My return to Africa

February 12, 2014

As the day comes closer, I grow anxious. I start to worry about what to pack. I make checklists and go over them repeatedly. I start to have dreams about missing the plane or arriving without any batteries for my camera. But I am happy and thrilled to be so close to the Okavango. I read books, I watch photographs by Franz Lanting, I watch BBC shows about the largest wetlands on the planet and I imagine myself right in the heart of it. I try to imagine the feeling of smallness and amazement when faced with such immense nature.

Packing for Africa is not easy. On the one hand, I want to keep it as light as possible. After all, there are weight restrictions on every flight between the air strips I’ll be using, but on the other I must make sure I have everything I need and replacements for it. There are no Wallmarts in the Okavango. On the one hand I’ve been dreaming about this assignment for over a year, but on the other I’ll miss my wife and kids badly. Conflict seems to accompany me everywhere I go. But I keep packing and it makes it more real, it makes it imminent. These bags that I now stuff with all my equipment, will be my only companions through 14 days of travel and adventures. I stop for a while and go over my schedule, my checklist and my documents; everything seems right. Got my visas, got my yellow fever shots, got my malaria pills and permits in order. I make sure I have enough batteries for everything and I weight my equipment once again. I still dream of Africa.

This trip will complete my project “AFRICA: field notes of a traveler” to be published at the end of this year for three great sponsors: Travelwise, Autohaus and District & Co.. The book will include photographs and notes from Cape Town, Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Victoria Falls, Okavango, Central Kalahari and Sossusvlei.

I’m very excited about this project. Africa gets under your skin and you surprise yourself always wanting more. Always dreaming about going back. But I also feel afraid. Afraid my kids won’t be able to experience all this beauty. Afraid we will destroy a place we have been lucky to enjoy and admire. If we keep behaving like we are, there will be no more rhinos or lions left, there will be no more water left, there will be no more paradise. I am afraid we are going to lose it all for the sake of profit. I want my kids to see Africa and understand our place in the world. I want them to understand we are not the owners but only visitors, and as such we have the responsibility to protect the place that has given us so much and be able to pass it forward in better shape than it was passed down to us.

As I get ready for Africa, I pack not only my gear but also every dream and fear I have. One thing is for sure; no matter what happens, this will be a trip to remember.

To see more images of my journeys in Africa and other trips please visit www.mariodavalos.org

Why composites should not be allowed in nature photography competitions

February 10, 2014

nature, photography

10 things I’ve learned as a Wildlife Photographer

February 6, 2014

nature, photography, travel, Uncategorized, Wildlife

7 Comments

1. People love to make rules. It’s ok to listen, but it’s also ok to totally disregard them.

When I first started making nature photos, I ran into many rules and rule keepers. Everything was already laid out: – this is not allowed, this is allowed.. if you want to be one of us that is – . I did not understand what was all of about nor why. Trained as a contemporary painter I was taught to break all the rules, as long as you knew why you were breaking them. In other words, know the theory but in practice try to achieve your own voice, your own artistic statement. When I looked around at all the photos I was exposed to back then, they all looked similar to one another. Luckily I was eventually exposed to great wildlife photographer (Vincent Munier, Markus Varesvuo… ) that were doing whatever they felt like and doing it in an amazing way. I don’t think I have achieve a unique voice… yet. But I’m on my way!

2. Loving and respecting nature is more important than getting the award-winning shot.

I have met wonderful people traveling the world, but I’ve also met people willing to do anything to get a shot, including destroying nature or disturbing it. I love nature first, I love photography second. Is that simple. The end does not justify the means, not in life and certainly not in nature photography.

3. There is natural beauty all around us, you just have to learn to observe.

I now walk any street, anywhere, at any time and I see beauty. Just as a lawyer sees liabilities anywhere he goes or an architect sees design in every corner, once you learn how to see, things pop-up everywhere: bird songs, tree roots, rainbows in oil stains, fungi in the sidewalk… you name it! Learning to really “see” the world is the most valuable thing I learned in art school.

