TRAVEL LIGHT - Under no circumstances should you underestimate the importance of this tip. As photographers we are all obsessed with gadgets, and most of us have too many of them. Essential items that were bought on a whim only to languish unused in the deepest recesses of you kit bag. Make sure before you travel anywhere you compile a kit inventory. This may seem like overkill but you will thank yourself for the effort three days into a hiking trip. Give some long hard thought to the destinations you are headed to. What will you be photographing there, how will you be moving around?

If you are booked into the Four Seasons for two weeks as a permanent base, with an in room safe and a private concierge you can take quite a bit of gear with you, as you can carry what you need on a day to day basis and leave everything else at the Four Seasons.

If on the other hand you are off to Patagonia to fulfill a personal dream of shooting goat herders, you won’t be staying at the Four Seasons, and therefore will need to think VERY carefully  which equipment you take with you, because along with your clothes and bedding, you will be carrying it all with you every single day!

FIND YOUR SHOT – When you have found the shot you are looking for, take your time with it and shoot around it. What I mean by that is don’t be afraid of trying different framing and moving

your feet. The below examples were all shot with a 135mm prime lens (it’s the only lens I was carrying with me). I was trying really hard to position myself and the camera so as not to bring the sun directly into the lens, as it was just above the hut.

In the last frame I shot below, I was stepping back a little further to let the sun into the lens at the top left of the frame, and it completely changed the whole look of the image and it’s my favorite of the series. Once you have found the image you want to take and have nailed your exposure don’t be scared to shoot around the frame a little. I don’t mean take hundreds of photos, but do mix it up a little with five or six versions, portrait/landscape etc. You can never go back and take the image again.

3. AIRPORT SECURITY - As photographers, whatever gear we are carrying, one of the biggest hurdles we have is increasingly airline security. Obviously it goes without saying that you should carry as much of your expensive equipment with you onto the plane as possible and never let it out of your sight. Photographers in particular seem to be singled out at the moment, and it’s rare these days that a roll on case carrying lenses and a few camera bodies will make it through an international x-ray scanner without being single out and swab tested for explosives. If your carry on bag is slightly over weight you may be faced with the unwanted proposition of checking your bag in. Personally I would never trust any commercial airline with upwards of USD 25,000 of equipment and neither should you. If this happens, first smile and empathize with the check in clerk and politely explain that your lively hood and means of feeding your family are in the bag (show photos of your kids at this stage – if you don’t have any kids, carry pictures of your sister’s kids) and gauge their reaction. If you have a great smile 9 times out of ten this this will get you through.

If you are in the unfortunate position of having your bag’s checked by someone who isn’t overly happy in their work and is taking it out on you – insisting, despite your best puppy dog eyes that your carry on is in fact going into the hold, here is your next question. “What is the airlines financial responsibility for a single piece of checked luggage” Most check in staff do not know, and will result in a frustrated call to their supervisor, who (depending on what country you are in) will likely not know either. By this time you should have a sizable queue forming behind you. Stand your ground here until you receive an answer. American Airlines for example has a maximum liability of USD 3,400 per bag, presuming you can prove that the airline is at fault and presuming you can prove that the contents of the bag are worth up to the value of USD 3,400. And by prove I mean you can produce the original receipts…!

It varies slightly from airline to airline but it is essentially the same. When you get your answer, inform the check in clerk that this is not an acceptable level of cover for the equipment you are carrying – Unzip you bag and remove a camera and lens and proceed to take a photo of the check in clerk and several photos of the contents of the unzipped bag. At this point he or she will ask you what you are doing. Explain in a calm collected voice that you are documenting the contents of the bag and the clerk that denied them entry to the aircraft, so that if the aircraft loose the bag you will have the evidence required to launch a loss of earnings lawsuit against the aircraft and the individual.

At this stage the clerk should wave you away and let you take your bag with you. If they are still insist that your bag is to heavy, and it does happen sometimes, simply remove a couple of the camera bodies, attach the largest lenses you are carrying to them and wear them over each shoulder and that should bring the weight down to the accepted limit. Smile as you collect your boarding pass, walk off to the rest rooms, detach the lenses from your cameras, put them back in your bag and proceed to departures. An inconvenience yes, but your cameras are with you on the plane. So worth it.

One of the most ingenious pieces of advice I have read on how to ensure the airline doesn’t loose your bag if you have to check it is from Bruce Schneier’s outstanding security blog www.schneier.com 

“Airlines define a weapon as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, air gun and starter pistol. Yes starter pistols – those little guns that fire blanks at track and swim meets – are considered weapons, but do not have to be registered in any State in the USA. I have a starter pistol for all of my cases. All I have to do upon check in is tell the airline ticket agent that I have a weapon to declare……I’m given a little card to sign, the card is put in the case, the case is given to a TSA official who takes my key, locks the case and gives my key back to me. That’s the procedure. The case is now EXTRA tracked…TSA does not want to loose a case containing a weapon. This reduces the chances of the case being lost to virtually zero It’s a great way to travel with expensive camera gear…….I’ve been doing this since December 2001 and have had no problems whatsoever” Genius….! You can read the full article here 

You might want to limit this trick to domestic flights, and you will need to buy an approved TSA lock (which they have a master key for) so they don’t cut yours off! Even if you are just packing clothing instead of high grade camera gear, $50 for a starter pistol is a cheap insurance policy against airport dumb-assery.

