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2010 Winter Games - Troy Wayrynen

2010-02-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

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Janis Miglavs - Trip to China

2009-09-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

When I tell people that I’m headed back to China to finish a book on Chinese Vineyards and Wineries, the common reaction is: “I didn’t even know that China had vineyards and wineries.” Well, yes they do. In fact, China has more vineyard acreage than the United States and produces more wine than Germany. Raise your hand proudly if you knew that.

And yes, I just landed in Beijing two hours ago with a list of five vineyards and wineries to visit in the northeast part of China. This blog will be about the adventures, people and culture I encounter. And judging from my first trip in May, we should have lots of fun. On that adventure, a Chinese winery and wine region even hired me. (That should look good on the ol’ resume.)

For those who don’t know me, I’m a Sherwood, Oregon-based, former National Geographic shooter turned commercial photographer who specializes in the wine industry, among other subjects. I’ve done two books about wineries, and the latest, Oregon The Taste of Wine, just won the prestigious Benjamin Franklin gold medal for the best Regional book in North America.

-Janis Miglavs

Visit Janis Miglavs' blog

Joni Kabana

2009-01-14T16:37:00.001-08:00

Gerry Ellis - Galapagos Photo Blog

2008-06-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

June 2008
Day 1
Hi Again,
Over the coming days sun, lizards and islands will populate this latest blog as I head 1,000 km (600 miles) to Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. It’s a bit of a break from the Asian-localed photo blogs I have posted over the past couple years for Pro Photo supply. This time no pandas in Wolong (BTW – for those of you who followed GLOBIO’s journeys in China just a quick update – Wolong Nature Reserve was pretty hard hit in the recent earthquakes. Being only 18 miles from the quakes epicenter the Pitiao River Valley which runs the heart of Wolong saw huge landslides, damns destroyed, the two valley villages were heavily damaged, the road into the valley was a disaster and is impassable, and the panda breeding center has thus far had five human deaths and three adult pandas are missing – presumably escaped. All-n-all, a devastating experience.), no camel bizarres in India, instead a bit of Ecuadorian high altitude charm, food and then the next few weeks I’ll be sending back images from the islands of the Galapagos and their unique wildlife.

Before flying out to the islands I’ll try and get you a few glimpses of one of the highest cities in the world – the elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2,850 meters (about 9,350 ft). About a million and a half people live here so there’s more than enough going on. This is my fourth visit here and I must say I like the city more each time. Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator, but at this altitude forget any ideas of the balmy tropics. Tonight it feels very Portland-like… about 55 Fahrenheit and raining.

Staying at a beautiful old colonial hotel in the heart of the historic district – Hotel Patio Andaluz – which from initial looks and service I highly recommend (I’ll send some photos tomorrow). Also hoping to catch up with an old friend from Portland, who has moved back to Quito. Jorge Vinueza – he is a great photographer – check out his work at www.jorgevinueza.com

Alright – off to bed – after 18hours of flying from Portland I’m ready to get horizontal! Cheers.

Note: all the still photos in this blog were taken with the EOS Rebel XTi – a great compact travel camera with plenty of functionality to do virtually everything you need – the two lenses on this trip were the Canon 10-22mm USM zoom and the 28-200mm USM zoom)

Day 2-3

(caption - Camera Notes: 50mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 200)

Spent the past couple days exploring Quito and venturing just tangentially into the high Andes Mountains – believe me its strange to be driving around at 12,000 feet and then be told you are stopping for lunch at a little ranch at just over 13,000 feet! It sits in the heart of the Antisana Ecological Reserve, about a 3 hour higher into the mountains from Quito. The hope was to see and get a few photos of Andean condors – saw them, but little black ghosts drifting in and out of grey gloom there was never going to be much of an opportunity… it was one of those hard to remember rules every photographer eventually comes face-to-face with—sometime you take a deep breath and take it all in with your eyes and record it on the flashcard in your brain.

(caption – they start young in the high Andes herding the sheep and breaking horses… okay, maybe not at three! Camera Notes: 200mm, fill-flash -2, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO 100)

Unfortunately both of the past couple days have been drenched in rain – supposedly not generally the case this time of year. Sadly it has prevented any real look at the surrounding views of the Andean volcanoes – such as Cotopaxi.

With the rain socking the city and surroundings in it was time to stay indoors – visit the numerous cathedrals the scattered about the central historic district of San Francisco of Quito.

(caption – gold was in no short supply in the 16th & 17th centuries – and the Franciscan Catholics took full advantage throughout the cathedrals of Quito. Camera Notes: 17mm, no flash, f/5.6, ¼ sec, ISO 200)

(caption – Religious paraphernalia on hocker’s sidewalk table. Camera Notes: 150mm, no flash, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 200)

(caption – entrance to the gold encrusted interior of La Compania de Jesus – where no pictures are allowed! Camera Notes: 10mm, f/9, 1/60 sec, ISO 200)

(caption – the above photo isn’t tack sharp because it was taken illegally and without being able to look through the viewfinder – but does show what a bit of careful positioning and a 10mm lens can get you… until the guard catches you! Camera Notes: 10mm, no flash, f/5.6, 1 sec handheld, ISO 400)

(Camera Notes: 17mm, no flash, f/5.6, ¼ sec, ISO 200)

(caption –Guards at the Presidential Palace. Camera Notes: 100mm, fill-flash flash at -1, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO 200)

(caption – Ecuador is a country in love with pageantry and pomp—flags on federal building near Presidential Palace. Camera Notes: 178mm, f/5.6,1/800 sec, ISO 200)

People in Quito seem relatively at ease with cameras pointed everywhere – it was a real pleasure to just be able to walk about the plazas and street clicking away without a constant barrage of people either wanting money or asking to have their picture taken (for money of course). Do however expect any of the chapeau wearing mountain people who hock wears in the Presidential Palace area to ask for something if you are blatant about photographing them.

