A day in the life of a photographer on location...

Courtesy to videohive.net

Hello everyone,It's been a while but yesterday I had some inspiration and I decided to write something that would be fun to read. I want to share with you what goes on in the head of a photographer while on location - I mean the average travel photographer, not the dedicated landscaper. Imagine it is a diary - hour by hour.

• 5 am/ 7 am - getting up

Oh, I hate getting up! 

Second thought: Oh, I had to shoot X - landscape today!

Jumps out of bed.

Courtesy to Thomas Heaton/REX, Shutterstock 

• 8 am - on location X 

Oh, it's cold/ hot here... I hate it but I have to get that shot of X! 

Starts shooting.

5 minutes later - Realizes that the lens ON camera is not the one needed.

20 minutes later - Lens is in place BUT the white balance/ ISO/ aperture is not right.

10 minutes later - All set and then the WAITING BEGINS - for the sky to clear, God to descend from Heaven or any other natural or supernatural phenomena...

• 9.45 - something interesting happens - starts shooting

Actual shooting time - from 10 second to 10 minutes.

Actual time spent - 2 hours+

• 11 am - on the way to the hotel/ camping/ whatever

I'm hungry, I MUST get some food. 

Second thought: Let's get the tripod/ lens/ bag cleaned first. 

• 12 pm

OK, I'm famished! Food - here I come!!!

Goes to the nearest restaurant.

Second thought: Realizes that looks like a brigand/ homeless/ gypsy and goes back to make oneself presentable. 

• 12.30 pm - lunch time

OK, that one looks nice on the menu... Oh, LOOK! Which idiot took that picture, He should get sued for that! And who wrote that? It's not in English, that's for sure...

Image taken from www.independent.co.uk

10 minutes later... - Ordered, waiting for food to arrive.

Another 10 minutes later...- salad arrives. 

Oh, it's so beautiful and tasty... takes the fork.

Second thought: NO, I MUST photograph it! Takes out camera/ phone/ compact camera - whichever is available at the moment and doesn't look like the Terminator to the other guests and starts shooting.

30 minutes later - main course arrives. Salad still gets photographed.

Oh, I forgot I am hungry! Let's eat! 

Eats salad - it's cold and old but too hungry to think. 

15 minutes later - sees that main course is here.

Oh, I have to eat! 

Second thought: Let's photograph that too, for TripAdvisor! 

• around 14.30 pm

Main course still gets photographed. 

Second thought: Oh, I have to be at Y at 15.00 because light is perfect then!!!

Devours food AND dessert, pays the bill and leaves in haste. 

Image taken from Travel | Corbis Images Blog blog.corbis.com 

• 15.00 pm - location Y

Shopping...well, actually photo -shopping :) 

Items bought: 3 

Reason: Ideal for props 

Total number of shots taken: 473

Reason: It's amazing here!!!

3 hours later... My feet hurt! I am tired and want to go to bed! 

Second thought: Wait!!! Sunset is in an hour! Let's go find a good vantage point!

Image taken from www.magic4walls.com

• 19.00 pm - Sunset time - location Z

Tripod - on, right lens - on, right settings - engaged. 

Actual shooting time: 30 minutes

Actual preparation time: 1 hour

Number of shots taken: 30 (depending on weather conditions)

• 20.00 pm - back at the hotel/whatever

Oh. I want to sleep, damn it!!! 

Second thought: No. I'll take a shower first...

• 20.30 - 21.00 pm (depending on location)

OK, sleep will wait. I need food. NOW!

• 21.15 pm - at a restaurant

Orders food - no fussing about this time - too hungry to be critical. 

• 22.00 pm

Food - devoured.

Number of shots taken: 2-10 (depending on how hungry the photographer is)

• 22.30 pm

OK, now is time to take a tour of the surroundings. 

• 22.45 pm

Notices amazing reflections/ scenery/ whatever. Starts shooting. 

• 23.00 pm

I feel like James Bond/ Indiana Jones here! So many new things...

Second thought: Too late to be out with equipment. Looks around. There are all kind of people around here. 

No matter what - keeps shooting for another half an hour. 

Image taken from pixgood.com

• 23.30 -24.00 pm - back at the hotel/whatever

Oh, God! I do need rest!!!

Second thought: Let's see what's the view from the terrace/ window at night!

• 24.01 am - the terrace/window

Wonderful view!!! Let's capture it!

Gets tripod out, puts half the batteries to charge. 

15 minutes later...

Number of shots taken: 3-5

Number of settings changed: 10

OK, now we're all set! Let's wait for that car/moon/ cloud to move in/ out of the way...

• 2.00 am - still there...

OK, now I MUST go to sleep...THAT is the last shot for tonight. I MEAN IT! 

Second thought: Oh, that moved! Let's see what happens...

• 2.30 am - still at the terrace/window...

OK, that's it!!! ENOUGH! 

Shuts camera down. collects all gear, puts the other half of the batteries to charge. 

I'm going to sleep - NOW!!!

• 3.00 am - in bed, thinking...

Oh, I do love sleep...

Second thought: But I love more location H, I'm gonna shoot tomorrow...

Now you can find my portfolio on www.coroflot.com

Don't worry, it would get bigger! 

Here is the link to it - http://www.coroflot.com/BistraStoimenovaPhotography/portfolio

Now there is a whole new user-friendly place to see some of my best work! Hope you like it!

Write to me if you like it, write to me if you have ideas to shareq write to me if you dislike something...

Contests - what to do with them, why do we need them?

Image taken from - chicago.shine.fm

In the life of each photographer there is a moment when you want to show you work to the world. At that time you have a few options and today I'm gonna talk about one of them - participation in photo contests.

By the way, I wish you a very happy and successful 2016!

Now, let's get back to work...

First of all, why do you need those and how can a photo contest help you get noticed?

Well, it is one of the ways in which you can showcase your work. There are many companies that buy photos that made it to the final round of the contest for various purposes - advertising, publication etc. If you have captured an amazing moment and someone notices it - you have a big chance of getting paid for that.

There are many contests that have a prize - if not money, then a trip to somewhere or some new gear. A friend of mine won a trip to Sri Lanka for two after uploading a stunning macro shot. And it was a Bulgarian photo contest - imagine what international contests can do for you. 

Once entering such a competition you'll have the motivation of improving your performance next time. Nothing motivates you to improve your skills - in any area - better than a competition. Besides, the judges will show you where do you stand in the common flow of shots - if you make it after the second selection - you have potential, if you make it even further up - you have a high chance of winning next time. 

The more contests you participate in, the more you will get noticed. Even if you just have a picture of yours in the exhibition without winning anything else - that is still a way to get noticed. 

Here is a link where you can check out some of the thousands of contests that go on in the net:

http://www.photolinks.com/Photo_Contests.html

This one has many contests as well - though at initial stages there is some voting - but in the end you can get real money in some cases.
https://www.voubs.com

This one also has a lot of contests - some of them with paid entry, however.
http://www.photocontestinsider.com


Amazing contests with great prizes, unfortunately to enter most, you need to be a premium user at least - which means you have to pay. 
http://www.viewbug.com

Here is a great guide to photo contests - you can download it by simply typing your email and they will email you the link to a PDF file you can save to your device. Also, you can download some of the other guides - trust me, you won't regret it!

http://www.photoshelter.com/resources

What do you need to know BEFORE you sign in?

