Life, The Universe and Everything

• Cash, Credit cards, Cheques... Cake?

  Posted: June 24, 2008, 8:21 am by egm

  Last Friday a friend called me, asking me for a favour. He wanted me to go take some photos of his mother's business and have prints made. These were needed urgently. I wasn't particularly feeling this since it was far, and I didn't want to drive there, what with the current fuel prices. One of my lenses is also in the shop being repaired, and it was the lens I would have preferred to use for this job. And the person I called that I know has a lens I could use didn't have it handy. Which meant I would have to do this job using the trusty Sony Cybershot point and shoot. Well, since this guy is a good friend of mine, I decided I would go ahead and do the job, despite these misgivings.
  
  When I got there, his mother was surprised I'd done so as fast as I did. While taking the pictures, she asked if I did this on the regular, and I told her that yup, this was my job. She asked if I did events. Since I carry my portfolio with me everywhere I go, I was able to show her some of the weddings I have done. She loved the pictures, and said that I would be the one to photo her son's wedding when the time came.
  
  I then headed off to get the prints made of the photos I had taken. When I got back, she was rather surprised that I had managed to get them out so fast (she was expecting that it would take at least two hours), and at such great quality. As I was leaving, she said that the box on the counter was for me. Interesting. When I openned it, guess what was in there.
  
  
  
  This job sure has its perks! Lesson learned: Don't turn down what could very well be the job that brings good stuff! Not only did I get the cake, but she told me that I will be her first choice of photographer should any need for one come up. Good stuff that.
  
  And plugging for my friend, if you want this and other great offerings the bakery produces, they are Korn Bakers in Amani Plaza in Highridge, Parklands.

• Shameless Plug

  Posted: June 22, 2008, 7:56 pm by egm

  In my meanderings around the web, I came across Imagekind, which is a site that will sell prints of my pictures and ship them to any place in the world. And so I share with you a link to my gallery, so that if you are so inclined, you can purchase prints. I had been looking for something like this for sometime, and it was a pleasant surprise to find this. Feel free to head on over and check it out.
  
  

• Month of Photography II

  Posted: June 20, 2008, 3:50 pm by egm

  Thursday saw us going out in groups around the city to make photographs. My group decided to do a study in contrasts between "Uptown" and "Downtown", with Tom Mboya being the divide. It was an interesting experience, photographing Nairobi. This was my first time doing something like this. The fact that we were a group of us gave me more confidence to take out the camera and snap away. Unfortunately, even with the group, I was unable to completely relax and photo away as much as I would have liked. I guess that is something I have to get used to. However, by the end of the session, I felt like I was freeing up. so the solution seems to have more of these group outings.
  
  After we got done, we had to select 20 images out of the hundreds we took to get printed. Since we spent most of Thursday out and about, the printing was done at the end of that day, and the prints collected Friday morning. We were then supposed to set up our storyline, with nothing but the sequence of photos to tell the story. Captions were not allowed. Out of the 20 prints, we had to eliminate 8, and leave behind just 12. We had to justify why we eliminated those 8, and why we kept just the 12. Each photo had to stand on its own, as well as part of the group. For our project, however, we had to have the photos in pairs, since our whole project was based on a study in contrasts.
  
  It was interesting getting feedback from other groups who would let us know what message they got from the photos. At times it wasn't obvious to them what we were trying to show in a pair of photos, but after explanation, they got it. The instructor stated that that slight confusion on the part of the observer meant that we could probably have done a better job. Maybe take the picture at a different angle or eliminate some elements that might not have been necessary which would instead be distractions.
  
  <Digression>
  
  During our project, we got very many enquiries as to who we were. I mean, here we are, a group of 7, 5 of us with big cameras. We were from the press? A number refused to be photographed. There were some who were only too glad to get their photos taken. The most interesting was something we came across on Keekorok Road. There is an alley there that is stinking with garbage. When the people around there saw us photographing around, they approached us and wanted to know if we were with the press. When we said no, they asked if we could still highlight their plight. An exercise in learning had just turned into a social project. Apparently, NCC workers routinely dump all the garbage around in the alley. However, as the people there pointed out, if they decided to so much as just toss something to the ground, they would instantly be arrested and charged. What irony! To make matters worse, there is a hotel that sits adjacent to the alley. Across the road there is a butchery shop. The name of that shop? Concerned Meat Suppliers. The owner of that butchery was particularly insistent on us doing something about that, so we figured, hey, why not make some photos that would highlight this issue. I have posted some of what we took below. It did involve going into the alley, right there in the trash, and even squatting low to the ground to get some of what you see here. That's when I appreciated the levels some can go to in order to bring you that one picture that will communicate to you something that needs to be told.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Anyone that knows anyone that can do something about this mess, feel free to bring this to their notice.
  
