Mentorships … and tripods

The Santa Fe Workshops recently started offering mentorships with a select group of professional photographers. It is a brilliant concept, for photographers who want to work in depth or have a consultation with a particular professional photographer. (Check it out http://www.santafeworkshops.com/mentorships/).

I recently had a one-hour conversation with Deigh Bates (http://deighlight.wordpress.com/) about his photography. I thought I was an interesting choice for him as a Mentor since he is primarily a landscape photographer and I am primarily a people photographer. But he was looking for a different perspective outside the nature crowd. And, I certainly have a different perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and it got me thinking about a number of topics.

One of which is … tripods. I rarely use a tripod, except when it is absolutely necessary.

Nature photographers tend to gasp when I say that they use the tripod too much or that depth of field is not that important. Tripods are limiting and people tend to get stuck photographing from whatever height and angle in which they set it up. I find that people do not experiment with creative angles, such laying on the ground and shooting upwards, or getting up higher than their tripod can reach, or experimenting with different tilts of the camera. I find that people just get stuck in “shoulds” when that tripod is set up.

And, one of those “shoulds” is that most everything should be in-focus. This “should” extends far beyond nature photography. It appears to be primarily a concern for western-culture photographers. I am not exactly sure where it comes from since the early photography is quite dreamy; I think it has to do with the advent of instantmatic cameras like the Brownie (I would love to have your thoughts on this). Of course, not all nature photography is f/16 and beyond; plenty of photographers experiment with “selective” focus but primarily with flowers and details and water. And, there are some spectacular nature photographers like William Neill http://www.williamneill.com/ and Eddie Soloway http://www.eddiesoloway.com/, who push their imagery into new directions. I just would like to see more emerging nature photographers let go of conventional moorings and experiment A LOT. Goggle “bokeh” and start photographing what you imagine, not just what you see.

I will have more to say about my conversation with Deigh in future posts because I think he has an extraordinarily open mind. And, he photographs almost every day in his environs (that beats my commitment to photography!). His dedication and photography are exemplatory! I applaud him.

A final word about tripods: Yes, I rarely use a tripod; however, I know intimately that it is not enough to up the ISO on the camera (a digital photography crutch); sometimes I REALLY need the tripod to avoid camera shake and occasionally for a particular depth-of-field that I cannot get handholding the image… just like I used to shoot with film. 95% hand-held, and 5% tripod.

© nevada wier 2009 Rajasthan, India

Getting Ready for Mongolia

I am leaving for Mongolia next week to lead a photo tour. Of course, I am looking forward it, but at the moment PACKING is the challenge. There will be a wide range of temperatures, challenges with lack of electricity, and small planes with severe weight limitation.

I do not skimp on my camera equipment; I take my full camera bag (a Lowepro Orion AW) hoisting a Canon 1Ds MarkIII with a 15mm, 28mm f/1.8, 24-105mm, 100-400, and my favorite a 16 -35mm f/2.8. (my full equipment list is listed on my website if you are interested), along with a 580 EX II flash, wireless transmitter, Gepe card case, a Singh-Ray polarizer and a Singh-Ray Vari-ND, a couple of Lumi-Quest flash diffuser and bounce accessories, and other sundry items. Yes, it all fits. Very dense at about 25lbs. I am also bringing a Canon 5D that I converted to InfraRed and a 1Ds Mark II as a back up.

Of course I have the battery chargers, extra camera batteries, extra cords, etc. I won’t list all the accessories here. But, I have seen almost everything go wrong in the field so I am prepared.

The next decision was how to back up my images in the field. I have decided not to take a laptop on the tour (I will leave it behind in Ulan Bator in a locked left luggage, well protected in a hard case.) Instead I am taking two Hyperdrive Colorspace O digital wallets — thanks to the advice of Jim Elferdink, author of a number of those Missing Manuals that are essential in my world

Jim suggested: “To save money I bought just the case from Hyperdrive and then bought a 320 GB drive from OWC for about $120. It’s not hard to install the drive and format it.”

He was right it was a cinch to plop the Hitachi drives in the Colorspace O cases (they even give you a screw driver). So now I have two 320GB digital wallets that cost A LOT less than an Epson.

The rest of the stuff is easy to pack .. it is always the camera gear that is thought provoking.

PS: I am not much of a tripod user but I am taking a Gitzo Traveler Tripod 6x Carbon G1550T. It is not the sturdies tripod, but I do not use large lenses and it is the perfect tripod for conserving space and weight.

Add Sound to Travels

I recently purchased a digital sound recorder to so I can begin making podcasts and webinars, add sound to audio visual programs, and who-knows-what else. My buddy, George Jardine, helped me research different models and proclaimed the Edirol R-09 a winner.

I brought it with me on my recent trip to N.E. India. The hard part was remembering to use it; the easy part was actually using it. At one point we came across a group of boys hunting ghosts (really, they were) with bows and arrows. They were walking down the road winging arrows into the trees singing a wild song. I tucked the recorder in my belt and continued taking photos. The sound is fabulous. (I will add a short piece here shortly.) I’m a convert.

The R-09 from Edirol/Roland is an ultra-compact portable recorder that captures outstanding-sounding audio. The owners of this device usually give praise to its simple-to-navigate operation via the cool-looking display, and to the sound quality of its built-in stereo condenser mics. It features a reverb effect to sweeten the sound, a switch to use a mono or stereo external mic, a low cut filter, and an auto gain switch to use for evening sound levels (live voices at a meeting). The R-09 is also available in white and red.

I bought mine at B&H Photo Video in NY. www.bhphotovideo.com (my favorite online store for equipment)