If you want to learn more about how to elevate your travel photography from ordinary to inspired check out the trailer for my new book – The Adventure Photography Handbook below

Then out of left field a couple of things happened. Firstly Hasselblad did this?

And it bothered me. Why would the worlds leading aspirational (for most photographers) photographic brand align itself with a car manufacturer and apply some lipstick to it’s key product? Just how much value does Ferrari’s logo add to a product? According to Hasselblad about USD 13,000. The H4D-40 in conservative guise can be found for USD 15-16,000. The Ferrari version which apart from the red paint, Ferrari logo and construct material is exactly the same camera was sold for USD 28,000………..? Admittedly it was a limited edition run of 499 units (thankfully) and it does come in a cigar Humidor – but really, who is this camera for?

I can’t really come to grips with the partnership – Ferrari make some of the fastest cars in the world – the H4D is certainly not the fastest camera in the world, in fact it’s one of the slowest. Are Ferrari Aficionados so passionate about the Ferrari name and brand that they will pay nearly 100% more for the privilege of displaying it on an entirely unrelated product? Or are they strange creatures who derive pleasure and false self worth from the brands they wear? Surely if you are a car nut a Ferrari is something to aspire to in it’s own right, the same as a Hasselblad was a camera to aspire to in it’s own right as a photographer? Maybe I’m missing the point entirely, but what photographer, even an uber successful photographer would want a bright shiny red camera with a Ferrari logo on it, I’m guessing not many. Would a Ferrari aficionado really be on the lookout for a camera to match his car? Perhaps it could be kept in the glovebox in case of an accident and then blame could be proven in the highest of resolution and quality – except I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t fit in a Ferrari glovebox!

Anyway the release of this “limited Edition” made me start exploring other options for my aspirational dream medium format camera. I hadn’t written Hasselblad off at this stage but I was starting to look at Phase One & Leica. Then Hasselblad did this and really put the nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned.

Meet the Hasselblad Lunar. What is it? It’s a Sony Nex 7, a USD 1,000 camera. But not according to Hasselblad who are retailing it for USD 6,500…………………………………………………………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In a recent interview with Oliver Laurent from the British Journal of Photography, Hasselblad’s Luca Alessandrini & Peter Stig-Nielsen make the following comments about the launch of the Lunar

“We realize it’s difficult to explain what we’re trying to do when we launch something for the first time, after a little while, when you come out with more products, then people will start to understand. But in the beginning, when a product is coming out of the blue, it’s a hard one”

“At the origins of the project, which will see Hasselblad release a series of compact, digital SLRs and mirrorless cameras, is the question: What does Hasselblad mean to people? and Which have been the key values of the company, that has been around for 40 or 50 years, that have kept people coming back?. And the answer is quality and durability. We decided to look at what we could do with the Hasselblad range, and one thing was to go back to our heritage, which is to develop cameras for more people, while keeping the same values that made our company famous. For example, that involves using the best material available. In the 1950s, it was stainless steel. Nowadays it can be carbon fibre, it can be solid aluminium. In this camera we’re embedding our titanium controls. We’re embedding our core values that, in the past 15 years, we’ve put into the H system”.

“I’ve heard a lot of crazy things about this camera. People are talking about ‘rebranding’. I think rebranding is something really different from what we’ve done. We have, in this industry, many examples of what rebranding actually is, Like Leica & Panasonic. In their case, it’s not a partnership, it’s an original equipment manufacturer process, because their cameras aren’t really different. They use a different logo, but the cameras are made of the same material, are sprayed with the same paint, and are assembled in the same factory, with the same low-cost labour forces. It’s not a partnership. What we’re doing is creating different cameras. What we are doing is buying different components from the best suppliers, and applying our knowledge and expertise to create a different camera. This is not a NEX 7 camera, just because we are buying components from Sony. The hardware is just a small part of the whole. It’s not because we’re using a Sony sensor that it makes the Lunar a Sony camera.”

“Hasselblad has an entire R&D team in Sweden that is actively working on the development of the Lunar camera. For example, the camera’s body is made of aluminium. It takes five hours to machine this down. You can only produce three or four a day, and it costs €300. The same part, but made of plastic, would cost 35 cents. So, you could go to Asia and do a similar product for a few hundred euros, but you would be using cheap materials. Or you could use the right materials and the right processes, but it will have to be priced at €5000, €6000 or €7000.”

“If you take Canon, for example, all of their DSLRs look the same, but their Powershot cameras have a completely different look, and the same is true of their mirrorless model. So, the question is: ‘What is the Canon style?’ What we’re doing is designing three cameras – a compact camera, a DSLR and a mirrorless – with the same style,”

“We believe the sensor we are using, made by Sony, is exactly what we want. This sensor is magnificent. For now, we don’t see any reason to modify this sensor. We want to do things only when we know we can do them better. But this is just the first model we’ve done. Maybe the second or third model will be different. We launched this one now because we know that what we’ve been able to achieve here is enough to guarantee that this is a Hasselblad camera. If we were not sure about that, we would not have launched it.”

“I’ve been longing to talk to a younger audience of potential professionals, and I really believe the Sony name is familiar to this audience. Sony is in the gaming industry, the music industry – things that relate to a young generation. I think the Sony brand and the Lunar product is going to help spread the message about what Hasselblad is.”

“We want to be very honest: we have a tradition of choosing the best materials for our cameras. People have the choice – they can like, or not like, this concept. But we’re not robbing people by making a huge profit on the camera. Our profit margin is the same as everyone else’s; we’re just using more expensive materials.”

