Cyclopedia Creative Media

Golf Ball Sized Hail!

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:03:13 +0000

Thought the wind was knocking acorns down on my roof for a second, but then I realized that this is spring not fall…. A crazy May-day in Durham, NC accompanied by a 30 minute Tornado Warning… You know I was in photographer mode!

Huge piece of ice… It Fell from the sky!

Time for an Ice ball fight!

J.A. Whitted School Revisited

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:28:57 +0000

The “Upbuilding Whitted School” documentary has been finished about a month now and our first viewing of the film will take place this week. As that day approaches our team has worked to get all the press related information out to the public. During an interview with the Durham NC, Herald-Sun newspaper, we got a chance to go back to the Whitted school and hang out for a while. Of course, the photographer in me took over and I had to take a few photos….

The windows of the Whitted School were recently boarded to prevent anyone from entering. The phone booth in the foreground is also non-functional.

Old posts that probably held ropes to keep the children off the grass have peeled and now have fungus growing on them.

The dangerous asbestos inside will cost a small fortune to remove.

A dead flower pot reminds us that this building was once filled with life.

The playground's grass seems well kept but children havent played on the fenced in jungle-gym in many years.

Someone was obviously able to gain entry onto the grounds.

X-Pro1: Fuji Love

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:27:49 +0000

Reading forums and reviews, a person might be inclined to believe that the Fuji X-Pro 1 is a camera incapable of performing even the simplest of photographic tasks. Many of the negative comments, blog posts, and reviews seem to miss the point of this amazing enigma of a camera. Posters who have never even handled the camera will find something negative to harp in on, taking only the worst observations of the reviewers and amplifying them to tremendous levels in forums. The chatter sound that the Fuji XF lenses made is just one such example of this widespread hysteria. The commenting seems to reach the point of fever pitch until Fuji does the unthinkable and silences the naysayers with a firmware update that totally eliminates the issue.

Even after Fuji puts the fix on the issue, the negative Nelly’s will continue to go on looking for the next reviewer listed “con” to harp in on.

Despite all of this, all I ever want to do is to shoot with this camera. Being a photographer in Durham NC can sometimes mean shooting the same scenery over and over but the X-Pro1 has made me dream of going out and capturing photos daily. I have owned several DSLRs and none given me this much enthusiasm about shooting. Since I have had this camera I have began to dream up trips. Over seas and here in the states, this camera makes me want to seek out new subjects and locations. My family is tired of me sticking the Fuji in their faces, but I can’t get enough.

For everything that this camera isn’t, it is my new love….

All images in this post were shot with the XF 35mm 1.4

Upbuilding Whitted

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:11:07 +0000

“Upbuilding Whitted”

“Upbuilding Whitted” explores the meaning and significance of the Whitted building, Durham’s first African-American high school, through the eyes of former students, teachers and community leaders. Whitted, built in 1922, now lies in ruins.
Description
NCCU Department of English &
Mass Communication Presents
“Upbuilding Whitted”

Heading south on Roxboro Street from downtown Durham you will glimpse to your left a boarded-up brick building,
standing proud despite its years of neglect.
The school was built in 1922 as Hillside Park High. It was Durham’s first
African-American high school.
In 1949 it became J.A. Whitted Junior High.
And into the 1970s it brought together black students from across Durham.
For over 50 years, Hillside Park/Whitted was the pride of Durham’s African-American community.
Today it lies in ruins waiting its rebirth.

Please join us for our free premiere.
“Upbuilding Whitted”
a documentary by
April Simon, Purity Kimaiyo,
Chi Brown and Bruce dePyssler
for more information email bdepyssler@nccu.edu

Free showing will be at the
Center for Documentary Studies
1317 W. Pettigrew Street, Durham

The Durham Voice: J&D Thrift

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:10:32 +0000

Last Durham Voice Story for the semester…. Filmed on the 5DMKII partial sound on the Zoom H4n. Other portions on the 5D internal mic…

In 1978 Daniel Roberts opened his first thrift store.

Today in Northeast Central Durham he has a new shop open called J&D Thrift Store on the corner of Angier and Driver Street.

