BEST of On The Road
"Egypt Trek"

April, 2007

Hi, and welcome to this edition of On The Road. The American PHOTO Mentor Series Trek to Egypt was in a word ... Exotic. It was my pleasure and privilege to work with fellow Mentor Tom Bol on this once in a life time photographic journey.

Image #1 Egyptian Morning ... Our first location shoot was the Great Pyramids of the Giza Plateau outside of Cairo. The group of trekkers were greeted by a long line of Bedouins riding their camels from the pyramids to an open market place to the west. This was a fantastic way to begin our journey into the land of the Pharaohs. At the conclusion of our morning shoot I ventured back to our original hill top photo location to collected one last trekker and started him back towards our buses. I looked over my shoulder and saw this lone Bedouin slowly riding his camel past the greatest ancient wonder of the world. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 1/160 at f8, Nikon 17-55mm Lens with an Amber Lens Filter (I hadn't used in 20 years), WB 10,000K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #2 Pyramid Power .. The first day was so exciting that none of us wanted to stop shooting, even though the sun had gone down. I announced that I was heading to the hotel roof top to see what kind of picture might be possible. Several trekkers joined me for a late night game of patience that paid off at 10pm when the Great Pyramids of Giza became illuminated. Nikon D2Xs, ISO160, 10 second exposure at f6.3, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, Gitzo Tripod and Ball Head, WB 2500K, Long Exposure Noise Reduction Mode, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #3 Camel Market ... The camel market outside of Cairo was perhaps the best location for any of the trekkers who were looking for a true photojournalistic opportunity. Definitely not the normal tourist point of interest, this market place was full of great faces and scenes of big business conducted with plenty of Egyptian style. I decided to place my camera with a 10.5mm fisheye lens on my mono-pod in an attempt to capture a birds eye view of the happenings in the market place. This camel arrived at the market with a broken leg which led to its swift destruction by way of a throat cutting. This image, although grotesque to most Americans, seemed common place for these Bedouins of Industry. Nikon D200, ISO320, 1/500 at f4, Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye Lens, WB 7100K, Gitzo Mono-pod with Gitzo Ball Head, Kirk "L" Bracket, Nikon MC-30 Cable Release, Lexar 8G Flash Card. I try to lead by example when I teach. No sooner had I mounted the D200 on my mono-pod and raised it high over my head for this unique viewpoint than one of the trekkers followed my lead with a similar setup while several others positioned themselves on a roof top for there own version of a birds eye view and made great pictures of their own.
Image #4 The Sphinx ... The history of Egypt and great photographic opportunities continued each day and included a visit to the Sphinx. A very straight forward iconic monument recognized throughout the world, the Sphinx was perhaps my favorite of all. A main attraction of Egypt, the trick was to capture an image with no crowd visible ..... accept for the two men riding camels who provided the perfect Egyptian accent for a complete image. Nikon D200, ISO200, 1/100 at f22, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 4500K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #5 Life Along the Nile ... Our group flew from Cairo to Aswan were we boarded a beautiful cruise boat and began a slow trip up the Nile towards Luxor. We boarded the boat in the evening and set sail while we were sleeping. I woke at sunrise to a view from my bed of slow moving scenes of life along the shores of the Nile River. I grabbed my camera and headed to the upper deck where I was soon joined by several trekkers ready to make pictures. This was the most relaxing photography I have ever done. We all clicked off picture after picture of life on the river as it unfolded with each mile of slow sailing. Nikon D200, ISO200, 1/250 at f5.6, Nikon 70-200mm Zoom Lens, WB 7100K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #6 Sunset On the River Nile .. I believe every trekker was on deck for this magnificent sunset. The magnificent scenery unfolded as we slowly cruised up the Nile until the sun set behind this Minaret. Nikon D2Xs, ISO160, 1/160 at f5.6, Nikon 70-200 Zoom Lens with TC14C 1.4 Teleconverter, WB 10,000K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #7 Jewel of the Nile ... or so it would appear. Each day of our cruise was spent on shore photographing various locations ranging from the Valley of the Kings to local Bazaars. This jeweled container was in an antique shop and made a perfect subject to apply a shaft of "portable Ra" ...(Egyptian sun god) ... a.k.a. a shaft of light from a Nikon SB800 Speedlight and LumiQuest Snoot. Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/20 at f4, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 7700K, Nikon SB800 Speedlight with power output of +2, LumiQuest Snoot and Warming Gel, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the Remote SB800, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #8 Jamil ... Each temple area we would photograph offered portrait opportunities of the locals. Jamil was very willing and most patient with myself and a small group of trekkers in our efforts do learn about lighting with the Nikon SB800 Speedlights. The inner court yard of the Temple of Philae offered enough ambient light that gave a soft background tone but not enough light to draw attention to our subject. We used one SB800 with a warming gel and snoot to add an accent of light to Jamil's face and mood to the over all portrait. Nikon D200, ISO250, 1/60 at f4.5, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 7100K, One SB800 Speedlight with warming gel and LumiQuest Snoot at a power output of +2, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the remote SB800, Lexar 8G Flash Card. This lighting formula would be a reoccurring teaching theme that I would stress over and over again each day. I like the drama that is created when a background environment is underexposed by -1 and the power output of the off camera Remote SB800 Speedlight is +1 stop ... but I wanted a warm shaft of light so I used the warming gel that comes standard with the unit to add warmth to my subject. The addition of the warming gel diminishes the output of light so I use a +2 power output to compensate for the warming gel. (NOTE: this same lighting formula was also used on the previous image of the jeweled container.)
