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 Knowing
The Places
Q It
seems like professional photographers have an inside track on
where and when to be in order to get the best images. I go to
these same places and I’m always late or early, or nothing
is going on. How do they do it? Is there a clearinghouse on
the Internet that only they know about?
J. McCall
Austin, Texas
A There’s
nothing magical about getting to the right places at the right
time. A lot of research and a lot of networking over a period
of time is required to get it right. You build up relationships
with people, make friends—anyone can do that. There’s
no shortcut to finding out about when things happen in nature.
Pros will work to find someone to call to get information on
the conditions of a location, which you certainly can do, too.
Maybe it’s a ranger, biologist or local photographer. I
think many amateurs figure that since they don’t have a
lot of time, they’ll just hope for the best without talking
to anyone. Rangers, naturalists and other local people in parks
and refuges love to share information about their location.
Search online for a location’s Website and you’ll
often find e-mail addresses there, too, which can help you begin
your research. It may even happen that after relationships are
established the local person will call the photographer when
conditions are particularly good or unusual.
Professional photographers are constantly looking for the best
places and touch base with friends to see who has checked out
a certain place, but to be a part of any network that gives
you such information, you have to be trusted and you have to
share, too. To be trusted means that you won’t damage a
location or cause it to be placed off limits due to questionable
behavior. Photographer A tells you about this great area of
wildflowers on private property and you immediately head out
and climb the fence or leave a gate open or not check in with
the landowner. Photographer A arrives a few days later and finds
an upset landowner, and all photographers are locked out in
the future and the area becomes posted as a “Keep Out”
zone. Photographer A isn’t going to help you again anytime
soon and the word will be out that you’re not to be trusted.
When we get good information from a friend, we try to reciprocate
by returning the favor; that keeps the network going and expanding.
When a non-photographer gives us information, we follow up and
send a print and show our appreciation. When the next photographer
shows up, the resource has a positive attitude toward photographers.
There are many resources with good information if you know where
to look. One excellent example is www.calphoto.com
by Carol Leigh. During wildflower season, her “California
Wildflower Hotsheet” lists lots of observations from photographers
in the field.
Two things to keep in mind about such Websites: Other photographers
see the same information and interpret the same phenomenon differently.
Someone might report “a great display of flowers.”
Enthused, you travel hundreds of miles only to find a 10-foot-square
bunch of finished blooms. Additional calls to check the quality
of the information can help.
The same is true when you subscribe to a newsletter like Photograph
America (www.photographamerica.com),
put out by Robert Hitchman. The information is fantastic, but
be aware that others will receive the same information. Hitchman
has been producing the newsletter for 15 years and the back
issues cover several good locations that aren’t being overrun.
A great place to network and start to get the trust of fellow
photographers is the North American Nature Photography Association
meetings (www.nanpa.org).
The annual NANPA meeting is held in late winter and regional
meetings are held at different times around the country.
The image shown here of a wolf feeding on a caribou in Denali
National Park, Alaska, was made possible because of the networking
between professional photographers. It was amazing how quickly
all the photographers in the park with permits knew about this
extraordinary opportunity close to the road. The image was taken
with a Canon EOS-1D Mark II and a 500mm ƒ/4L IS with a
1.4x tele-extender.
Information
Sources: Who To Believe
Q Where
do you get the latest information on new equipment? Is there
a source for information about any equipment that might be substandard?
My friends talk about flaws in new cameras before they’re
even in the stores.
K. Runnel
Sacramento, California
A Frankly,
equipment from major manufacturers today is of high quality.
A problem many folks have is expecting a low-priced camera designed
for the general consumer market to act like a pro camera; it
won’t, but that doesn’t mean it’s a substandard
camera. The consumer camera may be way above standard for its
designed marketplace. Cameras typically do very well for the
market for which they’re designed today.
Some of the information I’ve seen on the Internet on “problems”
with new equipment is suspect. For whatever reason, I find that
many times there’s a rush to judgment on a camera by people
who aren’t really photographers, nor are they looking at
what the camera is designed to do. It’s just as silly to
expect a quarterback to become a center lineman as it is to
complain that a certain camera won’t do something for which
it wasn’t designed.
To start, no equipment out there is perfect, and to expect a
camera to do everything is unreasonable. Yes, like any manufactured
product, occasionally something slips by, and you may get a
lemon, but this is unusual. What I most often see is an unreasonable
expectation. Sometimes, I’m saddened that the person starting
a negative message thread obviously just doesn’t know how
to use the equipment.
Look for additional confirmation before believing everything
you read about any given piece of equipment on the Internet.
Look for this information from people who actually use the gear
and not from those who just sit in front of a computer spouting
gibberish and spreading misinformation. The Internet has become
the instant source of both good and bad information.
My Web browser home page is set to www.dpreview.com.
Whenever I log on to the Internet, that’s the first thing
I see. The moment information is released from the manufacturers,
DPReview has the item posted. Not long afterward, the site features
comprehensive test reports, downloadable image files taken with
the digital camera or links to the actual press release. The
information and quality of the Website is phenomenal. There
are other similar sites that you’ll find useful, such as
www.robgalbraith.com
and www.dcviews.com,
which also provide great information.
But here’s a big problem. These sites also have forums
where anyone can submit information and offer opinions. Unfortunately,
because it’s open to anyone, there can be a lot of misinformation
and bad advice. I often know what’s coming down the pike
because I receive non-disclosure information from manufacturers.
So I also can tell you that most of the early information you
hear is far off the mark.
Traveling Light
Digitally
Q
I backpack every summer and would like to begin to work digitally,
but the amount of gear seems to be too heavy to make this a
practical choice. Are there some methods regarding traveling
light that you can outline to make this work?
B. James
Colorado Springs, Colorado
A If
SLRs are your desire, then there are some very light cameras
available today, such as the Canon EOS Digital Rebel and the
Nikon D70. Along with these quite capable cameras, you’ll
find light and versatile consumer lenses that aren’t too
expensive as well. And if you want pro-series lenses, look for
moderate zooms with smaller maximum ƒ-stops (these are
much lighter lenses). Most outdoor photographers who want to
travel light carry two zoom lenses and a few accessories into
the field.
For many hikers, the light advanced compact digital camera is
definitely the answer to traveling digitally with less weight.
These offer excellent zoom ranges (up to 10x), take accessory
lenses, focus to macro distances without accessories and have
everything from auto to manual exposure. Their lenses are very
high quality and compare to pro lenses (Canon even gives the
lens on the PowerShot Pro1 the professional “L” designation).
You can get plenty of shots on a large media card when you shoot
in JPEG format, but the cameras also include the ability to
shoot in the RAW format.
The battery problem can be addressed with one of several lightweight
solar panels that output enough energy to recharge the camera’s
batteries, such as those manufactured by Coleman and Brunton.
For image storage, an ideal solution is a battery-powered hard
drive or CD writer.
Remember, you won’t have to carry any film at all! I think
taking digital far out in the field can be done now. It will
definitely become easier in the future, as more solar products
and independent storage devices become available to photographers. |
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