AIR FILTER HOUSING CRACKED

oh for a wide angle lens.

we made it. for sunrise, we climbed dune 47, and then jumped in the 4x4 to drive another hour to deadvlei. problem was, you either had to park the car at the entrance and walk 2 miles across the burning sand, or try to drive in with your SUV. well, we had an SUV, so we drove. about half way. we got stuck. most of the party decided to walk the rest of the way, but amy and i spotted another truck driving by, and for a small fee, negotiated a ride the rest of the way in. we yelled "suckers!" to our comrades as we sped by, only to realize later they had the water. i had 500ml on me, which i was hoping would be just enough, until amy devulged she had nothing at all. we'd be fine though, right? just a little uncomfortable..

we jumped out at the oasis, the end of the sand road, and started the last 3/4 mile walk over a small dune to the petrified area. about 1/100 mile in i took my first drink. i also cursed the fact i'd left my sunglasses in the truck. 1/99th of a mile in i took my second drink, and heck, a third. it was HOT. i mean, really really hot. amy was parched so I gave her a drink. she was also in sandals and the sand was starting to burn her feet. i started to have dillusions of there being a hot dog stand with gatorade drinks at the end of the walk. it was a national park, right?

we crested the dune and saw the white flats below, dotted with trees. i was tempted to say screw it and go back. we barely made it in. once on the flats, the sun reflected right back up in our faces. i could barely see. i felt sick, dizzy and my head was pounding. the water was also just about gone and amy needed another gulp. this was one of the few moments in my life where i really felt like i could be in trouble. we agreed to spend no more than 5 minutes. i think we lasted two. i didn't even take out the IR filter that I had specifically purchased with this place in mind because i didn't think i'd survive the 20 sec exposure.

on our way out, we stumbled into kristen and ofir who were just making their way in, laughing and frolicking. ofir dumped kristen over backwards into the sand. i have no idea how they made the 2 mile walk and were still giddy at the end. i've long suspected kristen had camel-like water pouches hidden somewhere in her body because she never seemed to need to drink, though i have no idea where she kept them. we took a few slugs of their water and alternated between running and crawling back to the oasis where we begged for water and finally weaseled a ride back to the truck.

so, i got the shots that everyone takes, just not many of them and not exactly what i wanted. i also learned a lesson. of course i'd not remember this lesson several days later, but that's another story.

Like the famous photographer Ken Rockwell I'm a big fan of filters. A good filter can really add some snap and punch to a photo. The trick with filters is knowing which ones to use and when.

Lately I have bought some new ones for use in situations like the one below. It was a really beautiful day here today in Dunedin. Autumn has arrived but it was still warm and sunny enough to remind me of our recent summer.

I typically use a Circular Polarizer and/or a UV Haze filter when outdoors because of New Zealands very strong sunlight. The only downside is that they can sometimes make a scene look cold when the desired effect is a nice warm glow.

This evening I started out using an 81A warming filter but the effect wasn't strong enough. The light was quickley disappearing and I wanted to accentuate the dominate colour of the sunset. I then tried a Cokin graduated tobacco T1. Perfect.

Someone asked me today why use filters at all. Why not just use computer software? A fair question in this technological age.

Its all about the light. Basically a good filter, used appropriately, allows you to capture the light you want at the time of the exposure. That reason alone means filters are an essential part of the photographers equipment. Oh, and they also save time later on in front of the computer. Post processing dozens of pictures can become a chore otherwise!

Although we may use a digital camera it is still important to know how to take a well exposed photograph just like in the days of film. Filters can aid that process by balancing the amount of light we need. Remember the camera has a limited dynamic range of about 5 stops so photography is still about artistry not technology.