A Pot of Soup

It’s day 8 of my self-imposed isolation. It is going much better than I initially thought it would. On my first day I put on gloves and a mask and made my way to the Whole Foods Market near my home. I waited in a line (6 feet apart) as they let in 50 shoppers at a time. I filled my cart (I haven’t done that in years!) with enough food to last me two weeks or maybe more. I haven’t been out since.

When I got home I washed my hands thoroughly and began to prepare a pot of vegetable soup with organic vegetable stock. I used the usual soup base items like carrots, celery, onions, garlic and potatoes but also added a few brussel sprout and portablello mushrooms and a couple of table spoons of tomato sauce (any kind will do-I used organic vodka sauce). By adding the tomato sauce you take away that clear -ugly colored broth and give the soup a nice undertone. Note, I am not using chicken stock. Because I am not using chicken stock when my soup is finished cooking I top my bowl with some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese—yummo! The pot of soup will last me a couple of days and I even froze a few smaller containers.

I am not cook— believe me. I almost hate to cook but I cannot resist making a pot of soup- even though I rarely eat soup in a restaurant, I enjoy all the chopping and simmering that goes into making soup.

I am looking forward to getting back to life as usual but I want to remain positive during this time. I am doing my best to get through this huge hit to my business and my personal life. I have not been able to hug my grand kids since before I left for Africa. That is now 20 days ago-ugh… but my family is strong and we are face-timing each other daily-that really helps.

It can be something a small as a pot of soup to help you get through tough times, whatever you do to pass the time—please stay in and remember it is not only about you. Others are less fortunate and are struggling even more-stay positive.

Hugs, denise

More Favorite Things

On The Trail Sun Gloves from REI Co-op, Item #168626 $28.95. They are found under mens accessories but they are listed as unisex sun gloves. I bought size XTRA SMALL. They come in 3 colors, I like the ones that look like camo (Sonora Dream Celery). Hopefully they won’t look as dirty or show the dirt on safari as much as my other ones. We didn’t have as much sun on my recent safari in Tanzania but I’m sure in the Mara these will come in handy!

On The Trail Sun Gloves

from REI Co-op, Item #168626

SOREL® Women's Out N About™ Plus waterproof casual boots. These boots really do keep your feet dry. I went through multiple puddles on a recent walk through the rain and was impresed at how dry my feet stayed. Plus, I really like the camo detail :) . Lots of folks have asked me where I got these short casual boots. I got them at Dick’s Sporting Goods. I looked them up online and they are on sale for $99.00.

• Waterproof leather and fabric upper

• Camouflage details

SOREL Women's

Out N About Plus Camouflage Waterproof Winter Boots

Fjallraven Byron Hat

Byron Hat

Comes in 9 different colors.

This double knitted 100% wool hat is soft and fits perfectly. I wore it in Japan and was asked everyday if I would be willing to trade it. No way! I love this hat. besides, who could resist that cute fox! Comes in 9 colors, Priced at $35.00 by Fjallraven. I bought mine at REI but I have included the link to the company since REI is sold out of them.

Garmin Fenix 5S Plus Sapphire GPS Smartwatch:

Garmin Fenix 5s Plus

GPS Smartwatch

I paid $488.88 from the Take a Hike Shop.com for the version 5 plus. Garmin makes a version 6 but I found that the version 5 plus had all the bells and whistles I needed plus I did’t like the gold trim or the price of the new version. There are too many features to list but one of the best things about this watch is that I can store up to 1000 songs on it and the charge lasts for about 7 days. I had an Apple watch but it was a pain to charge it every single day, especially when travelling, I gave it to my daughter.

Polartec Liner Glove by The Heat Company

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As many of you know I took my Heat Company gloves to Japan. I really liked the way they kept my finger tips warm. One of the best things about this glove system were the Polartec liner gloves. They were extremely comfortable and are my new favorite all around glove. The liners have a pocket for heat warmers, they are stretchy, not too bulky and warm. Yes, I will use the shell when needed but the liners are a must! Shown above are the Heat Company gloves I am using. Size 8.

Scribd

APP Store

Google Play

Kindle Fire

I use the Scribd APP on my iPhone and iPad to listen to or read a variety of books at my finger tips. They have a free 30 day trial and afterwards it is $9.99 month. What I like about it is that I have not needed to download anything, I choose the book I want, tap on it so that it is loaded and I can continue to read the book (even when off line—most of the time) and it knows just where I left off.

Based on a True story

Starring Mark Ruffalo, Ann Hathaway

and Tim Robbins

Inspired by a true story, a tenacious attorney played by Mark Ruffalo uncovers years of lies and deception and a secret that links a growing number of unexplained deaths due to one of the world's largest corporations (DuPont). In the process, he risks everything -- his future, his family, and his own life -- to expose the truth. I wouldn’t say it is a gripping movie or a contender for an Oscar but it is a story that needs to be told, it needs viewed and it needs to be shared…

The Chase

Cheetah were born to chase. I am sharing what I call a “story telling” series below; these images are not meant to be “great shots” but in my opinion they show the behavior of a chase very well.

