Those images are not for release yet, but here’s a few behind the scenes moments from our days on the road around this amazing country.

While preparing this week for my return, I dug up a few of the many 100s of photos I’m still sorting through from my March 2010 trip. While there were many visual elements to my discovery of Africa – wildlife, flora, vistas – by far the people were the most fascinating. Which is saying something considering how generally enthralling everything in Africa can be for a newcomer.

In this set are some of the people I encountered on a trip round the country, including a village of ‘pygmy’ people, more correctly known as the Twa, a boy washing by Lake Kivu in the west of the country, and some schoolchildren we encountered along the road in Gisenyi, the well-known city on the Congolese border.

Enjoy!

The photo below shows a boy with a severe cleft lip and palate standing in an empty OR, for an Operation Smile fund-raising campaign to demonstrate what is required to equip a mission successfully. I have to admit when I consider the millions of dollars that may be raised through the use of my photos in these campaigns, it gives me a huge sense of professional satisfaction that is hard to find in other areas of work.

For further info on Operation Smile, check out www.operationsmile.org or contact me. Ok, back to work now!

I’m covering more and more weddings these days, and finding I’m really getting into the whole experience. It’s more than just a job – it’s being invited to be an integral part of a couple’s most important moments, helping to create for them memories that will capture the essence of their big day, but also leave them with mementos that will only grow more special with time.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=217810&id=755641398

I hope you enjoy looking through these…

Today we were shown new developments in the capital, and views across the hills of the neighbourhooods that stretch across the slopes here. Then suddenly we stumbled into a Catholic church meet, where the choir was warming up outside the entrance. Within minutes we’d stumbled onto another congregation, a Pentecostal one this time. These guys and girls really know how to party! Drumming, singing, hands in the air, waving their bibles and babies about. We all ended up getting into the beats too!

Then a quick lap round the local fruit and veg market. I’ve learnt something today – people in SE Asia are so much easier to photograph! For whatever reason, there you have it. People here watch me warily, then put up a hand and say ‘no photo’ or ask for money upfront. It takes a long time to flatter the ladies into letting me get a photo of them. But I got away with it a few times. A lot harder work than in Asia

We finished up with a sobering and moving visit to the genocide museum in Kigali. Please take some time to read up on how these events came about. I’d prefer not to delve into it here. Too much to say in order to deal with the topic fully.

This afternoon we hit the road for Ruhengeri, the base for trekking to visit the famed Silverback Gorillas. Which I should have photos of by tomorrow night!

To be continued…
Visit slideshow here:
Rwanda road-trip – Images by Peter Stuckings

And what a way to begin! Flying in over Kenya and spotting Mt Kilimanjaro, the Masai Mara AND Lake Victoria from the plane, all within an hour.

Kigali itself is a very pleasant city wrapped around lush green hills and valleys. I read a lot before coming here about the genocide of the past few decades, especially the most well-known instance in 1994. So I can’t help picturing those scenes as I cruise through the city’s green and leafy suburban streets on the back of a motorbike taxi. But the early impression is of a country that has worked hard to move on from the bad old days and is enjoying a new era of prosperity and stability, partly thanks to the huge amounts of assistance poured in here since the mid-90s (i.e. guilt money from those countries that failed Rwanda tragically in 1994). But mostly due to the policies and efforts of the rather enlightened government under President Paul Kagame (check him out here on Facebook).

The mission kicked off on Saturday morning at the main university hospital downtown. Over 400 patients and their families were gathered together from all over the country, and bussed in courtesy of UNICEF. They’ve been housed in dormitories courtesy of the Red Cross, and are being tended to by volunteers from a range of NGOs including the US Peace Corps. So it’s a big and complicated operation.

For my part, I’m working alongside a video team who are filming a promotional documentary, following several of the children through the mission and surgical processes. Once the video campaign is ready for release, a print campaign will run in parallel. And since thankfully video doesn’t yield enough pixels for hi-resolution printing, photographers are still needed to capture images that match the video story. So video hasn’t killed the photography star yet!

There’s so much to explain and reveal about things here, and about working on this kind of project. But I’m exhausted and want to just share some photos and take a break. Be sure to contact me or take a look at www.operationsmile.org if you have any questions.

Operation Smile in Rwanda 2010 - Images by Peter Stuckings

Here’s a slideshow of highlights from the first few days on the road. They include Sunshine Coast surfing, beaches, a shipwreck, and the hinterland, where only minutes from the coast you can see misty mountain scenes and villages. Then there’s Brisbane, with all its colonial architecture, bridges, war memorials (Aussies have done more than their fair share of pitching in where help is needed), spectacular twilights, and gardens. I have to admit – after years of leaving this city behind, it’s surprising to find how liveable and enjoyable it’s become.


Queensland highlights - Images by Peter Stuckings

So enough about work – how about a few quick tips on travel photography in case you’re into getting the best shots of the destinations you visit when you’re traveling?

