Three perfect days. Blue skies, snow and few people at Portillo, Chile, ski resort. The best part of photographing for tourism magazines is that you can have fun while working. I must confess that I spent more time with the snowboard on my feet, than with camera in my hands.
Climbing trees is not really a sport, but a means to reach the canopy, representing a large part of the forest biological diversity and important research source. I went to the Mitra do Bispo Natural Heritage Private Reserve, in Minas Gerais state, with the Dossel Brasil team, to climb some trees of the Atlantic Forest. There was no scientific purpose, but I can guarantee that working in the forest cover is quite fun.
Somewhere around 100,000 people took the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasilia to watch a dozen of the best and most insane bike riders ever seen. It was the second stage of the Red Bull X-Fighters 2011. A record attendance was established, and the event was a skill and boldness extravaganza. The complexity of the presentations, a combination of high-skill maneuvers and difficulty, showed that the Freestyle Motocross is ever-evolving and is a whole new sport if compared to the last time a stage of the X-fighters took place in Brazil in 2008.
I’ve been in the Serra do Cipó to shoot canyoning and also adventure race, but I could not imagine what would take me once again to this paradise of mountains and waterfalls. Two lunatics, André Wanderley and Teca Lobato were determined to go off-limits in their sports, wakeskate and wakeboard respectively, using the waterfalls of the region as obstacles. Pulled by a winch in rough waters, they leaped over waterfalls and landed among rocks to ensure unusual photos for Trip Magazine.
In recent years mobile phones incorporated cameras and revolutionized the distribution of personal photos on the Internet through social networks. The snapshot has gained a new dimension with the power of network distribution. Mobile phones have become multi-use equipment capable of making life easier, with a multitude of tasks at hand.
Now it’s time for professional cameras to incorporate evolution, to transform photography once again, allowing even more speed of information. It is time for cameras to connect with the world more directly and have an open platform for installation of different kinds of applications.
Perhaps the reason for the long delay in the launching of new models of professional and semi-professional cameras is the great technological leap coming soon.
I focused on what matters directly in photography, thinking of a 35mm DSLR equipment, leaving aside the possibilities of multi-media audio and video as well as other formats. Thus I made a list of what I hope to see in the next generations of cameras, divided between improvements and innovations:
Innovations
- Touch Screen: to support the following innovations
- WI-FI – connection with the wireless network to:
- Bluetooth – device:
- 3G: SIM 3G slot for Internet access to:
- Built-in GPS for:
- Anti-theft systems:
- Thunderbolt port: for faster photo downloads.
- Possibility of tagging pictures with colors, stars and / or flags on the camera itself, so that this information is compatible with photo editing programs. That is, the photographer can sort the material produced in-camera in a compatible format with editing programs such as Lightroom, Bridge, Photo Mechanic and Aperture.
- Flash control system via radio, as a pocket wizard integrated to the camera and the flashes, since the infrared system is limited.
- Interface to control multiple cameras simultaneously from the main camera (which can be controlled in three ways: via Wi-Fi, radio or cable).
- Interface to download the photos directly to hard drives, without requiring any device.
- Keyboard for the addition of metadata and other text needs.
- Digital filters, especially gradient.
- Operating system that allows the addition of different kinds of applications.
- Curtains elimination, replacing it with an electronic shutter to allow synchronization with flashbulbs at speeds above 1 / 250 without power loss.
- Removable and interchangeable sensor
Improvements
- Better distribution of points of focus, with more points and mainly peripheral points
- Resolution of around 24 mega pixels in faster cameras and something like 40 mega pixels in slower cameras
- Firing of at least 8 fps without the need of a battery grip
- Less noise in high ISO
- Addition of low ISO, at least 25 and 50. ISO 12 is also welcome
- Increase buffering capacity
- Increase shutter durability
- Button for instant preset exchange: exchange, at the touch of a button, to a pre-established camera setting (mode, speed, aperture, ISO etc.).
Maybe all these ideas together seem somewhat utopian, but seeing what an iPhone 4 can do, I have no doubt that with current technology, you can put it all together in one machine. And I get the following question: will the photographic manufacturers incorporate the capabilities of phones or phone manufacturers will start making professional cameras of the future? Perhaps a joint effort is a great solution.
That climbing is a sport that combines physical and mind, I have never questioned it, but climbing without ropes is something for those very cold-blooded ones. This is the hype of psicobloc, a kind of climbing without ropes, but with water underneath. Either a river, lake or sea, the higher one climbs, the greater the risk of an awkward fall. And the interesting side of the sport is the psychological effect. Stronger and more technical climbers end up not doing as well as other less technical but more focused.
It was at the Canion do Talhado, a tributary of the São Francisco River, where Red Bull Psicobloc took place, an event that brought together the best climbers in the country to test their nerves on brittle sandstone rocks. Lucas Marques, a Minas Gerais born and Rio de Janeiro based climber showed that he totally dominates skill and concentration, even stirring the nerves of those who were watching. Going higher than anyone else, he climbed two routes up to the end. He climbed so high that from the summit, it was impossible to jump back to the water.
No Formula 1, no rally or boat racing. The GP of the Amazon is a Jerico motor racing. Did not understand? Think about a bunch of cars made in the back yard with well pump engines and junkyard parts, running on a muddy track named Jericódromo. This is the formula for making a fun race that makes Alto Paraiso de Rondônia the national capital of the Jerico, as they call themselves. The pictures below explain better what it is.
During the last Dakar Rally, as we crossed the Andes, we arrived in the Chilean city of San Pedro de Atacama around 3 am. After about half an hour knocking on the door of all the hotels and inns that are near each other, we were sure they were all booked. The solution was to follow the trail and get some place to sleep on the sands of the Atacama. As our car had racing seats, not reclinable or comfortable, we decided to stretch the sleeping bags beside the vehicle and rest where they fell. Great idea; we do not have frequent opportunities to admire a sky like this, with no interfering light.
From time to time a new hero is born in Brazil. The best soccer player becomes, in a short period, responsible for the joy of a soccer-powered people. The chances of winning the next World Cup are in his hands. And now there is a love story with a country where the top scorer is king.
And the flavor of the month is Neymar Junior, Santos’ striker. Son of a former player, the boy managed to dodge the traps in the soccer player career, and is said to be the hope for Brazil in 2014.
A few hours photographing the new idol were enough to realize that a well constructed line of defense off the field, with well-meaning relatives and advisers is as important as the talent of the boy to become a great champion indeed.