Image taken from www.annecarlini.com 

• Winning is NOT all - sometimes you will learn much more from the experience when you fail. 
• Observe the other entrants - what they have uploaded already and how it was received.
• See the winners from previous year - if they have given the grand prize to a landscape shot last year they are not very likely to give it to a pop-art this one (even if it is stunning the chances are slim). Judges have their preferences and they change them very little through the years
• Read the rules - even if that sounds boring to you, you should take your time to read all the guidelines in the FAQ section. It is there that they normally say if you have the right to edit the images or if they need images that have never been shown before. Copyright issues are also addressed there. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY THEY WILL DISQUALIFY YOU!!!
• Check if the contest is your thing - there are specialized contests - macro, wildlife, portraits, food etc. If you are interested in a specialized field it's wise to try specialized contest - you have a better chance of learning something there than in a normal one. Besides, the chance of getting your work appreciated more. 
• Check the deadline - this may sound ridiculous at first sight but, trust me, there is a point when you have 100 things to do and only 24 hours to do them all. And at that point contests are as high a priority as, say, tiding up your room - you know you should do it but the motivation escapes you, somehow. That means - you'll do it when there is nothing else to do. So if you really want to participate - create a reminder!
• Check the fee - if any - some of the best contests in the world have an entry fee. if you want to participate you have to make sure that the fee arrives to the organizers' account BEFORE the deadline of the contest expires. Check and double check the payment methods, create a profile here and there but don't let bank transaction speed determine whether you participate or not.
• Avoid contests with audience vote - Facebook and other social networks.  Generally when there is voting from the audience and it determines the winner (without any judging) the picture which wins is 99% out of 100% not the best one but the one belonging to the person with the biggest number of friends on Facebook. So if you wanna spare your nervous system - just leave them to social media maniacs. If you do participate - just try not to take it personal.

Image taken from blog.netaffinity.com

The content

Once you have sorted out the fee and deadline it's time to talk about the real stuff. The actual images you're going to upload. There are a few 'rules' about that, too. 

• Be to the point - if the contest is about garden macro photography, a picture of your recent trip to the jungle of Belize (hope we all will be able to go there or to the Amazon one day!) will just not do. Your content has to be similar to the topic of the contest, at least. Few contests allow gross derivation from the topic - they will not disqualify you, just will discard your images at stage 1 of selection.

• Check if you comply to the technical standards - even if your image is a masterpiece, if it doesn't comply to the technical standards - i.e. size, editing, type of camera used, max resolution, etc. it will not be accepted. Check the criteria BEFORE you submit your content, because once you've done it - there's no way back. if you have 3 entries, you'll have only 2 because you've used up the third one for nothing - a ZERO ENTRY. 
• Check if your image can compete with the others - this sounds a bit odd but it's not as ridiculous at a second thought - you MUST and SHOULD know whether you stand a chance with the others - i.e. whether it's worth it to participate. If the contest is about amateur landscape photography and you see many images that look worse than yours - you do have a chance of winning, but whether you'll learn something is quite another matter. On the other hand - if you go for a contest that has only high-end entries you should consider going for a simpler one first. Point is to learn, not waste your time. 

Image taken from www.myonlinebusinesscorp.com

After you submit the content

Now we come to the unpleasant stage - the waiting for results part. It's connected to a lot of expectations and, subsequently - disappointments. There are a few dos and don'ts as well:

• Do NOT get frustrated - that's of no use anyway. what was up to you, you have done already. Let go, whatever has to happen, will.
• Do NOT envy the winners - try to analyze LOGICALLY why did they win and what the judges saw in them.
• Do go to open selection of you can - if the judges offer open selection - that is selecting the winners in public, do go. You'll see how they proceed, what they think of this or that image and you'll learn a lot about the way winners are selected. 
• Do visit the exhibition, even if you don't participate in it - this is a way, again, to see what are people looking for and to devise plan to achieve it next time. Besides, it's a wonderful opportunity to have a chat with fellow photographers and ask them in person how they do what they do.

Image taken from www.nwf.org

LAST OF ALL - HAVE FUN AND LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!

GOOD LUCK!

Happy Saint Nicolas day! The food. Part 2

Hello, everybody! 

In the previous post I talked about the tradition behind the celebrations on 6th of December. In this post, which is going to be way shorter, I'll show you the recipe for this year. As you remember the fish is always a carp so only the other ingredients vary. In case you don't remember or you haven't read the previous post - here is some info:

So, the fish should be a whole one - not cut in pieces and when you buy it it should be with it's scales and all the organs inside it. The idea is that the scales bring in money and the whole fish symbolizes prosperity. Then, when you clean the scales, you bury them together with all the bones of the fish somewhere in the garden. Tradition says that you should fill the fish with rice - again the money connotation - and walnuts. Since you are supposed to be fasting before Christmas, St. Nicolas' day is one of the few occasions when you can eat fish - i.e. meat. Nowadays it is a wonderful time to get together with the family. 

