Africa - The Last Eden on Earth

Of all the places I have perceived as perfect in the eyes of a nature photographer, nothing prepared me for the African experience. It was a vortex of landscapes, animals and cultural encounters. Nowhere else on earth is there such a vast array of these subjects concentrated in such a mild climate. There were few bugs, at least biting ones! The temperature was extremely pleasant, and I have the credentials to say this, after having spent my life in one of the most mild climates of the world, Santa Barbara, California.

The wildlife was omnipresent. During one sunrise shoot, we crept out of the jeeps to the sound of lions roaring just over the hill. All night long we could hear the sound of the hippos milling around in the nearby river. Moments after taking pictures of a very beautiful tree against a painted sky we were off chasing zebras silhouetted against the golden sun. Then a quick ride over a skyline ridge revealed vast herds of Wildebeest grazing on an unusually green plain. While driving from encounter to encounter it's not hard to notice skeletons scattered about, giving testimony to the reality of the place.

Now that I have talked it up, I must share with you a great anxiety that occurred to me while flying from location to location within this region of Kenya. While in the air, the preserves we were visiting became islands in a vast empire of scattered farms, small towns and deforestation. The world had discovered just how lovely these areas are and has become bound and determined to utilize the nourishing resources. I can only imagine the pressure each preserve has on it to give in to this insatiable demand. I wrote most of the beginning of this while flying home during more than 30 hours in the sky. Upon my return, when the jet lag had subsided just enough allowing me to find my front door and fetch the mail, I found the latest copy of National Geographic and thumbed through it. There it was, "RIFT in the great valley" a feature story on the very region I had just visited. It was all about the valuable resources and land that was being overrun by an alarming population increase.

First off, let me attempt to add more insight to just how amazing this place is. The combination of wild mammals, landscape and native peoples did something to my emotions that I was not prepared for. In Alaska, Philippines and Indonesia I have witnessed amazing native peoples living off the land in wonderful harmony. In our own southwest I have witnessed the Navajo and Hopi people live in very harsh conditions as one with the land. Likewise in the interior of Mexico I have met the same types of people who lived off the land with great dignity and character. All these rather primitive peoples and their life styles did not include the ever present predators, such as the lion, jaguar, hyena, crocodile and others. The presence of these great creatures along with the massive elephants, hippos and rhinos, creates a condition that for me is still nearly indescribable. The only description that potentially explains the wilds of Africa is what I learned about the dinosaurs. In those images, there were lush illustrations filled with abundant foliage and wildlife, just what I had seen in Kenya. Just like in the dinosaur age, looming in the background of most of the regions are volcanoes towering up into a totally different climate. The highest and largest being Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,000 feet. On the last night of the photography workshop part of my trip, just after all our celebratory speaking was over, I peered out from under the canvas tent to notice that the top of Kilimanjaro was not only visible, but in the full moon's light there was a very fresh and thick layer of snow covering the entire summit from about 14,000 on up. For most of the trip clouds had obscured the summit leaving my mind to guess just how high up through the clouds it actually sat. To my amazement, 19,000 feet was much higher than I had considered.

It seems now more than ever, change is biting at the heels of Eden and this last, lost land is shrinking faster than ever before in history. From a photographic point of view the entire region is a set. All one has to do is roam a bit to find a stunning foreground to include in your composition. In this case a foreground could be a herd of Wildebeest or pride of lions. I am certainly not a wildlife photographer as I have only pursued certain animals briefly when the conditions were perfect. But because the conditions where we went in Africa were nothing but perfect even on a bad day, I am saddened to think that losing something as powerfully influential as this glorious region filled with just the right amount of animals, landscape and culture would be tragic indeed.

I now see why so many who have visited Africa have stayed, started foundations or become involved in some manner and are preserving its unique qualities. I now understand why so many have fallen in love with this continent.

Life is short, take pictures!

Marc Muench

What does it all mean?

A double rainbow is always fun to experience and in some cases quite dramatic, as in the popular video‚ Double Rainbow. In my personal experience, the Hawaiians have the best philosophy about such things, they say it is a blessing! If you have been to the Hawaiian Islands, you also know how blessed they are with so many rainbows! The double rainbow could be considered more unusual, and the best of all is a double bow with the full arch visible. I believe it is a blessing to experience any rainbow, but to be in a place that makes a photograph is simply the best! After all, you must be in the right place at the right time, with the rain in front of you and sun over your shoulder, to even witness a bow. In addition, the sun must be low enough in the sky so that it is indeed just over your shoulder placing you smack dab between the sun and the rain shower. Lining all these elements up is what makes it a photographic blessing.

