Off the Beaten Track: Danita Cahill, Western Photographer

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We take great pleasure in welcoming the talented and lovely Danita Cahill who is a freelance photographer and writer specializing in all things western. 

Alli, thanks for having me today. What an honor!

How old were you when you got your first camera?

I got my first little Kodak point and shoot for my 10^th birthday.

When did you start specializing in western photography?

I started “specializing” in western and rural images right away. My favorite subjects to snap photos of were the animals on our farm. 

Do you have a western background?

I’ve lived my entire life in the Pacific NW, all but my first two years in Western Oregon. Most of my life has been spent living in the country. My husband and I and our two sons live on five acres. We keep lots of animals, including two dogs, a horse and a small herd of alpacas.  I still love shooting photos of animals – mine and those belonging to others.

When I was nine, my dad hauled home a truck full of ponies. I bawled with joy. There was nothing I wanted more than a horse – and Shetland ponies fit the bill just fine! I’ve had at least one horse in my life pretty much ever since. My mare Koko, who I’ve had since she was three, just had her 15^th birthday.

I rode Koko for over six years as a volunteer deputy with the Linn County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse. Together she and I did armed security duty (carrying revolvers in leather holsters, true old cowboy style), appeared in parades, did community-service functions, and most importantly, did wilderness search and rescue on horseback. 

What sort of photography do you do and how did you get started professionally?

I’ll answer the latter part of the question first. I’ve worked freelance and on staff for a dozen different newspapers over the past 30 years. I started out as a writer and sort of fell into the photography part of the program. When I started writing human-interest pieces, the editors wanted photos to illustrate the stories.

I’m also a photographer for Farm & Ranch Living, a national magazine, and a feature writer and photographer for Ruralite magazine, which is a regional. Sometimes my photos appear in Country and Country Living magazines.

Besides the newspaper and magazine work I also occasionally do wedding photography, and family and senior portraits. One summer I took photos of kids riding bulls for the riders’ parents and grandparents. (Please forgive the writing across the photos. I’ve had some trouble with photo pirating). Recently I did a dog photo shoot for a dog trainer’s website. 

Who is the pretty blond model in so many of your shots?

Ha! Thanks! That’s my daughter, Alyssa. She’s one of my favorite models. She’s a real cowgirl – a horse trainer, barrel racer and a past bullrider. Her husband, Kirk rides broncs. 

To see more of my photography, please check out my website: http://cahillphotojournalism.com/

And my miracles blog: http://miracahills.wordpress.com/

Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanitaCahill

Follow me on Twitter: @DanitaCahill.

Thanks again Alli, this has been a lot of fun!

A couple of parting questions for the photographer inside your readers – how old were you when you got your first camera? And what is your favorite subject to photograph? 

A Portable Exhibit: Review of Steve McCurry's "Portraits" for iPad

By Beth Green

The best art exhibition I’ve seen recently fits in my travel purse.

A photo collage tribute to McCurry's "Afghan Girl"
by Flickr user francisshanahan. 

While nothing will replace for me the experience of seeing art in the flesh—of examining a larger-than-life image in a quiet, contemplative atmosphere and the fun of puzzling out what the artist and the curator want me to “get”—I am blown away by the quality and enjoyment factor of the photographs exhibited in the “Portraits” app for iPad, a collection of images of faces and places by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry.

If you don’t recognize his name—I didn’t—you’re sure to know at least one of his photos shown in this touch-screen gallery visit: “Afghan Girl,” the 1984 portrait of a green-eyed Pashtun refugee. It was on the front cover of National Geographic magazine in June, 1985, and is likely the magazine’s best recognized image. Many people liken the photo’s intensity to that of the “Mona Lisa.”

Swiping through the 100 images collected in the app, it’s clear that the intensity in “Afghan Girl” is one of McCurry’s signatures. Traveling the world for National Geographic—you can search the app for photos from different countries by tapping a map and browse receipts and scrapbook-worthy tidbits of his travels in another section—McCurry has captured the profundity of people’s life experiences again and again. Elderly believers in France hoping for a miracle cure in Lourdes. A little girl pounding grain in Niger.  An eleven-year-old bare-chested gold miner in the Philippines. In his frank images, the viewer can interpret the stories of whole lives.

In the integrated 23-minute video narrated by McCurry, he says that he chooses his subjects for the depth of expression on their faces. While he’s walking on the street and browsing crowds for potential people to approach with his request for a portrait, he looks for the “intrinsic story written on their face,” he tells us in the video. I was surprised that McCurry says most of his portraits are taken in just five minutes; since he tends to find people who are busy or on their way to another place, he doesn’t want to ask for too much of their time.

