Emerald Bay Photography News and Updates

Another image from my Vienna file - Hofreitschule (Royal Riding School):



The interesting thing about this image is not necessarily the fact that these stunning and famous Lippizaner Stallions are being worked in what must be the world's most lavish riding hall - but how difficult it was to actually *obtain* the image.

Because you see - the facility has a strict no-photo policy. And by "strict" those Austrians really mean *strict* (the word "Nazi" creeps to mind, but I won't go there...). During the entire workout presentation, they had guards with sinister faces circulating among the crowd, yelling at you if they even sensed you were thinking about using that camera that hung around your neck. They even threatened to kick you out of the building altogether if they caught you in the act.

They claimed that the flashes of (those mostly all-automatic consumer) cameras made the horses nervous and irritable - and while I actually don't dispute that, they could have just had a no-flash policy instead of a no-photo policy. (The fact that the adjoining gift store was loaded with pretty postcards and picture books of the building and the horses probably had absolutely nothing to do with their policy either ...). After all, my 10D took a perfectly good image without flash and an almost silent shutter...

Astonishingly (and this explains the very presence of the guards), at almost any given moment during the entire 2-hour presentation, you could hear the faint clicks of shutters - mixed in with the blasting tune of Mozart's music - and see the flashes. At this point, I have to sheepishly admit to ganging up with my travel companions in keeping one eye on the guards, while we took turns sneaking our cameras out of the bag, taking a shot, and then instantly dropping it back into the bag or under the shirt.

Why? Because you see - we humans are weak. The breathtaking beauty of the hall, combined with those stunning horses doing flabbergasting things we never thought a horse could do (except in Disney movies), is simply too much for the mere mortal tourist with his camera - it simply has to be recorded. For all eternity. And of course for your friends at home to see. We are even willing to take the risk of a confrontation with one of the meanest guards anywhere just to satisfy one of our most basic urges: the irresistible need to click away.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Yes, I suffer the fate of every freelance photographer - trying to balance work life (shooting assignments, stock, and charity gigs) with the fun life (stuff I really want to shoot, but never have the time to).

For almost 9 months now, a file has been simmering away on my hard drive. It's been whispering to me "Open me! Work on me!", but I've been ignoring it, opting to focus on the work life. Lately however, that file's call has been getting louder, and I've decided to harness a few minutes every day to work on and post its pictures.

They are from my trip to Europe last September. The old world is so rich on eyecandy, so overwhelming - that you come back, your visual cortex brimming and singing with imagery. It takes a while to digest them, and the same went for that file. But I think I'm ready now.

So here's the first of what I hope will be a daily installment of fresh images from that file:



Prater, Vienna - Funride, blurred. Handshot @ F 6.7, 1/4 sec.

Vienna is famous for many things. But one of the only ones you should go to at night is the Prater - that's when the one of the oldest amusement parks in the world really comes alive. With almost 150 rides and a huge Ferris Wheel, it's an exhilirating experience, both visual and tactile.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Just happened upon this random image today and thought I'd post it:


Statue of a couple embracing, Schoenbrunn Castle, Vienna, Austria

Notably in this image is how damaging the environmental effects of chafing rain, triggered by the immense industrial and vehicle exhaust in Europe, are to the ancient and delicate outdoor artwork sprinkled all over the Old World.

This marble statue must have been gleaming white only half a century ago. Now, the black streaks tell of poisened rain and upclose, one can see the brittle surface slowly eroding away.

What a shame.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

If I ever assumed that time could stand still somewhere, I would have thought it could be Mexico, especially Southern Mexico. With its slow lifestyle and vibrant Mayan culture, reaching back many centuries, to me, time always felt like molasses down there, trickling by at a decreased pace, turning minutes into hours and hours into afternoons.

Judging from a travel report by my friend Paulie though (who has just returned from a 4-week trip to Guatemala and Southern Mexico), times indeed have changed now.

The next day we went to the ruins outside of Palenque. Tons of people. At least outside the entrance. We never went inside. I got into a pretty serious argument with the guard at the entrance. They wanted me to pay $300 US for the privilege of being allowed to bring my tripod into the compound containing the ruins. Needless to say, this was not in my travel budget. It seems that regardless of who you are or what kind of still camera you have, it's the tripod that means you are going to make big bucks. They also had a $250 daily fee for any video camera.

What? 300 bucks to bring your tripod into the ruin compound at Palenque? Since when?



My idyllic picture of this area has been utterly crushed. In April of 1994, when I travelled through Palenque, the ruins were pretty much devoid of tourists. Sure there were a few stragglers, but that was it. I faintly remember paying a small fee to gain entrance to the park, but certainly no outlandish charge for bringing in *a tripod*.

Mexico has lost its mind.