Ok, you saw the idea from the previous year - radioactive St. Nicolas' day carp with rice and turmeric sauce - that recipe I'll give you another time. 

The recipe this year is a bit different - we again have rice and walnuts and a carp but it looks different:

It is a common carp stuffed with rice, walnuts, raisins and leek and puree of creme cheese, spinach and leek.

Here it is the recipe!

You'll need:

1 carp - around 2 kg.

3 pieces of leek

250 g. rice - white normal rice

100 g. raisins

100 g. walnuts

1 jar/packet/ whatever they sell them in your country/ of creme cheese or cheese and a lot of butter - around 250 g.

coriander - fresh - put as much as you like

black pepper

cinnamon

salt

water

cherry tomatoes - if you want to copy the flowers from the picture

How to do it?

1. OK, you'll need to cut the leek into rings and then fry it in some oil (choose the type - olive oil will be perfect but all other types will do). Then you add the raisins and the walnuts to the leek.

Somewhere around that point you add a bit of water.

You add the coriander and let the whole thing stew for a little - you'll need a deep pan or a casserole to get all ingredients in. 

2.Then you add the rice and the spices - the black pepper and the cinnamon - again - put as much as you like in there. 

By the time you've added all things to the mixture it should look like this:

3. So, now you have to leave it to get the rice boiled a little - not over boil it because when you stuff the carp with it and bake it it will look like a very unpleasant lump with no particular ingredients. So you boil it for, say, half an hour and you proceed to the stuffing procedure.

Stuffing of the carp

Here you'll probably need an assistant - to hold the fish steady while you stuff it with the mixture created during the previous steps. Let's however, go over some things you do BEFORE that:

1. Clean the carp - that means all scales and intestines (to do that cut the carp open and cut out the intestines you find in its belly). DO NOT throw away the scales - they have to be buried in the yard with the bones to bring good luck :)

2. Rinse the carp with cold water to get rid of the blood and clean the belly.  

3. Stuff the carp - have someone hold it open for you and you put the stuffing in. Don't worry if the stuffing is much more than the carp's belly can hold - you just put it around it in the pan/pot you'll be using to bake it in. So, after you stuff it you have to sew up the opening so that the stuffing doesn't get out during the baking process. You'll need a big needle and a strong thread to do that. 

I don't have pictures of that because I was the assistant - you see, you can't hold a camera if both your hands are around the belly of a fish.

Baking

1. After you stuff and sew up the carp you place it in whatever you'll use to bake it it - it should be big enough for the carp to lie on one side. 

2. You put all the remaining stuffing around the carp and add a bit of water - 1/2 liter or more - depends on how much stuffing you have left.

3. Put it in the oven for around 40 minutes - when it's ready it should look like this:

The spinach/leek/cheese puree

This one is the tricky part. 

So for that you'll need

1 piece of leek

500 g. of spinach

250 g. of creme cheese (in case this doesn't exist in your country - get the softest white cheese - Feta will do - and a lot of butter and put the two into a blender)

1. Clean the spinach and cut it as if for salad. Cut the leek into rings and fry them until they show some sign of getting cooked. 

2. Put the cheese and get the blender ready - it would take a lot of time to get the creamy texture you are looking for.

3. If you are fan of fancy-looking food in you dish try this;

Get some shapes you use for cutting cookies and fill them with the puree - don't forget to put some foil underneath so that nothing leaks out.

Put the forms into the freezer for half an hour - AT MOST - I left them there for a day and they froze. 

Use them as decoration.

Since I had mine frozen I used flowers made from cherry tomatoes to make up for that. They are easy to make - you just start cutting the petals from the top without cutting them out fully. When you're done with the whole tomato and spread the petals - you have a wonderful flower.

