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Dumbo Brooklyn, New York is a fantastic spot to capture images of the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset.

This  was exactly what I planned to do on my second last night in New York.

As I was setting up my tripod and preparing for the sunset shots of Brooklyn Bridge and the New York City Skyline, I was approached by a beautiful young lady by the name of Kimberly Lalor.  As Kimberly approached me the first words I heard from her were, “would you like a model?”

Standing there stunned by this request, it took me a few seconds to realise what an absolute pleasure it was to have a beautiful woman ask to be photographed.  Not only photographed but to be photographed in Dumbo Brooklyn, in front of Brooklyn Bridge.

A bit of background about Kimberly.  Kimberly was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. Now 20, Kimberly has been living in New York for the past seven years.  She has been modeling for three years and she is aspiring to be a singer/ songwriter and model. Kimberly has been published in Vibe magazine and the Source magazine.

Thank you Kimberly for the opportunity to photograph you and I wish you all the best for your career.

Here are a few images of Kimberly after our five minute photo shoot.

Hope you enjoyed these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Take care and snap you later!!

Dean

Welcome to part 2 of Safari Photos.  Some more tips and techniques to get great images.

Following on from the previous post, safari photos part 1, I’ll continue on with some further information to help you capture great images while on Safari.

Thebest thing about animals are, they’re so unpredictable.  Some of the best selling images are the ones where animals are caught in poses or positions that make people laugh.  So look out for those funny animal poses.  I saw this monkey below next to our breakfast table.  He is having a great start to the day.  Lets say it’s a morning glory.

As you may be aware, safaris are in the animals domain, their’s no safe guards except being in a vehicle and having an experienced guide.   This brings me to my next topic of safety.  I did an early morning foot patrol with an experienced and armed ranger, looking for water buffalo.  You may think this is funny, but having an armed guide looking for water buffalo is a serious thing.  Water buffalo are very aggressive and unpredictable and have been known to kill people.  Not only buffalo but who knows what else you may come across while walking though bush.  Take a look at this short video of our tour group meeting a water buffalo in the wild.

There is nothing worse than seeing animals in a zoo doing nothing.  Be on your look out for animals in action.  Attempt to capture an animals speed and movement.  I captured these two wildebeest disturbing the two white rhinoceros that were sleeping under the tree.

Here are 7 more of my tips for taking great safari photos.

1. Write down or record the names of the animals – You may wonder why, I know what a lion is.  But can you remember what a bushbuck, steenbok, springbok, kudu, nyala, bontebok, impala etc look like?  When you get back home I bet you don’t.
2. Don’t stop shooting just because you think you have the perfect shot – Animals are unpredictable, movements may make your shot blurry or you might miss a more exciting action shot. If you have a digital camera then whats the issue.  Delete images when you get a chance.
3. Don’t be afraid to over expose images – If you don’t have a flash to use as a fill in for animals in the shade, try over-exposing to draw the shaded animal out.
4. Clothing and protection – Try and wear dry comfortable cotton clothes as it gets quit hot on tour.  Don’t forget comfortable closed toe shoes and sun screen/sun cream.
5. Protect your camera with some sort of dust proof bag – These national parks are full of dust roads and when it’s windy the dust will get into your camera gear.  The last thing you want is seized camera lenses.
6. Research before hand – Look at magazines such as National Geographic or post cards for ideas.
7. Relax and don’t become overly anxious – It is very exciting to see any animal in the wild, especially any of the BIG 5 (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant or rhinoceros).  Make slow movements and keep your voice down.  You would hate for the animal to be startled by loud moving tourists.  I dare say, you wouldn’t be a popular person with the other tourists if you scared the animals.
   

Unfortunately I missed out on seeing lions and black rhino’s, however it’s always the risk when your on safari, you can’t control the wild.  Taking safari photos was an awesome experience and something I would do again.  I hope these tips of mine will help you prepare for your safari adventures.

Thank you and Snap you later!!

Dean

Safari photos – Have you ever wanted to get great ones?

Having just recently returning from South Africa now would be a good time to talk about capturing great safari photos.

If you’re a photographer always on the hunt for a great image, then a safari is for you.  It’s the thrill of the hunt, a sense of being so close to the wild animals in their environment.

If your’re into selling images then photographs of your safari trip can be very beneficial financially for you.  Just look at travel agencies, in-flight magazines, calendars or postcards and wild animals are very popular.  Not just are the animals popular but the backdrop or landscape are very attractive to people.

Being on my first safari just over a week ago, I learnt some very valuable tips and hints that, I am sure will help you and definitely me for the next time.  Firstly and most importantly, know your equipment.  Don’t take brand new equipment that you are not familiar with.  You would hate to miss a golden opportunity by not knowing how to use your equipment.