To better your odds of photographing a bowscape‚ some intuitive thinking and fast action is usually required. This is the fun part and what I call "chasing blessings".

Days with fast moving showers are the best! This condition in the morning and evening will almost certainly yield great bowscapes. The rest is all geometry! Yes, it is true, you learned something use full in high school. This full arched double shot‚ bowscape, occurred following six days of rain. I rushed out of my studio to a familiar location that I knew offered a vista in the right direction. I actually drove out through the shower that is creating the bow in this scene.

Here are two tips for improving those bowscapes. Use a polarizing filter. It is amazing how much color appears when the filter is turned just right to block UV from the area of the rainbow. In addition, if you experience the full arch and want to make a panorama of it, perform the spin as you go trick!

Normally, a polarizing filter is not good for panoramas, as it usually makes dramatic gradations in blue skies that are difficult to stitch together in post. However, sometimes rules are meant to be broken. In the example I am showing there were two aspects in my favor for utilizing the spin as you go trick. First, there were many clouds to help CS5 blend any uneven gradations. Second, I did not need to turn the filter for maximum position in all the shots. In addition this made for fewer gradations and thus better for post stitching. The trick is to slightly turn the polarizing filter in each of the scenes so to get maximum color. Because there was no subject within 50 feet of me, I could hand hold for this pano and just overlap a bit extra for better stitching.

The top row of thumbs show how the rainbow shows up in only part of the scenes if you don't turn the polarizer as you go.

With all this rain in Southern California there will be plenty of green grass and flowers to make more potential bowscapes in the spring. In March we will be heading to Catalina to chase rainbow/blessings and most certainly polarize some of what will be an epic spring bloomage on the island.

Life is so very short. Take pictures of it!

Africa

Most of my life has been spent Out of Africa.

Now it's time to go -- into Africa!

Many years ago I spent five short days in South Africa chasing lions while filming an episode for the Canon Photo Safari with celebrity guest David Alan Grier. It was difficult concentrating while David talked about the benefits of using Impala turds rather than olives in the local martinis. My job was to teach him something about photography, which was like trying to feed a cat broccoli.

My experience was nothing like Robert Redford’s, in the epic film “Out of Africa,” so it is time to revisit the place.

This brings up a good question, how can anyone possibly experience a place even a fraction of the size of the continent of Africa in such a short period of time? The usual vacation period is two weeks. Most of that time is spent packing, traveling and returning home. Sometime during the over-planned days at the destination, you may find a few precious moments when all the planets align, allowing you to truly feel the place. These moments become the light at the end of a long tunnel of time that lures you back to that exact place sometime in the future. To feel any place is to hear its sounds, smell its scents and sleep in its silence. These things take time.

I remember my first cruise with my wife to the Caribbean. She was so excited, having surprised me with an incredible vacation of a lifetime. One day we signed up for one of the excursions to Trunk Bay on the picturesque island of St. Johns. The pamphlet promised a four-hour trip to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. After taking the tender to shore, getting the orientation, riding a bus, fitting the snorkel gear, and then finally listening to yet one more orientation, we had 45 minutes of real time on the beach.

It’s hard to take time out and when we do, we often pack it full of busy stuff. Every place I have visited has a heartbeat. When you stop and listen you can actually hear it. Sometimes it takes longer and requires great patience. This can be done by planning a slower itinerary rather than filling each day with the production schedule of a Sesame Street episode. It can be difficult to accomplish when others traveling with you become bored and don’t want anything to do with sitting around waiting to hear the so-called, “heart beat” of a place.

There is a subtle way to deal with this syndrome, leave them home! If that is not possible, then I suggest considering a compromise. Schedule half your time and leave the rest to the wind. If you are looking to photograph a place, this will allow you some time to explore a lead never anticipated, or walk a trail not in the guide book.

When I travel back to Africa next October, I have carefully planned out an itinerary that will allow time to listen, not only to the guides' instructions for staying alive in the middle of a wildlife preserve filled with wild animals, but also to the silence of Africa.

Maybe there is hope I will have the out of body/Africa experience after all!

