https://www.rohoyachui.com/index.htmlHot News!en2012-07-04T09:23:01+02:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Wed, 4 Jul 2012 09:23:51 +0200en-usnoHot News!home2012-07-04T09:23:01+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3e6328ae136420dedc9063dd583004e1-63.html#unique-entry-id-63https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3e6328ae136420dedc9063dd583004e1-63.html#unique-entry-id-63

When photographing outdoors we rely on the natural light and how it changes during the course of the day. The light just after sunrise is probably the most beautiful light a photographer can work with. It is warm, soft, gentle, promising, with still a whole day ahead, clean, innocent and pristine. In this light every subject from the model to the lion looks innocent, warm, gentle and lovable. Nothing has spoilt their beauty yet, the beauty of the light and the subject. Further in the day the light becomes harsh or dull, depending on the weather, contrasts are missing and subjects are over or underexposed. It’s hard working to get something look good. Towards sunset the light makes another major change. As if it wants to get rid of all what has happened during the day it’s cleaning and softening itself to be calm and gentle before setting for the night.
The hour just after sunrise and the hour just before sunset are called the golden hour. They are the best time for photographers. For those who find it difficult to get up early the light before sunset will be fine, but the best light is the light in the early morning. It’s hard to say why, but it might be the promise of a day to come what makes the light the better one and it will reflect in the images as well.
Choose your light and shoot away.
Happy shooting early birds.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoaychui.com
]]>home2012-07-03T19:46:27+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e2f5e420c2ff90df72533bc3d59e9d9e-62.html#unique-entry-id-62https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e2f5e420c2ff90df72533bc3d59e9d9e-62.html#unique-entry-id-62

What is a typical bird photo? An empty branch or a piece of blue sky. They are so incredibly fast that it is so hard to get them nicely in the picture.
First things first. Put your camera away and observe the birds, any birds. Learn about their behavior. When are they doing things, how are they doing things, what is an indication for a following movement, how does a bird show that he will take off.
Next. Get a feeling for the birds. Spend time with them to sense when they are calm and relaxed and when they are restless, anxious or stressed. That will influence their behavior and the way you can photograph them.
Then get your camera and practice. Sit with the birds in your garden or in the park and photograph them. Don’t think about composition or light; just photograph any bird that comes along. By doing that you will bring your observations together with the actual process of photographing and this synergy will result in great bird photos.
So in essence: observation, sensing, practicing.
Enjoy these great animals. Happy snapping.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-07-02T16:30:40+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/0ec591b4220bda04e2f545e092d2030c-61.html#unique-entry-id-61https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/0ec591b4220bda04e2f545e092d2030c-61.html#unique-entry-id-61

Sometimes on family occasions someone gets the idea, we need to take a photo. Everybody has to come together and stand in front of the house or any other great background the idea person choose. Then the group has to move to the left or right, people have to switch positions and move again, because now the light has changed. These can be a very annoying photo shoot everyone just wants to get over with. But what about moving the photographer? The photographer is only one person to move. And by moving the photographer new angles will come up with new light situations and probably more interesting photos. Interesting enough the photographer tends to stand still, nailed to the ground and wondering why the photo wouldn’t work instead of changing his/her position. That happens not only with family photos. It’s the same with buildings, wildlife, holiday photos, actually with all sorts of photos we take. Sometimes something caught our eye and we want to capture exactly that, but the light has changed until we got our camera ready or somebody walked into the composition. We definitely have to move to get anything out of it then. So it probably boils down to being fast enough to avoid moving the photographer around. But maybe only in these eye catching situations. With the family photo it might be, because nothing had caught our eye yet and by positioning the people we try to create an eye catching situation or with famous buildings we think we need to photograph them, although they do not catch our eye yet.
That means in essence that the photographer is in the absolute right position when something catches his/her eye and doesn’t need to move, shouldn’t move at all. If there is no eye catching moment, the photographer has to move until he/she experiences and eye catching moment with the subject and then they can stop moving and start shooting.

Happy eye catching.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-29T11:52:12+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/75b03a761f44dd652d2eba02379600d3-60.html#unique-entry-id-60https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/75b03a761f44dd652d2eba02379600d3-60.html#unique-entry-id-60

There are plenty of articles on that subject with mostly the same essence, “megapixel don’t matter or do they?”.
The newest Nikon D800 seems to be the dream of every photographer. Eventually 36 megapixel for a reasonable price and the photos will be brilliant. If you are a fashion photographer and the images will be blown up to billboard size it matters, but are we all going that big? Besides that, the higher the number of megapixel the bigger the image files and the bigger and faster the memory cards need to be and the storage on computers and backup drives. It will take for ages to upload the images to the computer, the image software might slow down when dealing with the high amount of big files and the backup hard drive will be full quickly. For what all the trouble with the big files when the images will be in a family photo book? Not that the family photo book shouldn’t be of outstanding quality, but we won’t see the difference between 16 and 36 megapixels on this scale. Maybe its just the idea that we get more for less what let us being so excited, like 36 eggs for the price of 16. The D800 is a great camera with excellent technology, yet a great photo needs more than that and no megapixel can replace the skilled and intuitive photographer with the eye for composition and light. Team them up and the results are great, no matter 16 or 36 megapixel.
Happy snapping!

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-28T14:26:19+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/df11776ace23ea968ed120300e1766e1-59.html#unique-entry-id-59https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/df11776ace23ea968ed120300e1766e1-59.html#unique-entry-id-59

The Kenyan National Park authorities decided to ban minibuses from the parks effective from 2014. What does that mean and why are they doing it.
There are two sorts of safari vehicles one can spot in the Masai Mara, the 4x4 Jeeps and the (mostly) Toyota minibuses or minivans. The minibuses are the cheaper safari transportation comparing to the 4x4 jeeps. They are just like the minibuses on the roads in any place in the world except from their hatch roof for the people to stand up for a good look at the wildlife. For the rest they are the same. From the technical point of view that means that they struggle on wet black cotton soil roads after the rain in the Mara (and other places) and get stuck easily. They are also not made to drive off road and on safari roads, which makes them not as comfortable and safe as a vehicle that was made for these conditions. Besides that the drivers are often not trained to drive in the bush and miss the knowledge of a safari guide. The minibus is the budget safari vehicle and that makes it a problem in two ways. They cause problems in the parks and they cannot deliver the safari experience a 4x4 can, but they enable more people to go on safari, because they are cheaper. This is a dilemma. People should be able to go on safari to experience this genuine beauty and nobody knows for how long it will be there. On the other hand a safari in a minibus is not quite a safari. A minibus feels like a minibus no matter where it drives, on the streets of Hamburg or in the Masai Mara, it does not allow the Africa feeling one actually comes for.
For all these reasons its good that the minibuses are banned from the parks, but what with the budget traveller? It can be better to safe money on the accommodation rather than on the vehicle. There are great camping safari opportunities with a 4x4 jeep that have even the advantage of having your own private 4x4 for the whole stay. It’s a great and genuine safari experience and it doesn’t have to cost much. Think about it when planning your safari trip to Africa.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-27T14:37:59+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/6d5c2ec5c53d5a4dddce40d5f53ef8b8-58.html#unique-entry-id-58https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/6d5c2ec5c53d5a4dddce40d5f53ef8b8-58.html#unique-entry-id-58

Did you ever have doubts, if the images in a coffee table book were really images from the Okavango Delta and not from the Kruger Park? Photoshop makes everything look a like, so why not in a wildlife photo book? Well there are vegetation and animals species that would spoil the trick, but more reliable is the light. Although the great wildlife destinations like the Masai Mara, the Okavango Delta and the Kruger National Park are all in sub-Saharan Africa, their light is completely different and recognizable in images. The light of the Kruger Park is more pale and harsh. It doesn’t have the warm depth of the light in the Okavango Delta and the Masai Mara, not even in the golden hour. The Masai Mara light is bright between the golden hours, but it got still this earthy tone to it only East Africa has and the warm light just after sunrise and before sunset is marvelous and distinguished from all other wildlife areas. The light in the Okavango Delta enhances in a beautiful way all colors and makes them greatly saturated and eye catching. And of course the color of the animals differs in different light. So even if you look at an elephant portrait of a clean elephant (no soil on his face) the light tells you where he was. No cheating possible.
Try it yourself and put some photo books or images from the Internet of the different areas next to each other and you will notice the difference. The light tells where they come from. And if not, there might be something not quite right. Light doesn’t cheat.
Happy light capturing!


Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-26T15:56:21+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/6ed596e07319ab49502a00735b6af6d1-57.html#unique-entry-id-57https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/6ed596e07319ab49502a00735b6af6d1-57.html#unique-entry-id-57

We probably all know the images of the Great Migration from documentaries, photographs and travel brochures and somehow they all feel dramatic. Wildebeest bodies crowded on the Mara River bank, hesitating, restless, and anxious. Then one is brave enough to make the first move or just pushed by the crowd, jumping into the water of the Mara River for the greener grass on the other side, swimming, desperately trying to keep its head above the rushing water. More wildebeest pushing, jumping, calling, following the one in front and the river fills with a line of swimming animals. And then one goes head under, the next wildebeest tries to turn around, but the strong current won’t allow that, its struggling and then the other one comes up again, they carry on to the other side. There is pushing and panic and desperation, the path out of the water up the riverbank is tight. The others try to find another path up the bank, fall, try again and more wildebeest are pushing from the river. Finally the first of the herd reach the rim of the riverbank and run onto the grassland. They made it. Now turning around to see how the others are doing. Pushing, calling, panic, fear, yet this herd was lucky, no casualty to the crocodiles. They gained access to the green grass of the Masai Mara and they will do it again and again, bringing their offspring to the Great Plains for food and survival even if that means to face the river.
This epic drama draws not only crowds of animals to the Masai Mara, but also visitors who want to see it with their own eyes. And there is no documentary that can let you feel being there at the crossing with the big herds and their mission for food.
Its photographer’s heaven.


Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-25T16:44:04+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/29f6d04a9d41beebb632509fed4ec52e-56.html#unique-entry-id-56https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/29f6d04a9d41beebb632509fed4ec52e-56.html#unique-entry-id-56

Have you ever had such a day that nothing would work, all you touched fell into pieces, you had the feeling that nobody likes you anymore, business is not going to work and sun is shining never again? There are several ways of dealing with such a day. You can burst into tears and cry until you fall a sleep, start eating ice cream and chocolate until you drop, blame everyone and everything around you for your misery, throwing things and many more other destructive not helping ways of coping options. But there is one solution for everything, photography. Grab your camera or smart phone, go out into the park if you can or just use the environment where you are and start photographing what you see. If you feel so bad that you don’t want to see, then look away and just press the shutter. Keep doing it until you feel exhausted. That means whatever negative energy was in you will have drained. Now have a look at the images. There might be plenty of artistic images of a mug of floor lamp, photographed through angles you never tried before. And there will be plenty of “weird” images you don’t have an explanation for and want to erase. Do so, erase them. They were the disturbing energy you were struggling with for the whole day. Now you are left with your artistic images and if you want or not, you will feel inspired and positive, ready for a new sunny day.
Happy trying.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-22T13:16:00+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f76ee04e8c126b58d707e66e7b15ebb5-55.html#unique-entry-id-55https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f76ee04e8c126b58d707e66e7b15ebb5-55.html#unique-entry-id-55

Inquire now.
]]>home2012-06-22T13:21:22+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a917c6fcd1abd148f8801c364406306d-54.html#unique-entry-id-54https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a917c6fcd1abd148f8801c364406306d-54.html#unique-entry-id-54

Before there was photography there were paintings. Every painter had (and has) its own “signature” in painting, a certain way to see things and a certain way in bringing them on the canvas. It was and is the painter’s way in working with light and composition what makes each of them special.
With photography one might be tempted to think that there is no own signature, because we all press simply the shutter. But there is. There can be ten photographers standing on the very same spot in front of a tree and photographing the very same tree and there will be ten different photos. They all bring in their own way of seeing and capturing things, their own personal way of doing things, their own personality. Just like a painter, also every photographer has his or her own signature in creating a photo while simply pressing the shutter. This is one of the main strength of photography. It enables everybody to create unique artwork. This unique signature is what makes the difference, what makes photos genuine and what makes people loving them. One can only grow in photography by developing and growing the own signature, like a painter, capturing what the inner eye sees.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-21T17:17:35+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d2a8ef162e2806383bd32db0801e05d5-53.html#unique-entry-id-53https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d2a8ef162e2806383bd32db0801e05d5-53.html#unique-entry-id-53

Going on a photo safari is different from doing photography in a city or other holiday destination. There are certain things to keep in mind when preparing for the trip.

