While going through the thousands of images we brought back, I realized that there was also the human experience – the personal side to our adventure.  We were already friends with the rest of our little group long before we departed JFK, and there were lots of shots of places we went to and things we did, all of us having a great time every minute of every day.  Some of the photography was about that too.

A photographer friend noted that while he liked the animal shots I posted, he wanted to know about the countryside and the places we had been.

He was right. I should have included the big picture, so here it is.  Be warned, however, that this gallery, South Africa 2010 Travelogue, is large at 109 images. It is a mix of fun snapshots, landscapes and some animal shots that did not make the previous cut.  It’s a “this is my vacation” collection in a gallery style format.  Feel free to blow through them! I hope the story shows the fun we had.

It is probably fair to say that most photographers who shoot nature oriented images have  photo safari in Africa as a line item on their bucket list.  After a number of years looking at ads for African treks it seemed an impossible dream.  The typical prices for a couple to spend a few weeks in the heart of big game country are what I call “stupid” expensive.  It seemed to be a trip for the “money is no object” crowd.  Susie, my wife, had spent time in Africa as  a Peace Corps volunteer before we were married and she really wanted to go back.  She reminded me more than once,  ”You promised!”

Then I found out that some friends in the local photo guild I belong to signed up for a tour with a focus on photography and the cost was reasonable. They directed me to Africa Wild Safaris, owned and operated by Greg and Karen Sweeney.  Greg is a professional photographer known for his underwater photography, but is just as prolific a shooter when his feet are on terra firma.  My first conversation with Greg last fall revealed that his home base was in Florida, and, as luck would have it, he was guiding a client for manatee observing at Crystal Springs in February.  When I mentioned that manatees held a special place in Susie’s heart and we would be in Florida as well, he immediately invited us to join him.  I knew I was going to like this guy!

The Adventure Begins

Fast forward to May. Our group of five arrived in Johannesburg weary from sixteen hours of ocean crossing, but excited to be on South African soil. We were met by a friendly driver and spacious van to begin the overland drive to our final destination, Bona Ntaba Lodge.  It was a long drive, but the roads were excellent and we took the opportunity to take in the varied geography and views of daily life in the many small towns we passed through.  The last fifteen miles to the lodge were on progressively poorer gravel roads until we were down to a very rough single lane track threading through the bush.  By the time we were within shouting distance of the lodge we had already seen glimpses of giraffe, cape buffalo, and wart hogs.  This was going to be the real deal.

Our long journey now over, we were warmly greeted by Greg and Karen. It was a  short walk from the lodge to our ‘tree house’ accommodations.  While not exactly tree houses in the strictest literal sense, these little houses on stilts provide a fantastic view of the miles and miles of tree tops and the distant Drackenburg mountains.  A live tree was part of our lodge finishing off the interior decor. Very cool.

Armed and Dangerous

The next ten days became something of a routine….  up before first light, grab a cup of coffee, load up into a ruggedized Land Rover and head out to one of the many nearby preserves for a ‘game drive’.  Since there were only five us, we each got a prime shooting spot in a truck designed to carry nine.  Perfect.  Sometimes the guide was instructed to focus on getting us close to rhino, lion, or whatever, but truth be told, the animals have minds of their own. Sometimes it felt like a game of hide and seek, but we always saw something.  It really didn’t matter what popped into view; it was fun and challenging photography. You could hear the avalanche of bits rushing to memory cards with six cameras blazing!

Then it would be back late in the morning for breakfast with time to rest, download images, or read up on wildlife until mid afternoon when a new and different drive was arranged.  We visited Kruger National Park twice and those were all day excursions.  Kruger is the size of Colorado and has many thousands of elephant, giraffe, lion…. all of the “big five” and so many more.  We were never more than a few minutes between sightings of something.

Not All Work

Some mornings we could sleep in until at least daylight and have a hearty breakfast before we would go do or see something within reasonable driving distance.  A visit with the hippo media star, Jessica, was great fun one afternoon. Hard to believe that hippos are allegedly responsible for the most human fatalities of all animal attacks in Africa.

On another we had some fun and excitement experiencing Africa’s longest zip line, Skyway Trails.

