Lensbaby Panoramic

© nevada wier 2009  Rajasthan, India

I just received an email asking me about the above image that was in my recent show Outer India at the Verve Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. I was leading a National Geographic Expedition to Rajasthan last year (great fun!) and we were photographing on the Sam sand dunes outside of Jaisalmer. It was a beautiful evening and had the good fortune of meeting a caravan of travelers who were willing to spend some time with us on the sand dunes. I photographed wide, long, standing, lying down and then.. said “Lensbaby“! So I pulled out my Lensbaby Composer and starting photographing. I decided to try an panoramic. So I shot a series of images with the idea of merging them. I knew it would be tricky but I did find two images that were clicked seconds apart that worked perfectly when stitched together (I used the miraculous Photomerge in Photoshop CS5). As I have written before, I choose not to crop or change any content in my images, so these are two intact images stitched together. Pretty cool! Otherwise there is no way to create this kind of double selective focus. I could have achieved this with a tilt-shift lens but I find the Lensbaby works best in motion situations. I love it when what I see is a catalyst for a creative image.

I’m leading another National Geographic Expedition to Rajasthan this fall. If your interested in this year or next you can get more information at NationalGeographic.com

Returning Home With Your Camera Gear & U.S. Customs

I’m thrilled that Flying with Fish (a mighty fine blog) wrote this blog post for me! I just say “Ditto”! No reason to get all in a panic about Form 4457 (and I have been getting way too many emails about this!)

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/2010/08/05/returning-home-with-your-camera-gear-u-s-customs/

I have only been asked once in 30 years for one of these forms and that was over 20 years ago when I was returning from Morocco with Lisl Dennis. I was her assistant for an Architectural Digest story and she had cases of camera gear. The official stared at all the cases and then pointed to my camera bag and asked for the certified list. I thought Lisl’s jaw was going to boink the floor when produced one (she didn’t have any).

I haven’t bothered with this form since then though.

On another note — last year a bored customs official in New Delhi open a Pelican case, that was crammed with extra wires, charges, flashes, etc., that I had stowed in a checked suitcase. He officiously informed me that I need permits for those wires. I was dumbfounded and resolutely insisted that I didn’t. I obviously was not giving in to his thinly veiled extortion and he finally let me go. I discovered that the suitcase had a white chalked X on it, which alerts customs to look inside. So now I keep a Wet-One in my pocket and when I see that chalked X (at least three times now in India and Myanmar) — I just discreetly wipe it away. Works like a charm!

And also,  I have been hearing that carry-on is being weighed for inter-Asia flights with Emirates and other airlines so check before you fly with a new airline.

Those 10 things I knew, or wished I knew, before becoming a professional photographer

Last month I taught two workshops, Creativity and Travel Photography, for the Santa Fe Workshops. I love teaching (and working as a Mentor also), although I don’t have time to teach more than two or three a year. I had two remarkable groups and they inspired me as much as, I hope, I inspired them. You can see their final shows here and here (week 2).

At the end of the first week one of the members of the class handed me a piece of paper with two questions and asked if I would answer them. They were brilliant, although I remember fumbling through the answers. However yesterday, just hours before I was leaving for a flight to Sri Lanka, I found the paper on my desk. Since the luggage was loaded in my car; I decided to think about my answers a bit more coherently. I got most of the way through them, then it was off to the airport. Now I’m on the 15 hour flight from LA to Bangkok, (then to Colombo) and am finishing the post.

What are 10 Things you are glad that you knew when you decided to become a professional travel photographer? So, in no particular order, here they are:

