Sahara Desert – Stuck in Customs
4
Mar 2023 : Saturday
filed under  Camera Gear, Morocco, Sahara Desert, Sony A7R, Travel

Crossing the Sahara

Daily Photo – Crossing the Sahara

I had an amazing and rather hot time in the Sahara. To get this photo, I had to go up a huge dune on foot. I gave my own camel a break and decided to walk up. How hard could it be, I figured. Even with my past troublesome dune experiences. I figured wrong. And that night, I got so dizzy and sick, then realized it was probably because I hardly had any water… even though I’ve seen thousands and thousands of shows and movies about people not drinking enough water in the desert, I was so excited that I forgot to drink water!

Crossing the Sahara

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 06:48:55
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/160
  • Aperture5
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
19
Nov 2022 : Saturday
filed under  Camera Gear, Morocco, Sahara Desert, Sony A7R, Travel

The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

Daily Photo – The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

I have a lame confession to make about this photo. I was too tired to get to the top of the sand dune to take this photo from the top. I mean, it was absolutely huge. I set out with the best of intentions. It must have been 400 feet high. That may not sound high, but it is effectively almost 1000 feet because every step up makes your feet slide down just about as far as you just ascended! I went right up the spine of the dune so I could put a foot on each side, but the sand was so impossibly soft and fluid that it was almost useless. So I eventually just gave up and thought, “You know what? The sunset will be good enough from right here!”

The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 06:47:54
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/100
  • Aperture16
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length14.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

Comments
25
Jul 2018 : Wednesday
filed under  Aït Benhaddou, Morocco, Sahara Desert, Travel

On the Way to Algeria

New article on Petapixel

They seem to have a lot of people that complain about everything under the sun in the comments, but that didn’t stop me from doing a full analysis of the new bag that was just released on Kickstarter.

You have no idea where camels really come from

Well, maybe you do… but I found this to be a complete surprise! It also reminds me that I should watch more TED talks!

Daily Photo – On the Way to Algeria

When I was in Morocco, I decided I needed to get way out of town into the Sahara desert to really lean into it. I rode a camel and everything. Believe me, riding a camel is not fun at all. I thought it would be a bit like riding a horse, but it definitely wasn’t. I’ve now ridden on about five different camels in various countries (Morocco, Egypt, Oman), and I can tell you every experience was negative. I tried to have a good attitude about it and embrace the romance and adventure of it, but not even my positivity could overcome a continually negative experience. Just over those dunes there in the distance was Algeria. I almost crossed over, but my guides there warned me it was a bit dangerous.

On the Way to Algeria

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 06:48:40
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/250
  • Aperture5
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
6
Oct 2017 : Friday
filed under  Burning Man, Camera Gear, Morocco, Sahara Desert, Sony A7R

Overnight in the Middle of Nowhere

Burning Man Photo Walk Photos

I posted a lot of my Burning Man Photo Walk Photos are inside the special FB event we made there. Feel free to go check it out. And, if you joined us, come post some of yours too! 🙂

Daily Photo – Overnight in the Middle of Nowhere

There in the distance, you can see a small camp. Even though it looks remote, this photo does not capture the absolute remoteness of it all! Wow I was really in the middle of the Sahara desert. After riding on a camel for hours and hours, I was exhausted. Riding on a camel is much harder than it sounds, by the way. I used muscles in my torso I didn’t know existed. You might think it sounds like riding a horse, but it’s not. It’s kind of like riding one of those electric broncos in a honky-tonk bar. Even if you’ve never done that, you can imagine it.

Overnight in the Middle of Nowhere

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 06:44:10
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/250
  • Aperture5
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length120.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
14
Oct 2015 : Wednesday
filed under  Morocco, Sahara Desert, Sony A7R

The Remnants of Tatooine

Annoying Lines from Star Wars

I’m super excited about the upcoming Star Wars movies, and I have total faith in JJ Abrams to resurrect it! Remember that one line from Episode 2, I think, when Anakin Skywalker said, after growing up on Tatooine, “I hate the sand! It gets everywhere!” I mean, Jesus dude… you’re Darth Vader! Darth Vader doesn’t complain about sand! And don’t you kinda get used to the sand if you live

Daily Photo – The Remnants of Tatooine

How cool is this? Right before I started trekking through the Sahara, I stopped at this Kasbah. The day was unmercifully hot, but I decided to go on a little reccy around the outside anyway. And look what I found! I’m not actually sure what it is… looks like an old jet or something.

The Remnants of Tatooine

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 03:27:28
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/350
  • Aperture8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length14.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
19
Jul 2015 : Sunday
filed under  Camera Gear, Morocco, Photography Tips, Sahara Desert, Sony A7R, Travel

Coming Over the Hill to Find Relief in the Sahara Desert

And here are the new city Photo Walk Rankings! Don’t miss the Photo Walk Tour Website for the latest.

#1 San Francisco
#2 New York (was in 3rd place!)
#3 Washington DC (slipped a notch)
#4 LA (BUT ONLY BY 1 person ahead of Chicago)
#5 Chicago (was #6, just passed the strong Philly group!)
#6 Philly (and I just watched a Sunny last night, and you slipped!)
#7 Miami (these numbers will go up when we find the party spot!)
#8 Dallas (my home town…)
#9 Atlanta
#10 Phoenix
#11 Nashville
#12 San Antonio

Those ranks are based on the number of people that have signed up for the FB events. From past experience, about 4x that many people actually show up… so it’s gonna be a great party!