Here are some of the comments that have appeared over the last month below that interview

“So it’s a rebadged Nex-7 then.”

“So basically what they’re saying is that it’s a Sony Nex-7 built with better materials for more durability? What a ridiculous excuse. For 6 times the price I’d rather buy 6 Sony Nex-7 cameras that will last me much longer than this piece of crap.”

“Please, don’t insult my intelligence.Doesn’t matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it is still a pig…”

“Oh dear – so Leica has Fuji clearing out the street photography drinks cabinet by making camera bodies which beat them at their own game. Now they have Hasselblad doing the old trick of dressing Japanese camera technology up in a fancy alloy body shell and selling it for a ludicrous mark-up to the foolish rich. This is totally pissing in their prestige brand exclusivity punch-bowl. Hilarious!”

“Pathetic… This is coming from a Hasselblad owner. I love the medium format products. And i’m open to new ideas and new products….But this is like…. horrible. I thought it may be Sweden’s equivalent of April Fools Day or something. Then i saw the dedicated website and almost died. I know you need to adapt Hasselblad. The pie is lone gone for MF only companies, but WTF is this? I never use the term but this is most certainly an epic fail. Back to my H3DII. Something i can be proud of…”

“How sad…. I’ve been to Photokina yesterday and held both camera’s next to each other (owning a Nex 7). Its a precise copy from its components to its software menu. 100% the same. How sad is that for a company like Hasselblad…They should immediately fire this new business manager. Not only he is not telling the truth, its a shame that Hasselblad can not be bothered about changing the icons within the software menu….”

So I think it’s safe safe to say – judging by some of the comments made above (and there are pages and pages of them – I didn’t post anything with expletives) that Hasselblad will have no problem with publicity for this camera. Hasselblad for me as I’m sure is the case with most photographers was always about image quality, and above you have it straight from the horses mouth as it were, you can get the same image quality from the USD 1,000 Sony Nex 7 as you can from the Hasselblad Lunar but you won’t look as good while taking the picture…! (matter of opinion). In fact you could buy 6 Nex 7′s for the price of a Lunar and still have USD 500 left over to pimp your ride if you feel so compelled. Thats all very well, but what if I absolutely have to have that burred wood handgrip on the Lunar – here you go, pop it on the Nex 7 for USD 200…!

Ah but I want to feel the touch of soft hand sewn leather under my fingers when taking pictures – here you go, around USD 150 for the Nex 7

Yes – that’s all very well but I want something that’s exclusive to only me so I stand out from every Nex -7 owner! Custom design, no problem, yours for around USD 250

I’ve been asked extensively about this image over the last few weeks and it has garnered quite a lot of International attention since being shortlisted in the Hamdan International Photography Award in March 2013. If you have a love of photography you really should check out what is going on over at www.hipa.ae they are doing some great work bringing photography to the forefront of the regions art scene, and from a competition standpoint the quality of work is simply outstanding. Over 168,000 entries were received from over 120 countries, and to have one of my images shortlisted in this company was truly an honor.

The other images shortlisted above can be viewed here. The standard of work here is truly spectacular. If you are a true lover of photography or even a photographer seeking inspiration go to THIS part of HIPA’s website and download a pdf of the publication “Beauty of  Light” and view some of the finest photography on the planet, it really is inspirational. (Knowing is on page 112

An installation of the shortlisted images was on display for seven days during the awards at the Grand Atrium of Dubai Mall and garnered some great feedback from the general public. I had quite a few calls that week from people telling me my photo was in Dubai Mall….!

“Knowing” received some attention from across the waters in March and was also a finalist in the Professional Photographer of The Year awards in the UK, held at The Parabola Arts Centre in Cheltenham on the 28th, while she didn’t win she was happy to be there all the same.

So how did this portrait come to be? What’s the back story ? are the questions I’ve been asked the most over the last month in particular. I had travelled to Nepal with my business partner in Image Quests - Matt Farr to work our logistical and accommodation options for the 2013 launch of our photographic tours and holidays to that part of the Himalaya. We were shooting still and video footage for the promotional aspects of the trip and meeting with Sunrise Kids Nepal as our sponsored charity for this and subsequent trips. Sunrise are doing some GREAT work in that part of the world and we are privileged to be able to help and assist. check out their site and support if you can.

Nepal, besides being a truly spectacular confluence of cultures and human life on planet earth is truly a photographers wet dream. I’d like to consider my self fairly well travelled as photographer, but I cant think of anywhere I have been that offers Nepal’s Contrast. After a few days of shooting ( I was focusing on Sadhu’s for personal book project) we ventured into Kathmandu Durbar Square, also known as Hanuman Dhoka. About 60 feet on the other side of the square sheltered under a small alcove was a group of what appeared to be 6-8 elderly women all sat close together and all wearing bright red. It was the pop of color against the drab stone and wood backdrop the first caught my eye and we ventured over. After engaging in conversation through our interpreter Nima we soon realized these women were widows. As the subject of the portrait spoke and gestured, I was blown away by her composure, eye contact and aura. She was old, her soul was older. After gaining permission we shot a few group shots, but I knew I had to get this portrait of this woman on her own with just her as the subject, no distraction. A little more conversation and she agreed. This was the result

For me what makes this portrait all the more interesting is what I wasn’t aware of through my own ignorance when shooting it. Red is a very important color in Nepal, especially for women. This particular group of women were going against the prevailing tradition by wearing crimson clothes, bangles & red tika, which according to the Hindu tradition, are the domain of the women who have not widowed. Historically in Nepal, widowed women were prohibited from wearing red clothes as a hegemonic practice enforced by the Nepali patriarchal culture to dominate the female members of society. In conversation she told us that after the death of her husband, people used to say to her ” the real worth of a woman ends along with the death of her husband”.