(caption – Street hocker day care means taking your child on a ride around the city - near Presidential Palace. Camera Notes: 135mm, f/5.6,1/500 sec, ISO 200)

(caption – Courtyard in the Hotel Patio Andaluz maintains the colonial charm of the original home built in Solaris a part of the original City of San Francisco of Quito.)

Day 5 – Isla Espanola, Galapagos

(caption – spectacular sunset in the bay at San Christobal Island – last night before setting sail for Isla Espanola (ps – taken from the Casa Blanca bar and filtered by cerveza) - Camera Notes: 14mm, f/8, 1/30 sec, ISO 200)

Woke up this morning anchored off the southern point of Espanola (or Hood) Island – southern most of the 97 islands and rocks that compose the Galapagos Islands. Its been 14 years since I last walked ashore here, on Punta Suarez. It’s a small point of land I have lasting memories and hundreds of photographs from. As the zodiac boat was ferrying to shore and the tiny concrete landing National Parks built here I was thinking how little this all has changed and how much the world: cameras are all now digital and the 4meg flash cards I carry neatly disappear in my shirt pocket.

(caption – Zodiac rubber boats – locally called pandas – facilitate the forth and back from shore. Its critical you zip-lock baggie everything for these short journeys—its amazing how much water can find its way aboard in less than a hundred meters. Camera Notes: 12mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO 100)

Crystalline blue water washes the charcoal lava boulders of the landing. The locals have arranged a greeting party – and lounge over rocks and walkway. The exposures are a bit of a nightmare – black lizards, white sands, black lizards, blue water, white clouds – let’s see, could we make this any more challenging for the meter and me?

(caption – Galapagos sea lions parks in the path leading to the Punta Suarez landing. Camera Notes: 10mm, f/10, 1/200 sec, ISO 100)

(caption – Galapagos sea lions lounge the lava beach at Punta Suarez landing. Camera Notes: 12mm, f/9, 1/200 sec, ISO 100)

(caption – getting close to wildlife in the Galapagos is never an issue – in fact more often you have to back up to create the composition you want. Even armed with a very simple digital camera can render wonderful results and make everyone feel like a pro. Here the island’s unique marine iguanas strike a pose while soaking up the equatorial sun. Camera Notes: 10mm, no flash, f/9, 1/250 sec, ISO 100)

(caption – even an albatross, one of the world’s largest avians, has no fear. Camera Notes: 10mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 100)

(caption – the Galapagos Islands are very much alive – even when the lava cools and hardens it continues to express itself. Here the famous blow hole explodes from the force of a crashing wave. The event repeated every minute or so, so after a couple passes the timing could be worked out to catch the best blow – slightly slower shutter speed creates a bit more motion in the shot. Camera Notes: 200mm, f/8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100)

(caption – strange aliens take over Punta Suarez for the morning – so it must seem to this salt encrusted, sand-breaded marine iguana. The wonderfully low angle and 10mm lens help exaggerate the obvious. Camera Notes: 10mm, no flash, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 100)

(caption – me working on the above photo. Photo Credit: ©Jennifer Loren)

(caption – No flash fill is allowed on the islands – so working the angles with the natural light is a challenge – fortunately your subjects (marine iguana) give you lots of time. Camera Notes: 10mm, f/9,1/160 sec, ISO 100)

Punta Suarez is one of the most sought after wildlife/photo landings in the Galapagos Islands. If you are coming this way to photograph make certain this stop is on the itinerary – you will be kicking yourself if you don’t.

Wildlife here is abundant, tolerant to the extreme and diverse: blue-footed and Nazca boobies, albatross, both magnificent and greater frigatebirds, red-billed tropicbirds, land iguanas, marine iguanas, lava gulls, lava lizards, Hood Is mocking bird, finches, and even tortoises, which had nearly died out here, have been bred at the Charles Darwin Research Center and nearly one thousand returned. All-n-all, one of the coolest spots to photograph wildlife one can imagine.

(caption – blue-footed boobies performing courtship display fist in front of the camera then I had to back up as this male tried to blue-foot step right into the lens!. Camera Notes: 28mm, f/8,1/250 sec, ISO 100)

Mercy Corps - Rickshaw Run

2008-01-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

Joni Kabana

2008-01-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

Gerry Ellis - The Camels of Pushkar

2007-11-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

Each year this time the moon begins to fill over the arid western landscape of India and from miles, hundreds of miles, come the lazy loping strides of camels, a few dozen, then a few hundred and then in the thousands.

My trip to Pushkar was one of those fortuitous accidents when you give your travel schedule a bit of breathing room and you remain open to changing the plans at the last moment.

The camel fair is world renown among desert lovers (and camels as well). For years every time I heard whispers of western India they included the camel fair. But I wish whispers would have been shouts in my ear, if so I would have detoured from somewhere in the world to get here years ago – what an amazing sight!

Arriving late in the afternoon my guide Anaruk led me through the dusty back streets of Pushkar past the security guards (no alcohol is allowed into Pushkar during the holy holiday that embraces the camel fair) and after a couple minutes to assess the situation I bee lined it for the central watering trough. After all – in a desert where must everyone and everything convene? Water.

In the end I committed over an hour just here – most on video – the comings and goings of endless camels and there tethered herders. The noise alone making the experience a joy to witness (those will get added to this blog when I get back to Portland in mid Dec – check back).

After years of chasing stories around the world I have learned its best to identify the key location that draws the subjects (like this watering trough) and then work out. Here in the sand dunes of Pushkar I locked on to a group of camels and there colorful and animated owners and followed them from the water.

The technique paid off handsomely and over the late afternoon and following morning by following a select group I not only got more intimate images but also engaged with them, discovering more about their lives and got some incredible video and audio!

