Friday, May 22, 2009
Bob Krist is of course an acclaimed photographer, author, educator and writer, who works regularly on assignment for magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, and Islands. He won the title of "Travel Photographer of the Year" from the Society of American Travel Writers in 1994, 2007, and again this year at the 2008 convention.
Not only does he have an interesting (and highly educational) blog, but Matt Brandon of The Digital Trekker interviewed Bob over the phone, and has this engaging conversation for download on his Depth Of Field post. Two professionals speaking with each other is always a treat...this one in particular.
Bob Krist's Photo Traveler Blog
Matt Brandon's The Digital Trekker Blog
Friday, May 22, 2009 0
Sunday, April 19, 2009
You actually need to think about what kind of photos you want. I say inspiration is for amateurs. Even though you aren't working for a magazine, you can still give yourself a little assignment...When you shoot with a mission, you start to think in terms of a storyteller, rather than a person walking around waiting to be hit with a bolt of, "Wow, that's beauty."
-Bob Krist
The Wall Street Journal (yes, The Wall Street Journal...imagine that!) has an insightful interview with the legendary travel photographer Bob Krist with his take on visual storytelling, and suggestions to make better travel photographs.
As for his quote, Bob's right on the money. Photographing with a predetermined and well researched mission will force you to become a visual storyteller.
The WSJ not only offers us an interview, but also an audio slideshow (SoundSlides format) of Bob's photographs and his narration.
Previous posts on Bob Krist have appeared here on The Travel Photographer.
Sunday, April 19, 2009 0
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Here's an article in Digital Photo Pro magazine by the legendary and distinguished travel photographer Bob Krist who writes of his recent experiences photographing in Kerala. Bob tells us he had never been to Kerala, and decided to go to this wonderful part of India on a self-assignment. He describes how he planned his trip carefully, and chose to deal with an Indian travel agent rather than paying the extra commissions on dealing with a U.S.-based middleman. Also included in the article is a list of Bob's gear, and various tips as how he managed to photograph the Puram festival in Trissur.
For further photographs of Kerala (and elsewhere) by a master photographer, visit Bob Krist's website.
The article is timely as I've just concluded the planning for my photo-expedition to photograph the Theyyam dancers of Malabar this coming February, and I certainly echo Bob's decision to use a local agent to eliminate extra commissions. I've hired local travel operators on all my photo expeditions, for all self-assignments and solo travels...and by doing so, saved a bundle for myself and for the participants on my photo trips.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 0
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Do we hang up our cameras and wait out the recession? Take up another passion till the economy turns the corner ? No, that would be like an athlete giving up practices in the off season… You’re going to get so far out of “shape” that you’ll find your photographic chops will get really rusty. No, the answer is to keep shooting travel, but for a while at least, we’re going to have to shoot it in our own backyard.-Bob Krist
Not only does Bob Krist, the acclaimed photographer, author, educator and writer, appear on Scott Kelby's blog as guest blogger with a post titled Think Globally: Shoot Locally, but he also authors a brand new blog called Photo Traveler.
So visit what promises to be an interesting and educational blog, and bookmark it for future reference. Bob has already shared his lighting techniques for a photo shoot on Easter Island.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 0
Friday, March 12, 2010
Bob Krist is mad...fighting mad.
It sems that Frommer's have launched a photography contest calling for photographers to submit images to win the chance of seeing their work gracing the cover of a Frommer's future guide book. The winner will receive $5,000 while 4 runners up will receive Frommer's Prize pack containing three Frommer's Day by Day travel guides and a selection of Frommer's Lug travel accessories.
I've always advocated potential contestants or individuals considering such contests to really read the fine print with care, whether the organizers are well-known in the world of photography or travel or not, in an effort to highlight that most (if not all) of photography contests are rights grabs.
The Frommer's contest rules contain this:
License: Participant retains ownership of the copyright in any submitted photographs. However, by entering photograph(s) in this Contest, participant grants Sponsor the irrevocable, perpetual right to edit, adapt, use and publish in any media now known or hereafter discovered any or all of the photographs without compensation to the participant, his or her successors or assigns, or any other entity. ENTERING A SUBMISSION IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES PARTICIPANT'S IRREVOCABLE ASSIGNMENT, CONVEYANCE, AND TRANSFERENCE TO SPONSOR OF THE FOREGOING RIGHTS. Photograph(s) shall be given attribution credit based on the name supplied with submission. The winner shall work with Sponsor to change the file in any way deemed necessary for publication of the photograph(s). The participants shall supply, upon request, original, unmodified digital files.
As a photographer, I would never ever grant anyone an "irrevocable, perpetual right..." to any of my work, no matter what. Not even a "throw-away" frame.
Bob Krist calls this another rights grab in sheep’s clothing. I don't know about the sheep's clothing, but I can clearly see the wolf's fangs. I also realize that a number of non-professional photographers will be tempted by the prospect of seeing one of their images in print, and perhaps that's what Frommer's target market is. However, I urge working photographers to boycott this contest and to spread the word.
I'm also shocked to see Rick Sammon, a preeminent travel photographer and educator, listed as a judge in this contest.
Update: I learned from Bob Krist's blog that Rick Sammon has now withdrawn from the panel of judges. It was the right and appropriate action to take.
Friday, March 12, 2010 0
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Tripbase Blog Awards 2009
I checked into Bob Krist's wonderfully informative and entertaining Photo Traveler blog this morning as I do everyday, and to my surprise read that The Travel Photographer was amongst the top ten in the Travel Photography Blog division of the Tripbase.com competition! Actually, The Travel Photographer came in Fourth place. Way to go, me!
