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Place a wager for best description of a desert rain on chapter twelve of Barbara Kingsolver's book The Bean Trees and there's a good chance you'd win. She crescendos over the course of some 800 words just to build up to her description of the subtle and therefore easily dismissed scent that rises in the air before a desert summer rain. It's a remarkable and realistic chapter. So why would I bother writing about it?
Last school year, we hosted and became family with a 16-year old girl from Ukraine who wanted nothing more than to see Grand Canyon. I've written about her a few times already, but because this website increasingly gets more readers every day (and we're grateful for it), I feel like I need to preface this properly. Her name is Ania and she lived with us for almost a year (more). Today, Ania attends a university in Lithuania studying English and business. During her spring semester here, she took a guitar class and a photography class. Truthfully, she taught me a lot about photography. And I taught tried to teach her how to rock a C7 chord, but she resisted trimming her fingernails. Photography class started with the history of image making, so it was weeks before she came home with a pinhole camera and a project to shoot. When the class moved on to 35mm cameras . . . {loadposition earthday}
If there's one thing I want you to take away from this website, it's that you should not underestimate my appreciation for photography of the natural world. Because this week brings us John Muir's birthday (the 21st) and Earth Day (the 22nd) I figured this to be a good time to feature some superb photos taken right here on planet Earth. I've selected three lensmen whom I admire for their skill with the camera and their dedication to seeking out extraordinary light and subjects, a pursuit that does not come easy or without sacrifice. To tie it together, planet Earth is a pretty cool place and these guys do a bang up job taking photos of it. Each one of them shares a photograph with you right here, and I want you to tell me which one you like the best. Just because I think that'll be kind of fun to hear what you have to say. So it's up to you now, good reader. Which one of these pictures is your favorite? On Friday April 22, I'll check the results for the photo that earned the most votes, and the responsible photographer will get a $50 award, and you can download the winning photo as a wallpaper.
Not a week goes by that I don't get an email from someone asking about photography. Shamefully, it's a difficult task to coach people on photo tips with the written word as my only tool. It's even more awkward when I'm asked, "What kind of camera do you have?" because it feels like that's someone's way of digging to the depths to find the treasure of nabbing some great photos. And what I end up doing is saying something like, "I shoot with a Canon 5D, not the Mark II, but an obsolete version that few would be willing to accept for free. But here's what really helps me . . ." and they get some version of the following. The web isn't short of photo tips, so why should I bother? Because I feel that it's only polite to answer the questions. And I didn't invent the following tricks, someone taught them to me. Learning together is what this website is all about. So without any more fuss, these are three photo tips out of like 5,000 that I think are pretty helpful when it comes to snapping shots of the kids outside.
I don't know. What's worse torture for your camera? Under the tire of a truck, or in the hands of a 7 year-old boy? Dirt encrusted on his cheeks, grass stains on one knee, a full-blown rip in the other. Back away from my camera, kid.
Look, I know you don't want to pony up 80 bucks for a little tripod, but let me explain. These days it's increasingly difficult to sort out when you're just paying for panache or scoring something that actually solves a problem. I've been around the block with small backpack-worthy tripods. I tried in vain to make work not one, not two, but three different $10 mini-tripods over the years. Guess what? They all drove me nuts. Should I say more? Is it all that surprising that low-priced mediocre gear turned out to be a disappointment? Doubtful. I kept trying, though. Ten bucks here, ten bucks there, all the while claiming, "All I want is a little tripod to take the occasional self portrait while we're on a hike or something." Save yourself the grief, take a ride on my experience, and just get a Joby Gorillapod. I know, it looks like a silly gimmick, but it's far from it.
Let's get a little more out there. Oh, you need to pump breast milk? Let's rest here on this precipice with a view of - go ahead pick one - Yosemite Valley, Canyonlands, the Sonoran Desert and plug in the breast pump. Wee-whirrr wee-whirrr wee-whirrr. Okay, not quite the sound you want while gazing at Earth's splendors, but you'll take what you can get.
Here's what I mean. "Oh, my camera sucks" many a P&S owner has said. And those of us with DLSRs the size of pool tables fall into the trap of spending long moments thinking about, and adjusting, the exposure, the white balance, bracketing, changing lenses. Sure, there's a time and a place for it, but the camera has a way of saying, "I'm in charge. Bow down. Bow down." Both of these have a way of making me - and maybe you - fail to pick up the camera when there's a nice shot asking to be burned into a CF card. So, there are a couple of good nuggets of photo advice I've heard, and ignored, over the years. Not because they're too technical, but because they're too obvious and sensible. Here are two of them.
I think it's the universal desire of fathers of all backgrounds to overhear their sons saying to their friends, "I wanna be just like my dad." One problem with being an outdoor photographer is that it's often grueling work with long hikes, heat exposure, funky camping, and bizarre days - things surely to turn off any 11-year-old varmint in the modern era. For Aaron Newman, the story is different. "Trevor and I both enjoy many outdoor activities including hiking, shooting guns, shooting cameras, and camping. We also enjoy playing sports such as golf and football. One of the things we both enjoy the most is getting out and exploring blue highways, dirt roads and trails anywhere we can. It can be on the way to National Parks across the United States or even just a random road in one of Arizona’s deserts." His son enjoys picking up the camera and hanging out with dad. Here's their cool story.
Like many hopeful lensmen weighing their first camera against their first 8 gigs-worth of digital photos, he was thinking man, I didn't spend enough money on a quality camera. I just had to tell him that the problem wasn't the camera, but him. We're friends. I can take that risk. By the way, that's not Bobby to the right. That's K.C. practically getting off on his new Canon G9.
I'm talking about the memories and stories here - if you find technical prowess in the photos, it's just coincidence because I picked these for multiple reasons. We managed some superb trips and massive memories. Brooke trained for, and competed in, her first triathalon. I managed to make this website a reality. At the top of the "2009 FAIL" list: Chloe, our 2-year-old, isn't potty trained yet. It's not for lack of trying.
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The camera, no matter if it's a big honker or a little point-n-shoot, seems to get in the way of the photographer's progress sometimes.
My buddy Bobby once declared to me, "My pictures suck. I want a better camera."
