2011 Photo Tours/Workshops

Port Rexton, one of our destinations on the Eastern Newfoundland tour

This year we are leading two Newfoundland tours and I will be along on two Adventure Canada expeditions in the north as well. You will find the detailed info here.

This is the first year that we have offered a western Newfoundland tour and it has been gobbled up by past travelers who had been wait-listed. It's fully booked! However, there is still space remaining on the eastern Newfoundland tour.

By the way, the Avalon Peninsula, which is included in the eastern Newfoundland tour, was recently ranked by the National Geographic Traveler Magazine as the world's #1 coastal destination!

These are small group (6 people plus two guides) tours for people interested in photography. As we say on our website:

We specialize in select tours designed to enhance our connection with the natural world. We explore places rich in wildlife and natural beauty that broaden the traveler's horizons and inspire creativity. Our trips usually feature strong photography components but they are designed for all who love nature and have an appetite for discovery.

Are You Ready for a DSLR?

Dennis shooting in New Zealand. Photo: Antje Springmann

I was asked yesterday by one of my tour participants for some advice on switching from a compact digital camera to a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera. Even though, there are many websites and blogs that offer advice on this topic, I thought I'd add my perspective here so others could share my answer.

When moving from one camera type to the other, you will be trading-off the small size, light weight and convenience of a compact camera for the bulkier, heavier and more demanding DSLR. There is also some new, middle-ground: the mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras represented by Samsung NX11 and the Sony NEX cameras and their ilk. I haven't handled one of these fascinating new cameras so I can't say much about them, but if were I upgrading from a compact digital camera, I would certainly consider one of these.

My New Book - Enchanted Light, The Galapagos and Ecuador

I hope you enjoy this preview of my latest book on the Galapagos and Ecuador.

Enchanted Light by Dennis Minty | Make Your Own Book

What Malcolm Gladwell Taught Me About Photography

Baobab Tree, Tanzania, shot from the back of a moving pickup truck.

A couple of years ago I read Malcolm Gladwell's wonderful book "Blink". It makes the case that we should put greater faith in our instincts, especially our initial, intuitive responses to a person, object, or event. Even though these assessments might happen in a few milliseconds, they can be, and often are, better than those based on more protracted deliberation. According to Gladwell's research, this ability is based on the way the human brain has evolved to assess stimuli (largely visual) subconsciously  and render trustworthy judgments very quickly. Of course, this is not always true, and Gladwell also talks about certain factors, like biases and prejudices, that can impede our subconscious ability. Nonetheless, he makes a very strong case for the power  of quick, intuitive assessments that can happen in a "blink".

So what does this have to do with photography? Just this: your first visual impressions are important and reliable. The photographs you make based on them may not be your best shots in any given circumstance, but they might be. So, I say, "shoot first and ask questions later". Rather than thinking very much about why you like something, just dive in. We have all heard or said "I know what I like, but I don't necessarily know why".  That's OK. To record your first impressions, you don't necessarily have to know why something attracts you, but you do have to recognize that it does. You have to feel it.

Two Kinds of Shooters (at least)

Perry's Cove, Conception Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, Dec. 28, 2010

In your reading about photography have you come across the idea of pre-visioning or imagining your shot in advance and then going after it? Sometimes it is treated as a prerequisite for good image-making. Certainly it is a valid method and one practiced by many excellent photographers, but rarely do I practice it, and I certainly don't see it as a "essential secret" to making strong images.

I think its closely connected to your ability to imagine visually. Some are very good at it, others less so. For example, my wife might suggest that we move the couch from here to there, or to paint the walls a particular shade of whatever. She can actually see the change in her mind's eye. She can make a disturbingly (to me) accurate guess at how it will work out. It's a gift, but one that is not as strong in me. I have to move the damn couch to its new location and then assess whether it works or not. She can do the whole thing in her head, which is a whole lot easier on the back.

So some photographers have this gift and others lack it, or have a weaker capacity for it. My point is that there are two kinds of photographers: one that pre-visions the image and then proceeds to create it, and the other (like me) that is more reactive to the world around us. In my (perhaps self-serving) opinion, one is not necessarily any better than the other.

My Grandson Peter

I'm very proud today. Peter created a touching tribute to his friend Zach and posted it on youtube. Zach died tragically last Christmas in a car accident. His favourite song was Wagon Wheel so Peter and a gang of his friends collaborated to make their own version of the song and present it to Zach's family this year. Peter sang, played all the instruments, except the drums, recorded all the tracks separately and mixed the final audio. There was never more than Peter and one other singer in the studio at one time. The project certainly shows off some of Peter's talent but more than that...it shows his big, caring heart. Well done Peter.

Canada and Global Warming

I am an arctic addict or, as my friend Matthew Swan describes it, I have "arcticus feverus". I try to get there annually, mostly with Adventure Canada, and when I'm there it touches me deeply. Three years ago we went further north than ever we had before to a place in west Greenland called Etah. We managed to get there because it was so ice free. All over the arctic there are clear signs of incredibly fast changes brought on by global warming: glaciers receding at rates faster than anyone previously predicited (checkout this link: Extreme Ice Survey), methane escaping in freshwater arctic pools as permafrost melts, thining ice, shrinking of the permanent ice pack, robins on Baffin island, and more. Regardless of anything we do now to reduce greenhouse emissions, major ecological changes have started in the arctic and will continue. Yet in the face of this, my country, Canada, seems to see no good reason to act decisively to help curb emmissions. The Conservative government says that they intend to lower Canada's greenhouse gases 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020 and to further lower emissions 60 to 70 per cent below 2006 levels by 2050. These targets are far lower than Canada committed to in 1997 since which our emissions increased by 30%!! They are also out-of-step with most other developed countries that are actually trying to reduce global warming.

I expect better of Canada.