#1 Is there power supply in my Safari Camp?
You go on photo safari with your digital camera and additional equipment and pretty much all of it needs electrical power. Ask before departure, if there is power supply and if yes, which adapter you need to bring.

#2 How will the weather be?
Going on safari means being outdoors. This cannot be only challenging for the equipment, but also for the photographer. Inform about the weather conditions and ask for advice before departure.

#3 What lenses do I need?
Do ask this question to somebody who is used to the bush and not just somebody in a store. They mean well, but they usually underestimate the conditions one has to cope with I the bush in relation to the desired photos one wants to bring home.

#4 Laptop or iPad?
You can upload photos to both of them, but the photo processing capacities are very different. Think of what you want to do and make a decision before departure.

#5 Tripod or not?
It depends on what you want to do. There is little space in the game vehicles to set up a tripod, but its nice to have a tripod for low light landscape photography. Think carefully and make a decision before departure.

#6 Weight!
Are you flying from lodge to lodge or going by 4x4? This is crucial in making a decision about the weight of the equipment you are taking with you. Safari flights have strict weight limits, inform about them before departure.

#7 My health
Talk to your GP about the vaccinations you might need and get advice regarding malaria. Mind the different water quality. Bring a repellant, sun glasses and sun hat.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoaychui.com
]]>home2012-06-20T12:46:43+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/c0c4e9c0c86cb396ce18f6a19ba5cfe1-52.html#unique-entry-id-52https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/c0c4e9c0c86cb396ce18f6a19ba5cfe1-52.html#unique-entry-id-52

Why would anybody need reasons to love photography? I think nobody does. It’s just nice to mention some of them again.

#1 Photography captures precious moments
Can you imagine coming home with your baby, or getting married or seeing your child making the first steps and you do not have a camera to capture that? No, you can’t imagine.

#2 Photography lets us say what we can’t say
Have you ever been in a situation that you were so emotionally that you just couldn’t find the words or so overwhelmed that your voice wouldn’t do it? No problem, we got the image.

#3 Photography gives us joy
What did we do in the dark ages without digital cameras with us on holidays, cameras in our smart phones, photo books to spend the weekend with making them? I can’t remember. The joy of accessible creativity for all is what photography gives us.

#4 Photography makes communication easier
When you see something in a shop and you want to tell your husband or wife about it, what do you do? You take a picture, go home and show it to your spouse. No long exhausting explanations necessary, there is the photo.

#5 Photography tells us the news
When you look at the news paper, what do you look at first? The images. Sometimes they encourage you to read the article, sometimes they tell you already the complete story.

Please feel free to add more good reasons to love photography.


Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-19T14:09:23+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3b27a8c8e62ac93c059f86238614f5d5-51.html#unique-entry-id-51https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3b27a8c8e62ac93c059f86238614f5d5-51.html#unique-entry-id-51

Multinational corporations work nowadays with virtual teams. That means that employees from all over the world are working on the same project and have never met in person. They form a virtual team. This is a progressive way of working and brings the best people together without moving them physically around the world. But it got its challenges. There are different time zones, different mentalities, different cultures, different languages and they actually only got in common that they work on the same project. That leads to misunderstandings and collisions that have big influence on the result of the project. In order to focus on the core of what they are doing, the project, photography can be utilized. Images are a universal language and when a photo shows a wheel it’s for everybody clear it’s a wheel, whatever name each person might have for the “wheel”. Well, there might be content difficult to show as an image, but there is a big opportunity in utilizing photography in the communication of virtual teams. And if no photo can be taken create one, create visual content. How great that works show the social networks. We are all part of virtual teams.
The photo sharing is the main fun on social media, because we all understand them, wherever we live and whatever our cultural background is. A flower is a flower and when we “like” the flower we join the community of all people who “like” the flower, we became a team, virtually over the image of a flower. And we feel as a team, because we all love the same flower, so we are connected in the love for the flower, just like the people working on the same project. Our world has become a world of virtual teams, with no physical distances anymore to overcome. An image goes around and connects who ever likes it wherever in the world. We meet people we got something in common with, although we might never physically meet and we are not alone in our love for the flower anymore, we became part of a team.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-18T11:53:18+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/cb4c5a66a09e247d925ef4f1f99bfd16-50.html#unique-entry-id-50https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/cb4c5a66a09e247d925ef4f1f99bfd16-50.html#unique-entry-id-50

We probably all know how it is to sit with an overwhelming amount of images from a trip, event or any other occasion that makes us shooting away. And now we need to make a selection of all these images to show to our client, friends or family. The first thing most of the people do is erasing the images they think are not good. But it starts exactly there to make the right choices.
What is a good image? Ok, if you wanted to photograph a bird in flight and you got only sky that makes it a candidate to be erased. But with all other choices be careful. There might be images that you think now are not what you want, but they might be exactly what you need to complete a page in a photo book. They might be complimentary to the main image of the page and support its beauty, although you wouldn’t choose them to stand out alone. If you delete them now, you will miss them later. Be conscious that it is our mindset what makes us choose images!
If you just shot a wedding and the family of the bride asks you to show them pictures, you will think of this side of the wedding party when your are selecting the images. You will make sure that all of their family members are in the pictures. That will not mean that you will erase the images of the groom’s family. They will see a selection made for them. When you try to make a selection that suits all, you might experience stress, confusion or insecurity. That only comes, because your mind tries to jump right and left between the different expectations of the several parties of the event. As long as you focus on one “expectation group” or theme you will be fast and easy in making your selection. And when finished with one, focus on the next and go through the same body of work. You will be very efficient and secure in what you are doing, just like an editor for a magazine. The editor has an article with a certain subject and looks through a number of images to find the right one for that article. It’s the editors mind set what makes him or her stop at a certain images and knowing that’s it. Do the same. Set your mind in what you are looking for and it will do the job for you. It will make you stop at exactly the image you need.
Try it.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com


]]>home2012-06-15T12:44:31+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/da3330b3c641adc94ebcb757a188d4ed-49.html#unique-entry-id-49https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/da3330b3c641adc94ebcb757a188d4ed-49.html#unique-entry-id-49

We all know the magazine images of beautiful people and products with the purpose to make us wanting them or wanting to look like them. To create these images one needs Photoshop, because as they are artificial needs, the images stimulating them need to be artificial too.
But for what reason do we need Photoshop for captured special moments? These moments were real. Or would you rather not really see the lion in the savanna or not really walk on the beach. It is the artificially perfect image from the magazine that makes us applying Photoshop to everything and by doing that destroying the captured real moment. If the picture doesn’t show what we saw, then we got to work on the photographic skills. Photoshop cannot make a picture a capture of a real moment, because it is made when the moment has gone already, later somewhere on a computer. Think and feel twice before doing Photoshop to your images. It might not do good to them.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-14T11:28:26+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d263f47fc1773d151808c8362a0bd4d8-48.html#unique-entry-id-48https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d263f47fc1773d151808c8362a0bd4d8-48.html#unique-entry-id-48

How do you change the lens on your camera? Do you put the camera body on your lap; lens facing up and you turn of the lens and put on the other one?
The moment we change the lens on our DSLR camera we open the camera body to the environment. That means whatever is in the environment gets access to the insight of our camera and it does not belong there. We don’t want dust in our camera and on the sensor. It might not be to bad in a closed and quite clean room, but it gets really bad when we are outdoors and especially in the bush. This environment is already challenging for the equipment and don’t make it worse. When changing the lens have the body opening always facing down. If you have to do it while being on a game drive with no assistants in sight to help you, do it like this. Hold the lens while still being on the camera body with your knees, turn the camera body off the lens, set the lens aside, hold the new lens with your knees and put on the camera body onto the new lens while holding the lens with your knees. It’s a simple way of being fast in changing the lens, keeping yourself reminded of facing the camera body down and avoiding as much as possible exposure to the dusty environment. Try it first at home to be fast enough when wanting to capture the fast moving leopard with the right lens. Well, or travel with a couple of bodies and never have to change a lens.
Happy lens changing.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-13T11:30:38+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/1d2673f6d06a67568bfca337ffb6b52c-47.html#unique-entry-id-47https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/1d2673f6d06a67568bfca337ffb6b52c-47.html#unique-entry-id-47

People often speak about wanting to sign up for a “real photography course”, meaning a course that goes over weeks and months through evening, weekend or online classes. But time says nothing about the quality of a course. If you wish to learn all about the technical features of photography, cameras, lenses and related software and you have only two hours per week the time to do it will take you months. But if you want to learn how to operate your camera only one lesson might be enough. Now you might think, it depends. Yes, it depends on what the person wants to learn, how quick a person learns, what knowledge is already there and what the goals are. This should be determined before the lessons start. What do you want to learn, for what reason do you want to learn it, where do you want to go in photography. Depending on the answers a number of lessons between one and four can be planned. Except from a basic lesson on the camera or for a specific photographic subject, four lessons are a good number of lessons to sign up for. They give you the time to get somewhere in photography with a beginning and an end. Setting out the personal goals in photography as a hobby or profession and get going in the first lesson. Working on it in the second and third lesson and evaluating the achievements in the fourth lesson gives the course a great dynamic and momentum in the photographic learning process. One might need some time to practice the learned before moving on with lessons or need a break for other reasons. Or one wants to carry on immediately. It is very personal and the personal conditions can change a lot with time. An individual and short-term approach takes this into account and adjusts the photography course to the individual circumstances of the student. That makes the short-term photography courses the better ones for the commited students.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com


]]>home2012-06-12T09:43:15+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/333238d8b382e1ade7536c9d6f6a8dac-46.html#unique-entry-id-46https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/333238d8b382e1ade7536c9d6f6a8dac-46.html#unique-entry-id-46

Have you ever had the experience photographing a great place or event and thinking constantly, I hope this will turn out right, I hope they will like it, I hope this is what they want, I can’t get it right, I don’t know what to do … and many thoughts of the same disturbing kind. It’s horrible, isn’t it? And of course the images are not what you wanted, they are exactly what you were afraid of. How to switch of these thoughts or direct them in a positive way?

First thing, don’t get frantic when experiencing such a situation. By pushing yourself with force through these thoughts you make it worse and it will show in your photography. Instead make a “step back”, put down your camera, make literally a few steps back, find a bench to sit on and look at the situation. Even five minutes sitting there will feel like eternity, but they are necessary. Only when you let go, the pressure will flow away and you will start seeing again instead of being occupied by anxious thoughts. Reset yourself on what you see and what you want. Wait and focus on the light. It will show you what you need to see and do for the right approach to your desired photo. As a result you will be tuned in on photography and in conversation with the object through your camera. This “photographic trance” will take all your mind space and let no room for “alien” thoughts. Now shoot away.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-11T10:19:55+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/089fbb706942069c253223f619443829-45.html#unique-entry-id-45https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/089fbb706942069c253223f619443829-45.html#unique-entry-id-45

Photoshop guru Scott Kelby, editor and publisher of the Photoshop User Magazine and training director and instructor for Adobe Photoshop Semiar Tour, gave at the recent Google+ Photography Conference a talk about composition with the title “How to crush composition”. The one-hour talk is available on youtube and PetaPixel announced it as going beyond the basics of rules of thirds, leading lines, and repeating patterns. Sounded interesting and I watched the video.