To set the scene, there are two cheetah, waiting for the perfect opportunity to hunt. As it starts to gently rain the cheetah prepare and move closer to a herd of wildebeest. The rain can distract their prey and cheetah are very aware of this. As the cheetah make their way closer to the herd they are selecting their target. Cheetah are not large animals and a full grown, healthy wildebeest would be very hard to take down on their own. Two cheetah would have a better chance but it would still require a lot of work. They are also looking for a wildebeest that is not too young as the very young are still in mother’s care and a female would fight for her young. One year old wildebeest are out of mother’s care and are left to fend for themselves, so that would be a good target for them. Also, an injured, sick or old adult would make a good target.

Having an idea of the behavior is very good when trying to capture a chase. It is imperative to keep both eyes locked on the cheetah at all times as they stalk their prey.

The first image (left to right) starts when the young wildebeest decides to stop running and turn to defend itself. I call it the Stand-off. The second image shows the wildebeest as he decides to charge the cheetah, hoping to use its horns. In the third image you see the second cheetah coming into the frame. It is at this point you know the wildebeest will not make it. The fourth image is the Take-down. Note the way the herd in the background reacts. They are moving on as they realize the chase is over and the young wildebeest is supper.

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Our 2021 Tanzania trip is full. Plans are under way for a 2022 trip. Those interested can get on the interested list by emailing me or responding in this post. Thank you. Tentative dates: March 15-25th.

Home From Tanzania

I just returned home after conducting a workshop with Paul McKenzie in Tanzania. While we were there Tanzania reported its first case of Coronavirus. That all happened close to our last day on safari, it added a bit of tension as some folks scrambled to re-book cancelled flights. My direct flight from Nairobi to JFK was never cancelled and I got home early this morning without any issues.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about the virus as many of you have been living it day to day on the news, social media and with all kinds of closings that affect your everyday life. I do need to address some issues with my upcoming workshops. Do know that if I can conduct a workshop I will, but I need to consider everyone’s well being and the nations health above a photography workshop. That said, I will be reorganizing my schedule and postponing many of my workshops (see below). This will cause a lot of extra work and loss of income but there are more important things to consider at this point. Everyone will be making great sacrifices during this pandemic and I realize I am not alone.

Our Tanzania trip was fantastic. The photo opportunities were endless and our last day was incredible. I have many images to sort through but I have limited time with all of the other stuff on my plate. Hopefully I will be getting through the boat load of images I came home with! The Serengeti is much larger than the Mara, so things are spread out a lot more. We had light rain some days but it never lasted. We were lucky with the weather, only slight showers while we were out. To tell you the truth, I was hoping for more rainy photo shoots with lions shaking their heads in the rain.

Zebra and wildebeest as far as the eye could see. Lions in trees and hippos upon hippos. I love watching the behavior of the animals and trying to figure out what they will do next. My guide and I saw a lion walking out to an area that had vultures swarming above. The lion was going there in hopes of food. While we were heading out to follow him we saw a cheetah, the cheetah was running away from the direction of the meal and was hesitant to leave the area completely. That got us thinking that she probably had cubs…bingo she did! Four young cubs to be exact. We watched to make sure that she and her cubs got far enough away from the lion. We were careful not to crowd the cheetahs as mamma has a lot to keep up with. Female cheetah not only have to nurse their cubs but they have to protect them from just about every creature out there. In addition to the babysitting around the clock she is also the sole provider. The male is not a part of rearing the cubs.

After she and the cubs got settled we were able to photograph them on a termite mound as they kept a watchful eye on everything. I’ll share some of those later.

Almost every image was captured with either my Sony a9 that I had attached to my Sony 200-600mm lens or with my Sony 7r3 that I had attached to my Sony 24-105mm lens.

Tanzania Road Block

Hippo Stare

Let Sleeping Lions Lie - Paul has a different version of this scene and I like his a lot. I was trying to get all the curly tree branches but got caught up in the flow of the branches instead. That’s the beauty of photography, we all have our own point of view.

High key Zebras

The one that got away, this is a large crop from a moving vehicle. Not my best but I wanted to share this image of two lion fighting for a female.

Female Thomson's gazelle after just giving birth defending her hidden newborn against a Golden Wolf (used to be called a Golden Jackal-thanks to Mike Cristina for ID) I have another shot that shows the face of the gazelle really well. It has such beautiful sweet eyes. I’ll get around to that image and more once I get some time.

Lion Ear Abstract

Now that’s what I call a mane! ‘The King”

Love Birds

Vitelline Masked Weaver bird building a nest.

