Serge Giachetti, a good photographer in his own right and a friend of mine from college, is currently competing for a $50,000 grant from NameYourDreamAssignment.com. Serge has had a few internships with small newspapers, and like me, started as a nature photographer.

Serge maintains a Web site and a blog, but the details and voting page for his proposed project–to photograph the youth of the Blackfoot Nation–can be found here.

Good luck, Serge!

Tags: competitions, contests
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CBS’ 60 Minutes just aired a segment on the use of an American pesticide, Furadan, marketed by FMC since 1967 as a “broad-spectrum insecticide-nematicide,” for a new purpose: killing African Lions–vital to the tourism industry of Kenya and other African countries as it is the icon of African wildlife.  The reason is the same as the cause for the wolf population of the American west’s decline: they are predators that conflict with human ranching / agricultural production.

The highlight of the piece is a statement from FMC, which apparently blocked export of the insecticide to Kenya last year, that the product is “…important to the sustainability of agriculture in Kenya.”  Seems like a mixed message to stress its necessity and then block its sale (for a while).

That said, it’s not really FMC’s fault that its product is being abused.  But, that doesn’t mean that the company should not do more.  Because of the grave risk, the FMC should bar all sale of Furadan to all African countries.  The real problem is a sad economic situation combined with a readily-available, inexpensive, and potent solution: a cheap poison.

Note that the video is, at times, hard to watch for those who truly admire and respect wildlife.

Tags: 60 Minutes, African Lions, CBS, Kenya, poison, wildlife
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Yesterday I experienced a lot of downtime due to some miscommunication with my (now former) hosting provider. I have switched entirely to Blue Host (www.bluehost.com) and now the Web site and blog are fully functional–as far as I can tell. If you find any errors, feel free to leave a comment on this post or shoot me an e-mail.

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Diane Dorter inspects a Meadow Lark with an injured foot on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at Wild Bird Rehabilitation in St. Louis, Mo. Dorter, one of three paid staff at the non-profit organization, was training Lizzie Vreeland, a volunteer from Washington University, how to care for birds at WBR’s “emergency room.” Many of the birds require medication and are “tubed” via syringes, a procedure that requires great care.

While in Saint Louis last weekend, I dropped in on the site of my final project from Fundamentals of Photojournalism (from last semester), Wild Bird Rehabilitation.  Unlike most of the (few) bird rehabilitation centers in Missouri, WBR focuses on songbirds.  The birds that they work with are brought to WBR by concerned citizens, often people who have birds crash into the windows of their houses, or mauled by their pets in their yard, who want to do all that they can for our avian friends.  This time of year, March through June, lots of migratory birds come through the area along the Mississippi Flyway.

When I came in last week, Diane Dorter, one of three paid staff at WBR, was teaching volunteer Lizzie Vreeland how to care for birds at WBR’s “emergency room.”  Vreeland has been a volunteer at WBR for close to one year, but recently became interested in working with the most critical avian patients at the facility.

I brought along my small light stand and wireless trigger to set up the flash in the corner of the room to bounce off of the ceiling for some fill.  The florescents in the room have a color temperature between tungsten and florescent.  To try to match my flash to the light in the room, I attached window green theatrical gel over the flash head.  However, I was not happy with the results, so I replaced the green for the color temperature orange (CTO) gel.  This was better–much better–but still not perfect.  I realized later that stacking the gels would have been the solution to my problems.  Next time!  More after the jump…
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Tags: Advanced Techniques, color correction, flash, gels, light, lighting, lit, strobe
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Kenny Townsend, named "best bartender of the year" by Inside Columbia Magazine this month, watches for a patron's order on Monday, Mar. 9. at McNally's Irish Pub at 7 N. Sixth Street, Columbia, Mo.

This week I went downtown to McNally’s Irish Pub to photograph Kenny Townsend, the bartender that Inside Columbia magazine just rated as the best in Columbia, Mo. I started off using direct flash (it’s for class, and I had to use both direct and bounce). Naturally, I used my new Panera-straw grid for the direct flash.

I used the grid to make him stand out from the dark bar, but without lighting up the entire place in a way that would be unnatural, especially for a tight shot. For a wider composition, I felt I had to bounce the flash off of the ceiling (below). But this gridded spotlight also made clear that the focus wasn’t just the bar, but the bartender himself.

Kenny Townsend, named "best bartender of the year" by Inside Columbia Magazine this month, pours a gin and tonic on Monday, Mar. 9. at McNally's Irish Pub at 7 N. Sixth Street, Columbia, Mo.

Of course, the composition also leaves something to be desired. So I switched to a broader view, and was much happier with the result.

Here, he’s pouring a gin and tonic for a customer. (More after the jump…)
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Tags: Advanced Techniques, bounce, grids, light, lighting, lit, strobe
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My Panera-Straw Grid on 550EX

I’m at the point in a lighting class at MU, Advanced Techniques in Photojournalism, where it is time to leave the studio and venture forth into the world with one (or two, if Canon ever repairs my other 550EX), small speedlight.  I have become enamored with hard light sources in the studio; softboxes have their place, but I thought that grids, snoots, and barndoors were my favorite to work with.  I remembered reading at Strobist a couple of years ago about making a grid out of black straws (easily sourced from your local Panera…).

Mine is not pretty: in fact, I’m already planning on making a second one with a more refined technique of stacking and gluing rather than lining up in a row and sandwiching with gaffer’s tape.  For now I’m attaching it with gaff tape, but will make a little cardboard housing for it soon so that it can be slid into place on the head of the strobe.

But what its present incarnation lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in performance.  I will admit that I have not perfected the art of aiming the speedlight with this grid, but I love the effect.  It makes for a very circular, “spotlight” effect, and the light fall-off is rapid and dramatic.

Portrait of Meg Wiegand, Heidelberg Restaurant, Columbia, Mo.

How dramatic?  I took the flash with me to a get-together of friends at a bar last week and did some experiments with it.  I only brought my TTL cord; next time I’ll just take the wireless transmitter, as its far less cumbersome.  (Nothing scares your friends more than a zipline of TTL cord randomly roaming a table with the potential to knock over their beer.) More after the jump…
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Tags: DIY, grids, light, light modifiers, lighting, lit
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