PRESS RELEASE: The Adventure Photography Handbook is now available for download. Click the below image to watch the trailer

For me where the X100 really shone was at night, on a tripod, the somewhat slow auto focus and cumbersome procedures didn’t factor in this environment, in fact it somehow made the process all the more enjoyable, mechanical almost. Even using a tripod in a busy city environment never seemed to attract too much attention, just the occasional “how old is that camera” comment from the heathen uninformed. To illustrate my point, have a look at these images shot in Sydney & Brisbane last year.

These are all JPEGS straight from the camera with no post production whatsoever. For a camera costing less than USD 1400 these images have no business being this good straight from camera, but there you have it. Obviously there is the constraint of having only one focal length, but for night photography this little powerhouse leaves a lot of SLR’s costing 3 times the price wanting.

So roll on 2013 and enter stage left the new & improved X100 which has gained a red S to it’s monicker, perhaps the red color is a little jibe at Leica – it should be, because what Fuji have done here is truly remarkable. It would seem Fuji’s design boffins have trawled the online forums, noted what photographers grievances were with this camera, then quietly gone ahead and fixed them all –  ALL. Genius! Who would of thought R&D could be so simple? Other camera manufacturers should really take note!

Even things that didn’t really need any TLC have been extensively rethought – take the leather case. Don’t want to take the main case off the body to change the battery or memory card ? be gone lazy man problem

Thankfully Fuji haven’t touched the body design at all, as the form and size of the original was bang on the money IMHO. The only thing missing is a lock on the exposure compensation dial as was missing on the original. Very easy to knock that sucker out of place and over expose yourself as it were. An add on thumb grip easily solves the problem though. Talking of accessories, and we all love those – check out Really Right Stuff they have just released a brilliant L Plate/Grip set for the X100/S, it’s extremely well made and designed, and while adding a little weight and bulk, it’s inspires much more confidence in the handling of the camera. If you use your X100S with a tripod frequently this is worth the expense. An order placed online with Really Right Stuff arrived in Dubai safely 4 days later. Can’t recommend their service and products enough.

So what’s the X100S like to shoot with? You’ve read the hype, the list of the 70 plus enhancements from the original, the 25% increase in resolution and so on and so forth, but what’s it like to use? The day after collecting the camera I took the X100S along with me to a commercial shoot at Wadi Adventure

I have been living in Dubai for the last 8 years and like to think that my finger is reasonably on the pulse, but this place has been open now for over a year and I hadn’t even heard of it! If you are in Dubai click the link, book and just go, it’s awesome. In short someone decided that what the UAE needed and was clearly missing was a large (over 1 km in length) man made grade 5 white water rating and Kayaking experience in the middle of the desert, I’m amazed no one thought of it sooner….! Now I’m not big on my white water sports experience’s but I would wager a bet that the UAE has built the best one in the world, judging by the the number of Olympic kayaking teams that are camped out there for a whole practice season. It’s a two hour drive from Dubai but worth every minute of the journey when you get there.

The biggest drawback and bone of contention for most users of the original X100 was it’s unusually slow comedy autofocus. A plus point of this is that it did manage to teach a whole new generation of digital photographers how to set manual focus and judge distances. It really was the only way to shoot anything moving faster than a tree on a calm still day. World class athletes hammering it down a raging rapid river in a tiny boat seemed a good way to test Fuji’s new autofocus out. The diminutive Fuji would either be going back in the bag as soon as it had come out or it would hold it’s own.

Guess what. The little Fuji rocked it, big time. I really can’t believe after 2 years of using the original X100 what the new “s” was focusing on, INSTANTLY. The improvement is that vast. With the old X100 the only way I could of shot the above was to measure the distance and manual focus and hope the boats passed through the right space of water at the right time, with only one full power flash from the Profoto Acute B2 in the bag (1-2 second recycle time) I probably wouldn’t of come away with too many useable shots. The only thing missing here was a longer lens, but I was having to much fun to swap back to the 1DX, for a while anyway.

In short, Fuji have really hit the ball out of the park here and made an already great concept SO much more useable. The X100S will be the yardstick against which all other non DSLR camera’s are judged over the next few years and rightly so. Leica should be worried, because in the not too distant future when Fuji manage to cram a full frame sensor in this body it’s questionable apart from the brand kudos and heritage why anyone would want to buy one.

What I would love to see from Fuji over the coming year is not an interchangeable lens version of the X100S rather two more fixed focal length variants. An X100S 85mm equiv f1.4 and an X100S 135mm equiv f2. I would happily travel anywhere in the world with those three camera’s with a considerably lighter and smaller carry on bag than with two DSLR’s and three prime lenses. Fuji – get on it …………………………..!

If you live in the Middle East and you are in the market for the the X100S, don’t waste your time in Grand Stores where you will be over charged and receive no help or advice whatsoever, rather hop online or call in to see the nice folks at Gulf Photo Plus – Click HERE to order and not only will you be greeted with a nice cup of tea, they will also throw in a spanking leather case and a 16GB Fujifilm SD card – hurry up though as this little powerhouse is likely to be on back order for a long time when people realize how good it is!