1. Because of my experience as a river guide, rock climber and Outward Bound instructor I learned the difference between perceived risk and actual risk. A very valuable distinction to have when one is traveling in foreign countries.
2. Also because of my previous experience as a guide and instructor, I knew not to projection my thoughts, feelings, or interpretations on anyone else. I learned that there is no way to really know what someone is thinking, unless you ask or give them space to answer, verbally or non-verbally. Presume nothing; expect everything.
3. I knew that I had some great traits for a traveler: I can handle alcohol; I can sleep anywhere; I have an “iron stomach”; I have a bad sense of smell; and I remain very calm in times of stress or uncertainty. All very useful for the solo traveler
4. It was very clear that I was “born to roam”. I didn’t care about getting married and having a family; I just wanted to travel. And, I was passionate about photography.
5. I knew that there is no such thing as luck. Luck is everywhere; it is just a matter of taking advantage of it.
6. I am glad that I had brilliant teachers who taught me to think creativity and write coherently. I am also glad I learned how to type.
7. I am glad I began photographing with black and white film and taught myself the fundamentals of working in a darkroom.
8. I am also glad I used fixed focal length lenses and was forced to move to fill a frame.
9. Although I was not a painter, I admired and studied artists from historic to contemporary. I understood the power of color, and why the color wheel was important in art.
10. I knew that it was never going to be an easy field in which to make a living. And, that it was best to keep my overhead very low.

What are 10 Things you wish you had known when you decided to become a professional travel photographer? Again, in no particular order, but notice that most have to do with business:

1. That photography is 80% about business, not photography. I really should have hung out with MBA students and not river guides and rock climbers (for potential boyfriends).
2. Just about everything that had to do with photography since I am self-taught—which means that the teacher knew very little.
3. It took me awhile to figure out that it was useless to try and photograph what I saw, since slide film can only render about four stops of contrast range, while my eyes could see about 16 stops. Really, I was just using reality to express my perception of it.
4. That there is a difference between marketing and business and you have to be great at both.
5. That many clients do not understand that photographers need to make a decent living also (especially non-profit organizations) and are always asking for free images. And, that it was never a good idea to give into these requests without some kind of compensation.
6. That one should buy a house young to build up credit and equity. Invest in yourself but also in other ways.
7. Those credit cards are essential, but evil.
8. That I should never have carried such heavy cameras bags or pack packs.
9. That computers would eventually rule my life (well, maybe it good that I didn’t know that actually)
10. That no matter how recognized I would become in photography, the phone would never ring on its own. I would have to hustle and reinvent myself all the time.

And now you ask…

What would I like to know now? How to clone myself since I have to keep hustling!

Outer India Opening at the Verve Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, NM

Friday, July 9th was the premier of my new show OUTER INDIA. Twenty-eight images from a work-in-progress on the lesser-known tribal regions of India is at the  Verve Gallery of Photography in  Santa Fe, NM July 9 – August 29th, 2010. Over 400 people attended the opening!!  And some of my wonderful friends came from out of town. I am so thrilled. Excelsior!

Singh-Ray filters… the best.. and I only need three

Check out this post I wrote for the Singh-Ray blog!

http://singhray.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-narrowest-trails-in-most-faraway.html

“Traveling the back roads and narrow trails of Asia, Africa and South America for hours at a time to reach the world’s most remote tribal areas and cultures gives National Geographic photographerNevada Wier plenty of time to think about the gear she takes with her… what stuff is important and what might not be. “Believe me, my filters are important. In particular three kinds of Singh-Ray filters go with me everywhere. There’s a Hi-Lux filter on each of my lenses, and I also carry a 77mm LB Warming Polarizer and a 77mm Vari-ND filter. Each one of these filters is essential and fits neatly in my camera bag that I have to carry around all day.

“I keep a Hi-Lux UV filter on each lens because I want the best possible glass between my lens and the world. I photograph in extreme elemental conditions — rain, snow, fog, hot days, cold nights… you name it. I’ve learned the importance of protecting my valuable lenses. However, I do not want a filter that degrades my image quality so I always go with the Hi-Lux.

To read the rest go to … http://singhray.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-narrowest-trails-in-most-faraway.html

Enjoy!

Summer Lightroom 3 Workshops…at a city near you!

Lightroom 3 is finally out! I am proud to be one of the four experts for Lightroom Workshops 2-day Intensive Workshops that are being offered nation-wide — perhaps in your hometown (or nearby).

Adobe Lightroom allows users to download, organize, manage, develop, and present digital photography using their own laptops. It is considered essential for today’s digital photography workflow.

Lightroom Workshops are led by Jerry Courvoisier, digital maven extraordinaire; George Jardine, one of the original Adobe Lightroom team members; Michael Clark, internationally published extreme sports and outdoor photographer; and Nevada Wier, award-winning photographer specializing in documenting the remote corners and cultures of the globe.