Ideally take two camera bodies set up with a telephoto lens and a lens which will cover a panoramic. I took my Canon 5D MKII with two lenses.  The EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM was a magical lens and a must have.  Due to the animals, at times being so far away, this focal length just zoomed right into the subjetc.  The second lens I used was a EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM.  This was great for general use and capturing the whole image and scene.  See below the image of a rare leopard we found sitting in a tree approximately 200 metres away, shot with the 100-400mm lens.

I took my tripod, but what I found is, there was no real use for it. Firstly the guides will not let you out of the tour vehicle and secondly you cannot use a tripod in a vehicle.  What I suggest is move to the front of the vehicle (check before booking if you have an open roof vehcile) and if support is required, use the top of the drivers cabin.  Possibly use a small bean bag for extra support and comfort.

Usually organised safaris go throughout the whole day, and shooting during the middle of the day is not a photographer’s favourite time due to harsh over head light.  Make sure you have a polarising filter as it cuts down on unwanted reflections and increases contrast for more dramatic shots.

Be ready around early morning and late afternoon as most predator animals come out.   When approaching a waterhole you are bound to capture an animal drinking or even a hippopotamus yawning.  I waited patiently just for this image below.  Other things were happening around me, but I focused on wanting to get this next shot.  I guess patience and holding back other temptations pay off.

Capturing great safari photos is great fun.  I spent 8 hours in a car, and those 8 hours went in a blink of an eye.  I had so much fun trying to pick animals in the distance or even hiding in the trees.  For more great tips on Safari photos please see part 2 coming soon.

Take care and Snap you later!!

Dean

Worried about camera safety when you travel next?

Regardless of what country you’re travelling to, a concern is pulling out your SLR camera and using it in public.  I just returned from a two week holiday in South Africa, and you bet I was worried about pulling out my D5 MKII in public.  I mean South Africa doesn’t  have the best track record with safety.

During some of my travels, I’ve known tourists to have been held up at knife point literally meters from their accommodation for their camera.  For some people it’s just bad luck. But for some, they are just asking for it.  They are screaming “Take my camera please”.

Usually they’re people with socks pulled up to their knees, pants up around the waist and shirt tucked in, and sunscreen not rubbed in properly.  I think we know the kind of tourists I’m talking about.

However, regardless of the tourist, camera safety is important for every photographer.

Camera safety is either learnt by experience, knowledge or just good old common sense.  However the latter will amaze some people.  At times, travelling can make people complacent and common sense goes out the window, me included.

I have listed below my top 5 camera safety tips to help you have a safer travel experience with your camera.

1. Travel Insurance – You’ll be amazed just how many people don’t consider travel insurance.  If you’re too lazy to insure your camera gear, please at least cover your life and health.  It’s literally a 5 minute process.  Insurance companies such as Cover-More Travel Insurance are an easy way to cover more than just your camera.  Don’t leave home without it.

2. Alternative Bag - When I travel I have a designated camera bag which is a ‘Lowepro’.  This is great for transportation and keeping everything secure and safe.  There are so many styles, however they can look too much like “hey look at me I have heaps of expensive camera gear in this bag” statement.  Think about using a normal/everyday looking backpack or bag, which looks unattractive to thieves.  On day trips or walking around town, I leave most of my gear locked at my accommodation and just take out what I need for the day.  The bag looks less glamorous and not as big.

3. Take it out only when you need it - This sounds pretty simple, but tourists still love the feeling of walking around town with a huge SLR around their neck, showing off their lenses.  Well maybe this is a good thing for us sensible travellers, the thieves will be more attracted to them and leave us alone.  However try and limit when you expose your camera.  The down side is that you have to  be extra ready to access your camera and get the shots you want.  I know which down side I’d rather.

4. Keep your memory cards separate – This tip is mainly when you travel from destination to destination.  I have spent many countless hours travelling on buses.  Some of these buses are renowned for hold-ups, stealings and other badness.  I have been stung once in Barcelona (ranked in the top 5 for pick pocketing and robberies in the world).  I had my camera with all my photos of Paris, Spain and Hungary stolen.  Do you think I was slightly annoyed?  If I had of kept my memory  card separate I would’ve had my memories still, and then I could have claimed a new camera on my travel insurance.

5. Listen to locals – If you want to live life on the edge that’s fine. If you want to be a complete independent traveller and do everything yourself, that’s fine too.  But what I do suggest is listen to locals, as locals know best.  They live in the country so why would’t you listen.  A few countries I have been in now, locals have said, “stay out of that city, it’s too dangerous”, or “just catch a cab after 10pm”, or “stay out of that street”.  All these comments have been explained to me, why not to go there.  I am still living and to be honest, I don’t think I am missing out on much.