PRESS RELEASE – The Adventure Photography Handbook is now available for download. Click on the below image to watch the trailer

To say this spectacle drew some attention as we glided un-noticed down the street is probably a bit of an understatement! Neville insisted it was because we were the only two white guys in town – I think it was a more a “doesn’t that stupid tourist realize his oversized Umbrella is inside out” kind of thing – you decide. It did help us produce images like this though:

All in all Allahabad was a treasure trove of photographic opportunities. Hard work, yes, Challenging, definitely. Worth the temporary hardship, absolutely. Looking forward to getting back to civilization tonight and a Dettol bath!

PRESS RELEASE: The Adventure Photography Handbook is now available – click on the image below to watch the trailer

It’s difficult to convey the scale of that many people in one place without the aid of a spy satellite, as a photographer it did get a little uncomfortable at times – especially when on the banks of the Ganges feeling the full force of the generally well meaning and spirited crowd, wanting their turn! The Devine Comedy’s lyrics spring to mind – “All human life is here from the feeble old dear to the screaming child”

What really hit home for me, and a recurring thought throughout the trip was not the scale and power of such a mass act of faith, but rather – do these people not know how polluted this water is?! Judging by what was witnessed apparently not. Perhaps faith does overcome everything, even water borne diseases! The Ganges is not the cleanest river even in normal circumstances, but 60 million bathers without changing the water………….!

Although there were a few “public lavatories” scattered around the grounds, for the most part these were a token gesture. The streets in general seemed to be the Wc of choice. Camps themselves were vast and squalid at best but interesting to witness first hand. The thought occurred again – how had there not been a major outbreak of “something” during this festival.

The bathing rituals performed here by the Hindu faith ranged from the cursory to the elaborate. Entire families venturing into the water together mingled with lone figures chanting there own mantra’s

Perhaps one of the most disturbing facets of the 2013 Kumbh Mela is the number of elderly that have been abandoned here. Some take advantage of the swirling crowds to abandon their old. They wait for the Kumbh Mela because so many people are there no one will know. Old people have become useless in this society, people don’t want the burden of looking after them so they leave them and go. An Allahabad social worker confirmed that both men and women had been abandoned during the event. The exact numbers are difficult to determine as some do become genuinely lost in the crowd, and those that have been abandoned may not admit it. It seemed crazy to me at first that these people couldn’t find their way back home, on closer inspection it made perfect sense as they in most cases had never left their homes before, they are not educated and they do not work. Most of the time they don’t even know which district their village is in!

Once the crowds disperse and the volunteer run lost and found camps that provide temporary respite have packed away their tents, the abandoned elderly may have the option of entering a government run shelter. Conditions are notoriously bad in these homes, and many prefer to remain on the streets begging. Some gravitate to other holy cities such as Varanasi or Vrindavan, where, if they are lucky are taken in by temples or charity funded shelters. In these cities they join a much larger population, predominantly women, whose families no longer wish to support them, and who have been brought there because in the Hindu religion, to die in these Holy cities is to achieve Moksha or Nirvana. Estimates put the numbers in these cities at 25,000 plus.

Mark Twain said of visiting the 1895 Kumbh Mela – ” It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites”

This cold White is pleased he made the journey, albeit a simpler one.

PRSEE RELEASE: The Adventure Photography Handbook is available now – Click the image below to watch the trailer

When the driver pulled up in his “car” we realised we probably over paid All the gear seemed to disappear into the boot and we wanted to be on the banks of the Ganges for sunrise at 6am so in we got. It was quite a pleasant drive until the driver fell asleep at the wheel and veered into an oncoming truck. A quick grab of the steering wheel and a very loud shout were all that were required to avert disaster.

Neville took the wheel for the final four hours while we covered the driver with a blanket and put him to sleep on the back seat. Colin McCrae rally antics ensued in the 1.0 litre Tata except the co-driver had no map or concept of where we were heading and it was dark.

Needless to say the sun was most definitely up when we arrived in Allahabad. The Driver woke up for the last few minutes of the journey in true Indian style to claim his tip!

Checking into the auspiciously titled Harsh Hananda Hotel was a breeze and actually not too bad for this part of the world. A few zzzz’s were claimed, then bags loaded and off to find the Ganges.

We found a much better driver this time round, who stayed awake and alert and steered the Tuk Tuk in the right general direction of the river. He was fascinated by the camera’s and insisted we take his portrait – here it is. All natural light, shot at fairly close range with a Canon 1Dx and Canon 135mm @ F2. I love this lens’ ability to produce an almost 3d quality to images.

We had wanted to catch the end of the Kumbh Mela rather than do battle with to 40,000,000 plus pilgrims that have passed through here over the last few weeks. Approaching the tent cities leading up to the rivers, it became apparent to us both that this had been a wise decision.

The scale of this place is a bit beyond comprehension and it really took us by surprise that so many human beings could be living here in makeshift tents with no real facilities. I think on paper, the term tent city is lost. These really do have the scale of cities and go on for miles and miles either side of the Ganges.

Further along the road the crowds really started to swell. Our driver could no longer cope with the throngs of people in the roads, so off we hopped, Think Tanked up into the mele.

