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Silent Kingdom

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Another film for the Underwater Over Land Film Challenge.

The theme for this challenge was “Animal Kingdom.”
Unfortunately this film had to be put together in just a few hours.
Family matters kept me home for most of the time period we had to complete the film. So, on the last day I headed out and spent most of the day driving around trying to find anything to film.
I knew I didn’t have enough wildlife footage to even come close to doing a film that really addressed the theme. So, I came up with the idea of doing a film about there not being any wildlife in the “Animal Kingdom in the tenth hour.

With the film due that night, I sat down about 9:00PM and started trying to put something together. My plan was to do a voice over but as the night wore on, that grew to be less likely.

The clock struck 2AM and I was still trying to put something together to beat the deadline.

Finally I just started laying down track, hoping that it would all make some kind of sense.

Although not the film I was hoping to do, I made the deadline and hopefully it has a bit of a message.
[flv:http://www.silverphoenixllc.com/phoenixblog/movies/SilentKingdom.flv 592 331]

“The Prairie” First Runner-Up UWOL Challenge

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The results are in and my film for the international Underwater Over Land film festival took home 1st runner up.

Although the judge thought that the story line could have been improved upon, he had nothing but kind words to say about the imagery:
Kevin Railsback – The Prairie – 1st Runner Up!
The photography was impeccable – great “magic hour” light; the amazing color saturation reminded me of my days 20 years ago when I was working for renowned outdoor photographer Galen Rowell, when I’d shoot stills with Fuji Velvia slide film – gorgeous.

Having my work compared to the work of world renowned still photographer Galen Rowell is certainly an honor. Many years ago when I was shooting stills myself. Galen was an inspiration of mine and probably did help develop my signature style of deeply saturated colors that want to pop off the screen.

Tragically Galen and his wife died in a plane crash on August 11,2002. The above comments by judge Bruce Borowsky were on August 11th, the 7th anniversary of Galen’s death.

As I’ve said many times before, winning is always a great thing, but judging is subjective. Another judge may have not even considered my film for consideration while another may have thought it best of entry.

I think the important thing is to be true to yourself and always strive to do the best that YOU can do. Filmmaking is my passion. For me finishing a film puts me in the winners circle every time.

Check out my entry in the film challenge and let me know what you think.

[flv:http://www.silverphoenixllc.com/phoenixblog/movies/Prairie.flv 592 331]

Silent No More

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A lot of times when I’m out in the field, I like to just sit and listen to the sounds of nature. I enjoy this so much that I invested in a Zoom H4n digital audio recorder to take out with me and capture some of the natural sounds I encounter.

The Zoom H4n by the way is a remarkable recorder. It can record fantastic audio with it’s built in stereo mics but also allows you to plug in 1/4 inch and XLR mics as well.

My first experience recording with it was in Monterey, California. My hotel was right on the beach and at night I could listen to the waves and seabirds outside my window.

Returning back to Iowa I took the Zoom with me on my trips to a tall grass prairie about 15 miles from my home. I was working on my latest film, “The Prairie” for the UWOL film challenge.

It was late in the afternoon and I could hear owls hooting in the nearby forests, birds settling in for the coming night, frogs in the nearby pond, etc. But what amazed me when I returned home to listen to the audio was how much other sounds the Zoom had picked up.

The tall grass prairie is really out in the middle of no where. Yet, I could hear the sound of tractors out in distant fields, motorcycles roaring down roads far in the distance. There were airplanes flying over head and the rumble of freight trains as they made their way across the state. I could hear dogs barking from nearby farmhouses, cars traveling down the lone road that passes by the prairie.

What amazed me even more was that long after a plane flew overhead or a car drove past on the gravel road, their sound continued to be recorded. The pristine natural sounds of the tall grass prairie were being contaminated by a world that had seemed so far away.

No matter how much I felt as one with nature while I sat in the prairie it seems that the sounds of man are still there no matter how much I wish they weren’t.

The Journey of a Lifetime

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Safari, the Swahili word for “journey”. Later this month we’ll be taking a journey to Africa.

Many months in the planning, this trip is an incredible opportunity to film some of the most amazing wildlife on the planet.

Although I’m really not at liberty to discuss why we’re going, rest assured, I’ll be working as hard as I can to get the best footage possible.

Internet access is sketchy at best in the areas we’ll be traveling but I’ll try to post updates wherever I can. We have a fantastic guide who has worked tirelessly to provide us the best opportunities possible. He’s a wildlife photographer as well so he understands what we need to get the best footage.

It’s just mind boggling the amount of planning that has to go into a trip like this. Every detail has to be worked out in order to make everything run smoothly. Yet, even with all this planning, we’re still at the mercy of the weather and the wildlife.

You can keep track of the countdown to our departure on our website.

The Big Picture

On a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, I was stopped by a park ranger who was directing traffic around a slew of vehicles pulled over on the side of the road. From my car window I could see still photographers lined up alongside the road with their 600f4’s and 800f5.6’s all trained in the direction of a nearby rock formation. Driving closer I saw that they were trying to photograph coyote pups whose mother had created a den unusually close to the road.

Orange traffic cones were placed to corral the photographers into a more manageable area. Cones were on the other side of the road to keep them from getting any closer than they already were to the den.

As I watched the photographers jockey for position, tripod legs intertwined, elbow to elbow, each trying to get just that one step closer to the den, it got me thinking about my own work.

For years I was cut from the same cloth as those still photographers. It was always “Have to fill the frame. Need to get in closer.” When I had a 300mm lens, I wished for that 600mm so I could fill the frame that much more. It was always about getting in as tight as I could to get that animal right in your face.

I still flip through still photography magazines to keep up with what’s going on in the still world. While there have been huge advances in camera technology, the song is still the same. How to get closer, how to fill the frame. I see it a lot in film and video too. Everyone’s trying to get just a little bit closer than the next guy.

But I discovered by doing that I was only getting part of the picture. I realized that day at the coyote den that I had been changing my shooting style without really being conscious of it. I had discovered the big picture.

I’m not even sure when it started to happen but I was starting to back up, to open up the frame, to let a little more in.
It became more important to me to get the animal in its environment than to get a frame filling shot.
An animal and its environment are so intertwined, it made no sense to me to include one and not the other.

Whenever I see imagery of a farmer, they’re always shown next to a barn or tractor. Businessmen are always shown in front of a fancy building or behind a big executive desk. Why isn’t it the same for wildlife? Why do most people chose to ignore the habitat that wildlife call home?

Is it because most people never get a chance to see wildlife up close and personal?

Whatever the reason, I continue to see people driving wildlife away by trying to get just one step closer. As for me, I’m content to step back away from the crowds in order to see the big picture.