No matter what we were doing or seeing there were plenty of images to capture!

Tshukudu Game Lodge

Our tour concluded with a two night stay at Tshukudu Game Lodge, about an hours drive from Bona Ntaba and located in the center of a 12,000 acre preserve.  With a large friendly staff and beautiful facilities,  this well established family business provided an assigned expert guide for our group.  The food was good and perhaps too plentiful!  One of the highlights of the Tshukudu experience was the presence of three grown cheetahs, raised from cubs at the lodge. They roamed about freely posing for annoying photographers and occasionally playing with the dogs.  “Nice Kitty!”

In the evening dinner scraps brought out enormous porcupines and a bush pig for our photographic dessert.  The bush pig would roll over and let you scratch its tummy.  No thanks…  this thing had a face that only a mother could love!

Back in the bush away from the lodge, a large fenced in area held a mating pair of leopards.  These are endangered and the breeding program they are funding will help prevent their demise.  For us… unparalleled shooting!  The big cats were going to be fed and they weren’t the least bit camera shy.  These big cats (180 lbs) can easily drag twice their weight far up into the tree branches to eat undisturbed!

All Good Things Come to an End

The drive back to the airport seemed longer, and the flight back was definitely longer.  Traveling is really an ordeal, but a necessary sacrifice if you want to experience the world.

I came back with 5500 images and a case of African Tick Fever!  “Bugger!” Thank God for good doctors and antibiotics!  As for the images, thank God for Adobe LightRoom.  I distilled them down to fifty-five or so and you can see them here…

South Africa Photo Safari 2010

Thanks to Greg Sweeney for the first four photos!

2009 Recap

Photographically, 2009 was a prolific year for me.  I took over 12,000 images from dozens of inspiring locations between the two great oceans of North America.  Of course with multiple exposures for possible HDR and  re-shoots to alter a composition by moving the camera six inches (or six feet) there was a lot of redundancy. Nonetheless the shutter finger got a lot of exercise this year!

As my portfolio of decent imagery has grown, I took advantage of more opportunities to show my work, including The Photopath 12 Exhibit in Rochester, my own solo show at the Canandaigua Wood Library, a continuing exhibit at the Canandaigua National Bank in Geneva, NY and most recently acceptance of three images at the WOW! exhibit now showing at Image City Photo Gallery in Rochester, NY.  The fact that folks are willing to part with their hard earned dollars in these uncertain times to make one of my images their own is greatly humbling and gratifying.  To all of you who have come to my shows, sent kind words of praise, or even  purchased an image, please accept my very heartfelt thanks.

It is bewildering how many  photographers are rapidly maturing with great work to show. I believe this is a direct result of the “digital revolution”.  It is a marvelous artistic pursuit that is always full of surprises.  No two photographers ever see quite the same thing even when they are looking in the same direction at the same time.  Throw in the infinitely variable choices in todays editing arsenals and every photograph is a snowflake.  No two are identical.

Two New Galleries

Back in 2006 Susie and I went on an Arctic “Adventure Cruise” with Adventure Canada.  In addition to the incredible photographic opportunities we were privileged to experience, we also met some interesting people.  One of them was Pete Ryan, a professional stock and assignment photographer, who is on a short list of approved contributers to the National Geographic on-line  stock library.  Pete and I stayed in touch and for reasons only known to him, he graciously invited me to join him on two photo missions this past fall.

Pete throughly researches his subjects and locations before arriving and he always has a list of places to see and shoot.  I got to follow along and tried to stay out of his way while I experienced a photographers’ waking dream of shooting from dawn to dusk.  Only hunger, fatigue or driving to the next site slowed down the relentless pixel count.

This was certainly the case when we joined up in Newfoundland in November.  By his own count Pete has been to Newfoundland dozens of times and he still had a list of “must sees”.  The short version of his list included a remote and little known site, (even to the locals), of a B36 USAF bomber  crash high on a rugged mountain top on the Trinity Peninsula, and a visit to a remote abandoned fishing village, accessible only by boat, just to name two.  I call the village “Sworn to Secrecy” since Pete does not want me to publish the name of the nearly forgotten village.  In spite of uncertain and rapidly changing weather, each day was an adventure all its own.  Newfoundland Revisited samples that memorable trip.

