Scottish Parliamentary Pictures

Categories: Photography

On assignment in my home country recently, I spent a couple of days with pretty much free run of the new Scottish Parliament building. Now here's a paradox: at one level, we have history repeating itself - the original union of the Parliaments was brought about through Scotland's determinedly bankrupting its Exchequer over the ill-fated Panama colony - a project that went uncontrollably over-budget and which failed to deliver any benefit to the country that had invested so heavily in it. So what's the first thing Scotland does on regaining a measure of independence after two hundred years? Yep - pour a large proportion of the national budget into a project that's gone uncontrollably over budget, to very little apparent benefit to the country…

Cameras for Travellers, Part I: The Need

Categories: Photography Technology

As a photographer, I lurk somewhere around the diffuse boundary between committed amateur and the semi-pro: My photography has, on occasion, been known to pay for itself, with some assistance from random scribblings, but isn't my primary source of income (and if anyone spots one of those wandering around and looking in need of a home, do let me know). Much of my work comes from my travels, taken in places ranging from extremely predictable to predictably extreme and, at times, downright dodgy (Eastern Congo and East LA being two that spring to mind here), but always involving a deal of moving around. So, when I come to choosing camera gear, it's with a slightly different eye and expectation to that of the local or studio-based snapper.

Current projects include a couple of books, working with my long-time collaborator, Sri, which each call for a deal of expeditionary travel – for one, much wandering around Central Africa by jeep, bus and bicycle and, for the other, a forthcoming extended hurtle around Australia on a motorcycle. Both set similar criteria for choosing and using cameras, starting with one basic principle: that the best photograph is the one that gets taken. And then used. There's a corollary to that: the best camera is the one that works, and which keeps on working. That's with a side order of it being the one you can hang on to in most situations – stealth is very often the best friend of the travelling photographer.

Which of course raises something of a contradiction – I need all the power and flexibility of an SLR system, but at times need the discreetness and portability of a compact camera. The answer of course is both – rather than carrying a brace of SLR bodies in the grand film tradition, it's better for the itinerant photographer to combine a single SLR body with a supplemental compact. But right now, I'm choosing the SLR part of the equation, so am asking myself what really works for me. And I'm being a little anal about it – after all, I change my main system about once every quarter century. The good news there is that I'm not constrained by my existing lens and accessory collection – my current stuff is less legacy than archaeology.

Photographing Mountain Gorillas

Categories: Photography Technology

So you're off to Rwanda, Uganda or Congo to see the gorillas? You'll be taking a camera, then. You are also about to take photographs of one of the trickier wildlife subjects around: it's not a simply matter of getting close to the subject, but of actually getting sharp and clear photographs of something dark and hairy that lives in a fairly dark and hairy environment. So this is a short note, derived from my own experience and mistakes, purely aimed at helping you decide what to take and what to do when you get there.