I hope I haven’t made travelling with expensive camera gear too much of a burden.  It just takes preparation, a little getting used to and, most of all, common sense.  There is nothing better than capturing that moment with a good bit of gear.  I mean that’s why you’re there in the first place.

If you have had any positive or negative travel experiences, let me know.  If you have any other camera safety ideas, please leave a comment.

Take care and snap you later!!

Dean

Thinking about what travel equipment to pack on a trip is sometimes hard enough.

But as a travel photographer, your photography travel equipment can be just as hard to choose.  What am I going to shoot? Where am I going? How heavy is it? Will I use it? etc etc.

All these questions are important.  It’s even harder if you’re starting from scratch.  Just to set things straight I’m not going to talk about point and shoot camera’s, this blog is about travel equipment for serous photographers.  If you want more than just taking images for a photo album then those compact cameras are just fine.  If you’re after fine art prints or prints to enlarge and display then you need the right camera and lenses for the job.

As there’s a huge selection of lenses to choose from, it’ll be easier to narrow it down by identifying your goals for your trip.  If you have travelled many times with your camera equipment then you’ll have some idea of what you need for a particular destination.  However, lets consider that this is your first time to travel with your DSLR and expensive travel equipment.

It’s a fine balance between what you need, what you think you need and how much weight you’re prepared to carry.  However to get great photos, it comes down to what you have , what you can afford, knowing the lilitations  and how to get the shot you want.

Dean’s top 5 camera travel equipment considerations:

1. Study your travel destination - This would be the first task as a travel photographer to do.  Research the locations you’re going to, look at other people’s images to get an idea of what images you’ll be taking.  On this note it is important to know the weather conditions where you are travelling. There’s nothing worse then getting stuck in a South East Asian monsoonal down pour and not having protection for your equipment.
2. Buy the best lenses within your price range - Once you now your destination and the type of images you’ll be taking, it’s now time to select the lenses you need.  It’s also important to consider your future use for the lenses.  You don’t wan’t to buy a lens for that particular trip and not use it again.

   Also consider how you can utilise the lenses for future use.  There are so many considerations, such as fixed lenses, variable lenses, telephoto, wide-angle, super wide-angle and macro lenses to name a few.  Buy the best you can within your budget and think about its uses’s, not just for the first trip, but for future trips.

3. Carrying expensive travel equipment - When people see my camera gear, they say, “What happens if you get robbed?”.  I say, “I hope my insurance pays up!”.  Well I hate to mention it, but being robbed can happen.  I have personally known people who have been held up by knife point for a camera.

   Although it’s not a nice thought, you have to be prepared.  You might find this weird, but I expect to be robbed, I don’t go around flaunting my gear, but I expect to be robbed.However there are ways to minimise this.  Insurance is one.  Make sure your gear is insured.  I physically dress down, I will always look like a tourist, but a poor one at that.  I wear no jewellery, no fancy stuff that will attract local thieves.

   I never carry my camera around my neck.  Take out the camera when you need it, then put it away.  Use non-camera bags at times, just the name ‘Lowepro’ may be a trigger for a thief.

4. Carrying the weight - How bad do you want GREAT images???  People look at what I take (which is not much) and say, “you carry all that?”.  My reasoning is, if you want GREAT images, then you have to go that extra step, do what other photographers are too lazy to do.  But it also comes down to being sensible.

   Choosing the correct equipment before you travel is the key.On one of my trips I carried my camera bag and tripod (8kg – 17 pounds) on a three day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  If anyone has walked the Inca Trail, then carrying unnecessary items can be tiresome.  Although as a travel photographer, it’s this extra effort you do, which in the end will get you great results.  DON’T BE AN ORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHER, BE A GREAT ONE.

5. Camera bags – Camera bags are an extremely important bit of travel equipment.  Firstly it protects your camera gear from knocks and bumps, wet weather and keeps things organised.  Studying your destination also helps with what type of travelling you’re doing.

   Are you trekking more, which may require a backpack with a lot of support and padding, are you walking around urban areas where you need access to you camera more regularly or perhaps setting up a portable studio where you have lights and a back drop.

   Think about how you want to access your equipment.  Personally, I travel as a backpacker, so having a sturdy backpack, which can be utilised as a day pack is handy.  I have used  two different ‘Lowepro‘ brand bags and they have served me well.  My money has been well spent on protecting my camera gear.  Put it this way, you get what you pay for in this area.

Photography travel equipment can be time consuming and confusing to start with.  But talking to people who have travelled or just by doing it, is the only way to learn.

If  you are a seasonal travel photographer, share your experiences with us.

Take care and Snap you later!!

Dean