I've been playing around and practicing with the drone the past few weeks, I'm loving the results I'm getting from this thing!

Check it out Here!

-Garrett

"Even if you're on the right path, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rodgers

Stay true.

"Just because we cannot do everything for everyone, does not mean that we should do nothing for anyone"

-Bill Clinton 

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

Took the drone out for a spin to get some footage of the 

Amazing sunset we had in Seattle tonight!

"Don't mix between my personality and my attitude, because my personality is me, and my attitude depends on you"

The feeling one gets from standing only mere feet from these incredible creatures is beyond words, the way they move, the way they interpret you from close up compared to at a distance totally changes. Your surroundings seem to freeze in time, everything slows down just enough for you to get your shot.

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 6.3

Exposure Time: 1/100th

Focal Length: 160MM

ISO: 100

Time: 4:39PM (Golden Hour)

"Winter Colors"

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 13

Exposure Time: 1/40

Focal Length: 80MM

ISO: 100

Time: 12:56 PM

"It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas"

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 20

Exposure Time: 3.2 Seconds

Focal Length: 18 MM

ISO: 100

Time: 5:37 PM

5 Tips that will change your "dream Big" life for the better.

Tips from Mark Cuban

The advice in this article is invaluable, even if you're not a dreamer or don't know what your dreams are yet, this article is like the skeleton key to the life you've always wanted.

"Subtle tides"

So it's been a while since my last post, I've been busy Busy BUSY!

I've been on quite a few film sets these past few months, I've had the chance to snap a few photos this past week, and have gotten a new toy!

Lets start off with my lovely new addition to the (toy) family.

I picked up a brand spanking new DJI Phantom 2, with the H3-3D gimbal and GoPro Hero 4 Black!

Lots of fancy tech talk, basically it's a small remote controlled helicopter that will carry the camera and allow me to get aerial footage and pictures from places I can't normally reach hahah.

This was a picture I snapped just above my house after a winter rainstorm last week.

Lets move onto my second topic now, Pictures!

Yep, it's black and white, I love black and white! 

"The most colorful thing in the world is black and white, it contains all the color in the world and at the same time excludes all"

-Vikrmn

Haystack Rock Cannon Beach Oregon

"Subtle Tides"

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 22

Exposure Time: 2 seconds

Focal Length: 18mm

ISO: 100

Time: 3:55PM

110K likes and growing!

I had the pleasure of working on the pilot episode of Animal House this month and I can't even begin to explain what an unforgettably great time I've had on and off set.

Amazing Crew and incredible Hosts.

Looking forward to what's in store for the future with this project.

https://www.facebook.com/AnimalHouseglp

Seeing as I'll be gone for the next 10 days on a film shoot, I figured it only seemed right for a blog post before I say Good Day, tip my hat to you and walk off into the setting sun.

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn"

-Elizabeth Lawrence

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

Focal Length: 170

Exposure Time: 1/1,000

ISO: 100

Time: 10:36AM

I'll be back near the end of October with more pictures and word of my travels!

Until then, Take care and good photos.

-Garrett

It was definitely one of the longer weeks of the year, it started out with the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project Friday evening, we filmed until 3PM Saturday then I rushed home to get some more work done for future projects and ended up passing out at about 1AM Sunday morning. Get about 6 hours of sleep head out to church and get a few more things done after that, then edit some photos for you guys and relax until Monday.

*Photo on set from Saturday*

Last year we filmed the 48 on the USS Turner Joy battleship (Turns out it's haunted...)

For next year I have bigger and even better plans, I might even be directing it.

**PHOTOS**

Here are the last of the photos from Red Mountain, I have a few more summit's planned this year and a few special ones if the conditions are right.

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

Focal Length: 20

Exposure Time: 1/25

ISO: 100

Time: 11:03 AM

Editing: Enhanced Color

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

Focal Length: 32

Exposure Time: 30 seconds

ISO: 100

Time: 1:20 PM

Editing: Enhanced Color

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

Focal Length: 20

Exposure Time: 1/13

ISO: 100

Time: 10:56 AM

Editing: Enhanced Color

I'm still in the process of finishing the tutorials section of this blog so stay tuned! Awesome stuff in store.

Enjoy the rest of your night!

-Garrett

"Ice Giant"

Another shot from my hike on Red Mountain earlier this week. This particular image was taken from the summit of the mountain facing Mt. Rainier.

The summit was a small rock at the top of the mountain that fit around 2 people comfortably with sheer cliffs on every side, so setting up the tripod and configuring the camera made for only a few solid photos at the top.