Labels: photographer advocacy, photography, travel, travel photographer

Before I took off on my trip to Europe in September, I contemplated all the gear I'd need to take with me: camera, lenses, batteries, extra CF cards, write-able CDs for backup, filters, hoods, remote release, bags with wheels, small carry bag for day trips - but would I need a tripod? I mean - really? How many times would I shoot in situations where I'd truly need a tripod? Would the added weight and bulk be truly justified?

Now, I have to add that over the years, I've developed a rather steady hand. I've learnt to brace myself whenever possible, and use all kinds of locally available objects like tables, chairs, ledges, rocks etc. to steady myself or the camera. So when I bought a new tripod earlier this year, I went for an ultra-sturdy Bogen-Manfrotto - something that would be suitable for the architectural photography I mostly do. Ultra-sturdy however also means ultra-heavy and ultra-bulky. So that tripod was 100% out for travel.

I yearned for a small, ultra-light, carbon-fiber Gitzo - but the high cost of one of those puppies quite honestly scared me off. So - a monopod maybe? Nah. Too weird. Besides I doubt their true usefulness.

So I went to Europe, travelling light (as I like it) and without a tripod. Mostly, the weather was such that I could shoot at ISO 200 or 400 and get a sharp picture.
But indeed there were a few instances where I wished I had a tripod.

One of them was a fun-filled evening at the pool hall with my old friend Tom. Being as it is that we've known eachother for 15 years and he's been my pool teacher for equally as long, we never let an opportunity pass to play a game, whenever and whereever in the world we can manage to meet up. That evening however, I'd brought my camera with me for the first time.

After a few warm-up games, we decided to see if we could photographically capture the path of a billiard ball on the table as it travels into a pocket. We experimented with various settings, but it turned out, that the path only starts really showing up around a half-second exposure. Of course that's way too long to hold steady, so I mostly braced myself - but still, I didn't come back with one tack-sharp photograph. What's below is as good as it gets:





Moral of the story? Never travel without a tripod. Not even if you don't think you'll need one. Ever. Because there's only one certainty - that you will come across a situation when you'll see the shot of a life time, and you'll be stuck having to shoot handheld.

Now where did I leave that info about the Gitzo again?

Labels: photography, photography gear, travel, travel photographer

As a kid, I spent many Sunday mornings staring at the beautiful colored-glass windows and the lofty rib vaulting of the ancient Roman Catholic church in the small town in Switzerland where I grew up.

Never mind that I wasn't a catholic. But I volunteered to go to church with my catholic friends, just so that I could sit and examine the tall gothic windows, detailed painted ceilings, and intricate wooden carvings at my leisure during mass. My protestant parents didn't mind.

And it was here that I fell in love with architecture, probably without even fully realizing it. To this day, I relish the quiet, almost magical quality of a church - the creaking of those old wooden benches, the hushed voices, the distinct smell of old, musty stone.

There's also something awe-inspiring and symbolic about the art and architecture of a church, especially an ancient European one. But I've learnt to appreciate a religious painting or sculpture for the pure artistic value of it, without letting its subject matter affect me.

So on my recent trip to Vienna I stopped off at one of the city's most commanding sights - the St. Stephan's Cathedral. The weather was dull and grey outside, so the church's interior seemed darker and gloomier than I'm sure it would have been usually.

Yet when a sudden sun burst briefly lit up the windows, the effect was wonderous:

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, Editorial Photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Here's another snippet from the European travel files, as they trickle in...

The Emperor's Crypt in Vienna is truly a place of beauty as much as it is of death. The bronze coffins from the 16th and 17th century are enduring artistic masterpieces from their time, never mind their morbid suject matter. Lavishly encrusted with symbols of death and religion, they hold the remains of the 146 proud kings, queens, and noblemen that once ruled the extended Austrian kingdom. The last one was buried there in 1990.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

I *was* going to save this image for Halloween - but as I browsed through the new pictures from my Europe trip, I found this one really struck me. So I figured, what the heck...


Crowned skull figure at corner of 16th Century crypt, Emperor's Crypt, Kapuziner Church, Vienna, Austria

I'll try and post at least one pic a day as I make my way through the approx. 1000 images, so please hang in there with me.

Labels: editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

I'm leaving for Europe - or more precisely Switzerland and Austria - tomorrow morning. I will try and post random updates whenever I get access to a computer over there - but I'm not making any promises.

It will be a whirlwind visit of friends, relatives, a wedding and a 3-day trip to Vienna - so the only thing that's guaranteed is a lot of cool eye-candy, given it doesn't rain non-stop while I'm over there.

In the meantime, here's a look at one of my home town Basel's most prominent buildings - the Rathaus (seat of the city counsil):

Labels: photography, travel, travel photographer