This poor fellow had had enough

Check out a video of day one’s scouting here http://video214.com/play/jwG9sdCU0BANZuqwYQ0ePA/s/dark

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PRESS RELEASE: The Adventure Photography Handbook is available now – Click the image below to watch the trailer

I first discovered Profoto about 3 years ago when looking to improve my quality of light and move away from speed lights. For me, having half a dozen speed lights strapped to a stick, along with managing 24 AA batteries plus spares always seemed a bit problematic, and so was looking for a solution. The solutions came in several shapes and sizes. The first of which was a Profoto D1 500 kit and a Batpack which gave amazing light quality and output and is still an essential part of my kit bag and used on a lot of jobs. But it’s not exactly easily portable. I wanted something I could travel with unhindered and still have that quality of light.

Step forward Advanced Media Dubai without a doubt the best photographic resource in the Middle East. If you are from this part of the world or just visiting click the link and pay them a visit. Their pricing is also very fair which is unusual for the Middle East where most photography equipment is plus 25%. They touched base when the new Profoto Acute B2 Air launched, and I stopped by to check it out.

Needless to say it was the easiest sale they had made that day and the above box was soon in the back of my car. That was three years ago and the same Acute B2 has travelled to around 12 countries with me. It has picked up a few battle scars along the way, but has never missed a beat, not once.

Only once in three years have I had the dreaded “Airport Issue” and that was leaving Nepal last year, but production of the below certificate from profoto’s website and some polite banter allowed me to board with the Acute B2 as I had with so many other airlines. It baffles me really how something that looks essentially like a Wyle Coyote ACME bomb replete with a remote trigger and battery doesn’t get challenged more often, but there you have have it – once in three years, not bad going.

Which leads me to the next brilliant piece of Profoto engineering – the Lithium ION LIFE battery! it weighs next to nothing, but fully charged can provide at least 200 full powered 600w flashes. Set to lower power settings it really does last all day and when you are travelling this really is priceless.

What’s also priceless is the speed at which it recharges – I’ve gone from zero to full in just over two hours (and this is a three year old battery now). The battery can also charge independently from the pack, what this means is that with two batteries you really can shoot on location all day. By the time one battery is drained the other one is fully recharges and ready to go. The other MAJOR appeal with this system and Profoto are to be commended for it is the intuitively simple idiot proof control panel atop the unit. We are talking cave man knobs and dials that are impossible to misread or mistake. On/Off – Power Up turn clockwise dial – Power Down turn dial anti clockwise – genius. I have an Elinchrom Quadra Ranger at home that has really just gathered dust since purchasing the Acute B2 – Just Too complicated with took many sub menu’s and a digital readout from Roger Moores’s Moonraker watch, which like Roger’s, I cant read in the bright desert sun.

The other great thing about this pack besides it’s power weight and portability is it’s toughness. The head is rock solid and will comfortably take any Profoto modifier you care to attach to it. It doesn’t bend creak or strain like it’s competition when attaching anything larger than 2 feet in diameter. The speed rings are Profoto universal – so what fits on my D1’s fits on here. More often than not I use this on location with a  3 foot or 5 foot Profoto Octa, attached to a mono pod, resulting in big beautiful light and ultimate portability.

The Acute B2 kit comes complete with the Pack, removable LIFE battery, head with attached heavy duty cable, disc reflector, air remote, charger, shoulder strap and a carry bag.

The only thing I have never used from this kit is the bag – it’s not very well padded the shoulder strap is a bit on the thin side and there is lots of wasted space inside. It works, and as a comes with the kit free you will always find a use for it, but you would want to carry it too far in this arrangement. Not too mention the branding all over both sides which could act as a theft magnet in some countries. Enter stage left the Thinktank Urban Disguise Pro 70 V2.0 designed for two pro bodied DSLR’s with attached lenses. I’m pretty sure this is not what the designers over at Thinktank were trying to put together slaving over the drawing board, but I’m willing to bet if Profoto gave them a design remit for the Acute B2 with the brief make it easier to carry and operate – what they would come up with wouldn’t be a whole lot different…!

The bag comes kitted out with all the usual Thinktank niceties and is extremely robust and well made, with all manner of storage options. The shoulder pad is the height of comfort and makes light weight of whatever you put inside. There is also a full rain cover which has saved my bacon on more than one occasion in the past – also great for keeping the sand out in the desert 

It’s also nice to carry in the briefcase style mode if you are just hopping from car to location.

If you really had to carry everything in one bag you could squeeze a couple of camera bodies in these pockets and still manage to get a couple of regular lenses in the bag along with the Acute B2 but that’s going to end up with a lot weight on one point of your shoulder. I use one of these pockets for the Profoto speedring.

In the front section there is lots of organizational storage – in mine are a few pens, business cards, releases and the all important air safety certificate.

Below is a shot showing everything inside my Thinktank Urban disguise. Still lots of room as you can see.

As a combo they just go together really well, allowing for easy, great quality flash on location while remaining relatively incognito. In fact the Urban Disguise as a neat zippered rear section which fits perfectly over the carry handle of the Thinktank airport rollers, making you look just like another business traveller at the airport, not someone who is trying to pass 40 kgs of photo gear off as 7kg’s of hand luggage 

Below is an image that won a silver award in FEP’s Photographer of the year 2012 titled “MUD” lit of course with my somewhat battered but dependable Profoto Acute B2.

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Last week I took delivery of the answer to all my prayers. The Gitzo GT1543T and what a revelation it’s been!

