With the UK already enjoying snowy conditions, many of us are spending time looking over the shots we have taken this past year and planning what to do next year. For those who really want to push themselves there is the now famous ‘365 Project‘. There are various connotations of this with dedicated websites and flickr groups a plenty. The essential premise is that you take a photo every day for a year. To learn a little more about what it takes to ‘do a 365′ we caught up with talented photographer, friend of Lowepro and 365 veteran Charlie Trotman ( aka  Crustydolphin ).

Turn your back on Mother Nature - Charlotte Trotman

So Charlie tell us about 365?

Well it began as something my friends were doing and I just jumped on the bandwagon without giving it much thought. About 60 days in I realized that just taking a picture of my foot didn’t cut it and started on a huge learning curve regarding setting scenes, conveying emotions and the most important learning curve of all, managing light. Now into my third year, it’s become a therapy of sorts for me, and also my visual diary. I can look at any of my photos and know exactly where I was and how I was feeling on that day. It’s a lot of commitment, but it’s definitely been a useful project in regards to learning more about photography, and as a bonus, myself!

So it takes full on commitment then?

Well I did it religiously for 2 years– by that, I mean I took one photo every day without fail and beat myself up about it if I didn’t feel like it and then took something shoddy. This time around, I shoot when I want, what I want – not necessarily self portraits which is what I started out doing, but those people and the world around me. After all, photography and projects are supposed to be fun – I’ve relaxed a lot. It’s still a big part of my life, always ongoing, but it’s more personal dedication now than full time commitment.

I can haz bubbles - Charlotte Trotman

How do you think it benefited your photography?

I actually had to get to know how my camera worked! Rather than just pointing and clicking. Aperture, light….just making a photo interesting. I have become rather picky too of what I take photo’s of whereas before I’d just shoot anything. Now I’m always searching for the perfect composition, perfect light, how do I want a subject to look, what do I want to convey, how do I capture what I’m seeing and do it justice. Photography isn’t just looking through a lens and pressing the shutter…its telling a story. Your story on how you see the world, or yourself and others. So how’s it benefited my photography? It’s made me think a heck of a lot more about it and that’s a good thing!

Do you think that being able to shoot a good self portrait is key to succeeding with a 365 Project?

No. I don’t. It depends what you want your 365 to be – what ‘you want to go back and view at the end of the year’. There’s no rules to say they have to have self portraits in there…it could 365 photos of strangers you’ve met each day! Make up your own rules!

Hitchhiker - Charlotte Trotman ( featuring Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW )

Given the pressure on to deliver, you must have to shoot light and fast, what’s on your kit list?

My trusty Nikon D700, 50mm 1.4 Nikon lens attached, Lowepro Passport Sling as bag of choice when I’m shooting extra light, holding my sb600, spare battery…. and jelly beans. That does it for me.

Who do you look at for inspiration?

I’m lucky enough that I have fabulous friends who are pro photographers so they inspire me every day. I don’t really have a favourite photographer but I do have favourite images – but I’m fickle and that changes depending what mood I’m in!

Good Morning Sunrise - Charlotte Trotman

What is next for Charlie Trotman?

Would love to have 10 pieces that I’m uber happy with, start a new project shooting female photographers who inspire me…have a little exhibition…keep learning, do some lighting courses, read more photography books and keep being inspired and having fun with it!

Thanks Charlie!

For more information on 365 projects check out the Flickr group here.

For more information on Charlie Trotman and her photography check her website here ,  her Flickr photostream ( including 365 projects) here and her Twitter feed here.

Here at Lowepro, we celebrate photography — and photographers everywhere. The images we enjoy give us glimpses into worlds we would never have personal access to. But one thing we tend to forget is the personal cost many photographers pay for bringing us these photographs.

This risk was dramatically driven home to us recently. On October 23rd, South African photographer João Silva lost both his legs after stepping on a land mine in Afghanistan. On assignment for the New York  Times, his photographic coverage of the war had placed him once again in harms way. And while he has been in many war zones, from Africa to the Middle East and Iraq, this particular day has changed his life forever.

Described by long time friend and collaborator Greg Marinovich as “the most talented and courageous contemporary conflict photographer,” João is embarking on a very long road to recovery and will be faced with reinventing himself as a photographer. His immediate medical care is only the beginning of what he and his family will be facing.

