In the past few years I have been sitting on the sidelines watching as DSLR manufacturers have been incorporating HD video in the set of features they offer. There have been entire feature films (albeit independent ones) made on these cameras and even some televisions shows. The advantage of these cameras is that one can use all one one’s existing DSLR lens and get almost a cinematic quality using them.

Now, ideally, having become used to the sweetness of a full-frame sensor, I would like to have the Canon 5D MkII, but at $2500, that was not going to happen. I was setting my sights on the brand new Canon Rebel T3i with an articulating screen, but then yesterday a deal on its predecessor, with almost identical image capabilities, showed up that I could not ignore. And, so, it begins.

I realized the usefulness of an articulating screen on my very first “shoot,” as I set my tripod on some very soupy ground to shoot ducks at their level and could not really check the focus without lying down, which I was not going to do. So, as I do not have an articulating screen, It is going to have to be an articulating Neil.

Also, it is rather strange to be beginner again, when I have made some strides with the still image. There is much to learn both technically and artistically, but hopefully my artistic vision displayed in this blog will continue in the new format. There have been times when I have been shooting stills before when either movement or sound have transfixed me. It is those moments that I hope to capture. And, if a picture presents a thousand words, a moving picture can potentially present millions (as well as actual words too), so there may be whole new directions to explore.

Finally, by way of introduction, in honor of Gerard Manley Hopkins, two of whose poems have been a touchstone for much of my work, this will be the title of my official site when it gets up and running. The Dassler Effect? Neil E. Das? Pied Beauty Photography? What gives? Hopefully, it’ll all work out when the dust settles. And here, at long last, is my simple first crack video. Eventually these will be in HD, with hopefully better music (or no music at all), but one does what one can.