Most travel tripods I have purchased in the past,  now just sit gathering dust in the cupboard, languishing in the hope that one day I meet a friendly dwarf photographer that I can gift them to. Even then I would think twice, especially if he was friendly as they have all been essentially crap and as stable as Kathy Bates in Misery! The Gitzo is different – very different. The expression ” you get what you pay for” has never rang more true with this engineering tour de force.

Make no mistake – this is not a cheap tripod, and that’s a good thing because nothing about it feels cheap. Take it from someone who has used and handled a lot of tripods from a lot of different manufacturers in his time, the quality, workmanship,  performance and design of these legs is nothing short of perfection. I challenge you as a photographer to find a store near you that stocks these, pick one up, handle it, extend and collapse the legs a few times, marvel a the clever design and leave the store without buying it – you will not be able to do it.

All of the metal fixtures are cast of magnesium alloy – the result, super strong and very little weight. Even the ball head and mounting plate are constructed of the same material, and then there is the design. If McLaren ever decide to embrace the photographic support business, this is what it would look and feel like.

There are so many clever design elements built into this tripod, from the ultra quick and efficient leg release and lock to the integral spring loaded balance weight hook. For me, the best design element of all is the size it collapses down to. Just look at it…………………………..!

To put this size in perspective for you – I no longer have to think about straps which makes me very happy. This puppy fits easily INSIDE a Pelican 1510 or a Think Tank Airport Security v2with loads of room to spare at either end. It also fits INSIDE a Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 v2 at the base of the bag. I know what you are thinking – this must be really short when fully extended or the author is in fact a friendly dwarf, neither is true. While my 5′8″ frame (5′9″ on a good day) may not be the loftiest it does allow me to shoot with this tripod at eye level without having to raise the centre column or stooping, which for me is just brilliant. For our taller readers that want this level of stability and portability you will need to invest in some thinner soled shoes, photograph barefoot or adopt a slight praying mantis kung fu stance when framing your shot. All joking aside if you are over 6 feet tall this probably is not the best match for you if you don’t like bending at the knees. Carry a larger tripod – you’re big enough

I have been shooting with this for the last few weeks now and guess what – it goes everywhere with me. Its staggering how something so light and with essentially quite thin legs when fully extended can be so stable. I shoot generally with Canon 1D bodies and I thought I may have been taking a risk when purchasing this due to the weight of the Canon, but needn’t of worried. While the 1DX with a 70-200mm attached is probably getting quite close to the Gitzo’s limits in term’s of usability, like a well paid concubine it takes it and doesn’t complain.

When folded the 4 pound tripod and head measure just under 17 inches, but open up to 60 inches….!!! The tripod has four section legs that lock solidly with Gitzo’s twisting G-Lock joints. This engineering actually makes the legs lock firmer when weight is applied, eliminating the need for a herculean grip to open and close the locks. They require only about a quarter turn to open and close and are designed to keep the elements out. When closed, all three of the locks fall within a one handed grip and you can unlock them all simultaneously with a single fluid motion. The tripod can go from fully closed to fully set up in about two seconds with a little practice. I know this because I am a little sad and have been practising – a bit like Antonio Banderas training with Anthony Hopkins in the remake of Zorro if you will, its a good job we have curtains!

Ball movement is controlled by a spring-assisted dual lock system that applies pressure equally to the face of the ball, ensuring rock solid positioning with a minimal amount of tightening. The Teflon coating of the ball delivers smooth operation and doesn’t interfere with its stability at all.

Each tripod is hand assembled in a factory in Feltre, Italy, next door to the Manfrotto tripod works. Gitzo have been making tripods since 1917….! that was news to me and clearly they have just about got the hang of it  The legs can take abuse without showing their scars and the magnesium parts are finished in a way that tends to obscure scrapes and dings. Because of the material choices and the design of the lock joints, the tripod is well suited to use on the beach or in the water. It’s the perfect tripod to accompany some wellington boots or even waders!

Gitzo isn’t a bargain brand, and this $950 tripod isn’t going to buck that trend any time soon. On the other hand, it’s practically an heirloom piece that should work well for generations to come. Think of it as the Patek Phillipe of the camera support world – ” you never actually own a Gitzo, you merely look after it for the next generation” cue smaltzy Ralph Lauren clad father and son looking knowingly at each other picture!

Not sure it works with tripods but perhaps is something Gitzo’s marketing department should look into and play up the Italian style angle.

Tripods don’t have forced obsolescence. Many photographers have undoubtedly missed perfect opportunities for amazing photos simply because they didn’t bother to bring a tripod with them. I certainly have in the past. If having one that is small, light and sturdy doesn’t solve that problem, the added incentive of getting your money’s worth certainly will.

In summary then – don’t waste your money on a cheap tripod – tap into the kids college fund and leave them a Gitzo in your will. If you don’t have a will yet and you buy a Gitzo then you are playing with fire so to speak, because we both know within a month – just because you have a tripod with you for once, you will be clambering out onto a rock in the ocean, probably somewhere dangerous with waves crashing all around you because you want to see if the legs really can resist the elements – get a will – you know it makes sense, and if you fall off the rock and the only thing that is recovered is your Gitzo tripod,  (it’s better engineered than you are and probably a better swimmer too) your kids will thank you in their prayers, well they will if they ever get into photography, if not they will forever wonder why their moronic parent dropped a grand on a camera holder!

