DON’T DELETE YET

One of many unwritten rules of photography I was told is to showcase only your best work. People should never see the imperfections; don’t let anyone see the blurry, dark and poor lit images. In other words, the world is only allowed to see the clean, sharp and perfectly re-touched photographs. As a result, most ‘bad’ images do not see the light of day as they’re deleted just seconds after being created ‘lest someone see them’. The other reason for deleting those photos we consider ‘not nice’ is to create space for more ‘pleasant’ photo opportunities. Accidents do happen and in an attempt to get rid of the ‘bad’ pictures one may end up deleting the most precious ones instead. Imagine deleting the only ‘kiss the bride’ photo you’ve just taken during a wedding… I know, not nice! I have never been an advocate of eliminating photos, especially not before previewing them on a larger monitor (computer screen). The small camera mounted LCD screens which most of us rely on, are unfortunately not the best yardstick with which to judge the quality of taken pictures, especially when reviewing light and focus. Personally I don’t delete images indiscriminately, not even when I engage in what my friend Michael Manyibe has christened “chaos photography” which according to him is shooting out of instincts rather than relying on vision which results to “chaotic images”. I am a strong believer in giving ‘bad’ pictures a chance to surprise me during ‘the preview session’ and most often than not, am not disappointed. 

                                                               
                                               Camera - NIKON D3100

                                               Focal Length - 18mm 
                                               Shutter Speed - 1/15 sec 
                                               Aperture - f/3.5
                                               ISO/Film - 100
                                Category - Chaos 
                                Uploaded - December 19th 2013  
                                               Taken - November 14th 2013

                                               Location - USIU-Road Nairobi, Kenya 
                                               Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

Camera - NIKON D3100

Focal Length - 22mm 
Shutter Speed - 1/8 sec 
Aperture - f/3.8 
ISO/Film - 3200 
Category - Architecture 
Uploaded - December 19th 2013  
Taken - November 14th 2013

Location - USIU Nairobi, Kenya 
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

             Camera - SONY-SLT A57 

             Focal Length - 35mm 
             Shutter Speed - 1/25 sec 
             Aperture - f/10
             ISO/Film - 100
         Category - Nature
         Uploaded - December 19th 2013              Taken - November 23rd 2013

             Location - USIU Nairobi, Kenya 
             Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

Camera - NIKON D3100 

Focal Length - 29mm 
Shutter Speed - 1/15 sec 
Aperture - f/4.5 
ISO/Film - 1000 
Category - Chaos 
Uploaded - December 19th 2013  
Taken - November 15th 2013

Location - Thika Road-Ngara Nairobi, Kenya 
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi  
  

BE PREPARED

Picture this; you are busy shooting-away a wedding, when a beautiful sunset gets your camera’s attention, or you’re covering a sports event then you come across a picturesque bird’s nest, or are literally rushing against time for a photo session with an article writer and later come out with a gorgeous obscure 'night' portrait. Better yet, you are photographing the president, and behold… the band! These are not just scenarios, but my experienced realities. Through them, I have learnt to always have my ‘eyes skinned’ whenever am out on assignments. This way I am able to capture sporadic subjects that are usually far removed from the intended project. According to Lou Jones, “you encounter the best pictures when you least expect to.” Under normal circumstances I and am sure lots of other photographers, would never let certain photo opportunity pass by, even if it means momentarily ‘abandoning’ the main subject. This however, does not mean getting caught up in shooting ‘personal collection’ type of photos and completely disregarding taking the planned photos. That’s one risk I wouldn’t wish to take. As a result, like a boy scout am always prepared, in case a photo op (the personal collection type) presents itself. 

During a state function, all cameras were focused on (you guessed it) the president, when I noticed the band with their saxophones.

