Cheers and happy photoing

Sunrise in the Dunes of Namibia

Nikon D300, 17-55mm VR at 38mm, ISO 200, f/10 at 1/100 sec

Cheers and happy photo’ing

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

Sunrise over Namibian Mountain Range

Nikon D300, 17-55 @55mm; ISO 320, f 7.1 @ 1/640 sec

Windy Ridge - Skeleton Coast

May 2009 – Nikon D300, 17-55 @17mm, ISO 200, f 10 at 1/250 sec

Windy Ridge Sunset, Skeleton Coast, Namibia,  looking toward the ocean.

The Best Seats in the House

Nikon D300, 70-200VR @130mm; ISO 400, F7.1 @ 1/320 sec

Traveling through a river bed in Namibia inland from the Wilderness Safari Skeleton Coast campsite, three photographers grab the best seats in the house while taking in the wonderful scenery.

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

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

With both cameras down and one more day of shooting, I decided to take a big risk and result to using a safety pin and Eclipse Sensor Solution.  I used one drop of solution (like I would if I had WD40 or a silicon lubricant) around the edges of both buttons and pried them up using the end of safety pin.  After repeating this procedure several times, I had most of my controls back, at least enough to shoot Dune 47 in the late afternoon – at least I thought so.  When taking the classic post card shots of the red Dune from the road, the controls failed again, this time in the RGB histogram mode.  I could not have ask for a better failure, as I was able to adjust the exposure compensation to prevent clipping with an automatic display after each shot.  The following day, was another bush plane ride to Windhoek, then on to Johannesburg, connecting to New York and LA with the final push to Seattle.  Total flight time I would estimate at something like 23 hours from Johannesburg to Seattle, each way (not including some 10 hours in bush planes).   Total air time – my guess is something just short of 56 hours.  This trip was painful, exhausting, challenging, and professionally rewarding as my photography skills were pushed to a new level.  Thanks to my photography, once again I was able to see another corner of the world that is seldom seen and yet most of all – I met some wonderful people that will likely influence my personal and professional life for a long time to come.  Special thanks to my truck buddies, Paul T, Sylvia, Justin, Larry, JP, and of course Andy for the invitation of a lifetime.  I never thought I would be standing on the side of a river looking at the border of Angola.

After South African Airlines lost my checked bag, I treated myself to a business class upgrade.  So here I sit in the LAX Red Carpet Club after a wonderful United meal of smoked salmon, fresh greens, stir-fried shrimp, chocolate and grand vanilla ice cream followed up by a warm chocolate chip cookie. Oh yes,  I almost forgot the raspberry mojito (always thinking of you, Coogan).  Home for two weeks then it’s off to Hawaii for a week of photography and fun in the sun.  I will be processing most of images from Tanzania and Namibia in the weeks to come, so enjoy these few images until the next posting.  Just a warning, if the colors are a bit off it is because I am using a non-color managed netbook that I bought just for this trip so I will have to fix them after I get home.

Star Trails

Nikon D300, 17-55 @23mm, f5.6, 2918 seconds exposure

Sand Storm Over Dunes

Nikon D300, 17-55mm @55mm, ISO 250, f11, 1/2oo sec

Sand As Far As One Can See

Nikon D300, 17-55mm @40mm, ISO 250, f10, 1/200 sec

Golden Light on Dunes of Namibia

Nikon D300, 17-55mm @ 28mm, ISO 250, f16, 1/125 sec

Black & White II Dunes

BTW, there are only four slots open for my Tanzania Feb 2010 trip.  If Africa is on your bucket list, then what are you waiting for?  Come join me for an adventure that will stir your soul and warm your heart.

Cheers and happy photo’ing.

The photo below demonstrates what happens when you shoot through the polarized plastic window of the aircraft with a polarizer on the lens of the camera.  Only in very special conditions can these two polarizers work together.  As you can see in the photograph, they are not working together.  This is largely due to the distance between the camera lens and the window as well as the differing types of material.  In special cases, where two polarizers are sandwiched together (machined glass to work together), they will work as a variable density filter (VND).  VNDs are often used by landscape photographers to slow the shutter speeds down.  The most common use of slower shutter speeds using VND is to  create motion in water falls or wave action while still being able to manage your exposure.

What I like about this shot is the reflection of the wing art .

Till the next internet connection……..

Randy