The first 15 minutes were already overwhelming, although in a different way I thought they would be. Scott Kelby was talking about a design workshop Adobe had set up in the 90ies to teach design. This workshop was a big success and also a failure. Adobe usually had 400 to 500 people attending a day workshop, but for this design workshop only 63 people came. The 63 attendees had the day of their life and were extremely happy about what they learned, but they were only 63 and not 400. Scott Kelby asked them at the end; why only so few people attended the workshop. The answer was that the other people at the office had said that they already know the design software. Kelby concluded that people seem to think they are designers when they know how to use the software. Only two out of the 10 planned design workshops were conducted and the second workshop was only done, because they couldn’t get out of it. As an explanation for the wrong idea about design Kelby concludes that it is our nature to want to learn the hardware and software. A natural conclusion for somebody who represents the software that gives people the impression they know design. Day workshops with 400 people pay better than workshops with 63 and let people think the software can do it all; that makes them only buy more software. Well and we the customers accept it.
I was tempted to stop watching after the first 15 minutes, but carried on until the end, hoping to learn something new about composition. I did not learn something new about composition, but about how to disguise a photoshop sales talk with a composition talk. I got the impression that photoshop determines what is good and what not and degrades the original object or moment to a framework for photoshop.

Ute Sonnenberg. www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-06-08T14:30:37+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/4459225f19665d2efd9ab59c95b41748-44.html#unique-entry-id-44https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/4459225f19665d2efd9ab59c95b41748-44.html#unique-entry-id-44

The Olympics are coming and there have been already many controversial discussions on how the photography rights will be handled during the games. There were rumors that it will not be allowed to share images on social networks in the stadiums and photographers were prohibited to photograph the Olympic locations during construction. Well, this week came the news that only small cameras will be allowed in the stadiums and any camera or lens bigger than the allowed size will be confiscated, but there are no lockers to keep them, so they most likely will be gone when you come out. As a response a discussion spun off from both sides, professional and amateur photographers. The amateur photographers were upset that they cannot take their great equipment with them and the professional photographers were cynical, stating that with the allowed camera and lens size one still can take great images. What is this about?
The professional photographers who are the official photographers of an event make their living from photography, invest constantly in their business and often have to pay to be allowed photographing an event. For a big event as the Olympics photo and press agencies pay for the right to take photographs. They need to earn that money back by selling the images to the media and online platforms. That becomes very difficult when everybody in the stadium with a big zoom lens gets in the position to photograph the event as well. At such an event it’s not that much about the quality of the images, it’s more about catching a moment and being the first to have it on the Internet. It’s a race.
That race can be real fun for amateur photographers, but is very annoying for professional photographers. The professional is working there and does not have the time and energy to play a game with thousands of amateurs challenging him or her. It’s completely understandable that everybody wants to photograph the Olympics when being one of the lucky ones having a ticket. But just do it for your own and your friend’s fun and leave the professionals doing their job. All photographers share the passion for photography. Respect each other’s role in the photography world and learn from each other.
Imagine being an electrician, called in to repair a power failure and the head of the household is telling you how to do it, because he built his electrical miniature train system himself. He can be of big help by telling the electrician when the failure occurred, which machines were running at that moment and probably other relevant information, but the actual work needs to be done by the called in professional.
If the amateur feels the desire to become a professional, do it! Follow you heart and make your passion your profession and respect those who did that already.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-07T14:33:58+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/9b2cf8b88a2183ac02f6afa61c6bd5ca-43.html#unique-entry-id-43https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/9b2cf8b88a2183ac02f6afa61c6bd5ca-43.html#unique-entry-id-43

Yin yang are not opposing forces (dualities), but complementary opposites, unseen (hidden, feminine) and seen (manifest, masculine), that interact within a greater whole, as part of a dynamic system. (via Wikipedia)

Photography has pretty much been a domain of men, although there have been great and famous female photographers, yet its mostly men who wield a camera. At least they were. One reason might have been society in the beginning years of photography that wouldn’t see technology, as something a woman should be doing. And within this reasoning is already a deeper answer. Technology is the masculine that, one can see. The masculine side, the yang, manifests itself in machines, therefore in cameras. The Greek philosopher Apollinaire called machines the “motherless daughters of men”. That implicates that there is no female side involved in the machines, which is of course impossible. In order to invent machines including cameras one needs intuition as well as technical knowledge and skills. Intuition is the female side, the yin, the unseen. It is common knowledge that we all have both in us, the yin, the female side, and the yang, the male side and so does photography.
The definition of yin and yang says, that they are part of a dynamic system, which means that there is a constant dynamic between the two sides on who is stronger and dominant. I think we can state that the male side with the technology succeeded for a long time in being the dominant side, leading to big business in camera equipment and accessories. Women had the impression that the technical side of photography was something they wouldn’t be able to understand and that kept many of them away from doing photography. If someone would have explained the technical side of photography in intuitional language this wouldn’t have happened, but of course the technical language was a masculine language. But digital photography changed all that.
Everybody can press a shutter. The technical knowledge wouldn’t have such a big influence anymore on the result as it had until then. The eye, wielded by the intuition would make the difference and this is the yin part. Photography seems to get a huge boost from the technology freed intuition. It opened new creative spaces and the technical side of photography with the recent camera innovations and photo apps stimulates and supports this trend. That doesn’t mean photography will now be only something for females, males have just as much yin as females have yang. They are only rearranged in the dynamic system and move towards balance in both, in women and men. The women get more comfortable with technology and the men more comfortable with their intuition.
The dynamic of yin and yang shows itself also within the technical side of photography. Take for example Canon and Nikon cameras and watch who is using them. The men who are using Canon equipment are very different from men who are using Nikon. One could think that comes from test results and test reports, yet eventually one chooses the camera that feels right. Canon is the more masculine product, grey lenses on black bodies, and Nikon is the more intuitional oriented product. Interesting enough Canon has started offering the choice between grey and black lenses. I don’t know if they are conscious about the reason, but they would reach by doing that also the more intuitional oriented male customers, who do not find masculine dominance important and the number of intuition conscious men seems to grow.
Is photography the visualized dynamic of yin and yang? Maybe it is.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-06T13:05:21+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/9cc389edc8e40c4179d6a68c9bbcc26a-42.html#unique-entry-id-42https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/9cc389edc8e40c4179d6a68c9bbcc26a-42.html#unique-entry-id-42

In the times without social networks and blogs, one had knowledge about something, another one was looking for that knowledge, but the two couldn’t find each other. Since the rise of the social media the world has become a world of sharing. We are not only sharing our holiday photos and thoughts, we are also sharing knowledge. The Internet and the social media provide free access (at least in most of the countries) to knowledge, facts, information and feedback on subjects one is interested in. We are connecting with people around the world to exchange knowledge and while doing that we inspire and help people in work and education.
Here some shares.

Find out which of your eyes is dominant:
One tip that instructors often pass onto the beginning photographers is to use their dominant eye (i.e. the eye they prefer seeing with) to look through the viewfinder. If you want to find out which of your eyes is the dominant one, here’s a quick test you can do: extend your arms straight out and form a small triangle with your hands. Looking through the triangle with both eyes open, frame something nearby (e.g. a doorknob) and place it in the center of the triangle. Then close your eyes one at a time without moving the triangle — your dominant eye is the one that placed the object in the center. (via reddit and petapixel)

A safe place to show and sell your images:
All of us who do photography want to show our images and hope that we can sell them to a magazine or as an art print. But how do we do that without the risk of the digital full size image being taken without payment? There is a place called www.photoshleter.com that gives professional photographers the opportunity to show and sell their images in a safe way. Another interesting place is www.artflakes.com that gives photographers the opportunity to sell their images as high quality ready to hang art prints, posters and postcards. Check it out. It might be something for you.

How do you choose your object?
When you think back how you composed images and how you choose the object you might come to the conclusion that you were looking for the light to be right on the bride or the sun setting behind a tree or light and shade playing with the color of a flower. It’s always an object with the right light we are looking for. So relax and just follow the light. It will point out the object for you.

How to train the eye?
There are lots of books and instructions about the right composition and the rule of thirds. They give a mind-dominated approach to something that needs an intuitional approach. Our inner eye that sees for us the composition is intuition driven. So train it intuitionally by looking at paintings from old masters. They are called old master, because they were masters in working with light and composition. By looking at their work we are training our eye in a way that we start seeing paintings everywhere and no thought about a rule is needed anymore. Our inner eye is strong and well trained.

Sharing makes us all richer in our artwork and no worry, that doesn’t mean that all the photos will be the same. We will develop even a stronger individual signature in photography what distinguishes our work from the work of others.
Happy sharing!

Ute Sonnenberg. www.rohoyachui.com



]]>home2012-06-05T11:50:14+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/2e052fbb32e080daa00c7c0b7c46bed7-41.html#unique-entry-id-41https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/2e052fbb32e080daa00c7c0b7c46bed7-41.html#unique-entry-id-41

There is a new word in the travel industry, edventure, meaning an educational adventure during your holiday or even an edventure retreat with yoga classes and other courses during a stay at a beautiful beach resort. It’s a smart synergy of words that explains very well the content of such a holiday. Education can be an adventure and going to an exotic place is an adventure too. Both together create an intense experience of growth during a relaxed and inspiring vacation.
We should have these experiences not only during our long waited for holiday once a year. These moments of retreat, education and growth are craved for everyday, especially after a hard day at the office or a never-ending rainy day or just as a moment to rest and relax whenever we need it. But of course we are not able yet to beam us to the Masai Mara at the end of the day to sit and photograph the lions and beam back when going to bed. It might be possible one day, but until then we got a great alternative: Photographs!
We can retreat in a visual edventure at any given moment with our own photographs on our computer, phone or tablet, images from the Internet or photo books. Every image teaches us something and takes us to a place where we are not at the moment we are looking at it. Give it a try. Open your photo library or go to the Internet and look at photos. There will be at least one photo you get drawn to and keep looking at. The image takes you to the place and moment where it was taken. You get “beamed” from the place where you are right now to the Masai Mara through the visual channel of the image and you can see, feel and smell the Great Plains. For a moment you retreated to the African bush to learn about its colors, animals and smells, yes even that is in the image. Feel it.
Fortunately we keep calling our photos just photos and not that mouth full “visual edventure retreast”, although that’s what they are.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-04T12:04:26+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/eb4857f493f309ea9129d30f7f4f1693-40.html#unique-entry-id-40https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/eb4857f493f309ea9129d30f7f4f1693-40.html#unique-entry-id-40

The digital developments have not only changed photography from analog to digital or a library into a search engine; it also has changed the way we learn things and crafts.
The era of analog photography was the time with no Internet. One signed up for a photography course and learned probably for 90 % of the course about the technical features of photography in general and specifically about the specs of cameras and lenses. This was necessary, because that was the way to get access to the information, except somebody wanted to sign up at a library and read by himself through all the books. Also the analog way of photography demanded a higher knowledge of the technical side of photography in order to get the desired result.
Nowadays the cameras take care of a great deal of the technical side of photography for somebody to make the first step in this great hobby or profession. Often somebody gets started with a point and shoot entry-level camera and then wants to know more, wants to learn what is behind all of that and how to improve the results and to conquer more photographic challenges.
In order to learn more about the technical side of photography including cameras and lenses one doesn’t need to go to a photography course anymore. The Internet provides all information one might want to gather. The photography teacher nowadays has a different task. He/she guides the student in seeing the bigger technical picture, explains how everything works together and uses most of the time to teach the creative side of photography. This makes the process of learning more efficient and individual. Everybody learns at his/her own pace and the subject one wants to learn about. This way of teaching is not only more efficient and more individual, it is also more exciting by providing more time and space for the creative part of photography. And except you are completely fascinated by technique, the creative and artistic part of photography is the most exciting part. That means nowadays photography teachers need to focus on the creative and artistic side of photography to guide their students to the level in photography they want to achieve. The Internet cannot provide that. It can show inspiring images and one does learn from them, but the Internet cannot teach how to capture the feeling in the image and how to see. That’s where the photography course has its purpose with lots of time and space for creativity. Besides that, the desired results are achieved in a much shorter period of time as in the past.
Learning has become more individual, faster and exciting through the available technical media. And its biggest advantage is the space and time it creates to focus on creativity.
Be inspired. Join the experience.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-06-02T10:42:23+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/281a7d73614088ed7fbc1155abe7d559-39.html#unique-entry-id-39https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/281a7d73614088ed7fbc1155abe7d559-39.html#unique-entry-id-39

