Keep Keepin' On: Projects, Equipment and Multimedia

Here's what I've been up to photographically that is. I've actually been busy on some assignments which is always nice but blurred my focus a bit.

I'm trying to put a cherry on top of my Marginal/Maputo Beach Erosion project but am consumed with Paul's–I think observant advice–of trying to get a few more details, overalls and getting closer to my subjects. I have a list of a few things that I'd like to get, but I'd like to move on. One thing that I would like to do is visit Beira, a coastal city in Mozambique that I've been told has a much worse beach erosion problem than Maputo. I'd just like to spend a day or two photographing some of the damage which I think might enhance this project a bit to give some perspective and scale. I

Another project that I've started is doing portraits and interviews with albinos in Maputo. The reason that drew me to it was a BBC story that I heard a while back about killings of albinos in Tanzania by people who sold their parts to witch doctors who believed they had magical powers to bring wealth. There is a serious stigma around them and several aid organizations (unfortunately not in Mozambique) who help people with the skin condition. I've only just started and am trying to sharpen the idea a bit. I am buying a softbox, another light stand and a few other doodads to enhance my portrait power. (Also, because the folks at Polaris subtly suggested that better lighting equipment was needed.)

On the equipment front, I'm going on a buying spree, sort of. I'm planning on buying a Canon 60D, but will hold out a bit until after the first of the year (I might just let the 50D drop in price a bit more and a couple of those instead). Also, I'm a bit inspired by Brett and have a few prime lenses that I'll buy as well. However, I'm going to buy a Canon G10 this week. I was looking to buy a G9 this summer while I was in the states but stepped back when I heard that the G10 was coming. In Perpignan, they weren't yet released but word of them was abuzz. I played a lot with G9s that various drinking mates had. They were very popular there. Anyway, I'm excited about it.

When I was in Lisbon, I had a little Minox point and shoot that I loved until it died. I always had it with me. It was small (sort of like a Canon Elph) and I liked being able to be less intrusive when I was out and about. Unfortunately, the file sizes weren't that big, so I have a number of really nice photos that I can't, for instance, put up for stock. The G10 has much bigger files than the 20D SLR I shoot with now, plus you can shoot on RAW. It's bigger than my old Minox, but definitely cooler. You can put a strap on them too.

I was about to buy a load of software, but Maria sent me an e-mail that made me hesitate. I have to grill her a bit. Nevertheless, at the top of my list is Soundslides. I also plan on getting a digital mp3 recorder of some sort and perhaps a microphone. I've had a number of heavy discussions about multimedia and am going in the direction that I'll feel comfortable with. Despite what might seem like resistance, I actually have a background in convergence and multimedia. Brian Storm, Dirk Halstead and the like are no strangers to me.

When I started at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as a photographer in 1997, everbody there was spent a week in video training in our television station. All the still staff learned how to shoot (on beta and high 8), edit, and learn the basics of television photojournalism. It was fun at first, but in time interfered a lot with our still shooting. Eventually it sort of faded to the background. Still, folks like Dirk Halstead and people from around the industry spent some time at the H-T visiting and studying. When I left, we still did it on occassion but photographers who really enjoyed it (there were a couple) could do pretty much whatever they wanted because our 24-hour news channel was always hungry for content. When I met some of my old work mates this summer, they were a bit gloomy because the paper had decreased the size of the video staff and were going to start using the still staff to do more video.

It's never been hard to see the importance of multimedia and as a manager, I saw it from a different perspective. However, as a photographer, I admit I am resistant and not fully on board. I guess since I have done it, I am not so into it. I have always been very into the idea of the power of still images and sound together. The first time I saw Brian Storm speak, he was still at MSNBC and just starting to make a name for himself. He's a still guy at heart and used to talk about-as he still does-the power of still images married to sound. Essentially, it's sort of a version of what we do now but with printed words instead of recorded. He would talk about NPR (National Public Radio in the U.S.) and images together could empower our stories. I'm a huge fan of radio journalism which probably comes from growing up in the car culture of Los Angeles, and in particularly NPR. Shows like This American Life are great at creating powerful imagery.

I also had a friend, David Snider, who had similar type of things to say but sort of went a different direction. So to make it short: Soundslides. I'm sure when I get the stuff, I'll have all new problems to solve like what software to use to edit sound and the basics of radio journalism.

Next up, borders projects: I'm thinking.

Bath

Maputo Bay– Zé, which translates into "Joe," who only gave his first name, has a morning bath on the beach in Maputo.

Before coming to Mozambique three months ago, I was living in Lisbon, Portugal and had the idea of doing a project the "Marginal," a highway which ran along the Atlantic coast from Lisbon to Cascais. It never materialized although I did photograph a good deal. Upon arriving here, I immediately started spending time on Maputo's much smaller Avenida de Marginal. The attraction the nautical Portuguese had to Lorenço Marques, Maputo's colonial name, is clear. Mozambicans here have a much more spiritual relationship with the ocean that I hope to explore during my time living here.

I know this type of project has been done before, but one thing I've come to terms with over many years is that so has just about everything else. Two similar projects that come to my mind in the States are on Pacific Coast Highway which runs up the coast from California to Washington, and another on U.S. 41 which runs along Florida's west coast. My feeling is that individual points of view and vision produces unique work-like the innovative Romans. If I was more cynical, I'd have tossed my gear into the Indian Ocean after seeing Sebastião Salgado's book Africa which my wife gave me as a Christmas gift. One double edged sword for me in doing projects is that I usually get other ideas (which is good) and become sidetracked, unfocused and distracted (bad). I was good at steering others as an editor, but not so much alone.