You can see a full list of the cities at www.lightroomworkshops.com (see the jump for a Summer Special)

I will be teaching the weekend workshops (more may be added):

Aug. 7 – 8         Santa Barbara, CA

Sept 18 – 19     Boulder, CO

Founder Jerry Courvoisier, “My colleagues and I offer the best value and most information in this field: a serious 2-day hands-on workshop for just $395. Our workshops offer an experiential, personalized, interactive approach to learning. Participants bring their laptops with the current version of Lightroom 3 installed and we dig in straight away with practical applications for the software and workflow time-saving tips. We like to say, ‘You’ll learn by doing, then walk away knowing.’ This approach is essential to personalizing your own digital workflow.”

© nevada wier         India. Northeast. Nagaland.

The Painful, yet important, Editing Process

Chattisgarh. India 2009

I’m back in blogging mode. I looked at the comments people made in my poll “I would like you write more about…” and it is time to answer your questions. The overwhelming category in which you are most interested is Creative Photography. I’m thrilled about that because creativity is the heart and soul of photography. It is not enough to just aim the camera at a spectacular subject and click the shutter; anyone can do that. You have reach in and grab the essential moment in a personal and creative way. So I’m going to continue to address this over the summer months.

Also, in the comments section, a number of you asked me to write about The Editing Process. I think learning how to edit your images goes hand-in-hand with being a a Virtuoso of Seeing. Recently I was having a critique session with a photographer whose photographic method mostly meant aiming the camera at an interesting subject, then cropping it into an interesting photograph during editing, and then saturating the heck out of it! I was amazed (and horrified to be honest) at this process. It seemed bass-ackwards to me. If you have taken a workshop with me you know that I’m all about “Get it all in the frame and get it right”. Since I evolved from world of slide film and picky editors, I learned very early on that I had to have it perfect in that slender piece of celluloid–no cropping and no changing of content (of course that wasn’t possible in the pre-Photoshop era).

During my travels I have absolutely no desire to document everything in front of me. I am wandering about enjoying myself waiting for that spark of synchronicity with a subject (whether it be animate or inanimate). When I find a subject that touches me then it up to me to interpret it creativity and honestly. Sometimes it is just one click of the shutter, but other times there is time to work it. Usually I am looking for not just one interpretation, but many. Many, many, many if I can. If it is a great subject, then keep evaluating and sensing and thinking until the moment is over, or the person is gone, or it just feels over.

I want to come home and look through a lot of good images and find A Great One.

Creativity in Travel Workshop: July 18 – 24 in Santa Fe, NM

The July 11- 17, 2010 Creativity in Travel workshop offered by the Santa Fe Workshops filled up so quickly that we decided to offer another one the following week: July 18 – 24 in glorious Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I have been meaning to put up this notice for months now but… life has been wonderfully busy. I know it is almost full but if you are interested here is the link

http://www.santafeworkshops.com/workshops/

Santa Fe is my hometown so you get a chance to go to some of my favorite places and visit my home and the famous “Grayroom”.

I hope you can make it!

National Geographic Seminar CREATIVITY WITH LIGHT in Seattle, WA May 16

I will presenting a seminar CREATIVITY WITH LIGHT with Dan Westergren (Editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine) on May 16th in Seattle, Washington. If you live in the area I hope you can come!

Creativity With Light

Have you ever anticipated getting to a beautiful location you want to photograph only to arrive and find yourself thinking, “The light’s not right, now what?”  Whether it’s a once in a lifetime vacation to a remote location or an important magazine assignment, you know you have to get the picture.  Join National Geographic Traveler senior photo editor Dan Westergren and world-renowned travel photographer, Nevada Wier as they demonstrate how to find great light and what to do when it’s “not quite right”.

Back in the USA

I’m home after 2 months of traveling in Bhutan and N.E. India. It’s time to reve up the posts especially since I was listed in Photography Colleges Top 100 Travel photography blogs http://www.photography-colleges.org/top-100-travel-photography-blogs/. I shall endeavor to deserve it.

Give a few days to unpack, go through mail, eat popcorn, drink wine, and enjoy the Santa Fe spring.