Changes happen in the first place gradually, like filling a bucket with water. Quantities sum up until a critical point is reached and it “jumps” into a new quality. In the example of the bucket and the water the water starts running over the edge of the bucket or the bucket even falls over from the weight. It was full. A bigger example of the same is the financial crisis we are in. The quantities piled up until in September 2008 the bucket was full and fell over. The system “jumped” into crisis.
This process applies also to product developments and innovations. When looking very closely on the circle Apple made, the same routine becomes visible. The Apple I had already a small screen almost the size and shape of the iPhone/iPad. Only there was still an extra box necessary for all the operating hardware that wouldn’t fit in the screen yet. So research and development were focusing on the improvement of the parts that were still in the extra box until all parts were so small that they could “jump” into the screen. After developing part after part in a smaller and better way at the end the “bucket was full of water” and could flow over into a new product, the iPad. The screen from the initial Apple I became the computer.
This jump into a new quality of computers has consequences for the user interface and how a computer is experienced. One uses a tablet different from a laptop or desktop computer and a tablet feels and looks different from a laptop and desktop computer. On intuitional level we experience them in a different way and the user’s feeling gets disturbed when this is not reflected in the user interface. The user interface is the embodiment of the connection between the user and the tool tablet or computer. And if it isn’t an expression of that intuitional connection between user and tool it will disrupt the intuitional flow of working with the tool. The tool is not longer an extension of the user.
When developing the tablet the software was adjusted and with it the user interface, which was the right thing to do, because the intuitional connection of a user with a tablet is different than with a laptop or desktop computer. But the same new user interface was also applied to the laptops and desktop computers. That causes problems, because there the intuitional workflow is different and people are using them for different purposes. Maybe one day we will have only tablets for everything and if the screen is to small to do photo editing, we just project the image onto a wall or as a hologram into the room and work on it, but we are not there yet. For now, the wrong interface on laptops and desktop computers is disturbing intuitive work. We need segmentation.
As any email marketer knows, the email lists need segmentation in order to send the right content in the right way to the right client. A client in Spain needs a different approach than a client in China or a client in Houston. The same applies to the tablets and computer interfaces. We are still using both tools and in order to get the best out of them we need to be able to work intuitionally through an interface that reflects this specific intuitional connection. And it is specifically disturbing that a tool like an Apple computer that is highly intuition focused and therefore highly successful lost it, hopefully only for a moment, to see that. We need segmentation in the user interfaces, although the operating system is the same in order to continue intuitional workflow with these incredible tools. There is that “Chinese” client using a desktop and that “Spanish” client using a tablet. They represent segments of the same clientele, yet they are using different tools that represent essentially the same, but represent a different intuitional workflow.
And as marketers know, ignoring that leads to Unsubscribes.
]]>home2012-06-01T11:51:41+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/75b83e614645969e076efc91b453bf6e-38.html#unique-entry-id-38https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/75b83e614645969e076efc91b453bf6e-38.html#unique-entry-id-38

By the end of this month Apple will stop with MobileMe. The iCloud will be in its place and everything and everybody will be connected to everything and everybody else. The cloud will be the medium for storage, information exchange, updates, backups and what else we might want to do and not know about it yet. The cloud is like an invisible hand that can grab things out of nowhere back onto your computer or store images from your computer somewhere in space.
But just like everything else this got a downside as well. Those of you who have an Apple computer, phone or tablet and are on iCloud might have experienced also the somewhat scary hand that takes hold of your computer. You might be working just as normal on your computer and suddenly mailboxes get moved around in your mail program or safari feels like there is a knot in the internet and data can’t get through or your contacts in the address book change in numbers or suddenly mix up names and phone numbers. Most likely you are experiencing the invisible hand of the cloud. Someone in Cupertino might be working on iCloud and massing up your address book or emails. But these are only the examples when we can see that something is happening from outside in our computer. What else is happening? What else is this invisible hand doing when entering our space through the cloud and changes and takes whatever it wants?
Orson Wells might say, I told you that would happen, but what can we do? The cloud is the future and already the present, but were we asked? I find it scary and it irritates me when just somebody in Cupertino is able to interfere with my computer and I can’t do anything about it, have to stop working and waiting that this person got into somebody else’s computer.
Any ideas how to deal with that?

P.S. Not only Apple is the cloud, all others are too.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-31T12:40:13+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/5ed46b77c161f343f218aa14bd5c4691-37.html#unique-entry-id-37https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/5ed46b77c161f343f218aa14bd5c4691-37.html#unique-entry-id-37

It was all over the news that Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream was marking a new record in artwork sold at an auction. These stories are chasing each other depending, if another Van Gogh or Rembrandt was found and sold. But what about photography?

There was this record sale of Andreas Gursky’s The Rhein II, the photograph of the river Rhein he had altered by removing a power station that was originally in the picture. It was in the beginning of photoshop use that he applied this way of alteration to his artwork. It’s generally said that the innovative application of photoshop to his image made the phographic artwork so special and eventually so expensive. Photoshop was at that time just evolving and the image is representing this era.
But for the “common photographer” the times became harsh. The galleries were saying that the clients are distrusting photographs, because they assume that photoshop was applied and the image is not real. Removing a power station makes the image not a real impression of the reality, but it makes it very clear a digital artwork. Maybe it’s that leaking clarity what makes the client doubtful and hesitating. Maybe the kind of greener bird and bluer sky one feels are not right makes gallery clients distrustful and not willing to pay a reasonable price and because the internet is full of it. So, what to do?
During the month May several photographs of great photographers were sold at auctions and the result was beyond expectations. A photograph from Helmut Newton tripled the pre-sale estimate and portraiture by Peter Beard was one of the stars at Christie’s. Both of them are great artists and essential in their approach.
The top sales in both areas, the digital artwork and the photographic artwork show that authenticity is rewarded. The digital and photographic work realized top sales and not because the object was so special, but the creation was authentic.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com


]]>home2012-05-30T13:29:43+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/1c13a09de45dfdb268563647bc91c17c-36.html#unique-entry-id-36https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/1c13a09de45dfdb268563647bc91c17c-36.html#unique-entry-id-36

Many of us might have been wondering and worrying what will happen with Apple after Steve Jobs had gone. Some might have thought it will be just fine and continue the way it did before, but the signs are telling something different.

I remember my resistance to move to OSX Lion when reading all the comments in the forums. And when I couldn’t avoid it anymore and made the move I was shocked. Not only because of the difficulties with emails and internet OSX Lion caused, plus some other dysfunction, but the most because of the betrayal of the Apple philosophy regarding user interface design and functionality. Especially the user interfaces of the emails, the calendar and the address book are very disturbing and ergonomically hurting. Apple stood out by making everything easy for the user, one click or look and there was everything. The new interfaces made it complicated, annoying, dysfunctional, disturbing and the colors are bad too. I was hoping for the update OSX Mountain Lion to come to fix the missteps. But it seems that it is getting even worse. In a todays article Gizmodo (http://tinyurl.com/7p62hzb) gives an overview of new things to happen with Apple products in the near future and it doesn’t sound promising. It seems that the trend of abandoning the track of great and practical design will be continued. What is going on?
The situation reminds me of stories from Zimbabwe, although this must sound far-fetched. There was a time in Zimbabwe when the white farmers had to leave their farms and often their former employees took them over. Some farmers went back to see how everything was going and often the following had happened. Here an example. A farmer had left his house to the employee who had done the maintenance of the house for many years. The farmer thought this employee deserves to live in the house, because he looked after it for many years and he would also be the right person to understand it and to know how to maintain it. When he came back for a visit several years later, the employee was still living in the house, but the house had almost fallen apart. No maintenance was done throughout all the years the employee had taken over the house. Why didn’t he look after the house like he had done all the years before? He had done the maintenance, because he was told to do it, it was his work, but he obviously had never understood why the work was necessary, why a house needed maintenance. He didn’t understand the concept of maintenance.
Now back to Apple. It seems that there are parallels to the concept of maintenance. There might be nobody who actually who really had understood the concept of user-friendly designed interfaces. In the past they only designed them, because they were told to do it, not because they understood them and the design of the interfaces is immediately dropping in quality.
Another aspect of worry is that they are looking at the “last five minutes” of Apple, the very successful and wealthy Apple with money to spend in abundance. Steve Jobs had experienced the nearly dead Apple and pulled it out and into success. Will that happen again when Apple comes in difficult situations with the current decision makers? Or will they just move to another company, one that has to spend money in abundance at that time?

One needs to live the product, philosophy, idea or company one is doing in order to bring it to success and to keep it there. With the big corporates nowadays this is rarely the case. It’s to big and there is mostly no owner or company founder involved anymore who has the personal commitment.

Well. Lets see what’s happening to Apple in the future and hopefully they will either get back on track or an alternative will evolve from all the new young companies.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-29T11:01:33+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3b29888d6925482f4a6d6b60b5b7bebb-35.html#unique-entry-id-35https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3b29888d6925482f4a6d6b60b5b7bebb-35.html#unique-entry-id-35

A bit more than ten years ago digital photography entered our lives. Up until then, photography was something for the people with lots of patience, chemistry knowledge, the space or a willing family member to turn the kitchen into a dark room and time to spend the whole day in it. This changed rapidly with digital photography. Also the less patient and knowledgeable people, with no dark room and little time started doing photography and a bug nestled in them they didn’t know about. It was the bug of passion.
The early adopters had the first digital point and shoot cameras just for fun, ending up being drawn into photography, moving on to SLR, just surrendering to the surge photography can cause in someone’s life. It happened almost unnoticed or we decided not to notice, because it’s so nice and we ended up spending more time with photography than any analog hobby photographer ever spent in a dark room looking at our pictures, processing them, making photo books or other presents we can share with family and friends. Early adopters are nowadays huge crowds and there is probably nobody left who is not mesmerized by photography. A personal hoppy became a global passion.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-28T15:30:35+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a1865c23f64254ddcce3b3b09da0aa58-34.html#unique-entry-id-34https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a1865c23f64254ddcce3b3b09da0aa58-34.html#unique-entry-id-34

When looking at news stories one realizes that there isn’t such a thing as a “true story”. All parties involved in a story have their own truth. We as the observer have our own truth as well and we all together can maybe agree on an essential truth like, yes the car crashed into a tree. But that might be already all we can agree on, probably only because there is a photo showing a car crashed into a tree. About the whys and hows we have our own ideas. Yet there is something more in the image.