   

   Camera - NIKON D80 

   Focal Length - 135mm 
   Shutter Speed - 1/250 sec 
   Aperture - f/5.7  
   ISO/Film - 100 
  Category - Portrait  
  Uploaded - November 7th 2013  
   Taken - October 17th 2013

   Location - KICC Nairobi, Kenya 
   Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

LIMITED ACCESS

I hold Peté Souza’s work in high regard; he is the man responsible for most of White House brilliant shots and is the current Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama. I especially admire his coverage of The Rise of Barack Obama, in which Souza; a photojournalist follows the then senator all over the globe including his [Obama’s] trip to Kenya. I believe someone has to be in a certain state of mind in order to capture images the way Souza does. He always manages and rather effortlessly, to photograph rarely seen moments of the President. Apart from a mindset, in order to get the kind of images that Souza captures, one needs to also have access, and lots of it. According to Daily Kos, Souza has what amounts to an all access pass, “He is permitted to go anywhere and shoot anything.” 
Without the access as I found out, life can be tough trying to photograph the most protected person in the land. I will not even get into the endless security checks that one has to endure. A person of the President’s status tends to attract a lot of camera attention wherever he goes. Consequently, a photographer will usually have to deal with large presence of other photographers and videographers alike, each jostling for space and trying to get the best photo ops. This is further complicated by the President's ‘men’ who most often than not will huddle photographers together to watch their [photographers’] every move with keen interest. In a group however, one risks getting similar photos with other photographers in terms of composition and angles. The only way to capture the most infrequent moments in such situations is to separate from the ‘pack.’ Stepping aside, and shooting from low or high angles will make a big difference. The idea is to try and think through your shots and to make complete use of the limited access.

Public address

     Camera - NIKON D80
     Focal Length - 125mm

     Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
     Aperture - f/6.3
     ISO/Film - 2000

     Category - Portrait
     Uploaded - October 30th 2013
     Taken - October 16th 2013

     Location - KICC, Nairobi
     Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA

Lest I forget

Camera - NIKON D80 
Focal Length - 135mm

Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
Aperture - f/7.1
ISO/Film - 3200

Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013

Location - KICC, Nairobi
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA

   
      

Blue Presidential standard

    

                        

                               Camera - NIKON D80                                   
                               Focal Length - 135mm

                               Shutter Speed - 1/250 sec
                               Aperture - f/5.6
                               ISO/Film - 1600

                               Category - Portrait
                               Uploaded - October 30th 2013
                               Taken - October 27th 2013

                               Location - Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi
                               Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA

Grand entrance

The homily

On bended knees

                                          

                                       Camera - NIKON D80
                                       Focal Length - 24mm

                                       Shutter Speed - 1/80 sec
                                       Aperture - f/8
                                       ISO/Film - 1600

                                       Category - Portrait
                                       Uploaded - October 30th 2013
                                       Taken - October 27th 2013

                                       Location - Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi
                                       Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA




 

  Camera - NIKON D80
  Focal Length - 135mm

  Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
  Aperture - f/5.6
  ISO/Film - 1600

  Category - Portrait
  Uploaded - October 30th 2013
  Taken - October 27th 2013

  Location - Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi
  Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA

‘National’ cake

  

                                      

                                   Camera - NIKON D80

                                   Focal Length - 135mm

                                   Shutter Speed - 1/500 sec
                                   Aperture - f/5.6
                                   ISO/Film - 1600

                                   Category - Portrait
                                   Uploaded - October 30th 2013
                                   Taken - October 27th 2013

                                   Location - Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi
                                   Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA

   

Hidden camera

  


Camera - NIKON D80
 Focal Length - 35mm             
 Shutter Speed - 1/20 sec
  Aperture - f/6.3
  ISO/Film - 2000

  Category - Portrait
  Uploaded - October 30th 2013
  Taken - October 16th 2013

  Location - KICC, Nairobi
  Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA

In conclusion

                                        
                                Camera - NIKON D80
                                Focal Length - 135mm  
                                Shutter Speed - 1/100 sec
                                Aperture - f/5.6
                                ISO/Film - 1600

                                Category - Portrait
                                Uploaded - October 30th 2013
                                Taken - October 27th 2013

                                Location - Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi
                                Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA