Botswana

I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks traveling around Botswana and even though the objective wasn't to make it a photographic trip as always I had a couple of cameras with. I took the Fujifilm X-T1 with a couple of lenses and my Nikon FM2 film camera with a 50mm lens. Because I don't normally shoot wildlife, the longest lens I have is the 85mm equivalent so opportunities were a bit limited. Bear that in mind when you view the photos, it will give you an idea of how close the animals came to us. I admit that there were more than a few occasions that I experienced a bit of the old butt hole pucker, case in point was when I shot the hippo photos. It was literally a car length away from us.

Part of the reason I wanted to go on this trip was to remind myself how small and vulnerable I as a human actually am when taken in context of the awe that is nature. I think we tend to forget this very quickly when we live in cities but when you are in the middle of the bush with no one else around for kilometers and you hear a lion roar less than 50m away from you in the black of night as you sit around your fire you are reminded very quickly where you sit in the food chain.

It was also amazing to realize how we adapt to danger, case in point was one day we noticed a small hut literally made from straw with no door. When we met the locals we mentioned this and he causally said that they used to sit in the hut until one day a lion tried to eat them there so now they don't sit in that hut! There are a few other stories I have regarding danger but I'll save those for another time. Just remember, there are no fences keeping anything out so when you need to pee at night, you dangle it out the tent.

I will say that if you haven't been to Botswana then do yourself a favor and go, your life will not be the same. When you have returned and you are sitting at your desk at work months later, you will find yourself reminiscing about that trip and maybe even sometimes wondering why you haven't sold all your worldly possessions and made that your life. 

Again this is a photo blog not a travel blog but I feel obliged to give you a few helpful tips if you are planning a 4x4 trip there.

1. Buy as much of your provisions including water, beer and fire wood outside of the country. The prices get seem to get more and more expensive the further north you travel.

2. Don't forget your first aid kit, when you are hours away from anyone this could save your life.

3. If you have a sense of direction as bad as mine, a GPS with trail maps is a must or you find yourself driving around in circles for hours in a storm.

4. If you are planning on going in the wet season like us, be prepared for some adrenaline fueled driving! Having more than one vehicle gives great piece of mind but we did fine just 2 guys and a Pajero.

5. After eating wash and store all food stuffs inside your vehicle or trailer otherwise you tend to get visits from animals that may decide you are lunch. We made the mistake of leaving a bbq grid hanging on a gazebo and went for a drive. When we returned the gazebo was completely wrecked and could only be used for scrap.

6. When you pull into the camp on your first night in the bush and notice your Dutch neighbour has made his bbq and eaten and is already in his tent as the sun sets, don't be so quick to mock him (see comment above regarding lion roaring at night).

7. Oh and finally, a fellow traveller advised us to sleep with our shoes inside our rooftop tent because the hyena tend to eat them if you leave them outside (note that we didn't actually experience this but we kept them inside just in case).

That's it for tips, the rest you can read on any website when you do your research. Now enjoy the photos.

Cheers

Chad

This was our first destination and and a taste of what was to come. See the storm approaching in the distance? Yeah we didn't think it would reach us in 10 min either.

Baobab trees 

Happy elephant.

They don't call it the rainy season for nothing. We spent our late afternoons and nights being chased by storms.

Not so happy elephant.

Big boy is about a cars length away from me.

More afternoon storms.

One of the numerous flooded areas we crossed. Doesn't look too deep right? Water was up to our windshield. One of many pucker moments.

I hate the way Fuji renders foliage but in this case I have to say the colors were nearly spot on compared to what I saw. Shot with Fuji standard film simulation if I remember correct.

I havde a series of these shots. I think these are going to make some great prints.

After waiting patiently for 5 hours to shoot the sunset we were hit by gale force winds accompanied by a mother of a storm.

Goodbye Bostwana, see you soon.

Krabi Thailand

Beautiful and friendly Thailand. Every time I go to Thailand I enjoy it more and more. The people are always super friendly and respectful, always willing to help in anyway they can. Now trying to find something interesting and authentic to shoot becomes a little tricky when you find yourself in a tourist spot like Krabi but with the help of a great tour guide I managed to get away from the usual more well known places.

