Well, I never thought I would be able to keep shooting videos for both of my blogs but it’s getting easier the more of them I do. As you may have noticed, I have been steadily getting better (at least I think so) with my production values. Not to mention that since adding video to my blogs, the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has shot thru the roof.

The videos are still shaky but only because I’m hand holding as I shoot. I’m on the lookout for a way to mount my phone to a gorilla pod.

As you can see, I’ve added graphics (Logos and closing “credits”). I have also been experimenting with ways to improve the color, contrast, etc… The more I do, the easier and faster it gets. Baby steps

So far my videos aren’t getting a lot of hits. Which is good, cause right now, they are still kinda goofy. I’m sure as I do more, the quality will get better and better.

Still there is an old saying amoung photographers, “It is better to show No work, then Bad work”
But if you wait till everything is perfect, You will never ship anything

Recent activity at vrbuzard.com
Budget for Photography
Getting a Product Photography Quote
Happy World Intellectual Property Day

This will a quick post. I wanted to talk about Google Earth. From time to time I need to scout out locations for photo assignments. In the past

Acutal Google Earth shot of the location I recoded the video from

I would have to either Hhire someone or spend hour after hour looking for the ideal spot to work. Now, I will do a search using Google Maps, find the area I will be working, then switch to Google Earth to near down great locatons.

I still do an onsite check but using Google Earth helps narrow down my search quickly

See, I said it would be quick

Recent Posts at VrBuzard.com
Woulda v Coulda
Getting a Product Photography Quote

 I’m a big fan of endurance sports. I love to go cycling. I love to go running. Like most folks when doing these activities, you want an easy way to track your progress and thanks to smart phones it is now super easy. Over the past couple of years I’ve looked for a way, not only to measure my runs/rides but for a way to keep a history to track my progress.

For a while I used SportyPal, and liked it. Then they started releasing “updates” that made the app crash over and over again. I decided then to look for a replacement. I looked at Starva and MapMyRide. These were all fine apps/websites but for me the winner is Endomondo . Endomond tracks not only Running and Cycling but 50 activities. One of which is swimming. Which, I will start using just as soon as I can find a way to take my smart phone into Lake Michigan with me. The app uses your phones GPS to track mileage, time and speed.  I find it to be more accurate then the Nike+ I used to use.

Endomondo also allows friends to track and support each other via their web site. If you join, please feel free to send me a Friend Request. Also Endomondo is integrated into FaceBook so you can sign up using your FaceBook account. You can also post your activities on your timeline. The app also lets you tweet your activities on Twitter.  There are also monthly challenges for prizes.

The app comes in a free version, with ads as well as a Pro version. I liked it so much I bought the app. The interface is done right, easy to get started. The GPS locks in faster the other apps I tested. Fast upload to the web. The app also works with the Polar Bluetooth Heart rate monitor ($80 at the Endomondo store). Oh did I mention, Endo sells gear at their web site as well.

Well, that’s it for now, I gotta get some miles onto these legs.

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I’m not a fan of “Diets”. Personally I feel that if you need to lose weight, get healthier, you need to change your lifestyle. You will need to eat healthier and be more active. You know the commercials that say “Get the body you deserve”. Trust me, you right now, have the body you deserve.  Unless you have a diagnosed medical issue why you can’t get into shape (which by the way, there are scripts to help), diets will not help. You cannot change what you eat for a few weeks and expect to become slim and trim and stay that way. I know, been there, done that.

That being said, I do think there is merit in following the Paleo Diet. Paleo means to eat the way your body was built to eat. The way our ancestors ate thousands of years ago and that our bodies have not evolved to eat what we eat every day.

I don’t mean to get preachy. This is my humble opinion. I am not a doctor but when I follow this way of eating (as close as I can) I do feel better. In fact, I had no idea how bad I had been feeling till I started feeling better. It was like turning on a switch and the world was instantly in High Definition

With that in mind, I would like to recommend two books “The Origin Diet” by Elizabeth Somer and “The Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain. Now of these two books I feel that “The Origin Diet” is the better written book. It’s also out of print but you can still find copies via Amazon and Half.com. “The Paleo Diet” is available for eReaders.

I thought this might be a good time for me to give a bio of my life on the bike.

It really all began the same as it does for millions of kids across the country. Waking up Christmas morning to find a brand new bicycle under the tree. For me it was a Sears, 5-speed with banana seat, ape hanger handle bars and a T-shifter on the cross bar. After that, I followed in the same steps as most kids. I had a paper route (Chicago Tribune). I would ride everywhere. I leasrned how to care for my bike. Later I would graduate to a Sears 10-speed. You have to remember, this was the early 70′s, before companies like Trek existed. Schwinn was the most popular brand of bike I had ever heard of back then.

Anyway, when I got that 10-speed, that’s when I started wanting to ride faster and faster. It was also about the time of the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. That was when I saw Bicyle racing for the first time. I was instanly awed by how fast these guys could ride. I was also amazed that there were no Americans in any of the races. My goal, then and there was to change that, I would one day ride in the olympic games (Don’t forget, I was just a kid and had no idea what would be involved). Back in those days (pre-internet, heck, pre-Windows, pre-PC, pre-Mac) I had no knowledge of bike racing and I never saw any hints of any races in the area or anywhere. So, all I could do was ride farther and faster on my own. Then came 1980. I had heard that the USA Olympic tryouts were being held in Colorado and I started looking into getting out there. Shortly after that, it was announced that the US would be boycotting the Moscow games due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (Ironic, isn’t it?). I can’t say I was devistated, I was just a kid after all, doubted I would have made the team (heck, I didn’t even know if they had a team)

After that, I went to college, then entered the workforce. Life was more about paying the bills then riding the bike. I still rode, just not as much.

Fast forward to 2003, I heard that Versus (now NBC Sports Network) actually had daily coverage of the Tour de France. Up till then, US television only nade brief mention of something called the Tour de France and only if an American was winning. So in July 2003 for the first time, I got to actully watch LIVE coverage of the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong. WOW! I was hooked again.

It wouldn’t be till a few years later that I discovered the local bike racing scene (you never find something till you look for it).

One of the things I loved most about watching bike racing was the beauty of the peleton. I knew then I wanted to combine the two things I loved, Cycling and Photography.

Don’t forget my other sites. My photography business blog vrbuzard.com my online gallery voncommercialphotographer.com as well as my new Fine Art web site cyc-lust.com

Welcome to my newest web site. This site will be dedicated to two of my favorite things, Cycling and Photography.

Well better late than never. On Agust 5th, 6th and 7th I was photographing the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove Village, the richest 3-day, 3-stage men’s pro cycling purse in the world! The racing was awesome. The weather was… except for the last day (RAIN), near perfect.

 All of my photos from the Pro Men and Pro Women races can be found here

Last Sunday was the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure (Which I photographed the first half)

I really like this Behind the Scenes video by photographer Bryce Boyer not just for the quality of his work but that it shows how much work was done just to get that ONE cover shot. Too many times these days folks seem to think that all we do is push a button

Bicycling Magazine June Cover