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By Mark Edward Harris | Photography By Terry Virts website at www.digitalphotopro.com Copyright © 2019 by Madavor Media, LLC.
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Editor’s Note
Be sure never to throw away this issue of Andrea Bruce, who has won her share documentary film this year for his film
Digital Photo Pro. In fact, although the of prominent awards, discusses how “Free Solo.” And while I know Alfred
theme of this issue is Photojournalism she’s using multimedia in a new way to Hitchcock created the movie “Vertigo,” I
and Travel Photography, we really should explore what democracy, community and believe you’ll actually experience vertigo
have called it the “Warning: Keep This citizenship mean today. And she includes when you check out Jimmy Chin’s pho-
Issue Forever” issue. Or perhaps the “Do some equally powerful photographs. tos of Alex Honnold’s ropeless ascent up
Not Lend…Even To A Friend” issue. But if that wasn’t enough, we take you El Capitan that he used for the movie.
Why? For starters, we’ve included to explore some unique travel images. They’re extraordinary travel and adven-
award-winning photojournalists Steve First, we think you’ll be fascinated by ture images that are one of a kind.
McCurry and Lynsey Addario, who’ve the images shot by astronaut Terry Virts So, after you read this issue, be sure
provided some exceptional images and during his missions on board the Space to keep it safe (and even hidden from
discuss various aspects of their careers Shuttle Endeavour in 2010, and 200- others), since I believe you’ll be return-
and recently published retrospective plus days on the International Space ing to it again and again.
anthologies. (You can see one of Addario’s Station in 2014 through 2015. Plus, we Enjoy your treasured issue!
extraordinary photographs on this page travel along with writer and photogra-
from her assignments covering conflicts pher Mark Edward Harris, who inter- — Terry Sullivan
in sub-Saharan Africa in the Darfur views photographer and director Jimmy Editor
region of Sudan.) Also, photojournalist Chin, who took home the Oscar for best editors@digitalphotopro.com
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44 TRAVEL PORTRAIT
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Follow these valuable tips when traveling abroad 44
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extended family.”
best-known single photo- André Kertész generally
graph almost never saw the used one or two lenses and
light of day: Bill Garrett, worked mostly in available
then the editor-in-chief of light. This simplicity, as
National Geographic, pulled it from a Steve McCurry: My sister is the per- well as the mastery of light and com-
pile of rejects after the story’s photo son who knows me the best. She has a position, helped contribute to create
editor had chosen an alternate image great eye and memory, so it was obvi- this timeless quality.
during his edit. ous she would be the only one capable I knew I wanted to spend my life
In A Life in Pictures, McCurry’s sis- of doing this huge, extensive work in traveling and exploring the world we
ter reminisces, “From the time he was gathering stories, going through my live in. Photography has a solitary ele-
a kid, Steve was never still, and he’s work and selecting pictures that have ment that I’m attracted by. You can
never been one to wait for things to never been seen before. It was also walk out your door and start shoot-
happen to him. I’ve heard it said that important to give some context to ing images. It seemed more spontane-
only amateurs wait for inspiration; situations I lived through, witnessed, ous than film. I thought it was more
professionals just get up every day with ephemera and texts, and could immediate. I liked wandering around
and get to work.” Now in his late 60s, be potentially an educational tool for with my camera and making pictures
Steve McCurry is still proving his sis- future generations. I believe she did an of things that interested me.
ter’s comment to be true and shows no amazing job.
signs of slowing down. What has drawn you to focus
McCurry’s fascination with daily You started out studying cin- so much of your photographic
life and the human condition contin- ema and, as your sister wrote efforts on Asia?
ues to be the driving force behind his in the book, the medium has There’s such depth of culture and
images, perhaps best summed up by had a major influence on the geography, and there’s so much vari-
the late, famed National Geographic development of your eye. ety. It’s truly a unique part of the
photo editor Bob Gilka: “McCur- You’ve cited Stanley Kubrick, world, and so often misunderstood.