There is always the truth of the moment the photo was taken in an image and even this truth differs. The reason is the photographer. In the example of the car crash one image might have been taken by a bystander with the cell phone, another image by a police photographer and another image by a relative of the driver. All three images of the same car crash will show a different truth, because each photographer looks at it with different eyes. The bystander probably wanted to be the first to post the image to the internet. The police photographer will try to photograph the crash in a way that all technical details are in the image for further investigation. The relative most likely will photograph with great compassion, shock and grief. That means that three different truths happened. For the bystander the crash was a sensation, for the police photographer a case and for the relative a disaster. When putting all three photos in the newspaper the reader will see and feel all three truths of the same event.
That means photographing the truth happens by pressing the shutter. It’s the truth of the moment the photographer connects with in his/her personal way.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-05-25T12:33:06+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/759170523462b649a7a8dc4ce8b52b70-33.html#unique-entry-id-33https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/759170523462b649a7a8dc4ce8b52b70-33.html#unique-entry-id-33

Today is the day that it was announced that facebook has its own photo app for iPhone. Another addition to the popular photo apps and we might right jump onto it. What makes us doing that?
In the first place we have the photo apps always with us. They are on the phone and the phone goes with us wherever we go. No extra device needed, camera at hand when the opportunity for a photo comes up, when we want to share a moment immediately or want to tell news quickly through a photo. But there is more.

When we use a camera we usually start thinking about settings and when we don’t use a camera on a daily basis we might be insecure about settings and worried, if we do it right. That creates the idea in us that we need to have time when we use the camera to be able to focus on what we are doing in order to do the settings right. We do not have these thoughts with the photo apps on our phone. We just shoot away. We are used to the phone, bonded, holding it in our hands many times per day, it’s always with us. Besides that the photo apps (most of them) do not require knowledge and experience in photography in order to use them. All we need for photographing with apps is our intuition. And our intuition can flourish the best when no thoughts are disturbing it.
Look at the example Instagram. Its point, shoot, filter, share. You are only looking and deciding with what feels nice to you. All intuition. And we love it.
Well, what does that mean for your camera? The camera would love to be your intuitive tool, just like the app. Treat it like an app. Have the camera with you if you can, practice as often as you can, don’t be worried about settings. Shoot away and get rid of the technical fear. There is no wrong or right, there is only learning. Start bonding with your camera!

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-24T13:05:45+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/b16bc0ada3bada4fb77621ffe519da34-32.html#unique-entry-id-32https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/b16bc0ada3bada4fb77621ffe519da34-32.html#unique-entry-id-32

Lots of information is coming our way every day and something is new to us when we didn’t know about it before. But it is only new to us, not new in general, it was just not know to us that it exists. So, what about the really new things and how do we recognize them? Is something new, because it is different from the old one or because there is so much resistance towards it?
That with the resistance is usually a good sign in identifying the new. When something is really new it changes the way we see the world or the way we live. It means we have to change; we, and we usually resist changing in the first place, because it puts us out of our comfort zone.
Imagine innovations as the car, the plane, the phone, the iPhone and the cloud. Well, there are always early adapters, but the majority needs some time to get over it that an essential part of their life is changing.
How do you feel about the mirror less camera? I feel personally resistance towards it, although I don’t know much about it and haven’t photographed with it. Does my resistance show that this camera is the innovation in photography? I don’t know. For my part I will wait and see, but isn’t this also such a typical behavior when something is new?
Maybe we should change our approach to the new, not adapt to it, rather embrace it and benefit from the change. And it might be the change it causes, that identifies it as new.


Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-23T12:30:36+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f87fbc2a95adb1252d19aef620bd79cd-31.html#unique-entry-id-31https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f87fbc2a95adb1252d19aef620bd79cd-31.html#unique-entry-id-31

Imagine you are in an empty event venue or club out of opening hours. No lights are on. It is dark. These venues do not have windows. They are like a black box. Empty. The moment life comes into these black boxes is the moment the light goes on. It becomes magical, fascinating, interesting and story telling, supporting the music, the speaker’s or representing a vision or a theme. The box becomes whatever the light makes it to be.

A black box is empty without light and the light needs the black box in order to create whatever it wants to create. Pull it on a bigger scale and we get to the solar system, which has the black mass/substance (scientists are still researching what it is made of) and the light known as the sun. The light shines on objects and the contrast with the black mass creates the stars we see on the sky. Lets go smaller and the sun creates the colors we see in the garden or lets go very small, yet very big, our cameras. The camera is also a black box. The moment we let light into the camera, something is created, life comes into the black box “camera” and an image evolves. Just like with the venue, we decide what light comes in and how it is directed within the box to create the image we want to see. Well, fortunately sometimes the light has its own ideas and surprises us with the results and its own creativity, just like it does in our eyes.

So, what is the relationship between the black box and the light? They need each other. Without light no life and without black box no creation. Light needs darkness – the black box - to be seen and darkness needs light to be filled with life. In photos we call it contrast. A photo without contrast doesn’t have depth or call it life. The duality of light and darkness creates something new. They are a creative couple.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-22T11:25:46+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/35200cd9c0fc11a63a0b594e641eb38f-30.html#unique-entry-id-30https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/35200cd9c0fc11a63a0b594e641eb38f-30.html#unique-entry-id-30

For some reason Innovation seems more in demand, yet harder to do nowadays. It’s probably the pace of demand for innovations that increases the pressure and makes it harder to come up with innovations as per mouse click. Probably also the flood of information and triggers that awaits us every day makes it difficult to see the opportunities for something genuine new through all the clutter. We need help in seeing the innovation that is right in front of us.
Imagine you are in a room that has a beautiful painting on the wall. You walk over there to have a “close look”, standing right in front of it, your nose almost touches the canvas. You want to see, so you go close. What you see is a fragment of the painting, but you are pleased, you can see every single brush stroke in this fragment, every detail. And you might think, well one or another stroke could have been more accurate. When you stop right here in your discovery of the painting you will have only a fragmental view on the artwork.
When you decide to continue, you will start moving away from the painting, backwards, in order to see the complete work to unfold. You create distance in order to see. Now from a few steps back the painting shows its whole beauty. Suddenly the inaccurate brush stroke is part of the whole and essential for its composition. You realize you are looking at a Van Gogh.

Photography is our tool to “step back” in order to see the whole, to create a distance to be able to see. It helps us seeing innovation that is right in front of us, but we don’t see it, because we are to close. Experience it with a little exercise: You don’t like your lounge anymore, but you can’t put a finger on it what it is that disturbs you or where to start making changes? Take a photo of your lounge. Upload it to your computer and look at it. The answer will be right there.

Training in using photography as a tool is available through www.rohoyachui.com , for businesses and interested people.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-21T16:17:33+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3a79cd0557027e36e4ceff50b1c86201-29.html#unique-entry-id-29https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3a79cd0557027e36e4ceff50b1c86201-29.html#unique-entry-id-29

There are certainly scientific studies and explanations why we love photos and it will be most likely something about how our brain processes information or some sort of logical reasoning. But lets look at it from the practical and emotional side, although one cannot separate them, also emotions need to be processed.

For what reason are we taking photos in the first place? We want to capture the moment; the moment with friends, the moment with family, the moment on holiday, the moment we saw the sweet puppy, the moment the baby was born, the moment we saw a beautiful flower. We want to capture the awe, the happiness, the memory, the beauty, all what moves us, all what brings our feelings in motion, emotions. We don’t think about it, we just snap it. When we want to explain something complex we use images and a moment of happiness is something complex and somehow we know that talking about it wouldn’t do it, words are not enough. We need the image to capture a moment in all its dimensions and it is faster too. So we are lazy? We are efficient. Taking a photo is time and energy saving while at the same time misunderstanding is reduced to a minimum.

And there might be something else. When we capture a moment we make this moment eternal, we can take it with us, we can hold it in our hands, we can look at it as often as we want, we make it visible and physical although that moment has gone already, sometimes for a long time. Yet when we look at the photo we are back in that moment, we can smell the sea, taste the food, feel what we felt at that moment and know exactly where and when it was and who was with us. It’s all in the picture.

And not only with the photos we take ourselves. When are looking at pictures others took we are in the moments they captured, we feel them, experience them and then we want to know where it was or when it was or whom it was. We tap into experiences of others and get moved by the same awe or happiness or sadness. We can share and receive feedback; we are not alone.

For deeper insight into the connectivity through photography read also the essay available on: https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-6/index.html

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-19T12:49:05+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e1d30c03089104649aeeb32de6267174-28.html#unique-entry-id-28https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e1d30c03089104649aeeb32de6267174-28.html#unique-entry-id-28

We were driving in a speedboat to Paradise Island. Ruins of a building were rising on our left on the island when we were approaching. I learned later that the ruins were the former famous hotel of Santa Carolina. Bob Dylan was writing the song “Paradise Island” in the hotel’s ballroom and many other artists like Elton John had a great time there. But it all changed when the hotel owner’s wife died and the hotel eventually was closed. The cyclones, the sea and the plunderers made from the place what it is now. Even the windows from the small chapel were stolen.
But there is something nobody can steel or destroy. The spirit of Paradise Island is still there; one can feel it with every step. It’s easy to imagine Bob Dylan in the ballroom, although it is now just a floor with some pillars and an open view over the ocean. Maybe that’s what the song anyway captures, the spirit and not the buildings. It’s just such a pity that this beautiful old Portuguese architecture is lost. The promenade to the beach is majestic and then this amazingly beautiful beach.
There are rumors that an organization bought the hotel and is going to built a new resort. That’s just the point; it will be new. I hope when a new project starts the people will remember the paradise spirit and integrate some old parts of the architecture to continue the story of Paradise Island.

View the video about Paradise Island:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcQFqqQsy5o&feature=g-upl

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-05-18T21:41:05+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/def7155d741eec5be77b5600e9edebf7-27.html#unique-entry-id-27https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/def7155d741eec5be77b5600e9edebf7-27.html#unique-entry-id-27

There is a saying in German that the sweetest cherries hang always in the top of the tree. That wants to say as much as that one needs to do some efforts to get the best.
I always have to think of this saying when traveling to Pakamisa, the Private Game Reserve in Kwazulu Natal in South Africa where I conduct the Horse Photography courses. It is really an effort to get there, at least from Johannesburg or even from further away. Driving down there shouldn’t be a big effort, if there weren’t the road works. Flying to Durban is a quite convenient solution, yet the drive from Durban is also 4 hours. But its so worth it. The moment I enter the reserve, drive up the mountain to the lodge and get the first glimpse of the vista, I know again why I came. This oasis of peace, silence and beauty is a paradise. And this is only the start. The stables are in a valley, surrounded by bush, with a dam where the horses can swim in summer and plains game sharing the paddocks with them. The geldings are roaming free, warthogs are following them and the ostrich expect their daily treat at the stables. Not only the animals get spoilt with good food also the guests. The restaurant of the lodge offers the most stunning views and the food is delicious. By the way, the rooms are spacious, comfortable and the view is great.
Well, this place is one of the sweet cherries.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-05-17T12:45:00+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/2a965f3acca1677afb913afac1fa5fc6-26.html#unique-entry-id-26https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/2a965f3acca1677afb913afac1fa5fc6-26.html#unique-entry-id-26

You can have a photography course on the most beautiful locations, with the most amazing animals around and the most luxury accommodation, but it will be nothing without the people who make it a wonderful experience.
The people who cook these wonderful meals, the ones who make your stay as comfortable as possible, the people who keep your room clean and do your laundry, the ones who track down the leopard for you, those who drive you safely through the bush, the groomers who assist you with the horses, the guides who explain the trees to you, the specialists who explain their animals to you. All these people make your stay a wonderful one.
Thank you all on behalf of all of us who stay with you during our photography courses. Your passionate support makes our experiences special.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-16T17:54:42+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/edfd66c4dc72f5499c05bbb67704acf8-25.html#unique-entry-id-25https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/edfd66c4dc72f5499c05bbb67704acf8-25.html#unique-entry-id-25

The discussion has been going on for two years. What is going to happen when Greece has to leave the Euro? All sorts of scenarios were on the media except one. What if nothing is happening or put it this way, what if it will be a relieve, if it will release recourses for innovation and growth? For what reasons are only negative scenarios spilled all over the media and nothing positive? Pulling on a dead horse will not bring the horse back to life. It’s a waste of energy. Letting go will free resources for innovation and growth. But something like the Greece case had never happened before. So we don’t know.
Last weekend I was visiting a tourism show. I walked through the halls quite quickly. I didn’t spot something new and I mean some new content, innovation. A lady put it quite right. She said that the people had seen enough bathrooms. A few years ago it was new to pay attention to the bathroom design at hotels and lodges. The guests loved it. It gave a new feeling to their stay. But now they have seen pretty much each possible bathroom design. Where is the innovation? Some exhibitors thought, lets present our product on an iPad. Well the iPad is the innovative product, unfortunately not what you are presenting. What makes your product different from the product of your competitor? Innovation!
And then I read this article today about the downfall of Flickr since it was bought by Yahoo. Flickr was the first big photo sharing social network, highly innovative. It looks like Yahoo bought it to destroy innovation and to get access to the gathered data on Flickr. They choose for integration instead of innovation and that killed Flickr. Does Yahoo realize that it is also working on its own downfall? No innovation means no growth and stagnation means downfall. Ignoring that fact will only accelerate the downwards process, just like in Greece.
For what reason do people and organizations ignore, deny or repress the need for innovation and change? Something is innovative or new, because it hasn’t been there before, so we don’t know it. Is it the fear of the unknown?

