Its been a wonderful few weeks here in Pucon. As excited as I am to move on to the Claro river and get to paddle at the Siete Tazas- the infamous waterfall paradise- It is always sad to leave our home base at the Pucon Kayak Hostel.

I’ve gotten friendly with the folks at Ecole, my favorite Internet, tea and cookie/vegetarian cafe, and have loved the rivers and the scenery in this area. I’m excited to come back here to start off our next semester.

While it has been challenging to find the time to take pictures with all we do, here are a few of my favorites from the past three weeks.

Enjoy!

Eric Bartl loads boats under a Huge sky

Sunset over Hot Springs

From Pucon to Nepal.. already getting excited for next fall.

Hayley Stuart modeling a "Cuello" Local chilean knitwear

Villarica Lake: Put in for a spectacular SUP trip

Running the Turbio Twenty Footer

Hunt Jennings models one of the local Chilean "cuellos" or knit scarves

Kira Tenney walks the Trancura Bridge

View from the Nevados Take Out

Hunt waves our School Flag. Thanks Steve Muck!

Rio Turbio

Coca-Cola: global phenomenon

Pucon Lake

Hiking the Turbio Twenty Footer

Its Easy to Apply to New River Academy

(C)Zoe Ross

(C)Kai-Wen Pai Me, Zoe Ross, paddling down Silverback Rapid.

(C)Zoe Ross Spanish teacher, Lorenzo Andrade Astorga, throwing his paddle in Bujagali Falls.

(C) Zoe Ross

Tomorrow it will be gone, forever. The Silverback section of the Nile River has provided so many people with excitement and thrill. Everyday for the past week that I have been here it has provided me with joy. I feel that I am becoming emotionally attached to this section of the river. Knowing that tomorrow, no one will ever kayak or raft down it again make me very sad. The river being dammed is like the death of a close friend or family member, irreversible.

I wish that I could take action, put an end to the construction of the dam, but it is too late. I can always keep this experience in mind, so that maybe in the future, action can be organized sooner.

Blog by Zoe Ross

JT:What steps did it take to earn a living?

LH:The most important aspect of earning a living in photography is not actually taking photos.  It is all about business.  The most successful photographers are those who learn and execute great business skills.

JT: Where do you earn your core living from photography?

LH: My specialty is children’s photography.  You must learn to focus on a style of photography and make it your mission to be the best photographer in that field.

JT: What is your favorite aspect of photography?

LH: I love working with people and I love to be creative behind the lens!

JT: What has been your most challenging obstruction in becoming a professional?

LH: I have degrees in two different areas, neither in photography.  My biggest obstacle was allowing myself to believe that I could learn the business later in life.  I continually take classes to learn as much as I can about every aspect of photography.

JT: What advice can you share with me?

LH: Take your camera everywhere and experiment with different styles, lenses, light, etc.  Photograph someone or something every day.

JT: What’s the best way to get noticed?

LH: Get out there so people see you in the community.  Volunteer with your camera!

JT: What equipment do you use?

LH: I shoot Canon and use natural light for all my photography.  I print through several labs so don’t need printing equipment.  It’s all about light and lens!

Interviewing Lisa really gave me a better idea of the steps needed to become a professional photographer.  Also, between looking at her pictures and of those of the photographers I researched in previous blogs, I have a much better idea of the style that I want to shoot for.  All in all this was a very good assignment.

To see more of Lisa’s pictures and to order prints, click here: Lisa Hill’s Website

To see more of Jason’s photography and blogs, click here: Jason Terry’s Blog

One of Lisa's pictures, notice the background and how she captured her from waist up. (C) Lisa Hill

One of my photos that is similar in style to Lisa's pictures

Another one of Lisa's pictures, again the background and where the picture cuts off, but also, this picture has the subject framed between the arches very cleverly (C) Lisa Hill

Another one of mine that is as close as I can get to Lisa's style

This is Lisa herself, the master picture taker

Alfred Eisenstaedt

Alfred Eisenstaedt, or “Eisie” to his friends, was born on December 6, 1898 in Imperial Germany.  He served in the German Military in World War I, where he was wounded.  After returning from the war he became a freelance photographer for a local newspaper called the Berliner Tageblatt.  In the late 1920s he became a professional photographer.  Being Jewish in Nazi Germany, Eisenstaedt was forced to move to the America, where he lived for the rest of his life.  Here his work flourished.  He was a photographer for Life for thirty-six years, this position allowed him to get close to celebrities and he always had his autograph book handy.  He photographed people such as Bill Clinton, Ernest Hemingway, and John F. Kennedy.  During his years with Life he took eighty-six- cover shots and did over 2,500 multiple shot jobs, this total brings him to more published pictures than any other photographer in history.  He continued his work right up until his death on August 24, 1995.

His friends described him a curious and hard-working individual.  He would go take pictures of the Mayor of Chicago in the morning and then some actor Detroit at night.  While he was a photojournalist, he was a man of few words and allowed his pictures to say everything he wanted to be said.  He tried to be very friendly when he took pictures; he always listened to the subject’s desires.  Also, he never photographed unhappy or terrible things, probably because while living in Germany he had seen all of those things already, and had no desire to return to that.

His work in Life made him famous because of the fact that he portrayed famous people and events in the heat of the moment, with no staging or arrangements, he simply watched and took pictures that could never be staged.  This is probably most evident in his most famous picture of the sailor kissing the nurse in Time’s Square on V-J Day.  Also, the fact that he didn’t get faces or names allows people to connect and identify themselves or friends with the photograph more.

