Proud Massai Warrior on the Serengeti Plains

Nikon D300, 17-55mm @ 31mm, ISO 200, 1/200 sec @ f8

The Treasury as seen from the Siq

Nikon D70, 12-24mm, December 2004

Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable scenes that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site still-standing nowadays.

Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan located about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba. It is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site and one of The New 7 Wonders of the World.

The approach through a kilometer long, cool, and gloom chasm (or Siq) a long narrow gorge whose steeply rising sides all but obliterate the sun, provides a dramatic contrast with the magic to come. Suddenly the gorge opens into a natural square dominated by Petra’s most famous monument, The Treasury (El-Khazneh), whose intricately carved facade glows in the dazzling sun.

More facades beckon the visitor on until the ancient city gradually unfolds, one monument leading to the next for kilometer after kilometer. The sheer size of the city and the quality of beautifully carved facades is staggering and leads one to reflect on the creativity and industry of the Nabataeans who made Petra their capital.

For me, Petra was breathtaking, and I will never forget my initial reaction as The Treasury came into view from the Siq.  I hope to return soon with better camera equipment than I had in 2004.

The Sands of Namibia

Nikon D300, 17-55 @ 17mm, ISO 200, f10 at 1/160 sec

Deep in the sand dunes of Namibia, I was presented with a rolling light show of highlights and shadows as the sun rose from my left.  With the camera having significantly less dynamic range than the human eye, it is always a challenge to record an image that depicts, as close as possible, the scene as it was seen by the eye.  As many of you know, I am a technical shooter.  Shooting in the deserts of Namibia was truly a personal and technical challenge for me which resulting in pushing my photography skills to a new level.  Amidst a sea of sand, I worked hard to incorporate an artistic approach in many of my images.  I found myself paying a great deal of attention to lines, shapes, highlights and shadows to tell the image story.  Thanks to JP Caponigro and Andy Biggs for pushing me into this artistic journey!

This image is a good example of the use of hyperfocal distance knowledge to achieve the desired zone of focus.    Using hyperfocal tables, I was able to determine that focusing on the sand, 10 ft in front of me, the hyperfocal distance would be 5.37 feet (using f10 and the D300 at 17mm), resulting in a near focus limit of 3.48 feet and a far focus limit of infinity.  After determining these values, I simply reset the focus to 5 feet and shot.  To make all of this easier, I now use an iPod for my hyperfocal distance calculations rather than lugging around 10 pages of tables.  Thank you Mr. Apple.

Cheers and happy photo’ing

Mountain Goat, Mt. Evans, Colorado @ 14,130 feet

September 2006, Nikon D2x, 200-400VR, @240mm, ISO 100, f8.5

Shooting above 14,000 feet, I thought I was going to die.  Knowing that I was not in shape for this final climb to get to the goats and already feeling the thin air,  I took only one camera and lens with no tripod, plus my GPS.  I took my clothes down to hiking shorts, knee pads, and a tee shirt and windbreaker on top (plus my hiking boots of course).  I was able to snap only a few shots before I really started getting light headed.  Rocks were used as the shooting platform for my 200-400, because I had no energy to hand hold the beast.  What amazed me was the how approachable the goats were and the intensity of the clear blue sky.  Ok, the thin air really did kick my butt – I’m seriously working on getting into better shape so I can do this again!

Happy photo’ing

Namibia Sunrise

May 2009, Nikon D300, 17-55mm f2.8@ 55, ISO 500, f11 at 1/50 sec, -1/2 EV

Metered slightly below the horizon in spot metering mode

As sunlight started across the distance mountain range, I hiked up a nearby rock outcroping some 500 feet above the valley floor to get this image.  The clouds were simply spectactular as the moved across the desert sky.  After shooting about 6 frames (I don’t recall even checking the histogram), I put the camera down and just took in the view of the entire valley.  As I watch the rising sunlight dance across the valley floor, I realized just how lucky I was travel to places like this – to see and photograph things  and places that others seldom get a chance to see or even hear about.

Cheers and happy photo’ing

Randy

The Hand of Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti

Nikon D70, 70-200mm VR, f6.3 at 1/250, ISO 200

November 25, 2004, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Red Dunes (Dune 43) of Namib-Naukuft Park, Namibia

Nikon D300, 70-200VR, 95mm @ f9 1/640 sec, -2EV

While shooting in the sand dunes of Namibia, I found myself in an environment that was largely reds and blues.  After looking at the large histogram for general exposure, I always shifted to the RGB histograms for evaluation.  More often than not, I found that I was blowing out the reds.  A simple drop in EV solved the blown channel.  Usually using only a -1/3EV to solve normal exposure problems, I was very surprised by having to drop down into the -2’s for a correct exposure.  While post processing, I was also surprised by the white balance of the camera.  I always shoot in auto WB mode and correct during post processing.  When shooting in extreme conditions, it is not uncommon for me to use either a white balance card or a color checker to help with setting my white balance in post processing.  What surprised be was how far off the color temperature was when I started the post processing.  I am going to attribute this to the high amount of reds from the sand.  The lesson here is to use all of your tools, both in camera and out of camera.  Learn when the in-camera meter is smart, when it is dumb,  and take the necessary actions to get the shot.

Cheers and happy photo’ing

Golden light on a secluded Kauai Island beach

Nikon D300, 17-55mm

Cheers and happy photo’ing

Randy

Mother and Cubs, NDutu Area, Tanzania,

Nikon D300, 500mm +1.4TC

With my departure for my next photo safari in less than 7 days, I simply can’t wait to get my boots dirty again with the dust of Africa.  The above photo was taken on near NDutu Village in the southern area of the Ngorongoro National Park.  I had the wonderful experiance of spending several hours watching this mother with her six cubs.  Our guides estimated that the cubs were about six to eight weeks old.  What a treat.