ORIGINAL LINK: http://blogs.web.jomc.unc.edu/durhamvoice/dj-thrift-store-opens-on-necd-corner/

FUJIRAMA: X-Pro1 + XF 35mm 1.4 = Amazing Image Quality

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:25:09 +0000

So today I decided to bring my X-Pro 1 along with me on a job for my school newspaper. The job was to get a few shots of my school’s football practice. For sports I use my 7D mainly as it is quite quick to focus and to shoot off bursts. While the X-Pro1′s 35mm lens didnt have the reach of my 70-200 2.8 L, it bested my 7D in sharpness and image quality. The results were stunning. Unfortunately I can’t really show the team during practice. However I wanted to just explain that the results shocked and awed me.

Today I decided it was about time to post a few of the images that I have shot on and around campus and at home. I havent had too much time to shoot but when I do get a few spare minutes I make sure to use of my time productively!

35mm: 1/450 f4.0 ISO 800

35mm: 1/400 f2.0 ISO 200

35mm: 1/1700 f 2.8 ISO 200

35mm: 1/1000 f 4.0 ISO 200

35mm: 1/50 f 2.8 ISO 800

I also took a moment to test out the X-Pro1 with some Alienbees lights at a friends studio.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Lens Chatter and Shutter Sounds (Decibel Level Test)

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:33:07 +0000

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Durham, NC photographer, Chi “Cyclopedia” Brown.

(4/24/12: This problem was fixed with a firmware update. No more chatter in the lenses)

Just the other day my Fuji X-Pro1 arrived at my doorstep with an XF 35mm 1.4 lens. I had been anticipating its arrival for several months. After having months of discussion on several forums about the camera I finally see what all of the talk was about the lens chatter.

Some people seem to think that this chatter sound is a deal breaker. Many photographers who just recently purchased the XP1 have threatened to send the camera back if Fuji isn’t able to fix this in a firmware update.

The chatter sound comes from the aperture blades adjusting to allow for enough light to properly expose the view in the EVF and LCD. Without the chatter we can assume that the image on either the LCD or EVF screens would be too dark or too bright without these adjustments when light levels change. It’s much like how the iris of your eye changes in different lighting except a bit louder with clicks each time there is an adjustment being made.

It has also been suggested that, should Fuji decide to address the issue, it would be nice to have the LCD and EVF adjust using some sort of electronic gain similar to the way that auto ISO boosts the gain of a still image without any mechanical movements to cause chatter. Whether this is possible is a question only the Fuji engineers could answer.

At any rate. I decided to take my X-Pro 1 over to a friends recording studio in order to measure just how loud the chatter actually was. I did a quick and rough video of our process. It really is not conclusive and probably should have been done in a more controlled manner. However I feel that this gives a better understanding of how loud the chatter is and what sounds it compares to.

As you Can see, the X-Pro 1 and the XF 35mm 1.4 seem to be fairly low noise when it comes to chatter and shutter noise. At least less than 50dB. Yes, this test isn’t the best of tests, but it gets the point across.

The noise the X-Pro1 makes seems to be at least as noisy as my refriderator when it turns on and that is something I never pay attention to. I am not going to send a refriderator back to Sears with complaints that it is too loud. It is just something I have gotten used to. I feel that I will get used to the lens chatter as well. And perhaps if Fuji takes our suggestions I wont even have to do that.

Other items that register about 50dB on average:

Electric toothbrush
Quiet street
Air conditioner
Library

And by comparison:

Rustling leaves 20 dB
Quiet whisper (3 feet) 30 dB
Quiet home 40 dB
Normal conversation 60 dB
Inside car 70 dB

The Durham Voice: The Mayor’s Summer Youth Jobs Program

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:57:10 +0000

My second multimedia story for the Durham Voice. Used the 5DMKII for the video and the Zoom H4n for audio.

The Durham Voice: Black Humanist Billboard

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:24:14 +0000

Had a chance to shoot a short story for the Durham Voice recently. Came out decently. Still need to work out a few kinks in my framing. Used the 5DMKII for the video and the Zoom H4n for audio.

OFFICIAL LAUNCH! TODAY!

Chi "Cyclopedia" Brown — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:32:40 +0000

So to begin the new year off right I have decided to make today my OFFICIAL launch date for the CCM site. Yes, I know it has been up for about two months now, but I was still working out a few kinks here and there. SOme things will still need adjustments as time passes, however It is very much ready to show the world.

On this page i will be discussing all things media related as well as showing off a little of my own works in the field of media…

Be sure to add this site to your RSS feed to stay on top of things or Like us on facebook and keep up there!

Thanks!

Cyclopedia Brown