Being a photographer, I almost think I’m a professional traveler. In January, Haiti became country 31 on my list.

Navy divers work to move sunken containers so landing craft can begin unloading at the beach.

After the earthquake, I had the chance to go help. Something a lot of people would like to have done. I was assigned to the team working to get the port open so large quantities of material could begin flowing into the country. The steady stream of aircraft coming in was a precious trickle that kept the country alive, but couldn’t provide what was needed for the long term. We had to open the port. Regrettably, most of it had collapsed. Not only had the cranes fallen into the water but the few precious docks were unstable. The only dock that was declared stable, was damaged severely in a 6.2 aftershock.

The US Navy, always high on my list, impressed the hell out of me. The Seabees and divers were working all the time. But everyone there, military, civilian, emergency response workers, were working on a few hours sleep each day and daylight was not wasted.

A hotel completely collapsed, crushing everything around it. Not just cars.

While, obviously, I am a great philosophical supporter of photography, still images and video just didn’t prepare me for the devastation. Maybe if I had been watching TV around the clock, I would have heard the stories and soaked in the imagery. But when you get down there and the smoke and dirt get in your eyes and see how many buildings are crumbled, how it has affected every single thread of their society, then it surrounds you and you begin to see what that tiny nation has ahead of it.

Making it all worse for me is that I’m a relatively new father. My daughter is not quite two years old. Seeing things like a small girl sound asleep, laying on a coat on the sidewalk, alone, made it all very personal. When you picture yourself in that situation, it becomes crushingly real.

No caption needed.

I can’t say anything here that you haven’t heard before. I’m not the only one who will be haunted by what I saw and better writers than I have articulated what they saw. Just take a moment and say thank God for what you have. It could all be gone in a moment.

You can see a few more photos, including some of a resilient people picking up and rebuilding, at www.MarkDuehmig.com.
Mark

I’m baaaaack….

I knew it had been a while since I had posted anything here, but I was shocked to see it was September. Rotten. Time flies.

Well, my schedule changed and without really realizing it, my prime blog-writing time disappeared. But I’m trying to carve that time back into my routine. Trust me- though I’ve not been writing, I’ve been busy. So in the next few days or weeks I’ll tell you about some things that have kept me shooting. For example I’ve got a photo or two in Spinsheet magazine, and I some photos in a boating calendar. Miss January and March I think.

I’ve also spent a few weeks in Haiti after the Earthquake. That will be big entry by itself. In the mean time you can see some of the photos on my portfolio page at www.MarkDuehmig.com. Click on Galleries for more photos….

Most of the glass is intact in this stained glass window. Very little of the cathedral remains.

In Front of the Camera Talent??

I’ve also been busy shooting video. Not only projects for customers but some how-to videos as well. I’ve teamed up with a company called ShowMeHow Videos (www.ShowMeHowVideos.com/photography-video-c-36.html) here in Maryland.

Point and Shoot Photography

I’m impressed with the quality of Show Me How Videos and agreed to be the “talent” in a series of videos on photography.

Two of them specfically might be of interest to my readers, “Point and Shoot Photography with Mark Duehmig” and “Digital SLR Photography.”

Digital SLR Photography

These are pretty comprehensive videos. They take you from start to finish, and while presuming the viewer is just getting started, we take you into some advanced concepts to take better-than-average photos.

Which one is for you?

Point and Shoot Photography
This video teaches you how to take decent photos with the amazing point-and-shoot cameras out there. We also discuss organizing digital photos and some of the things you can do with the images you have, like order prints or make your own books. (Or coffee mugs, calendars, quilts…)

Digital SLR Photography
If you have a new camera and want to do more than shoot in “Program” mode all the time, this will show you what the settings are for, how to use them and how to make use of that wonderful camera you have. We cover everything from choosing new lenses to picking a camera bag and tripod. It is really a complete video with great illustrations and sample photos.

Here are some clips from each of them:

Point and Shoot

Digital SLR Photography

If you click on the images it will take you to the ShowMeHow website and you can watch sample clips, order a DVD there or even download the full version to watch on your computer. You can also get them from Amazon and a bunch of other on-line retailers.

While the guy on camera isn’t much to look at, I do recommend the videos as a whole…

All for now. It is good to be back in the blogosphere. More soon….

Mark
–
Mark Duehmig Photography
www.MarkDuehmig.com