This week has been alot of fun. Went out to look at the fall foliage. Today we took a drive up on the Blue ridge parkway from Buena Vista to Roanoke. Shot some of the photos you will see below. Also got an old 1960s Preheat fluorescent light at the habitat store in Buena Vista. Check out the photos and let me know what you think!
 As of today a new camera has come to elevaTOURS! That is right a Sony handycam! The same kind of camera I used for my first elevator videos back in 1993. This specific camera is amazing. It has a 30x zoom and an awesome steadyshot. I took some test videos today so make sure you check them out. This camera came from B&H photo at a cost of 478$ I really hope you enjoy the content that this amazing camera will bring to elevaTOURS. It was 18 years ago today. A little after lunch. I was sitting in my college dorm room. I called my father at work to ask a simple question. His secretary said he was on the way to the hospital and it was not good. I had a gut feeling I knew what was about to happen.. Mommy had been sick with stomach cancer she had had for years which was initially caused by Helicobacter Pyloribacteria bacteria.. I prayed however I knew it was inevetible. About an hour later my phone rang with the bad news. I heard my mom passed away and my Grandmother was holding her hand while she peacefully passed due to a blood infection she got from a feeding tube. Mommy, I STILL miss you and love you forever!
 I was out on the porch today and the UPS truck stopped at my house. This is what it brought! A brand new Sony Handycam HDR PJ430V! I have been shooting with the same camera for years, a PINK Sony Cybershot DSC-TX10 which has served me very well and still continues to work. The reason for the upgrade is for several reasons. 1. To bring YOU guys a better video product. While the TX10 takes good videos, it is nowhere near as good as this. This camera features advanced image stabilization called Balanced Optical Steadyshot. 2. To look more professional. How does it look going into a high end building with a PINK camera? 3 Better Low light performance. While the TX10 is not bad in low light, it is extremely grainy. Anyway this camera is my Christmas gift from Daddy this year. Yeah it is early but this camera is on closeout at B&H photo. So Daddy, if you read this! THANK YOU!! While getting a video of the elevator is fun, it is only half the game. If you are wanting to share an elevator, especially a historic one, you MUST get good photos. Watch the video below that Captainelevator42189 shot of me in action with my camera! Below that you will see the photos taken in that video. My buddy Jeff came up for the weekend. We had quite the nice weekend. For those of you that don't know Jeff, he has a youtube channel as well. Make sure you check it out. Jeff rode up on the smart way bus and got here Friday. On friday we did not do a whole lot. Just went to Wendy's for dinner. Saturday we went biking on the greenway and he got a tour of the elevaTOURS Museum! So make sure you tune into his channel for that! Saturday eve, he caught the bus back to Blacksburg.. He had a great time except for the fact that he lost his cell phone on the bus :( My absolute favorite videos to make in the whole world are those with my you my fans.. Last month, Daniel, an amazing young man from Raleigh NC came to visit me! He got to see the cute little bike, ride on some of Roanoke's elevators, and he got a tour of the elevaTOURS museum! Watch the video below to see his awesome adventure! Back in April of this year, John, whom I met in an elevator mechanics facebook group reached out to me and gave me an old CJ Anderson call station from a warehouse in Baltimore. Even before it was cleaned and reconditioned it was beautiful. I had started cleaning it a couple months ago and Tom from CJ Anderson offered to assist me. Well yesterday it came in and I was absolutely amazed when I opened up the box. Below are the before and after photos.  As part of my on going quest of promoting elevator safety and courtesy, elevator keys is a topic I get ALOT of questions about. Now I will address it.
I am sure you have seen youtube videos where enthusiasts have used keys and I know some of you own elevator keys. Yeah, it may seem cool to turn off a fan or get an elevator all to yourself. Let me say this, using keys unauthorized is NOT cool and may even be illegal depending on what you are doing. Did you know? Using a key with out permission to access a restricted floor or elevator is legally considered BREAKING AND ENTERING! Your key would be considered a burglary tool! That could get you into some serious trouble. ElevaTOURS stance on elevator keys is this: ABSOLUTELY NO unauthorized key use is acceptable. ElevaTOURS does NOT endorse or approve of ANY unauthorized key use, not limited to fan, light, independent service, fire service, or locked off floors. If you own elevator keys, the only place they belong is in your collection. The only acceptable use of such keys is in your own elevator or panel, or in an elevator where the owner or manager gives you permission to do so (he/she must supervise you as well). The one exception to this rule is inspection mode as this would require access to the hoistway and cartop, even on your own elevator or one you have permission to use keys in, this should not be done as an elevator hoistway or car top should NEVER be accessed by anyone besides a trained technician. If you are curious about different elevator operating modes, talk to an elevator technician or representative of an elevator company. He or she would probably be happy to show or explain to you the different elevator operating modes. ElevaTOURS is all about enjoying elevators however I can't stress enough: the ONLY way to enjoy an elevator is with SAFETY and COURTESY. We want our videos to show the world the right way to enjoy elevators. Keep riding those elevators safely and keep those cameras rolling. Oh yeah, Leave the keys at home. (Don't forget the car keys though :D) WELCOME to the elevaTOURS blog! HERE you will see exclusive updates on upcoming videos, filming trips, or just what is going on in general. This is my first post so I will tell you what is going on now :) right now im sitting at home sick with a flu working on editing my video about my awesome meet up with Daniel!! Also got a new kitty the other day. She is so cute :) I also replaced the lampholders on my F4T5 Preheat fluorescent fixture. The video is below..  |
