Last year I had a one day trip to Miami that turned into an overnight trip. This was the morning flight back to DC. I’m not 100% sure why they took the bags off the plane as my own bags have been on flights without me. We missed our take off and had to wait for another place in line.

I didn’t edit this video for time because I wanted to viewer to be as annoyed as I was.

MP4 Version

MP4 Version

Rules: 60 seconds max. Fixed camera. No audio. No zoom. No edit. No effects.

I broke the time rule but this video required it.

Browse other Lumiere’s at videoblogging.info/lumiere

Video from Santo Domingo and Playa Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic.

MP4 Version

Song Playa Amador by Duane Carter Band provided by Podsafe Music Network.

Disclaimer: This music is likely not Dominican but I thought it went well with the video.

We receive instruction on how to roll Dominican cigars.

MP4 Version

MP4 Version

Note: The MP4 version is huge but if you have the bandwidth it would be worthwhile to watch that version. The Flash video is full of artifacts.

On Thanksgiving morning, I stopped by the BF’s parents in Dale City (not Woodbridge), Virginia. Then I was off to Smithfield, Virginia to pickup my grandmother and then to my mother’s house in Chesapeake. If I had gone straight to Chesapeake, this video would be nothing but interstate. The fastest way to Smithfield from anywhere north, however, is to take Route 460 from I-95 in Petersburg and then Route 620 in Ivor. It’s much a much more relaxing and scenic drive. Also, I love the old Victorian houses in downtown Smithfield. A few of them also appear on my Flickr.

You might recognize the Utter(z) that I made on Thanksgiving morning at the beginning of the video. The song “Going Home” by Tim George was provided by the PodSafe Music Network.

MP4 Version

Lumiere video arises from the tradition of the French Lumiere brothers. Credited with some of the first footage captured, in 1895, the Lumieres are also recognized for holding the first public film screening, showing ten shorts that lasted only twenty minutes total.

For me Lumiere videos are like moving snapshots. Since there is no sound the viewer is compelled to watch the screen to know what is happening. Because the videos are one minute each, they tell a story and give much more information than a still photo alone.

Rules: 60 seconds max. Fixed camera. No audio. No zoom. No edit. No effects.

Browse other Lumiere’s at videoblogging.info/lumiere

Tags: lumiere lumierevideo seattle space needle

MP4 Version

Rules: 60 seconds max. Fixed camera. No audio. No zoom. No edit. No effects.

Browse other Lumiere’s at videoblogging.info/lumiere

In a taxi en route to O’Hare.

MP4 Version

Rules: 60 seconds max. Fixed camera. No audio. No zoom. No edit. No effects.

Browse other Lumiere’s at videoblogging.info/lumiere

This was done in my Chicago hotel room.

MP4 Version

Rules: 60 seconds max. Fixed camera. No audio. No zoom. No edit. No effects.

Browse other Lumiere’s at videoblogging.info/lumiere

Video from the Seattle Aquarium. The woman in the tank has a cool job (or at least it seems cool).

MP4 Version

I think I am obsessed with video’ing water (and fish) although most of those videos don’t show up here.

I’m on a mini-vacation right now. In honor of that I decided to post this video from my last vacation in June.

WMV Version

During our trip to Vegas, we went to the Grand Canyon West which is a new attraction opened by the Hualapai Nation in an effort to get tourism dollars to help their ailing economy. It includes the glass Sky Walk hanging over the canyon. The site is still under construction but the Sky Walk is finished.

Getting to this location was crazy. We turned down some road in Arizona and had to look out for a dirt and gravel road that would lead us to the reservation. The rental car was slipping all over the place as the road was hilly and bumpy. Driving behind any other car was difficult because the dust cloud was thick and we couldn’t see where we were going.Getting back was crazy too because Hoover Dam was closed and we were 40 miles from Vegas when we were told that we had to go back 60 miles in the opposite direction to take a detour through Laughlin, Nevada. The detour was at least 160 miles total.

This was my first attempt at being in front of the camera although the Sofa Cushion vs. Car video got posted first. My favorite part of the video is driving into the sunset on the bumpy dirt road at the end.

I like this video but I don’t like certain spots in it. I was not able to fix the audio. I attempted but decided that since I no longer have that camera that it didn’t matter. Also, the video is about 16 minutes long but the audio is only crappy in certain spots.

It’s been two months since our trip to Vegas and Grand Canyon West. I’m upset that I haven’t finished my Grand Canyon video. I haven’t had the time to fix the audio but I do hope to get it up soon. In the meantime, I give you the Bellagio Fountains.

MP4 Version

Song “Impromptu for Six Pianos” by Ash Verjee from the PodShow Podsafe Music Network.

If you have read an earlier blog post, you know that this was originally planned for my birthday but was canceled due to wind. I started to get scared when I saw the wicker basket that we would be riding in. Actually I started to get scared when we had to sign the waiver releasing them from responsibility for all harm and death that could potentially occur but the basket made me more nervous. I was amazed at the process of inflating the balloon with two giant fans. When Donny, the pilot, fired up the gas burner the first time I was really scared. The flames were like six feet tall. At any rate, taking off was easy; I didn’t even really feel that we were lifting up. The flight was great we just followed the wind. Donny would adjust the altitude to get the winds blowing in the direction he wanted. We were really high for a while, then came down to touch some tree tops. All the animals (cows, dogs, turkeys, goats, rabbits) hated the balloon and we sent them scattering or caused them to make a lot of noise. We could hear them all really clearly in the air. For the landing we came in over a pond. I have photos of the reflection. We had to climb out of the basket but continue to hold on to it so it wouldn’t float away. Then we tipped the basket over with Donny still in it and helped with the deflation process. Awesome experience.

WMV Version

And check out the photos:

I went to New York for New Year’s Eve for the first time. I have seen how crowded it was from the comfort of my living room on many occasions but still wanted to go. After working in Times Square for 2 months almost a year ago, I decided that I didn’t want to be there for New Year’s Eve. Times Square has entirely too many people on a normal day. But because I could watch it from the comfort of my company’s office, I thought I’d give it a try anyway. I mean, even though it’s sort of corny, who can say that they have actually seen the ball drop?

Bird’s Eye View of New Years Eve in Times Square

View on YouTube

There are several background voices. The concert and countdown sounds were being streamed over the internet with about a 15 second delay from what we were seeing out the window.