Photo Traveler

Bob Krist’s Travel Photography Blog

Tanzania Photo Safari Redux

Audio,Destinations,Ironies,Technology,Travel,Workshops & Seminars,multimedia — June 29, 2010

I had all but given up on the video footage I shot with my D300s when leading a photo safari in Tanzania last February for National Geographic Expeditions. Although I used a beanbag and did my best, the ever so slight movement of the Land Rover, even parked with the engine turned off, were enough to give most of my clips a little shake. A shake that became painfully obvious on my 30″ Cinema Display!

Of course, I didn’t notice it at the time on my LCD—I thought everything looked solid.  Oh, the lessons learned (see the post–Prides Cometh Before a Fall)

I’m working with the son of a friend this summer, trying to learn Final Cut Express, and together, we tried to salvage what we could from my clips, posted above. As regular readers know, I’m currently struggling with video and wondering if I might be better off forgetting the whole thing and sticking to my strong suit, or plunging ahead.

Plunging…hmmn, unfortunately, that’s still the operative word when it comes to my video chops so far. But I’m not giving up yet!

I spent last weekend shooting video of the first ever Jazz Academy at Solebury School, one of the projects of the Jonathan Krist Foundation.

We had students from inner city Camden and bucolic Bucks County side by side all weekend, learning jazz from some great pros like James McBride, George Laks, Brent White, Marlene Rice, Devyn Rush, Jamal and Nasir Dickerson, Hassan Sabree, and Dave Bachart.

Next week, I’m teaching my travel photography class up at the Maine Media Workshops….it’ll be great to be back in New England, teaching a subject that I know something about!

What’s wrong with this picture, er, I mean, this video…

Audio,Career issues,Photo Gear,Technology,Workshops & Seminars,multimedia — June 9, 2010

www.whattheduck.net

In the midst of the packing and last minute details for an assignment I’m leaving on tomorrow (note to self: no more blog posts about Photoshop or plug-ins…whoa…you guys are tough, tough, tough), I took stock of my upcoming shopping list for gear, gadgets, and software.

And none of it was for still photo stuff.

I should be upgrading to CS5, but all my cameras are covered by the version of Adobe Camera Raw in CS4 so what I’m really getting ready to plunk down near four figures to upgrade is to Final Cut Studio from Final Cut Express, and not from CS4 to CS5.

And yes, I’d like that tiny new 85mm Nikkor DX  VR macro lens, but what I’m actually buying next is a fairly pricey little Sennheiser wireless mic setup. And I’ve been hitting the videography blogs with alarming regularity.

What the hell is going on? Hit the jump to find out just who, or what, has hijacked my brain.

Read more…

May Gear & Gadget Update

Audio,Destinations,Photo Gear,Technology,Travel,Workshops & Seminars,multimedia — May 27, 2010

Large 220V Powerstrip

Compact Magellan Powerstrip

Kodak Zi 8 pocket camcorder

Wide angle auxiliary lens for Zi 8 (caution: soft corners ahead!)

Polaroid Pogo Printer

Bob’s Maine Media Travel Photo Workshop, July 4-10

The Great Video Dilemma…Redux

Audio,Career issues,Destinations,Ironies,Photo Techniques,Technology,Travel,multimedia — May 4, 2010

It would have been cool to have a video clip of these Shinto priests processing out of the temple after a ceremony, but while my video rig wasn't ready, my camera was! Photo © Bob Krist

Well, my marathon trip is coming to a close in beautiful Istanbul. And one other thing (besides the weather) has been bugging me on the trip.

Whether it’s a speed dating tour like the one I’m currently on, or a more in-depth assignment like my recent city profile of Buenos Aires for National Geographic Traveler, I am having a devil of a time fitting in the time to shoot video, let alone collect audio.

I’ve seen such stunning work from younger PJs who are combining both in beautiful stories. Maybe it’s because I’m from a pre-multi-tasking generation, but I really find it difficult to do both, or all three. I’ve written about this before and it hasn’t gotten any easier since.

I think part of the reason is that, while video-enabled DSLRs produce stunning-looking video, shooting video with them still presents, shall we say, ergonomic challenges.

First you put on your Zacuto viewfinder, then you put on your mic, your mixer, and your follow focus rig, and by the time you do that, the subject you want to video is three towns away, and maybe even retired. When, I wonder, will Nikon or Canon come up with a camera with the same chip, that takes the same lenses, but is actually designed to shoot video and not jerry-rigged to do so?

For my speculation on that and other video ironies, hit the jump.

Read more…

One Day in Armenia

Audio,Destinations,Photo Techniques,Technology,Travel,multimedia — May 2, 2010

Our first day in Armenia was pretty much of a washout, thanks to the weather that has been dogging me for seven weeks!

But we did have an amazing second day….We visited the haunting and beautiful St. Geghard monastery, where the choir gave us an a capella concert in one of the monastery chambers cut whole out of the mountainous rock in 4th century.

Then we visited Garni Temple, another ancient structure, where I recorded a man playing the traditional duduk in the ruins. We had lunch at a village house where a woman was making delicious flat bread in an oven in the ground. When she pulled one out, she would fling it like a frisbee towards her helper, who would then ferry them out to us hungry visitors.

And after that, we visited Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the “vatican” of Armenian Orthodox church for a tour of its treasures. In between, we caught some lovely scenery and even a glimpse of Mt. Ararat, said to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark. Not bad for a day’s touring.

These charter jet tours are not photography specific in their design or itinerary, and we move fast. And dare I say it, I’ve even taken to grabbing a shot through a bus window (go ahead and laugh, but that’s the way these things go!) as we whiz by. There’s a couple of those shots in the above multimedia. Thank god for clean bus windows, and the active setting on the Nikon VR lenses!

