Island Night
Made at Kornati Nat'l Park island of Mana, where I spent some winter weeks photographing and writing. I used this photo for the cover of my book published ...
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Made at Kornati Nat'l Park island of Mana, where I spent some winter weeks photographing and writing. I used this photo for the cover of my book published under the name MOJA MANA - which is Croatian for My Mana - where "mana" also means "handicap".
See the ambient by daylight here: http:--www.viewbug.com-photo-55263337 (replace dashes with slashes in the link for it to work)
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Camera: Minolta 7000i+80-200mm Rokkor
(Archival photo, scanned from Fujichrome Sensia film.)
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See the ambient by daylight here: http:--www.viewbug.com-photo-55263337 (replace dashes with slashes in the link for it to work)
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Camera: Minolta 7000i+80-200mm Rokkor
(Archival photo, scanned from Fujichrome Sensia film.)
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Jun, 2015Views
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Winner in Fire&moon Photo Challenge
Winner in night time camping Photo Challenge
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was made on a small island Mana in the Kornati Archipelago where I have lived for about three winter weeks. Long time ago...Time
Photographed 15-Nov-94 at 01:45 in the winter night. The camera was set on a nearby dry-wall stone and supported by a pair of mittens in the vertical orientation.Lighting
The Moonlight is obvious, and the whole area was lit in light-blue, almost sufficiently strong to read. Still, the camera was set up by the light of a small pencil flashlight. In the tent there was a gas lantern, and that was all the light I needed to make the shot. I used this picture for the cover of my first book titled "Moja Mana". It translates as "my Mana" (the isle name), but also as "my handicap" since this is what "mana" means in Croatian language. I used the wordplay in the title.Equipment
Camera Model: Minolta Dynax 7000i SLR (80-200 Rokkor lens). Material exposed: Fujichrome Sensia (100ASA). Exposure was several seconds, from the rock-supported camera, triggered by its self-timer. It's impossible to recall all the details, because no Exif at that time... :)Inspiration
The whole trip was an inspiration, because the Kornati Archipelago looks like nothing else on the planet. The southward sides of its 150ish isles and rocks have been bombarded and crumbled to verticals by the Adriatic waves driven by winter gales and a scirocco winds, and the purpose of my visit in the wintry days was to photograph such wave action. Of course, there were many more nice themes to shoot... and being alone on the rock, I took the opportunity to do just that, exposing a total of 50 or so rolls of Fujichrome.Editing
Of course, the film-exposed photo[s] had to be scanned and later optimized for all kinds of presentations (except the slideshows that were popular in those days). This one was also cropped to the book format, but luckily all the cropping occured in the black of the margins, so there was no loss. As fas as I can remember, the combination of Moon and gas-light color temperatures magically appeared pretty much like shown.In my camera bag
A standard question here gets a standard answer! So I have this answer ready, and just cleverly copy / paste! In this case I had a photo bag with two cameras. The "main" one was a Minolta Dynax 7000i with 35-80 and 80-200 Rokkor lenses, and an assortment of ND and CPL filters, plus several Cokin filters with its adapter / holder. There was a Minolta flash unit too, but I hardly used it at all. My second camera was an Olympus mju-II (or Stylus), which was very well water-protected as is, and I always like to have a rain & snow-proof alternative. The rest of the bag was filled with film rolls minus their paper boxes, so I could cram as many of those in my luggage as possible. Anyway, I find it easier to carry a photo vest than any photo bag. So I load my photo vest with whatever I might need for my photo session, walk or trip, while my photo bags usually keep the equipment I'm not using at the moment. The vest's many pockets usually contain two cameras, spare batteries, ND and CPL filters, and one photo clamp standing in for a tripod. Recently I include a small action camera, mainly for its wide field of view and resistance to water and weather. The vest also has large-lens pockets that contain a small water bottle, sandwich, or a bar of chocolate if I plan on being out for the whole day. There is about three meters length of paracord or similar strong, thin rope, one hefty pocket knife, and a lighter. My smartphone comes along too. It has yet another spare camera, but more importantly the Spirit Level App wich I use to make the phone a perfectly horizontal surface under my camera. This is essential for panoramic sweeps. The app is free, and requires no extra permissions whatsoever. The large back pocket of the vest is reserved for a lightweight rain poncho. If the weather suddenly plays up, the poncho neatly covers all. Using the tools mentioned above, much can be improvised along the way, so that's all I need to make photos.Feedback
I am not very eager to advise anyone to spend any length of wintertime in a place where NOTHING can reach you in an emergency! And Kornati Archipelago (the first Croatian Maritime Nat'l park) has a lot of such places. I have been taken there by the strong motor boat during a spell of a calm sea, but when the waves and winds are beating the area, no boat nor any kind of helicopter can land there - until Mother Nature allows. Otherwise, dress for winter (the layers!), take at least 1/3rd more supplies than calculated, because you may be there longer than you have planned (the weather!). Make sure you have some kind of reliable communication. A salt water / humidity protected satellite phone would be nifty. Plan for some overkill battery charging means, like a solar panel plus powerbank[s], and adequate image backup. You have to have some fuel for cooking and to keep you warm - disposable gas canisters are OK, alcohol cooker / heater is also good. And when you walk the place, please carry your communication unit along. If you break a leg and the phone is in your tent hundreds of meters uphill and away... see? But beside all the imaginable trouble scenarios deriving from the facts that you're alone and far away in a cold place that isn't reachable at all times - have fun! :)