This is not about the kind of gear he carries or which brand he prefers — I honestly don’t know or care. It’s about the dedication and fearlessness he epitomizes. We’ve heard first hand stories from a lot of our photographers about the challenges they face in the field: post-earthquake cholera, hepatitis and deadly fevers, floods, famine and war. We salute you all — and our hearts and best wishes go out especially at this time to João Silva and his family.

A web site has been donated by the folks at Photoshelter on João’s behalf to provide updates on his condition and take donations to help him and his family. If you’d like to help, please visit Support João Silva Photojournalist.

About João Silva: (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

João Silva (born August 9, 1966 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a war photographer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was one of four people commonly associated with the The Bang-Bang Club, a group of photographers who covered South Africa from the time of Nelson Mendela’s release to the first elections in 1994. Silva has worked in Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia, Russia and the Middle East. His images have won numerous awards, including the World Press Photo.

Traveling by private charter is the only way to go — no lines, no security checks and they actually feed you! We arrived in Churchill to find snow on the ground and temperatures below freezing — perfect for a polar adventure. I wonder how Buchachon is taking this, though. The climate is definitely (forgive the pun) polar opposite from his home in Thailand. I’ve peeked over his shoulder to see some of the images he’s been taking and definitely understand why he is our contest winner. I’ll try and share one or two in future posts.

A couple of folks saw a polar bear on the ice when we were landing — and we had a wonderful encounter with a red fox this afternoon. Highly inquisitive, he meandered all around us for a full five minutes, winding his way closer and closer. We also saw the kids from Project Polar Bear — and we’ll catch up with them again for interviews and polar bear watching in a couple of days. We checked out the polar bear jail — a holding facility used for bears who won’t keep their distance. This is a great program that relocates the bears thus protecting both them and the residents of Churchill.

Tomorrow will find us on the Tundra Buggy and it promises to be a great day. There are a lot of bears around waiting for the ice to come in — so far, both the river and the bay remain unfrozen. For a sneak peak of what’s in store for us, check out this video: Blog from the North.

Our group is an interesting mix of pros and enthusiasts. We have a videographer from New York and a National Geographic photographer with us — more on that in coming posts. We’ve also had some Lowepro sightings — a Flipside and SlingShot are being put to use by two of the members of our group. And, of course, Buchachon is using his new Flipside 500 Limited Edition bag (sorry, it’s not available for sale).

Stay tuned for more tales from the north…..

Last week saw a large smattering of the who’s who in World Cycling pop along to Loweprofessional Geoff Waugh’s latest Lowepro supported Photography Exhibition at the Look Mum No Hands Cafe in London’s trendy Old street. We caught up with Geoff after his opening night to get the lowdown.

Loweprofessional Geoff Waugh

So Geoff tell us about this new exhibition? Why Selectism?

Well, we (me and the designer) pondered over names and most of them sounded too hifalutin to be honest. Selectism came about because in cycling there are many choices to be made. Some of us select which bike we want to ride, we chose the clothing we want to ride in whether it be to complement the weather, the bike or both, we chose the tyres, the gears and we select the actual lines we ride out on the trails. Occasionally, we select not to ride at all. I liked the look of the word too; thought it would look good on a layout.

Image courtesy of Geoff Waugh - Selectism Show

Are there any special unique stories on show then?

Two I can think of. First the Holgaramas which are panoramics shot on the toy Holga camera. I showed the designer at Orange bikes company a pano I had shot and he got excited enough to commission me to use the techinque for some images for their brochure. The pressure was on. I had never shot this style before for anything but fun and Holga shooters know the results are unpredicatble to say that least. The cameras work best inbright sunshine and this job was inside a murky welding shop. So, I took my Multiblitz lights and some high-ish ISO negative film. The results were better than I could have hoped for and gave me a lot of confidence to use the method at anytime. I suppose the second is the contact sheet montage of Hasselblad images from this year’s 3 Peaks cyclocross race in Yorkshire. These have never been seen before.

Contact Sheet courtesy of Geoff Waugh

So you seem to be a big fan of film, do you think this changes your attitude to taking pictures?