Some of the people featured are ones we know are busy: activist Aung San Suu Kyi, actor Robert De Niro, and author Paul Theroux. But most of the portraits are of humble, everyday people, featured in their workday clothes, going about their business. There’s the Tibetan woman by a fighter jet in Lhasa, 2000; an engineer with clasped hands in Kashmir; a woman selling paintings from her car in Italy; Dubliners waiting for a bus.

After I get past the intensity of the eyes in these pictures, the next element that draws me in is the sense of place from the photos; the feeling of anticipation, of guessing what scenes are beyond the borders of the portrait. The woman practicing her cello in the mirror in France—is she about to give a performance, in her red jacket? Does the boy at the door in Mauritania invite McCurry to go inside, or is he too shy? Why is the Burmese woman, with her neck elongated by rings, laughing?

It’s amazing that, in the short amount of time McCurry says he is able to capture these street-side images, he’s able to harness the light in such a way that each one looks like a studio portrait. In the app’s video, he cites Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio as his inspiration. What would these painters have done with a camera, I wonder? Probably something similar to what McCurry does.

The app is available on iTunes, and, at time of writing, is free to download. For non-iPad-toting readers, many of McCurry’s excellent travel photos can be seen on his blog and on his Facebook page.

A Bearly Alaskan Adventure, part 2

By Karen J. Laubenstein

Last week, Karen wrote about winning a coveted permit to observe grizzly bears in the McNeil River Falls Wildlife Sanctuary in August, her arrival at the camp, and setting up house. Today, she writes about the bears.

Every morning we'd gather in the cook shack and learn what time the tide would be low for us to journey out into bear country.  I was outfitted in blue Caddis waders with Merrell waterproof hiking boots, Cabela's silk pink underlayers and black heat leggings, wool socks, Land's End shirts in layers, and a floppy hat.  I am a robust woman and found these in women's sizes.  In my backpack, I had trail mix and protein bars, dehydrated fruit snacks, water bottle, camera gear and extra batteries, raincoat, and a Sony handycam. 

Every day we hiked out into bear country, though our routes varied and some days we hung out at the mouth of the river for awhile before going up to the falls.  Every day we left at low tide and then returned to camp late in the evening, around 7 PM, and either waded the mile across the lagoon and another mile along its shores back to camp, or rode in a skiff across the lagoon and hike the half-mile spit back to camp.

We followed the armed guide single-file on trails full of bear, fox, bird, and rodent prints and scat.  We could see bears in the distance across the lagoon where they fished along the mouth of McNeil River as we hiked along the opposite shore.  The first day, we took the 'cliff trail' and it was torturous.  I slid on the muddy banks, on slippery rocks, on the edges of the narrow paths, trying to avoid the sharp Devil's Club or itchy welts from Wild Parsnips, and my bifocals made me teeter wildly as it was difficult to gauge depth and height.  I did not have the strength for high steps and cliff climbing, and the guide or other  photographers lent a hand or I went flying, until I began carrying a walking stick everywhere.  My new caddis waders quickly became covered in mud and sand. 

We walked 2.5 rugged miles to Mikfik Creek that first day, then along the cliffs for another mile around the lagoon.  We then climbed the cliffs for another 1.5-mile hike to the falls, where tundra and mountains stretch out as far as you can see and only three trees in all that wild country are visible.  Bald eagles, ravens, gulls, and terns swooped and perched along the trails.  To protect this environment, long parts of the trail to the falls have narrow boardwalks, but long sections do not, and there it can be thick mud, deep puddles, pebbles, and infrequently mushy fresh bear scat.

After that first day, we took a different route, wading across the lagoon at low tide, with the water higher than some folk's hipboots, making me glad of my waders.  It was easier going and I was grateful.  The waters are incredibly clear.  When hiking, though, everyone watches the trail and boots in front of them, for if you look around, you trip and fall.

En route to the falls, there is 'pee rock,' the last vestige of privacy, for it isn't safe to hike off the trails and into the shrubs.  At the falls, our toileting had to happen right next to everyone adjoining the gravel pads and we had to pack it out.  We saw fat and healthy ptarmigan and ground squirrels, wild berries, and sunken overgrown pithouses of ancient peoples about 1,500 years ago.  We also would see bears.