ry’s success did not come from the for instance, as a major influ- When you think of a place like
bang-bang syndrome of the swash- ence. What made you adjust Afghanistan, and then next door you
buckling combat photographer. your focus to a life capturing have India, Nepal and Tibet…the
cultures go back thousands of years. people, who I’ve met and who have What is it about India that
The architecture, the language, the helped me while traveling the coun- also has been a major focus in
way people dress, everything is so try and who have become extended your career?
distinct and unique, unlike Europe family. I also captured images of child India is also fascinating because it is
or the United States, which has labor, young boys and girls working in so culturally rich, with a varied geog-
become this homogeneous globaliza- candy factories, images that still haunt raphy and strong social and cultural
tion of culture. me, and always wanted to make a disparities among its people. It was
Afghanistan has been one of the change regarding this situation. the first place I traveled to as a young
central and most important stories of photographer, and I was struck by the
my career. I have traveled there more And you have in part done unique variety of cultures, customs
than 30 times. that through your non- and religions. The mix of Hinduism,
One of my first photographs pub- profit organization. Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christi-
lished by The New York Times was I founded ImagineAsia with fam- anity—and to see how they all inter-
from my first visit to Afghanistan ily and friends a couple years ago to mingled—has been a constant source
when I traveled with the Mujahideen help young Afghans from the Bami- of fascination.
in 1979. When the Soviet Union’s Red yan region where the Hazara people I find the people to be some of the
Army invaded Afghanistan, it was live. We are providing textbooks most outgoing, warm and generous on
extremely difficult to get access to the and materials for schools to promote the planet. Celebration is abundant,
country. I was one of the few people education. We do drives to provide exuberant, dramatic and colorful.
who had a body of work from there. blankets and coats for the hard win- There is a vital spirit that is alive and
Since then, I have been following ters. We wanted to do something continuously connected to the ancient
the political situation that is evolv- very manageable where one could history of the country.
ing constantly. No matter how often I actually see the benefits directly to Above all, no matter how much it’s
return, this country always changes in the people. Afghanistan’s children changing, there’s something about
my absence through conflict, change represent the country’s hopes for a India that makes you feel like you’re
of regime, modernization. I feel a real better future, and education is the stepping back into another time
personal relationship with the Afghan only key to that future. and age. In terms of specific places,
Scotland, 2016
I actually looked out the window are entering a very different I think if you’re doing something you
and could see the World Trade Cen- world from when you started. care about, then it’s time well spent.
ter on fire. Immediately, I grabbed Any suggestions for those You only live once, so you want to
my camera bag and raced up to the making their early forays into have a taste of all the different fac-
roof of my building. I photographed the field? ets of the planet we live on. It is also
both towers collapsing from important to be prepared, to
there. We were all completely work with good people—fix-
devastated, but you have to keep ers, translators or guides. They
control of yourself so that you “Stay focused, be are a key to successful projects.
can function…dial your emo- If you don’t speak the local
tions back so that you can put engaged and language, you can run into
one foot in front of the other. problems. If you don’t know
Then, I went down to do photograph things in the customs, you need someone
what I always do, to photo- to help. I have always traveled
graph. I arrived at Ground the world that with translators. Most impor-
fascinate you.”
Zero at around 11 a.m. It was tantly, I think if you’re doing
difficult to make my way there something you care about, then
as all the roads were blocked it’s time well spent. DPP
by police and firefighters, but I
knew it was important to document For more on Steve McCurry’s book and
the horrific event. You need patience and discipline. Stay work, go to stevemccurry.com. To learn
focused, be engaged and photograph more about the nonprofit organization
Photographers starting off now things in the world that fascinate you. ImagineAsia, go to imagine-asia.net.
Finding Surprising Images From The Past perfectly with the text. It described what sensitive photographer who can accu-
Addario notes in the book that she has I was feeling, and so we were able to get rately convey a situation. I have to
captured perhaps millions of photos in it in.” understand what's going on. I have to
her lifetime, starting as a photojournal- really have a good sense of the subject
ist 23 years ago. What’s interesting to Connecting With Subjects and sort of what they're feeling and
note, though, is that during that time, One common element in most of what they're trying to say. So for me,
photography itself went from a film- Addario’s photos is her ability to have it's really about communicating.”