Sifting through feed to insure his camels eat well and look their best

Even camels lie down - eventually – a super wide 1Omm and a very close look at a camel’s muzzle.

Dusting the nostrils with tumeric – to the camel’s vociferous objections – but the powder insures flies stay out and prevents infection.

Pushkar dunes are an endless parade of boys moving camels from old owner to new, small groups

According to Amit, my new camel friend and expert, who traveled over 400 km to bring his camels for trade – this is a perfect camel – apparently others agreed – he sold it for the two new female camels and cash.

Postscript: The still photography in Pushkar was second to my video work – so I was often grabbing shots along side taping. The XTI works well for this as it’s fairly quiet and small, being seldom noticed as everyone’s attention was captured by the “TV…TV” of the Canon XA’s wide display screen. In most cases I shot with the 28-200mm zoom, but was prepared with the 10-22mm in my pocket.

Gerry Ellis - Wanderings in India

2007-11-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

I’m starting this photo blog a several days into my travels in India – and I’m convinced this is one of the GREAT photography destinations left in theworld—colorful, exotic, chaotic, sensory overload—few places can hope to match the intensity of life on this sub-continent. It certainly can be a challenge to ones patience, wits and stamina, but if you are up for the adventure the visual rewards are amazing!

My equipment challenge this trip is balancing photography (both still photos and video) in a lightweight package that doesn’t overwhelm my other obligations while traveling. Video is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our (GLOBIO’s) online children’s encyclopedia (see www.globio.org for examples of how we use both) and since the focus of my photography and travel these days is on behalf of the organization I’m trying to accomplish expanding our video collection and yet have some still photography flexibility.

I’m carrying both a new Canon HD-XA high def video camera (which I love – more on that later) and to balance the load something new and much smaller for stills, the Canon Rebel XTI body and two Canon lenses – the 10-22mm zoom and 28-200mm zoom. The XTI and lenses are small enough to poke in a couple of large pockets and deliver a large enough image to do anything with (10 megapixels image at RAW). After two decades of hauling 25-35 pounds of cameras and lenses around the planet I was looking forward to the freedom and hopefully exciting results.

India is a long flight from the States, no matter how you carve it up and after nearly a day of travel a morning arrival at a very crowded and undermanned Indira Ghandi International airport in Delhi took over two hours to negotiate, as lines packed to make it through immigrations—a hint of the crushing humanity awaiting on the streets.

On the Streets in India
Delhi streets reflect India’s approaching nightmare – becoming the world’s largest population – eclipsing China in the billion plus category. Its also on the street where you get to know one vibrant part of Indian life and there are only two ways to properly immerse yourself in it – by foot or tuk-tuk.

Tuk-tuks come in people powered and motorized versions—and on any densely crowded street both are equally efficient. The point is they get you IN” the traffic of street life.

The motorized versions often make better subjects that shooting platforms.

I prefer the pedal powered version. They are open giving you 360 degrees of shooting options, you can even stand up (cautiously) for a bit of height and they are eco-friendly.

Three hints to shooting in the streets

Prepare to shoot wide, as wide as possible (I love this Canon 10-22mm zoom)

Make certain you have a 2gig card, at least, the images will come fast and furious, and

Don’t look at your images while shooting! For all the great things digital has brought to photography, the one bad is the urge to look at every shot just after you click the shutter – stop it – you're missing shots. Keep your eye in the viewfinder and keep shooting—life isn’t going to wait for you to pat yourself on the back for a nice photo.

To test the Rebel XTI I mixed it up a bit between Auto and Aperture Priority – both were very accurate – and while I tend to the AP side for a bit of control I wouldn’t hesitate, especially at a super wide 10mm to just sit on the Auto.

Joni Kabana

2007-06-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Gerry Ellis - September 16, 2006 - Mantadia National Park

2006-09-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

The most virgin of all the rainforest remaining in the area of Perinet is in Mantadia National Park. The boundary is only 1.5 miles from the very comfortable lodge Vakona ($85 room & board/day), but it’s a further 8 miles deeper into the forest where the trailheads begin the search for the lemurs and sifakas.

Searching for mammals of any kind in the tropical rainforest is problematic—it’s dark, shadowy, and the creatures you are usually after are agile, camouflaged, and skilled at not being seen as they slip away silently. Malagasy rainforests are no different in many respects, but one—lemurs are often as curious as shy. You are just as likely to bump into a lemur that approaches you as one that will spring away across the tree tops. Today we got lucky, really lucky! Red-bellied lemurs that seemed as fascinated by us, for a few minutes, as we were by them. The two photos above are the result. Created at ISO 400, f/4 at 1/100th sec. with a 200mm.

The above Diadem Sifakas photos are representative of the difficulty and reward of photographing very mobile arboreal mammals in the tropical rainforest. The first photo illustrates the typical view one gets—Diadems feed at the very top of the highest trees and offer little to work with without incredible patience. The next two photos were created at ISO 320, at 200mm. Photo #1 at 1/100th sec. at f/3.5, the photo #2 at 1/100th at f/2.8 The last is one worth emailing home about. These opportunities came after over two hours of slipping and sliding along muddy hillside trails before we finally caught a break and got up slope from the Sifakas and they obliged by leaping down from their leaf-eating tree-top perches.

The detail from the under-story of the rainforest in Mantadia National Park can be compared to the larger landscape from Nosy Mangabe (island) rainforest created a couple days ago. To create rainforest images that have texture and depth it’s critical to insure layers of green, as well as shapes and textures that the viewers understand to mean rainforest.

Heading out of the rainforest can be a bit of a shock to the visual senses. The rainforests of the world are under tremendous pressure by the poor who continually chew away at these spectacular treasures of biological diversity. On the island of Madagascar it isn’t any different. These last couple of images were from the new peasant farms cleared into the edge of the park boundary at Mantadia and of a young woman with her banana harvest from one of these clearings.

