 7D screen is marvelous, it’s just too small. When I re-watch my video several times, I noticed the faces aren’t in exact focus (even though it’s close). I’ll need a viewfinder enlarger pretty soon, and I’m leaning heavily towards the LCDVF. I shot most of the video at f4, which doesn’t give thin depth-of-field at all, so it’s so hard to achieve focus accuracy at f4, imagine how bad it’ll be at f2.

I have to thank my colleague, Helen, for helping with asking the questions while I made sure everything was going right with the video recording. Hand-holding the camera requires deep concentration to keep it steady!

In case you’re wondering, the lenses used were:

Canon’s 24-105mm f4L
Sigma’s 15mm f2.8 fisheye

In future I definitely hope to have some kind of stabilization in place, and maybe I could try switching to prime lenses to get more separation between subject and background. But like I’ve said in all my previous video posts, photography is still number one for me, and should make sure it gets priority when it comes to gear. Good lenses can be used for either still or video, but stabilization is catered only for video and doesn’t help in still photography.

Prof Inuzuka talks about the importance of art in his life and the impact on his disability

After what seemed like a really long, long time, Access magazine was finally published, and inserted within newspaper AnnArbor.com‘s Dec. 6th, 2009 edition. It was the 20th annual edition of the mag, and the makers at the Center for Independent Living wanted it to be extra special.

An interior story of Adam Rose and the I-Ride

If you’ve been following my work long enough, you’d know I was asked in July to provide photography for the magazine. In all, we spent almost three months shooting the events and portraits that are featured inside. The (partial) cover you see above was taken from Brock Mealer’s set. Because of paralysis below his waist, this photo of him kicking a football showed the impact of his rehabilitation.

It’s already a great honor to have your photos featured in any magazine, so bagging the cover brings an even more sensational feeling and definitely a sense of accomplishment! Although it may look staid in photographic artistry (head-on shot), it gets the Center’s message across, that they help people with disabilities, and with great success. Pair it with one of America’s biggest sports, with an iconic backdrop (The Big House stadium) and it’s a winner. Looking at it again, his hand movement, jutting tongue and even the excellent placement of the football was just perfect.

Ha, pat on the back for me!

So, the publication of Access could mark the end of my relationship with the mag, or it could just be the start. But since it’s only published once every year, they won’t be needing my photos again so soon. Furthermore, I may not be around in the U.S. next year. The future is truly up in the wide, open skies. Honestly, I wish I can go on contributing to the mag and their cause. They’ve given me creative freedom, which is almost everything a photographer would need. May this freedom and relationship carry forth into the future!

Ashley's also featured inside the mag!