Next and final stop: Turkey!  I don’t know if I’m more excited about seeing Turkey (a first for me) or getting home….well, I do know, but I ain’t talkin’.

I will, however, keep you posted.

Portrait Session Timelapse

Audio,Technology,multimedia — April 15, 2010

Along with Rich Kennedy, whom I mentioned in an earlier post, my friend, portrait photographer Arun Paul, was also helping me out during the weekend of pro bono family portraits we did for area military families during my New Hope portrait project. While he was busy helping me with the lighting, the posing etc, he also had his D700 shooting a long time lapse sequence which appears here.

Arun is a multitalented guy—-great shooter, and wonderful musician. He even wrote the music that accompanies the time lapse. It also looks like he did some kind of cool B&W action on the pics in the movie.

We had a great weekend photographing the families, and we were very touched by how appreciative they were. It was win/win all around and I bet I’ll be doing it again in the future….feels too good to stop.

Oh, and speaking of feeling good, Photo Traveler was recently cited by Photography Colleges as number 28 in the Top 100 Travel Photography Blogs. It’s a very interesting list of blogs they’ve assembled and I know I picked up a few more bookmarks just reading through it.

I always wonder about these type of ratings, though. For instance,  the number one rated blog was that of an Austin, Texas family portrait photographer who had no travel photography element to his blog at all, as far as I can see.

But that’s okay.

Last year, in another rating of travel photography blogs, I came in behind a blog called “Olga, The Traveling Bra.” So, clearly, I’m moving up in the world;  from lingerie to family portraits. Next year, who knows, I may come in behind a nice boudoir shooter!

Tango Audio Slide show

Audio,Destinations,Events,Photo Techniques,Travel,multimedia — February 15, 2010

Don't click this, it's just a screen grab!!!

I posted an audio slide show about Tango in Buenos Aires….I think NG Traveler will have it up on their site too, but not sure where. This was originally going to have an interview narration with a Tango anthropologist and was going to be more educational, but then my editor said just do it a lot of dance pictures and snappy music, and I thought, why not?

Ordinarily, I HATE going out and shooting nightlife. First of all, it all starts too late (don’t you people have something to do during the daylight hours????). Secondly, everybody’s having fun, and you’re the nerd with the camera and the lightpole and no life and everybody would just prefer that you go away….

But…I loved documenting tango. I actually looked forward to getting up in the middle of the night to go out. It’s such a beautiful, passionate dance, and the Portenos were so warm and welcoming to my presence. I was blown away by the artistry of the dancers, whether the pros on stage during a show, or folks at a neighborhood milonga.  It’s the real deal, it’s a lifestyle.

And I was privileged to have been a close witness to it. That’s why, despite all the bullsh… about our business lately, it’s just so cool that this camera gives you entree into so many different worlds.

Everything you need to know about shooting the news….

Audio,Career issues,Events,Ironies,Photo Techniques,Technology,multimedia — February 8, 2010

Forget journalism school, here’s the secret formula…..

YouTube Preview Image

Prides cometh before a fall….

Audio,Destinations,Ironies,Photo Gear,Photo Techniques,Technology,Travel,multimedia — February 3, 2010

Sleeping prides are no problem to pick off with your DSLR video rig.

Okay. You name the parable, metaphor, or simile that involves overconfidence and overweaning ambition combined with lack of experience, and you can put it in the lede of this post about my foray into being a fulltime videographer on my recent safari through Tanzania.

By day two, I had visions of myself in a second career as a cameraman for Wild Kingdom. I pretty much went through the week like that…until I got home and really looked at my work. Ay carumba! What can I say….those were just delusional dreams brought on by the strength of the sub-Saharan sun!

Oh sure, I could harp on the fact that video-enabled DSLRs have a long way to go in convenience and handling before they become viable machines for documentary work (if you have actors who can do several takes of every shot, the image quality of the video from these machines completely overshadows their handling shortcomings).

And there’s nothing like multiple takes to help cover a myriad of handling mistakes, too.

It’s no mystery that the videos Nikon and Canon are using to promote their video-enabled SLRs are more like short movie features or commercials, with multi-man crews, rather than documentary projects. As Hilary says, “it takes a village” to raise a child. To that I’d like to add that “it takes a crew” to make great video.

But if you have baboons who don’t take direction, or lions who march to the beat of their own drummers, you are in deep doo-doo if you have only one chance to capture this video action on the move with a DSLR.

Hit the jump for a rundown of the things that plagued me, and why I won’t be giving up on DSLR video anytime soon! Read more…

On Haiti and Health Care

Audio,Destinations,Events,Travel,multimedia — January 20, 2010

Photo by Evan Vucci/AP

I first went to Haiti in the late 70′s when I was still a photographer on the staff of the Hudson Dispatch in Union City, NJ. My wife Peggy and I were so blown away by the culture, people, and the poverty that we sponsored several Haitian children’s educations for many years, until the NGO we did it through folded up during one of the really violent spells a while ago.

They have a saying down there, “beyond mountains, there are more mountains,” which pretty much sums up what has happened to this nation in recent history. Every time they seem to be getting over the hump of one problem, another bigger and more serious one raises its ugly head.

I don’t see how this current problem could get any worse, and they need our help. We like to give through both the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. They seem to be efficient with getting stuff done. Although efficiency in the face of a total collapse of infrastructure is definitely a relative term.

On the home front, we’re going to be facing our own earthquake, one that was started in the faultline that shook up yesterday’s Massachusetts runoff.

No, we don’t need no stinkin’ health care reform. Our system is just fine. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at this brilliant multimedia from the AP’s Evan Vucci.

The sad reality is that you don’t really have to look as far as Haiti to see neglected, desperate segments of a population struggling for basic healthcare. You can stay home and see it right here.

No passport required.

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