Hold The Eye Images

What to take on a Photo Safari in addition to rain gear?

In this podcast, I talk about what photo gear to pack and what bags to use on a Photo Safari. The joke of the podcast, I didn't mention rain gear. It can rain on you so pack light weight rain gear. The sun can be hot so head gear and something around your neck to keep you cool. I know, you will look like an old school TV jungle Jim or Jane but that's life. The other piece of gear is a "photo coat/vest" for carrying those small things or an extra lens.

I can't emphasize enough dust and the problems it can cause. Limiting any way you can the changing of lenses is important. BUT, not important enough to miss a shot for a clean sensor. Some things are important and some things are critical. APS sensor cameras help with telephoto lenses, so keep that in mind. 

Some people wear sandals but I recommend boots the entire time. Get a good light weight bird/animal book, study it before you go, pays off big time.

Finally keep a journal, think of 
Stanley or Livingston. I know I have forgotten something important, if you see it, just put in the comments section. Have a great time on your trip of a lifetime, stay safe, and become active in wildlife preservation. To listen to the podcast, click below, or in the right hand column of this blog. You can also find the blog in iTunes under Hold the Eye Images Podcasting.

What to take on a Photo Safari in addition to rain gear!

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.guragear.com/

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/

Todd-Pod

Wimberley Heads

Really Right Stuff

Images from a week away

Here are some of my images from the week I spent off the grid. This also means I didn't pick up a camera everyday, spent more time just hiking for hiking pleasure, exercising and eating right. Things I should do everyday(with a camera), but have trouble scheduling. There is some subject similarity with images from last year to the same location but this time with a different perspective. The area is magical for hiking with the old groves, wildlife, and isolation.

The lodging is Japanese style spartan but very comfortable, no phone, no TV. The rooms are built for sleeping, thinking and relaxation not distraction.

And those Koi(Coi), are wonderful to watch and photograph. I tried some different images this year. One I previously posted, but here are a couple of more. I used primarily the Fujifilm X100 for these images and a Leica M9 with a 90mm Summicron/2.0 occasionally. The X100 is quirky to use but when set, the images are terrific.

I could say a bunch about the people I met, the things I did, and what I learned but it had nothing directly to do with photography; however, it should have an impact. It did last year in patience, reflection, and focus. A timeout is as important for adults as children, we forget that for ourselves but enforce rigorously with our children. It works differently for us yet I find myself flying around doing all sorts of things and thinking I'm doing something. That is a myth, I know it but easily get in a denial mode. "Activity is not a substitute for progress, and only your mother cares how hard you try" is an old comment I made frequently in a prior life during performance assessments. It often applies to me as an adult without supervision. My week recalibrates and corrects this.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

May yours however extended be safe, secure, and at peace. The Zen of the ancient COI is always special.

Off the Grid

I'm away from everything this week back next week. A little R&R rejuvenation.

Expression Matters

There are a lot of things to manage when photographing someone. For me, expression matters most. We all grow up reading our parent's faces, so we detect anger, hostility, friendship, humor, warmth,...and the list goes on. We all have this skill and in photography expression trumps all for me. Certainly body language is important, but expression screams at me. The body positioning simply reinforces what is being said by the face. For example, here is a defensive expression, hostile, "don't tread on me" kind of look. Her knees up reinforce this "look".

Here is a "wanting" or "sad" expression, not hostile at all. In part the difference in the two is the angle of the head. Both are looking up, the first image is a head down, the second a head up. Granted these are extremes but illustrate the point.

Expression conveys beauty as in this image. A tilt of the head, pursing of the lips all give shape to the face, making the features attractive. In effect creating the "high cheek bones" for the camera.

In this image there is a similar tilt of the head, different use of the lips, a more playful but serious pose because the mouth is straight. And of course, a different camera angle which defines the ultimate look.

Every face is different and I like to explore the expressions, for story telling. If you get the wrong expression, nothing else works. It's the foundation of the image. If you are shooting outside of the studio with less time such as event or street photography, you are all alone in finding the right expression. If you don't have practice with your observation skills, it is a disadvantage. It is part of the training for the "mind's eye" that is so important in photography. It doesn't matter if it is landscape photography or studio portraits, vision is king.

UPDATE: The Day After

Photo by Paul Lalonde Stern

via theonlinephotographer.typepad.com

Interesting blog with some food for thought

Borrowlenses.com Responds!

