Gemmy brings out not only the beautiful but too, the extraordinary. Her fine art photography never fails to transport me to a strange world were moods and feelings are oxygen. See one of her works here.

If she had been born in the 17^th century, she most probably would have been a painter; actually, she does paint, in fact, she was painting well before she discovered photography as her new art expression. That was before she gave birth to her first daughter before she met her husband and had another four children; before she ran out of space in her home to maintain an artist studio. So what can you do with no more paint brushes and canvasses but with five kids, a husband and an unforgiving urge to create and release a mummy’s stress? The answer came to her by accident when she visited the zoo and started taking pictures of the residents. Aware that she could do much more with her camera, she started experimenting until she found exactly what she needed: a workshop on “like-painting photography” a technique that uses painting backgrounds for photography. 

With her photography work, Gemmy has developed a new and unique approach to her first passion for painting and drawing. Her love for the light effects used by 17th-century artists has led her to use lighting techniques that make her pictures look and feel like old masters paintings, thus recreating the softness of oil painting; she uses dark and light contrasts to create depth to create “nowadays portraits in the light of the past”.

With Gemmy, everything is about feelings; mostly serene moods. “The most important thing is to make a translation of what goes on in your brain and put that into an image”.

Unconventional

Unconventional is a surprising series of striking portraits with a message that certainly aims at redefining Beauty with its expected standards. In her own words, it’s about “being obsessed with looks and fitting in” while “finding your passion is way more important in this life”.

Figments

Have you ever felt, when visiting an old house, an irresistible feeling of connection with families that lived in it in the past? With the Figments series, Gemmy definitely pulls my heartstrings as she develops “a story about one room through different time periods and with different residents”. 

The Artwork

Fine Art Portrait photography is hard work. Gemmy says that she does not use a lot of gear, but the preparation for modelling and Photoshop precision techniques are essential to the results of her incredible portraits.        
           

She uses a Nikon D850 (she started with a simple Nikon) which she selected for its accuracy and offers a higher number of pixels.                      

Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk is a Dutch artist who studied multimedia. Her work is now widely published. She is Official Brand Ambassador for Nikon. You can see her at work on Youtube and register for her online tutorials.

One last word from Gemmy: “Your create for yourself and not for some judge at a photo contest”

Sources: 

When Steve was in India photographing Bengal tigers he felt devastated to see how many mothers and their cubs were killed while he was in the field. When he learned that more cubs were born, Steve returned to the site with only one thing on his mind: to catch a picture of a tiger mum and cub! As always with wild animals, things did not happen like on schedule and Steve had to wait many days. Because of his previous upset with so many tigers killed, he got so emotional in the waiting that when a tigress and her cub finally came out and he finally had a chance to take a shot, he thought he’d miss it. As he recalls, he never even checked his camera until a couple of hours later and did not know that had a perfect frame! That particular image became the cover of the National Geographic Tigers Forever has since represented for him “the future of tigers”.

Mark Thomas 

Mark who photographs polar bears had heard about rare and “friendly” encounters between polar bears and sled dogs but had never actually witnessed such a scene himself. On one of his trips to Northern Canada however, while looking for bears by a below freezing November temperature, Mark and another friend photographer decided to stay near the dogs when a large bear suddenly appeared and walked straight to one particular dog who seemed to actually welcome the huge predator while all the other dogs went mad barking. Amazingly bear and the dog started playing like old friends and Mark was able to take pictures of one incredible story of the animal kingdom. Here is what happened during the next ten to fifteen minutes in Mark’s words: 

“They played together for about 10 minutes when another amazing thing happened. The polar bear laid down near the dog and rolled over on his back. In the animal kingdom, especially in the world of predators such as bears and dogs, rolling over onto your back is a totally submissive posture. {…} So here’s a 700 to 800 pound fully wild adult male polar bear submitting to a 75 to 80 pounds tethered dog. It was an amazing sight.” 

The polar bear finally got up and went away. Till this day, Mark recalls that he felt like the polar bear and the sled dog had given him a going-away gift!                                                                             

Sometimes too, experiences can be of the disappointing if not frustrating  kind, like Richard Peters, recalls of that one time he had travelled all the way to the Maasai Mara for the Great Migration of the wildebeests and the wildebeests, as he says “all decided they didn’t want to get wet that week”! Wildlife’s like that, it does not know how many miles you have travelled and how much you have paid for a photo safari, and it doesn’t care.

