Aperitifs by Chefs at Marriott Red Sea Resort - Egypt

I was attending The Race to Taba Heights golf presentation the other night. Taking the photographs of that days winner, runner ups etc. of the golf tournament. The evening presentation was held at the Marriott Red Sea Resort and the Chef had made these gorgeous and very tasty aperitifs for the event I of course could not help but to take a few snaps of them before everyone indulged, they were gone pretty quickly so if you wanted any you needed to be swift. But that is always a good sign for the Chef so all compliments to him well done on the aperitifs. My personal favorite was the pastries with blue cheese in, the chocolates were of course very good as well!

If you are interested in the presentation images I took you can find them all on the Taba Heights Golf Resort facebok page, http://www.facebook.com/tabaheightsgolfresort

Bird watching

Hi there,
I went out the one afternoon to take some photographs of white birds that I had gotten a tip of was in the area. The person telling me about them did not know what kind of birds they were part from that they were quite large in size and flew away when he got close :-) No surprise there ha ha. Anyway I set off to take photographs of them. I put on a pair of shorts with lots of pockets on the sides for lens caps etc. and to that I had my 'new' company t-shirt those of you that have followed my blog knows that my compay t-shirts are bright pink in colour. I think that was my first mistake of this photo excursion. I very likely scared away any bird with any sense. I did fire off a few images towards an eagle that I saw or was it a large hawk? I am not sure. But it kept on flying away when ever I got close. I did chase it around for a while until he got tired of it and flew way off so that I had no chance of following it, so quite clever! I saw this early on my bird expedition so I was not at the lake where these white birds have been spotted so I set off trying to find them I had brought a book with me incase I had to wait for them. Once I got to the lake there was no birds in sight I scouted the area trying to find a good place for me to wait for them. But that is not as easy as it may sound since I had no idea of where they would be coming from and which part of the lake they would like to be at not that the lake is that large but still large enough to be at the wrong place at the right time..... well you know what I mean. Instead of sitting down to read I walked around trying to see other things to photograph while I was waiting. I did see the eagle again but only briefly he got a glimpse of me and few off and never came back I waited around for about 45 minutes. But no more eagles or the white birds. I am guessing that the white birds are a kind of heron because I have seen them in the area before and they can get quite large. But I did not get to see them this time. I did how ever photo graph some smaller birds. :-)
See images below, not the ones I had planned to photograph but they were there while I was waiting around and my bright pink shirt did not scare them off so easily or at all really. I guess for next time I should dress a bit more inconspicuous maybe some desert colored clothing would be a good idea so that I can blend in with the environment more.
Ps. if anyone knows the name of these birds below please let me know. Thanks!
Over and out till next time.
Helen

Planning a photo excursion

Hi,
I am very excited about a new photo excursion that I am planning into the Egyptian Desert. It will most likely happen in the next two weeks, fingers crossed. If we can get all the planning done with Jeeps and guides. You don't want to get lost in the desert!

I am also very keen to start some photo courses for beginners to intermediate enthusiasts as well as do more Photo Excursions. But not sure we have enough clientele base here in the Taba area of Egypt. If anyone are interested please let me know I am also happy to set up one on one photo sessions to fit your skill level.

I have this morning been working on images that I took while trekking in the Lake District in England. Looking at them now makes me want to go back and take images now when the leaves on the trees are changing colour as well as taking some images once the frost arrives and the first snow. I guess I will have to plan that for next time not sure I will have time next year though... we'll see. I did fall in love with the area though I must admit with it's beautiful landscapes at every turn.
I am right now reading a book by Bear Grylls, Facing Up he is telling his story about his trek up to the Summit of Mount Everest. (It's a great book) I know that my trekking is nothing in comparison but the lakes did test your fitness at times some of the hills were pretty steep and very high but once up there it was all worth it. The views that lay in front of you were amazing. Similar in the way of how Bear describes what he sees on his trek up towards the summit...
I had reacently on my trip to Dubai bought a new camera bag and I was very grateful for it I used to have the Lowepro Sling Shot bag but have now exchagned it to a Lowepro Mini Trekker and it was very comfortable to use in comparason, the sling shot is not comfy for long walks.
I think I only used one lens the whole time, at least my favorite was my Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM.
As I mentioned earlier I am still working on getting my images from the lakes ready but here are a few that are ready so far for you to view.
If you would like to buy any of them for editorial purposes or website use please contact me and we can discuss the options that are available.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Why not take your camera out for a spin? and let me know how you get along I would love to see your creations.

I will this afternoon take a model down to the beach and take some sunset images. I'll show you later how it turns out so stay tuned.

Ps. If you or someone you know are interested to do some photo excursions or photo courses with me please do not hesitate to contact me and we can set it up.