Although this trip wasn't purely for photography I did manage to get a few great shots as well as trying my hand at shooting 35mm film which I have been wanting to do for a long time. Shooting film alongside digital proved to be a challenge for me because the way you go about shooting each format is completely different. I found with digital I am used to shooting a lot more photos per scene but with film I really had to slow down and think about my shots. The other benefit of shooting digital is that I got instant feedback how the photo looked and obviously the same is not possible when using film. This can be frustrating but at the same time exciting. The one thing I will change for the next trip is that I will have to choose beforehand which medium to shoot, digital or film as both at the same time had me feeling like I was doing half a job for each. Next time I would like to focus on just one. Like that I will work with both the advantages and limitations and I think this will help me improve. One the the really frustrating things I found shooting with film is that I am so used to changing the ISO on the fly to achieve the look I want that I didn't give much thought to what happens when I shoot film until I have to shoot in the daytime as well as night. Digital has really made it so easy and convenient that we are spoilt for choice. With film I had to make a decision beforehand about what film speed I would use and live with whatever restrictions came with that decision. For example I was shooting Ilford HP5 Plus 400 which was great for the days but I had to make sure that before the night I had finished the roll of film and had a new one ready pushed to 1600 so that I could get that bit extra shutter speed that I needed in dark night scenes. I'm not sure how old film shooters got around this, the only thing I can think of is that they carried 2 cameras around with them with different speed films in each. Anyway, I have a long way to go on my film adventure but the bug has already bitten me.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Dubai Street Photography

I spent a few days in Dubai, it was my first time not just transiting through the airport. Unfortunately we didn't get to do the desert safari this time. I would have loved to shoot a few portraits of the tribesmen and I am dying to try the roasted goat that is slow cooked in a hole in the ground and coved with sand.

For me the most interesting shots I got were at the souk. It is a pity that it is so geared towards tourists though, I would have liked to see more local people and even where the migrant workers to the country shop for their daily things. On the plus side, food all over was amazing and the weather was great. I have heard that summer is definitely a no go as temperatures go into the 50's and we are talking Celsius!

Have to say that I am loving the Fuji Systems more and more each day for travel photography. Besides the fantastic quality of the photos, the size and weight are great for saving your back and shoulders when you are out the whole day. So Well done FUJI and keep it up!

Be wary of strangers.

Hand held. I really need to get a travel tripod.

Boudoir Shoot

South Africa, a whole lot more than just braaivleis and brandewyn!!!

I was really happy to have been able to line up a couple of shoots while on my holiday in Johannesburg, this was one of them.

I had an amazing time shooting with this lady and can't wait to go back and shoot more of the South African talent. Thanks to Y for putting in so much effort in preparation for our shoot, from all the beautiful pieces of lingerie right down to the french manicure and pedicure. I always give my best when shooting but whenever I see this much effort on the part of the model it inspires me to give even more.

South African Street Portrait

Aaaarrrghh, Ok so take two of my blog post because the little internet decided to delete my last post as I was finishing it.

Ok so lets start again. It's been a while since my last post. Life has been crazy busy with shooting and general life stuff. I also spent 3 weeks in South Africa on holiday and managed to organise a couple of shoots while I was there. I think most of my holiday snaps I will post on Instagram so look out for them. 

I was cruising around Johannesburg looking for old 35mm cameras in old junk shops when I noticed this guy just hanging around outside one of them. I was immediately interested by his face and knew that I had to shoot his portrait. After talking for a while he agreed and we just carried on talking about life in general while I snapped away. Turns out he regularly goes to the local gym to lift weights with his daughter and on the day I saw him, he was just killing time waiting for her. Really nice guy and I was happy to have met him.

The black and white shots were down when I found myself on a construction site. I would have loved to spend a bit more time there shooting close up portraits of the workers but I wasn't able to that day, maybe next time.

Anyway, everyone meet Vic.

Shanghai Street Life In Color

Somewhere in Shanghai. Wandering the back alleys of the less flashy parts of Shanghai where the shiny store fronts that house the worlds top designer brands seem a million miles away but can in fact be found just a few streets away. here the old folk regard you with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion and the younger generation stare and giggle.