Bears were everywhere!  We had them in camp, a fresh print showed up right in front of my tent the second morning I was there.  A blur of bear ran into the underbrush from the outhouse one morning, as I was capturing the sunrise over the mountains in front of me.  When we hiked to the falls, we learned to stand along the top of the cliff for a few moments, watching the bears below, so they could watch us and become accustomed to our arrival.  Then we would hike down to the banks of the falls and that gravel pad, quietly, and again, stand for a few moments before unlocking the little cache that held the folding camp chairs.  We spent the day with our armed guards, sitting on those chairs or standing as the wild bears came and went, fished and ate, fought and roared, napped, swam, defended territory, and do what bears do.

Over time, we came to know the individual bears.  Rocky who loved to do bellyflops, and Mouse, a sow, who took a lot of abuse from the males stealing her fish and chasing her away from the falls, only to come back again and again and catch her fish and defy the boars.  Some bears had cuts and gashes.  Some bears were blonde or light brown, while others looked almost like leather or had very soft, thick, brown or black fur.  Some had long snouts and one was almost pug-nosed.  One had a missing ear, others had missing claws.  Some weighed 400 or so pounds, while the dominant boars were 1,200 pounds and up.  Each bear had their own fishing style, its usual fishing area, and some unique habits.  Every time a new bear approached the area, dynamics would go into play, and we'd watch anxiously to see if the bear would stake its place, or if it would get driven out or challenged by the other bears.  Sometimes the younger bears tried to steal the chum salmon from the older bears, and they'd race right at us.  We had bears walk down our trail right behind us, within two or three feet, often too close to photograph them with a zoom lens.

We saw a mama bear and her three cubs—the first time our guide said he had known them to come to the falls—and this was his 13th year at McNeil.   At the same time, the guides warned McNeil bears have accepted the presence of humans, but never should we expect wild bears anywhere else to be this way.  We traveled paths worn down by humans for the last 60 or so years, if not all those years since the pithouses 1,500 years ago, studying the bears.  We used the same viewing pads, we climbed the same cliffs, and we did what thousands had done before.  Most of those adult bears come back to McNeil every summer, and have had humans watching them their entire adult lives.  The guards said they have never had to shoot those bear guns nor have any humans been harmed at McNeil.  Never did we forget they are wild and potentially dangerous.  Never did we roam alone beyond those boundaries. 

It was hard that last evening at the falls, standing to go and looking at these magnificent animals.  I had to stay with the group, but for just a second, I lingered, and whispered, "Yo, Bear.  Hey there, Buddy," and realized I was leaving a little bit of my heart behind, as we began the long hike back to camp.

Off The Beaten Track: Scum! Travel Writer Jules Older

Jules and Effin at the Golden Gate Bridge

Jules Older hangs out at http://julesolder.com. He opines about San Francisco restaurants and New Zealand life on the apps, San Francisco Restaurants and Auckland Insider. He films the world, in brief snatches, at www.YouTube.com/julesolder. And he’s published his first ebook: SKIING THE EDGE: Humor, Humiliation, Holiness and Heart. 

She answered my question with a volume and anger that almost made me drop my plate.

“ARE YOU KIDDING? IT’S ‘CAUSE WE’RE SCUM!” 



“That must be it. Otherwise, I can't for the life of me figure out why more writers don’t become travel writers.”



“Jules, what planet are you from? Travel writers are seen as the scum of the journalism world. We’re lowlifes. Sellouts. Losers, Jules, losers. We’re seen as losers!”



Plate firmly in hand, I pondered this news as I sipped the very nice New Zealand pinot noir and took another nibble of the dainty lamb chop the waitress had handed me. At this gathering for travel writers in the penthouse of a swanky San Francisco hotel, I'd just been invited to tour a few swanky Colorado hotels during ski season. 

“Hmmm,” I said. “Then let’s do everything we can to keep it that way.”

Photo by Effin Older

Scum? Losers? The truth is, travel writing is probably the greatest discovery I've made since I gave up honest work to become a writer, lo these many years ago. I remember the day, the moment, the conversation that opened the world of travel writing to me…and pretty much ruined my academic career. The sudden realization that there were folks out there traveling the world for free and getting paid for it drove me — well, drove me to do it.

And when I gave up academia, I traded in a reliable, regular and rather remunerative check for a drastic pay cut, a complete loss of benefits and zero ability to plan for the future beyond the next two weeks, if that. In short, I walked into the world that 99 out of 100 writers inhabit.

Ah, but not completely. For I had one other thing going for me (and when I say “I” and “me” I really mean “we” and “us:” my writer-photographer wife Effin jumped on this ship right beside me.) The name of the ship: the SS Travel Writer.

Travel writing is what allows us to live, however briefly, like princes of the realm on pauper’s wages. Travel writing lets us jet around like movie stars without the hangers-on, like billionaires without the lawyers. Travel writing has led us on a life of adventure.

