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[pics] Tea and Bird Lunch with D3s - Konar Province, Afghanistan

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DPFranz

DPFranz

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My first real outing with full frame (D3s). Noticeable adjustment needed from D2x in choosing aperture due to smaller depth of field. I spent about 5 days at a little combat outpost in NE Afghanistan, just a couple miles from the Pakistani border.

Side note..I've never noticed this before getting Windows 7...images look noticeably softer in Internet Explorer than in Photoshop, Lightroom, Windows Picture Viewer, Capture NX...frustrating. Anyway, back to our story...

Just to set the stage..here I am showing off my remote holding skills..



The gentleman on the right was very nice, though my new friends poked fun at me by calling him Osama due to somewhat similar appearance. A very kind soul, however, and kicked my butt at rummy...



Center of the outpost...



Getting ready for lunch...



DVD player not working...frustration...this man can't read, but is not scared to tinker...and got it working!...



My new friends offered me green chai tea, grown just down the hill. Served with plenty of sugar, it was lovely...



Lunch is almost ready...jesting with a part we did not eat...he shot two of these birds with a small shotgun...



Me again...the one gentleman that spoke English (the interpreter) said that they trusted me more because of the beard...







Yes, I asked first...this was after a couple of days of visiting with them...trust was established...



The "front" of the OP...



Very soft-spoken, polite people, but around here, one has to carry the big stick as well...good ol' AK47...







Almost everyone...



If you don't own a helicopter, this is the only way to get supplies in...



Bring your sons to work day...







Here is the boss...









Whipping up some beans and rice to go with the birds...



A little out of context, but...an image of an unnamed site, through an unnamed sensor, with data text cloned out...



Here's the American kitchen...the food was better in that of the Afghans...



Just before I left by night chopper...



--
Dana Paul Franz
[email protected]
http://dfranz.smugmug.com

'The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion .... All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.' - Richard Avedon
 
Well done.... very well done.

Thank you... and please give thank you's to those pictured.
--
Dave
 
Very nice. Love to see your pix, these are destined to be historic.

I assume you are a civillian contractor, what is it that you do there?
 
A great collection of shots, and I really enjoyed looking through all of them.

The only thing I missed was a dedicated landscape shot of that valley below. It looked like a stunning view :)
 
yet again an excellent series! is this still with your trusty d2x? really, you have an excellent eye for portraits...the subjects are engaged, which reminds me of steve mccurry's best work. i'm guessing that you've been working around these men as they have the look of someone that trusts the photographer...again, reminiscent of mccurry's work.

stay safe and keep posting amazing pics.

--
dave
 
Amazing...What a Great photo shoot!!!

Thank You!!!
 
DPFranz said:
My first real outing with full frame (D3s). Noticeable adjustment needed from D2x in choosing aperture due to smaller depth of field. I spent about 5 days at a little combat outpost in NE Afghanistan, just a couple miles from the Pakistani border.

Just before I left by night chopper...



--
Dana Paul Franz
[email protected]
http://dfranz.smugmug.com

'The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion .... All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.' - Richard Avedon
Click to expand...
Wow, THANKS for this series. Gives a good insight beside daily news. Which is really not too much these days.

I wish I could go with you once to such a place. I often wish I had the connections to get out there. I am an old Huckleberry Finn but still would be able to withstand a trip like that.

Thanks again,
AIK
 
An amazing set of images...each one interesting in it's own right. Thanks for posting.

--
Tom, Ohio USA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zuikosan/
http://tbower.zenfolio.com/

'One should not LIVE in the past, but one should never FORGET the past'.

'Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?'
---George Gobel, 1969
 
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I'm a civilian contractor (physicist) working on a sensor project out there. I work various techy, gear-related projects. Cheers
mozarkid said:
Very nice. Love to see your pix, these are destined to be historic.

I assume you are a civillian contractor, what is it that you do there?
Click to expand...
--
Dana Paul Franz
[email protected]
http://dfranz.smugmug.com

'The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion .... All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.' - Richard Avedon
 
Thanks, Duck. I shot about 2/3 of the time with the 17-35 f/2.8, and the remainder with the 24-70 f/2.8. The 24-70 is better for getting shallow depth of field without being inches from someone's face, but the wider lens is probably better overall for close-quarters like the little room they lived in. I really like the perspective of the wide lens. I found myself wishing I had the 14-24 f/2.8, and will probably buy it soon. Problem is that sortof orphans my beloved 17-35...I almost couldn't bear to sell it, having been through a lot with it and having taken my favorite pictures with it, but if I have the 14-24, I don't imagine the 17-35 would get as much, if any, use. On full frame, it is a nice bridge focal length range though...

But I can't see carrying all three of these lenses at the same time...tough decision.
duckfat said:
Great shots, angles, backgrounds, lighting, content - your work has an integrity seldom encountered. It reminds me of 1970s Nat Geo. You're good with words too. Was this an assignment? Oh - and what lens is on yr camera most of the time? I'm guessing 14-24 (I just discovered 'exif-viewer'. Edit)
Thank you for posting.
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8189967@N04/sets/72157616447984719/show/
Click to expand...
--
Dana Paul Franz
[email protected]
http://dfranz.smugmug.com

'The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion .... All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.' - Richard Avedon
 
Thanks, Ovrebekk. I have several versions of that shot, and others as well. I will make a second post in the next day or two once I process them. Cheers
ovrebekk said:
A great collection of shots, and I really enjoyed looking through all of them.

The only thing I missed was a dedicated landscape shot of that valley below. It looked like a stunning view :)
Click to expand...
--
Dana Paul Franz
[email protected]
http://dfranz.smugmug.com

'The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion .... All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.' - Richard Avedon
 
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