Africa Trip Quick Pics

Going to Africa is a photographer's dream, so naturally, the last two weeks have been a lot of fun for me. It was our second trip to Tanzania, but the first since I got back into photography in a serious way.

I will get into some travel tips and stories later, but here are some of my initial favorites from the trip to get the blogging ball rolling again.

People...

The people of Tanzania are amazing, and it is quite an honor to bring their stories and needs back to the U.S., and hopefully to help bring meaningful and sustainable aid to them in the future.

First, my favorite shot of the trip. This widow sat by a window with great light. I shot about a dozen pictures of her waiting for an expression like this. She is a very strong woman who has lived a very hard life, losing her husband in the late '80s and raising 9 children. One of her children died.

I spent a little bit of time with the ladies who cooked for our team and a whole group of local pastors who were in town for a conference.


One of the group's projects involved working with orphans from the local churches.


I have never been as scared about losing a camera as during the evening out on small boats with local fisherman on Lake Tanganyika, but I really liked some of the photos.


Albino children are very much at risk in many parts of Africa. Our team did some work in a facility for leprosy victims, which is where several albinos lived for protection.


The children and orphans in a leper colony will absolutely break your heart. They are among the neediest people on the planet, yet they have joy, spark, and creativity that make you realize just how spoiled and jaded western kids can be.

I think our church needs more chickens running around...

Nature

The trip ended with a three-day adventure through the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater conservation area. We did not get to see elephants and Rhinos as we did in 2004, but the lions and a hungry leopard made up for it.











Mrs. Easttexasphoto gets photo credit for this one...










No doubt what this guy thinks about tourists romping through his territory...

More to come. And if you get a chance to go, GO!

Don J.

Lots of stuff. And lightning.

Fall is coming quickly and sports, school, a trip and some big projects are all happening at once. Fun times. And did I mention my wife is expecting our first baby!? Exciting times in the Easttexasphoto household.

A system of storms moved through the area this evening and I could not resist stopping beside the road for some lightning photo attempts. Got lucky on this one too, with lots of bolts at once...


With all of the water around, lights and signs take on new life in the evenings. Even the grocery store gets more interesting to look at...

Football has started, and Terrell won their first matchup against Kaufman Friday night. It was tough to shoot 'for' Terrell after two years of shooting 'for' Kaufman. Got some shots I liked too...
The light at the beginning of the game was excellent and made fun shadows.

Full sets of photos can be seen (and bought) for Terrell here and Kaufman here.

Sportsshooter monthly contest winners are always good... this month seems exceptionally so.

Have a great rest 0' the week everyone.

It is more Friday night lights for Terrell vs. Greenville this week.... should be fun.

Don J.

Getting the timing back

Shooting sports is a lot of fun for me, but each sport has its own timing and rhythm with a camera. Beyond that, even each level of play has a unique rhythm and speed.

Volleyball can be mind numbing to get a shot you really like, but it is fun anyway.

The timing is starting to come back, but of course, this is the junior varsity. Moving up to higher levels requires faster reaction time and more concentration. Football is very similar.

Good times... sure with that guy wasn't walking in the background at that exact moment.

And then there was autofocus. And it was good. At least when the operator had control. Then it was just as ornery as manual focus.




When the autofocus and your brain are in sync, then the fun begins.


Have a good week, everyone

Don J.

Football season begins... it is going to be fun

Michael is taking the first big road trip of the season to Sulphur Springs for Friday's scrimmage, but I am really looking forward to some Friday nights on the sidelines.

Have sports photographer dreams? here is a nice primer on that career path.

On the journalism side of things, I had the good fortune to show up at the right time as Terrell firefighters were finishing up at the Flexible Foam Products facility after a fire Tuesday evening.

The only light was bright morning sun streaming through open dock doors a good 100 feet away and various holes in the building. ISO 3200 gave me 1/50 shutter speed at f2.8 (-2 exposure compensation to make up for all of the blackness) and I still had to boost this quite a bit in Lightroom.

It isn't "Tack Sharp" but to get that shot out of ISO 3200 on the 40D... I really like it. The light was just crazy.

Of course the fire and the upcoming football season also motivated me to buy a new camera (with better high-iso performance, water sealing and focusing) and so I'm happy about that too.


Here is a slideshow of images from the fire...

Have a great weekend everybody,

Don J.

Staying Busy...

Here is a quick blog of photos from a fun photo shoot with Brooke before (OK, and during) work today to prove that I did something somewhat productive this week.

Lesson learned? You can easily sweat through two shirts before 7:30 a.m. without working all that hard in this July/Texas heat.

Have a great week everybody, fall is on the way.

Don J.