Gerry Ellis - September 15, 2006 – Perinet Special Reserve

2006-09-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

Wake this morning to a light soaking drizzle, a chorus of bird calls and somewhere out there Indris (pronounced EN-dreez), largest of the living lemurs, are waiting. And with any luck a chance at their near equal in size perhaps the most beautiful of all lemus, Diadems sifaka.

The roads that snake through the reserve

After an hour of patience and constant following their treetop leapings the Indris finally gave one small low level look. The opportunity was only about 90 seconds long, but the black and white Indris were finally against forest instead of cloudy sky.

Gerry Ellis - September 14, 2006 – Perinet Special Reserve

2006-09-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

In sharp contrast to the lowland forest of Nosy Mangabe (island) the hilly tropical rainforests of the Perinet region, at just over 2,000 ft., are cool and night air invites a jacket. We arrive late but just in time for a night wildlife walk, Perinet is excellent for spotting frogs, lizards and small nocturnal lemurs by their eye-shine from our flashlights. Every night we will head out and see what we will find, and every night should offer different opportunities. The below photos we created with the Nikon D200 built-in flash and an 80-200mm f/2.8 lens; ISO set at 200.

Gerry Ellis - September 12, 2006 – Nosy Mangabe (Island)

2006-09-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Nosy Mangabe (Nosy means island in Malagasy) is a small rounded triangular lump nestled deep in the heart of Baie D’ Antongil (Bay of Antongil) on the northeast coast of Madagascar. Protected by law and the sea from the forest clearing that has plagued so much of the coastal tropical rainforest, it has become a favorite for visitors hoping to discover a vision of what wet tropical Madagascar once looked like. Several species of lemurs live on the island including the bizarre nocturnal Aye-aye (pronounced eye-eye), as well as chameleons and the cryptic leaf-tailed gecko Uroplatus—a lizard with no clear head or tail.

Unfortunately all those wonderful photo opportunities are a 30 minute boat ride away and like so often can happen in the coastal wet tropics, torrential and wind have swept in and I can only stare across the bay at a faint image of Nosy Mangabe in the grey. Not worth the risk of damaging all the gear with virtually no chance of photographing anything in this downpour. So we wait—a key reason to have the laptop loaded with a copy of PhotoSHop CS2… a chance to catch up on getting photos ready for this blog and other projects. In the wet tropics always come prepared to have rain down time, eventually you will clean all the gear and have time on your hands.

After a few hours the captain gives us the word and we sail for Nosy Mangabe; half hour trip is nearly an hour of rough water—I ALWAYS pack all gear in ziplocks when taxiing by water—water over the bow drenches everything. My main objective is general rainforest images and a few new photos of Uroplatus; lemurs on the island are pretty wild and fleeting, better opportunities elsewhere for the same species.

Nosy Mangabe is famous for these amazing lizards that they even have a trail called Uroplatus trail…

Gerry Ellis - September 11, 2006 – Markets of Tana

2006-09-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Antananarivo this morning for the northeast coast we all decided to check out the local craft market. It did give me a chance to grab a couple shots of vendors selling wildlife. While this kind of this is rare in Madagascar Nile crocodiles and sea shells seem to be the exception.

Note of Caution:
Not everyone selling wildlife products like their picture taken. I have found this especially true in Asian markets. Most people hocking animals and animal products tend to know what they are doing and know it is illegal or at least shady at best. As a consequence if you are planning of photographing situations like this travel in with another person. Look around a bit first, don’t just bee-line it for the stuffed animal or product. Have the other person notice the animal product first, so it seems more natural they would want their picture taken next to it as a curio.

I prefer using wide angle lenses for three reasons:

1) wide angles are smaller lenses, they look less alarming and professional,
2) they render a wide sweep which allows me to look as though I’m not solely focusing on the animal subject, and
3) they allow shooting at a lower hand-held speed, which is often necessary in dimly lit market stalls.

Gerry Ellis - September 9, 2006 – Isalo national Park

2006-09-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Wandering around Isalo by 4wd is reminiscent of the American southwest of southern Utah and Arizona – sandstone cliffs of wind sculptured red and cream. In this desert baobabs and spiny forest plants replace cactus, mesquite and pines. The real difference is in the people and their survivalist livings in this windswept environment. Bara people are the dominant group and they along with their zebu cattle extract the most basic existence growing manioc, a bit of rice and corn, and for the Bara eating their zebu cattle.

Over and over I found myself turning the camera towards the people. The following images are from a variety of daily scenes – most created with the 14mm. To do so requires engaging with people—such a wide lens does not allow you to stand back and abstractly peer into people’s lives. This lens was a challenge at first but the opportunity it presents has forced me to challenge my own hesitations. The Bara, like most Malagasy people, are warm and inviting and delight in having the camera and attention directed their way. And you will win over hearts and minds if after a few shots you flip the camera around and share your photos with your subjects. In the case of the Bara kids it spurred excitement, laughter and opened even more opportunities.

One photo to take note of is the little Bara girl looking up at the photographer. This was created, as many others in this blog such as the Bara and Zebu cart, although less apparent, by a technique I have devoted a fair amount of energy to developing over the past eight years—using the 14mm and wider lenses held away from my body. At first the results were poor, but the potential was obvious and I kept working at it. With digital it’s great—what you don’t like you dump—I started on film and it was costly in the beginning. What the effort delivered was an ability to shoot, with confidence, a camera extended away from my eye, held at odd angles and returning spontaneous photos that could not have been accomplished any other way. In the case of the little Bara girl the photo was created when after a couple of standard photos I squatted and showed her an image of herself in the display on the camera’s back—as I stood up she was looking for more, as she looked up and I had her attention by speaking to her, I dropped the camera along my side and tilted up and caught this wanting look.