Enjoy! If you do the recipe, I'll be glad to see a picture and to read your comments on it :)

Happy Saint Nicolas day! About the day and the saint. Part 1

Hi everyone, I haven't written in while but it had been a busy time for me. 

Anyway, the topic of the following post will have to do with religion, customs and above all - FOOD!

So let's get to religion first. Who is St. Nicolas and why do we celebrate the 6th of December each year? To tell you that I'll have to tell you a kindergarten story:

St. Nicolas was born in a wealthy family. His parents loved him very much and took good care of him but they died when he was a young man. St. Nicolas had no idea what to do with all the wealth left by his parents so he left it aside for a while. He didn't spend it, but he didn't give it all away either. One day, he heard a poor man complain to a friend - he had three daughters but could not afford to pay the dowry of even the eldest so that she could marry the man she loved. The poor man was worried of what would happen to his children if they don't get married - they will be avoided by the other members of the small society, insulted as burden to them, even deemed prostitutes - for why else would three beautiful young girls stay unmarried? St. Nicolas said nothing to the man - decided that first should check the story and learn more about him. So he followed him to see where he lived. It was a poor cottage and the man indeed had three beautiful daughters. While the girls were working, they were talking about the same things - how they won't be able to marry because on no dowry. St. Nicolas decided that if he gave the money in public the man would not accept them because of pride. So he devised another plan. The following night he slipped into the poor man's house and left three purses filled with gold coins by the side of each daughter's bed. The three girls rejoiced when they found the money the next morning. They got married soon after and lived in peace and joy with their husbands. Saint Nicolas found a good way to use the fortune left by his parents - whenever he saw someone in need, he just gave the money the person needed and left it by the side of the bed of that person at night. 

So, to cut the long story short - Saint Nicolas was the prototype of Santa Claus - the two names even sound familiar. he had been a real historical figure: here is how the wikipedia article puts it: 

Saint Nicholas (Greek: Ἅγιος Νικόλαος, Hagios Nikólaos, Latin: Sanctus Nicolaus); (15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker (Νικόλαος ὁ Θαυματουργός, Nikolaos ho Thaumaturgos). He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day―St Nicholas Day (6 December, Gregorian calendar, in Western Christianity and 19 December, Julian calendar, in Eastern Christianity);and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of "Saint Nikolaos". His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints. In 1087, part of the relics (about half of the bones) were furtively translated to Bari, in Apulia, Italy; for this reason, he is also known as Nikolaos of Bari. The remaining bones were taken to Venice in AD 1100.

The historical Saint Nicholas is commemorated and revered among Anglican,Catholic, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. In addition, some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches have been named in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe.

Here is how St. Nicolas looked like - an icon - image taken from wikipedia.org

So, on the 6th of December we celebrate the day of St. Nicolas. Originally, it was the day on which children receive gifts. St. Nicolas was the original Father Christmas - before the 1920s and Coca Cola's marketing idea. 

In many countries children do receive gifts on that day, in Bulgaria there is a different tradition. Since he is the patron saint of sailors, on that day no one goes out at sea - it is said that from this day onwards - for a few weeks up to New Year's Eve - the sea is too dangerous to go into. The traditional dish is fish - nowadays of any kind but the traditional type is common carp - guess because the fish is very common in our region. Here is a picture of how it looks like - in case you don't know:

Image taken from: http://www.outdooralabama.com/common-carp 

So, the fish should be a whole one - not cut in pieces and when you buy it it should be with it's scales and all the organs inside it. The idea is that the scales bring in money and the whole fish symbolizes prosperity. Then, when you clean the scales, you bury them together with all the bones of the fish somewhere in the garden. Tradition says that you should fill the fish with rice - again the money connotation - and walnuts. Since you are supposed to be fasting before Christmas, St. Nicolas' day is one of the few occasions when you can eat fish - i.e. meat. Nowadays it is a wonderful time to get together with the family. 

I will post a picture of the carp we ate last year to get an impression of  what the whole thing looks like: 

As for this year's carp - I'll write again with the recipe and some pictures when it's ready. Wait for part two of the post :)