  </Digression>
  
  After every group went through the critiquing exercise, the instructor gave his opinion of how it was, and what we could take away from it. We then sat down and gave feedback on the whole workshop. Many were happy with how it was conducted, stating that the instructor's easy going nature was key in making it good. One of the photographers present said that he had attended a workshop before where the instructor was aloof, thus making for a bad experience. He had to leave the workshop early when he couldn't take it any more. Prior to last week's workshop, he was worried that he might go through the same thing. Especially considering the stature of the instructor, Gerard Planchenault. Gerard works for Nikon France (no wonder he had with him all that expensive Nikon gear! That D3 and two prime lenses would set him back close to a good 10,000 USD!), and has a vast experience in photography, having travelled in quite a number of countries. His work is currently on display at Alliance Francaise, alongside that of another French photographer. You can view some of Gerard's work here. Some of the pictures on that site have been printed and displayed at AF. You need to go see them in person, as they are spectacular works! And so this other photographer was worried he might come with airs that would render the whole workshop very difficult to sit through.
  
  To his surprise, the very first meeting with Gerard made all his fears go away. Apparently, the first time Gerard met with the photographers involved in organizing the event, he insisted they meet as friends, his intention being getting to know them as people first. It was only at the second meeting that he asked them to bring samples of their work so they could critique them, thus getting to know each other on the professional level. Only after he was comfortable with them in those two ways did he then feel ready to conduct a workshop.
  
  A criticism of the workshop was centered around the publicity given to it. I wasn't the only one that found out about it purely by accident. One of the other participants said that had he not been attending an art exhibit at the AF, he would never have seen the poster that advertised the workshop. And he said had he found out about it after the fact, he would have been very disappointed. The suggestion was given that next time there should be wide-spread publicity for it. The fears the organizers had that the attendance would be poor were dispelled by the numbers that ended up there. Close to 30 of us, with that little publicity. So you can imagine how many more would show up with good publicity. And considering we had a participant from Dar and another from Ethiopia, this goes to show that a good product will attract interest, no matter how far away it is located. If this is to be repeated next time, I'm sure they will be turning people away due to the large numbers that will show interest.
  
  This led to the question of why we can't have more of these workshops organized, given the very obvious interest shown for it. Someone asked the AF why they don't do more of this. The response given by the director was very encouraging. He mentioned that the AF doesn't in and of itself organize events such as this. They will only work with interested parties who then take it upon themselves to do the logistics and actual implementation, while AF provides the space. They said that anyone interested in this should just contact them with a proposal, and if they see it fit, they will work with that party in bringing about the event. So the onus is on us as photographers to get together and come up with events which the AF will then host for us.
  
  On my part, I commented on how I have always wanted to attend a photography workshop, and that I was glad I was able to get to be a part of this one. I also pointed out how, despite our obvious gratitude to Gerard for coming over, it didn't mean that we only had to wait for the likes of him to be flown all the way from wherever so that we could have such events. I am sure we have more than capable photographers locally who can very well conduct these workshops. Gerard was especially happy to hear this pointed out, and said he hoped the next time there was a workshop a Kenyan would be at the helm.
  
  I also pointed out the need to have an organization like the Kenya Photographers Association be more visible. A photographer who was part of the steering committe that organized the workshop said he had no clue of KEPA up until he got involved with this workshop. My understanding is, those that approached AF to get the workshop going are also not with KEPA. They are just individuals who love photography. They were challenged by the AF to come up with something that photographers could do during this month of photography. The workshop idea was thus born. KEPA got into the project later. That shouldn't have been the case. KEPA should have been the one that initiated everything, with photographers involved been recruited to join it, thus providing one body for a united front. I told the KEPA officials present that they need to work on marketing themselves to photographers, and to come up with programs and events that will be of interest to these photographers. Regular meetings for one, the occassional photo trips, workshops to train all levels of photographers from the beginners to the advanced, etc. On workshops, it would be good to have both generic ones which cover photography in general, as well as specific ones that cover particular aspects of photography such as sports, wedding, fashion, travel, etc. Having a library of sorts where people can borrow books or magazines is also something that would help a great deal. There was enthusiasm to all these suggestions. I just hope that this enthusiasm translates into action.
  
  It did feel good knowing there are others like me with a passion for photography. I made sure to get their numbers, and we will be meeting regularly to talk photography. Unless you get challenged like this, you run the risk of stagnating, which is not good at all. Something akin to Skunkworks for photographers. Several sites I've gone to of prominent photographers agree with this sentiment. Here's to hoping that this workshop was just the start of bigger things to come.

• GO CELTICS!!!