In the case of the Bara zebu cart I was literally running backwards down the road as the boys encouraged the zebu to race faster in an attempt to run me down—with camera held down around my knees I photographed back-pedaling for my life… being mindful of the zebu’s shadows to complete the composition.

Gerry Ellis - September 7, 2006 – Isalo National Park

2006-09-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Nearly 300km inland northeast of Tulear are the remote sculptured sandstone formations of Isalo National Park. The park’s claim to fame is its bizarre and rare plants. At the top of the flora oddities is the Pachypodium or Elephant-foot plant. A squat bulbous looking blob, it looks more like a plant root than the plant itself. Fortunately I adore strange plants and Pachypodium is one of the strangest and getting rarer everyday. Luckily this one was also in bloom. Here are two versions, one with a 400m (a portrait with shallow depth-of-field, f4, against a sandstone wall) and one with a 14mm (f11 and the full landscape of its habitat). Later that afternoon I found several Pachypodium growing straight out of the cliffs in Isalo.

Tonight walking back from dinner in the lodge I happen to glance up at the full moon to discover a partial lunar eclipse in progress. It was news to everyone and we soon had a small crowd staring into the firmament. The following was created at 600mm with and exposure set at ISO 100, f/5.6 at 1/160th second. This is a basic exposure under most condition for the moon to render surface detail.

Gerry Ellis - September 6, 2006 – Toliara (Tulear)

2006-09-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

This afternoon transferring between Ft Dauphin and the SW coast town of Tulear (Toliara), enroute to the Isalo National Park, we visited the small fishing village of Sarodrano of the Vezo people. A half hour out of Tulear on a broken potholed hard-clay beach road we neared the village—the last half mile in 4WD through deep sand.

Buried in the sand dunes at the end of a mangrove encrusted spit it was one of the harshest living conditions one can imagine. All around the world people decide to eke out a survival in the oddest places—but thatched stick houses buried in constantly shifting dunal sands seems crazy. The Vezo people seem consumed by one thing—sailing into the Mozambique Channel and catching the next days fish.

This afternoon the wind was racing – blowing fine beach sand in everything – making photography a nightmare – changing lenses totally out the question, so I concentrated on a wide perspective—one camera body with the 14mm superwide. Inside my shirt was the camera’s only safe haven between photos. This is one of those places where you need at least a week, living with the Vezo, and the combination of harsh conditions, the drama of survival and the contrast of sea and dunes would create amazing images.

Gerry Ellis - September 4, 2006 – Berenty Private Reserve

2006-09-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Lemurs – Ringtail Lemurs – running everywhere on my cottage roof! Welcome back to Madagascar Mr Ellis.

As cute as these fellows appear in the Disney Movie “Madagascar” and in real life – at a quarter ‘till five in the morning they are not cute. They are every bit their Catta catta scientific names. Like cats they go scrambling across my roof first right to left then left to right and every other trip a chorus of deep whining “meows”. It’s been ten years since I was here last, and this much has not changed.

Ring-tails are the famous lemurs of Berenty Private Reserve. This about as far away from the Northwest as one can wander; I’m in the far southern extreme of the island of Madagascar, and the island is on the far southern extreme of the SW Indian Ocean. From the Pacific NW of the USA it’s a journey—some 27 hours of air travel and you arrive in the capitol Antananarivo (‘Tana’ for short); in the middle of the night.

Two days ago I landed in Tana and after a day of time zone and bearing gathering I caught another flight south 400 miles to the 17th Century outpost of Ft. Dauphin. Its here the French in 1642 thought they would make a go of it, build a fort (Ft. Dauphin) and see if they couldn’t control the sea traffic sailing past, ships destined for the spices of India and Indonesia. In the days and weeks between watching for the occasional ship, there were strange and bizarre plants and animals to discover—and the monkey-like lemurs were immediately captivating.

It’s these same lemurs that draw most visitors, especially photographers, to this far end of Madagascar. About 50 miles west and inland from Ft. Dauphin is Berenty, a sanctuary for three species of arid species: the raccoon-looking Ring-tailed lemur, the brown teddy bear-like Brown lemur and the dancing and acrobatic Verreaux’s sifaka (a special type of lemur). Photographically Berenty is the best place to come. All three species of lemur have had over four decades of habituation to researchers and visitors and are not camera shy. In fact, for camera crews and photographers it makes absolutely no sense to try anywhere else if your focus is one of these three lemur species. Long telephotos certainly give the wonderful portrait look and an 80-200mm will do everything you need, but this is a great opportunity to practice doing wildlife photography with a wide angle or super-wide. My traveling companions are all equipped with 20mm’s and wider and ALL are using them liberally.

How to get to Madagascar?

Unless you speak fluent French and are well skilled at traveling in the developing world AND have plenty of free time, it’s best to book your Malagasy experience through an agent. Even then you need a good guide on the island. We used Classic Escapes out of New York City (800-627-1244 or www.classiescapes.com) to book the whole trip. They have been focusing on nature and wildlife travel for years and service much of the zoo and aquarium travel trade.

Plan on spending $5-7,000 or more for a two week experience.

From the USA it’s 25-30 hours travel time via Paris. Air France flies six days a week into the capitol of its former colony Antananarivo and there are two or three upper class hotels in the city worth staying at. We were based at Hotel Colbert which has full service and an internet business center – how this blog and photos got back to Pro Photo Supply.

Best time to visit Madagascar?

April through September is the winter dry season. Temperature-wise it is pleasant 80-85F during the day and 50’s at night. Towards the end of winter the arid areas in the south and west (Berenty and Isalo) become a bit worn and look in need of rain, the wind also blows steadily.

The remnant Eastern rainforest areas (near Perinet, Ranomafana, Nosy Mangabe) remain wet and lush throughout the year. Prepare for the tropical rainforest like you would anywhere else in the world; rain can fall anytime, carry plenty of Ziploc bags, a water-resistance pack to hide gear in from the rain, and good walking boots for slipping along muddy trails and through wet vegetation.