4. The decisions you make editing your images are as important as the decisions you make taking them.

Lately I find my self spending almost as much time in front of the computer as getting the shot. Editing your images is a second stage in the creative process. As photographers, our format is predetermined by our camera’s sensors, so within certain boundaries, you can be very creative when it comes to editing. I never add anything o remove anything from my photos, I think ethics are a big part of my love and respect for nature and my craft… but I think cropping can be a great way to tell a story within the story. I mean, photography in itself is the art of cropping. I also think playing with your white balance can create atmospheres to enhance the narrative in your image. So go ahead, play around.

5. There is too much information out there. Learn to filter.

Wow!! Every where you look there is a guy telling you 10 things he learned by being a wildlife photographer!! WTF!! Anyways, read, but filter… no one has an absolute truth. If you pay attention to everything you read you’ll never have time to make photos. Get inspired, not psycho!

6. Dare to try different things.

Sometimes is an image that was incorrectly exposed or an egret that was blurry in your shot.. All I’m saying is, do not become an expert in your own style, do not set your self too many personal rules or boundaries. Experiment! Try to feel uncomfortable by trying things you thought you would never try (and I only mean that in photography, do not come blaming me if you apply this rule to your personal life and wake up in a traveling circus wearing flippers and spooning a clown).

7. The story behind an image is usually greater than the image itself, so savor the moment and become a good story teller.

Being out in the big outdoors is the most rewarding feeling I can think of. The only reason I take nature photos is so I can be out there as long as I can and try to capture a little bit of that feeling in an image. Do not obsess over the perfect image, but rather over enjoying the place and the moment.

8. There are two kinds of wildlife photographers: those who focus on collecting species and those who focus on the beauty of an image. Both are correct!

I know examples of both. Personally I am more on the second group, but I think either one is fine. I have a lot of very good friends and fine photographers that enjoy what I call photo-birding; keeping lists of species and obsessing over growing that list… just as birders do, but by taking the image, not just the note. I rather make a beautiful image in a beautiful moment of a very common bird than to capture a rare species in an ordinary moment and an ordinary image. Photos are a tool to tell stories, and I like to tell stories, not to keep lists.

9. Traveling is one of the best ways to learn how to love nature.

What can I say? Traveling is the most enriching experience a human being can have. It will make you smarter, it will make you more humble and grateful. Traveling feeds the souls. Traveling expands your capacity to be amazed and enjoy the natural world. There is no other activity in life that contributes more to making you a better human being that to travel. And by travel I mean to take a journey into the place but also into the culture.

10. No, the eye does not have to be sharp and the background does not have to be totally clean to make a great photo.

Ah! This rule… I couldn’t leave it alone could I? I was so close!!!!

I hate this rule. I really really do. Every one obsesses about getting eye contact and a sharp eye. You will read this over and over again on forums and photography groups:

- Great eye contact -, – Very sharp eye.. congrats, great capture -

I don’t know who made that rule, but it is stupid and arbitrary. An image is an image, it may be well crafted or not, it may be beautiful or not, it may be inspiring or not, it may be provoking or not… but trust me, there is no body part that HAS to be sharp to make it any of those things. Do not let rules kill your voice!

Outdoor Photographer Magazine: Behind the Shot

February 3, 2014

nature, photography, travel, Wildlife

3 Comments

Proud to share this week’s BEHIND THE SHOT on Outdoor Photographer Magazine with my image Polar Nap.

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/blog/behind-the-shot/2014/02/behind-the-shot-polar-nap-by-mario-davalos-p-kaktovik-alaska.html

Read up!

Process and Results

January 28, 2014

photography, travel

6 Comments

Lots of people ask “what is like to be out there?” Or, “how do you take those pictures?”

It’s hard to explain exactly what goes on once you get there and you star making decisions. There is a lot of preparation before arriving to the first shot: research, light assessment, understanding behaviour… I guess everyone develops their own style and system. It’s easier to show than to tell.