And travel writing has introduced me to all kinds of folks I'd never have met on my own, some of whom I've stayed friends with decades later. Folks like…

Dancing kids on Oahu. Photo by Jules Older

…the Newfoundland guide who got us wilderness-lost on skis (and who, despite that, is still a buddy), the Tokyo woman who makes her living curling eyelashes, the Maori hunting guide turned wild-food forager. Then there's the English noble who owns a Caribbean island (hated him on sight), the Hawaiian artist turned academic, the San Francisco Italian restaurateur who turned out to be the cousin of the Vermont Italian restaurateur…




And then there are the moments. Kayaking with humpback whales in Newfoundland. Birding on an island preserve in New Zealand. Swimming with rays in the Virgin Islands. Exploring an ancient Hawaiian cave, a hidden Vermont pond, a struggling Florida town, the most gorgeous beach in the Caribbean. 

And the events. The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, the Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans, the Shellfish Festival on Prince Edward Island, the gloriously musical Winter Festival in Newfoundland. Even the Maple Festival, the Apple Pie Festival and the Granite Festival in small Vermont towns.

If that’s the punishment for being the scum of writerhood, I say, bring on the scum! And could I have just one more of those delightful lamb chops, m’dear?

Off The Beaten Track: Photography Journey -- Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia

We continue David Townsend's photography series this week with a journey to Southeast Asia. David is a professional photographer from Denver, Colorado. A self-taught photographer, David's journey started fifteen years ago when he captured the beauty of nature and landscapes in his home state.  He later became an accomplished portrait photographer and master of the digital darkroom.  Portrait photography eventually led him into photographing weddings, and now he and his wife, Lynn, own David Lynn Photography, a thriving wedding and portrait photography business.  David also teaches his skills to new and aspiring photographers with his Shootshops Photography Workshops. Travel and photography have always remained David’s true passions, and he takes every opportunity to combine these whenever possible.

David’s travels have taken him all over the United States, and to three other continents and fifteen countries: Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Italy, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Websites:

www.townsendphotography.com

www.davidlynnphoto.com

www.shootshops.com

www.facebook.com/davidlynnphotography

My wife Lynn and I took a six week journey through Southeast Asia, feasting our eyes on the beauty of each country, taking every opportunity to sample the most amazing culinary tastes in the world. We soaked in the scenery with our senses and let our cameras capture it all. 

These images can be found at www.townsendphotography.com ~ world galleries

The wats (temples) in Thailand are abundant, and all of them contain an image of the Buddha in one of many poses.  In this image, monks are gathered in a wat for meditation. 

TIP:  It is always important to learn customs, traditions, and protocol in the country you are visiting.  It would have been very disruptive and disrespectful to walk in to the temple and shoot pictures, so I used a telephoto lens from far outside to capture this image.

These young novice monks were very intrigued by me and my camera, and they were very open to having their picture taken.  After asking them permission, I waited until they had these very thoughtful expressions.

TIP:  When shooting children up close while traveling, start by engaging them first, and then pick up your camera to take pictures.

This image in northern Thailand creates mood through warm sunlight, the mist rising off the river, and the smoke coming from one of the village homes.

TIP:  You can always shoot into the sun, and many times it gives interesting and artistic lens flare.  If the sun is just casting a hazy film over your image, use a lens hood or shade the lens with your hand when shooting.

Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is famous for its markets, and the night market is no exception.  There are loads of amazing crafts, clothes, sculptures and trinkets to stuff in your bag, and there’s always an amazing assortment of food to choose from.

TIP: Night photography is a fun way to liven up your evenings.  Using a tripod, choose a bright light in the scene to focus on, choose a “wide open” aperture (f2.8, f3.5 etc) and set your shutter speed for a variety of long exposures and see what looks the best!  Using your camera’s timer is a great way to prevent shaking the camera when you press the shutter.

 

Southeast Asia’s landscape is absolutely amazing, but the most beautiful part about the region is the people.  The people of Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia are some of the most friendly in the world, and I am always gravitating toward them as much as I am the landscape.  I chose the warm black and white tones for these images to draw the eye to the expressions and features of the people’s faces without the distraction of color.

TIP:  When travelling, photograph people using a telephoto lens.  It allows you to be non-intrusive, and let’s you get up close and personal without being in their space.

The city of Hanoi, Vietnam has a population of 6 million people, and they boast a population of almost 4 million motorcycles!  The city is a constant flow of motorbikes and cars, and it is one of life’s greatest adventures to try and cross the street.  Intersections are a chaotic pulse of vehicles with no apparent rhyme or reason, and I found myself just in awe of the bustle of this charming city.