George Turner  

What makes it worth for him to be a wildlife photographer is simply “spending time with animals”

Andreas Hemb   

“I get rewarded with so much more than just the images I take with me!”

Taking an amazing picture at the exact right moment and with the right angle can be a tricky exercise; this obviously did not deter Chris Hirata when he caught his friend and colleague photographer Kawika Singson as his tripod and his shoes caught fire while shooting lava in Hawaii.

Kawika Singson is not only a photographer with a love story for Hawaii, but he is also quite an adventurer who now has his own TV program. When this picture (which I found on Bored Panda) was first posted on social media, it literally caught fire (pun intended) and went absolutely viral.   
                                 

Reacting to the buzz, a number of comments pointed out that it could not be instant combustion. Kawika later ‘confessed’ during interviews that, although the flames and the surrounding elements were as real as could be, he and Hirata had indeed staged the whole scene and used fire accelerant on his shoes and on the tripod legs. 

Kawika wanted an interesting shot and creative genius combined with photographic talent, not to mention sheer guts just did that! This is one case where we can say that a photographer first shot to fame by being a model. Now, if you are ready to take risks in order to get your best shots, Kawika’s story may perhaps seem rather extreme and well… it is, and he did get a little bit concerned that others may just try the same stunt. He is quick to point out that he has become used to visiting volcanoes to take pictures; he recalled that on this picture he barely managed to stand the heat for a few seconds and that the whole set-up was a very calculated risk.

So next time you take a holiday that would include a volcano tour, please don’t even think of trying this stunt! There are many other ways to take awesome wacky pictures which I will be happy to share with you in the near future.

As this picture certainly touched me, I tried to find out more about Singson. To be honest I didn’t go very far. He seems to have settled in Hawaii for a while and loves to share his adventures around the island on his Facebook account and on TV. The man has an obvious passion for Nature; to quote the man himself “In the short amount of time I’ve lived on the island, I’ve been so unbelievably impressed by the wildlife and the culture.”

Do you sometimes find yourself with a bit of a mind blank and need a little help getting your brain moving? Well, when we were trying to figure out how many ways there were to make money through photography, the usual suspects were quickly mentioned ….. then ….. mind blank! Well, we stumbled on a YouTube video by Sorelle Amore which was really cool and we wanted to share it with you. Check out her list of ideas below and you can watch her full video where she goes into more details on some of these ideas by clicking here.  

Clearly there are endless ways to make money through photography and hopefully, this gave your brain a little jolt so you can find the right way for you.

You are a wedding photographer, or perhaps you are not but you have experienced working with one at your own wedding. Whichever the case, you happen to be familiar with the qualities required to capture and immortalise a couple’s BIG day with a camera: an understanding of the newlyweds personal style, finalising choices, planning details, surprises… you get the picture (pun intended).




Now let’s imagine what a royal wedding day takes out of a photographer!  

Hugo Burnand and Alexi Lubomirski were chosen, respectively, to shoot the official wedding photographs of Prince William and Kate and Prince Harry and Meghan. For these two photographers whose journey to professional stardom was a bit different and often continents away, meeting the two royal couples too happened in very different circumstances. What they do share, obviously, is a passion for their art doubled with a talent for organisation and a special sensitivity to what must be done to make their subjects, of all ranks and all ages, model-like naturals.

Hugo Burnand first met William in 2005 while on another official wedding shot, that of Prince Charles’ and Camilla’s. As he became a familiar of the Prince of Wales’ and his family, it did not come too much as a surprise when Prince William picked him for his own official wedding pictures.

"HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton have selected Hugo Burnand to be their official photographer at their wedding on the 29^th April. Mr Burnand will be taking the official photographs at Buckingham Palace following the wedding at Westminster Abbey."

Alexi Lubomirski had never met Harry or Meghan before they made their engagement official. In fact, they found him on Instagram! Quite a celebrity himself, Lubomirsky who worked with Mario Testino for four years has established his name within the fashion industry with magazines such as FACE, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. He has also become a photographer of the stars and yet, this is not how he came to know Meghan. Having made contact, Harry and Meghan hired Lubomirski to take pictures of their engagement and the relationship led to him taking the couple’s wedding shots at Windsor.