But anyways, for those who have asked me that, I have two images I want to share from last week at Jones Beach:

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For more images of my adventures in Wild NYC click here: http://mariodavalos.org/index/#/the-other-nyc/

Wild NYC

January 25, 2014

nature, Owls, travel, Wildlife

6 Comments

New York never sleeps. As the entire world collides in this single city, we may think of an urbanist pinnacle when we mention the Big Apple, but beyond Central Park or the Bronx Zoo, there is a whole natural world filled with magical creatures, wonderful places and very different lights.

In my last trip I visited my brother Juango, who has been living in Brooklyn for a while and making awesome music from his Park Slope apartment. We hadn’t really hanged out by ourselves for a while and decided to get to know this “other” New York together; our own urban safari.

At 5am and under intense cold (specially for us Dominican kids) we headed to the shores of Jones Beach. As people from the Caribbean, our concept of “beach” is very different from that of northern folks, which is probably also a reason for the wonderful surprise we got once we arrived. Besides the magnificence of tundra-like landscape what really shocked me was the great smell of the ocean. It’s totally different from the aromas of the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. It is more crisp, almost more citrusy and hard.. more like a Riesling than a Port wine, which could be a good comparison.

Brants, dunlins, hawks, falcons and gulls all searched for food, sometimes crossing each others pass in that pursuit. Brants would blast-off, 5,000 birds at a time in what seemed like a massive invasion of angry birds, just to land in the same spot and go on their business. Dunlins would also do their own display, and even if it was more coordinated and harmonious, it was never as impressive as that of the brants.

When we went back to Brooklyn that afternoon, we drove down Flatbush and to Floyd Bennett Field to search for Snowy Owls. Owls right there in the heart of Brooklyn! The light was perfect: soft, round, warm…. and in only minutes we saw the magical bird laying over the grass. As NYPD helicopters took of and landed repeatedly from the airstrip right next to us, the Owl seem undisturbed, sometimes looking up and wondering about the strange and noisy machine in the air. We stood in silence and in the cold, and for a minute I would’ve sworn I was in the tundras of Alaska, and not in the heart Brooklyn.

This is only a little of that other New York; the hidden one. This is my first Wild New York adventure and these are some of the images I captured.

Click here for more images of Wild NYC

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Snowy vacation in the Adirondacks

January 16, 2014

birding, Owls, travel, Wildlife

12 Comments

While vacationing with my family in the northern New York area and given this year incredible Snowy Owl irruption, I took some time to explore around the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. The kids wanted snow and I wanted Snowies : this would turn to be a perfect match.

Guided by Joan Collins, we planned a brief introductory drive trough it’s communities, habitats and natural treasures. You could spend a lifetime exploring the natural wonders of the Adirondacks but in a place like this, even in a few days, beautiful visions emerge. Joan is the most enthusiastic person I have ever met when it comes to birds. She is knowledgable, patient and cares a great deal about the well-being of birds. She also has a prodigious ear and can identify a bird call in the most extreme conditions.

I had seen the Snowy Owls back in 2011 in Barrow, but coming face to face again with these gorgeous and mysterious birds was a real treat that kept me awake weeks before arriving in Lake Placid. As I had very little time we program 2.5 days of birding. One day for Snowy Owls, one day for a Hawk Owl that was wintering in Vermont and more Snowies that afternoon, and half day in the boreal habitat. As I suspected none was enough to capture the amazing beauty of the area. Apart from the Black-backed Woodpecker, we found every target species we had hoped for plus some amazing landscapes images of the farms and barns around the mountain range. I was very surprised of the pride and honor residents feel for the Adirondacks. It’s almost like they feel part of the mountains themselves, and not necessarily a specific town.

I have explored many hotspots within the US, but the Adirondack Mountains are the best kept secret when it comes to nature and the great outdoors. It was indeed a perfect vacation: the kids got to ski, we had great meals together and I got to do what I love the most: capture in images the amazing beauty and power of nature.

For more images of this adventure please visit my website.

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