based system to a digital-based one. For subjects agree to be photographed. Some Yet in a book comprising war photos,
Addario, that has meant she had some of them have endured unimaginable one thing puzzled me: I asked Addario
older projects in an analog format and traumas, such as the parents of soldiers why she chose to include the word
needed them to be digitized. To help killed in battle or victims who have suf- “Love” in the title Of Love & War.
out, she hired an archivist. fered rape in war. To do so, Addario says “It could mean many different
“When I started doing the book,” it has meant she has had to form strong things for me,” says Addario. “People
Addario says, “I had a room full of nega- relationships with them, and they have always associate war with the most
tives from when I first started shooting had to build a sense of trust together… horrific things, because, of course, it
from the ’90s.” Addario says her archivist which in some cases may mean deciding brings out the worst in humanity. But
was scanning all of her negatives, many not to photograph them. it also brings out the best in many. I
of which the photographer had forgot- But building relationships is cen- see generosity, I see kindness, I see
ten about. But just as Addario and her tral to her work. “For me, photog- love and inspiration.
team were closing the book, the archivist raphy is all about connecting with “I also sort of fall in love with the
sent in a scanned image of men standing my subjects,” says Addario. “And so people I photograph. I think that in
outside the governor’s house in Afghani- I think for me, it's really important these relationships, they have opened
stan after the fall of the Taliban. “She to have those relationships that you themselves up, and I open myself up…
sent me this panoramic, and I thought, establish that have some sort of con- So there are many reasons for including
‘Oh my God, I have to include it.’ It went nection. Otherwise, how would I be a ‘love’ in the title.” DPP
digitalphotopro.com/newsletter
Capturing Images
From An Unusual Perspective
The "travel" photographs Terry Virts creates were produced by having
access to a unique vantage point on the International Space Station
By Mark Edward Harris | Photography by Terry Virts
getting funneled through the mag- Can you see manmade struc- What final thoughts do you
netic field down into our atmosphere. tures such as China’s Great Wall? have on this project?
At higher levels, those auroras are also You can’t see the Great Wall because The main thing about photography is
white/red streaks. I never realized there of pollution. The only form that really that it’s the artistic side of space flight,
were different colors there. stuck out during the day was Buenos and it’s the way to capture spaceflight for
Here’s something else I discovered: As Aires and Montevideo on a bay on the people on Earth.
you go around the Earth, during the day east coast of South America. When I went to the Air and Space
you see a thin blue line, which is our atmo- At nighttime, you see city lights. Museum for the grand opening of
sphere. But at night, it’s about five times as One of the profound things that I “A Beautiful Planet,” the director
thick and brown, with a little green line at never realized until I thought about it there told me that a million people
the top. It turns out the atmosphere goes is that when you see those city lights, were going to see that movie. They’ll
up really high, like a hundred miles, but it you’re not seeing population, you’re be showing it for years.
becomes really thin. However, during the seeing wealth. So, in my mind, it was the most
day, you can’t see it. important and useful thing I did
Where did you see the because so many people will get to
How many miles above Earth most wealth? see it. The technical stuff is great,
were you and how do you Western Europe, the East Coast of but I think the human element
stay in orbit after turning the America, East Asia from Thailand is most important. Photography
engines off? through Japan. There’s a lot of eco- was my vehicle to share the story
Mr. Isaac Newton! Once you’re moving, nomic activity going on down there. with folks. DPP
unless something pushes on you, your I think the most profound picture
motion is not going to change. There’s I took from space was of North and For more on Terry Virts’ work, visit his
such a small amount of air, it barely South Korea at night. Some people website at terryvirts.com, his Twitter feed
impacts anything. We just floated in our live in the light. Some people live in at @astroterry, Instagram at astro_terry
orbit roughly 250 miles above Earth. the dark. and Facebook account astrovirts.
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Travel Portrait
Techniques Text & Photography By Brian Matiash
Follow these valuable tips when traveling abroad
I 'll just come out and say it: I love to forward to, not because of the images I’ll
travel with photography as my primary get so much as the cultural enrichment
agenda. Everything from the decision- that I experience. I am, of course, refer-
making process of where to visit to ring to travel portraiture trips.
deciding which gear to pack to those jit- Much like traveling with landscape
ters I feel the night before I depart, it all photography purposes in mind, travel
culminates in an experience that always portraiture trips come with their own
enriches my life and my creative vision. expectations and practices, and it’s best
Naturally, not all travel photography not to conflate the two together because
trips are created equal. In some cases, they can often be worlds apart.
