New Site

I have a new site, and I decided to name it something extremely original - benhammersley.net

The Goodtimes will stay live, however the new site has become my primary blog/internet-hangout-place. So if you're not too pissed about me moving or naming a site after myself then I might see you over there.

People of Perth

People of Perth from Benny Goodtimes on Vimeo.

Inspired by Philip Bloom's 'People Series' I shot this film during an evening spent in Perth City.
Special thanks to Richard, Charles and Kai for helping me out on the night.

Music:
Band of Horses 'The Great Salt Lake'
Buy on iTunes: http://bit.ly/a1ycqC

Equipment used:
Canon 550D
50mm 1.8
Zacuto Z-Finder Jr.

Experience Trumps Theory

I found this article by Scott Belsky, the author of Making Ideas Happen, very helpful. I felt it reinforced my ideas of experience based learning as opposed to theory based learning. I found the section on leadership development to be very interesting:

"[...] The model suggests that, when it comes to training leaders, only 10% happens in a classroom through formal instruction, 20% is all about feedback exchange and coaching, and a whopping 70% is experiential. [...]"

Obviously, that element of theory based learning will scale depending on the particular field of work in question.

Until next time!

Ira Glass on Storytelling

Now, Ira Glass, if you haven't heard of him, is the presenter of the popular Chicago-based radio show This American Life. I've been downloading the weekly podcasts from T.A.L. (This American Life) since I first heard about the show in 2009.

Recently, I stumbled across a website that contained a four-part interview with Ira Glass talking about the art of storytelling. I wanted to share these videos as they also comment on the creative process and the journey every creative must endure so they themselves can produce work of the same quality, if not better than, the work that has inspired them for years.

Tea in a Tree

There was tea to be had, and it was to be had in a tree...

The Perth Storm

The Perth Storm from Benny Goodtimes on Vimeo.
It was March 22nd, 2010 when this storm hit little ol' Perth. These were the images I captured during the events of the storm. Everyone in Perth had a different experience that day, and this film tells of mine.

Music: Piano/Soprano Saxophone by Bass Communion

Timelapses, Panoramas and Me

Over the past few weeks I've been busy editing the footage I've shot with my 550D. It's taken longer than I'd planned, but that's largely due to my underestimates regarding the time involved required to create a short film that's actually worth watching. The internet and my (not so) good friend procrastination have not helped me stay on schedule. So now I've dedicated a secondary computer just for checking emails and surfing the internet which has helped me stay focused on my editing that takes place on my primary machine.

Over the last few weeks I've taken some more timelapses. The thing I love about timelapses is that they allow you to capture a long period of time that can be played back in a short amount of time. You get to see all the things that aren't able to be perceived while they take place at their natural speed. But when these things are sped up you can see all of the changes that take place over hours and hours, during only a few minutes - it's great!