Timelapse Slider

Ive been working on a slider for a few months now. At first is was just for video and it worked ok, last week I made a few modification to allow shooting motion timelapse. I ran the first field test yesterday and it looks promising.

Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park

We had a great trip last weekend to the pacific Rim National Park near Tofino. We took the ferry to the Island early saturday morning and arrived at our campsite near long beach by 11am which gave us the whole day to get out and do some hikes. I was testing out my new film camera which turned out to work great. There are some really incredible landscapes around the park, my favourite would have to be the bog. Ill let the pictures and videos say the rest.

Bowen Island Mt Gardner Hike

This past weekend Jeanette, Taylor, Robin, Nicci and I, went over to Bowen island to hike to the summit of mt. Gardner. We set out early in the morning on Saturday and left the car at the Horseshoe bay ferry terminal walking on the 9am ferry to Bowen Island, from there we hiked to the mountain trail head. The trails we took to the summit were well marked and we only strayed a couple times. The last stretch was straight up and I really had to push my legs to keep going.  I, being weighed down by camera equipment and tripod, took up my spot in the back as the slowest like usual. I took my time taking photos of lichens, moss, and other small things of the forest. The lichens always get better the higher you go. As the trees get small the lichens get bigger.

We reached the summit around 1-2pm. Taylor was there almost an hour ahead of us! I was definitely out of shape from the long winter, two days later and I am so sore I can barely manage going up or down stairs. Hopefully this has gotten me in shape so that the next hike doesn't leave me in pain. It definitely wasn't a really hard hike but after not hiking very much all winter it felt really hard.

From the summit you can see all the way to Vancouver looking south east. To the south west we saw the gulf islands and Vancouver Island. It wasn't a very clear day because we couldn't see Mt. Baker. The weather was great all day, perfect temperature for hiking. The hike down went pretty fast and we were back on the ferry around 6pm.

Vancouver from the summit

Belcarra Park

First hike of the spring through Belcarra Regional Park. Not a bad trail, more up and down than we expected but that just reminded us how much we need the exersice for the coming summer. Brighter days ahead, much to do, lots to see. After spring comes summer!

Through the Winter

The winter in Vancouver has been great! The weather here is so mild compared to Ottawa and everything stays green right through the winter. I spent most of my days of wandering the trails in the parks on the edge of the city. Pacific Spirit Park, Lynn Canyon, Lighthouse Park. Winter has been good but Im glad spring is almost here. I cant wait for the summer, so many things to do. Lots of camping and hiking, hoping to get out and see some more of this amazing part of the world. I just finished a short film, most of the shots are collected from my winter wanderings in the beautiful parks.


Filmed around Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Cinematography: Marty Mellway
Music: Bowspirit by Balmorhea
Narration: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Read by Tom O'Bedlam

Plans to head back on the road. To Bali, Indonesia

So its official, plane ticket in hand. One way flight to Bali, Indonesia on August 28th, 2012. I am returning to my second home to work on what I hope will be my first full length film. I also hope to do some short documentaries and maybe even a host a photography holiday/tour. I have decided to return to Bali because it is one of the places that really captivated me in my travels throughout asia. Though I have already spent many months there on different occasions I feel like there is still so much that I have not experienced there. It is an incredible place which I lack the words to describe being so far away, maybe when I return I will have a better chance of capturing some of its magic in film and photography, the only mediums through which I can comfortably express what I see and feel. Here are some photos from my last short stay there in 2010. This time I hope to stay for a much longer period of time, six months or maybe more.

The Olympic Peninsula

Robin, Nici and I spent three days in the rain hiking the beautiful rugged coast line of the Olympic peninsula. The coast there is such an incredibly beautiful place at this time of year (December -January). It feels so deserted and desolate on the windswept coast and there are very few people willing to put up with the cold wind and constant rains.

A short film of our trip.

We also visited the Hoh Rainforest, a land of mist and moss. There we saw salmon spawning in a stream and a herd of elk. Seeing elk in a setting like that made me feel as though I had entered a fantasy world. The rainforest there is a magical place, it felt as though we were in a Hayao Miyazaki film like Princess Mononoke.