We’re about to update all the city pages to point to Google Communities for photos to be shared for each city. Stay tuned for that.

Here’s the Facebook Groups below.

New York (Facebook Group Link)

Philadelphia (Facebook Group Link)

Washington DC (Facebook Group Link)

Chicago (Facebook Group Link)

Nashville (Facebook Group Link)

Atlanta (Facebook Group Link)

Miami (Facebook Group Link)

Dallas (Facebook Group Link)

San Antonio (Facebook Group Link)

Phoenix (Facebook Group Link)

Los Angeles (Facebook Group Link)

Burning Man (Facebook Group Link)

San Francisco (Facebook Group Link)

Daily Photo – Coming Over the Hill to Find Relief in the Sahara Desert

I can easily see how people can die in the desert. From movies and things, you kind of get the sense that you might be able to cross 50 or so sand dunes per day. But I think you’d be lucky to cross 5. And you can’t ever see anything coming… just and endless sea of sand. I came over the crest of this hill (luckily I was on a camel) and saw the edge of this welcoming-looking tent!

Coming Over the Hill to Find Relief in the Sahara Desert

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 03:50:44
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/640
  • Aperture10
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length85.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
22
Jan 2015 : Thursday
filed under  Morocco, Sahara Desert

My Camel Team

Category

If you click on the “Sahara Desert” link above, you’ll see a bunch more shots of my camel adventures in the Sahara! 🙂

Daily Photo – My Camel Team

What do I know about riding a camel? Nothing! Well, now I actually know a fair bit, but when I took this photo, I knew nothing. But these seemed like the kind of guys to help tell me what to do. Getting on the dang camel is not easy. Riding it is not easy. Getting down is not easy. Here’s the best advice I can give you, and, pretty much the only advice they gave me: “Hold on.” There is a lot of herky-jerky activity, none of which is expected or enjoyed. But these two guys were nice and full of all kinds of awkward camel jokes.

My Camel Team

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 21:42:42
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/250
  • Aperture9
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+0.3

Comments
10
Oct 2014 : Friday
filed under  Morocco, Sahara Desert, Travel

Conjuring Thoughts Deep in the Desert Berber Camp

Another Book Suggestion

Below I make a reference to The Alchemist, but I recently discovered a new book that I can highly recommend that is vaguely along the same lines. It’s quite different, though! It’s called Journey to Ixlan by Carlos Castane

Daily Photo – Conjuring Thoughts Deep in the Desert Berber Camp

I’ve always wanted to sleep deep in the desert after riding a camel. I think this is because I love that book The Alchemist so much.

I was so tired when I took this photo because of a very long day in the Sahara. After arriving at the camp in late afternoon, I decided to climb a huge sand dune by myself. It looked so easy! It was not. Halfway up that son of a gun I was wondering why I did not take that camel!

Conjuring Thoughts Deep in the Desert Berber Camp

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 07:59:36
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time5
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
2
Oct 2014 : Thursday
filed under  Morocco, Sahara Desert, Travel

The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

Hot vs. Cold places later in life

After growing up in Texas, I really love the cool climates of New Zealand. I like dressing in layers and never really getting hot! But I know people that are the opposite. I think it kind of depends on where you grow up and how you might be ready for a change later in life. I don’t know… But I know a lot of people that grew up in cold places that are so happy to be in hot places like Texas. It’s all so relative!

Daily Photo – The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

I have a lame confession to make about this photo. I was too tired to get to the top of the sand dune to take this photo from the top. I mean, it was absolutely huge. I set out with the best of intentions. It must have been 400 feet high. That may not sound high, but it is effectively almost 1000 feet because every step up makes your feet slide down just about as far as you just ascended! I went right up the spine of the dune so I could put a foot on each side, but the sand was so impossibly soft and fluid that it was almost useless. So I eventually just gave up and thought, “You know what? The sunset will be good enough from right here!”

The Sun Sets in the Sahara Desert

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-08 06:47:54
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/100
  • Aperture16
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length14.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

Comments
12
Jul 2014 : Saturday
filed under  Morocco, Sahara Desert

The Shadowlights of Morocco

Moroccan Lights Update

I’m now contacting a local metalsmith to help me get all my 10 Moroccan lights hung up. Maybe at the next New Zealand workshop, I can show people my setup… or maybe I’ll make a special video… I’m absurdly excited about my little Moroccan lamp adventure on the way to my studio… I hope it works out the way it has in my mind! 🙂

Daily Photo – The Shadowlights of Morocco

I think it was at this little kasbah by the Sahara that I finally discovered one of the secrets of these Moroccan lamps — the shadows! It’s all about the shadows, I think. Well, the colors too. And the design. Well I guess it’s about many things, but I started to pay special attention to the shadows. I also noticed it was important to have a single (small) bright light in the middle to make all the shadows right. If it was a bigger light, like a fat lightbulb inside, the shadows would be much less defined and more gaussian, I suppose.

The Shadowlights of Morocco

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-03-07 08:49:58
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time8
  • Aperture8
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments