The Faces of Transcarpathia

Jesse Ewing of Inkleaf Studios just finished this new cover for the series of short films on SARA's Ukrainian projects.

Roma Settlement Film

This is one of the last two of a series of short films I shot in Transcarpathia, Ukraine in June and July of 2008 for S.A.R.A. This Roma, or Gypsy settlement is on the outskirts of the city of Bergaszas. The music was recorded in a Roma church and the voice over is by S.A.R.A.'s Rev. Stephen Szylagi.

Book

http://www.blurb.com/books/919865

Monkeys of the Day from my Samsung Alias Camera Phone

New Hardcover Photo Book

WOOSTER--I recently finished editing the following book. You can preview it and order it at the following link!

http://www.blurb.com/books/919865

The Oak Barrel Company

WOOSTER--Among other new and on-going projects I recently edited this short film/commercial for my friend Chris Deffenbaugh. Chris is the owner, founder and artist behind the Oak Barrel Company (www.oakbarrelcompany.com), a business that he began some years ago. Chris began taking reclaimed whiskey and wine barrels and turning them into various pieces of furniture. Some are fairly straightforward--a barrel with a door and shelves or a wine-rack inside. Other pieces include benches made of the staves which have a lovely Asian feeling. Chris also takes various pieces of industrial salvage--huge saw blades and drive chains and gears and modifies them into one-of-a-kind pieces. Another piece, the subject of this video, is the piano table. A beautiful coffee table with the harp from an upright piano as its base.

Chris shot the footage himself on a PS digicam and I edited it into this film. The music was graciously provided by Josh Krajcik. I have been doing photo and media work for Chirs and the Oak Barrel Company for years now but this is the first video. More are planned so stay tuned!

Monkey of the Day

Shot by Blair at my request on her tricorder on planet Phoenix

Wine Country Correspondent Video

WOOSTER--My friend Jake told me about this job as Wine Country Correspondent right when I got back to the US. The major part of the application was to shoot and submit a one-minute video explaining why you should have the job. Here is mine. Please give it a view and send a vote for me and then come visit me in California! Click on this text to see it...

Memory

LUND--It just occurred to me that a camera like the D3 ought to, in addition to the excellent feature of having slots for two CF cards, have a gigabyte or so of internal memory. This would serve several functions. It would allow one a significant amount of extra shooting when the regular cards were shot up in the heat of the moment. It would, in the same manner, give one that little extra bit if, in the field, you shot every bit of card space. And it would give the photographer a "secret" bit of storage if one were ever forced to give up one's memory cards or if one thought one was one could switch over to shooting on the internal memory. The feature, like almost everything else on the D3 could be customized and, given the amount of storage that can be fit on an SD card now, shouldn't have to take up much room.

Mental Hospital

LUND--I am trying to find the structure of the fourth short film in the series on SARA's Transcarpathian projects. This is on the State Mental Hospital in the Carpathian mountains. I have a lot of good footage and even a lot of music as one of the activities at the institution is a music club. But almost all the narration and interviews are in Russian. I am hoping to complete this film before returning to the US in a little over a week, thus basically finishing the project before what promises to be a hectic and uncertain time!

Storm at Sunset Over Transcarpathia

LUND--It is difficult to explain how small one feels in Ukraine. On a sunny day one can see huge storms as they move towards you, huge banks of clouds and lightening flashes darkening a section of the horizon.

We were out, visiting different sites to film and had to drive into this one. I took several shots out the window before the rain hit. The light and feeling in the air was very similar to tornado weather in the American Midwest but the Ukrainians said they didn't have twisters. It seemed to me the perfect place for them. I wonder why.

FILM: Carpathian Home For Disabled Children

LUND--Click on this text to see the third short film in the series from SARA's relief programs in Ukraine shot at a home for mentally and physically handicapped kids. The institution, located in the rugged Carpathian mountains of western Ukraine, houses approximately 200 children. SARA and other organizations have been working there for many years to improve conditions.

S.A.R.A. 's Ukrainian Dental Program

Once Upon A Time in El Salvador

EL ESPINO--(L-R) Betty Ann Larson, Joyce Gilberg, Dr. Ephrain Alvarenga, John Gilberg, Sharon Fiely, Kim Hemelgarn

S.A.R.A. 's Ukrainian Orthopedic Surgery Program

LUND--This is the first of a series of short films documenting SARA's (Sharing America's Resources Abroad) projects and programs in Transcarpathia, a region of western Ukraine.

SARA Film on YouTube

You can watch the SARA short here at YouTube

Article

LUND--A few weeks ago I wrote an article on this blog about Sharon Fiely, one of the SARA team members I met in 2007 while filming "The Children of the Mangroves". It has been recently published again on the "Your Cause" website. Check it out there.

Currilero on El Espino Beach

S.A.R.A. (Sharing America's Resources Abroad)

This is a short film, a visual introduction or advertisement for S.A.R.A., the organization that commissioned my last two films, "News from El Salvador: The Children of the Mangroves", and "Faces of Transcarpathia" which is currently being edited.

Two Faces of Transcarpathia