John Tedesco

Hard to believe Pete was born a year ago. At the hospital, Jen’s dad suggested we take a picture of him every day to make a time lapse video. Here’s the result.

I’m glad we took the time to do this because the video shows just how fast Pete is growing up. It’s also cool to see how Pete began smiling and interacting with the world.

If you want to do this kind of project, all you need is a camera, a tripod, video editing software, and the patience to stick with it. There’s no way you can take a picture every single day — you might be out of town, or the baby might be sick, or you might just simply forget. But I’d suggest taking a picture every day in the first few months at least. That’s when they really pack on the pounds. As you can see, it didn’t take long for Pete to become a cute little butterball.

Happy birthday, Pete.

“But he smells like ranch dressing …” Awesome jam and video by the Black Keys.

“Trash Day,” a hilarious video by Sam Lerma at KSAT, was featured on Vimeo this week. It’s the story of a woman’s obsession with her garbage man, based on an actual Craigslist ad, which says: “You are the hottest garbage man I have ever seen.”

It only gets better from there …

I snapped a picture every few seconds at my cousin John’s awesome wedding at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. Here’s a time lapse of more than 2,800 photos.

What is it about hurricanes that prompt TV reporters to broadcast live in the wind and rain? It’s like there’s an unwritten rule that they have to make a spectacle of themselves. Wouldn’t it be nice if reporters didn’t become the center of the story, and simply show us what was going on when Hurricane Alex made landfall?

Thankfully, this isn’t wishful thinking. Check out Express-News reporter Vianna Davila’s video showing the impact of Hurricane Alex in the Rio Grande Valley. Notice how this video is a mini-documentary — Vianna is simply an observer showing us the sights and sounds of a major storm.

I’m a big fan of these kinds of online videos, where the reporter is unobtrusively giving viewers a sense of place. For some stories, like a hurricane making landfall, the news article and the news video can compliment each other nicely.

I had a blast at my cousin’s wedding last weekend but getting to Chicago was an adventure. A massive storm hit O’Hare International Airport right before we landed. If we had tried landing a few minutes later we would have been diverted to Indianapolis. We ended up sitting in the plane on the tarmac because lightning strikes endangered ground crews. Crazy times.

OPERAPALOOZA!

A powerful story by Gilbert Garcia and video by Vianna Davila explore the rich history and slow decline of San Antonio’s East Side.

The video is different from your typical TV news broadcast. You don’t see Vianna talking into a microphone and interjecting herself into the scene. Instead, the video has a documentary-style feel to it. Vianna patiently let images and sound tell the story. Awesome.

Awesome video by Vianna Davila about a high-school band competition in Texas, where marching bands are a very big deal. I especially liked the close-ups showing the marchers’ fancy footwork.

Vianna Davila wrote this story about the 10th anniversary of a deadly ambush that killed two deputies and a state trooper in Atascosa County. But I thought her video was especially well done. Without sensationalizing the tragedy, it lays out what happened in a straightforward, sober tone, told in the words of a deputy who was there. Powerful stuff.