Atlanta Zoo Visit

Last week we decided to visit the Atlanta Zoo. We've lived here for five years and have never visited the zoo. And here's the thing, Atlanta in one of the few zoos that have pandas. I think there are only six zoos in all of the United States that have them.

The Chinese call them 大熊猫daxiongmao (dah-shung-mah-ow), which means "large bear-cat." Strangely enough the scientific name means "black and white cat-footed."

Chinese love the Panda Bear because they are very peaceful creatures. They don't eat other animals but feed mostly on bamboo shoots and leaves.

The zoo is absolutely a peaceful place. Lots of shade. Lot's of interesting things to look at around path bends and down valleys. It's really a great zoo.

We sat down had had a krautdog and soda. Here's a very quick sketch I did of a box lunch sitting on the table.

When we passed the elephants in the afternoon the zoo keepers were washing them down with a fire hose. The elephants loved this treatment. They lifted their trunks so that he could message the underside of the long snout. Then they'd flap their ears and flick the water to their sides.

Next we are off to see the monkeys and warthogs. I find these strange creatures interesting to look at. Almost as interesting as people.

...dave
“Life is a zoo in a jungle.” - Peter De Vries (American comic visionary, Editor, Novelist, Satirist and Linguist. 1910-1993)

What's in the bag?

Observations on camera gear I used in China.

Here's what I brought:

1 D70
2 D70 batteries
3 CF cards (one 256 and two 512s)
1 12-25 Tokina
1 70-210 Nikkor with step up (62-77)
1 55 macro Nikkor
1 remote
1 polarizer
1 sky filter (for inclement weather)
1 3216 Bogen mono-pod with 3262 ballhead
1 small Jansport backpack
1 leather fanny pack
1 swivel-head flash with bounce card
1 iBook with neoprene slipcase

I used each and every lens on the trip. I only recharged the camera battery once. I shot an average of 80 pictures a day.

Often the 70-210 lens was too powerful for a portrait lens especially for the small villages. I just couldn't get far enough back. The 70m is the equivalent of a 105 on a film SLR. In the woman and son in the window shot I used it but I had to squat on the stair outside the home to frame the shot. I actually wanted more of the window in the picture but couldn't get far enough back.

The 55m micro was nice to have. It took many portrait pictures but also doubled as a macro for some of the flower and fern shots. The other great thing about it is that it's light. It worked great for taking photos of my sketches and the Chinese writing that the old men did for me.

I only used the mono-pod on the terrace shots in Longji and even then I could have done without it. On the boat trip up the Li river I got out and placed the D70 on my backpack as a tripod. It worked great to get the long exposure for the foreground water. I could have done without the mono-pod.

This range of lenses gave me the variety I needed to take sweeping wide landscape pictures. The 70-210 and 55 gave me great portraits and full frame shots. The 55 gave the close in shots of the fern. It's important to include a wide range of focal lengths in travel pictures. The wide angles establish place while the zoom gets people and close ups which add interesting details.

I learned that it's very important to talk with people first before raising the camera to take their picture. They become relaxed and begin to trust that you'll put them in the best light. You'll get a better expression from them and you'll come away with a picture and a story. Next time I'll bring candy for the kids. They really warm up to you if you have candy.

I used the polarizer many times but the sky filter only once or twice. I purchased the sky for inclement weather. If it was raining, I'd place it over whatever lens was on the camera. That's why I purchased a step up ring. That way I could buy one filter and screw it to whatever lens was on the D70.

Carrying the Gear

I typically carried all my gear. I never left anything in the hotel room. Only in Qingdao was the safe big enough to leave the iBook behind. I just didn't think I could afford to loose any of my gear.

I put the iBook in the neoprene slipcase and placed that in the backpack first. On top of that I slipped in the flash. It just settled to the bottom. Next, to one side, I put the 70-210 protected by two thick socks. Inside the fanny pack I placed the 55m macro and placed that next to the zoom. The camera and mounted 12-24 I placed at the top of the backpack. Sometimes I carried my Chinese dictionary or sketchbook. This made the pack about 20 lbs.

When we got to our destination I'd wear the fanny pack with the big 70-210 zoom and macro and carry the D70 over my shoulder. The backpack then only had the iBook and flash. I made a shoulder strap for the mono-pod so that I could hang it on the shoulder too. It often slipped off and most times I just left if behind.

All in all I carried the right amount of gear. It's always a compromise. I want the gear I need to take the shots I see but I don't want to become so exhausted carrying the stuff I no longer feel up to taking pictures.