Get down and dirty!

Most of us don’t like lying down in the dirt, especially when little creatures are about; then we have to get back up!

Think of it this way, kids do it all the time and we are always looking for ways to stay young. So, if you get down and back up again you will be younger!

No matter what your inspiration is when it comes to photography, all of us seem to be inspired to take good pictures, even to the extent that we will do things we normally won't, including lying down in the dirt with the critters.

Death Valley can be intimidating to the first time visitor, especially if they are geared up to make beautiful landscape pictures. The valley stretches over 100 miles from North to South and is about 5 to 15 miles wide in most places. The valley floor sinks below sea level and the mountains soar to over 11 thousand feet in elevation. Everything is large and far away. To drive from Furnace Creek Ranch, a popular location to stay, it is 30 minutes to the Mesquite Sand Dunes. If you are staying at Stove Pipe Wells another slightly more rustic location to stay, the drive to Bad Water is about 40 minutes. In between these locations is nothing but desert. Or is it?

I just spent about five days in Death Valley giving a photography workshop and one of the bonus features of the valley this year was the unusual amount of wild flowers. Because the flowers are sparser than most fields of flowers they are difficult to photograph when approached. In fact they almost disappear because they are up to 5 and 10 feet apart from each other. We passed out towels and recommended that everyone lie down and view the flowers from inches off the desert floor. As intriguing as the flowers became at that point of view, what many commented on was just how many other unusual things they noticed. From tiny bugs to stripped rocks everyone began looking down at everything when we walked anywhere. The valley was truly alive, it was just on a different scale. It looked like a different world when everyone started showing images of bugs, flowers and tiny tracks across the dunes. Not only were these fascinating, but, placed against the backdrop of the large valley, very interesting images emerged.

If you ever get stuck thinking there are no images to be made, just get down, get on your belly and get dirty!

Life is so very short. Take pictures of it!

Low light!

It was dark! In fact, I could not see much more than a few outlines of the larger features. I could hear the surf but it was still a ways off. My camera was on my tripod and thrown over my shoulder, as if I was cruising down main street in the middle of the day.
However, I was walking across slippery, wet and uneven rocks on my way out to a vantage point I had never been to. I was in Maine in the dark. The wind was pushing low clouds by at a nice slow pace and the seas were fairly calm, all signs it was going to be a perfect morning for long exposures. The clouds and the surf moving would be fantastic for adding movement to the scene. I was getting excited and I still did not know if the vantage point that I thought might look back at the light house existed. Then in a swift graceful swoop I was on my rear with my free hand jammed beneath some rocks. It hurt a bit but I was still too cold and tired to notice anything wrong. I finally grabbed for my headlamp which was exactly where you don't want it, in my pack and not on my head. I really don't like to use flash lights in the hope of allowing my eyes to adjust thus making it easier to compose a picture in the dark. I managed to flash on my head lamp and realized one of my fingernails was not looking so good. I rinsed it off in a tide pool, wrapped it in a napkin and went to work. The first images came out dark and then progressively got brighter as dawn approached.

What I did next is why I am writing this post. I noticed that the first images taken in the dark was far more interesting. The normal method for shooting in low light is taught to create a good looking histogram with the highlights and blacks all mapped out in good places. However, like all rules they can be broken. What I have noticed lately is that with the new high ISO cameras it has become easy to turn night into day. As cool as it looks to view the scene with little to no noise the effect of night is lost.


Here I've used Adobe Camera Raw to illustrate the difference between the exposure I made and the proper exposure. In order to do this I moved the exposure slider to the right two stops.

When I ask folks why they like their new cameras, the most common answer is for the low noise at high ISO. As exciting as this may be it does not mean the images need to be brighter! If you wish to make your images optimally exposed, then push the right side of the histogram all the way to the right side so there is little to no blank graph showing as in my example.

This is the usual practice for digital cameras because there is twice as much data in the highlights as there is in the shadows of all digital files. This information is great to recall when taking the picture but not so good when making the picture. My usual method is to expose the image with the mountain of data in the middle, or as I like to phrase it, the mountain in the middle. I then make the entire image darker in post by dragging the exposure and brightness sliders way down. However, at night this means your exposures are extremely long. My exposure for this image was 111 seconds. Had I made the exposure adjustment in camera without changing the F stop or ISO, I would have been there for 433 seconds. By the time the exposure was done I would have either been tanning myself in the sun or bleeding to death. In low light situations I always consider what the image should feel like to the viewer, bright or dark and moody. Just don't forget to make your images with a purpose, even if that means deviating from the rules.