For me it has re-kindled a creative spark that has lain dormant for a while! When digital photography first appeared it was novel and fun. Now it is the other way around. I shoot film for the pleasure of not seeing the results instantly, of taking the film to the lab and interacting with a real person. I saw a good quote recently where a surf photographer Erica Doria said: “I think it is important people undertand that those who chose to shoot film are shooting blind and are aiming to score our best shots in one attempt not one out of a 100 frames.” That says it all really. It also exposes (excuse the pun) those who don’t have the goods. But I would like to emphasise that I am a digital shooter 90% of the time. I use film for certain looks and in certain situations where a commission allows it.

Your famous for your bike pictures, but you’ve got the full package of genres in your portfolio, do you like pushing the perception of your photography with each shoot?

I will shoot whatever I am asked to shoot in a commercial sense. I doubt I will ever shake off the ‘he’s a bike photographer’ label but I don’t have a problem with that, it’s natural when a percentage of work is bikes. But recently I have shot a printing company’s products and a wedding which is pretty far removed from the two wheeled thing. It’s always been a case of have camera will travel!

Holga Panoramic courtesy of Geoff Waugh

What’s next for Mr Waugh?

Back up the road to Yorkshire to shoot more Orange bikes this time for Privateer magazine, over to Belgium for cyclocross and six day track racing and some personal projects I have bubbling away in the background that will turn into published work in the long term. All good.

Thanks Geoff!

Geoff Waugh’s Selectism Exhibition is on at Look Mum No Hands till the 30th of November. For more details click here

For more information on Geoff Waugh check out his site here.

One of the many things that I like about PhotoPlus Expo in NY, is chatting with the photographers who visit the Lowepro booth. They’re interesting and are happy to share their knowledge. We provide a place for them to show off their stuff too.

Here’s a short video featuring Lou Jones. I first met Lou at PhotoPlus last year. He’s a master with portable, off-camera flash. So I asked him how he’s packing his Pro Roller x200. Here’s what he had to say.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

Here’s the challenge. Can I go on assignment for 5 days to New York City to cover PhotoPlus Expo with just the Pro Roller Attache x50? We’re going to find out together. I’m recording the journey scene by scene from San Francisco to New York, including while I’m working around PhotoPlus Expo and in the Lowepro booth there. Here’s the first scene: what’s inside my packed bag.

Next stop, the airport. Stay tuned for Scene 2.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

We hear a lot of interesting stories from the folks who use our bags. But this has got to be one of the best! Submitted by Sean Scanlon, a travel and landscape photographer based in Southern California, the story unfolds in Yosemite National Park where Sean and his CompuTrekker Plus AW had a close encounter with one of the Park’s residents.

Here, in his own words, is Sean’s story…..

I was shooting up on Washburn Point along Glacier Point Road overlooking Half Dome and the Mist Trail—right inside Yosemite National Park. As usual, I was waiting for the sun, but this morning, not much was going on. My camera was set up on its tripod. My Lowepro backpack was on the ground. And I was ready for something exciting to happen. And it did!

Two bear cubs appeared on the staircase above and started to walk towards me. I know that bear cubs usually mean a mother bear is nearby, so I grabbed my camera from the tripod, left the bag and moved a safe distance away. Moments later the mother bear arrived and sniffed my Lowepro backpack. Next, she pulled at the pack and tore it open. What was interesting at first became potentially troubling; I had three valuable lenses, 10 memory cards, several high-end filters and my travel journal inside that pack.

So I raised my arms and yelled at the mother bear. I hoped that would scare her off. It worked. She scampered over the wall and down the hill, but dragged my Lowepro backpack with her. I kept yelling—louder. I practically begged her to stop. She continued to tear at the pack with her claws and teeth. I saw stuffing fly out. I felt pretty devastated. Eventually, she stopped—it seemed she couldn’t completely break through it. She abandoned the pack, but her cubs gave it a quick shake and then lost interest and followed their mom.

I hopped the fence and walked down the hill to find my beaten and battered backpack. Some stuffing was on the ground. The front pocket was ripped and the zipper broken. Teeth and claw marks adorned the front and back…but amazingly, my equipment was safe and sound.

I feel very comfortable saying that I’ll always use a Lowepro bag for my valuable camera gear. After a harrowing morning at Washburn Point, the score was: Lowepro 1, Bears 0.

Check out our web site for more Unbelievable Stories. And if you have an interesting story of your own about your life with Lowepro, we’d love to hear from you!