As we parted company in Newfoundland, Pete was thinking about a return trip to Death Valley. Even before the Newfoundland shots were culled, organized and first edits done, Pete was selling me on the hidden gems in Death Valley.  I am not a very ‘hard sell’ and so it was that we joined up in mid December in Las Vegas as a jump off for another photographic adventure.  I piloted a Ford Escape 4X4 and Pete pointed the way to remote abandoned mines and long deserted buildings. Thank god for GPS and topo maps!  We tested man and machine.  We had more fun than should be legal.  We also saw many of the popular and well known attractions in the great valley, but sans the crowds.  It was great shooting.

We even ended up with a day and evening in Las Vegas, a town where “what happens here, stays here” ….  or something like that.  It is a gaudy, sometimes rude, sometimes racy place, but oh my, the lights at night!  Check out Death Valley: Off the Beaten Track, for the highlights of that trek.

I tried to select images with a wide variety of subjects and locations and I posted a short narrative with each image to provide either insight to the time and place of the photo or other musings that would add to the story.  Folks really seemed to enjoy reading these and certainly spent more time with the images than they would likely have otherwise.

Of course, the displayed images were (discretely) for sale, and while I am happy to say that I sold a surprising number of them, I was more interested in the opportunity to see what the public liked the best out of the thirty-five images displayed.  To accomplish that, I provided  ballots and asked folks to vote for their favorite five images.  To encourage voting, I promised a free image to the winner of a drawing at the end of the show whose five favorites included the overall show top vote getter. (Congratulations to Ken Poole of Canandaigua, NY!)

“Glacier Rain” was the top pick.  Because of two ties, seven images emerged as the favorite five. Notable to me was the fact that of the seven, five were HDR (high dynamic range) images, and one was a stitched panorama.  There is always some debate in the photographic community about the use of HDR, but in the case of my work, the public has clearly spoken.  It was gratifying to discover that every image in the show was on someones’ ballot.

It was a huge amount of work and expense to  do the show, but it was an honor to be invited and very satisfying that the images were well received.  My sincere thanks to all who took the time to come.  For the benefit of those who could not make it to the show I created a gallery of the exhibit , Wood Show 2009.  Keep in mind that no screen does justice to a good large print.  The images are ordered in the gallery based on the votes they received.  (The meerkats in “Watchin’ You Watchin’ Us” was actually a triptych and I had a group of four puffin portraits in a quad, but I had no convenient way to post them in the gallery….  sorry.)

The opening and reception for the exhibit is Thursday, September 3, 7-9 PM on the third floor of the Wood Library on Main St., Canandaigua, NY. The exhibit will run for the month of September.

As a visitor to my site you have seen many of the images that will be on display, but I encourage you to attend as most computer displays can not do justice to an image the way a large carefully made print can.

The reception will be informal of course, and you need not plan on staying the entire time, so I hope you can fit this into your busy schedules and I hope to see you there!

Recovery time for this relatively minor procedure is hard to predict but “months” are often mentioned. It has been a week so far and I am greatly encouraged by my progress. At the present rate I should be able to handle the lighter 5D and a smallish lens in another week or two

I sent this to a few of my friends just to prove that I am “benched” for a while….

So, since I can still use the computer without too much discomfort, I have gone through a lot of stacked up images the past week that have produced four new galleries.

Captured is a small collection of shots from visits to two of our regional zoos in Rochester and Buffalo, NY. I enjoy ’shooting’ wildlife, but I have to say there isn’t much wild about captive animals. Certainly there are species that are fairly oblivious to their surroundings, but the higher order vertebrates are, well, depressing. They are basically prisoners put on display for our amusement.

May – July Odds and Ends is just that. A few shots from here and there, which includes the Chimney Bluffs on Lake Ontario, the Genesee River at the High Falls area in Rochester, NY, Some scenics, from the Old Forge area in the Adirondacks, and some shots of an old truck to mention a few. A large percentage of these images are the product of HDR (high dynamic range) processing where multiple exposures are combined in software to capture a wider dynamic range than could normally be viewed on a screen or print. HDR is the subject of a lot of debate in photographic circles these days. Amazing software, Photomatix Pro, for example, gives the user the freedom to create images that can be a startling “interpretation” of the original “reality”. I admit that I have exercised the creative side of HDR in some images and the risk is that some will be annoyed or object to them. That’s OK. This is like TV… if you don’t like what you see, change the channel, (or go on to the next image). However, in spite of the potential for abuse, HDR has also allowed me to create images that look “normal” when none of the individual images used to build the composite had any potential what so ever. You can be the judge.

Within the last month I was able to travel into the past, at least with a little added imagination, when I visited Gettysburg, PA for the 146th anniversary re-enactment of that great (and horrible) battle in the Cival War. The time and effort of many hundreds of participants dedicated to reliving that historical period is something to witness and provided great subject matter for my viewfinder.

I returned for my second visit to the Historical Air Group Airshow at Geneseo, NY earlier this month to document this years theme of Naval Aviation. In addition to the meticulously restored and maintained warbirds of the last century, I again stepped back in time as I walked through a 1941 Air Corps encampment. A ‘high point’ was circling around at 2500′ above the New York countryside in a Cessna “Bamboo Bomber” as three Navy warbirds formed up on our wing for our eager lenses.

I hope you enjoy some of these images…. as always, I am happy to hear your comments.

Turns out the ability to get images directly out of LR and into your email program has been residing in LR all along, but rather well obscured.

There are actually two separate ways LR can manage this and both are useful. If you are reading this far then presumably you have basic familiarity with LR. You know that editing in LR is really just managing a set of instructions. There is no “edited file” until you “export” it. I have always felt the use of the word ‘export’ as LR uses it is a bit confusing for new users, but if you want a jpg (or tif) file representing your editing efforts, you need to export it. This brings up its own dialog box which is rich with features, including the ability to save any configuration of options you choose as a preset.

For email, you might want a file with maximum pixel dimensions of, say, 900 pixels, (your choice). Pick a quality. Decide if you want to show this new file in your catalog, (I always do). Pick a naming convention, (I add the the pixel width to the end of the original name). At the very bottom are post processing options which are normally off. Pick “Edit in” then browse to your email application. For me that is Entourage, (another sad story). Add a new preset using all these settings and give it a name, like “Med qual 900 jpg & email”.

Now, when you have finished working on a cool shot that you want to send to someone, export it using the new preset and voila, your email program is on top with the file attached waiting for you to add a recipient, subject, etc.. Cool. You can select more than one at at time, just do the math so your total attachment size does not exceed the limits of your email provider, (or those of your recipient).

OK, so now we can send files we are exporting. What about jpg files that you have already created and want to email? In LR preferences we can set up external editors which will show up under the Photo menu, Edit In. If you have Photoshop on your computer that will show automatically. You can add others. Set up another one and point it towards your email program. All of the of the settings assume you are actually sending to another pixel editor and not all of them are relevant, but set the color space to sRGB and check 8 bits per channel. (Keep ‘tif’ in the settings even though we are sending jpgs). Save these settings as “Email”.

Now, for any existing email ready image files, select, click in the photo menu in the top menu bar (or right click on the image thumbnail), pick Edit In, then choose “Email”. You will get a new dialog box that asks if you want to use the original (defaulted) or a copy. Stay with original and click OK. Your email program will be back with the file attached just like when you exported it above, ready to go.

I am mystified why this isn’t built into the program or why more folks aren’t clamoring for this as a ready to use feature. Maybe it’s just me. But this works great after a minor effort to set it up. Give it a try.

Follow up note:

When LR was first introduced I was less than impressed and dismissed it as not worthy of my time. However, when I was forced to find a new photo management program for the Mac a review of the then new version 2 caught my eye. All of the issues that made it a non starter when it was introduced had been addressed and some eye opening improvements were added. Now I can’t imagine my photo life without it! What a great program. In a future post I will outline why it is my dream photo program come true.

Remember, the show runs until May 3rd and the High Falls area is a delightful place to spend a few hours. Enjoy the view of High Falls on the Genesse from the foot bridge over the gorge.