TIP:  To capture movement, use shutter speeds to achieve different effects.  Fast shutter speeds will “freeze” action, and slower shutter speeds will create blurred movement.  How much of an effect will depend on the shutter speed and the pace of your moving subject, so experiment with different settings in each shooting situation.

I shot this Asian market scene on a typically foggy day in Sapa, Vietnam in the northern part of the country.  I pre-arranged the composition I wanted, and then waited until just the right subject walked through my image frame.

TIP:  Using creative tools like vertical orientation and an ever so slight tilt of the camera helps to lead the viewer’s eye toward a particular part of the image.

These images of Vietnam, one from Halong Bay and the other from rice fields near Sapa in the north, both capture a sense of place in addition to telling a story.  Halong Bay is an amazing natural wonder of Asia, with a dense collection of monolithic limestone islands that are covered with jungle vegetation. Among them you can find caves, lakes and secluded beaches.  There is also a population of people who call Halong Bay home, as in floating home.   Rice fields are abundant throughout Asia, and women hunkered over working all day are a commonplace sight in these fields.

TIP: Use wide-angle lenses to include important or dramatic elements in your image.  The halong Bay shot has the two people in the boat to tell the story of how people get around in the bay.  The rice fields show the workers small in the image, giving scope and perspective to the scene.

These kids in northern Vietnam were all about playing and being photographed, so I had an easy time playing with them and getting a couple good shots.  I chose to focus on the two laughing boys behind the kid in front, while still maintaining his expression clearly.

TIP:  Use larger aperture values (f9, f11, f16) to achieve greater depth of focus throughout your image.  Smaller aperture values (f2.8, f3.5, f4.5) will yield less depth of focus and beautifully blurred backgrounds. DSLR cameras also have an Autofocus tracking system that tracks a moving subject and keeps them in focus, a really useful tool when photographing action.

Strolling through a gorgeous city park in Hanoi, Vietnam, I was impressed by the amount of people of all ages doing Tai Chi. Until I saw them, it never occurred to me that it was regularly practiced in its region of origin!

TIP:  Use anything in your environment to “frame” your subject making a more engaging image.  Here, I placed the woman right in the empty space of tree branches, forming a perfect natural frame.

Angkor, Cambodia is one of the most amazing ruin sites in the world.  The ruins are from the Khmer Empire, 9th to 15th centuries, and span about 120 sq mi (323 sq km).  I spent three solid days from before sunrise to after sunset wandering through and photographing these amazing structures.

TIPS:  Angkor Wat – I photographed this enormous temple from another ruin site that afforded a breathtaking view of the temple from afar, allowing me to show its massive presence in the jungle. 

Ta Prohm Temple – This is the most dramatic example of the jungle actually taking over these ancient buildings.  I used a black and white tone in this image to highlight the contrast of the tree and the ruin and lends well to its ancient nature.

Bayon Faces – I used my telephoto zoom lens to crop in on just these three faces to highlight that specific feature in the temple.

Angkor Reflection – I photographed these lotus flowers using the reflection of the temple spires and the rising sun as an added element in this silhouette, being careful to place them right between the spires in the water.

I asked these monks permission to take their photo and they were more than gracious. Always be respectful of persons of religious nature or prominent individuals in a culture or society.  Particularly with children, offer to show them the picture on your camera after shooting it.  It’s an instant icebreaker and (usually) gets your subject more willing to have their photo taken.

TIP:  I used two simple composition techniques here to create an interesting image:  I placed the subjects slightly off center, and I tilted my camera slightly to create a more dynamic angle.

The giant limestone islands of Thailand’s islands always amaze me, and I love finding new ways to photograph them.  This was a great opportunity to shoot one of them with the boat shown for size comparison.

TIP:  When choosing a subject, use a wide angle on whatever lens you have and include another object or element that creates a sense of perspective or scale.

The island of Ko Phi Phi was a particularly rare visit for this trip, as it was one of the islands hit by the tsunami of 2004.  The devastation was massive, and as I photographed the middle of the island from up high, I was acutely aware of what it must have felt like to watch the event unfold.  It made me deeply thankful for all the safe travels I have had in my life.  Lastly, a trip to Southeast Asia’s islands wouldn’t be complete without an incredibly gorgeous sunset.

TIP:  Include a foreground element (like the palm trees) to add an appealing element to your image.  Also, when photographing water around sunrise and sunset, look for reflections of color from the sky.  Try to create unique images of just the colored water, leaving out the actual sunset sky.