I packed a little heavy this trip and my shoulders are killing me for it now, but no pain no gain, move forward and we will only get better and stronger.

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 18

Exposure time: 1/40

Focal Length: 100

ISO: 100

Time: 11:01 AM

Elevation: 5894 FT

There are still a few more shots left from this trip stuck in the editing room waiting for me, and I'll get to those soon enough. I'll be working on a 48 hour film project this weekend so keep an eye out for those photos later next week!

All the best

-Garrett

"Fall is here!"

I was on a film shoot Saturday so I hiked "Red Mountain" Sunday and got some really cool shots up there!

We departed at 6AM and summited at 11:30AM

The hike was easy but the 1000FT cliff scramble at the top was a bit uneasy...

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

Focal Length: 18

F-Number: 18

Exposure Time: 30 Seconds

ISO: 100

ND Filter: 8 stops

Here's the very first shot from the trip, I'll be uploading more as they come out of editing!

"Clouds come rolling into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset"

– Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

It was a night so full of color but so clear at the same time, the clouds were rolling out and the color slowly fading away into the dawning night sky.

A moment I'll remember for a long time.

"Distant Storms"

*Granite peak hike*

The hike to the top of Granite Peak in WA state was a long and enduring one, but well worth the effort from what I could see at the summit...

Fall is here, and now is the perfect time to start planning a hike!

Estimated at 1000 Ft. elevation per mile, the 10 mile round trip hike was one of the more challenging ones backpacking all my camera gear to the top.

(Especially if I forgot to pack water and food...)

The view from the top is amazing, a dense grass land, spread out tree's here and there, with amazing fall colors and mountain ranges as far as the eye can see.

I'm planning a backpacking trip to the summit to practice my hand at more Astro-photography soon.

We started the hike a little late in the day so we only spent around 20 minutes at the top before we had to head back down while there was still some sun left in the sky.

Regardless there was definitely a godly presence up there, and I could of easily spent all day in such a place.

Perfect timing

The timing for this hike was amazingly perfect, fall colors all around and a sunny day in the mix of rainy days in the week, with just a touch of clouds in the sky.

This hike was one of my favorites so far.

What's Next

Next on my list of fall hikes is Mailbox Peak, with the infamous mailbox at the summit.

The 4th of October looks to be the set date for this hike and the next nice weekend in store for Seattle!

Lets make sure I pack a little smarter this time...

"It's not the time it takes to take the takes that takes the time, but the time it takes between the takes that takes the time"

-Unknown

"Setting Tides"

One of the last photos of the 5th day, perfect sunset and birds that sat still for my long exposure.

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 8

Exposure Time: 30 Seconds

Focal Length: 28

ISO: 100

Time: 8:10 PM

Golden Hour: 7:52PM

Photo by Garrett Devin Meyers

Sunrise photography on the beach.

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise"

More like stay out all night then up all morning for sunrise photos...

The sunrise was amazing, but I can't say the same for my Astro-photography beforehand...

I left for the beach at 2:30AM, upon arrival I set up my tripod in the spot I had planned for earlier.

About 3-4 hours later I released the shutter and stopped the star trail image, everything was perfect.

Up until I checked the files on my computer...

To my demise I noticed one big flaw in the photos, I forgot to focus.

Yes, the single most important thing and the hardest to forget.

The star trail photos were unusable, but the sunrise was well worth it, I'll head out another morning to capture the milky way again, and I'll focus this time!

**Fall is here**

Prepare for some colorful photography coming soon!

I'll be heading up to the mountains soon for a good aerial view of the changing world below, I'll keep everyone updated as the events unfold.

It happened guys, Weeping Willow just passed One Hundred Thousand views!

A huge thank you to everyone who's helped us get this far, I'm excited to see which milestone we hit next!

"Reflections"

I was heading up to the house after spending all night on the beach getting photos of the sunset. Right as I reach the wooden staircase up from the beach, I see the little bit of light behind the rock, reflecting into the tide pools on the beach blending together seamlessly.

I stop to setup my tripod and snap a quick photo, which then turns into tons of experimenting and so on. At this point it's now pitch black and I'm heading up from the beach alone followed a little family of raccoons that were trailing me most of the day.

I'm glad I took the few seconds to stop and look at the beauty behind me, It turned into something quite spectacular.

Camera: Canon EOS 60D

F-Number: 3.5

Exposure Time: 25 seconds

Focal Length: 20

ISO: 100

Time: 8:37PM

Photo by

Garrett  Devin Meyers

"Silent Waters"

This shot was taken on day 5 of my time in Oregon, you couldn't see the sun setting but the colors in the sky were amazing.

For this image I used a Canon EOS 60D with the following settings:

F-Number: 18

Exposure Time: 30 seconds

Focal Length: 28mm

ISO: 100

Time: 7:39PM  (Golden Hour)

This image is one of my personal favorites, it really captures what it was actually like being there. From the misty tides and sunset, to the hundreds of Starfish and wildlife encompassing the area.

Photo by

Garrett Devin Meyers

I had some fun with the sunset last night, 20 minutes of 10 second exposures to create a painted look in the sky.

Focal Length: 24

F-Number: 25

Exposure Time: 10 seconds ( Multiple pictures)

ISO: 100

Time: 8:05PM

After I brought all the pictures into Photoshop I simply left my first picture as a base, then set all photos above to "Lighter Color".  That takes all the darks away and only leaves the light colors which in turn creates the movement in the sky.

"Fearlessly Flawless"

Focal Length: 60

F-number: 22

Exposure time: 15

ISO: 100

Time: 6:25PM

Canon EOS 60D

The power of the ND filter is amazing, the illusion of time going by adds so much to every capture.

Photo by: Garrett Devin Meyers 

The sunset in Seattle tonight was amazing, I just sat and stared for 20 minutes while the sun slowly sunk behind the mountain range and the light rays slowly vanished into the warm nights light.

Nights like this are the ones to remember, to cherish. This is why I live in Washington. 

   

I received an amazing opportunity tonight to meet Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Artists Steve Fossen (Co-Founder and Bass Guitar Player), and Ann Wilson (Co-Founder and Lead Vocalist), in the band Heart.

I'm currently working on an upcoming TV show, while writing my feature film.

But I do have some cool camera tutorials and new techniques coming up in the future, stay tuned.

~ Garrett

Filming, SO MUCH FILMING!

I've been knee deep in films for the past few months I haven't even had time to blog!

Lots of indie shorts and the possibility of a Huge feature this summer! Did someone say Carter Jenkins. . . hint hint wink wink.

Here's a cool quote I found that I loved so much I had to share it with all of you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue,
there's no joy in merely doing things which any one can do.
But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take,
when you reach a destination that you never thought you'd make. 

-Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lots of filming and blogging in the near future, I'll keep you posted!

~Garrett

The new trailer for Weeping Willow is out! 

I've been a little inactive with the posts but I've been REALLY busy! Working with Freefly systems, Black magic cinema cameras and NAB.

MORE TO COME!

And that's a picture wrap for Weeping Willow!
I'm grateful for being able to work as First AD and Associate Producer on this film, amazing talented Cast and Crew and such an awesome screenplay!

I can't wait to share the finished product with you all, until then, onto the next project!

Well after a long recovery from the snow, people getting sick, and getting everything back in working order. I'm pleased to announce that production is about to begin again on Weeping Willow!

Stay Tuned!

Yea, so we got a day off due to a snow storm over night on our recent film 'Weeping Willow'.......
So we decided to have a little "fun"

SFX vs. VFX

So as some of you may know, I love some good, compelling visual effects.

If executed properly visual effects can be what either makes or breaks your film, granted you can't forget about the story......or else people will start calling it a "Michael Bay" film...

No offense to Michael Bay, personally I love the Transformers series, they really give you the feeling of an alienated world, unlike anything we're used to in our day to day lives.....at least not in mine...

All joking aside, visual effects can add that one element you're missing to top off your next Grammy award winning film.

Take the Oscar nominated film Gravity for example. The piece was downright outstanding!
Great story, amazing cast, experienced director and mind boggling visual effects.

Sure they could of filmed the entire thing, using a spaceship replica and spray painted windows in downtown Los Angeles.....but the visual effects just took it 10 times further. Creating an entirely new environment for the story to develop and mature, allowing more creative freedom for the director to work with.
Ultimately bringing you the best film of the year.

For the enthusiasts here's a link to the VFX breakdown for Gravity. thank you Prime Focus for your amazing work on this beautiful film.

Anyone looking into getting involved with visual effects, or just want to have some fun should definitely check out Blender. It's a free 3D software for creating games and movies.
Having started out with this software I can highly recommend it for any beginner or enthusiast out there.

Another film that relies heavily on perfect concise VFX is The Hobbit.
Not only do visual effects make up 70% of the entire film, but without it, the film would be full of green and blue backgrounds and men in track suits.
Completely removing any and all Goblins, trolls, elves, scenery and decreasing the overall quality of the film.

