Photographer Chris Schmid's video series "Off the Beaten Track" take a behind the scenes look at his travels as an outdoor and travel photographer. In his latest episode, he travels to Masai Mara National Reserve in Narok County, Kenya. The park is named after tha Maasai people, and known for it's lions, cheetahs, and annual migration of gazelles, zebras, and wildebeest.
Schmid is a Sony Global Imaging Ambassador, and filmed most of the video with a Sony a7s in crop mode with the Sony FE 70-200mm. Because he filmed and photographed this series himself, he mentioned sometimes he would have to "miss some precious moments" but if you have patience, "you can do both [photography and film] without compromising the quality of the footage or still images." For shooting still images, Schmid uses the Sony Alpha a99 and prefers to use longer lenses when shooting wildlife, to keep them in their natural environment.
In light of recent events with Cecil the lion, the video caught my eye for many reasons. Not only is the video beautifully shot and edited, but speaks to a deeper meaning that all photographers and wildlife advocates can understand. When we see something beautiful, we photograph it, to capture that moment of time for the rest of the world and future generations to see. In Masai Mara, Schmid's images could be the last of an era. Africa estimates that due to poaching, they are losing 5 lions a day, 5 elephants an hour, and 1 rhino every 7 hours. There are only 4000 rhinos suspected to be living wild in Africa today.
I really think sharing our work can help to get people taking more care of our world by discovering new places... For me it’s very important to show how we’re working and encourage other people to travel and see something different to where they live. That’s why I’ve created this series... If we want to protect a species it starts with protecting the environment around them.
I agree with Schmid and believe that photographers have a very important role to play in protecting our world. The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" rings true as we can create images that speak for the voiceless. Our images can influence the way that people who cannot travel see and understand the world. That being said, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to travel to Africa to photograph lions. There are many ways we photographers can help out our local communities with other social issues that all play a part in helping better our world. I applaud Schmid and his desire to help the word get out about protecting this precious land.
You can see more of Chris Schmid's photos at his website, Facebook, Instagram, and follow Off The Beaten Track on his vimeo.
Filmed and photographed with:
- Sony a7r
- Sony a7s
- Sony a99
- Sony FE 28mm 2.0
- Sony FE 35mm 2.8
- Sony FE 16-35mm 4.0
- Sony FE 70-200mm 4.0
- Sony G 500mm f/4.0
- Sony G 70-200mm SSMII f/2.8
Incredible privilege to see this type of 'wild'. Thanks for bringing Schmid to my attention.
As for Cecil, I've seen the backlash start already. For example, why care about a lion or two, or even a species when 'x' is killing or is the cause of 1000's of deaths a day. To that backlash I say: any growth in empathy is a good thing. Any growth at all.
Thanks for reminding me to feed the cat!
I've traveled to many countries. My visit to Masai Mara is one of my favorites. The experience is something every photographer should witness. Fantastic video. Gallery from my visit - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dklp/sets/72157635339037990
I like new articles, yet this Fstoppers - SLR Lounge copying of the same ones vice versa on daily bases takes from the uniqueness..? Does not it?
What usually ends up happening is the artist gets in touch with writers (we chatted via email) - I'm sure Schmid doesn't mind multiple websites writing about his work. But just as major news websites would cover the same story, so goes it for similar photography news sites.
Hi Chelsey, I get you point about news and websites running the same story :) That is fine. Just being a subscriber to the both platforms and coming here for news get's me kind of wondering are you guys running out of inspiration if you have a deal to share stuff around the clock, or is this just pure marketing, more SEO bonuses, google traffic etc.. I do not mind good articles yet still wonder the internet is full of amazing things, and to share the same story rewritten by someone else is in my opinion waste of time for your part or I am wrong? If you just for example linked to the story from SLR , or publish the same one with a credit to SLR lounge and the other way around instead of rewriting it so it does not look completely identical would save you a tons of time and you could do a unique new piece for readers in that time instead :). No hard feelings, this is an opinion of a reader who likes to come here and read, and it seems to be silly to me to come across these on daily bases... Just my 50 cents, you are a great source of articles yet you could get even better with more unique staff then the others who just use the same technique :). Thank you.