Many folks ask me what do I do for camera and gear insurance when I am on the road. In theory I have it covered by a very credible company. Though this theory has never been put to the test. (It has on the other hand cost me a lot in premiums.)

I joined the National Press Photographers Association or NPPA for just this reason – insurance. NPPA works with Hays Affinity to provide insurance for it’s members photographic equipment. It is not cheap, but it does cover your gear when you travel, that is if, and this is a big IF, you tell them in advance about every trip you take. That has been a mill stone around my neck that seems impossible to live up to. At least for this ADD photographer. There is no easy number to call and say, “Hey Mr Hays agent, I leave tomorrow for Outer Nowhereistan and will be back on the following Thursday. Is my gear covered?”  Instead, you have to log into their website and download the “Overseas Travel Addendum” fill it out and fax it or send it to an agent and hope for the best. Not very user friendly and not that easy to plan and get done prior to a trip. Plus, as with any insurance company you always need a current list of your gear on file with them and they will need to adjust your premiums to reflect that new gear.

Don’t do what I did.

Here is a lesson learned the hard way. I have not had anything lost or stolen for years. Oh, sure, I miss place my keys at home or I leave my wallet in my pants and then can’t find it the next day. I would venture to say that most folks can relate to this. But, the inevitable happens. Earlier this last year I bought with good hard earned money a Fujifilm X100, the much celebrated and much sought after retro digital range finder. A great camera. This past trip to the USA I used it to shoot some family photos of some friends while visiting them in the US. Somewhere between the photo shoot and packing to leave, the Camera has disappeared. Yes, that is right, my sweet, sexy little X100 has vanished. They only thing left is the charger and a cool lens hood. But, I am covered for theft, right? Nope. I would have been had I added the little guy to my insured list of gear. Unfortunately, it is the only item of gear not on the list. The only one! I am sick. But it is a lesson learned and will not happen again. Would it have been covered? Not sure, as I did not inform them of my travel plans.

The moral to the story is get your gear covered and keep your list updated. When was the last time you updated your gear list? GO DO IT NOW!

Update: I have found my camera. I had put it in the glove box of my sister-in-laws car. Apparently, so it wouldn’t get stolen or so I wouldn’t loose it when we went into a restaurant for dinner. It was a forgetful and embarrassing thing to have happen. Yet, I have decided to post this story anyway. The lessons still remain and the questions still need to be asked:

1. Are you insured?
2. Is your gear list up to date?
3. What is your insurer’s policies on travel?

Get busy, you have a lot of work to do!

Today is Christmas day. We had a wonderful time with family over the past few days. A classic Christmas in many ways – shopping, eating and reminiscing. A big treat for me was borrowing a friend’s 8mm projector and viewing family films from way back. I mean way back. The oldest was from 1950 in Paris, but most were from the 60’s and showed a little crew cut Matt running around shooting people with his army gun (violent little guy!). I have been amazed how much things have changed and yet how many things have remained the same. These days we use an iPhone to record images of the family opening presents, not a Super 8 camera. We view the movies on our computers and not on a screen with the images thrown up by a projector. Yet, the images are the same. Family gathering together to share love and faith. We still read the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2 and we still sing the same carols we sang 50 plus years ago. Christmas is still a religious holiday for our family. It is still about the Christ child and God’s love for mankind. It is still about love and hope, about sacrifice and giving. It is a happy holiday.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Matt, Alou and Jessie too.

Here is your latest installment of my video blog. We are up to number nine. This week I share with you my travel plans – I think this is a record for for me. The longest actual flight time, as in time in the air, I have logged in one trip – and a few other little observations.

If the quality seems a tad different, it is because I did this one with the Fuji FinePix X100. I wanted to see if I could make a vlog post with it as it will be the only camera I take on this trip back home. It was a bear to focus without being able to use my monitor. It is really a two man operation when doing video of myself. I would love to be able to tether it to my Apple monitor or my computer.

This just in, PhotoShelter, the photographic gallery, storage and eCommerce site just featured me on their blog today. Check it out, it is titled, “Give The Gift Of Photography: Prints For Everyone On Your List“. Plus lightstalking.com list my article on The Photo Essay as one of the 16 Unmissable Travel Photography Resources for Photographers.

Below are some of the sites that I refer to in the video.

KeepYourCopyrights.org

law.justanswer.com

Photo Editor Rob Haggart, the former Director of Photography for Men’s Journal and Outside Magazine, and editor of the “A Photo Editor” Website not only gives his readers a great explanation of contractual terms and usage, he gives them a sample contract to uses and tweak HERE. His stuff is gold!

Vlog #6 from Matt Brandon on Vimeo.

Something new. Ok, it isn’t really new, I have done five other video blog post in the past. But I’ve never recorded any of them with the 5D MKII. So this is new. In this video I take a look at the Drobo storage device and how it failed. In this video I describe my work flow and the software I used to recover my data how to prevent this nightmare from happening in the future.

After you view the vlog you might be interested in the links below. I would love to hear from you whether you like this format or not. In some way it was easier for me than writing. So you might be seeing more… lets see.

Links to the product in the vlog:

Drobo 4 Bay

Data Rescue 3

Alsoft's Disk Warrior 4

Mediasonic 4 Bay USB 2.0

I love PhotoShelter and I think you will too. These folks have a love affair with photographers. Really, they love us and when we do well, they do well. Sort of a symbiotic thing. They provide photographers with valuable services for working photographers like a photo website or and online galleries that can be branded with your current website (see mine here). They provide you with handy image archives that give you and your client access to these images while on the road (I’ve used that more than once or twice!). They are always producing the best resources for us to be better at our craft and our business. They produce ebooks by the dozens, interviews both in print (see my interview here) and in video. They make handbooks to help you in business and marketing your work. Most of these resources, like today’s, are absolutely free… as in take it and run, no cost… FREE!

PhotoShelter just launched a new Photo Business Bootcamp. The Bootcamp is a 5-week free email series for photographers and has 40+ curated interviews and tutorials from the most respected photography and industry experts in the business (ie: Ami Vitale, Brian Smith, & David Burnett). The Bootcamp includes courses on how to find inspiration, grow your photography business, improve your website, master online marketing, and sell your photos.

Registration is free and photographers can sign up directly HERE.  Why are you still here?

1. PacSafe: Wrapsafe cable lock. The Wrapsafe this is a monstrously long cable with a creative design. Unlike other normal cable locks PacSafe’s Wrapsafe cable is adjustable due to the polycarbonate anchors along the cable length. It’s not exactly light, but it’s effective at securing your luggage in a train station, airport or even in a hotel room while you’re gone all day shooting photographs. It leaves you with peace of mind while you are away from your belongings. Well worth the weight!

2. Belkin 4-Way Surge Protector and Extension. One of the most frustrating things while traveling is having enough plug adapters for all your different electrical items. Sometimes, you may have enough adapters, but there just isn’t enough sockets in the room. Enter the Belkin 4-Way Surge Protector and Extension. There are several of these available, but I use the one that has the multi-plug slots. In this way I can use almost any type of plug from the round prongs of Indian plugs to the English and Malaysian large square plugs. (Unfortunately, I have never found this particular power extension available in the United States. I’ve only found it available in South and Southeast Asia.)

3. Zero Tolerance ZT-0350 tactical knife. Some might feel this is overkill and that a complicated Swiss Army knife might work better or even a multi-tool. Maybe that is true for you. I switched to this knife after years using a Swiss Army knife. But frankly, the Swiss Army knife was too heavy to carry around in my pocket and I never used anything but the scissors and the knife blade, so what was the point? I like the simplicity of this knife. Plus, this particular knife gives me a sense of security in that it is an “every day carry” and I can clip it onto my pocket and wear it. It has an assisted opening that makes one-handed opening easy using the large, ambidextrous thumb stud or blade flipper. It is made of thick S30V stainless steel. S30V steel is really tough, so much so that you can use this knife to pry apart two wood 2-by-4 planks nailed together and not damage the blade.

4. LEDLenser-ZL7438 Flashlight. Any small LED flashlight is handy. But this one is as bright as a laser beam! My LEDLenser has proven to be indestructible. I have dropped this from quite high on many occasions and it still performs well. This little light takes 3 AAA batteries and runs forever on them. It is rated to give 100 hours of battery life. I’m not sure that’s true. Maybe it is 100 hours till the battery dies completely. Needless to say, you will want to replace the batteries earlier than that to keep the light bright. It is not cheap, but it’s been the last flashlight that I’ve had to buy. So, in the long run it might be worth the money spent. This is an Australian company, so I’m not sure how easy it is to find in the United States.

