After just about all the Photo Safaris are complete, I publish a list of Lessons Learned so you might learn from my mistakes. Here are the things worth remembering when you head out into the world on your own photographic Safari.
- Bring your computer glasses. Thumbnail photos on the Chromebook are not truly thumbnails but more pinky fingernail size. They are really tough to see and they only show the middle of the photograph. Yes, the computer glasses and the back-up glasses do take up some room, but if your stock and trade is vision, you should have the right glasses for each application. Oh, and remember just having a packing list does not insure you will actually get the items on your list into the suitcase.
- Practice your computer skills. Make sure your chromebook is in great shape. While I was practicing, my display died. Learning the display was non-function BEFORE I left was the reason I started practicing. Not having a computer on a photo safari would have been a throw back to the days of analog photography's "wait and see what develops" when you get home. Luckily, I was able to borrow a chromebook to use on safari. It was not the same as my chromebook, but it was functional. Although, I have to admit the whole Google account and cloud based services were really useful in this case.
- Computer software changes annually. I have taken computers with me on at least eight photo safaris. Not once have I used the same software and methodology two years in a row. The Software continues to improve. This year I can do exactly what I want to do with LightRoom for the chromebook. Not as good as the desktop version, but very, very nice if all you are going to do is post images to your blog.
- With all this, I have to relearn how to process photos for this trip. The learning starts with how to get the images off the SD card and into the computer. Having a ton of adapter cables is a big help.
- The wonderfulness of adobe products depend on a fast internet connection and computer processor. If I was doing this in a big city with a great internet, I could be really effective. But where I photograph, there is not a lot of good internet service. It’s a struggle to get anything done with adobe software on low capacity internet connections.
- So, everything I said before about Adobe is rendered moot. After day 4 it turns out I can get by with using the photo editors included in the Chrome operating system because all I want to do is post photos to my blog.
- “It’s so surprising when something works well.” -Brooks Jensen on the travails of transmitting a podcast to his office.
- Cup O’Noodles still suck and nostalgia is overrated. Good food on the road (even if for snacks) is not a luxury.
- Each photo safari will contain something you bring along by accident and turns out to be the best thing since sliced bread (really cold weather clothing) and something you think is absolutely necessary that is never used (travel tripod and water bottle attachment for LowePro bag).
- Always leave town in the morning with a full tank of gas. It’s a long way between towns and they still have “60 miles to next gas” signs on country roads. A full tank of gas is a great security blanket. Running out of gas in a spot where you have “zero bars” is not a good thing.
The photograph above is just about the last subject we photographed on this year's safari. I guess I could wax poetic about how I remembered the luminance of the moon and guessed at the exposure and lens selection and all that, but you know, I'm not Ansel Adams and this is not Hernandez, New Mexico. It's south of Spokane and we just pulled off the interstate, rolled down the windows and let my Panasonic G85 do the rest. Turned out pretty good, I'd say.
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