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Tuesday June 30, 2009 (15:12) | Africa, Charity
As most of you know, I published a book in February 2007 called, AFRICA: Beginning a Journey. Thank you to all of you who purchased it and supported a great cause.
I have a few remaining copies and would like to donate them to schools or public libraries in Canada. If you are a teacher or a librarian and would like a free copy of the book for your institution, please fax your request on your letterhead to +1-888-737-5719
Feel free to send this post to a school or library and thank you to everyone who helped with the success of this book!
Sunday November 30, 2008 (09:28) | Africa, Charity
Christmas is just around the corner. And if you are like me, you probably have no clue what to get your loved ones.
As some of you already know, I published a 100 page photography book in early 2007 entitled, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey“. We have a few copies of this book left and which features images I captured on safari during a trip to Africa in May 2006. This book has been featured on the Gill Deacon Show on CBC, Breakfast Television on CityTV and The Globe and Mail.
100% of the profit from the sale of this book is being donated to Plan Canada (founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan) to assist African children that have been orphaned/impacted by AIDS.
So, what is my point in all of this? You can get a great Christmas gift for the person who already has (almost) everything and support a great cause at the same time.
You can order the book in one of two ways:
ONLINE
PHONE
- Call toll free at 1-888-301-0829
We accept personal cheques, VISA, Mastercard, AMEX and Discover. The price is $49.99 (Canadian Dollars) and it includes shippping in Canada and the USA.
On behalf of myself, Plan Canada and most importantly, the children, thank you for your support!
Thursday January 31, 2008 (13:17) | Africa, Charity, General, Safari, Travel
Dear Friends,
As you may know, I published a 100 page photography book early in 2007 entitled, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey“. This book contains images I captured on safari during a trip to Africa in May 2006 and 100% of the profit from the sale of this book is being donated to Plan Canada (founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan) to assist African children that have been orphaned/impacted by AIDS.
What you may not know (I didn’t until a client of mine called me recently) was that this book was featured in the Book Section of the Globe and Mail on December 8, 2007. This issue is a compilation of the best coffee table books in Canada – and it includes “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey” !
Needless to say we’re proud (and honoured) that Canada’s national newspaper has recognized our efforts and have promoted the book/cause. We still have a few copies left, so if you are interested in ordering a copy for yourself, you can click here to go the ordering website.
Thanks to all of you for your support!
Sunday December 16, 2007 (13:58) | Africa, Charity
Dear Friends,
As you may know, I published a 100 page photography book earlier this year entitled, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey“. This book contains images I captured on safari during a trip to Africa in May 2006. The Gill Deacon Show on CBC and Breakfast Television on CityTV have featured this book along with The Globe and Mail and many other Canadian newpapers.
Why did I publish this book? I found out that by the year 2010, there will be over 20 million children orphaned by AIDS in Africa alone. Many of these children live in appalling conditions and do not have access to basic healthcare, food, shelter or education. They desperately need our financial support (in addition to our compassion) if they are to survive.
To help them, 100% of the profit from the sale of this book is being donated to Plan Canada (founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan) to assist African children that have been orphaned/impacted by AIDS. Plan Canada is international organization dedicated to the well being of children in developing countries.
Until December 31, 2007, you can order your copy (for yourself or as a gift) for only $49.99 plus tax and it includes shipping anywhere in Canada or the USA. We’ll even include a gift card and ship directly to the gift recipient if you’d like.
You can click here if you would like to view more information.
You can order the book in one of two ways:
ONLINE
- Visit http://roelphoto.com/africabook
- Click on the “order” menu option
PHONE
- Call toll free at 1-888-301-0829
We accept personal cheques, VISA, Mastercard, AMEX and Discover.
On behalf of myself, Plan Canada and most importantly, the children, thank you for your support!
All the best,
Roel
Sunday October 28, 2007 (18:45) | Africa, Charity
Dear Friends,
Christmas is just around the corner. And if you are like me, you probably have no clue what to get your loved ones.
As you already know, I published a 100 page photography book earlier this year entitled, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey“. This book features images I captured on safari during a trip to Africa in May 2006. This book has been featured on the Gill Deacon Show on CBC and Breakfast Television on CityTV.
100% of the profit from the sale of this book is being donated to Plan Canada (founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan) to assist African children that have been orphaned/impacted by AIDS.
So, what is my point in all of this? You can get a great Christmas gift for the person who already has (almost) everything and support a great cause at the same time.