Planning & Organisation

Official royal wedding family portraits are taken inside the palace and less than half an hour can be allocated to the whole photo shoot. Preparing for those events, photographers have only a few days to plan the setting up of their equipment and practise their shots. Burnand recalls that he and his team virtually made the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace their home for a few days!                                                                                                        
Lubomirski too planned everything to details and explained this in an interview with CBS: “I like to plan as much as possible so that if anything goes wrong I can go back to those base plans”. The unknown, for both photographers, was the children.

Equipment

There is a huge amount of equipment involved (with lots of spares) especially when it comes to controlling the ideal lighting conditions. Burnand wanted the light to reflect a spring day, no matter what the unpredictable weather would be outside. To achieve the perfect light, they had to take into account not only windows, but every reflective element in the room, and this of course, without changing anything. 

Lubomirski in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle wanted to avoid regimented and linear photos. Again lighting had to play a major part to bring out all the efforts put into the placing of every family member, bridegrooms and bridesmaids to look easy going and natural.

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

Royal weddings operate like clockwork at every stage of the occasion throughout the whole day.

Both photographers remember how they and their teams had to respect a meticulous time-keeping. Burnand even organised rehearsals with stopwatches!

Lobomirski practised making sure he would take the six setups planned within the 25 minutes allocated. Talking about the famous black and white intimate portrait of Harry and Meghan sitting on the stairs, he revealed that he only had just over three minutes to take some quick shots. The precious time when you think that the picture received more than two million likes on Instagram!

Ready for everything, even Bribery

Royal photographers do not leave anything unprepared. They practice for everything; they think about anything that could happen. Children, however, royal or not, remain the unknown factor and with them, anything can happen; this is why these two photographers resorted shamelessly to bribery with jelly beans and Smarties.

Lobomirski explains that although you have to work within certain boundaries, and if you want to make it interesting and not regimented, Smarties are probably the smartest way to get both children and even the Queen to smile.

Something for all Photographers

I’d like to share this statement Alexi Lobomirski made after the royal wedding:

"It has been an incredible honour and privilege to document The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's inspiring journey of love, hope and family; from the engagement photos, all the way through to the official wedding and family portraits on Saturday. This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget."

You may not be a royal photographer but feelings such as those are definitely universal.

Note: Burnand and his team photographed Gabriella Windsor’s wedding on May 18^th.

Video of Burnand working:  Vimeo

Lubomirski shot this photo of just the newlyweds on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle after their wedding.

This post will take us away from our usual photographic interests, as I hope it will. Indeed, why limit our field when we can adjust our focus to the universe? That’s what astronauts do who take pictures of their amazing space adventure. Unlike astronaut photographer Don Pettit, these intrepid scientists are not usually familiar with sophisticated camera equipment and have to contend in space with most of the challenges we encounter on our home planet, and more. So here is a brief account on those photographers of exception and where we can find their pictures and indulge in letting our mind travel in space.

Astronauts Taking Pictures

Back at the beginning of space travel history (yes 20^th century), Soviet scientists were the pioneers but most photos were taken on the ground and often than not edited for propaganda while pictures in space were shot by automated cameras fitted on the capsule. The first pictures taken in outer space were taken in 1961, sadly not by Yuri Gagarin (there was no room on board for a camera or any extra weight) nor by American astronauts Alan Shepard or Gus Grissom who flew on the same year. 
The first in-space photographer was 25 years old Gherman Titov on board Vostok 2 who, on August 6^th 1961, orbited the Earth 17 times to study the effects of a prolonged period of weightlessness on the human body – it made him sick.                                                                   
Titov’s camera was a 35mm Konvas movie camera; you can see some of the photos that were part of a 2011 exhibition in Moscow here.

Here is what he said of his visual experience:

“It was strange to have a black dome above me and our earthly blue sky below. The Earth flashed as a multi-faceted gem, an extraordinary array of vivid hues that were strangely gentle in their play across the receding surface of the world…framed in a brilliant, radiant border. The colours were extraordinary—vivid, yet tender—and the light streaming through the cabin carried a strange shade as if it were filtered through stained glass.”

Another astronaut, NASA Commander Terry Virts also tells us how he “learned to see the Earth in terms of colours”: He knew he was over Canada (during winter) if he saw “nothing but white”; the Bahamas a “large turquoise pattern”. Virts is also a National Geographic photographer and author (View From Above – foreword by Buzz Aldrin). See Virts photos at https://terryvirts.com/

So what is it like to be at the International Space Station, travelling a mere 17,000 miles per hour and
taking pictures of what you see outside?  We can guess that the vantage point should be 1^st class, yet how to deal with gravitational effects on your senses, extreme brightness or pitch darkness when the rules of photography still apply? Ask NASA astronaut photographer Don Pettit who has also become a speaker on the subject. 