Don't get me wrong, there are times where heavy VFX is not needed...
Audiences like to see in camera special effects more than visual effects more than half of the time.

Visual effects used to mean something different, now a days everything is done on computers.
There's nothing special, just a bunch of cubes shaped into robots running around shooting stuff.

CGI can offer amazing things for your film's success rate, but we should never forget our roots, what got us here and what makes us different.
More people will appreciate your film and acknowledge the work that went into it if you use Special effects whenever possible, it's more fun as well!

Special and visual effects are powerful elements, be smart, and only apply them when needed and you'll do great.

So get out there and start filming with your friends, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!
It'll only help in the long run.

Getting into the Film Industry, and sticking to it.

Film - One of the single most important aspects in my life, apart from Family, Internet and a roof over my head......Film is what keeps me going.

I worked on my first film set when I was 16, Horsepower the movie, starting as the grunt of the group. I was given the tasks of either watching the gear, going on water runs, or various other missions. I soon became more and more interested with every little detail of how everything came together, from the call sheets to DIT, DIT is where the Digital Imaging Technician downloads, copies, and safely stores all the media from the shoot itself, onto a various amount of hard drives.

Horsepower the movie is now in Pre Production, AKA the editing room, awaiting the final cut then off to be released!
I'm so proud of everyone involved with this project, not only are they saving innocent animals from slaughter houses all around the country, but we're setting an example and enlightening those who were left in the dark on this touching matter.

I'm truly excited to see this thing finished and show it off to everyone out there!

The second film, but my first set, took place in April of last year. I was able to maneuver my way onto the crew through a few guys I knew, later to become some really good friends and great people to know.
My job was to follow the Gaffer around all day and do anything he needed, this job's called a Grip. We set up C-stands (Essentially a standard stand for a light), Dolly's, Jib-cranes, Huge silks to even out the lighting on set. The whole thing was just an amazing experience that I'll never forget.
I ended up doing Graphic Design for the film later on, Furthering my work experience and creating 5 really cool posters for the film.

Frink screened later that year at a Theatre in downtown Seattle, Seeing my posters lining the walls was just a surreal feeling, One that I hope everyone can experience just once.

After Frink, I jumped straight into another film called The Arborlight, this film's set in the mid 1700's, and makes you ask the question, how far will a father go to protect the life of his daughter?

The Arborlight was a four day camp out, three of which days rained immensely, so much in fact that we had to actually Sweep the puddles off the gutters, to prevent flooding into the house!
I worked as a P.A. (Production Assistant) on this film, basically I did whatever was needed when it was needed. I.E. grabbing waters for the cast, helping build the sets, take the talent to Make-up etc...

A good friend of mine Sam Nuttman, who was the Cinematographer on Horsepower the Movie, actually brought two of the only four existing Movi rigs to the set for us to use!
The Movi rig basically stabilizes the camera, allowing you to run, jump, even pass the camera off to another camera man during a take!
Here's some BTS we caught during the shoot.
The Movi rig was later pronounced "Genius" by JJ Abrams and Alfonso Cuarón.

A few months after The Arborlight, I got on my biggest film to date......
"Tainted"
An upcoming TV pilot, currently in Pre Production at Warner Brothers Studios.
I was Second Second AD on this set, basically this means I was the third Assistant Director. An AD runs the set, we keep track of everything, we plan the shoot, make the schedule, set up testings for the equipment, set up production meetings to further the film, etc... etc... etc......
On set the First AD, controls the time, If you ever have a question on set, you Always go to the First AD, they'll know the answer, plus you won't disturb the Director while he's doing the most unimaginable thing possible........Directing the movie, making every little aspect perfect, with the big picture in mind.

Last November I finally received the chance to Produce and First AD my own film!
It was an entry into Moga's film contest, everyone was competing for a RED Scarlet and $25,000,
Lets just say.....we all had fun and leave it at that.
If nothing else it was good experience.

Just a few weeks ago I had the honor of working with Josh Rossi, top 10'th photographer in the world.
We made a composite together, and I'm excited to say I may be working with him again soon!

I'm now 18, a full fledged US citizen.....Scary right?
Hungry for more films and anything closely related.

I look forward to the shoot I have planned coming up next week, and I'll make sure to share it with all of you!
It's gonna be my first time controlling a crew of 30......but hey, it's my passion so what could possibly go wrong?

All in all 2013 was a pretty good year, So come on 2014, lets see what you have in store for me...