Life is so very short. Take pictures of it!

HDR in the palm of your hands

Taking landscape HDR images can be quite cumbersome. I say, leave the equipment behind, turn up the fun meter, and shoot some hand held!

I normally set my big DSLR camera on a tripod and carefully determine the highlight exposure, then open up by two stops until I have taken as many exposures as it takes to capture all the detail in the shadows. Processing quality HDR images is normally a lengthy process for me. I teach the manual method during workshops in the same way a music instructor would teach music theory. However, this does not always have to be the case. With a few tips, automatic methods can yield fun and interesting results.

This post is about making the HDR process work in situations where you either don't have the time or opportunity to bring out all the bells and whistles.

What I have begun doing lately is grabbing my point and shoot Canon S90 and leaving the tripod back in the office. Using the Auto Exposure Bracketing feature, the camera is capable of taking three images in a row, at one stop apart. I hold the camera as steady as possible and fire away.

The key to processing these files is to use Photomatix Pro to blend the brightest and darkest exposures in what is called Foto Fusion. This method can be used with many exposures, but works best with only two. That means I don't even need the middle exposure, which as it turns out on my camera is the first exposure of the three. I also check the box "Align source images" and choose "by correcting horizontal and vertical shifts" in the opening screen while processing the files.

Even though the results may look pleasing, I attempt to make my saved files from Photomatix a bit flat and optimize in photoshop next. The file created by Photomatix is just the RAW exposure in my opinion. I then proceed to give it all the photoshop I might normally use. However, in some cases not much is needed.

I also have the option of blending the exposures manually if I want to take the time. The good news is I am able to create two exposures, two stops apart without much hassle or tripod. Of course it is a bit easier to align the images if a wider focal length is used. I would not recommend this hand held method at focal lengths over 90mm.

Keep in mind: You may need to trick the meter while using a point and shoot. By this I am refering to depressing the trigger half way to capture an accurate first exposure, usually in the highlight area, and then recomposing to begin the burst of the three exposures.
Also remember to bump up your ISO if need be to keep the exposure times above a 1/60 of a sec while hand holding. That means the first exposure needs to be at least 125/sec.

For this last example I utilized the first normal exposure. Because the surfer was best in this one, I masked him out of the file in photoshop and overlaid him onto the composite of the Fused file from Photomatix.

This third example shows the beauty of this process. I normally would not shoot multiple auto bracketed sequences of moving subject matter, especially sports. However, since the first exposure is the normal one it makes it simpler to time that as best as possible for the action and then don't worry about the movement of the person in the other two frames. Just remember, the larger the moving subject the more difficult the blending in Photoshop will become.

Life is so very short. Take pictures of it.

Taking The Little Camera Seriously

The little one that can!

I learned how to shoot with a 4x5 camera, so anything smaller was always considered, well smaller! 35mm format created a tiny slide when laid down on a light table, especially next to a 6x7cm or 4x5” sheet of film. When viewing 35mm slides I was constantly wishing I had taken the shot on a larger format. I even recall continually looking for the loupe, which was always misplaced.

In spite of my personal bias for larger formats, I was forced to shoot with a 35mm camera to capture downhill skiing and rock climbing. For everything else, not requiring a motor drive or super quick auto focus, I did eventually manage to take some interesting images with smaller cameras. In fact, I ended up purchasing one of my very favorite cameras of all time the Contax G2. This was a little range finder with several very high quality lenses. I only used this camera for two years before I went digital. The irony for me was that just when I discovered a great film camera — and Fuji and Kodak had created their very best emulsions EVER — I no longer needed them. No worries, this is not a post about film vs. digital but rather large vs. small.

I believe that small point and shoot cameras fall into a dangerous category for most, where due to the number of bells and whistles included, our intimidation meter spikes. Since they are neither large or tiny, we have next to no respect for them as an object of reverence. However, what I want to point out in this post is just how effective this size camera can be if a few potential misconceptions are cleared up and a few simple steps are taken.

My personal bias for larger formats has completely changed over the past six years. All of my large format equipment is in the very same place it has been for the past six years — in my office. I have come to realize several very interesting points about using different size cameras because of the number of different shaped and sized cameras I have used over the past decade.