You can order the book in one of two ways:
ONLINE
- Go to my main website of http://roelphoto.com
- On the home page, click on the “charity” menu item.
- Then on the next screen, click on the link that will take you to the site to order the book.
PHONE
- Call toll free at 1-888-301-0829
We accept personal cheques, VISA, Mastercard, AMEX and Discover.
On behalf of myself, Plan Canada and most importantly, the children, thank you for your support!
All the best,
Roel
Tuesday March 20, 2007 (12:50) | Africa, Charity, Children, Safari
Thank you to everyone who ordered my new book, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey”.
We have sold almost 200 copies to date! Thank you for your support. It is a limited edition photography book with only 1,000 copies in print, so, we still have a few more to sell.
If you know anyone who might like a copy, I kindly request that spread the word about this project (you can click the “mail” icon on this post to email copy of this post to them). Remember, 100% of the profits (plus a government matching grant) will donated to Plan Canada (founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan) and the funds will be directed to projects that support African children impacted by AIDS.
Please click here if you want a preview or to order a copy online. You can also call toll free at +1.888.301.0829 (or +1.416.618.7957 in Toronto) to place your order. The cost is $CAD 49.99 plus tax (about $USD 42.00) and all major credit cards or cheques are accepted as payment.
On behalf of myself, Plan Canada and the children, thank you again for your support of this cause!
Saturday February 10, 2007 (13:25) | Africa, Charity
Dear friends,
Just a quick post today. We are now in possession of the book, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey” , and it started shipping on Friday February 9, 2007. So to those of you who pre-ordered a copy, check your mailbox in a few days.
Thank you for your support!
Wednesday February 7, 2007 (19:01) | Africa, Charity
Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered my new book, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey”.
The book has now arrived in Canada after a two week shipping delay. They are currently with Canadian Customs, so it should not be too much longer before the book is ready to ship. To those of you who pre-ordered a copy, it is only a few days now before you receive a package in the mail!
If you know anyone who might like a copy, I encourage you to contact them (you can click the “mail” icon on this post to email copy of this post to them). Remember, 100% of the profits (plus a government matching grant) will donated to Plan Canada and the funds will be directed to projects that support African children impacted by AIDS.
Please click here if you want a preview or to order a copy online. You can also call toll free at +1.888.301.0829 (or +1.416.618.7957 in Toronto) to place your order. The cost is $CAD 49.99 plus tax (about $USD 43.00) and all major credit cards or cheques are accepted as payment.
The next 100 people who order a copy will receive a coupon for $5.00 off (on a minimum order of $100.00) from Paul’s Finest, a leading Canadian supplier of high quality knives, cookware and rechargeable batteries.
Thank you to Paul’s Finest and to you for your support!
Roel Dixon-Mahatoo
Wednesday January 10, 2007 (17:26) | Africa, Charity
I just received a call from my publisher… and my new book, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey” is being released the first week of February 2007. So to those of you who pre-ordered a copy, it is only a few weeks now before you receive a package in the mail!
On behalf of myself, Plan Canada and the children in Africa, thank you for your book order – you are supporting a great cause!
If you are interested in previewing the book, or want to order a copy, please click here. You can also call toll free at +1.888.301.0829 (or +1.416.618.7957 in Toronto).
Thank you again!
Tuesday December 12, 2006 (02:58) | Africa, Equipment Tips, Safari
As a result of publishing my recent photography book on Africa, I have been receiving a lot of mail lately asking for equipment “advice” when going on an African safari. I posted this back in May of this year and decided to repost it as it will help answer a lot of the questions I have been receiving.
…
In April 2006, my wife and I went to South Africa and Zambia on safari for the very first time. If you haven’t been to that part of the world – just go there, it is amazing. We spent about 8 days in South Africa at Thornybush Private Game Reserve (it borders Kruger NP) and 3 days in Zambia visiting Victoria Falls.
You may see some of the images I created in Africa here.
Many of you have asked me what worked for me on this trip and what did not. I am very grateful for all of the useful info I found on the web before I left and it is my wish that what I present here may benefit you somehow if you decide to visit this lovely continent.