Few animals are as photogenic as habituated lemurs. I’m certain wild lemurs are fun too, but they keep their fun to themselves. At Berenty the lemurs share everything they are doing within a few feet; a 200mm is the longest lens you really need. Berenty is surrounded on three sides by endless acres of sisal plantation (a main crop from which ropes are made) and on the eastern boundary by the Mondrare River; the result is the lemurs have no where to escape and so live protected in the gallery riverine forest of Tamarind and Terminalis trees that dominate the reserve. A small section of ‘Spiny forest’, a unique collection of spine laced cactus-like plants native to Madagascar, edges the perimeter between the gallery forest and sisal. Only the Verreaux’s sifaka and two nocturnal species the white-footed sportive lemur and the grey mouse lemur dare roam about the prickly spiny forest.

Staying at Berenty Special Reserve

Small individual cottages, basic but comfortable, with twin beds are the only accommodation. Fees are $60 per night. There is a central dinning area for all meals and a separate bar breakfast area. Staying is a package deal —room and board—unless you are planning a long filming project and then its best to contact the Berenty staff for special arrangements.

Gerry Ellis' Madagascar Travel Blog

2006-09-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks Gerry Ellis will be writing and photographing from the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. Fourth largest island in the world, a bit larger than California, Madagascar is best known for its charming little primates called lemurs. Wonderfully photogenic and found no where else in the world, along with nearly 90% of all the plants and animals on the island, lemurs draw photographer, film crews and adventurous travelers from around the world.

The Adventures of Gerry Ellis - Part 2

2006-07-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

June 20, 2006 - Afternoon In Forbidden City

After spending over four hours working my way through the various gates into the heart of the Forbidden City my initial comment is give yourself tons of time and get a good pair of walking shoes – the Forbidden City is huge! Four gates and 400 meters after you enter through the main gate off of Jianguomenwai Ave., opposite Tiananmen Square you finally reach the paying portion of the City (note: you can pay 15 RMB, just less than $2, and climb up on the great entrance wall – there are the best photos of Tiananmen Square to be had from here – but unfortunately they don’t allow bags of any sort (especially big camera bags/packs. Here for 60 RMB (about $7.50) you get to leave the free crowds and hawkers behind and explore another several hundred meters of inner gates and courtyards. There are still throngs of people (this China after all) but most are lead about in orderly fashion by a flag waving guide. If you decide to stay outside, and that would be a mistake, there is plenty of activity and opportunities for creating imagery – most of the children photos here were in this public area – especially check out the dress-up-in-royalty area inside the third gate to the right. There is generally a big crowd around it. Inside a waist high fence average Chinese (and anyone else) can dawn the robes of ancient royalty and have their photos taken by a friends and a fellow happy to make you a keychain or t-shirt with your image. What the opportunity does do, is give you a wealth of cute Chinese kids all fussed up for their parents and perfect for photography – you’ll need 200 to 300mm for the best portraits.

Most of the day I photographed with just two lenses – my trusty 14mm 2.8 and an 80-200mm 2.8 AF zoom. Rarely did I want for anything else – from sweeping plazas to tiny dragon details, I could photograph it all. The flat smoggy grey overcast turned out to be perfect for the images of architectural detail and portraits I was hoping for. Under other circumstances I could see how the sharp angled light of morning or dusk would be great – but quite frankly the Forbidden City is so huge, I don’t know if you could access it at those hours and get much accomplished. Once inside keep moving – there is plenty to see and photograph. Also, small food venders, water and sodas are available – so don’t carry anything you don’t need.

Forbidden City has a second connotation – off limits – and just as it was 500-600 years ago when it was first call Forbidden. Because the City is so vast and so exposed, it always seems to be under partial reconstruction. Don’t be surprised to find one or more large sections under scaffolding and green tarps – such was the case of the main central building of movie fame – with the 2008 Olympics just around the corner it was undergoing a massive facelift. But the key is enjoy the city not forbidden – there is more than enough. And remember good shoes!

June 20, 2006 Back in Beijing

Honestly Beijing has never been my favorite Chinese city – big, generally overcast and grey (translate into very flat light), traffic, trying too hard to be westernly modern, did I mention it's big, too big to really let your senses take in? But then again I have spent limited time exploring the city or the surroundings. Dr. Katherine Feng, who was GLOBIO’s contract photographer on the Wolong Panda Project, has fond affection for the city and has spent time living and studying here. She claims it has an energy and life I have not found except on Saturdays when I visit the street market. So this trip I’m trying to take a couple days and see a bit more of the city in between meetings before flying southwest to the mountains of the giant panda.

June 21, 2006 – Spares!

Photographers always ask me about backups, spares, “how much extra do I need?” Well, with digital photography I’m still sorting that out and it can get tricky. I spent half the night last night running around Beijing trying to find a USB download cable that would work with the D200. Don’t assume cables are easy to find – at least the right ones. In a country with six gazillion cell phones and computers you would think it would be a relative no-brainer to find… not so. Even the dealers I found with Nikon gear didn’t have much in the way of extras. Finally, I found a small repair dealer on Wangfujing St. (heart of the shopping area - about 1km from Tiananmen Sq. – across from McDonalds and a 100 meters further west – its just a doorway with small ‘camera repair’ above it – but they seem pretty knowledgeable) who were there until past 7 PM – but no hours were posted so beware) and they rummaged through a drawer and came up with a cable combination that works. So before leaving home get a second cable! Especially, if you are carrying few cards or photograph so much that it’s crazy to carry that many cards.

The walk back provided this evening photo:

June 23, 2006 – Wolong Nature Reserve

It’s wonderful to be back in the cool clean air, blue skies and vaulting green mountains of Wolong Nature Reserve – despite the four hour trek on mountain roads in the midst of enormous construction (long delays). Sparsely populated at 7,000 feet in the mountains Wolong village feels quite the opposite of most Chinese travel experiences - wilderness.

