PixelatedImage Blog

An AAR is an After Action Report. My friend Gary Chapman first reminded me of the concept while we were in Hawaii. Then Matt Brandon brought it up while in India. So I’m going with it.

In the “Gear I Hauled Around The World And Never Used” Category.
This time my tripod got very little use, but as is always the case – if you don’t bring it you desperately need it. So it was good I had it for those times. Would I choose not to bring it? Probably not, but it makes me doubly sure of the importance of a strong and very light set of sticks and a good light head.

My Pocket Wizards and 580EX strobes got no loving this trip. But like the tripod, when you need them you need them.

I brought a couple North Face shirts that were great for Ladakh’s cold but not for the rest of the trip. I have a lighter Filson shirt I absolutely love and should have brought a couple of them and a couple long-sleeve capilene undershirts – the combination would have been more useful. When I get home I’m ordering a few more Filson feathercloth shirts.

Like Matt Brandon, on this trip I got more frustrated than usual with my Think Tank system. The system itself is amazing and I’ll talk about the Skins in a moment, but the Steroid belt, worn with a harness, forces you to put all your stuff on the sides and back and makes it less accessible. I only really noticed this once my 2nd body died and I was suddenly changing lenses alot. But when I get home I’m ordering me a Think Tank Belly Dancer to put the gear up front, see how I like that. I’m also very much looking forward to the release of the Think Tank Shape Shifter – it’s similar in concept to a LowePro bag that got discontinued a few years back, but with some significant improvements. A light belt system like the Belly Dancer/Skins combo, and a light daypack for rain coat, snacks, and other things I need but don’t need immediately, would be great. Just when you think you have “the perfect system” your needs change – that’s why something that is modular at its core is so smart.

In the “Man, I Love This Gear” Category.
My Think Tank Skins take first honours. I love, love, love them. I pack stuff in them for transport, and I use them to work out of once on location. They are so stinking versatile. I wouldn’t change a thing about them. And the Double Wide, which I first balked at and thought was ridiculously large, is fantastic. Matt worked out of it in Ladakh, and once he gave it back to me, I used it here in Nepal. If it were worn on the front it would make lens changes so much faster, too.

I’ve mentioned it before, but my ZINK-powered Polaroid Pogo printer is now a non-negotiable piece of gear. Put it into a decent pouch with an extra couple batteries (you’ll need them), extra paper, and a short USB cable, and you’ve got instant door-opening, people-thanking, smile-making, no-language-needed, print-making loving!

My new R-straps – still love them, still totally unwilling to ever consider going back. I’ve been using a prototype that I can’t talk about (or scary men show up and take me away), but so far they are the best R-straps I’ve used. The powers that be will reveal them when the time is right, until then I’ll be in the corner, still drinking the R-Strap Kool-Aid.

As usual my 5-in-1 lightdisc came nearly everywhere with me on this last assignment and I truly wouldn’t want to work without it. Mine’s a crappy Amvona disc, which was much cheaper than the Photoflex discs, and it’s in dire need of an upgrade, but these are pure gold baby.

For the first time I brought my small Wacom tablet with me – Sharon brought it to Nepal for me – and having it here made using the Macbook so much easier. Looks like I’ll be bringing it regularly from now on.

Lastly, I need to give a shout out to my boots. I know, it’s goofy, but I brought my much beloved and well-beaten Blundstone’s with me as usual, and a pair of Patagonia boots for actual hiking. The Blundstone’s rock for knocking about on a daily basis, nothing more needs to be said. But the Patagonia boots blew me away – easily the most comfortable hiking boots straight out of the box that I’ve ever worn. Well made, super durable and comfortable. Boots usually take me a painful month of two to wear in, these didn’t. Maybe it’s just my feet, but these ones fit the bill gloriously.

What Went Well?
I got alot of great images – many of them portraits. I’m happy with that, and it’ll pay off for me to have so many. It’s not necessarily what I came primarily to shoot, but I really enjoyed my interaction with people. My week shooting for World Education Nepal went very well, and I think the client is thrilled too (she called me photographer of super heroic proportions in her last email to me). What I’m most excited about is the amount of time I took to engage the people this time around. It was deeply gratifying.

What Would I Do Differently?
In hindsight, my expectations were all wrong. I came in – again – with a head full of image ideas and when those didn’t materialize they prevented me from seeing what WAS there. I’m back in January, and likely again this time next year, so perhaps I’ll learn my lesson by then. The other thing I’ll change is my dogged determination to find a particular shot in a particular place. It only frustrated me this time, so next time I’ll lighten up a little and when I start getting frustrated I’ll move on, go to a new neighborhood or walk some different streets and shoot there until the frustration turns back to inspiration. Then I’ll come back and see if I can’t look at things more clearly. This time I just dug in my heals and it didn’t work.

I’d also split my seven day week with my NGO client into two – a 4 day and a 3 day. Seven days was just too much and by then end I was running on fumes both creatively and physically. Stretching yourself too thin is good for no one.

Kathmandu and the surrounding areas are truly an incredible place to experience and photograph, keep watching this blog for some possible news about a chance to come here and shoot with me. Feel free to drop a comment if you want to be on the mailing list for a possible Kathmandu workshop.