1. Preparation: is there anything that doesn’t benefit from being prepared? In travel photo terms, this means online research (such as Google images, to see what things look like, and what’s worth your time), figuring out where the sun will be throughout the day (check out iPhone app ‘Focalware’ – brilliantly handy for predicting sunrise/set and moonrise/set anywhere in the world), scoping out the locations if you have time, getting permission if necessary (the more advanced the country, the more permissions needed, usually), and of course all the usual preparations like packing your gear the night before, ensuring batteries are charged, cards are cleared, and you get a good night’s sleep. Which leads to the most important bit…

2. Up early: I’m not a morning person, so I totally sympathise with anyone who has trouble with this part. Here’s a trick: when that alarm goes off in the pre-dawn darkness, promise yourself a catch-up nap at lunchtime. It works for me . But seriously, when photographers talk about the quality of the light, there’s nothing quite like the first light of the morning and the last light of the afternoon. So what exactly do we mean about quality of light? I’m guessing there’s as many answers to that as there are photographers. But to me, it has a lot to do with the angle and the colour temperature. A low-light angle means the facades of buildings are fully lit, less obscuring shadows, and at the right angle, the light skims across facades and features, giving more depth and definition. Put simply, the light just kind of gets in under and around things. Once the sun has risen to mid-morning, through to mid-afternoon, the angle is too high and the landscape begins to look ‘flat’ and hazy. Also, building facades and people’s faces become shrouded in shadows. Then there’s the colour temperature. Depending on your location, dawn and sunset light can be warm and orangey, whereas in other locations, dawn can be cool and blue-ish. Then noontime sunlight tends to become colourless and featureless. If this doesn’t make sense, shoot some RAW files and then play with the colour temperature settings in your RAW converter. And if you’re still unsure, email me!

3. Gear: the eternal question for budding photogs is ‘What’s the best camera/lens/kit/bag/tripod/etc?’ There is no easy answer and the more you discuss it, the less likely you are to find an answer, but I find the best attitude is ‘Whatever you’ve got on you.’ It’s easy when starting out to gather so much gear that you’ve got more than you can carry or use at any given time. I’ve found that photography gear usage becomes a bell-curve over time. You start simple, but then the lens-envy and gear-obsession sets in. But if you really discover what’s best for your photography outcomes, you start to leave certain things at home, until eventually you’re going out with only one body and, at most, 2-3 lenses, maybe even downscaling to a couple of prime lenses to keep it as pure and simple as possible. Hell, you don’t even need a flash or tripod 95% of the time so why drag all that stuff around?! And in the end, your results are so much better for being light and mobile. And having less things to fiddle with and agonise over, you tend to respond more to what’s happening around you than treating it all like a theory exercise. So my advice is, take your most versatile 2-3 lenses in the most compact method (belt pouches seem to work best), put away your lens cap, and leave the camera switched on all the time in the most responsive mode you know. Then see what happens!

4. Make a plan, then throw it away: As odd as it sounds, this always works for me. Put simply, travel photography shouldn’t be overly structured. To really capture the visual essence of a place, its history, its people and its daily life, you need to wander, respond, and take some chances. But on the other hand, when you have a whole city / province / region to photograph in a matter of days, you can’t just wander aimlessly. So you need a plan. But just don’t follow it too closely or you might miss that astounding ‘unguarded moment’ (to borrow the title of Steve McCurry’s 2009 book and the Church’s 1981 classic song), which afterwards is what really makes the trip worthwhile.

Ok, best of luck with your photos. Email me anytime if you have any questions, or start a discussion with the Comments below. I’m off to photograph weekend markets, an art gallery, and maybe Koalas, if I can find them. Avagreatweekend!

And as a photographer, I’m struggling to capture it all. There’s the fact that I have to keep my head down – the organisers only just let me get beyond the barrier and up to the ropes anyway. So I’m trying not to get in the way. Then there’s the lights from all directions, some of them usually shining into the lens. Then the guys flying all over the ring, doing their utmost to smash each other’s ribs and teeth, with no consideration for how I might like them to stand for the shot . And finally there’s the fact it all happens so quickly. Forget checking what you’re getting on the screen – you’re missing half the fight!

I don’t recall the last time I got cramps in my hands from shooting so intensely, but it happened a lot tonight.


Kickboxing in Bangkok - Images by Peter Stuckings

But what I really enjoyed was the ceremony of it all. The guys climb into the ring, shed their cloaks and go through a dance, while a crazy little band plays freaky pipes and drums to one side. They warm up by hugging the corner pads, kneeling and praying, and generally dancing round. Then the bell rings and they get into it. But slowly at first. A few tentative punches and kicks. By the second round, however, they’ve gotten over the initial shocks and they let loose. The feet start flying at head height, the grappling turns into knees in ribs, and every round or so, one of them goes down, to roars from the crowd.

Anyway, you’ll see it all in the photos. And at the end, the victor celebrates on his own, almost abandoned, while the vanquished is carried off and fretted over by his team. And in the background, shady looking guys exchange wads of money and disappear into the dark street…

I’ll definitely be back!

It’s been a fun 3 months! Before this assignment for Insight Guides, I hadn’t spent much time in Thailand. When you grow up having to spend your holidays every summer on some of the world’s best beaches (i.e. Queensland, Australia) you reach adulthood not really wanting to pass your leisure time lying about on a beach in Thailand. Instead, big cities beckon, mountains, exotic cultures – but definitely not beaches! Besides, being a pasty white fella, I got sunburnt enough as a kid to last several lifetimes! No more

Anyway, as the photos will eventually show when published next year in Insight Guides’ Bangkok and Thailand books, this assignment has taken me all over Bangkok, up through the centre of the country to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, and all around the mountains surrounding those two cities. Then a big loop around the NE rural areas, and finishing back here in Bangkok. It’s been a blast and yes, I have to concede, I’m damn lucky to get paid to do this!

And in time there’ll be a hell of a lot more Thailand images that I’ll post for purchase on my online library of Southeast Asia travel images at www.indochinaimages.com

Here’s a few recent highlights. I’ll definitely be back to see more of this country…

Vertigo Restaurant at the Banyan Tree Hotel

Guardians surround the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok

Aisawan Thipphaya-at Pavilion, Bang Pa In Palace

My photos from Sayabouri province in Laos have been featured in the opening instalment, and more will appear in the coming weeks as the FT features R2R’s activities around the world.

FT Seasonal Appeal