His book, "Spaceborne" was published by Press Syndication Group, 2016 and you can see some of his amazing work at space.com

Chris Hadfield is another astronaut who shares his experience shooting from the International Space Station on a video by Big Think which lasts 5 minutes. See more here.

Here is what he says: 

“You don’t always get it right, I mean, the National Geographic photographers — they take thousands of pictures for everyone that makes it into the magazine. Same for us. But the world is a very generous photography subject and you have the best tripod in existence, so it’s a great place to take pictures.”

Hadfield took some 45,000 photos; he picked 150 to share with the world in his book Around the World in 92 Minutes.

It just wouldn’t be right to not mention the most famous and unique out of space shot taken on July 20^th 1969 by Buzz Aldrin; the only full-body photograph of Neil Armstong on the moon. Armstrong was the one holding the 70-millimetre Hasselblad for most of the Apollo 11 lunar expedition somewhere in the Sea of Tranquility; fortunately, Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon did manage to take this amazing shot. On this picture of Armstrong, his face cannot be seen; instead, the reflection on his visor has immortalized the man who stepped on the moon right behind him who was taking the shot!

For the entire collection of photos taken by Apollo astronauts, you can visit The Project Apollo Archive at flickr.

For amazing pictures taken by astronauts check out HongKiat.

In 1976 Photographer Bruce McBroom, a graduate from the Photography Department of the Los Angeles Trade Tech College was a freelancer for rock stars and a familiar of the Hollywood picture studios. While mixing with actors, he met a girl from Texas named Farrah Fawcett. Thinking back, Bruce remembers how young Farrah had no idea then of how beautiful she was. He did few headshots for her and when she got the part in Charlie’s Angels, ABC asked him for a shot of Farrah in a bikini.

Glamour need not be so complicated; Farrah did not have a bikini (she did not like herself in one) and as none was provided, she simply put on her own swimsuit (that covered a lot), did her own curls and make-up, took a pose with a Mexican blanket for background and oh yes, she flashed her amazing smile!  

See The famous Farrah Fawcett Red Swimsuit Poster 

McBroom told Time Magazine: “It was Farrah’s pose, Farrah’s suit, Farrah’s idea.” It was Farrah too who picked that particular shot among others. History was made: the Farrah Fawcett Red Swimsuit poster sold over 12 million copies around the world. The record remains unmatched yet, something the ABC representative did not see coming when he first rejected the shots (no bikini!). Luckily he was wise enough to realize that just about everyone else loved the picture and he changed his mind.

A few months later, Farrah got Bruce to do this time a bikini poster of all the Angels.

So what was it that really made this shot become the bestselling poster of all times (according to the Smithsonian)? 

In 1976, no one knew Sarah Fawcett or Charlie’s Angels (the series came out 6 months after the shot was published); was it the girl next door effect? Farrah’s fresh beauty and her amazing smile? The curls? It definitely was not the bikini, and Bruce can only come up with “I don’t know”; but I am pretty sure that it was the result of a magic combination of an exceptional model and an inspired professional photographer or in Bruce’s words: “It was just me and Farrah and my Nikon”.

Underwater photography. It sounds wonderful and beautiful, but really what do you expect it to be? Breath-taking pictures of marine life, coral gardens, fishes with amazing looks and colours, perhaps mammals, an encounter with dolphins or even a whale? You are definitely right on the spot. In fact, there can be so much more to it: seas and oceans on our planet reach most regions on Earth from the equator line to either pole where they freeze. Most of us, perhaps, will have wondered, imagined, dreamed of what world and wonders lay beneath the ocean’s waves but only a few have taken up the challenge to dive with a camera to bring back to us glimpses of beauty and knowledge from under the sea.

I have tracked for you a few underwater photographers to find out what drives them and I found out how sharing the same passion for the marine world led them to different specialities.

Near the Coast

Toru Kasuya

Concern for our planet and a passion for diving do not have to take you far into the ocean, requiring lots of time and emptying your savings. Toru Kasuya from Japan, found this out while on a seaside holiday as he was enjoying his newly acquired diving license. That’s when the motor car engineer first discovered a new meaning to his life and what would become his full-time profession.

“Photographing the marvels of marine life near residential areas” has become his speciality. Toru says he always takes a beach entry into the water and always near populated areas where he finds an incredible diversity of marine life with a thriving eco-system.

Toru’s photography takes him to an amazing underwater world but, back on the beach, he gets to experience another kind of excitement, that of sharing his pictorial bounty with fishermen and people.

Toru Kasuya’s latest win was the Grand Prize in the 6^th Nikkei National Geographic photography award. You can visit his website here. In his portfolio, I was particularly touched by his Jewelry Box of the Sea.

Whales & Marine Life & Photograph Some Of The Most Elusive 

Brian Skerry     
                

Here is a man recognized as one of the top ocean photographers of the world. Brian Skerry from Massachusetts is a photojournalist and a National Geographic Magazine Fellow. His stories cover a wide range of topics related to marine wildlife and environment; dolphin intelligence and predatory sharks are but two of them.

Brian’s awards (he has received many of them!) include the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

As if Brian did not have enough adventure in his life, he was also invited to take pictures of President Obama during a snorkelling trip; and that’s how he was the first to produce pictures of a US president underwater! You can watch this exciting moment on YouTube 

Brian’s website: brianskerry.com 

Sunken Cities – Archaeology

Antonio Busiello

The relationship between man and the natural world is what Italian photographer Antonio Busiello likes to focus on and what drives him to use his talent and turn it into story-telling photography.

Antonio has travelled the world widely on assignments with his camera, ironically one of his most unique experiences happened in his native country, Italy where he was asked to take pictures of an ancient sunken city.

Baia, off the coast of the Gulf of Naples, used to be a thriving seaside resort famous for its hot springs and visited by the likes of Nero, Cicero and Cesar! After the water level rose due to volcanic vents (hence the hot springs) the city slowly drowned. Ancient ruins can now be found under the shallow waters of the bay and can only be accessed with diving gear.

Here is what Antonio had to say about his diving experience:

  “Diving here is like a dive into history, looking at ancient Roman ruins underwater is something hard to describe, a beautiful experience indeed.” 

Antonio Busiello’s website: antoniobusiello.com

Underwater Portraiture, Mermaids! But with a purpose

Chiara Salomoni 

Born in Italy, Chiara has always felt a fascination for the sea. She studies photography in California and later specialised in underwater wildlife. She is the co-founder of Project Mermaids and Mermaids for Change, both projects supporting and donating to coastal and ocean conservation.

Chiara’s art is something very unique and tale-telling. Her fashion photography studio is underwater. “Given the love and joy I felt working in the water, coming from a fine art background, in-water photography felt just right.” 

With Mermaids for Change Chiara wants to turn the legendary beings into “advocates of change and an example for the new generations.”

Chiara Salomoni’s website: chiarasalomoni.com

Polar Diving

Paul Nicklen

Diving expeditions under the ice do not come without risks: frigid water for one, large predators…. A fascinating world for Canadian conservation photographer and film-maker Paul Nicklen who has been diving in the Arctic and the Antarctic for over twenty years. A marine biologist by training, Paul’s recordings of wildlife in those seldom explored underwater regions are not only artistic and exciting pictures of a natural world on our planet most of us will never dream to see for ourselves, but too, precious scientific documentation.

Diving in an environment hostile to human life means that Paul Nicklen has to be able to face his fears on every expedition. While he wants to get as close as possible to his live subject, he confides that he never acts without respect for the animals he wants to catch with his camera.

Lately, social media has brought us many sad pictures of starving polar bears and reports of some of them terrifying people in Arctic villages. Here is what Paul has to say about polar bears:

"I've never had a scary moment with a polar bear, and people come to me like, 'Isn't that the only animal that actively pursues humans for food?' And I just see this powerful, but very fragile, vulnerable species that is so at the mercy of its ecosystem. And it's sort of the one species that I really use to drive home that connection to how important this icy ecosystem is. I want people to realize that ice is like the soil in the garden — without ice, the polar regions cannot exist"

Paul Nicklen founded his own conservation society, SeaLegacy. His website is paulnicklen.com . I recommend you to watch and listen to his “Motion” pictures.

If you happen to be in the food business, I have some awesome news for you: The world has been taken over by “foodies”!