The very first point I would like to stress is that it just seems to be human nature to take larger items more seriously. Because of this one single factor, it is rare to see anyone taking anything other than snap shots with their point and shoot cameras.

The other interesting point about size is when a camera becomes tiny, that is smaller than a pocket sized point and shoot, people begin to lose all inhibitions. A great example is the iPhone!

It's is not simply size that impacts our respect, but also our perception of the camera's sophistication. The more sophisticated an object appears the more intimidated we are by it and the more we respect it.

It's fun to watch kids take pictures with iPhones. They simply take pictures of what captivates them at that moment. There is no hesitation because of focus, light, focal length or anything! The creativity seems to flow, and it flows as fast as the camera can keep up.

So where does this leave us with the point and shoot camera?

I believe it is all about the way you perceive that little box in your hands.

The beauty of the point and shoot is in its versatility. You can use it to replace most shots taken with a SLR or use it to replace an iPhone with no techno gadget impediments between you and your creative thoughts, its all how you set it up and use it!

First, consider what you can do with it to replace a SLR that you have been using for several years. The issue most have with a point and shoot is its lack of quality. This can be true, but with recent developments in technology there are several point and shoot cameras that can kick some major &^*! The Canon S90 is one that I recommend because of its pocket size and large sensor. The sensor is larger than most point and shoots, but contained within a camera that fits into your pocket. The lens has an adequate range to capture most scenes.

I have been using a Canon G9 and G10 prior to the s90 for the purpose of understanding more about how the equipment I use affects my work. What I have discovered, is that the work I create with the smaller cameras depends entirely on the type of image I choose to shoot. At first I did not attempt any particular type or style of image, but just went out to shoot, knowing I wanted to use the camera I had in my hands.

When shooting a landscape image, I compose in the same manner and using as many of the manual overrides as I can to match the settings on my SLR. Here are a few tips to creating images with a small point and shoot that make the results look similar to a SLR.

• Use a tripod! This is the number one factor in beginning to take this little guy seriously. By simply placing the camera on a tripod you will begin to study the composition more carefully just as you do with your SLR.
  
  I use a Really Right Stuff (small Bi-directional plate) and small BH25 ball head, that allows me to place the camera very quickly on the tripod, so there are fewer excuses for not using the tripod. The tripod I recommend is the little Slik Sprint Pro 3way. I love to flip all the clamps open on one leg and watch it fall to the ground with gravity. I also have taken out the bottom of the center column to lose even more weight. With it gone I can get even closer to the ground, as well.
  

• Set the file format to RAW. This will allow you to maximize the file in post or photoshop if you have it.
  
  
• Use the manual meter mode with the histogram displayed. This is the very best way to meter, even on a SLR. Because the histogram is not as sensitive as on most SLRs you will need to compensate a bit. For example, when viewing this histogram for clipped highlights, I usually underexpose by an additional 1/3 of a stop just in case. 


• Shoot with some of the same practices you might with your SLR. Take multiple bracketed exposures for HDR. Take multiple exposures for different focus points to create sharp detail in the foreground as well as the back ground, (to be combined later in post).

Ok, those are some examples of how to use a point and shoot with respect. This ought to satisfy your sophistication requirements for it as well. Next, consider it an iPhone. It is now a toy!

• Set the camera to fully auto and simply shoot. Don’t worry about setting the resolution to RAW file format or manual meter, just fully auto and shoot.
  
• Shoot with the camera at different angles, such as over your head, under your feet, or better yet, under your dog's feet. Well, you get the idea! If you want to make the camera go a bit faster, there is one manual tweak, turn off the flash. The single most important tip for taking these kinds of moment by moment inspired images is to have the camera with you. Get yourself a pouch for it to hang from your belt, or find a location in your purse. The point is for this type of photography, it needs to be considered a toy, not a sophisticated camera. Think, there are no manual overrides. JUST SHOOT!

The image of my son was taken at the spur of the moment while riding in the back of a pickup way up high in the Colorado Rockies after a long hike. The flower image was taken hand held as well. There is so much to do with a pocket camera it just depends on how you perceive it! My friend Andy Williams carries two point and shoots, one for IR and the other for color. What ever it takes for you to change your perception of the point and shoot, try it!

Life is so very short. Take pictures of it.