Jan

Posted on January 25, 2020June 21, 2020 by Stefano

Ramadan for travel photographers

In 2020, Ramadan will start on Thursday, April 23 and end on Saturday, May 23.

If you plan to visit a Muslim country here are a few tips and explanations about Ramadan for travel photographers. Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims around the world. The word Ramadan comes directly from the Arabic root ramiḍa which means dryness. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which the Quran was revealed. Being the Islamic calendar a lunar calendar, months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year and contains no intercalation, Ramadan varies every year. During this period, observant Muslims tend to abstain from food (sawm), drinking or smoking from dawn to dusk and also restrain from all activities or behaviors that are not compatible with Islamic values.

Jan

Posted on January 7, 2020January 16, 2020 by Stefano

My first sale on Alamy 10 years ago

My first sale on Alamy

Exactly 10 years ago, January 7, 2010, I got my very first sale on Alamy, the largest stock photography agency in the world along with Getty Images. It was a photo I shot to a local farmer I met along with his yak on a remote mountain path in Tibet a few years earlier. A quick shot around midday in a clear day with a strong and horrible light. Nothing of special and neither nicely edited to tell the truth. Anyway, that photo was my first one to be sold by a stock agency and it was published on the Guardian newspaper.

Sep

Posted on September 13, 2019June 21, 2020 by Stefano

Photography tips for Namibia

Namibia truly matches most of the African natural beauties in just one single country. It’s a land of abundant wildlife, extravagant colonial architecture and incredible landscapes. This country hosts the Namib, the oldest desert in the world, with its towering red and orange dunes dropping down to the wind-lashed coastline. Here you get also the second largest canyon in the world, never ending lichen-encrusted gravel plains and magnificent wetlands. A country that lives up to expectations. No wonder why Namibia is among the photographers’ favorite destinations.

Jul

Posted on July 22, 2019September 29, 2020 by Stefano

My reviews: Think Tank Photo Airport Commuter camera backpack

Think Tank Airport Commuter Last week, I purchased a new camera backpack for my travels: the Think Tank Photo Airport Commuter. For the first time, my buying decision, in terms of camera bags, wasn’t for a LowePro‘s one. In the last four years, I have been using a LowePro Pro Runner BP 350 AW II, a robust and performing camera bag, quite similar for size to the Think Tank Photo Commuter Airport. The main reason because I changed backpack was due, unfortunately, to the not that high quality of materials used for my LowePro Pro Runner BP 350 AW II. I missed two cord zipper pulls as they broke somewhere during my trips and also the thick external mesh padding suddenly started to unpick at certain point. It looked like the camera backpack I owned for several years was not made to last for long time yet. So, I opted for the Think Tank Photo Commuter Airport, a camera backpack I’ve heard such good things about from other photographers.

Jun

Posted on June 27, 2019June 27, 2019 by Stefano

My photo on National Geographic Traveller cover

My photo on National Geographic Traveller magazine Located in the island of Java, not far from Yogyakarta, Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. An authentic masterpiece of architecture built over 1,000 years ago from two million stone blocks in the form of a massive symmetrical stupa wrapped around a small gentle hill. Borobudur was in my photographic list during my last year’s journey across South East Asia.