Article “How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet is available here: http://gizmodo.com/5910223/how-yahoo-killed-flickr-and-lost-the-internet

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-15T19:45:10+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f36c2bfb05eec2e4b79a5d7789abf32a-24.html#unique-entry-id-24https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f36c2bfb05eec2e4b79a5d7789abf32a-24.html#unique-entry-id-24

Tosca was born three years ago. She was a very sweet foal with a gentle nature. When she was still little she got an infection in her mouth. Isabella, her owner, had to clean the wound a couple of times per day. That was very painful for the little horse and after the treatment she hid immediately behind her mom, wanting to be safe. She stayed behind mom only for a minute or two, before she came back to us humans who just caused her pain sniffing friendly in our faces and enjoying petting and attention.
The infection was so bad that it destroyed the bone in her jaw. That was the moment to decide to put her down or not. Isabella decided to get her an operation to remove the infected bone and to keep her alive. Little Tosca recovered very well. Only her tongue is telling the story of her operation, because there is no bone to hold it properly back in her mouth. For the rest Tosca is a beautiful young horse, with a very friendly and sweet nature. A decision from the heart and a well-executed operation kept this lovely horse alive and we are grateful to see her enjoying life.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-14T19:44:00+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/0930bfef245e9c72668ae88f80e7fe1b-23.html#unique-entry-id-23https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/0930bfef245e9c72668ae88f80e7fe1b-23.html#unique-entry-id-23

I was yesterday at the Indaba, the tourism trade show in Durban. While wandering around through the halls, I noticed that I wasn’t drawn to the stands, although many companies created nice stands with beautiful decoration. There wasn’t something new, really new in the sense of content, an added value to the trip or stay at the destination. The innovation was missing.

I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but a lady from a Kenyan lodge did. She said, the people have seen enough bathrooms. What she meant is that all the brochures are showing close ups of decoration in the lounge, bathrooms and close ups of the towels with a flower. But a bathroom is a bathroom and most of the bathrooms have nowadays the modern “clear lines” style and look pretty much the same. But just to clarify, this is not a plea for new styled bathrooms; this is a call for innovation.
Well, we had a chat and the photography courses can offer that innovation people are looking for. They are innovative, because of the way of teaching and the guidance through the ins and outs of photography. The courses open new dimensions to the participants in order to grow in that field of activities. And besides that they are fun!

The lady and I looked at each other and thought, yes we understand each other and we’ll do something about it. For example photography courses on magical places in Kenya.
Thank you Tamsin!

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-14T18:27:14+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/fbb2daf0efa14585aadf1a35065cb460-22.html#unique-entry-id-22https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/fbb2daf0efa14585aadf1a35065cb460-22.html#unique-entry-id-22

It’s early morning. The sun is clearing the mist over the valley. Kudus are on the road. We are going down to the stables at the house. Dogs are welcoming us. They are excited, tail wagging, friendly and naughty. The horses are still in their boxes, curiously observing what’s going on. We are preparing to photograph them when they rare running from their boxes into the garden. Hopefully we will get some nice images of horses in motion.
They make a short run into the garden and look surprised, like wondering, if there is some playing ahead. With gentle encouragement they start running through the lush green sub-tropical garden. And we photograph their movements, trying to capture their beauty. The sun is behind them; sprinklers are spraying fresh water onto the fields in the background. It’s a beautiful setting. We are photographing continuously and sometimes it would be great, if the camera would be faster. But well, lets see what comes out.
Back in the lodge I look at the photographs of horses in motion and they turn out to look like images of unicorns.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com Horse Photography course
]]>home2012-05-14T18:26:27+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/7974106a27d9ed7c3f67ac7eddf5c0c2-21.html#unique-entry-id-21https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/7974106a27d9ed7c3f67ac7eddf5c0c2-21.html#unique-entry-id-21

There is a magical place in the rolling mountains of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa, called Pakamisa. It is the peaceful “kingdom” of beautiful horses and it is the home of Prinz (German for prince).
Prinz is an Arab stallion. He knows about his beauty and he is anxious to make sure the ladies know that too. Unfortunately he is not accepting any other male next to him, what makes him staying in his paddock by himself. He keeps himself busy by marching the boundaries of his territory and observing the mares from a distance. Every now and then the free roaming geldings pay him a visit and polite sniffing is exchanged. From far the king is watching him, conscious about their competition for the mares and territory.
Well, there is space for all of them and when Prinz is back in his stable for the night, the nyala and impala move in and graze in his paddock. I wonder, if he cares.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com, horse photography course
]]>home2012-05-09T20:41:20+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a6165f268fe8bae49bf766c8217c4962-20.html#unique-entry-id-20https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a6165f268fe8bae49bf766c8217c4962-20.html#unique-entry-id-20

This photo was taken on Duba Plains in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We were watching two herds of elephants grazing on the fertile plains of the island. The matriarch of the one herd seemed an old female, probably struggling to fulfill her role as guide of the group. She was grumpy and the atmosphere in the herd was tensed. They stayed close together around the matriarch, like listening closely to her instructions. It wasn’t even nice to watch them. The tensed atmosphere was contagious.
It was such a relieve when the other herd came closer. A mother with calf was walking happily in front of them. Her calf was confident and exploring the plains. There seemed to be more space for each herd member to do its own thing and even the faces looked friendly and open, while the faces of the other herd’s elephants looked frightened. What a difference.
It was very interesting to photograph both herds and to feel the difference when looking at the images. But when having to choose, I always pick this photo, because of the contagious happiness. Happy mom, happy child, happy photographer.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-08T10:37:17+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a3d9136a407e70d101dc1b77831c2296-19.html#unique-entry-id-19https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/a3d9136a407e70d101dc1b77831c2296-19.html#unique-entry-id-19

Lamu is an island just off the northeastern coast of Kenya. Its one of those places that takes you back in time. The roads on the island are so tiny that only donkeys can be used for transport and the old Arabic houses shed shade during the hot days. The people are proud and beautiful. One needs to be sensitive when photographing them. Especially the women mostly do not appreciate to be photographed. I would recommend using a local guide to explore the island, at least for half a day, just to learn about it and to find your way within the maze of streets. There are plenty of shops and traditional markets to visit with many little things one just wants to have. Well, although our local guide taught us that one goes to the market to make money, not to spend money We felt guilty for about a minute or two.
It is definitely photographer’s heaven and if you want to photograph the place in its old shape go soon. Lamu has become very popular and many houses are getting renovated, but within their old Arabic character. And if you want to combine it with beach, ocean and water sports, the area around Lamu is perfect with great resorts just a moment away.

Ute Sonnenberg, www.rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-07T21:36:57+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f0c46c51fdc68448b50cd5e000d9a1ca-18.html#unique-entry-id-18https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/f0c46c51fdc68448b50cd5e000d9a1ca-18.html#unique-entry-id-18

Did you ever notice that birds have some kind of a confidence that is saying as much as: Well, I see it, I look at it, have my own thoughts about it and do anyway what I want … and off they are.

Maybe its simply because they can fly. There are no boundaries for them; they can look at everything from a distance and disappear into space when they want. Is it that freedom what gives them their confident appearance?

I like photographing birds. They are wonderful, naughty, curious, challenging and beautiful. It’s a great experience when patience is rewarded, they start trusting and spending time with you … and the photo is not an empty branch.

Ute Sonnenberg rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-06T00:45:34+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/eb942458cfa7eefa9fca2ffd44d946ae-17.html#unique-entry-id-17https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/eb942458cfa7eefa9fca2ffd44d946ae-17.html#unique-entry-id-17

It is full moon and a special full moon. The moon is closer to the earth than usual, a wonderful photography opportunity.
One option is to set up tripod and camera and photograph the “traditional” way. Or using the iPhone and imitate the traditional way of analog photography with the retro photo apps. I choose the phone option and the results were very interesting.
I couldn’t actually see what I was composing, but enjoyed the “serendipity results” and their arty twists. I realize that it is the serendipity moment of the apps I really like. They give ordinary objects the arty touch and surprising results.
Essentially app photography runs on intuition, the fuel of art.

Ute Sonnenberg rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-05-04T18:41:04+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/c2218948090758e866f4972e66609c73-16.html#unique-entry-id-16https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/c2218948090758e866f4972e66609c73-16.html#unique-entry-id-16

I started the day with the plan to go through the several online platforms to check on the profiles, designs and entries. It shouldn’t take longer than a few hours. Now it’s half past six in the evening and I’m just finished. What is this when going onto the Internet and ending up spending the whole day there?
Here one example. While being on WordPress, a new platform for me, the “wolf” from the “red riding hood” got me. It started with setting up the profile, lead to choosing the theme, the header image and the sharing tools and ended up with pasting “goodread” codes on my website. It was just a typical example how one (at least me) gets drawn into the forest of the internet by tempting apps, platforms, tools or whatever the “wolf” is whispering along the road. It works easily when it is a nice design, easy to handle, inspiring and beautiful.
Well, I left the main road of my plans for today, walked through the forest, collected some fruits and fortunately went back onto the main road. Not eaten by the “wolf”, but with the result, that the rest of the work needs to be done now.
Sounds familiar? You are not alone

Ute Sonnenberg rohoyachui.com
my read shelf:


WordPress Blog


]]>home2012-05-03T23:35:22+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/aa0055c31ab24688a544fe91a3fbc66c-15.html#unique-entry-id-15https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/aa0055c31ab24688a544fe91a3fbc66c-15.html#unique-entry-id-15

Lion cubs are playing the whole day, jumping on each other, wrestling, chasing and exploring the world around them. While doing that they are learning essential social and hunting skills, very important for their survival in the bush.
When humans are children they also learn through play, but somehow playing disappears gradually from the learning process during school time. It becomes serious. At least this is what usually is said, one got to be serious and grown up, not playing around anymore. For what reason may learning be play during childhood, but not during adulthood? Isn’t it play that increases the learning curve and accelerates the process? We seem to learn easier when its fun. And here comes photography into the picture.
Since digital photography made its way into our lives, fun and play came back for the learning adult, playing with cameras, compositions, looks and creations. And it seems almost unnoticed that one is constantly learning when doing photography and not only about photography. Photography itself is a tool for all sorts of learning processes. Learning about oneself, about the team one is working with, about the environment, about a destination, about talents. visions, ideas. The list is endless. Photography can be applied to any subject of learning in all parts of life. With it come play and insight. Photography allows seeing, understanding and creating progress for oneself and the world around us.
Let’s utilize photography. Let’s play.

