Melinda writes about the videos we’ve made of our travels:
This year I bought a real camera. Not the newest version of the iPhone, but a real camera – one with a base and the ability to change lenses depending on the photographic circumstance. One that allows me adjust the focus and light and shutter speed. It also also has a video function. I love my Sony A-6300. I have had so much fun using it.
Marilyn shoe shopping in Seville
At the same time I was learning to use my camera, Russell was putting the finishing touches on his first novel, Murder for Me and preparing for its publication. He launched a website (russelllittleauthor.com) and began blogging and publicizing his book. The protagonist in the book is named Marilyn and a model representing Marilyn is on the cover of the book. One of his favorite publicity tricks is to take pictures of the book at various locations and he posts pictures of it saying Marilyn is participating in various activities like shoe shopping. It has been a fun social media tool for him.
Making Videos
Somehow we had the idea that it might be fun to start vlogging too. For those who have not heard the term, it means to blog via video. It started after Russell created a youtube channel. We decided we might be able to make his video posts more interesting if we put a little thought into it. Our first attempts only included him in the front of the camera and me behind directing, but eventually it became a full team effort where we both film and talk. We are total amateurs. We struggle with stabilizing shots, too much light, not enough light, bad transitions, etc., but we are having fun and we are producing a product that is way better than your average home movie – at least in our opinion.
We shot a ton of footage on our vacation last month. I am still pulling together all the clips. I will post the short movies as I get them finished. We call our travel videos “A Little Journey”. Attached is our latest, A Little Journey – Morocco, made about Tangier. We only spent 24 hours there, but as you will see we loved it.
Besides breathtaking scenery, the small boutique hotel we stayed in was our absolute, hands down favorite for the entire vacation and one of our favorites of all time. La Tangerina, a bed and breakfast, was recommended to us and it had great reviews on trip advisor. It is a small house near the Kasbah that has been lovingly restored to perfection. It overlooks the ocean. The couple who own the hotel are delightful. In the atmosphere they’ve created felt like we stepped back in time. I kept waiting from Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman to walk in.