From mentors as diverse as his mother, Mother Teresa and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Audrey Hepburn, photographer John Isaac learned to respect other people’s dignity. This feeling is evident in every one of his images. John turned to documenting the natural world after an amazing career in the photo unit of the United Nations. His photography of Indian tigers, exotic creatures and landscapes, as well as intimate portraits represents a rich body of work.

John’s imagery has received many accolades, including a PMDA Photographer of the Year award, a photokina gold medal, and the recent distinction of having a collection of his life’s work as a part of the permanent collection at Kodak’s George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. We invite you learn more about professional photographer John Isaac in our exclusive Loweprofessional profile.

She’s a photojournalist and conservationist who
began her career as a marine biologist.

When Cristina Mittermeier discovered photography, she found her true passion documenting the fragile relationships between indigenous people and biodiversity. To achieve this, she’s traveled to more than 80 countries to photograph and write about the complex issues where conservation of wild nature and human needs intersect.

Cristina is the founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), a consortium of some of the world’s best photographers who are actively working for conservation. See life through her lens and read more about the fascinating work of Cristina Mittermeier in our exclusive profile.

How do you take formal portraits of 2-ton, ten-feet-tall subjects who live in the jungle and just won’t stand still for you? And how do you get all your gear to the most remote part of northern Thailand safely and in good working order?

This is the challenge Bay Area photographer Carol Stevenson has every time she travels to the Thailand to continue her multi-year project documenting the rescued street elephants at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. The solution – build an open air studio in the jungle and rely on Lowepro to carry the kit.

“Each trip is a bit different, depending on the time of year and the weather conditions, so the location of the studio varies,” writes Carol. “We use a bamboo framework and stretch a 38′ x 20′ foot white backdrop across the frame. With the help of the mahouts (and a passing elephant), we erect it right in the jungle. With the harsh light of the tropics, I shoot just after sunrise, usually with only an hour of good light to work with.”

“My Nikon D3 is amazing in low light conditions, and I sometimes add battery powered strobes to replicate the look of an indoor studio. Apart from the backdrop, we have to set up and break down each day, and the shoot can last for 30 days, so there’s a lot of work hauling gear around the jungle on a motor scooter and in a tuk-tuk (Thai 3 wheel taxi).”

“We also shoot in the field during the day to capture the elephants in their natural environment. So not only does the studio gear have to be easily transportable, I need on-the-go bags when I’m trying to keep up with the elephants.”

“I rely on Lowepro for three transport needs: the long haul, the daily studio schlepp, and for the ‘ease of use in the field’ shoots.”

For the long haul, the bodies and lenses go in a Pro Runner x450 AW in the cabin with Carol. The more robust equipment is in cargo in a Pro Roller x300 AW, which has accompanied Carol on more than 40 flights with no damage to her gear. The Pro Roller x300 also does double duty for the jungle studio. And she uses the Passport Sling for quick one camera/lens shoots, or a Versapack 200 AW for heavier duty field work.

“The Sling and the Versapack give me unique flexibility,” adds Carol; “if I HAD to pick a favorite, it would be the Passport Sling because of its fast and quick access to my gear. And with two Pasport Slings, one does double duty as a banana bag (for elephant bribes)”.

Carol is featured as one of our Loweprofessionals. To see more of her work, visit www.elephantphotographer.com. More details about her gear can be found at www.carolstevenson.wordpress.com.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

Thanks to Derrick Story, our Lowepro photo evangelist who wears many hats as a pro photographer, writer and teacher of all things digital. We’d also like to thank our co-sponsor, Nik® Software for making this event possible. We’ll give you a little recap of the webinar: A Fresh Look at Familiar Subjects in Black and White Using Silver Efex Pro 2.

Please check back in a few days to watch Derrick’s webinar in its entirety at your convenience. You can go to our Ask the Pro page for postings of past webinars and sign-ups for upcoming events.

In today’s session, Derrick talked about learning to see subjects differently–in color versus black and white. Derrick explained how Silver Efex Pro 2 aids in overall image management workflow and when working on fun, personal projects. His personal project to share? Black and White Las Vegas. He shared great examples of how black and white can “open up” an image and change the point of view–even give us more information about the shot.

Derrick particularly enjoys street shooting with CSCs like the Olympus PEN models. He’ll use a smaller camera on a JOBY GorillaPod tripod to make it easy to capture images in a more fluid and discreet way. He packs this light kit in a DSLR Video Fastpack 150 AW (it fits his camera gear, MacBook Air and a few personal items). A very low-profile approach!

Working in Aperture (you also can use Lightroom), Derrick demonstrated how to use Silver Efex Pro 2 to view various presets of a shot, apply different tones and add different borders. He shared a ton of tips–so you’ll want to tune into the full webinar to experience this hands-on instruction for achieving the looks you want in black and white.

Derrick is a senior contributor for Macworld magazine where he writes a digital photography column, and he’s a regular presenter on the popular training site, Lynda.com. He is the author of many books, including The Digital Photography Companion (O’Reilly Media, publisher). Online, Derrick has formed a virtual camera club called The Digital Story that’s open to all photography enthusiasts. The site features weekly podcasts, daily posts, training videos, and reader-submitted photos.

Over 800 camera models

Over 200 camera bags

Pro-sized gear

DSLRs

CSCs

Video

Laptops + tablets

There’s a tool right on our web site that’s built to help you find an ideal fit for your camera. It’s the Lowepro Bagfinder.

It’s easy to use and it helps you determine which camera bag is the right fit for your DSLR or CSC camera, camcorder, lenses, tripod and other accessories. It lets you choose the style of bag you like to carry–from backpack to roller. It even gives you the best choices for pro gear with grip and without grip. Or bags with a weather-protective cover.

Some of the biggest retailers in the imagery world–like B&H and Adorama–rely on our Bagfinder tool to help customers. And it’s used in dozens of countries like Portugal, the Netherlands and Russia to help pro and enthusiast photographers fit all of their gear in an ideal carrying solution. (You can even do a Bagfinder search in more than 20 languages).

Give it a try and eliminate some of the guesswork as you search for a camera bag. It’s a good thing to find a perfect fit for your photography obsession!

Photographers Doug Pensinger and Ezra Shaw, both of Getty Images, made a stop at the Lowepro offices on their way to shoot Stage 1 of the Tour of California. It was a great for all of us to meet these photographers and better understand their needs as they shoot some of the most challenging images in bike racing.

Doug got his start with his first camera at age 15 and has shot every Tour of California race, plus seven Tour de France races. Knowing he was going to be riding on a motorbike to capture images for the event, I asked him how he was going to prep for this California race. “Preparing for this event isn’t easy. You have to think about weather, the elements, the athletes and the course. My camera gear is the least of my worries,” he said.

Similarly, Ezra (Doug’s partner covering the race) echoed his sentiment and added, “I try to see the course and understand where the best photos can be made. Stage 1 is rigorous—one of the toughest I’ve seen for day one—and I can’t wait to see these athletes perform.”

Keep up with Doug and Ezra as they photograph the Tour of California!

The Lowepro Urban Photo Sling 250 is your companion as you move from home, to office, to street shooting. This stylish bag can accommodate a pro DSLR with 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom attached, plus spare lenses, flashes, personal gear, and an iPad.

And it might be yours.

For your chance to win the Urban Photo Sling 250, post a comment below answering the question: “What’s your favorite city?” We’ll randomly select a comment next week, and notify everyone on our Facebook Fan Page and here.

Deadline to comment is midnight PDT, Sunday May 13, 2012. Contest is void where prohibited. One winner will be selected and receive a Urban Photo Sling 250.

Good luck!

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro