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Lessons Learned On Assignment in Ecuador
By David Duchemin
I just got back from a ten-day trip to Ecuador shooting another series of images for one of my favourite clients. As always these trips are exciting and
rewarding. They are also an opportunity for me to improve my game, learn or re-learn some lessons, and get better at what I love. Here's what's on my
mind as I debrief from this trip and think towards my coming assignment in Africa:
1. Do your research and don't make assumptions.
The hard thing about assumptions is that we're often unaware we're making them - but doing your research will, hopefully, help you with those blind spots.
For instance, not fully researching the locations I was shooting on my recent assignment in Ecuador resulted in some of the worst sunburns of my life (
think burn-victim meets leper after the angry red skin began to heal). For instance, this resulted in some of the worst headaches I have ever had! I
could have been prepared, but I wasn't. This didn't affect my shooting, but it could have. I also should have read a little more about alpacas, which
are animals that resemble llamas and are native to South America. Part of my brief visit involved shooting a child with a juvenile alpaca. For the
record, alpacas don't like that kind of thing! Doing a little research would have allowed me to be prepared. I couldn't have changed the alpaca's
mood about the situation but I could have planned more time. In the end, the shots came out beautifully, but next time we'll take a different approach
and bring Band-Aids for the child. (Just kidding about that last part. We had lots of Band-Aids.)
2. Work fast so you can work slowly.
It's been said that "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." I don't know who said that - it might have been a ninja or a US Marines drill sergeant in a movie
I saw once - but it's true. If you can train yourself on the movements you need to make in the course of a shoot, you will shoot more smoothly and therefore
faster and more efficiently. When I got my last camera body it was different than my previous body and my ability to shoot quickly and without thinking
changed. I took stock of the settings I needed to change quickly - in my case it was the ability to instinctively change the focus points, focus modes,
and ISO that I seem to always need. So I worked on it consciously, slowly, and methodically. And now those motions are instinctive, fast, and never get
in the way of my shooting. Take the time now so you don't have to take it later.
Being able to shoot fast enables you to shoot slowly. Confused? What I mean is this: if you can shoot without being conscious of the technology in your hand,
you will have more time to give your attention to what really matters - the creation of a great image. If you're striving to be a great image-maker, this is
key to achieving your vision. If you just want to take pics of your family gatherings, it is equally important. How many great moments have been missed
because we've been fiddling with a lens or looking for a setting? Too many.
Photography uses light and time as its raw materials. As a photographer you are capturing a specific moment in time in the light that is provided - either
naturally or artificially - and the more prepared you are for the moment, the more you'll be able to capture it. Sometimes the difference between a great
image and a mundane one can be fractions of a second. Be ready.
"Be ready" applies not only to your ability to use your camera instinctively but also to the other gear you carry. If your camera bag forces you to take it
off your back to get out that lens you really need for the shot and the moment is about to happen and...oops, too late. It's gone. If you're using a small
memory card and the moment comes and the screen reads "CF CARD FULL" - the moment's gone. You absolutely need to be ready. Consider a modular belt system
such as the ones in the LowePro line, and a higher capacity memory card. Companies like Lexar are creating larger, faster cards all the time, and as the
prices come down, you should be taking full advantage of their ability to help you capture the moment.
The same applies to your workflow. The more you standardize your workflow - from the moment you put the memory card into your camera, download it, back it up,
and put it back into the camera to format and use again - the more confident you'll be that you haven't accidentally formatted the wrong card and risked losing
important files. The faster you can work with confidence, the better. It will allow you to slow down and take better photographs.
Lastly, the "be ready" mantra applies to circumstances beyond your control. For the amateur, this means having extra batteries and another memory card in your
pocket. For the professional, it means bringing your flash and wireless rig even when you think you won't need it. I hate flash and rarely use it - but on this
last shoot in Ecuador I found myself with a shot that simply could not be done without my flash - the flash I don't like using and almost didn't bring in the
interest of saving space and weight. But having that flash, my Pocket Wizards and a couple lightdiscs to bounce the light around, made the difference between
getting the shot and not getting it. Maybe "be ready" just means being able to improvise with what you have. But know that surprises happen; natural light,
Murphy's Law, and everyday circumstances will all turn on you just when you need them least, and the more you do to prepare yourself against that eventuality,
the better your images will be, the happier your clients will be, and the greater the chance you'll come home from the shoot or the family reunion with the
once-in-a-lifetime shot.
To see some of the images of my trip to Ecuador, please visit http://www.pixelatedimage.com/fluid2/.
David Duchemin Bio
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