The three images I submitted to the exhibit…..

Harbor Dawn was taken from a motel room overlooking the harbor after I awoke early and peaked out through the curtains. The scene before me had me throwing the tripod and camera together in a panic for fear of losing the light, all the while still in my “skivies”. OK, maybe too much information, but you never know when the magic moment will be in front of you. Go here for the rest of Circumnavigation of Newfoundland 2008 gallery.

Glacier Rain was shot from the front of a zodiac a few hundred feet from a forty foot high wall of ice in the Canadian Arctic. The ‘rain’ in the shot is the melting ice pouring down the face of the glacier. Global warming right before my eyes. The Western Greenland and the Canadian Arctic has many other similar images from that great adventure.

Taking Flight was the only usable image from a string of continuous shots taken from my canoe in Canadice Lake while a pair of young geese exercised their spontaneous primal urge to try their wings. The light was low as evening approached and even at a high ISO the shutter speed was too slow to freeze the motion of the beating wings. At first I was disappointed in the shot but the sense of motion captured in the blur of flapping wings grew on me. More in Canadice Evenings, 2008.

It was excruciatingly difficult to decide which of my images would show and judge well. I enlisted the eyes of other photographers and friends whose artful judgment I respect to narrow my choices down to seven images. With the help of Jeff Adams, a friend and graphic arts educator, (and a fine photographer himself), we further narrowed it down to three.

Since I volunteered my time to help set up the gallery following the judging phase I was granted a sneak peek as to how well my images stood up to the jury and popular balloting process. I am humbled but gratified to report that all my images scored high enough to make it into the “little room”; reserved for images scoring over 40, (out of 70). They also scored very well in the popular vote.  Harbor Dawn scored 1st, Glacier Rain tied for 2nd, and Taking Flight tied for 21st out of 326 submitted images.  This perhaps is the most gratifying and the most surprising to me as there are many very good images on display this year.

This post becomes rather short notice but for readers in the Rochester area the opening reception for Photo Path 12 is Sunday March 22 from 3-6P.  It is a good show and in an historic and visually interesting area.  A great place to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.  If you can’t make it then the show runs through May 3rd.  Go to www.centerathighfalls.org for directions.

I will post a follow up after the opening.Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

The great search turned up  a nearly new Dodge 3/4 ton diesel.  Somehow the new truck and its greater capacity led to a bigger camper. This one has a small bathroom which greatly expands one’s choices for evening stops on long trips.

All of this led Susie, my wife, to suggest a late winter trip to Florida for a maiden voyage.  Great idea!

Susie insisted that we take our two dogs, and I insisted on getting the canoe and kayak on the roof.  I knew this “family vacation” was not going to be ‘photo trek’ per se, but of course I took every lens and body, prepared for anything.

Dogs are like little children and need a fair amount of attention, but they travel a lot better… they never ask “are we there yet?”, though they do make a protest if you drive past their dinner time!  You can’t just let them out the door when they need to go out, so it was leashes and little plastic bags several times a day.  I pretty much resigned myself to missing sunrises and sunsets with my camera.

Still, we had a great time. We spent a few days in the charming city of Charleston, SC and a day at the beautiful and authentic Magnolia Plantation. A couple of interstate billboards extolled the Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, so we spent a day there in butterfly heaven.

Visiting family near Tampa, we spent a day as authentic tourists at Busch Gardens. Laugh all you want, but there are great photo ops for African wildlife few of us will get to experience on African soil.

We visited a number of the many Florida natural springs and spring fed rivers in the fantastic Florida State Park system, and that led to canoeing on the Ichetucknee, Weeki Wachee, and Chassahowitzka. Magical places to paddle.  Check out Florida Snapshots.

On our last weekend before heading back to the frozen north, we spent a day at the Jennings Raceway in north Florida watching and photographing my brother, Dave, and his friend, Mike, balance the physics of horsepower, speed, friction, and human dexterity and skill on their motorcycles. Photographically this was more challenging than you can imagine!

Since these photo subjects were all so different, I put them in their own little galleries. You can get to them from the links above or from their description widgets on the right.

If you would like more detailed information on where any of these photos were taken, drop me a note.