The reserve has always been famous for its giant pandas, but in the past year it has skyrocketed to super star status with tow events: a record 16 baby giant pandas born in late summer 2005 and in April 2006, the first release of a captive-born panda back into the wild. This, more than ever is THE place to see and photograph giant pandas in a wild (looking) setting. My trip here this June however was less about pandas and more about catching up with teachers and school children before they let out for the summer. We (GLOBIO) had done a biodiversity education workshop for teachers a bit over a year ago and it was time to see what they had used and evaluate our next steps. In most of these situation I use photography as purely a documentary tool to create photographs we can use in fundraising powerpoints and training, today was going to be different.

I can not over emphasize always being prepared to photograph when you are traveling – fresh memory cards, fully recharged batteries and of course the lenses you need to create. In the midst of our meeting with teachers, they asked if we would like to see the children dancing. The series of photos that follow were a wonderfully fortunate accident – the kind that often pops up when you travel off the beaten path. On this Friday, for a reason I’m still unclear, most of the children came to school in their traditional Tibetan and Chang dress (95% of the students are of these two ethnic minorities in Wolong). During a short break from class they were going to dance for exercise. A 14mm wide angle and an 80-200mm zoom created all the photos here.

A couple tips in photographing people performing is remember to get close – even kids dancing for exercise are performing – performers like their pictures taken – so don’t be shy. Also, if possible, photograph from different vantage points. In my case the kids were moving so I moved as well. One of the advantages I enjoy about working with two lenses of such extreme focal length is they force me to consider my photo opportunities from vastly different perspectives, physical position and interaction with my subjects.

Panda Photo Primer

Wolong offers photographers a unique opportunity to photograph giant pandas in a near wild looking setting. Virtually every photograph you see in calendars, magazines, and books come from the panda population living in Wolong Nature Reserve. The layout of the Center includes several open enclosures, virtually large and small chunks of forest surrounded by a wall. If pandas are your prime reason for coming here plan on staying 3-5 days. In that time you can guarantee overcast cool weather conditions best for panda activity and photography and you can guarantee a variety of feeding, climbing and playing opportunities to give you a nice balanced collection of images – not just sitting portraits.

Equipment: Lenses 80mm to 400mm will deliver the best results. From a flexibility standpoint I would suggest an 80-200 and 2x converter, or add a 300mm with 1.5x converter. Anything less than 80-100mm won’t give you much.
Best Time to Visit: May and June are great – the vegetation is bright spring green and creates beautiful lush settings. Best of all babies born the previous year are at the perfect cute toy panda stage (40-80 pounds). The other option is late fall (mid to late Oct) when the foliage in Wolong turns every imaginable hue of gold, rust, and red.
Time to Avoid: May holiday the last week of May and Golden Holiday the first week of October find 300 million Chinese out seeing their own country and the pandas of Wolong are extremely popular – my advice is to avoid China altogether during these periods – unless you love crowds beyond your imagination!
Weather: Prepare for light to medium rain any season you are in Wolong. The weather in the mountains is spectacular in any occasion, but moody. If the day is guaranteed sunny head high in the mountains with your driver and spend time photographing the spectacular scenery. If clouds are floating about, or the mist and drizzle are present (and they usually are) go for the Breeding Center and photograph pandas – overcast results in wonderful photos.
Language: Sichuan dialect of Mandarin Chinese is the lingua franca – few speak enough English to make things work so plan on visiting Wolong with an interpreter. If you do decide to try and speak, expect confusion but friendly welcoming smiles.
Logistics: Getting there - Wolong is located 4 hour drive from the city of Chengdu (12 million) the capital of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. Chengdu is a 2.5 flight from Beijing or Shanghai (about $400 round trip).
Transport from Chengdu hired a car and driver (you can not rent your own vehicle) is $100-120 one way or arrange it through your tour operator Not much when you consider the road conditions and local skill required to negotiate the trip. I have driven all over the world and trust me this is not worth a second thought at trying on your own – even if it were possible – Chinese driver operate using a mystical traditional horn blaring system of over-taking and near collisions only they fully comprehend. Note: pedestrians and bicycles have no right of way – even where it seems they should. (**There are limited and confusing local options to hire car and driver – save yourself a nightmare and wasted time – arrange this before you travel to Chengdu.)
Everything in Wolong is Chinese cash based, including the Wolong Hotel, the only truly western style accommodation available (western bathrooms). A single room is about $30 US/night.
Meals will run $3-5/person – and there are several wonderful local spots – but not much English, but your guide will help you enjoy wonderful fresh local food. There are several small shops that offer water, soda, juice and beer, along with assorted snacks and food items you can not define – have lots of small denomination (1-20) Yuan (Chinese currency) available. The Wolong Hotel doesn’t exchange foreign currency – again bring all your Yuan from outside.
Breeding Center Entrance Fee into the roughly $4/person/day. The hours are 8:30AM – 11:30AM and 2PM – 5:30PM The staff all go to lunch between 11:30-2Pm and the pandas all fade from view and nap – so take this opportunity to eat lunch – a restaurant is available in the Chinese style-hotel near the Center entrance.

June 25, 2006 – Chengdu City

Survived the roads and sadly left the beautiful Wolong mountains behind. I was wishing we could tie the clean air and cool weather to the bumper and drag it with us down into the Min River valley where summer is cooking Chengdu.

Back in Chengdu, the fastest growing city in the west – where the agricultural plains meet the mountains. With between 12-13 million people it is the heart of Sichuan Province. The city is a mix of old and a rapidly growing new. With a rich supply of hydro power – in turn the Chengdu region has become the new technology frontier for companies like Intel and other high techs. Over the next two days I’ll try and photograph some of Chengdu’s older cultural sights and activities to share with you.

June 27, 2006 - A Night at the Opera

It’s after 1AM in Chengdu and I'm just getting in. As hoped, I was able to squeeze in a night at the opera – Sichuan style – the following photos are from a wonderful, but lighting challenged evening at the Shu Feng Ya Yun Teahouse performance. For a mere 220 Yuan (about $28) you get a spectacular night of costumes and magical entertainment – and no limit to the photography – other than you need to stay in your seat. Most of these were 200mm with the ISO set at 800 – hand held with the 80-200mm 2.8 AF zoom… enjoy!

More on how I photographed this evening when I get some rest.

About This Adventure

For the next few weeks Gerry Ellis will be traveling in China launching the next phase of educational projects for GLOBIO. His travels will take him from the capitol of Beijing to the far southwestern hi-tech boom city of Chengdu, and into the mountains of the Wolong Nature Reserve. Its here that over the past three years Pro Photo Supply has been proud to support the educational and documentary work of GLOBIO. The organization has now been responsible for creating more in-depth work on giant pandas and red pandas than previous created by any other photographers and film-makers. Check back often over the next few weeks as Gerry shares this latest adventure into the heart of China.

The Adventures of Gerry Ellis - Part 1

2006-07-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Monday May 29, 2006: Across the Mountains of Bhutan

Just on sundown last night we arrived in the Bhutan capitol of Thimphu,the physical end point of our journey. Because of our purpose, establishing the new project area and meeting with teachers and candidate schools, most of the journey thus far has been very different than my first visit here in 1998.

A Primer to Photographing Bhutan

I suppose if I were to create a primer for a visitor to Bhutan, on the equipment and approach to photography, it would be begin with two camera bodies.
Mount each with a wide angle zoom and medium telephoto zoom. Every time you turn around you want to be wide (12-24) and telephoto (80-200) at the same time. Forget super telephotos unless you are planning to be here to photograph something specific such as plant species. And while wildlife is there, birds are wonderful and abundant, the wildlife is not photographable on a basic visit. Concentrate on people, architecture and landscapes.
Carry one meg cards and plenty of them - or download every night. I am carrying a 120 gig laptop for other purposes so storage isn't a great concern, but you will create more images than you imagine. So, be prepared.
Learn how to photograph with fill-flash!!! Interiors have limited lighting and people are often just inside doorways, inside weaving or cooking, be prepared to create in low light and have confident control of flash lighting. (I photograph in Aperture Priority, with the flash on rear-curtain, and drop the output to -2.0)
The people of Bhutan are very open to being photographed, and even on occasion invite it. In two villages yesterday I was asked if I wanted to take pictures, "It's okay," they would say with a smile and an inviting sweep of the hand. That's as rare in this world as the tigers in these forests!
A polarizing filter is very useful. Weather in most of Bhutan is similar to the Pacific NW of the USA, but everything is at altitude much above 5,000 feet, so glare and brightness can be moderated with the use of a polarizer.
Every hotel has consistent power, so recharging batteries and laptops is not an issue. You will need a round two-prong adapter, but buy it at one of the may shops in Thimphu on arrival. (By the way: most shops are open until about 7 PM and open up around 8:30-9 AM)

Yesterday for the first time on this journey I missed being here purely as a photographer; forests are one of my photographic soft-spots and the past two days climbing up and over mountain range after mountain range the lush broad-leaf forest, and mist and rain were extraordinarily beautiful. For such an incredibly small country with less than 800 thousand people both the landscape and the people share enormous diversity.

Thursday May 25, 2006: Morning in Guwahati

Sweat Sweat SWEAT! Only 7 AM and already the temp is over 90 and humidity feels twice that... incredible. I have traveled in a lot of tropical locales and this is starting to take the cake, a melting one!

Heading for Manas National Park this morning, one of the three key sites for the initial Save the Tiger campaign started in the 1970s when the world thought the tiger was nearly gone. They roam the park on both the Assam and Bhutan sides of the border, but we will probably not get deep enough into the park this trip to see them. Monkeys, elephants and hornbills, among other, are a good chance. We'll see?

Wednesday May 24, 2006 : Guwahati

I have always had a passion for off-the-beaten-track places, and Guwahati does not disappoint in that regard. Less than an hour flight from Calcutta it is a world away... lush, green, hilly, the activity center of Assam in northeast India. As someone said at dinner last night, "We are really the neighbors of Thai and those southeast Asia people more than our own India."

This afternoon after the spending the morning working with local teachers we passed through a riverside market along the Brahmaputra River. The heat of the day is not the best time for a market photo trip. But on the other hand, what was revealed was a hot, humid, sleepy, world of venders and spices.

Tuesday May 23, 2006 Morning in Calcutta (Kolkota)

The moon rode like a soft papaya colored sliver in the east, just over head of where the sun has now risen. That was only an hour ago and though it wasn’t, it seemed cooler. Its just on 5 AM and its already in the low 80s and rising humidity. Now the sun has replaced it in the same hue and already the heat can be felt filling the thick definition-less air. Black crows and Indian mynas swim through this humid air above the sounds of trucks and honking taxis... Calcutta is awake.

About The Adventure

This is the occasional blog by former wildlife and environmental photographer Gerry Ellis. He is traveling in the eastern India and Bhutan over the next two weeks to explore opportunities for developing new educational program in the area of Manas transborder national park. He will be sending us thoughts and photos as he has internet access along the journey. Starting in Calcutta he and the GLOBIO team will be flying northeast to the capitol of Assam state Guwahati, then by road north to Manas National Park in Assam, over the border in Bhutan to Royal Manas National Park, then continuing by road north to the Bhutanese capitol of Thimphu. The group has received rare permission to enter by vehicle and travel overland and should provide us with a wonderful glimpse of this lost mountain Shangri-la.