Foodies are everywhere, in fact, they seem to have acquired a central place within our contemporary culture; their group seems absolutely borderless and with no age limit. Food in this century has become synonymous with some kind hedonism: food is self-indulgence, food is fun. 

For restaurateurs and chefs, this sounds like a world made just for them and a splendid time to ride what could be a wave of success. After all, food is huge on social media; would you believe that some restaurants specifically design “Instagrammable” meals for the “foodstragramming” crowds?  

So how can you ride the wave and surf safely all the way to the Promised Land of successful restaurateurs? That’s when food photography come in.

Who ya gonna call? A food photographer!

Eating with your eyes has become much more than just a witty saying, there is an actual scientific explanation whereas because our sense of sight is so powerful, looking at an image of delicious-looking food stimulates “food hormones” (leptin and ghrelin) that trigger hunger. Based on this knowledge, it makes sense that the way a photographer can arrange and shoot your food will affect viewers so much as to make them feel hungry or even craving for it! Seeing food photography does affect our psyche, and with the help of a good photographer you will be able to reach, influence and entice a broader audience; after all our eyes are bigger than our belly!

What quality images will do for your business:

1. Quality pictures can build your brand.

If you were tempted to use stock photos, I would urge you to rethink. Yes, hiring a professional photographer/food stylist will be an additional investment (although it does not have to be a heavy one) but do you really want to risk giving the wrong image of your business to your customers? If you want to be true to your clientele then stock photos will never be a true representation of the food you serve while the quality of your own pictures will be perceived as the quality of the food you serve. 

You need to build credibility and promote pictures of your own delicious looking dishes promising your customers that what they see is what they’ll get. When you hire a professional photographer you will also hire a food stylist who will be able, with the tricks of his/her trade to create impactful imagery that will make your dishes look as good as they taste.

2. Your pictures can make customers work for you

Food pictures showcased as marketing material can be used conventionally on your menu, posters, billboards etc, but also on social media platforms, the new word-of-mouth. People love to share images and so many about food and where to eat it. They Google on their mobile phone for places to eat and are not really interested in reading; they are looking for the one appetizing picture that will trigger not only their “food hormones” but their taste for a certain lifestyle and often too certain values. When you post your clear, detailed pictures, the quality and style of the photographic work and how much it stands out will determine how much it gets shared. So let your photos do the talking and viewers act as your own publicists!

Food photography is not only what will make customers choose one dish rather than another, but it is also what makes you stand out from the competition. With the obvious goal of increasing your sales, quality photographs are the message you send out there to establish your brand identity and the values you promote, so it makes sense to invest in a professional service. You will be surprised at how many options there are for a variety of budgets that photographers will be happy to work out for you when you approach them!

If you are interested in photography you will probably know that Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is the man who is still credited with the world’s first photograph ever taken. The picture was shot from an upstairs window at Niépce’s Burgundy estate in France in 1826. See the image by clicking here.

What would you think if I told you that Niépce had in fact brought improvements to a very ancient scientific technique, making use of the more modern up-to-date knowledge that was available to him? Studies reckon the science is so ancient that it dates back to 400BC in China! But let’s not get too deep into history, no offence to my Chinese friends, the 16^th century AD is an impressive enough period for historical reference of the early beginnings of this amazing scientific discovery: the Camera Obscura, in Latin “dark room”.

In those days of the mid-1500s, glass lenses and mirrors were already used to direct images into a large box and the Camera Obscura was used as a drawing aid by artists and by astronomers to view solar eclipses without hurting their eyes. 

How did it work?

You would first need a bright day to go and stand inside a dark room, a large box really, where the only opening would be a pinhole through which light would penetrate inside, thus reflecting the outside world upside down on the opposite flat wall surface. The secret to this amazing feat is found in the law of optic and it goes like this: the image is flipped because light travels in a straight line and all the points of the outside scene emit light. They do that all at the same time, sending it through the pinhole straight onto the back wall, creating new points of light on the flat surface and making the top image come through the bottom and the bottom image through the top.

Once the pinhole had been replaced by lenses around 1150, the increase in the size of the aperture meant that the picture reflected on the flat surface inside the Camera Obscura was much brighter. Further experiments lead to moving and adjusting lenses in order to obtain the right focus.

All this time, the Camera Obscura was a very large and rather permanent set-up, that is until 1604 when Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer came up with the convenient idea of a portable one, a tent really that hosted a plain poster to receive the projection. Doesn’t it remind you of what the Wild, Wild West photographers were using?

Fast forward to 1816 and to Nicéphore Niépce. It was his passion for printing that led the French inventor to develop a Camera Obscura, this time exposing to light paper covered in silver chloride. One can only imagine how awesome he must have felt when a familiar although rather blur picture of his neighbourhood revealed itself after an exposure of 8 hours! The result is the first known camera photograph which is still preserved today printed as it was by Niépce on a sheet of bitumen-coated pewter.

The technique to develop positive images directly on paper was discovered in 1839 by another French inventor named Hippolyte Bayard. Paper was later replaced with glass, in 1847. From then on, science just kept on progressing, with new chemicals and refined lenses, followed with the invention of shutter plates and of course the advent of colour photography. 

The photographic camera as we know it was developed from the Camera Obscura (see image here); I find it absolutely mind-blowing to think that the idea was born in the human mind some 2500 years ago and probably much earlier. What amazes me too is that it took almost all this time for the science to develop and give us what we knew until recently as photo cameras then to suddenly shift into a flash-speed time travel race to deliver digital cameras and smartphone cameras. Now I hold my breath to see what’s coming!

I don’t know about you but I happen to be in love, quite passionate to be honest. To cut short the suspense, I love our planet which I think is the most beautiful and amazing place in all the galaxies of the universe. I fact I believe that Earth is the Garden of Eden! Needless to say that it hurts me profoundly to see how criminally insane we have turned out to be against our own life provider: Nature. The deeper the cut when I think of what I am going to leave behind for my children and their children and that is why I have come to pay attention to all sorts of choices I make, including my hobbies, like photography.

Can photography be destructive? Really? Indeed, my first thoughts on this were that that hobby of mine was absolutely harmless. Then I thought again, making a mental effort to get away from the notion that picture hunting is harmless, that a lens cannot kill and that taking a picture of a wild orchid is so much more respectful than plucking it on its stem (especially when you know that those orchids will fade within minutes from being picked). This is how, after some searching and inquiring, I found out just how much our behaviour as photographers can affect our surroundings; I went on to collect some suggestions on how we can live our passion with respect for our environment, then I turned those suggestions into sensible questions we can ask ourselves on how we can leave as few as possible physical scars on our world and HOW TO BE AN ECO RESPONSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHER.

While your mind is totally focussed on taking pictures, it so easy to forget anything else near and not pay attention to what is around that you may push out of the way or even break branches if you are outdoor (especially the one blocking the perfect shot), birds in their nest; artefacts if you are in an archaeological site, or even people’s property, these are but a few examples I can think of right now.

You may think of yourself as a harmless wildlife picture hunter but watch out! National Geographic Photographers do take lots of precautions before they start targeting their live subject. As amateur photographers, we too should go prepared and first study our subjects and their environment, even if the photo shoot is only going to happen as far as the local park down the street. You don’t need to be an extremist animal rights activist to respect them, basic common sense should prevail: be silent, don’t be a bully by getting close and carry the right lenses!

Any food or drink containers, wrappers? Sun cream plastic bottle? Cigarette buds? What about wastewater if you are camping? I am thinking non-biodegradable things in particular yet, really, any leftovers should go back with you to be correctly disposed of or recycled. While you are caring enough not to leave anything behind, you may want to help by collecting what other not so smart and considerate people have trashed before you.

In some places, such as museums, galleries and animal parks, camera flashlights are forbidden. In some countries though, regulations are not so clear and posters may be lacking to inform visitors. Personally, I always inquire with the ticket receptionist whether pictures are allowed or not. Again, it is a matter of common sense to know that flash photography is not allowed in caves so that BC paintings will not disappear so that only pictures of them remain. Many museums have strict rules on that too and so do animal parks. Respect the rules, read signs and posters on your way, enquire with the staff and listen to the guides.

Times have changed and wildlife trophies or archaeological memorabilia in the living room are not so cool anymore, if not illegal; so resist any temptation to collect botanical specimens, corals or pieces of Angkor Wat!

Photographer Darren Rowse makes a strong point that we should use rechargeable batteries rather than AA’s. His opinion is that “Considering the many millions of digital cameras around the world that take AA’s the numbers of old batteries in our landfill because of them all must be massive. Rechargeable batteries will keep you from adding to this landfill for years to come – and in the long run, they’ll save you money too!”