I’m heading to a location specifically I’ve put together a series of techniques
for the natural landscapes. In those based on cultural and humanitarian trips
instances, everything from the gear I I’ve made to various areas to help you get
One of my favorite things about travel pack to how I manage my expectations is the most out of such a trip, should you
portraiture trips is that I can focus my energy
set with landscape photography in mind. plan on taking one. For every trip that
and time on diving into how people and their
culture make a certain place unique.
However, there’s another type of travel I’ve approached with the proper research
photography trip that I thoroughly look and expectations already set, I’ve always
returned feeling like I’ve gained some For example, when I was researching Because I was prepared for some
truly wonderful life experiences. the cultures and societal norms in prepa- resistance to taking photos while
ration for a two-week trip throughout visiting Morocco, I altered my approach
and utilized a variety of compositional
Learn About And Respect Morocco, I read several journals and
hacks to get some unique photos.
The Local Culture spoke to other photographers who had
While you may technically be consid- been to the country. While most of what
ered a tourist whenever you visit a for- I learned made me very excited, I also taking more traditional head-on shots, I
eign country, there’s no reason to “act discovered that many local denizens looked for ways to use distance and alter-
like one.” What I mean by that is, you don’t take too kindly to having their pic- native angles to compose my photos.
can always tell when someone is act- tures taken. While I certainly didn’t take
ing like a tourist when they go about that as a blanket statement, I did file it in Challenge Yourself To Create
treating everyone and everything as if the back of my head, just in case. A Cohesive Photo Study
they were still in their home country. And, sure enough, I did experience The reality is that there’s a vast amount
Social, gender, religious and political more resistance and negative responses of cultural nuance to find just about
norms can vary dramatically depend- to my camera than I had in any other anywhere you go, but you can quickly
ing on where you visit. So it helps to country before. Had I not done my become overwhelmed since some geo-
do some research before departing. research first, I may have been put off graphic regions might offer so many sub-
Fortunately, there are plenty of help- by this. However, because I went in with jects to shoot. It can turn into a daunting
ful resources shared by intrepid trav- this knowledge, I was able to adjust how task instead of a creative endeavor.
elers to help you avoid making any I approached my shooting time in the That’s why I’m such a fan of identify-
faux pas. country. Rather than concentrating on ing and building out photo studies on
Colorado-based climber, mountaineer, skier and Chin is no stranger to acrophobic cinematographic efforts in 2003
photographer Jimmy Chin can now add experiences, having done everything under the mentorship of Rick Ridge-
the title “Academy Award-winning from climbing and skiing Mt. Ever- way, it resulted in the National Geo-
film director” to his already-presti- est from the summit to making first graphic special “Deadly Fashion,”
gious resume and ever-growing list ascents on big walls and staggering which revealed how Chin has often
of accomplishments. mountain towers in the Karakoram played double roles—shooting stills or
That’s because when Chin, along with Mountains of Pakistan and the Gar- video or both to document high alti-
his wife, co-director/producer Elizabeth hwal Himalayas of Northern India. tude expeditions.
Chai Vasarhelyi, and an elite high-angle Chin will be the first to acknowledge Yet, as Chin and his team moved
team descended into Yosemite Val- that Honnold’s achievement—of scal- into position on June 3, 2017, to record
ley, they were ready to document Alex ing “El Cap” without a rope—puts Honnold’s free solo 2,900-foot climb
Honnold’s ropeless attempt to scale El him in a different class. up El Capitan, it was clear from the
Capitan in the National Geographic film But in terms of filmmaking, Chin start that this project would undoubt-
“Free Solo,” which won this year’s Oscar is remarkable in his own right. edly present a host of new challenges
for Best Documentary Feature. For instance, when he began his for all of them.
Did the National Geographic agendas. I literally had a camera for you want to shoot.
magazine shoot come first? stills bolted to my cinema camera. You It was a major juggling act. We spent
The movie came first, and then have to make a lot of hard decisions. 35 to 40 days on El Cap filming while
National Geographic magazine said, Try to imagine shooting a movie and he was practicing.
“Well, we would love for you to also stills simultaneously, and you’re trying
shoot a photo assignment.” to pick up a vérité scene that’s really On the day he decided to “go
critical to the narrative of the film, yet for it,” where did you position
How were you able to do both? it’s an amazing photo and you’ve now the cameras?
It’s very difficult. They have different positioned your own DP in the position We had two long-lensed Canon EOS
An interesting and significant by-prod- non-computer devices like tablets but to person—you—needs to know more
uct of the digital revolution is that edit 4K video on our mobile phones. about all aspects of the production.
most of the gear used today to create Yes, although the digital revolution has
television and film is now significantly given us these benefits, there’s a down- What Is An OMB Approach?
lighter, smaller, less expensive and side. Budgets. That’s right. If you were in The “one-man band” approach to video
higher-quality than anyone could video production in the 1980s, ’90s and production is a phenomenon that has
have imagined 15 or 20 years ago. early 2000s, it cost significantly more for grown side-by-side with the advent of
Many of us are using cameras that, clients to produce programming at any new smaller, lighter and simpler-to-
for a little over $1,000, can shoot in level. Gear was expensive, and the skills to use gear.
high-quality 4:2:2 10-bit 4K-resolution use it professionally were rarer than they A decade ago, a small documentary
formats that would have been unimagi- are today. The advent of web video has or corporate shoot would typically
nable just a few years ago. Heavy, heat- changed who creates video today. Even have a cameraperson, sound mixer and
generating Tungsten lighting instru- as little as a decade ago, the expense and perhaps a PA or a gaffer as well as a
ments have been replaced with much complexity of pro video gear meant that producer/director/interviewer.
smaller, cooler, more flexible and versa- it simply took more skilled labor to create A crew of three to five people was
tile LED instruments. It’s now possible video and cinema. considered a small, minimal crew. In
to easily and effectively edit not only on What that all means is that one 2019, a small crew is often just you.
Video and film are definitely a collab-
orative medium and were designed to
This shoot pushed the limits of how much gear I could set up and manage solo. be shot with a crew, with each position
filled by a person whose job it was to
light a scene, shoot it with a camera
and record the sound. But the real-
ity is, today that paradigm is shifting
from working in a group to work-
ing solo.
Personally, I most enjoy working
with a small crew of between five and
10 people. Such a group gives me the
benefits of being able to concentrate on
doing just one job really well (directing,
cinematography and interviewing are
what I like doing most), while leaving
the lugging of gear, setting it all up,
setting lights, recording sound, hair,
makeup, props, wardrobe and produc-
tion design to my crew.
Others I know in the field prefer
working on an even larger crew of 50
Working Efficiently
If you’re going to shoot solo, you’d be amazed at how
much time you can waste on location. It’s important
to learn to set up things first at home or in your office.
For instance, my main video camera can pack down
to a very small and light package in a camera back-
pack. The downside of this is that to build the camera
back up to a fully configured build takes me about 20
to 25 minutes, depending on the setup.
It’s obvious that when I’m OMB shooting, I need to
pre-build my camera and carry it into the job fully set up.
It can be difficult to set up lighting and carry the
light, stand and diffusor in when working alone.
But I’ve arrived at locations a few minutes early
and pre-built my key source outside and carried it
into the location, plugged it in and at least my key
was set to go.
Every situation is different, but here’s the takeaway:
Think about the gear you’ll need to use to accomplish
the goal and make sure that all of it is as accessible
and pre-assembled as possible. Setting up cameras,
plugging in mics, formatting media—none of that’s
creative. It’s all mechanical tedium. So do as much of
that beforehand as you can so you can spend the little
time you have being creative with lighting, art direc-
tion, backgrounds, troubleshooting audio issues, etc.
®
Audio Assist:
Boom Pole Tips, Tricks
And Techniques
By Daniel Brockett
Two models, by Terry Sullivan. I shot this image with Sony’s FE 100mm F2.8 STF OSS G
lens, which includes a special lens element to help produce a softer background bokeh.
YOUR PHOTO IN
A GALLERY FRAME
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