  Posted: June 18, 2008, 4:33 am by egm

  The buttery-fingers-demon that enabled Eli to escape from the grasp of a hapless Pats defense and cost us a championship has finally been exorcised! The moment I saw the slip during the SB happen, I got up and left in disgust, vile I knew 19-0 was just but wishful thinking.
  
  The priest that was responsible for this: The Boston Celtics! Beating a Lakers team that I'm sure was the favourite to win it all. I haven't followed b-ball really since MJ left the building, so you have all the permission to call me a fair weather fan. But heck, that's home team we are talking about! And so I have every right to be proud of em!
  
  The one thing I'm not happy about is, why all this sports domination when I'm not there? Was I the bad luck they were all facing by my presence there? I mean, Red Sox is champions. Pats are runners up. Celtics are champions. And I heard something about the Bruins giving others a run for their money.
  
  What lends credence to my bad luck factor is the fact that I watched the Super Bowl. And see what happened. I did not even as much as glance at any Red Sox game and see how they did. I only got to know of the Celtics after a friend in Boston told me they were in the finals. Their great 24-from-behind comeback? I read about it in the paper. I then saw a comment 3N made about it on his blog and refrained from saying anything, lest I jinx them. When it was pushed to game 5, I said hata gazetti sitasoma. So it was with immense glee that the first sms I got this morning was from a Boston friend who said they were champs. Ah, a really really nice feeling to wake up to that!
  
  Too bad I won't be there for the celebration that is sure to be had. What a year for Boston sports. I'm sure everyone there is in a high of immense proportions right now.
  
  Time for me to now switch my focus to the local and feel great about our good guys Harambee Stars! Quick recovery to the injured among them, and great success to those flying to meet Zimbabwe on Saturday. Oh, and also great success to the Safar 7s team that same Saturday!
  
  Off to celebrate!
  
  Edit
  Okay, I had no clue of the score when I put this up. I just saw it. 131-92? That's not winning! That's THRASHING! The Lakers were tolewad their jerseys by the Celtics who promptly went ahead and mopped the floor of the Garden with them. I mean, how now? Auuuwiiii!!!! Okay, time to really go and CELEBRATE!

• Month of Photography

  Posted: June 11, 2008, 6:14 pm by egm

  Today I not only saw the Nikon D3 up close, but I also got a chance to shoot with it. That's a fine piece of machinery! And now that I've felt its raw power in my hands, I can say it is worth every single cent of the $5,000 RRP it commands. I can't blame Nikon for placing such a price tag on this behemoth. And I know the moment I get my hands on a loose $5,000, I am getting me one of those. No ifs or buts about that. Simple.
  
  I got the chance to do this at a photography workshop being held at Alliance Francaise in conjunction with the Kenya Photography Association. This is being done as part of the Month of Photography that the two organizations are sponsoring. There will also be an exhibit by some photographers. I submitted my pictures for this exhibit, and I am hoping at least one of them will be selected.
  
  Today was the first day of the 3-day workshops, with the lecturer going over the basics of photography. To me, it was all redundant stuff, having already learned that myself. However, there were a few things that he mentioned concerning some more advanced stuff that I was clueless about, so it wasn't all waste. And the fact that we not only didn't have to pay to attend, but actually got some money for lunch, made this a very worthwhile thing to do. You get knowledge, and get paid for acquiring it.
  
  There were a few students there, mainly from Daystar University who appreciated the info provided. To a good number of them, it was the first time they were hearing about the basics of photography technique, as well as the elements of design. I could sympathize with them, since I was in their situation about a year ago. I could tell that they were a bit frustrated by the pace, since the concepts were not that easy for them to grasp. And the fact that this was mainly theory with little practical demonstrations meant a number of issues were still unclear to them.
  
  They say that when you can teach someone else something is when you can claim to have achieved mastery of the subject matter. I don't know about that for me, but I must say I found it easy to explain to them the finer details of the various topics under discussion. Unfortunately I didn't have Raul with me, since, as was the case, I expected much theory and little practicals. However, tomorrow we have an exercise where we go around the city and do a photographic story. So this time Raul will be with me. Which will also make it possible for me to practically demonstrate some of the concepts talked about to the students.
  
  Today's experience, as well as requests I have gotten from various people, with the most recent being an email sent to me just yesterday, goes to show that there is a huge untapped market for photography training in the country. Some of those that have asked about this include people taking communications in places such as Daystar. Which goes to show that there is something that could probably be done better in those institutions.
  
  I still consider myself a learner. Well, as the lecturer in today's workshop pointed out, we were all there to learn, including himself who has been doing photography for longer than I've been alive. However, for me to get to the level he is at today, there is still a ways to go. And so it's humbling when someone else comes to me and asks for me to impart knowledge. I will have to be honest with them and let them know of the short time I have been doing this, and also point out the fact that in the course of me teaching them, we shall be discovering some things together as we go along.
  