5. Giro Blaze Cold-Weather Cycling Gloves. You might ask, why cycling gloves? The fact is, I didn’t go out looking for cycling gloves in particular. I was browsing around a few years back at an REI (a sports store in the U.S.) and found these. They are thin, grip well and yet still warm and allow me to feel the buttons on my camera while wearing them. I don’t find much use for fingerless gloves, so these were perfect.  These guys went with me to the Everest base camp this year and they will be going back with me again next year.

6. Gatorade powder. This is an incredibly handy item to have with you when you travel. Not only does it replace lost electrolytes after you have been sweating in the New Delhi sun, it also can mask the flavor of some pretty nasty water. Oftentimes water that’s been filtered or purified may have a bad taste and this makes drinking it possible. I usually keep around 3 or 4 small packs with me throughout the day.

7. Shure SE210 Sound Isolating Earphone.  Audio is very important to my work and I want to be able to hear what I’m capturing with my recorder. But I also don’t want to have to carry along several types of headphones. I used to travel with a pair of noise canceling headphones but I found I only use them when I was in the plane. Then I found these Shure Sound Isolating Earphone. They isolate rather than cancel out noise. Basically, they are foam ear plugs with a hole in the center for the sound to pass-through. For all its simplicity, it’s very effective and some of the best sounding headphones I’ve ever owned. Plus, I don’t get a headache after wearing them for hours on an airplane like I used to do with my noise canceling headphones.

8. Eneloop Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries with Charger. A conventional NiMH Battery can be charged only up to 500 times and looses about 10-15% of its charge on the first day itself. In contrast the Sanyo Eneloop retain up to 85% of its charge even after one year. Not only that but they can be recharged up to 1000 times. I have found these to be the best rechargeable batteries out there…by far. They’ve saved me a lot of money over time. Great for use in a flash, radio triggers and recorders.

9. iPhone/iPad Pen and Stylus. Why a iPhone stylus? Good question, since the iPhone doesn’t need a stylus for you to write on it. But, try to get someone who’s never written on iPhone to use their fingers to sign a model release. Trust me, it’s difficult, I’ve tried it. That’s when I went and purchased a stylus pen and everything became easier.  If you’re using Easy Release or some other type of iPhone app for obtaining a model release I highly recommend getting a stylus. The one I have (pictured above) doubles as a writing pen as well.

10. Pipes. At the risk of getting inflammatory e-mails by people telling me how dangerous pipe smoking is I put my pipes on this list. It’s a simple pleasure that relaxes me.  I enjoy the camaraderie it facilitates with other pipe smoking photographer friends. You know who you are – I will not list your names here.

So, that’s it. It’s not an exhaustive list and it’s not a “top ten of list” it is just a handy list. Maybe there is a thing or two on this list that you might find helpful or useful. I hope so. At the very least you can use this as a starter for your Christmas with list. What do you find you cannot travel without?

f/1.8, 1/2500 sec, at 85mm, 250 ISO, on a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

This will be a short post. It’s really just a reminder to take advantage of the moment. This morning I went to Georgetown (Penang, Malaysia) scouting out some locations for an upcoming photo walk. As I was walking through Little India, I stopped and went inside a Hindu temple. These temples have always been inviting and friendly and I thought I might take some photos. I was quickly told by the very stern and very grumpy temple curator, I could not take photos in his temple.  Having never been turned away from photographing inside of a temple, I double checked that he was indeed the curator. This seemed to make him all the more upset. The poor guy definitely got up on the wrong side of whatever he sleeps on. Feeling somewhat dejected and frustrated I left. As I walked outside I thought about the very large painting of a lotus on the ground in front of the temple, a mandala of sorts. I had an idea. I wanted to leave, but I made myself stand there and wait for a moment. I could walkaway, upset by the grumpy curator or I could wait for a sari clad woman to walk over the mandala and get my photographic satisfaction.  My patience was rewarded and frankly I felt better not letting my emotions rule me.

