19 May 2013

On Photo Safari: Google Glasses on Safari?

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I don’t think the bush will be one of the places where Google glasses will be banned, but what can they add to your safari experience? Imagine you are on a photographic safari, wildlife photography course or team building photographic safari with your entire camera equipment and Goggle glasses. Or will you leave your camera equipment at home? Better not, because the glasses need Internet to really serve the purpose of sharing what you see. And how are you photographing with your DSLR when wearing the glasses? Will you get confused by what the glasses are constantly telling you or will they be a useful tool?

I don’t know. Maybe one day we will watch real time wildlife documentaries from people on a game drive in the Masai Mara, broadcasting real time through their YouTube channel. I don’t know how we will cope with this ever-increasing stream of date and what about the quality?

Well, lets see what the future brings, but I will definitely stick to my camera, just for the love of photography.

Happy snapping changing times!


Ute Sonnenberg for
www.rohoyachui.com

Does Adobe Think of Wildlife Phhotographers?

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Adobe has recently announced that from CS7 its software will only be available as cloud service. This is not only a financial issue, but also and access issue.

As a wildlife photographer,
photographic safari guest, wildlife photography course attendee or team building photographic safari delegate you will have a big problem with Adobe software, because you are in the bush.

Although most of the lodges and camps have Internet access nowadays, the bandwidth and speed are to poor for the purpose of using Adobe creative cloud. Imagine editing an image in the cloud with a common satellite connection and ten other people want to do that at the same time. This does not work. Even checking emails will take forever in such a situation; don’t even think of image editing.

The conclusion can only be that Adobe did not think of anybody outside areas with high technology infrastructure standard, but there are huge regions in the world (even in cities) where photographers will not be able to use the cloud service, just because of the poor Internet connection. And then? I don’t know, but I hope there will be a solution to have CS on the computer or some magical improvement of Internet, but anyhow, there needs to be one.

Happy snapping and enjoying photography!


Ute Sonnenberg for
www.rohoyachui.com

Where is Your Camera Right Now.

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Never thought about it? But what will you do when you suddenly see something fabulous or breathtakingly beautiful? Searching your bag or pockets for the cell phone and missing the great moment?

These questions might sound silly for our daily journey to work and back, but they are not. On
photographic safari, wildlife photography courses and team building photographic safari guests learn that you should always be ready to shoot and often they learn it the hard way. When returning to the lodge or camp from an evening game drive it is very tempting to pack your camera in your bag, because you can see already the lights of the camp, but suddenly there is a porcupine on the road and you have no camera ready. This is the moment you will remember forever, because you were desperate to see a porcupine and now its gone and you have no photo.

This is just the same with our travel to work every day or other situations we experience as ordinary and not worth to have a camera at hand. But what about the sunrise that suddenly paints the city purple or the great light in the park?

So, where is your camera? You got the point and just remember, a great photographic moment can appear anywhere, any time.

Happy snapping!


Ute Sonnenberg for
www.rohoyachui.com

How to Choose Your Photographic Safari

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The first step to choose a photographic safari, wildlife photography course or team building photographic safari is probably to go to the Internet and search on Google for the destinations we have in mind. A whole flood of possibilities evolves and now we have to choose from this overwhelming amount of offers.

Automatically we have a look at the top search results and often we just go with them. But there is a lot to be considered when choosing a photographic safari. One main factor is the budget available for the trip, but be also conscious of the quality and what determines the quality of a safari.

If you want the real safari feeling you should not book a lodge that feels like a hotel. Choose a tented camp and there are great simple camps that offer just all you need for a reasonable price. Make sure you will have the game drives in 4x4 safari vehicles and a professional trained guide as the driver. Choose A-locations to avoid disappointment with the sightings. If you are determent to see leopards, go to places where you have the highest chance to see them, not to places where they are rarely seen.

And last but not least trust your feeling. Your intuition will not let you down and help you finding the right safari from all the offers available and probably all the information you get from all sorts of resources. Somehow you will just know what to do and it will be the right choice for your safari.

Happy traveling!


Ute Sonnenberg for
www.rohoyachui.com

Can You Leave Office Behind?

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It is a common sight in our cities to see people walking with their heads down, scrolling through emails, social media or having a phone call and doing all together. But how is it on holiday and especially on photographic safaris or during wildlife photography courses? Well, it depends.

A few years ago, going on a
photographic safari was a great excuse for not answering phone calls and not accessing emails, because there was no Internet in the bush. But the pressure of the offices made its way also into the bush. Guests could only travel to places where they have email access and cell phone signal, so the lodges nowadays are equipped with satellite Internet connections and cell phone signal. But at least on the game drives there is mostly still an oasis of Internet free space, what keeps the office out.

But in essence its us, having the feeling that we cannot be without the emails and phone calls, like something terrible would happen, if we would not respond immediately. Especially during
team building photographic safaris it is hard for the delegates to switch off. They are there with their colleagues and of course conversations are going about work, but at least the photography and the wildlife distract for several hours a day and create a real break from the office, also if there is Internet. Nature and photography are stronger than emails and probably more inspiring.

Enjoy your photography office breaks.

Happy snapping!


Ute Sonnenberg for
www.rohoyachui.com

Do You Feel Like Richard Avedon?

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Richard Avedon, one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century and worldwide known for his provocative fashion photography and minimalistic portraits said this:

“And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.”

Does that sound familiar to you or has photography not quite such a place in your life or are you just not conscious about it? Isn’t photography not what we do constantly without even noticing anymore? Often heard comments and thoughts of guests on
photographic safari, team building photographic safaris or during wildlife photography courses are resolutions to do more photography when they are back home, to buy new equipment, to follow courses or even to start reading the manual. But just as often not much happens when they are back home. The daily challenges get hold of them and reading the manual of the camera is the last thing they want to do, but does photography need resolutions?

Don’t make it to heavy, sounding like work. Photography is light and fun and you learn the most by doing it. So just remember you have a cell phone, that enables you to shoot away wherever you are and photography becomes part of your daily life like weaking up in the morning.

Happy snapping!


Ute Sonnenberg for
www.rohoyachui.com