]]>home2012-04-26T17:48:55+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d153848ca5fbf232bdd983732713a245-14.html#unique-entry-id-14https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d153848ca5fbf232bdd983732713a245-14.html#unique-entry-id-14

Many people imagine Africa influenced by the movies they see on television and in the cinemas. But is this really like the bush is?
All films are a compilation of moments in the bush. The choice of moments is influenced by the target group the film production has in mind.
The traditional BBC documentary with David Attenborough was aiming on education, the wonder of nature and to give the audience the feeling to be there. Nowadays wildlife TV channels focus on entertaining a target group that likes action, spectacular situations, high tech and excitement. On the other hand Disney has just discovered a market for nature fairy tales with real animals where the lion’s mouth gets cleaned from blood after filming and the kill happens out of sight.
It is not surprising that people have diverse ideas what to expect when visiting the bush for the first time. Often female visitors are afraid of seeing fighting and kills all the time and male visitors are disappointed when not seeing spectacular kills the whole day. But mostly all end up loving it. A day in the bush is for 95 % peaceful and the other five percent can be impressive moments with their own beauty. There is nothing like a one-hour sequence of kills and fights in the bush. Only men create something like that.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-04-25T18:43:53+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/121297e5afe3c4587d20ebe4f4cd842c-13.html#unique-entry-id-13https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/121297e5afe3c4587d20ebe4f4cd842c-13.html#unique-entry-id-13

There is a semi-desert in South Africa, called the Karoo, where one can easily think that there is nothing but dry land and heat. The heat is what I’m struggling with when going to deserts, the heavy heat, almost paralyzing, just trying to keep breathing and then I wonder why I came to this place. I’m always arguing with myself when I’m there, impatiently waiting to leave this oven. But the moment I left I feel homesick to this desert and I feel the impact its beauty made. And I look at the images and see silence and space, a strong remedy what makes one falling in love with it.
]]>home2012-04-24T11:56:23+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d94cdd85a38721cae201d978d580d72a-12.html#unique-entry-id-12https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/d94cdd85a38721cae201d978d580d72a-12.html#unique-entry-id-12


There is almost nobody not asking for the recipe when staying at Londolozi. So, to make it easy, here the recipe for probably the best müsli ever!

Ingredients:

Glaze:
500& Butter
500ml Vegetable oil
5OOml Brown sugar
500ml Golden syrup
250ml Good honey

Cereal:
1kg Jungle Oats
750£ All Bran flakes
7508 Fiber Bran
500g Puffed Wheat
500ml Wheat germ
5OOml Sunflower seeds
500m1 Sesame seeds
500ml Shredded coconut
1kg Mixed nuts

Method:
Combine: all the ingredients forth' glaze in a medium size saucepan and heat slowly,stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves, bring to a short boil and set aside.

Combine all the cereal in a bowl and pour on the syrup. mix well and spread mixture over several baking dishes, place in oven at 100’C. toast muesli until golden, remove from oven and let cool. Alternatively, for a better crunch, leave in oven overnight at lowest setting (try and see- all ovens are different, but toasting does lake
some time)

Happy Cooking!
With Love from Londoloz! Kitchen

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-04-23T16:45:43+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3d374ec03b04f0498f3ca1b221ba5a14-11.html#unique-entry-id-11https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/3d374ec03b04f0498f3ca1b221ba5a14-11.html#unique-entry-id-11

photo 1: Instagram, photo 2: Hipstamatic, photo 3: 645 PRO

Review on Instagram, Hipstamatic and 645 PRO.

Instagram is a fast and easy tool to snap and share and its for free. The interface is easy and practical, no submenus before taking the photo and only one step further to share. Open the app, take the picture, choose a filter (or not), check “ok” and the submenu to share opens. With three taps you decide what and where to share and its done. Not much thinking needed and lots of space for artistic playing. Just as easy as it is to handle, is also the result pretty. The filters create great retro looks and the results are often surprisingly interesting to share and keep.

Hipstamatic is also a free app, but in order to use the whole variety of the app you got to buy additional packages. This app requires more think-work. Hipstamatic allows the user to make combinations of different film types, flash types and lens types, all tools from the analog photography times. In order to do that, the user got do go through several submenus to choose the film, the lens and the flash. They can all be combined with each other, which give lots of possible combinations and possible results. There is a button for favorites, to save your favorite combination of film, flash and lens in order to find it easy the next time you want to use it. Helpful with the decision of “which combination” to use are the packages the films, lenses and flashes are sold in. They give a recommendation about what works best together and makes the choice a bit easier. Probably one gets faster when finding it’s way around in the app and having found the favorites, but then it’s probably a pity having bought also the other options. Sharing is easy. Just a tap and several options can be chosen. From my experience, sharing with Flickr didn’t work well.

645 PRO might sound complicated and demanding, but it is actually very easy and great to use and play. The interface is clear, no submenus to go through and the manual accessible with one “tap and hold”. Different ratios and films can be chosen easily and “live view” shows you what you are doing. If you prefer a normal “view finder” look, also this is possible. It works incredibly good and even night shots have a good quality. I had the impression that it works easier and better than my point and shoot camera. And just as easy is the sharing, tap and share.


Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com

]]>home2012-04-21T13:10:57+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/2f7015c2ba11b31f49adbf8d1b6d261d-10.html#unique-entry-id-10https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/2f7015c2ba11b31f49adbf8d1b6d261d-10.html#unique-entry-id-10

Imagine you are on safari and photographing the leopard with Instagram, sharing it immediately on Facebook and Twitter with a nice retro filter. Great? I think so. The phone is not fast and suitable enough to manage wildlife photography in general, but when they sit still and you are anyway waiting at the sighting that they do something, this is just great.
All these incredible apps are so much fun, making it easy to snap away and add some artistic touch to it … and maybe sometimes covering that the photo wasn’t that good and the object neither … while sharing it with your social network. This makes learning the artistic side of photography an exciting experience and lots of fun and we usually learn easier when it is fun.
For those who want to practice the usual camera settings there is 645 Pro for iPhoone, that lets you set exposure, ISO and all other features of your usual camera. Well that becomes technical again and is not an easy snap away app, but can be nice to carry on practicing the technical side of photography as well.

Enjoy playing and sharing!

Here some apps to play with:
Hipstamatic http://hipstamatic.com/the_app.html
Instagram http://instagr.am/
645 Pro http://jag.gr/645/

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-04-19T18:04:09+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/6bf507e3880e84532da14edb34a882b4-9.html#unique-entry-id-9https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/6bf507e3880e84532da14edb34a882b4-9.html#unique-entry-id-9

First of all talk to your GP for medical advice when traveling to Africa. He/she wills advice regarding vaccinations and malaria precautions. From there it is your own decision what steps you wish to take for your holiday in Africa.

I get often asked about the medical precautions necessary when traveling to Africa and especially about malaria. I’m not a doctor and always recommend talking to the GP. Secondly I share my own experiences if asked for. I will share in this blog my personal experience with malaria precaution and my personal choice of treatment. Please be aware, this is my personal experience and opinion and it suits my personal situation and physical condition. This doesn’t apply necessarily to others. Everybody needs to check which is appropriate for the own personal situation and physical condition.

On my first visit to Africa I used Malerone as malaria precaution, a product that most of the people get when going on safari. I was careful using it with the meals and experienced no side effects during the recommended period of use. Only afterwards back in Europe I noticed that a flue was stronger than usual, but didn’t pay much attention to it. During my second safari I used again Malerone. Back in Europe I suddenly got the chicken pocks. I had always been immune for the chicken pocks, what was proved by many exposures to school friends, who had the children’s decease. I never got it, but I got it after my safari. The friend I was traveling with had the virus picked up from a relative at home before the trip and I got it from her during the holiday. This was the second time I got sick in a way I usually never got sick and I wondered about the reason. The connection seemed to be the malaria precaution. I got to the conclusion that the tablets weakened my immune system what made me vulnerable for the viruses. From that moment I never took the pills again, although I had been since them very often in the bush and it became my work being in the bush.
I learned from people in the Masai Mara to use neem tea as precaution for all sorts of things including malaria and it works very well. From infections, stomach bugs, flues and maybe even things I wasn’t aware of it helped. Neem tea works very well for me and I can recommend to use it also when not being on safari, but please consult your doctor to make sure it is not interfering with any other medication or condition.
There are plenty of websites about the benefits of neem, here one example: “neem tea products”
Stay healthy and enjoy your traveling.

Ute Sonnenberg, rohoyachui.com
]]>home2012-04-14T18:31:14+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/46890b738d881fbc9189abf8ba893a1f-8.html#unique-entry-id-8https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/46890b738d881fbc9189abf8ba893a1f-8.html#unique-entry-id-8

It is like a magnetic point and when I was there I had the feeling like falling off the continent any moment, as it is pulling one further into the ocean. I’m talking about the southern most point of Africa, Cape Agulhus.
It is that overwhelming feeling of standing on the edge of this huge continent and the tip is so tiny, like it is holding the whole continent from falling into the sea. I was emotional and don’t know quite why.
Being the southern most point of Africa means as much as land stops here, but it actually doesn’t. It goes further underneath the water where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet. If we could make us heavier and able to breath under water we could just carry on walking from the edge of Africa down the hill until we reach a valley and climb a hill again. I felt like standing on the top of a mountain experiencing fear of height by thinking that there is so much under the water and I recognized the feeling. I had it also with diving, as I could fall down, like from a high building, what I would do, if there wouldn’t be water.
All this came up when standing on the edge of Africa, realizing that there isn’t an edge of Africa, that Africa goes further under the ocean and it is never ending. All continents are connected, only the lakes got a bit big, that we can’t see the other side of the valley anymore. We are only standing on higher ground looking down into the depth of the water covered valley and in my case becoming emotional, hit by philosophical thoughts.
]]>home2012-03-22T12:26:22+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e9b493a5457298858e0c9f39236afcd9-7.html#unique-entry-id-7https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e9b493a5457298858e0c9f39236afcd9-7.html#unique-entry-id-7

Art is a way of seeing the world. It challenges perceptions, evokes emotions and stimulates thought. All great art changes the way we see the world around us, or perhaps creates a new world all of its own. That’s what sets art apart from crafts, which are solely concerned with craftsmanship and aesthetics. (David Cohen de Lara)

The Zebra was standing on the bank of the Mara River in the Masai Mara in Kenya. It was a day of drama. I felt it at arrival at the river. The air was tensed, the animals skittish, approaching the water very careful, jumping back from the slightest sign of movement. The crocodiles were there. The herd of zebras was split, one part had crossed already and the other part was still on the other side. They were calling each other. The one group that had crossed waited for the others, watching them, calling them. From the other group a brave one approached the river, tested the water, and jumped back. They were waiting, watching, and restless walking around; “talking” to each other, waiting that someone would take the lead. And the sun was burning. This carried on for hours and the air was tensed and the injured zebra was standing with the group that had crossed on the other side. It didn’t move, it was just standing there in the sun. Maybe it healed, maybe not. This zebra tells the story of a day of drama at the Mara River. It might challenge perceptions, might evoke emotions and might stimulate thoughts.
]]>home2012-03-06T11:08:43+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e0a31bd471a52e2c0ba1ac8f8e6bae77-6.html#unique-entry-id-6https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/e0a31bd471a52e2c0ba1ac8f8e6bae77-6.html#unique-entry-id-6

We were on a game drive when encountering a cute and "scary" situation with a baby elephant. The road we were on was in an area with thick bush on both sides. Suddenly we had the classic of "two cars in opposite directions on a one lane bridge". Only that the other "car" was a herd of elephant moving towards us. So the question who will have to reverse was easily answered. Us, of course. We reversed, stopped for a few photos and reversed again. This went on for a while when suddenly a baby elephant of about one meter height decided to test his strength. He ran at us, flapping wildly with his ears, trunk up and forward, he was charging us! That brought him quite far in front of his mother and when he realized, that he was all alone his courage disappeared. He swung around, ran back to his mum and hid under the bellies of the family.
This was so cute, yet it doesn't look promising to encounter him when he is a couple of tons older.