f/2.8, 1/160 sec, at 16mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II

I walked on. Only a few feet further I saw a Muslim gentleman standing in his butcher shop doorway. He had a very stern and somewhat intimidating look on his face.  With the curators voice still echoing in my head I assumed this man’s expression meant, “Keep walking. There’s nothing for you to see here.” So, I kept walking. But, there was another louder voice in my head that said, “Just go talk to him. Don’t let fear rule you.”  So, I went back and greeted this man. Immediately his face lit up and he smiled. Before long we were old friends and he began telling me the history of Indian Muslims in Malaysia. How, according to him, many Malay call them, “Mamas” or “Mamak” but they see themselves as simply Malaysian. I asked him if I could take a few photos and he quickly agreed. Granted, these are not great images. I don’t post them here because they’re my best work, they certainly are not. I am posting them as a reminder to all of us, myself included, to slow down, take advantage of the moment and don’t let fear direct your photo shoot.

f/1.2, 1/400 sec, at 85mm, 200 ISO, on a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

I am what some people call an intuitive photographer. By that I mean, I take photographs often by what feels right. Many times people that are intuitive at any craft or talent make bad instructors. When asked why they do something they simply reply, “I don’t know, it just feels right.” As an instructor, I find this a challenging aspect of my teaching – to take those things that are intuitive for me and make them methodical. By methodical I mean, make it into a method or a system that others can use. I face the challenge to understand why I do something so that I can put it into words for others. Many times it is in talking with other people or reading articles about why people do things, is when the light comes on and I realize this is why I do something.

A light came on for me this past week. Over the last couple weeks I’ve had several people ask me what lenses I keep on my camera? The answer to this is pretty straightforward, on one camera body I keep my 16–35mm f/2.8, and on my other camera I keep either my 50mm f/1.2 or my 85mm f/1.2. When thinking about this, I realized that I am a creature of extremes. When I use my 16–35mm I almost always use it around the 16mm focal length. When I use my 50mm or my 85mm lens I’m almost always shooting at an f-stop of 1.2. But why?

It dawned on me recently while speaking with David DuChemin about dynamic balance and the rule/principal/suggestion of thirds that this really has almost everything to do with my use of extremes. Let me try to explain. I used the 16mm because I like a wide vista that allows me to frame my subject to one side of the image, yet still giving me plenty of room to play out the rest of the story in the frame. Not only does this add to the storytelling element, it is a compositional technique that gives a balance between your subject and often negative space. It allows the viewer to move there eye around the frame taking in information and returning to the main subject. Of course, this is based on the ever popular “Rule of Thirds”. This rule or principle states basically that by framing a subject on one of the four “power points” within the frame, the photographer creates a sense of tension or dynamic balance. It keeps your subject from being static and thus boring. Of course, you can do this with any lens, but a super wide-angle lens allows you to do this with ease and can include so much more information.

But why do I seem to fall back to  f/1.2? Certainly, I love the look. But why does this appeal to me? While talking with Jarod Foster on Skype the other day it dawned on me, it’s not that much different than why I use a 16mm lens. It has to do with composition -  only it’s more composition of depth. Most of us know a photograph should have a foreground, a mid-ground and a background. Often a photograph can be cluttered with detail that is extraneous to the image – or we can say, to the story. This information can actually distract a viewer’s eye away from the subject. By using an extremely shallow depth of field, your subject becomes isolated by the soft blurred background that often becomes negative space and can draw the viewer’s eye to your subject. Humans naturally view the world with varying depth of fields. Even now as I look at my computer monitor, behind it, through my window I see a roll of condominiums that stretch along the beach. Yet when I focus my eyes on what I’m writing, in my peripheral vision those condominiums are blurred and this allows my brain to maintain focus on what I am writing. I’m pretty sure that this sense of depth that we see in the real world is transferred into a photograph when we use the shallow depth of field. I think intuitively, I was shooting a narrow depth of field to create a sense of that depth. In the past, I have only described using a shallow depth of field as a tool to isolate my subject. But now, as I think about it, it’s more than just isolating the subject,  it’s creating a sense of depth within the image.

I know this sounds extremely elementary for many of you. In fact, at this point you may have even felt you have wasted another 10 minutes by reading this post.  But before you run off let me ask you a few simple questions. Are you able to articulate why you shoot the way you do?  Can you tell me why you use the lenses you use? Why do you choose the f-stop you do? Are the choices you make intentional?  If you can’t answer these simple questions, then maybe it’s time for you to sit down and think through the choices you make when you go to photograph a subject.  Once you get to the point that you can articulate these choices, you will have much more depth to your images.