I recently wrote a blog on the failure of Barrowlenses.com with a partner photographer Julie K.  Borrowlenses.com replied to my blog in the comments section immediatey. I was impressed with their timely response and forwarded the comment to Julie who, as requested, talked with Jules of Barrowlenses. Here is what she has to say:

"Bill, Thanks for blogging about the recent problem with Borrowlenses.  Your voice reached their accounts manager, whose quick and concerned follow-up with me reconfirms the 5-star rating this company has enjoyed.  The accounts manager reviewed with me in detail all points of process breakdown leading to non-delivery of my lens, which I believe are predominantly related to a recent migration of their website to a new technology and should be easy to correct quickly.  I have been given a $150 store credit towards my next lens rental and promise of another follow-up next weekto confirm process improvements are in place.  I am now willing to give this company another chance."

The message here is that Borrowlenses.com cares, about their customers and reputation. Thanks to Jules for taking the time to write and talk with Julie. If you need a lens you don't own or don't want to carry, check out Barrowlenses.com.

Merced Wildlife Refuge, a photographic treasure

I spent a couple of days at the Merced Wildlife Refuge. The purpose was to check out the Sandhill Crane which comes in the fall and stays through the winter. These birds are big, loud, colorful, and fly in large groups. They feed in fields during the day and spend the night in water to avoid predation. At dawn, they leave their nightly water refuge to feed in the fields. These movements are big events with up to thousands of birds moving  twice a day in mass. Merced is a smaller venue for the Sandhill at this time of year, and never approaches Bosque de Apache, in New Mexico but it has advantages. The fog at this time of year creates some landscape drama early in the morning just before dawn. Here are early morning landscapes from each morning.

The wildlife is readily accessible by way of a road, and the images are enough for any aspiring bird photographer. Here are some examples.

 

Now that's just driving around snapping away. But you ask what about the Sandhill Cranes? As I said this isn't Bosque de Apache, and I didn't get the ultimate shot of a Sandhill Crane in the moon, like a photog friend of mine, but they come to Merced in large numbers. Here are some images from Merced.

Yep, they like to dance, and often.

I didn't record the sound, which I should have. But they are not a quiet bird(s), sort of drown out all other sounds when they move in groups You will never forget them or their voice. And because they move in groups in the early morning, some potential images are always present.

And, you can make a few interesting images with this kind of light.

But in the final analysis, you have a camera, an imagination and a great place, so here are some of the things you can find without names.

And I have more, but I'll hold those for another day. I drove around several times each day, and all were a bit different. The one constant, the cows, and I like talking to cows. They respond, look at you, clearly try to understand, and have some bad habits. So my favorite photograph was my favorite cow. Let's say a touch of diversity.

He's no Sandhill Crane but he is cute! Special thanks to photographer Julie Kitzenberger for scouting and shooting with me.

 

 

 

Borrowlenses.com a Mistake

In preparing for a recent trip to photograph Sand Hill Cranes, I suggested to a fellow photographer she use Borrowlenses for big glass. She reserved a Canon 600mm lens, and stopped off this morning at a pick up location on the way to the shoot. Guess what no lens, no explanation. She called and sure enough they had the reservation just failed to ship. That doesn't work for me or anybody else who needs a lens. I have never used Borrowlenses.com but if this is this is how they do business, I won't use or recommend again.

Occupy Wall Street Part 2

The "99%" have a lot of interesting characters and stories. It takes a certain personality and set of circumstances to protest, but some of these protesters are not just protesting, they are actually living at the OWS locations. It is not like camping in Yosemite since it is a city scape, there are no woods to hide in, and normal hygiene can be a struggle. Interestingly enough, organization is a struggle also. Committees meet but overall structure at this point seems illusive. OWS is amoebic in that other organizations are attaching themselves to the effort. Labor Unions, Move On, and others have joined forces. The "campers" are literally the tip of the iceberg, and for any given issue or incident, a relatively small group could grow quickly into thousands. And to be sure, the "campers" are well aware of this as are the police and city officials. In my upcoming interview on Hold the Eye Images Podcasting, Black Crane talks about all of this as he discusses his views on OWS. Here is Black, cuddling a dog after the interview.

Black has a since of uban style, understands the situation he is in, and is laid back enough not to force problems or trouble. I don't know if he is unique but to a photographer, he is a gift.

This moment has invisible strength as illustrated on the second airing of Rock Center With Brian Williams. At the conclusion of his interview with best selling author on the financial meltdown(s), Michael Lewis, Brian asked him "what should we do?". Michael Lewis said "join Occupy Wall Street". The world is full of odd "bedfellows" but this may ultimately be the mother of them all.