Robin took some video and time lapses on his Minolta XL-601 super 8 film camera which will likely turn out amazing. Cant wait to see that.

Robins vimeo vimeo.com/user8015407

My photos of the trip are on Flickr flickr.com/photos/mmellway/

Shot on Canon 60D, 50mm, 18-200mm

The Winter Solstice

Paper Lantern made by Nici

On Wednesday Robin, Nici and I went to the Winter Solstice celebration. They have a lantern procession from Vanier park to Granville Island held annually here in Vancouver. Its really amazing to celebrate such an ancient event which has such a real and visible significance in the natural world. Our ancestors and animals still today are surely more in touch with the natural reality of life and understand the importance of the return of the sun. Robin said as we were walking "This event being grounded in the real world has so much more significance than a holiday like Christmas which has been so corrupted by capitalism and consumerism" and I agree. The Native American drumming and dancing was definitely the highlight of the evening for me. Like many others I have always been fascinated with Native American culture and have rarely had the opportunity to witness it in real life. Which is a shame because it is such a rich and important culture with much to teach us modern city folk who have forgot how to live on this earth.

Celebrating this festival has awoken in me a realization that we are so out of touch with this earth that we live on. We are so spiritually and mentally detached from the earth, from each other and therefore from ourselves. We no longer know seasons, we no longer plant anything, we are detached from the reality that we rely on to survive. We don't see our place amongst all the other species on earth, we think we are different but we are not. I don't have all the answers as to how we can even begin to rebuild our connection with the earth with reality but I hope humankind is destined to retrace its history and rediscover that which is most important. Life in balance with the earth, if we are to survive on it, we must understand it and live according to its rules.

Here is the video I shot that night

The Winter Solstice, December 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Granville Island.


Organised by the SECRET LANTERN SOCIETY
 ( http://secretlantern.org/ )

Videography/Photography by Marty Mellway

Narration by Floyd Red Crow Westerman from Native American Prophecy

Music: Happiness by Jonsi and Alex

**Special thanks to Rob and Nici for inviting me

The Call of the Wild

I just recently finished a short film of my travels on the west coast this fall. I have to thank Robin and Nici for taking me with them all over the west coast and making my life here so amazing! Without them this video wouldn't be possible. I recently re-read the call of the wild and so I decided to use some of the quotes from it. The video is mostly slow motion shots and time lapses from many places along the coast from British Columbia down to Washington and Oregon. I wanted to capture the longing I feel to leave the city and get out and see the amazing things in nature. I am so inspired by nature and being in it. I hope to continue doing similar projects in the future.

The coast of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.



Narration from The Call of the Wild by Jack London



Music: Still Allright by pg.lost

West Coast Adventures

Robin Got some great shots.
 check out his blog to see them

 So I have been back in Canada for a few months and have been spending the fall travelling around Vancouver and when lucky going on trips. My brother has a car which makes getting out of the city a lot easier and makes hard to get to places more of an option. So I have seeing a lot of amazing places this fall. The First trip we took was to Mt. Baker in Washington In early September. Me Jeanette Rob and Nici all went down to Washington for the day and trekked a pretty long circuit through the mountain and valleys near Mount Baker.

I really love this glacier.

Nicci and Jea. Mount Baker in the distance.

In late September the four of us took another trip down to the Olympic national Park in Washington. We camped for a few days and did some hiking in the mountains. From the top of the ridge we could see the olympic mountains looking south, looking north we could see victoria across the water and looking east Mt. Baker was clearly visible.

Clear Skies of Olympic National Park.

Robin Getting a view from the top

Most of my free time in October has been spent wandering the beaches and forests on the edge of Vancouver which is as far as I can go on my days off. I have been getting used to my new Camera (Canon 60d) and have been out taking photos with my friend James, who is also a great photographer and has a great photography blog.

 I am currently working on a video project for these west coast adventures but my time is limited because of work so it might be a while. Here are some photos from the last month around Vancouver.

Took this shot while I was out doing time lapses the other day near UBC. The time lapse of this is Awesome. 