Alfred Eisenstaedt will always be one of the most important photographers in history; in fact, he has been awarded with Photo Journalist of the Century.  His in the moment shots of famous people and events have captivated people for decades, and some of his shots are among the best ever taken.  He was better than anyone at letting his pictures do the talking, something all photographers can aspire to.

V-J Day in the Square, one of Eisenstaedt's most famous images.

The Ice Skating Waiter, this and V-J Day both demonstrate how good Eisenstaedt was at capturing people in the moment

Robert Glenn Ketchum

Robert Glenn Ketchum, born December 1,1947, is viewed as one of the premier nature photographers and environmental conservationists in the world.  His signature sweeping vista shots have helped him promote conservation while making him one of the most famous photographers of all time.  Time and time again he has been listed in the top one hundred most important people of a certain field, including contemporary photography and the environmental movement.  He has served as the Curator of Photographer for the National Park Foundation and helped found the International League of Photographers.  He and his camera have helped pass legislation preserving whale nurseries, old-growth forests, and establish more than five major wilderness areas.  He continues to work on preserving the environment today.

Ketchum first started taking pictures when he was a student at UCLA.  These were mostly pictures of 1960s rock bands, but he eventually started to focus on nature and conservation.  He started reading legislation in order to better understand where and how he could help the environment the most.  During this time, photography was going through a drastic change: black and white to color.  Ketchum was on the forefront of this movement too, experimenting with all types of different printing techniques.  In fact, he and his friend, Michael Wilder, were among the first photographers to explore Cibachrome printing, which is an intricate printing process that results in sharp, colorful images.

Ketchum’s signature style is very large, deep vistas with everything in razor sharp focus.  This means he uses a very low shutter-speed, while also using a very high f-stop, creating the same focus throughout the foreground and background.   The genius in using this technique and style in an effort to preserve the environment is that it gives the viewer a much clearer idea of what is out there and worth saving, instead of seeing one tree in sea of unfocused green, they see the entire forest.  This is a simple but brilliant way to connect with the audience and get his message across very effectively.

Robert Glenn Ketchum has been, and still is, a driving force in the environmental movement that is going on today.  His breathtaking pictures and profound knowledge and dedication help him convince people to help nature.  With his help more than one hundred thousand acres of land have been preserved and he is still going at it.  His photography is literally helping save the world.

A great example of how Ketchum could capture everything for miles in perfect focus

A classic Ketchum picture, amazing vantage point and perfect clarity throughout

To read more of Jason’s blogs, click here: Jason Terry’s Blog

Also, don’t forget to check out my interview with Lisa Hill, coming soon!

Billy Harris is a professional kayaker and also a really nice guy with a great dog to play fetch with.

Billy and his dog playing fetch

He has this open shed that is just jam packed full of hundreds of articles of kayaking gear.  Honestly I haven’t even seen this much kayaking gear in an outfitters shop.

Just a tiny amount of the full collection

Not only did he have dozens of dry tops, pfds, helmets, and so on; but he also had a lot of boats and paddles.

Billy's Star and Werner Paddle, just two in a collection of many

When Billy isn’t paddling he enjoys gardening and has a very extensive garden full of invasive squash, for the whole squash story you are going to have to ask him.  I hope this gave you some insight on the nice person Billy is.

Jason

To see more of Jason’s photography click here

Jason Terry’s Blog

Billy's huge garden, notice the broken paddle that is used to mark rows

Jason

To see more of Jason’s photography click here

Jason Terry’s Blog

The road sign for the road to Keenerville

John Mason's Mailbox, his house doubles as the Mountain Surf headquarters

The road to the Ottawa put-in

Some local kids getting on the bus. Permission for this shot was given by parents

A local flower shop, The Hen House

Another photography student, Mackenzie Hatcher, relaxing in a tree

David inspecting some pumpkins

The Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is the most basic, but surprisingly important, lesson that we learned.  It incorporates the fact that the eye is naturally drawn away from the center of the photo.  If the subject is captured at the intersection of two thirds then the eye is instantly drawn there and the picture is much more pleasing.

Hunt Jennings, a student here, at the Pan-American Games

Leading the Eye

Another very important lesson is leading the eye.  This is where an object or  even the subject leads the viewer’s eye to something that the photographer wants focus on.  This is a more advanced technique, but when it is used the results give the picture tons of quality depth of field.

Tell a Story

Arguable the hardest technique we have learned yet is telling a story with our pictures.  It’s easy to get action shot, you simply have to be at the right place at the right time; but when you try to tell a story with a photograph, things get a lot harder.  This is very important because telling a story not only gives a picture more life and culture, but it also makes the viewer have a sense of wonder of where the story was going.  We have been practicing telling stories here for two weeks and it is still very hard.  When telling a story you must capture a subject at a time where they are doing something that gives the viewers an idea about the persons character.

That’s the gist of what we have learned here so far in photography class, and we really have a long ways to go, but we are definitely on our way.

Jason

To see more of Jason’s photography click here

Jason Terry’s Blog

David Hughes, the founder of the school, relaxing on a hammock. Notice how his gaze leads you to the serene background.

Wayne Poulsen, a student at NRA, studying for math near the river.

Jason

To see more of Jason’s photography click here

Jason Terry’s Blog

Jabon Slobodian writing an essay for English

Where else do you get to have class in a place like this?

Kayaking is an everyday activity after school