...dave
"Look, I'm not an intellectual - I just take pictures." -Helmut Newton

Planning what to do in China

We are getting closer to the trip. It's just 13 days away. We don't have any idea what we are going to do in China other than visit three cities. Ruth doesn't want to plan, she just wants to play it by ear and be surprised. She's for a serendipitous approach.

But I'm thinking that if we just breeze in and don't plan anything, maybe we will miss something really grand.

So at lunch I started reading. I found that in Beijing there are back streets with gates that if you smile politely the local people will let you tour. There are parks and lookouts to visit in and around the Forbidden City.

Then I got to wondering what the local people think about all the visiting foreign devils (yep, that's what they call us).

There was another interesting place that caught my eye. It's called Echo Wall. It's a concave concrete wall that will carry a whisper from one side to the other. Trouble is, there are often so many tourists yelling it's hard to test a whisper.

We've done most of our shopping now. I'm going carry on and Ruth is doing a check-a-bag. I've been reading all about taking and packing a single bag. A great site called www.onebag.com has some fantastic suggestions. It describes the art of traveling light. It has a checklist you can download and illustrations on packing your single carry on bag. Very cool.

But here's the thing, I may just lay out all my junk the night before our travel and decide to go ahead and pack a roller and check the bag. Who knows?

Which reminds me very little of the stewardess that asked the guy sitting in first class if he wanted her to stow his bag in the overhead bin. To which he replied: "Nah, this time let her sit next to me."

...dave
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - Augustine (354-430)

China Pilot

While at the bookstore last Thursday evening we met a United Airlines Pilot that's been to China 156 times!

Ruth was putting a Chinese book back into the shelf when he asked her if she's learning Chinese. He loves China and speaks conversational Chinese. He's been flying there for five years, has several friends there, and gets around now quite well. He'll joke with the taxi drivers when they try to serpentine to his route. He'll tell them: "Ta bu hao." Which means: "You're bad." Then he'll laugh with them, pay what he thinks the ride should be and say goodbye.

He says that the flight we are going is the one he usually flies. Says to tell him what day we are leaving. That would be very cool to fly with him and have him introduce us to some folks while we are there.

I was happy that I could understand his Chinese. I could actually understand every sentence he said. This gives me confidence.

We are really looking forward to the trip. I'm even thinking about buying a digital SLR camera and selling all my film cameras. I want to take some good pictures of the trip and do a blog similar to the Westerdam cruise we took last November.

On our Westerdam trip
...dave
Happiness is an illusion caused by the temporary loss of reality.

A Chinese Wedding

Just doing errands when we decide to stop for a quick snack. There's a great Chinese place that serves some crunchy sushi. They call it kani sushi (stuffed with crab). It's stuff to die for. The Chinese girl takes our order and we wait in the empty place. It's only 4:00 p.m. We find out she's going to school in Massachusetts but has come down for the holidays to help out at the restaurant.

Chinese kids are playing outside and grandma is watching them as the girls attend to the restaurant.

We are drinking green tea when a big local guy walks in with a binder under his arm. He makes a beeline for the cashier who he recognizes from a year ago. Right off he tells her he's dating a Chinese woman. Then he says he proposed to her just last week when he was in China. She asks him the typical questions you'd ask a 50ish man who's just told you he is going to marry one of your people. "How did you meet her?" "Does she speak English?" "Is she coming here?"

"I met her on the Internet. She doesn't speak any English but we get along just fine, you know, nod, and look at each other in the eyes. You can communicate in other ways besides words you know. Hell, I was married to my wife for 25 years, we talked all the time but never communicated. She writes English just fine because we've been writing on the Internet for several months. We went to the Great Wall."

This whole dialogue came tumbling out in nearly one sentence. All the while the young girl behind the cash register smiled politely, giggled occasionally, and interjected "Oh" and "Ah huh" at random places. She was as surprised as I was.

"Here, I have some pictures of the trip and wedding." With that he opened the big black three-ring binder, and they began paging through the pictures. He's pointing to the relatives.

I can't believe this guy. Has he any idea what he's in for? I can't believe that the woman from China has any idea what she's going to find. He said he's working on the VISA now and hopes it'll be complete in six months.

I didn't get the impression this man had any idea of the culture of the Chinese. He spent two weeks there.

It also seemed strange that he'd share all this with a stranger here in a Chinese restaurant. Or that he'd be this open with customers eating nearby? Doesn't it seem odd that he'd carry a binder around?

How crazy is this?

...dave
A good past is the best future.