]]>home2011-10-24T18:54:56+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/8d842fea395576991ea770db098f7d6f-5.html#unique-entry-id-5https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/8d842fea395576991ea770db098f7d6f-5.html#unique-entry-id-5

It is October 2011 and we are staying for our Leopard Special Photography course on Londolozi Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand, South Africa.
The weather is not so great this morning and we have to wear the rain ponchos, but our spirits are high. One lady says: We are going to see something very exciting. How right she is. We are driving through the rain, spotting some impala and other plains game. Then our ranger gets the call. There is a leopard and we are off to see him. It is Cam Pan male, one of Londolozi's dominant male leopards. The rain doesn't seem to bother him. He is lying in the open clearing, cleaning himself before he starts feeding again on his kill. We watch for a while and then leave him alone.
It is still raining, but not that much anymore. Suddenly our tracker stops the vehicle, there is a kill in the tree, which means there should be a leopard as well. The vehicle turns and we are going off road towards the tree with the kill. And there on the foot of the tree lies the leopard in the grass, growling at us, defending his kill. We are very pleased to see that this is another dominant male leopard, his name is Shorty. He is not seen that often on the property anymore. We are lucky to see him.
He stays on the ground, the rain has stopped and we decide to drive off for a while to get the rain clothes off and the legs stretched. The comes the call of another vehicle over the radio. He is up in the tree. We are rushing back, just in time to see the most spectacular sighting. The moment we arrive he tries to rearrange his kill in the tree and he is obviously struggling. Something got hooked between the branches and he tries to pull it off. The kill is a Nyala and not much is eaten yet. The animal is quite complete still with the head. It looks like one of the back legs of the Nyala got hooked and he tries to pull it free by pulling the head. Its not moving. He tries a different approach and climes up the tree with the head still in his mouth to unhook it. A very good idea, but he loses balance and falls off the branch, still holding on to the head of the Nyala. The hooked leg of the Nyala holds them both, the Nyala and the leopard hanging on the head of the Nyala, swinging in the air.
One would think he would break his neck, but he doesn't. He holds onto it, even trying to pull it lose by swinging and bringing in all his weight. But the Nyala leg holds. It doesn't move an inch. The leopard lets go. He gives himself a break to get his wind back.
After a while the leopard gets up gain and jumps onto the still upside down hanging Nyala, still with the idea to pull it down with his weight. But no, the Nyala leg holds and so does the whole body and the skin. Nothing is coming lose. The leopard gives up again and rests in the shade.
A few hours later we are back at the sighting and the struggle is still on. Now the leopard is in the tree, pulling the Nyala to the side and up back into the tree, although with limited success, because the leg is still hooked. At least he manages to feed, well with big efforts.
We watch the whole scene of big efforts to feed and very necessary breaks to recover in between. We are in awe and can't believe what we see, between speechless and saying stupid things. Its just amazing.
Well, we have to go at last and promise ourself we will come back the next morning. We are back the next morning and the leopard is resting on the ground, his belly properly filled, panting from being so full. He deserves it. He didn't work only hard to make the kill, he also worked very hard to eat it. What a wonderful example of perseverance, strength and beauty.
If you would like to see the whole thing happening than have a look at the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x_FJs6kPZA

]]>home2011-11-29T18:53:09+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/b1497477a1c12f1581a2156def7b1975-4.html#unique-entry-id-4https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/b1497477a1c12f1581a2156def7b1975-4.html#unique-entry-id-4

Summer in Africa means warmth, lush vegetation, green, heavy rain showers, storms, sun, new life, abundance, game drives in warm and humid conditions and beach.
The beaches of Africa are beautiful, from the Namibian coast over South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.
A jewel of beaches are the beaches of Mnemba Island. Mnemba is a private island just off the coast of Zanzibar. The view you see on the photo is the view you have from your own piece of beach at your banda and no worries, there are only ten bandas on the whole island. You will never need shoes while staying there, its a barefoot paradise. Between enjoying your beach, snorkeling, diving, swimming or whatever water activity you wish to do the delicious meals make it just perfect.
I always think back of the island with pleasure, remembering the relaxed time and the great drift dive we made there, seeing beautiful fish in the most amazing colors. It might be the best one can do after a great safari :-)

]]>home2011-12-15T18:50:20+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/ac89054d605eb0e9f1cf2ba29e756f66-3.html#unique-entry-id-3https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/ac89054d605eb0e9f1cf2ba29e756f66-3.html#unique-entry-id-3

Its one of the most spoken about situations one wouldn't like to experience when driving in the bush, getting stuck in front of a lion, the classic. Well, we didn't need to talk about it, we experienced it.
We were on a game drive in the Masai Mara and our driver had spotted two male lion further away up the hill. We got there and spent first some time with one of the male lion, beautifully positioned overlooking the great plains. After a while we moved on to get closer to the second male lion. We followed the tracks of another vehicle, that had been there some time earlier and while going through a little dip, well, we got stuck. Our driver got out to check, but we were really stuck and the two male lion were looking interested what was going on. One of them was about 60 meters away and the other about 40 meters away from our vehicle. As usual in the open plains, there was no obstacle between the lion and us that would hinder their view or "walk" towards us. Fortunately there were two other vehicles on the sighting. One of them drove in front of the lion who was further away and the other vehicle came to help us out. The second vehicle parked about in front of us and their and our driver got out to fix the robe between the vehicles. The other male lion was still watching the whole thing curiously, while the lion further away had got up and walked around minding his business of finding a nicer resting spot.
Suddenly another male lion head popped up, and only 20 meters away. So, there were three male lion watching the scene. Especially the male lion very close to us felt a little disturbed and was very alert, but fortunately not in the mood to do something.
The two drivers fixed eventually the robe between the vehicles, which took a while, falling off a couple of times, and we got pulled out.
Well, this was really interesting and after enjoying a bit more time with these very patient three lion we headed back to the camp, a story richer and this time the classic.

]]>home2012-01-27T18:48:41+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/0978d13ff9265b9fd953cdba694fcfd0-2.html#unique-entry-id-2https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/0978d13ff9265b9fd953cdba694fcfd0-2.html#unique-entry-id-2

It is almost like a secret code, understood only by people who have been on this magical continent with its incredible nature and strong energy. The continent is called Africa and the secret thing they are talking about is called the "Africa virus".
When people came home from their trip they noticed that they felt incredibly energetic and kept looking at their photos again and again and that was the moment they realized they have it, the "Africa virus".
It is a serious matter, because now they want to go back, back to the source of this beauty and strength, but they sit at home, the lights are switched on, maybe the heating is buzzing and yet they still feel that strong energy they brought with them. For how long will it last? Well, lets look at the photos again. They make an album or a photo book and its great, because every image carries a bit of this beautiful energy and by looking at it they are again there. They print some of the images and hang them on the wall. Good, that feels better.
And yet, it keeps nagging until they finally make the booking and then it fades away, they are going back. Now everything is easy going and eventually they stand again in the bush or sit in a jeep and the leopard is looking at them with dreamy eyes, well yes, that's what they came back for.
Caution! This is non fiction!

]]>home2012-02-11T18:43:03+02:00https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/b62e2363de4b9ce13203dd2507497db1-1.html#unique-entry-id-1https://www.rohoyachui.com/styled-15/blog/files/b62e2363de4b9ce13203dd2507497db1-1.html#unique-entry-id-1

On the 11th of February 2012 “The daily Petapixel” quoted from an article by Ben Long on CreativePro where he states that “all photos are manipulated” (see complete petapixel article below).

“Photography author Ben Long has a thought-provoking article over at CreativePro in which he argues that “all photos are manipulated” and that “there is no such thing as absolute truth in photography”: All images are Photoshopped. Or Lightroomed, or iPhoto’d, or dodged, burned, re-touched, cross-processed, developed with more or less agitation in the tank, at warmer or cooler temperatures, and so on and so forth. This has been true since the beginning of photography. Understanding the representational nature of photography will help you take better pictures because you’ll better understand how to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of the medium. But perhaps more importantly, it’s important to understand that all images are manipulated. Still photos are the dominant communication medium used for everything from entertainment to artistic expression, journalism to sales. Becoming a more informed, understanding viewer will make it easier to understand when and whether there’s any “truth” in the images put before you.” (PetaPixel 11th Feb. 2012)

When reading Ben Long’s whole article on http://www.creativepro.com/article/all-photos-are-manipulated it looks like some terminology got mixed up creating confusion, at least for myself.
Ben Long quotes people asking him, if his photographs were photoshopped, meaning as much as manipulated and the person who asks that wants to know, if the image is true. He answers that yes, all photos are edited and manipulated. I think here language leads to confusion.
In the first place, if manipulating images is equal to photoshopping images not all photographs are manipulated, because not all photos are photoshopped. If manipulating images is equal to images are always carrying the photographers personal connection to what he/she sees, yes in this case all photographs are manipulated.

Also the word “truth” is a sensitive one. The word “truth” is a philosophical term. There is nothing like an absolute truth, there is only relative truth, an always-changing truth. Remember the times when people thought that the earth is a disk. One day they found out that the sailor wouldn’t fall of the disk by sailing to the west. He eventually arrived back where he started and it was proved that the world is a globe. There are every day new examples of how “more truth” is seen and understood in any part of life. So the word truth in connection with the question, if an image was manipulated/photoshpped/edited doesn’t really fit. The word “genuine” might be the better choice. Isn’t that what the people want to know when they ask about photographs? Is this photo genuine? not tempered with? just as it was taken?

For what reason does this question annoy photographers? Because none of their photos is genuine anymore? All are photoshopped? Don’t get annoyed, see it as an opportunity to rethink things in photography.

I agree that most of the published photos are photoshopped nowadays. They look pretty much all the same as if one day one photo won a completion and now everybody thinks that this must be the standard and then they try to copy this kind of “standard” in order to receive recognition and awards. But where does that lead photography to when all photographers like lemmings follow that route to the cliff? Well, they will fall off the photography edge and become photoshoppers. Isn’t it about time to distinguish these two crafts of art? There are photographers and there are photoshoppers and both are accepted art forms. Wouldn’t that be more clear and genuine for the artists and the public? The photographers are the one with the genuine photographs and the photoshoppers are the one with the edited/photoshopped artwork, maybe called “artEdimage”.

Look at the winning photo of the World Press Photo 2012. The winning image was once a photo before it became a photoshop artwork, inspired by old master paintings. Isn’t it confusing that this artwork is called a “photo”?

To make it easier for all of us, the artists, the public and the juries, lets start seeing photography as photography and photoshop as its own art form. Lets talk about photographers and photoshoppers and lets be conscious that a lot of philosophy and psychology is touched by art and lets not confuse it.

(attached image is a photograph, taken by a photographer)

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It might look like a cheetah with two heads, but its not. These two brothers are so tuned in that the image shows exactly their relationship. We were lucky to follow them during our two days stay and it seemed they were part of our program, a photography team building session where the team of executives learned a lot from the cheetahs.
The two brothers were roaming the marsh for potential food. When standing on a termite mount they would look in opposite directions, each of them scanning the area. When resting, one would watch out and the other one would rest. And then they saw a reed buck. Their "hunting program" just rolled out. They positioned themselves in a way that the buck had no chance to escape and then one just hit the buck form the side and the other finished it. It was precision work and very impressive. Also the feeding process was impressive. One fed and the other one was on the watch out until they changed positions and the brother would feed with the other scanning the area.
They were one with their hearts and minds and almost one with their bodies too.


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