Cheetah cub keeping a watchful eye out for predators before retreating back to mom.

Over the next few weeks I hope to get a lot of workshops sorted out. Please don’t email me about workshops that are 6 months out as I am trying to reorganize on a priority basis right now and I am swamped-thank you. Charleston workshop is cancelled. Most folks will receive a credit for another workshop and will have 12 months to use this credit.

Some of the international trips that I have already paid in full are being postponed a year. I am in the process of changing/negotiating with my guides and agencies now and will be in touch with everyone with new dates as soon as I get things worked out.

If you are on the Vietnam 2020 trip you were recently sent new dates. Unfortunately since my Namibia trip will most likely be postponed too I am forced to change the new Vietnam dates. My sincere apologies for that, I had no idea that things would shut down as they are when I made the new dates. I will be re-sending dates to everyone soon but it will most likely be June 2021. Again, thank you for your understanding and patience. I truly appreciate your understanding during these difficult times.

If you are on my April Namibia 2020 new dates (most likely April 2021) will be given to all clients in a few more days as I need to finalize with all vendors. Patience at this time is a virtue and I understand everyone’s concerns. Please know that I am doing my absolute best to accommodate everyone.

I am still hopeful that my Palouse and Olympic National Park trips are still on…fingers crossed.

SONY APS -C vs CROPPING vs TELECONVERTER

Since I started using Sony, there have been load of folks asking me which is better, using the APS-C setting, a teleconverter or cropping in post? Here are some of my thoughts…

The APS-C/Super 35mm setting — aka “crop mode” on the camera effectively chooses which sensor size you want to use. For shooting still images, the camera uses only part of the full-frame sensor, effectively shooting with a cropped sensor rather than a full-frame sensor. The setting is in the menu and where it is located varies according to your camera model, but you will most likely find it in the first menu group. I have assigned mine to C3 so that I can access it very easily while shooting. This feature offers a 1.5 x magnification. When using this feature you are essentially cutting your megapixels in half.

A teleconverter is a short tube that fits between the lens and camera body and increases the focal length of the lens. By using a teleconverter you will gain some reach but you may sacrifice some sharpness and autofocus (same is true with using the APS-C mode). Adding a teleconverter will also reduce the light by 1 stop for a 1.4x converter and by 2 stops for a 2x. However, adding a teleconverter doesn’t change the lens’ minimum focusing distance. For example, if you add a 2x converter to a 300mm lens that focuses down to five feet, you get a 600mm lens that focuses down to five feet.

Cropping in post—well that it self explanatory but many ask “How much can I crop without losing quality”. My answer is this. First, what are you going to do with the image. If you are going to make a large print than you really should’’t count on cropping much. If you are only using it for web viewing, than you have much more flexibility with cropping. You can make a heavily cropped image still look good for the web, but do you want to? That is an individual choice. Another thing to consider when cropping, whether in post or in-camera is how many megapixels does your camera have? The Sony a9 has 24.2-megapixel where the Sony 7r3 has 42.4-megapixels and the Sony 7r4 has over 60!!

So how do I apply all of this in the field:

When shooting with the Sony a9 and the 200-600mm lens for wildlife, I used the 1.4 teleconverter on safari with great success. The 200-600mm lens was much smaller and lighter and more manageable than a 600mm prime lens. I was able to get up and down in the safari vehicle with ease. I handheld the set-up all day without any shoulder or wrist issues. I also found that because it was more manageable that I didn’t even need to use a beanbag and that helped me with tracking my subjects. But… and it is a big but- I needed to be at f/9. This hurt a bit, since I was almost always in a struggle for light. Increasing my aperture to f/9 meant higher ISO’s. However, when shooting in Kenya, using the f/9 worked out good as I often had multiple subjects and it almost forced me to stop down my aperture which meant I had enough depth of field for most of my shots. Having all that depth of field was also a drawback, since I lost that beautiful bokeh that I”m use to getting with the 600mm primes.

When I am shooting with the Sony a9 I need to be more careful with my megapixels as I don’t have as many to throw around. When I was in Japan I used I the Sony 7r3 and the in-camera cropping (APS-C mode) so that I could get in tight for portraits. I had plenty of megapixels so why not. When I was shooting birds in flight, I used the Sony a9 and did not use APS-C or a teleconvertor as I didn’t want to lose any light, autofocus or pixels. I cropped in post if needed. I also used a long enough lens so that I wouldn’t have to crop too much.

In closing, there will always be a struggle between ISO, aperture and shutter speed when photographing. That is part of what keeps me engaged. I love having to work that struggle out in the field. That said, wouldn’t it be nice if we had a 14- 800mm lens with an f/2.8 straight through on a 36 megapixel body that shot 20fps? There is no perfect set-up and there will always be some give and take. It is up to you to know your gear and all of the options available to you so that in the field you can make the best decisions for your own photography.