The Croc Photo Delimma

This is one of my favorite croccodile photos. I got a nice close up, the scales are sharp, the eye came out clear and sharp without post processing. So . . . did he just HAVE to be underneath that blade of grass? Hence the delimma . . . For true photojournalism-you present the croc in his environment, the way you saw him. For contest photography, that grass stem is a big distraction - enough to keep you from winning your photo of the day.

And, of course, there is no guarantee that you can remove that much from a photo without leaving tell-tale signs. Since it was one of my favorite shots, I had to give it a try. Doing that much reconstruction requires a lot of patience as well as a lot of trial and error (lots of back tracking when something did not work or look right.)

Here is my finished image. Can you tell that it has been altered?




I'll post this pair of shots at Digital Image Cafe tomorrow and at Photosig tonight and see what the other online photographers think.

But if I submit this to editors, I must surely tell them what I've done. Ernie Mastroianni will be giving a break out session on "Digital Alteration and the Line of Credibility at the NANPA Summit in Florida. I will be going to that session. I have also scheduled a portfolio review with him. Each magazine market has different guidelines and standards, but from what I've learned, most important is to let the photo editor KNOW what you've done to the photo.

Now the big question for my readers . . . which one do YOU like best?

The Croc

One of the nice things about cruising along the Chobe River between Botswana and Namibia is that you regularly see croccodiles.
This is the first of a couple of posts. This photo is actually a stitch of three photos so I could make large prints of the entire croccodile with great detail. To see the larger version, check it out on my website: The Croc.

And, yes, prints are available: 8"X34" 10'X42 1/2' 12"X50

If you're interested, just send me an email.

In the Villages -African Cooking

In Africa, where you live makes a big difference in how you live. In the larger towns and cities, there is electricity and running water. In the villages, life is much simpler and more basic. This blog combines life in the Namibian fishing village and a Zambian agricultural village.

In the villages, cooking is done outside over an open fire. During the dry season it is outside under the sky. In the rainy season there are special huts with a large opening and perhaps an open area between the thatch and the brick. This is at the fishing village. Note the water bucket:



Notice the drying rack at the Zambian agricultural village:



Homemade charcoal is also a fuel source.



There is a big business of taking wood, partially burning it and then selling it as charcoal.

I saw these "portable" stoves several places. Linda's neighbor's daughter carried one over to the school one morning to get coals for their morning breakfast fire. At the women's shelter at the hospital in Kolomo these were the cook fires for the women camped there to care for their loved ones in the hospital.



In the fishing village, the water table was near the surface. This hand dug well provided the water for the village.



When I think of this woman drawing water, I appreciate the new water tower going up near my house. I can see it from my front porch. It is not pretty, but . . . it is a symbol that I can turn on the tap and get my water.



On one level, this water looks unappealling. But notice how clear it is . . . And it is probably cleaner and safer than the river water nearby.




Some in Zambia have bore holes that go down to deeper water sources. Some have large hand pumps (think long pipe as lever for pumping). I've even heard of one that has a merry-go-round. The children play and pump water at the same time. The water still has to be hauled by the people back to their homes. Most do not have oxen, so they carry the water sometimes what would be a long distance for us.

However, one village has to take oxcarts several miles to the river, fill their jugs, and haul the water back to the village. I understand they are next in line for a borehole.

In Zambia, the food staple is nshima. Nshima is made from white corn (maize) ground and cooked until it has a consistency that you can make a ball and eat it with your fingers. There is a ceremony to pour water over your hands to clean them before eating. They eat it morning, noon, and night. It can be served with their staple vegetable (rape greens) and sometimes with chicken. Rape looks and tastes a lot like mustard greens, but in David's garden it is easy to see that it is in the broccoli-cabbage family.

They also cook dried Tanganyika sardines, called kapenta. They are very small and you buy them by the bag. They're a little crunchy even after they've been cooked. And, of course, served with nshima.

Bon Appetite!

God's Provision - The African Fishing Village

One of the things that I noticed in Africa was how God provides for the people there. Most of the things that they need to live - shelter and food- are provided from the environment around them.

Elephant grass grows very tall and is plentiful near the villages we visited. It is used for everything from their house roofs, their fences, and even baskets.



Fences are very simple to build. Take long branches from trees or tree trunks, use smaller branches for the cross bracing, elephant grass to tie the support structure together, and then use the tall elephant grass stalks as your fabric. When you cut the seed tops off it becomes an attractive, serviceable fence.



The roof structure utilizes sturdier branches or trunks to provide the support for the elephant grass thatch. Notice how beautifully and carefully this thatched roof has been put together!



The thatch roof keeps both the rain out and provides shade from the sun. But the construction of the walls of this hut are even more amazing.



They take large wooden tree trunk and branches and use elephant grass tied together for the cross pieces. Then they mix water and elephant dung in just the right proportion and work this mixture into the spaces. This wall will be 3 or 4 inches thick. We were at the village at mid-day on a very warm day. The newly built house we entered was cool and comfortable. And even as freshly built as it was, I detected no tell-tale orders.



Chickens are also part of God's provision. Chickens are really amazing animals. They provide eggs to eat-a continuing food supply. They hatch out the eggs and the chicks are eating size in 6-8 weeks. Mother hens do a good job protecting and raising these chicks. While most chickens are fed from the maize that is grown in the area, chickens can also be fed "free-range" from the other native plants around.



And even the chicken coops are made from readily available materials.



This village is located on the Chobe River. The men fish from canoes they have carved from large trees. The fish from the river provides not only food for them to eat, but also something they can use to barter for other things they may need.

Namibia

The wakeup call tomorrow is scheduled for 5:15. We'll get up grab what little stuff we have with us (The big clothes bag stayed behind in Johanesburg courtesy of South African Airways) and take the taxi at 6:00 to get to the Lusaka Airport to catch the 8:00 flight to Mfuwe. The first flight from Johanesburg that could bring our baggage arrives at 9:00.

Namibia was WONDERFUL. Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge was luxurious and beautiful. We saw oryx, spring bok, Bat eared foxes, rock rabbit, Namaqua quail, koorhens, Cape Sparrows, Sociable weavers, and Lappit Faced Vultures. We got to go to Sesriem and Sossusvlei National Park and see the biggest dunes in the world along with the hike to the Dead Vlei area where the beautiful dead trees are.

The next camp was at Wolwedans - which means dancing wolves. Our lodgings were a very lovely tent on a wooden platform with the opening facing the sunrise. We were brought a thermos of hot water every morning so we could enjoy the sunrise from our tent's porch.

The staff and food at both places were outstanding. Photos to come later.