Cheers,
Helen

Do you learn from your mistakes?

Learn from your mistakes or if you can someone else’s mistakes is even better to save yourself some time.

Yesterday I had planned to shoot images of a tree that have started to bloom, it has many red flowers on them that look like a bottle brush (You’ll understand what I mean once you look at the images).

On my drive down to the Golf Club where the trees are I saw a Grey Heron in the water trap on hole 3 I stopped by the side of the road, quickly changed my lens from my 100mm 2.8f to my 70-200mm 2.8f so that I at least would have a chance to get a decent shot of the Heron. I ran across the road, at the same time I check what ISO I have the camera set on to see if I need to change it or not I have it on 200 and I decided that was good, by this time I was almost certain that the bird would have flown away. The bird was still standing in the water looking about I first shoot a few images then I dare go a bit closer to get a better vantage point so that I can get the bird and the flag on hole 3 in the same shot it looks great in my view finder. I fire away a few more shots the bird gets spooked and flies away I continue to shoot it while it flies away to my luck it flies towards me so it is actually coming closer and closer great! It can almost not have choreographed it any better. I stop shooting and to take a quick look at the images before I go back to the car. That is when I realize I have been shooting without a memory card in the camera. Just Great!

So the moral of this story today is to ALWAYS check all your camera gear before you leave your house since you never know when that money shot will appear!

So try to save yourselves some future grief and learn from my mistake!

Enjoy the images below the ones I had planned to shoot all along and the only ones I did shoot yesterday!

They are all taken with my Canon 5D, Canon 100mm 2.8f I did manual focus on all of them hand held some and some are taken on my tripod.

Filing system, Sensor Loupe & Champagne on the Beach in Egypt.

I have this week started a new filing system with my images that I hope will prove to be a good and long lasting system. Cross your fingers please! For a photographer the number one thing is to have a good filing system where you easily can search and find your images quickly your income can depend on it. Since if you can’t deliver quickly I bet there is another photographer out there that can. So you can loose potential income if you do not have a good one. Now I am of course assuming that you already can take great photographs ;-)

Creative people in general are not people with order around them with paperwork etc. chaos seam to be more the norm and that is why it is so important with a good filing system and a Back UP System! Where maybe the latter is maybe the most important part in the soft copy era we live in.

Which reminds me I have to buy more external storage space! I'll have to put it on my purchase list together with some Dust Aid. I only have one strip left and they are so very good. So will have to stock up while I can. I do not know if they sell them here at all in Egypt so have to get some when I travel in a few weeks.

 I am also thinking of maybe getting a Visible Dust Loupe any of you that are using one and can tell me if you like it? Think it might be the thing I need to be able to see the dust specs easier on the sensor so that I easier can take them off. I just did a quick google search and found another brand Ohnar Loupe that also does the same thing it is slightly cheaper though. Wonder if it is just as good?

"Isn't it strange? We spend hundreds, maybe thousands, on a camera lens to achieve the ultimate sarpness. Then, when it comes to assessing the results, we're quite likely to use a £10 loupe with a plastic lens. The loupe is probably the most overlooked accessory in the photographer's armoury. A loupe is a lens. You wouldn't expect much from a camera lens with just one or two elements, nor should you expect much from a similarly constructed loupe. Achieving decent resolving power requires several elements or groups of elements, just as it does in a camera lens. And this costs money." http://www.kauserinternational.com/4xzoomloupereview.htm

I read this in a magazine and I believe its very true. I know I was thinking the same thing wow a loupe is expensive when I found out the prices of them..

Champagne Brunch on the beach!

This image is from yesterdays morning photo shoot. I was up early again taking pictures the sun was right off to my right side giving the champagne glasses a nice sparkle in them. I had to keep on swirling the glasses though to keep the Champagne bubbling  LOL. After the shoot I was lucky enough to get to drink what was in the glasses!!! Unfortunately it was only 7 Up with extra lemon so it was actually quite sweet and probably full of sand in them, it was quite windy even it doesn't look it on the images.

Diving images

I went diving with a friend of mine last week and I took some underwater images while I was down there and I must take my hat of to all underwater photographers because it is not as easy as it looks to take a photograph underwater. As photographers you are taught to hold your breath at the time of pressing your shutter to eliminate camera shake and that does not help you underwater then exhale is a better option for you. Because when you hold your breath underwater you will slowly start to float up and then you get away from your camera vantage point that you had decided was best for the shot. So needless to say I will keep taking my photographs above water where I can move elements in and out of the scene be it things or people. Try telling a fish to stay still!
I have posted a few of my efforts here for you to view just for fun. But I can assure you underwater photography is nothing I will try to pursue anytime soon. I need to get a few more dives in me…