Image #9 Walls of History ... Our group was privileged to have two of the world's foremost Egyptologists as our historical guides. You've read their books and seen them on the History Channel but for our Trek to Egypt they were LIVE and in person, Bob Brier and Pat Remler. All the history of the Pharaohs came alive with each temple we photographed. This image of the interior of the temple near Kom Ombo was accomplished using the same off camera SB800 Speedlight theme as previous images. I underexposed the general scene and then added some accent light using a Remote Nikon SB800. Nikon D2Xs, ISO320, 1/20 at f4, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 6700K, Two Nikon SB800 Speedlights with power output of +1 (one was placed on the floor and one with a LumiQuest Snoot was hand held off to the left and added an accent of light on the Pharaohs face) Nikon SU800 Commander triggered the two remote SB800s, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #10 Egyptian Craftsman ... One of our excursions took us to a small village near the Valley of the Kings. The village was in the process of being excavated due to recently discovered tombs beneath the buildings but a few villagers remained including this artist carving replicas of the hieroglyphics found in the tombs. Nikon D200, ISO100, 1/100 at f3.2, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 7100K, One Nikon Remote SB800 Speedlight with warming gel and LumiQuest Snoot and a power output of +1, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the remote SB800, Lexar 8G Flash Card. I underexposed the scene by -3/4 of a stop and added just an accent of light with my SB800 at a power output of +1. This again follows the same theme as previous images but with a less dramatic difference between the ambient light and the light produced by the SB800.
Image #11 Whirling Dancer ... Like most cruise boats, ours came with evening entertainment. This dancer was a whirl of activity as he performed what trekkers estimated as over 300 revolutions during a 5 minute dance. The same principle is applied here as before ... I underexposed the scene by -1 stop and placed an SB800 as a remote off the camera (no warming gel) in a chair to the dancers right at a power output of +1. Nikon D200, ISO100, 1/10 at f4.5, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 6700K, Nikon SB800 Speedlight with a power output of +1, Nikon SU800 Commander to trigger the Remote SB800.
Image #12 We concluded our cruise of the Nile in Luxor and explored the city of Thebes, the capitol of the ancient Egyptian empire. The pillars of the Karnak Temples provided an excellent backdrop for photography. Trekkers produced some of their finest work of the trip while wondering the temples main hall. This image is a strong example of the use of light and shadows which was the main theme I was hoping to communicate during the trek. It is the use of light and shadows that create drama in a picture whether it is accomplished by using off camera flash units or, as in this image, natural sunshine. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 1/500 at f5.6, Nikon17-55mm Lens, WB 7700K, Lexar 8G Flash Card. To capture this image several trekkers and I waited patiently for about 15 minutes for the crowd of tourists to clear out of the main temple area thus creating a scene of solitude and contemplation.
Image #13 Market Boy ... The Luxor area had a terrific local Bazaar district which provided some wonderful pictures for many, especially for those trekkers who wanted to explore the other side of the Bazaar district. This was a great photojournalistic opportunity that provided images of the hard living back alley Egyptians. Our small but adventurous group tightened their camera straps, set their exposures and dove into the kinds of pictures that one would see splashed across the pages of National Geographic. This was journalistic street photography 101 at its best and quite an eye opener and an experience that definitely raised the adrenaline of those trekkers and myself who explored the entire market place. Nikon D2Xs, ISO500, 1/250 at f4, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 6300K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #14 Luxor at Night ... One of the most beautiful scenes of our trek was Luxor at night. The ancient ruins were lit up and provided some incredible pictures. It was a wonderful way to finish up our photographic experience through the land of the Pharaohs before flying off to the resort area of Sharm el Sheik on the Red Sea. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 1 second at f4, Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye Lens, WB 9100K, Gitzo Tripod and Gitzo Ball Head with Kirk "L" Bracket, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

This was a trek of a life time and a wonderful photographic experience. I want to thank Mirjam, Michelle, Tom, Najat, Bob and Pat in making this trek a fantastic adventure. No one does it like American PHOTO. From start to finish we experienced the best accommodations, the best history and of course, the best photographic opportunities possible. Thanks for a fantastic journey.

See you next time On The Road. Adios, Dave

WORKSHOPS and PRESENTATION Schedule

June 27- July 2 ... Sports Photography Workshop, Colorado Springs, Co. www.sportsphotographyworkshop.com

August 1-5 ... Long Island Photo Workshop, Long Island, NY. www.liphotoworkshop.com

August 12-15 ... American PHOTO Mentor Trek to Acadia National Park, Maine. www.mentorseries.com

September 9-12 ... American PHOTO Mentor Series Trek to Tetons, Wyoming. www.mentorseries.com

October 3-8 ... Photography at the Summit, Jackson Hole, Wy. www.photographyatthesummit.com

December, 2008 (click here)
Memory Lane