Equipment List
Tamrac Expedition 7 backpack
Nikon D2X and D2Hs
Sigma 10-20mm f/4~5.6D
Nikon AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8G
Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G VR
Nikon AF-S 200-400mm f/4G VR
Nikon TC-14E
Nikon SB-800 (1)
Canon 500D Closeup Lens
Better Beamer Flash Extender
spare AA & EN-EL4 batteries
Epson P-2000 & Compact Drive PD70X
16GB of Compact Flash (CF)
Arctic Butterfly & battery chargers
First Thoughts
I didn’t bring my whole kit and I had a lot of stuff with me on this trip – I don’t need to go to the gym for a while now since I got a lot of weight training in Africa carrying my gear. I actually couldn’t get everything in the Tamrac Expedition 7, so my wife put the Sigma 10-20mm, the Epson P-2000 and the chargers in her camera bag.
Airport Security (Toronto, Atlanta, Johannesburg, Hoedspruit, Livingstone) did not give me any hassles with the equipment and I was able to take everything as carry on baggage – even on the smaller aircraft within Africa. In fact, they would ask me, “Are you a professional photographer?” After I said, “yes”, they would just routinely inspect my bag and let me move on. Nice.
What Worked
The 70-200/2.8 VR and the 200-400/4 VR were my main workhorse lenses – I had each of those lenses attached to a different body depending on the light available. I used these two lenses for 75-80% of my shots. Once in a while an animal would get close enough to our Land Rover so that I would need my 17-55/2.8, but the two long zooms usually did the trick.
These lenses are superb optically and VR was a lifesaver at times. Since I could not use a tripod in the vehicle (I didn’t bother to bring one), I would rest the lens where ever I could and shoot (our guides had bean bags which I used once in a while). VR on the 200-400/4 VR really works and it works well. I have shots at 400mm, 1/15 sec @ f/4 that are sharp. Impressive!
The TC-14E came in handy – no loss of AF speed and once stopped down (by a stop), my images were very sharp. I did not use this as much I thought I would as our guides got us reasonably close to the larger game. But for birds and hippos (we were in a 17 foot metal boat on the Zambezi River and did not want to get too close to the hippos – they were very skittish and would attack us in a matter of seconds if they chose to do so), the TC provided the extra reach I needed.
The D2X and D2Hs performed flawlessly. If I had any OOF shots, etc, it was due to operator error. The AF system on the D2 bodies is amazing – especially in low light. I shot compressed NEF exclusively and backed up my data each night to the Epson P-2000 and PD70X. Also, even with a full day of shooting, the EN-EL4’s in my cameras never dropped below 45% and that is with a lot of chimping. I never had to put a spare battery in either body.
The SB-800 and the Better Beamer Flash Extender came in handy for lifting the shadows in certain shots, mostly the birds. You need to be careful with the fresnel lens as with sunny skies, you could start a fire with this thing (I’m not joking). Also, I had to dial in -2EV to -3EV flash compensation a lot of time or I would blow out the shot – even in TTL BL mode on the SB-800.
What Did Not Work
Let’s start off with what failed. My PD70X on day 5 failed. My wife’s Fuji s9000 has a video mode and she used it to make a couple videos. She filled up one of her CF cards so I decided to back it up for her. The Epson P-2000 backed everything up and worked perfectly… the PD70X stopped writing after file #177. File #177 was an AVI (video) file and it turned out to be corrupted. The PD70X would power on and I could verify the exisiting files, but I could not copy CF cards anymore even though there was over 35GB in free storage left. Upon returning home, I reset the unit by re-applying a firmware upgrade after contacting the manufacturer. They confirmed that a corrupted AVI file could re-write the contents of the firmware.
I thought dust would be a problem – it wasn’t. It was the end of rainy season so dust was minimal. I suspect that dust might be a problem at other times of the year. Rain was actually more of a concern during our safari… it would rain lightly during the day for 30 minutes or so, but that was it. Bring plastic bags (garbage and ziploc bags) with you to keep your gear dry whilst in the vehicle. I did not end up using the Arctic Butterfly to clean up dust bunnies as (1) I could not find it in my suitcase after day 5 and (2) dust was never a problem for me.
What I Learned From This Trip
Less is more – there were a few items such as the ultra wide zoom and Canon 500D that I would not have missed at all if I did not bring it. It would have been nice to have some fast primes for my low light work, but that would have added to the bulk of my kit and I got along just fine without them. There were times that I wish I had my 80-400 VR because of the convenient range and the fact that it is lightweight. I love fast glass but it gets quite heavy after a while and the 80-400 VR would perform well in strong light when stopped down. Whether it would have focussed accurately in low light with its f/5.6 aperature – well – I don’t know and probably won’t (I sold my 80-400 VR after using the 200-400/4 VR).