Checking the Tripbase website, I read that its Travel award is only given to the blogs that are the top of their respective class and are some of the best in the field. These are selected based on how informative the blog is, the overall writing style, the actual blog appearance and how well that blog performs in its given category when compared and contrasted to other, similar blogs.
Among the top ten travel photography blogs are Chase Jarvis in First Place, My Marrakech in Third, Bob Krist's Photo Traveler, and the beautiful Stuck In Customs.
I'm gratified that The Travel Photographer blog has earned such recognition, and it encourages me to do even better in the weeks, months and years ahead...and Bob, thank you so much for the generous comments.
Saturday, July 11, 2009 0
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Epson announced two new generation multimedia photo viewers designed with photographers in mind. The P-6000 and the P-7000 offer photographers the opportunity to download and view their photos on a 4-inch, 640x480 (VGA) resolution LCD screen.
The hard drive capacities are 80GB (P-6000) and 160GB (P-7000), and both come with a 4-inch LCD with new, exclusive Epson Photo Fine Premia technology, which displays over 16.7 million colors, encompassing 94 percent of Adobe RGB color space for superior color accuracy. Epson claims that these new models have faster download speed , of up to 35 percent faster than previous ones. Also included is a zoom function for closer inspection of images, and RAW and JPEG file support.
The new models will be available in September for an estimated street price of $599.99 (P-6000) and $799.99 (P-7000)
I'm not yet sure whether these models' new improvements over my P-4000 warrant the price, but it's an item that I might eventually pencil in on my Santa's list.
David DuChemin on his Pixelated Image blog has just written about three backup harddrive/viewers which include the Epson P7000, and tells us that he chose the Hyperdrive Colorspace O.
My thanks to Bob Krist, the legendary travel photographer, who emailed me making the important point that the newer models of the Epsons have the ability to back up onto another USB device (like a small hard drive). However, a FAT 32 formatted USB harddrive, and a small AC Adapter for the hard drive, are needed. This setup could mitigate the need for a laptop.
Bob has also written an article on this very topic in Outdoor Photographer.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 0
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) has announced its 2009 international travel photography awards. TPOTY is run by photographers for photographers, judged by photography experts, and provides prizes, including foreign travel, photographic equipment and photography tuition.
As in all and every photography contests, I strongly encourage all interested photographers to make sure they carefully read the contests' terms and conditions, especially since misunderstandings between organizers and contestants over terms, prizes and other issues sometimes occur.
Whilst on the subject of photo contests, Bob Krist has just uploaded this post on his Photo Traveler blog.
Sunday, April 19, 2009 0
Saturday, May 14, 2011
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| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy - All Rights Reserved |
I occasionally drop by Pixiq to read some well-informed posts from other travel photographers, and recently I was interested in an article by Jim Zuckerman entitled Travel Photography Portraits in which he candidly tells his readers that he carefully pre-plans his photo shoots, and sets up his travel photographs, whether these are in Himbaland or elsewhere in the world.
I was equally interested to read a couple of comments, made by Marc-André Pauzé and others, essentially querying Zuckerman's work ethic for staging photo shoots, and then paying his "models". Both sides eventually get a little defensive, since they have opposing points of view.
This is not an unusual debate, and one that has been often discussed in travel photography. I didn't know Jim Zuckerman, but from his biography he's a well known photographer whose work has appeared in scores of magazines, and leads photo tours in many parts of the world. It goes almost without saying that he would make sure that he (and his clients if on a photo trip) will be able to "bag" the photographs he's after...since nothing is guaranteed in life, he just makes it possible by paying money and setting the shots.
Marc-André Pauzé, in contrast, is a photojournalist whose work ethic is against paying to set up photo shoots and opportunities. He and his peers are documentary photographers, and setting up photographs is anathema to them.
Zuckerman and Pauzé come from different corners...their market is different, and their clients seek different products. Photographers who are more commercial will set up photo shoots, use reflective umbrellas, master strobes and flashes...etc., while the latter in the photojournalism corner will use a camera, a couple of lenses and develop a relationship with his subjects, but not pay.
As Marc-André writes in his final comment: "Travel photography, as photojournalism and street photography is not staged. It is about Life."
I agree. Staging photo shoots robs reality, but I'm reasonably flexible on my own photo~expeditions to accept that staging is occasionally either better (depending on the subject matter) or the only alternative. In contrast with Jim Zuckerman, I don't really have a list of preconceived images because it would stifle my creativity and may make me not see other opportunities. My photo~expeditions single most important description is "where travel photography meets photojournalism"...and I believe it's the right one.
However, when I walk in a village in Gujarat, I'm prepared for the eventuality that staging a few photo shoots will be needed if these don't happen serendipitously. Do I like staging photographs? No, I don't....but on occasions I have no other good options. And I'd rather return with some lovely staged photographs than none.
Another important point: would I ever claim that a staged photograph isn't? No, I wouldn't...and that's an important work ethic. We have seen photojournalists breaking this work ethic rule win awards and grants, and frequently getting caught and exposed for what they are....frauds. As far as well known travel photographers as concerned, Jim Zuckerman is far from being the only one who stages photo shoots...most of them do, and their clients seem to expect it.
If you've read that far down, here's the reason I used a Gujarati doll photograph to illustrate this post: subjects in staged photos sometimes look like the doll...inanimate and lifeless!
Saturday, May 14, 2011 0
Friday, December 11, 2009
This will probably be my shortest POV ever, but is particularly timely as I'm leading the Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition&trade that starts in about five weeks!
Will this be my fate??? Nah...
(Cartoon strip seen on Bob Krist's Photo Traveler blog.)
Friday, December 11, 2009 0