Museum of Anthropology UBC

Lighthouse Park

Lighthouse Park

Lighthouse Park

Lighthouse Park

Old growth in Lighthouse Park

India/Nepal Trip Has Come To an End

So my trip has ended, I was gone for about 9 months in the end, which is a long enough trip for me in India, atleast for the first time. India is a land of extremes and it tested me in many ways. My time spent on the road there taught me a few things, things about life and the world and things about myself. Its difficult for me to put it into words and explain in detail everything that happened as i am still absorbing everything. So much experience in so little time is a shock to the mind, it will take me some time to really be able to sum up such an amazing experience. Or perhaps I will never be able to sum it up in which case it will remain a mystery which might be better. After all India is a land of ancient traditions and mystery above all else and its secrets are not easily uncovered though they do exist in everyday life all around us everyday.
You can see photos from the trip here 

Remembering India. A short film about my travels in south india.


We spent most of last year travelling through India and Nepal, Definetly a journey I will never forget

List of places in the Video
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Meenakshi Amman temple, Om beach, Mangalore, Madurai backwaters of Kerala, Kanyakumari, Alapuzzha(Alleppey), Johdpur,  Hampi, the great Thar desert (rajastan).

Music: They Move On Tracks of Never-ending Light by This Will Destroy You

I shot this earlier this year in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. An incredible place, so full of culture. The Meenakshi Amman Temple is an historic Hindu temple located in the holy city of Madurai in India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva - who is known here as Sundareswarar or Beautiful Lord- and his consort, Parvati who is known as Meenakshi. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai.

Spiti Valley, India

 The Spiti Valley was beyond all expectations. The Spiti valley is located in the North eastern part of the Indian State Himachel Pradesh.It is a desert on the roof of the world,a shangri-La of legend, cut off from the outside world by soaring himalayas and deadly mountain passes. A land where fifteen years ago no foreigner was permitted to enter. Close to the politically sensitive India/Tibet border the Spiti valley has been a restricted area since the forming of India. To this day all vistors must apply for a permit to enter in the mountain village of Rekong Peo, a small town surrounded by tall mountains in the Kinnaur valley which you must go through in order to enter the Spiti valley.

When I traveled to the Spiti valley I was in the company of Jeanette and Philine, Jeanette and I were on our big India Nepal trip and we met Philine in Manali who decided she would also like to try to make the trip to the Spiti valley. We met in Shimla, the old summer British capital back in the times of Indias colonization by the British. After meeting in Shimla we took a bus early in the morning the next day and headed for rekong Peo in the Kinnaur Valley, a 12 hour bus ride on treacherous moutain roads. Most of the roads were cut directly out of the cliff face. We stayed in Rekong Peo for a day to get our permit to enter the valley.

 The Next day back on the bus, only this time no seats were open which made the ride a lot more uncomfortable. Sitting in the aisle on a mountain is ok for the first couple hours, after ten its hell. The road from Rekong Peo to Kaza, the hidustan-tibet highway, is well known as one of the most dangerous roads in the Himalayas, which is saying something. I thought the mountain roads through the Kinnaur valley were treacherous, if they were trecherous then I have no words to describe how insane these roads were. Rock cliffs falling hundreds of meters into freezing Himalayan rapids, giant hills of scree, landslides, falling boulders, washed out sections. Before we had even reached the Valley it felt like we were on an adventure.

When we finally arrived in the Valley it was another 2-3 hours on the bus to the Main village of Kaza. Kaza isnt a big village but its a great place to meet people and get information about the valley. We found a place to stay in the village for about 2 dollars a night which was pretty decent. We stayed in Kaza a couple of days just to help ourselves aclimatize and then we headed for the village of Kibber which is the highest all year round inhabited village in the world. It was here on the third day of being in the valley we really started to feel the altitude sickness. Bad headaches, dehydration, weakness, lack of appetite. Luckily none of us had a very serious case of altitude sickness and it didnt slow us down too much. I felt its effects mostly in the evening. After a night in Kibber we started the trek back towards Kaza which we planned to cover in 2 days. We stayed over night at the ancient Key Monestary, an incredible tibetan buddhist monestary that is perched high on the side of the mountain next to the Valley. The Place was built more than a thousand years ago and housed ancient paintings and sacred religious texts brought over from tibet over the last thousand years.