Our video of Cedar Creek is up and running

[Jeffrey Cohen]

Greetings:
Our video of Cedar Creek is now up and running on our web site at
www.6thny.com

Let the screen fully load before pressing play.

[wilber6150]

Nicely done...:)

[Julio C. Zangroniz]

My personal and professional compliments to everyone involved with this video production.
Well done. Excellent work!
Julio

[Jeffrey Cohen]

That's high praise indeed coming from the master. Thanks for the kind words. I'll pass your them along.

["Doc" Nelson]

Jeff,
Well done! Great video.

[3rd_PA_Artillery]

Your 6th New York was right next to us, sir! I see myself and several of my officers in some of those shots. Great video, I loved it.

[RJSamp]

WOW!!!! Nicely done!

[5strings]

Jeffery,

That is a great piece of video. My compliments to the film maker.

[Bob Fagan]

Thanks all for the positive words. This actually was my first real involvement in a large scale reenactment (my son has been involved for about 6 years) and I was amazed at the beauty of the battlefield at Cedar Creek. The Sunday battle was definitely the best from both a participant and a picture point of view.

I wish I had more infantry shots, but as artillery, we don't move much over the battlefield. And for some reason the Confederate infantry didn't advance very close.

So next year, if the 6th NY Artillery is out there, could some of you sesch take it upon yourselves to overrun our position? Just look for the 10lb Parrott Rifle..I think it would make for a great shot...just don't bayonet the cameraman.:)

Thanks again.

-Bob Fagan, pvt
6th NY Independent Artillery

[Julio C. Zangroniz]

Mr. Fagan,
If you truly want to become a GREAT filmmaker, you will have to learn to GO OUT and FIND your images, and then capture them, rather than limiting yourself to waiting patiently for those same images to come to you.
Obviously, such a course of action may mean that you will have to finagle some sort of temporary leave from that slave-driver ogre who runs your unit, so you can get to meander a bit more around the field.
On a more personal level, I totally share your enthusiasm for the Cedar Creek Battlefield. I think it's the single, most beautiful place that I am privileged to visit and photograph every year. I consider it my "home field," even though I reside in the state of Maryland.
I, for one, look forward to your future visual contributions. Keep up the good work!
Julio

[captdougofky]

Excellent work. Nice to see the cannons.

Always
Doug Thomas
Lyons Battery CS
Kentucky

[Bob Fagan]

Thanks for the comments Julio. As an experienced photographer for these events maybe you can give me some advice.

I don't know what is allowed and what is not as to having some yankee artilleryman wandering the fields with a 21st century camera in tow. (Besides having the usual duty of worming/loading/moving the 1600 lb cannon :-) There seems to be a dilemma between keeping in period and trying to capture the drama and beauty of the moment. I tried to keep my cameras somewhat out of view, but sometimes in the heat of the moment you have some artilleryman there with a big honking camera to his eye. To me it might seem to ruin the moment in time for many reenactors, but then again you really want to capture these moments and show them to others. How to you find the balance for this?

Any advice would be appreciated.

-Bob

[Bob Fagan]

Capt Doug...
Thanks...I wish I had more video of the CS side...your rolling fire was very impressive on the ridge and I'm glad i caught one of them.

-Bob

[Jeffrey Cohen]

I met Bob at a crossroads and had him sign his enlistment papers in his own blood. I keep him and his fellow unfortunates chained to the gun.
I should mention that Bob consstruced a neat box to hide the camera during the event.

[Julio C. Zangroniz]

Bob,
There's really no simple answer to the question of how you find the balance between "blending into the moment" and risk spoiling it by the presence of a modern camera.
I try to "pick my moment(s)" carefully, and I use as large a zoom lens as I can hold steady, so I can stay as far away from the center of the action as possible, yet have reasonable access to it.
There are moments when a camera would be way too intrusive, and sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to bring it out and annoy the **** out of the participants. They will let you know when that happens, believe me. Most of the time, I manage to resist the temptation to bring the camera at the wrong time, for I feel that there will be plenty of other photographic opportunities that same weekend or at the next event or the next.
There's no question that a modern camera is essential if you want to document an event, or a particular moment, for the period technology simply won't cut it. Plus it would kill even a younger man to carry all that extremely heavy gear over oftentimes uneven terrain.
To minimize the level of intrusion, most of the time I tend to carry my modern gear in two haversacks, out of sight. Then I bring the camera out at the proper moment, so I have to learn to anticipate a lot more effectively.
Of course I miss some shots, but most of the time I manage to get the image I want without creating too much disruption. Most of the time, my subjects express surprise when I approach them for an i.d. because they never saw me take their photograph, for I can do a full-frame facial portrait from 10-20 feet away. So you have to observe a lot more closely than most people tend to do.
When I have to work in very low-light conditions, I always ask first if people object to the use of flash, for even if I ratchet my ASA setting from the regular daytime setting of 100 to the maximum, 1600, the light may still be insufficient, particularly if one is shooting for publication somewhere. Most of the time, people will gladly cooperate. Whenever I promise someone a copy of a picture, I make sure to send it. A lot of photographers don't carry out their promises, a very shortsighted strategy, in my opinion, particularly if you are planning to work with those individuals again.
I enjoyo a truly wonderful working relationship with many, many units, for I have been doing this crazy stuff for 21 seasons, and there's hardly a camp --blue or gray-- where someone doesn't own some of my photos.
I seldom ask people to "pose" for a shot, or to do something special or unusual, for in general I seek to capture "true" or natural expressions. I don't know how much of this advice will help a craftsman shooting film or videotape, but I hope it helps.
Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to help.
Julio

[DColeman]

Great job boys! And not just because my unit is in the opening sequence ;-)

[Bob Fagan]

Julio, thanks for the helpful advice. I do some still photography (well actually that's what I did before I went into video)...so I can relate to what you are saying about shooting. Not to swerve this to a techical thread, but just as an aside.. I recently had the opportunity to shoot with the Nikon D3 last month and the low light ability of this camera made me seriously consider this camera. (I've been a Canon guy...no pun intended). 3200 and 6400 ASA shooting was actually usable in some cases.

But anyway, back to shooting with modern cameras during a reenactment...
as you suggest...I used the haversack for my still and small camcorder, but I couldn't fit my big one in there so I made a cedar box for it. It was a rush job so I can see where I need to modify it so I have more access to the controls, but I think I can work it out where other reenactors will just see a union guy staring at a box in a strange way. I hope that will take the edge off the modern intrusion.

Anyway thanks again for the insights. Hopefully the corporal will allow me some longer chains to wander farther afield at the next battle (I'm going to try and make New Market.).

-Bob

[indguard]

Our video of Cedar Creek is now up and running on our web site

I wish it played on a Mac! Doesn't seem to, though.
Playing fine on my PC. Won't on my Mac.

[Darby8th]

Bully! A job well done. You boys did some nice shooting on Sunday. We were in reserve during the first half of the battle and had a chance to watch a battery in action and gave them a cheer and a "tiger" when they let loose a volley.

[lojafan]

Great video! I noticed the cavalry sabre fight was a little "lack luster" but safety first!

Andrew Gale
N.W. 15th AR

[Bob Fagan]

I wish it played on a Mac! Doesn't seem to, though.
Playing fine on my PC. Won't on my Mac.

Should play fine on a mac since I made it and uploaded it and vetted it on a mac (OS10.5). Are you using safari or Firefox?