Film and photos of the Great Ocean Road

Megan and I spent yesterday sightseeing along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Our stops included Torquay, Bells Beach, Apollo Bay, and the Port Campbell National Park.

I had my camera on hand throughout the day and came away with great footage and stills.

Watch the High Definition (HD) edition of the film on YouTube.

Below are photos from the day.

Melbourne in the early morning

Melbourne in the early morning

Beach, Great Ocean Road

Beach, Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

Apostles, Great Ocean Road

Apostles, Great Ocean Road

London Bridge, Great Ocean Road

London Bridge, Great Ocean Road

Waterskiing on the Yarra River

This afternoon Megan and I visited Melbourne’s annual Moomba Festival. Yesterday’s storm made the Yarra river’s banks muddy and slippery, but did not appear to reduce the crowds.

Carnival ride, Moomba Festival, Melbourne

Carnival ride, Moomba Festival, Melbourne

Carnival ride, Moomba Festival, Melbourne

Carnival ride, Moomba Festival, Melbourne

I put together a short film of the waterskiing on the Yarra River. This is my first film experimenting with Garage Band. The result is not what would I like but I learnt a lot.

Watch the High Definition (HD) edition of the film on YouTube.

Hail storm in Melbourne caught on film

This afternoon an unexpected hail storm hit Melbourne. Megan and I were lucky enough to be inside at the time. I grabbed the camera and we joined others in the building’s lobby to watch the storm build.

Watch the High Definition (HD) edition of the film on YouTube.

The thunder storm that followed lasted for most of the afternoon.

Hail storm, Melbourne, Australia

Hail storm, Melbourne, Australia

Chunk of ice from the hail storm

Chunk of ice from the hail storm

Hail storm, Melbourne, Australia

Hail storm, Melbourne, Australia

Update

The day after I ventured out into the city and took photos showing the remaining piles of hail ice.

This short film has appeared in the Slovakian Pluska.sk, the Australian Herald Sun web sites, and has accumulated a handful of YouTube honours:

  • #25 – Most Discussed (This Week)) – Travel & Events – Australia
  • #84 – Most Discussed (This Month)) – Travel & Events – Australia
  • #11 – Most Viewed (This Week)) – Travel & Events – Australia
  • #37 – Most Viewed (This Week)) – Travel & Events – New Zealand
  • #69 – Most Viewed (This Week)) – Travel & Events
  • #68 – Most Viewed (This Week)) – Travel & Events – Mexico
  • #84 – Most Viewed (This Week)) – Travel & Events – Hong Kong
  • #10 – Most Viewed (This Month)) – Travel & Events – Australia
  • #19 – Top Favorited (This Week)) – Travel & Events – Australia
  • #52 – Top Favorited (This Month)) – Travel & Events – Australia
  • #31 – Top Rated (This Month)) – Travel & Events – Australia

Charlie and Rebecca’s Wedding Celebration

Embedded below is a film showing a little of Charlie and Rebecca’s wedding celebration. Charlie’s family is Lebanese, and the celebrations followed Lebanese traditions.

See this film in High Definition (HD) on YouTube.

The music and dancing was loud, fun, and fast. Early in the evening it quickly became apparent that still photographs could not capture the moment.

During the celebrations and entertainment, I switched between filming and experimenting with various still settings on our point and shoot camera.

I came away with approximately 14 minutes of HD film footage, weighing in at 2.64 GB. The quality is acceptable given the lighting. The sound is terrible, but that should be expected; the camera’s microphone is mono.

Editing an HD film in iMovie on Mac OS X

Editing an HD film in iMovie on Mac OS X

The film was edited using iMovie. Films like this benefit from being short, closely cut, affairs. I had fun cutting and trimming footage. The process gave me a little insight into just how challenging a professional editor’s role can be.

Canon PowerShot SX200 IS

Canon PowerShot SX200 IS

The camera is a Canon PowerShot SX200 IS. I can highly recommend this camera. It is small enough to carry around, not too expensive, and is capable of taking great shots.