Backup your critical equipment – having two bodies was indispensable… rarely did I have to do lens changes. I read about people who went on safari with only one camera body only to have it fail. Having two PSD’s to backup image data was critical given that one of them failed on me in the field. Even my wife’s iPod charger failed over there… I am lucky none of my battery chargers failed too. Next time, I will bring a backup Nikon/Epson charger.
Don’t be afraid of using high ISO – I would see the perfect shot and the light was really low, so I would have to crank up the ISO really high to get a decent shot. At first, I asked myself, “Do I want a lot of noise in the image or should I just forget it?” I immediately cranked up the ISO. Some of my best images are taken at ISO 800 and 1600 – with both the D2Hs and D2X. With the D2Hs, I can comfortably shoot at ISO 1600 – there is virtually no noise, and what noise there is looks like film grain in print. I used the D2X at HI-1 (ISO 1600) a couple times (the leopard in the tree at night) and was surprised how well it printed. So, use the higher ISO’s if you have to and expose them properly. Don’t listen to the noise about noise!
Hire a private guide/vehicle – we were not informed that we could (for as little as $USD 100.00 per day) have a private game viewing vehicle and guide. That way, we could stay in one spot for as long as we wanted – viewing what we wanted. As to vehicle itself and other guests – there was ample room for my gear and in general, most of the people we met were very accomodating in letting me have the “good” seats (near the front).
I hope all of you have the opportunity to visit this amazing continent – and photograph it. I know my wife and I will definitely visit again!
Wednesday November 29, 2006 (02:29) | Africa, Charity
A few of you have written to me over the past few days to let me know that I have been noticeably absent. My apologies to those of you who regularly read this blog.
I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on my book, “AFRICA: Beginning A Journey”. I am happy to report that it is with my publisher as I type this and I am now ready to accept preorders for this book.
As many of you know, my wife and I took at trip to South Africa and Zambia back in April of this year. We were both touched by the beauty of this place and the extreme pain many of its people endure.
There is also a sad reality in Africa – there is an AIDS/HIV pandemic and by 2010, it is estimated that 25 million (yes, you read that correctly) African children will be orphaned by this disease. 25 million is almost the entire population of Canada! In my opinion, it is not enough to shed tears for these children – we need to help them fast and help them to help themselves.
It is for this reason I have created this book and 100% of the profits will be donated to Foster Parents Plan with the funds being directed to African projects that support children affected by AIDS/HIV.
It is a 100 page 9″ x 12″ Limited Edition hardcover book with only 1,000 copies being printed. The delivery date will be in late January 2007.
Not sure what gift to get that special person for Christmas who has everything? Get them this book – it full of beautiful African images and you will be supporting a great cause.
If you order a book (or two) as a Christmas gift, just let me know (when you order your copy) and I’ll include gift card to put under the Christmas tree.
You can order your copy by clicking here for $CAD 49.99 each plus taxes and shipping. You can alternatively go to www.roelphoto.com/africabook to order your copy online. You can pay via cheque, credit card or Paypal.
Please join me in helping in supporting some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Oh yes… all funds raised will be matched dollar for dollar by the Canadian government through CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency). So, here’s a chance to make your money work twice as hard towards a great cause!
Thanks for your support!
Tuesday May 23, 2006 (12:35) | Africa
Some people call Africa the cradle of humanity. Once you have experienced this continent, you will never forget it.
In my previous post, I stated that my wife and I visited South Africa and Zambia for our first time. It is a place of stunning beauty, dangerous wildlife, wide vistas and extreme pain. As a professional photographer, I was in awe of this incredible place and photographed everything in sight – from the animals, to the landscape and the people.
You may see some of the images I created in Africa here.
Our tour guide told us that Africa will steal your heart and then break it. HIV/AIDS is rampant with several countries having over 40% of their population inflicted with this dreadful disease. AIDS related deaths orphan millions of African children each year. This is an intolerable situation and it is simply not enough for the “modern” world to sit still and watch these people suffer.
By Christmas of 2006, I shall be publishing a photo book with these images. All of profits from the sale of this book will be going to the Foster Parents Plan to support the victims of AIDS/HIV in Africa. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of this book or any of these images to support this cause, please contact me at roel@roelphoto.com
Thank you for your support!
