Packing For An African Safari (Updated)
The notes below are specific to Kenya but having done safaris in Zimbabwe and South Africa as well, most of these suggestions apply just as well to other places. I’ve been asked over the years, both by my safari clients and others, what and how to pack for a trip like this, so it felt like this might be a good time …
The Problem with Mood
I do a little moonlighting for a small computer and imaging company that rhymes with Snapple. They are under the mistaken impression that my nearly 40 years behind the camera means I know what I’m talking about. Still, I like the challenge. One of my first tasks as their Creative Storytelling Specialist (yeah, I don’t know what that means, either) …
The Power of Mood
Photography can be many things. For some, it’s about capturing scenes. For me, it’s about conveying emotions and suggesting narratives that resonate deeply, first with me and then with the viewers who might experience the image. I’m not so much after eyes as I am hearts and minds. Mood does that. The mood of a photograph is its emotional tone—a …
The Perfect Camera Bag?
I am embarrassed by how many camera bags I own. Unlike the cameras and lenses that have come into my life and served their purposes before being sold to find a new life with someone else, my camera bags seem to have entered the house through a one-way door. Perhaps you share my shame. Tidy to a fault in other …
Are You Pushing the Right Buttons?
I have a confession: I only know what 5% of the buttons, dials, and menu items on my camera do. I haven’t done the math; I’m guessing it could be even less than that. But I know that my first cameras only had the ability to focus, select the aperture, change the shutter speed, and specify the ISO. The menu options …
Blinded By What You Don’t See.
There’s a curse among photographers, if you believe in such things (curses, that is, not photographers), and it’s this: Sometimes what we do not see can blind us to what is in front of us. Go somewhere with a certain kind of photograph in mind and you might look so hard for that kind of image that you never see …
Part 2: What Makes The Image Work?
On Sunday, I showed you one of my photographs and sent you to my blog to discuss it, asking questions about the decisions I made and the effect of those decisions. Thanks to everyone who chimed in! The point was to get you thinking about the all the many choices we make in order to create one photograph. I promised …
What Makes the Image Work?
My cousin James had a reputation as a kid for taking things apart. One Christmas he dismantled down to the wiring every gift he was given. Remote-control cars? Give him 20 minutes, and there would be nothing left but a pile of tiny screws, little motors, and the tears of his mother who probably should have known better than to give him …
My Remote Camera Set-up
This is a quick one but I’ve had some questions about the way I photograph bears and rhinos so close without frightening the animals or jeopardizing my own safety, so I’m posting this as a place to direct people interested in this. Please don’t read this as a review or an endorsement, just a guy telling you what’s working for …
More Interested, More Interesting
A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on a river, happily photographing grizzly bears. After a two-day drive and a quick turnaround at home, I was off to San Francisco to sign 1,000 copies of the hardcover special edition of my new book, Light, Space, & Time: Essays on Camera Craft and Creativity. I also spent time with my publisher and …