Things you can't really practice for.... The total solar eclipse. No matter how much I prepared, I still couldn't even visualize 1. what kinds of photographic marvels might be available 2. how/when to capture these, especially since... 3. the awesomeness of the actual eclipse in the short time it took place had me mezmerized. I had seen a partial eclipse in the past and was in awe, but nothing compared to the entire sky going dark and owls hooting and... just wow. We travelled back to the eastern townships in Quebec, and were treated to perfectly clear skies. All the chatter leading up to the eclipse said "go south, the likelihood of clear skies is much higher" when in fact that many of these southern locations were actually clouded over while southern Quebec experienced a perfectly clear day. I was prepared to just be present when the skies got dark, clouds or no, but the actual experience was magical. I recommend it to anyone. Myself, I probably won't see anything like it again in my lifetime unless I live to be some 150 years old :-).
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The experience will never leave me. I've parsed through some 7000 photos and videos, and it was difficult to select the favorites to post. From the predators, to the graceful giants, to the small, meek animals... ALL beautiful. While I could have picked one scenario and just observed all day long, there was simply too much for the time we had. We witnessed the full "circle of life", albeit in reverse order. We witnessed a 'kill', we witnessed a birth and we saw a ton of stuff in between. Unexpected, we got a glimpse of the migration (the definition of infinity). Our guides were knowledgeable of the land, of the wildlife and also of the people. They were patient with us, they looked out for us... generally awesome people.
I've been trying to figure out (so that I could explain to folks who ask) what might have been my favorite - and I can't. The wildlife was obviously number one for me, but I cannot point to one animal or even and say "that one!". Of course the unwind period in Diani Beach was a great way to end the trip (I don't count the bungling of the flights/unions/airlines on the way back). I think the one picture for me that sums up Africa is this one above. Certainly not a contest-winner by any means, but it, as they say, is worth the thousand words I might use to describe the feeling of being there. The rest of the pics can be found here There they are, seemingly ignoring everyone and everything around them. And by everything, I mean the half-dozen vehicles of tourists that seem to crowd them to the point of annoyance. You point the camera, or just sit/stand there and admire their beauty and their sheer size... the Kings of the land. Apex predators. And then they lift their massive heads and look directly into your eyes. All the breath goes out of you. THAT is the moment! THAT is what I was waiting for. I snapped a couple, then put my camera down and tried to find my breath again. Back from Africa, and will be creating a section on this site for the photos I like the best. It was nine solid days of safari. Nine days of the wild. 7000 pics and videos to sort through. Until then... those eyes... Yesterday I watched a video posted by Pangolin Wildlife Photography about noise in photographs. A very well done and thoroughly explained without getting into the weeds video on noise and various techniques to reduce noise. This is still a widely discussed topic amongst, especially the old-school photographers who started in the film days. At the same time, I have been revisiting some (ok all) of the photographs in my Lightroom libraries and I happened to find a prime example of what Janine was talking about. You will have to watch the video - i won't attempt to explain it, but see the examples below - all shot with exactly the same equipment within seconds of each other. Each processed with the same amount of sharpening and texture and no noise reduction applied in LR. I'm a believer now. I am sure the pixel-peepers can critique this comparison. But honestly, a wildlife moment may never be repeated and missing the shot is a travesty. I think perhaps there's another "f/8 and be there" quote. Not sure what it is yet, but it includes something to the effect of "get the damn shot". Thanks to the Pangolin folks. JohnT yeah, I guess I have a bucket list... but my bucket list is not just a checklist so that I can say I have been there, done that blah blah blah. It is a bit like making the mistake of going photograph-hunting with someone who is not a photographer. They pull over, stop the car for you and suddenly you're on the clock. You snap a picture and... 'what you need more than one?" Personally, photography, and 'bucket-ing" are life experiences. They are not something I will simply put a checkmark in the box and move on to the next. Photography - I can sit by a lake or stream for hours, or sit in a cramped kayak until I can't feel my legs because I know the heron is going to eventually stick his head in and come up with a fish. The time in between setting out to capture, and capturing and then returning home, is 100% part of the experience. I think I have another blog post that mentions this with hummingbirds. It can give you goosebumps. Imagine photographing fox kits and then being startled by mommy fox barking at you from no more than 10 yards away... takes your breath away. With my 'bucket' I have experienced building my own boat from scratch. I have had the life experience of backwoods camping with my kids (rain and shine). There is absolutely nothing like being woken up in the middle of the night by wolves howling no more than 100 yards away. I was privileged to experienced being on the same ground as a grizzly bear in Alaska with no fence between us. All these things are more than a check mark on a list. I will soak in the experience of being in Africa later this year - it will be my experience and I will be there with some very good friends and acquaintances. I will experience ALL of it, good, comfortable, uncomfortable and come back actually knowing how it feels. I will try to capture as much of it on camera as I can so I can show others, but... it will likely not even come close to being there. A bucket list... things you should EXPERIENCE before you kick the bucket... should etch your soul. They should mold who you are as a person. Mine is not spelled out, it is made up as I go. It is 'life'. Happy New Year everyone I continue to revamp this site - work in process. New Years Eve, and I still have a ways to go but time in the new year. I've been reviewing and reorganizing some 50,000 photographs taken over the past number of years, and deciding on which ones are worth posting, as well as keywording them and making sure the Search Engines can find them. 2024 will see me travel to Eastern Africa on a bucket-list trip of a lifetime (more on what "Bucket List" means to me in the coming weeks). 2023 has been a year unlike any other and while there has been a lot to be grateful for, there is a ton of stuff that I experienced that I hope to never experience again. I've made and solidified a lot of great friendships and renewed some old friendships and I think overall, that made my year. Happy New year everyone. See you in 2024. While not formally published yet, I have decided to start a series of web pages dedicated to the "Old dusty boxes" of photos, and letters and basically stuff from the boxes of history we've (my families) stored and perhaps destined to be lost. Over the next while I will start uploading scans to this site on a separate page and well, we'll see how it goes. For now: 4-minutemiles.weebly.com/family-archives.html
In the words of John Muir: "No words can convey anything like an adequate conception of its sublime grandeur - the noble simplicity and fineness of the sculpture of the walls, their magnificent proportions, their cascades, gardens, and forest adornments, the placid fiord between them, the great white and blue ice wall, and the snow-laden mountains beyond..." Well, lot of changes these days and mostly (I think) for the good. I find myself out of formal work and/or possibly contemplating whether i consider 'retirement' or look for more work. My 'work' experience in the past 9-12 months has had a huge impact on me (physically and mentally), and frankly, retirement is quite appealing. Retirement for me means more than likely, a less stressful, possibly part time employment (to supplement my expensive hobbies :) ). And as seems tradition, I find myself out of work a few weeks prior to a big trip/vacation. And so I find myself in Vancouver preparing to board a cruise ship for an Alaska, inside passage cruise. This will be different from the one a year ago - no face-to-face with bears is likely. I'm looking through this website (my website) and thinking it will need a bit of updating. Technology changes, perhaps more tips & techniques, and I'm thinking a format change possibly. Lets see. Retirement, even semi-retirement opens up a whole lot of opportunity to do all those things I've got on my list of things to do. <-- Vancouver Aquarium. I am convinced that anyone can learn something new. Back in high school, I had a weekend session on stop-motion photography, where we had to, essentially - create a cartoon. That was what people like to call "Back in the day". We did the stop motion using super-8 film. I made a basketball player and he did a layup. Was so cool to see the final result. Fast-forward some 250 years, and here we are with computers. I found out about this free software and a whole bunch of tutorial videos available in different places (primarily on youTube) and during the really cold winter months, I started to learn and experiment and imagine. You can find some of the creations I dreamt up here. I have learned that you need to have patience. Sometimes you can jump ahead, sometimes when you do you hit a wall, and need to go back to basics, or learn from others. But ultimately if you want to learn - it is possible.
I will add that I've not only learned a ton about computer animation and modelling, but my projects have prompted me to go back and do a bunch of review on Astrophysics, Cosmology and Quantum Theory. Fear not however - if you are not into sci-fi, scroll down and see Elmer and Squeek (I plan to someday go back and make them come alive). |
John T."Photographs capture my viewpoint - based on my place on this planet, where I've been and who I am. If you 'get it' then you've been there too, either in mind, body, heart or soul." Also see the "EauPositivePhotography" pages for other stuff
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