Thanks to Garen T Photography for this image

PS – you will notice in the corner of some of the images above an amorous Italian gentleman kissing and caressing his tripod – this is not staged in anyway, I have done this – you will to

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Added to these bodies over the years were the Sony/Zeiss glass 135mm / 85mm / 24-70 – I would say 75% of the images in my current portfolio were shot with these camera’s and lenses. Frankly I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Sony’s full frame upgrade the A99.

The plan for the day was to head out early on the Morning with Mr. Mike Lewis www.mikelewisphoto.com to Fossil Rock in the desert to get some shots of his newly modified Jeep in action. My own Jeep was loaded up with pelican cases with the Sony gear, some Profoto D1’s and a Profoto Batpack. We arrived on location at around 10am with crystal clear weather and brilliant views for miles. The plan for the shoot was to utilize the the Profoto D1’s to their max and get some great airborne shots. After a few minutes with the A99 I realized that wasn’t going to happen. First impressions of the A99 were its compact size and weight or rather lack of it, which is great if you are doing a lot of travelling and weight is a consideration. However bolt a solid piece of glass onto it namely the Zeiss 24-70 and the whole set up feels very unbalanced. I was also a little concerned that when holding the camera in one hand and dropping it down to my side the memory card flap kept popping open due to the position of my thumb and palm – maybe I hold the camera in a strange way? but it never happened with the A700 / A850 or A900. The door to the card slots also feels very flimsy and I wouldn’t want to rely to much on the “improved” weather sealing.

We got to work setting up the lights and stands near the crest of a dune and once in situ, loaded the Profoto air controller on top of the A99 – Brilliant – Awesome – Amazing – thank you Sony. No more balancing acts with hot shoe adapters. No more “No flash on location” because I couldn’t find anywhere that ever sold the damn hearing aid batteries required by the hot shoe adapter or because I completely forgot to pack the hot shoe adapter, or left the country while it was still attached to someone else’s camera!

The menu system is to be commended and is imho much more intuitive than anything offered by Canon or Nikon, but that could be just me and the way my brain works. Put simply after the A900 I felt right at home. There are a few additions and tweeks here and there but it all just works. Now to get shooting….. and this folks is where my love affair with Sony abruptly ended. the feeling was akin, I would imagine to finding out that your girlfriend of five years was in fact now a lesbian and was bringing Ellen Degeneres round for dinner to meet you and your friends. I was that unhappy. Let me explain…………………..

The EVF is great to look at, it really does fool you sometimes into thinking that it’s optical, which for general walkaround photography – lens attached to camera point and click shooting thats great. For most – the “what you see in the evf is what you get deal is brilliant – you can adjust on the fly to get your perfect exposure by seeing the adjustments happen in real time. Oh how I wish this had been around when I was first learning to use a camera it’s awesome.

Unfortunately that was not how or what I was shooting. I was in the desert in Dubai in what was fast approaching midday sun trying to shoot a moving vehicle flying through the path of some carefully placed Profoto heads cranked up to full power. It didn’t happen. There were two immediate problems I was faced with. First to create the shot I wanted I would be shooting into the sun – a big bright powerful Dubai sun. not a problem I thought – the Profoto’s could handle that without breaking a sweat. I move the control dial on the A99 to manual set the shutter speed to 250th/sec set the ISO down to 100 and the lens to f16 as I starting point, I knew the ratio and power of the stobes would expose my shot. I could see my frame (just) through the evf but only just as it was incredibly dark because it was showing me what the camera would capture at f16 250th sec at iso 100 if I shot that exposure without the strobes. This in itself posed a problem because I couldn’t really see what I was pointing the camera at to compose my frame. after exhaustive thumbing through menus to try and find an option to turn off the evf auto control so the the viewfinder became – well,just a viewfinder – I couldn’t find the switch – there must be one, but I couldn’t find it…?

Ok Edwards, suck it up I thought just point the camera in the general direction find your focus lock and off you go, you have 24 mega pixels to crop with so what are you complaining about just get on with it. That’s where I ran into my second problem. Sony have changed the blisteringly effective red (focus on lava in volcano no problem) focus squares to black????????!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!! because of the darkness of the evf not only can I not really see what I’m shooting I also have no idea what I’m focusing on, the camera did manage to give me a clue when I heard an felt the autofocus motor whirring and jolt the camera (maybe the light weight body?) so I fired off a shot. Credit where credit is due it was a pretty good shot. Mr Lewis is looking a little bemused because at this stage I was no longer looking through the viewfinder, rather just wafting the camera in the general direction of the shot – who knows, Sony could be pioneering not just the EVF but a whole new photography technique.

Not quite the shoot I was hoping for but it did help me make some tough choices when I got home later that day. Here is what those choices look like in a picture.

Thats right. One afternoon with a camera I’d been looking forward to all year resulted in me selling all my cherished Sony Alpha equipment the very next day. I was sorry to see it go especially the Zeiss lenses but the bodies had seen some action, were starting to creak a little and would soon need an overhaul, which I’m guessing is not something that could be performed here in the Middle East. All I have are the memories – oh and some great images

I salute Sony for their pioneering approach, and I think if you are looking for a carry everywhere camera capable of producing some great images with out too much user input or thought you have found your perfect bedfellow in the A99 – the file quality really is superb. If you want to be creative and push the envelope a little with your photography then it’s perhaps not so well suited. With the funds raised from my Alpha departure a new Canon 1DX nestles in closely to my 1DS MK111 which was used to create the Nepal images you can see here and so far, it’s a love affair.

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