Life, The Universe and Everything

• 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.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

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

The end of the fish cakes