Exploring Our Planet with Roger "Mzungu" Moore

Adventure photography means more to me than just tracking the beautiful big cats in the African bush, or sloshing through the rainforest of the Amazon in Brazil, or wading waist-deep in the crystal clear salmon rivers of SuperNatural British Columbia to make that perfect image of the bears in the salmon run.   In all of my photo safaris, human culture is incredibly important to me and I try to discover the essential elements that make each culture unique and special.    This means photographing people in their natural environment, doing the things they normally do.

In order to do this, you must minimize your personal impact upon the ongoing activities of the moment — minimize the disturbance or disruption that your presence causes in the situation.  That is where the Clandestine Hip Shot enters the picture.   This is the photographic technique I use when I want to make an unposed, spontaneous photograph with a minimum of disruption in the environment.   In fact, this is one of the primary reasons I designed Mzungu’s Quick Draw Camera Strap.

For example, the dramatic image, above, is of a man in Morocco.   He and I had a chance interaction as we passed one another in one of the crowded, chaotic pathways in the Medina of Marrakesh.    The photograph had to be made instantly.   No opportunity, in the seething mass of human motion for me to stop, set my monopod, compose and make the image.   Fast action was required … right from the hip.   No time to even raise the camera to my eyes.   My camera was set.   I was ready as I walked.   The photo opportunities appear and disappear before your eyes in an instant.    Below is the image as made by the camera (and as those of you who have studied with me know — I never let the camera have the last word).

The essence of this image — the emotion of this image — the visual impact of this brief encounter to me was the drama and mystery of the high-contrast light and shadow on this man’s face.   I knew the instant I made the image that final image would be the drama of his face.

Here is another example, also from Marrakesh, but deeper into the labyrinth of tiny serpentine pathways of the Souk.   In here, people are almost shoulder-to-shoulder.   There is often pushing, shoving, bumping, and seldom ever a clean, clear opportunity to make a well composed image.

What captured my eye was the captivatingly interesting face of the vendor, but also his continuous use of the Worry Beads in his left hand.    He seemed to be a man at peace amid the human chaos of this Souk.   Notice also the limited space to make a photograph … and absolutely no time whatsoever to set up, look through a camera, compose and make a photograph.  He and I made eye contact in a instant.  I made the photograph.   We nodded and smiled to each other.   He knew I was making a photograph and he assented, perhaps to some extent, because I was able to make his photo without disrupting his comfort and peace.

Notice the distracting clutter of the colorful bowls on the right.   And on the left side of the image, the men’s bodies standing in front of him.  The background (which those of you who have studied with me know that I believe is the single most important part of a fine photograph) near his body was perfect because it seemed to me to set the tone and context of the scene.  Here is the final image as I envisioned it at the time — the man, the mood, the moment.

When I am in such circumstances that I will be employing the technique of the Clandestine Hip Shot, I prepare myself and my camera in advance, in the following way:

1.     My lens selection is a wider angle lens knowing that all I need to do is capture the whole scene because I will be cropping the image during processing.   This where Size Matters!   Cameras that produce small files may limit your ability to produce large prints.   My Canon 5D Mark II with its 22 mpx file size allows me great freedom in cropping and still have a file large enough to make big prints … especially with the use of Genuine Fractals to do the upsampling.

2.     My distance on my lens is pre-set, and I turn off the auto focus feature.   I want no delays in the instant that I need to make the photograph — any delay caused by a searching auto focus system can cause me to lose the moment and thus the opportunity.

3.     My aperture is pre-set for a deep depth of field, which means that I will have made test shots in advance in order to adjust the ISO high enough to give me a hand-holdable shutter speed.   Both of the example images, here, were made with my Canon 5D Mark II set on ISO 6400.   Love this capability.

Well, that’s all folks!  For now.   I wanted to show you that Adventure Photography comes in all forms, including cultural photography of people in their environment.   And I wanted to show you the technique of the Clandestine Hip Shot which is a special feature of my new Quick Draw Camera Strap.

For more information about this amazing camera strap including a video demonstration of the strap itself and a video demonstration of exactly how to perform the Clandestine Hip Shot, just click here: More Info and Demo Videos Here

As always, if you have specific questions, please feel free to contact me personally.

Mzungu

Tags: b&W photography, Clandestine Hip Shot, color photography, digital photography, Morocco, photo tutorial, Quick Draw Camera Strap, travel photography