  After today's session, I believe in the big importance of workshops like these. Unfortunately, this is the only time I have heard of such a session anywhere in the country. If there are others, I have yet to learn of them. I wish it was like the States or in the UK where you have tons of workshops all over the place conducted by veterans in the industry. Even at a fee, I would be very willing to pay to attend something like that. Apart from getting the knowledge in and of itself, interaction with other photographers is also paramount, as I discovered today.
  
  I got to talk to the photographer delegated as mentor to the group I am in for quite a bit. He gave me the business side of things, including things like contracts when accepting jobs. He also gave me his opinion of the state of photography in Kenya and how he feels it is failing the local photographer. This is a man I intend to keep in constant touch with, for he has plenty to share. The funny thing is, just yesterday I was introduced to someone else who mentioned to me of the person he uses for all his photography work. He also gave me the man's contact info, and I made a mental note to call him. It turns out today's mentor is that man I was to contact. A small world we live in!
  
  In closing, I will have to say something more about the D3. I have read reviews where it says this camera simply gets out of the way of the photographer and lets him do his thing. That it achieves what a truly well designed tool should: Transparency to the user. You don't have to worry about the mechanics of operating it. You just do your thing. And truly, the few shots I took with it lent credence to that view point. Something that would have really taxed the D200 to the max, and even then not guarantee you a useable picture was done completely effortlessly by the D3. Simply no comparison. If I get a chance during the work shop tomorrow I will take some comparison test shots that I will hopefully be able to share with you.

• HDR Images

  Posted: June 8, 2008, 3:56 pm by egm

  High Dynamic Range (HDR) images is my latest thing. It enables me to come up with pictures I would otherwise have been unable to produce. I'd heard of it sometime back, but didn't seriously explore it. And then I was made aware of this person's photos. I loved how they looked so much that I decided to get into it with all the seriousness it deserves.
  
  While going through the photos in the above Flickr page, I got to learn of the Photomatix software. While you can manually manipulate images using Photoshop to generate the HDR images, I much prefer having Photomatix do it for me. That way, I can focus on doing the actual photography instead of spending all my time infront of a computer editing photos.
  
  The first few photos I worked on didn't look right. I realised that I needed to touch up the photos in Photoshop some after taking them through Photomatix. This is fine with me, since that is just minimal extra steps. And once I know what look I want for a particular set of pictures, I can automate things and batch process the whole set.
  
  So far I have taken pictures in Nakuru, Baringo, Naivasha and Isiolo that I have generated HDR images from. Here is a small sampling of these pictures. Enjoy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Rhino Charge 2008

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 6:33 am by egm

  Rhino Charge was what I expected and a whole lot more! I had a blast. I am signed up for next year's event long before they even know any of the logistics for it. For the outdoors type of person, this was just pure bliss.
  
  Something that enhanced this outdoor experience was Zero Network Coverage. For both Celtel and Safaricom. And when I say Zero, I mean Zero. The only place where there seemed to be some hint of coverage was at the RC command center where they had all these communication equipment. But even then it was spotty. Everywhere else, it was zero bar.
  
  I was jazzed big time by the stunts these vehicles pulled. I get there, and the first thing I see is a Range driving down what is humanly impossible to do. A place where no road exists, except for just huge rocks. At a very steep angle. yet this thing drove down. I expected it to topple any second, yet it stayed on course. Have you ever stared at something open mouthed with obvious disbelief? That's how I was. The pictures shown below don't come close to showing just how impossibly rugged that terrain was. You just have to take my word for it that it was a crazy thing to behold.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And just to illustrate further the feat these vehicles were achieving, the hillside they were driving down was such that hiking up it requires that you be very fit. It's not just a stroll in the park. You are climbing over rocks, at times on hands and knees, just to go up. If you plan on doing RC next year, you had better start working up stamina now. You'll need it, if they happen to take it to a venue with a terrain like this one in Samburu.
  
  K24 were on hand to cover the entire trip from a Bunduz stand point. So within the next day or so you'll see highlights from the trip on that channel. You might even catch a glimpse of Raul in action!
  
  The highlight of my trip, however, was seeing with my own two eyes the Nikon D3 camera. That's the Buggatti Veyron of cameras, as far as I am concerned. Can you say bliss? I just had to go up to the guy that had it and talk to him about it. And he was kind enough to let me take a photo of it.
  
  
  
  Raul was so honoured to have come so close to a piece of photographic genius as the D3! Borrowing from BMW, it is the Ultimate Shooting Machine! Someday I shall call one of those mine!
  
  Time now to work on the rest of the images from the weekend to share with you.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes