AGA Convention Videos are now available!

[Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>]

OK, I'll try my best to make this not sound like too much of an ad.  But
the culmination of 3 months of major work and over a year of patience has
finally paid off.  I have gotten the green light from both the AGA board
and all the relevant speakers... videos of the two AGA conventions are now
available.  I've been trying to get the approval finalized as quickly as
possible because of the huge interest in aquascaping that has built up
over the last 6 months.

Specific details:  The 2000 Convention features talks by Neil Frank, Paul
Krombholz, David Lass (lighting), Charlene Nash on Public Aquarium Planted
Displays, and Karen Randall (plus the entire AGA membership in attendence)
on Plant Nutrition, as well as a 10-minute featurette I did on the
behind-the-scenes tour and auction.

The 2001 Convention includes Wim van Drongelen speaking on the Dutch
aquascaping style (!), Greg Morin of Seachem on what Seachem products can
do for the planted aquarium, Tom Barr on basics, Todd Stailey on
professional aquarium photography, myself limping through a list of
winners of the AGA Aquascaping contest, and Nozomi Hayakawa doing the same
for the ADA Layout contest.  There's also a panel-audience question and
answer session.  Oh, and there's also some guy from Japan named Amano 
doing a couple of presentations. :)

When I got home from the 2001 convention, I was really impressed by all
the information presented, and I endevoured to put a tape together that
could be used by other hobbyists, maybe even at some local club meetings.  
Amano's aquascaping workshop in particular, inspired me to completely tear 
apart my tank and replant.  Not necessarily to emulate his style, but 
because I finally learned how to plant foreground plants from watching him 
work!

When I haven't been downstairs tweezing in new plants, I have done a lot
of editing on the 2001 video.  (Both years, by the way, have great miking
on the speakers; I am always very fussy about miking the speakers
directly.)  Four of 2001 the talks were done on PowerPoint slides, and
have the higher-quality "original"  slides digitally inserted into the
video instead of shots of the screen.  Various pauses for accidental
backwards slides and such have been removed.  In Amano's talk, I have
overlayed Tomoko Schum's excellent translation directly over Amano's
Japanese in many places.  The creme de la creme, however, is the
aquascaping workshop, which features all the above AND
not-quite-professional cutting between three different cameras.

OK, nuff babble.  Cost is $30 for each video, both for $50.  It is only
available to AGA members (Amano stipulated this part, and I'll be
checking!).  Checks payable to Aquatic Gardeners Association.  Send to me,
Erik Olson, 306 NW 82nd Street, Seattle WA 98117.  e-mail me first if
you're not in North America.  Please allow a lot of time for delivery, as
they're 6-hour tapes and I'm duping them myself.

  - Erik

PS: I'll probably have this information copied to the AGA website in the 
next few days.

-- 
Erik Olson
erik at thekrib dot com


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