mexican cowboys
just a few pictures from my shortest NG assignment of all time.....one day and a half of actual shooting time, with two days prior for research on this quiet little story ...it is all about cowboys from Guanajuato state who all converge near Guanajuato city in a large cabalgata, or religious pilgrimage on horse back...some ride for several days, camping along the way, to reach a statue of Jesus on top of a mountain nearby.....
A series like this is why the community hangs on your every post David—keep inspiring!
Posted by: David McGowan | October 08, 2007 at 09:20 PM
Wow, what a day ... i want to be there. I'm intrigued by the procession. Were you able to get into the crowd during the ceremony? ... I have visions of cowboys and horses bowed in reverence, incense and smoke, cowboy hats in hands, blankets and silver, sweat and heat and snorting, stamping hooves and jingling tack in the silence ... murmurs, whispers, Latin chanting, rosaries and crosses ... so much history.
Posted by: tom hyde | October 08, 2007 at 10:32 PM
WOW
Posted by: Harry | October 09, 2007 at 04:24 AM
Hi, David...
One day of shooting? i know something about this!! it is only proof that good photographer always do good pictures!
my wife saw movie about you on cuba in tv, and she told me that i never will be photographer like you, because i'm quiet melancholic and i should be like you, full open person...
but i think someone like you will making photography like you do and somebody like me will do it like i do... am i right?
or i should think all this stuff again... ha ha
ok, peace my friend from Tv
Martin (going to looking self photography)
Posted by: martin | October 09, 2007 at 11:40 AM
David,
You should clarify what you mean by this:
'just a few pictures from my shortest NG assignment of all time.....one day and a half of actual shooting time, with two days prior for research on this quiet little story ...'
so you don't confuse your readers.
Posted by: j | October 09, 2007 at 11:56 AM
David, I particularly like the picture of the cow-boy with the moon at the back and the horse....Must have been difficult to take with so little available light...By the way, I did meet this morning one of your former fellow photographers from National Geographic...Annie Griffiths Belt...She actually came to Cincinnati to give a speech at a symposium for P&G and I had a chance to briefly introduce myself and speak with her afterwards...She is a very pleasant inspiring person... Now, if we have managed to get her to Cincinnati, I am starting to be hopeful that I could get you there sometimes...... Cheers, Eric
Posted by: Eric Espinosa | October 09, 2007 at 12:36 PM
David, killer stuff here. The compressed shoot time must be a muse of sorts.
Posted by: Robert McPeak | October 09, 2007 at 02:01 PM
David - I like the quietness of the girl behind the fence! On a technical note: I read on one of your blogs that you were using the 28mm 2.8 lens on the M8. I was curious how you feel the adjustment to the new framelines from the M6/M7? To me the 28 on the M8 which gives the 35mm frame is much looser than the 35mm frame on the older bodies. It is taking some getting used to. While I love the way the pictures look I feel it is a bit if trial an error in terms of framing.
Posted by: Jonathan Elderfield | October 09, 2007 at 05:20 PM
Great pictures! I particularly like the first and last 2, which is already 60% of the selection... ;-)
I love the movement of the cowboy with the lasso on number 2.
Where is it possible to get the NG footage about David in Cuba that Martin mentions above? Is there a DVD?
Posted by: david ukaleq b. | October 09, 2007 at 05:56 PM
david: you forgot a few ;)))))))
remember the cowboy with the American Flag shirt pulling the horse in front of that ochre building (gorgeous colors in the pic) and the one with 3 cowboys in front of the statue of jesus? ;)))))))....
I really love the cowboy mass procession pic (big) and the 1st page pic (#1 here)...moon shot is wonderful and the child reflection too (im wondering why they didnt choose those??): because they didnt fit the story of the "trail of faith" ? ;))...
terrific work, glad u put stuff for yourself once in a while ;)))
i want to see TGV story :))
hugs
bob
Posted by: BobBlack | October 09, 2007 at 07:48 PM
Beautiful! Allard's got nothing on you! ;-)
Posted by: Asher | October 10, 2007 at 11:50 AM
David,
Thanks for the post. I always enjoy seeing your work in progress. So were you happy with what you were able to get in such a short time?
Kate.
Posted by: Kate Hutchinson | October 10, 2007 at 12:08 PM
OMG! I love this stuff. Have seen some of it before but not all. Oh, would I have loved to be there. gorgeous. That lasso shot!
I've never asked a technical question of you yet but here goes...Were you using a flash for the lasso? I've never had an interest in owning a flash but if that's what it takes to get a shot like that I may need to reconsider. Do you use flash often?
Posted by: cathy scholl | October 11, 2007 at 01:23 AM
Cathy, according to the image data:
NIKON D200
1/6400 second
F2.80
ISO 200
Metering center weighted average
Flash did not fire
28.00 mm
Posted by: Nick Yoon | October 11, 2007 at 02:20 AM
Great to see some of your new work here. Very nice. Like Tom, pretty curious about the procession.pretty amazing.
I ordered Divided Soul a few weeks ago (been meaning to get it for a while). Seems to have disappeared in the post... just found out Amazon sent it to my old work address in London. Going to make a trip back from Barcelona to collect it - could be the most expensive book I've ever bought ;)
Looking forward to it though.
Posted by: steve | October 11, 2007 at 09:36 AM
I think the lasso was just lit by the sun, like the cowboy himself.
Doesn't anyone has a clue as to where to find the NG documentaries?
Posted by: david ukaleq b. | October 11, 2007 at 09:53 AM
there are some video and audio clips here:
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue9910/cubaintro.htm
Posted by: Nick Yoon | October 11, 2007 at 11:18 AM
Thanks Nick and David B. for the flash info.
Posted by: cathy scholl | October 11, 2007 at 12:08 PM
Late to the party, as usual, I just wanted to say these shots are really great. They do prove that time available is not everything...
I had seen some of them already in NatGeo, but some are new. The cowboy/lasso image is definitely my favorite.
Giancarlo
Posted by: Giancarlo Mori | October 11, 2007 at 02:07 PM
Thanks Nick, I will check this... as soon as I have found the codec to play it on my mac...
Posted by: david ukaleq b. | October 11, 2007 at 02:27 PM
Cool shots David. 1,2 and 4 stand out for me.
Posted by: Rene Braun | October 12, 2007 at 10:45 AM
Hi David,
Numbers 1 and 2 are my favorites. There were a couple that were published in the mag that you do not have posted here that I like as well.
Nice work.
-Sherman
Posted by: Sherman Charles | October 12, 2007 at 10:53 AM
J..
i do not know how to say it any other way...
one day and a half to actually take these top five pictures of the cowboys on the ride (bottom two portraits shot same event prior)....2 days of research to figure it all out, locations etc....
what was confusing to you???
david
Posted by: david alan harvey | October 14, 2007 at 01:13 PM
STEVE....
i do not know what you paid for "Divided Soul" , but it will soon become very expensive because it is out of print...i am trying to buy some myself!!!
david
Posted by: david alan harvey | October 14, 2007 at 01:15 PM
Amazon UK are very low on stock...very happy to have a copy!
Posted by: steve | October 14, 2007 at 02:31 PM
From what you wrote here, it sounded as if you took these shots all at about the same time and in one and one half days. I think they are all awesome. The light, the natural colors, the layering, the gesture etc.I admire your work, and you certainly nail everyone of these. However, I was standing next to you when you took the last one. I didn't remember the other locations that week in San Miguel last November. Maybe you went back again. I was confused. Sorry.
Posted by: j | October 14, 2007 at 04:42 PM
Sorry to be insistent about that but I watched the video and it is only 6 min long. I thought there was a longer documentary, am I right?
Posted by: david ukaleq b. | October 15, 2007 at 07:21 AM
David,
Just discovered your site. Amazing entity. Such a service for all of us. The links of your commentors provides invaluable information. Thank you very, very much for your contribution. Take care, Merritt
Posted by: Merritt Hewitt | October 15, 2007 at 11:40 AM
david...I got your book "divided Soul" quite easily on Amazone USA at regular price (I believe $40 or $50)... I think you could get quite a few from them...
arie
Posted by: arie | October 15, 2007 at 11:57 AM
david...I got your book "divided Soul" quite easily on Amazone USA at regular price (I believe $40 or $50)... I think you could get quite a few from them...
arie
Posted by: arie | October 15, 2007 at 11:57 AM
Yeah, I like the cowboy with the moon. It's also a rare obvious tilted horizon by David :o)
Posted by: Joni Karanka | October 15, 2007 at 07:20 PM
Wow... fantastic pictures, David... Such deep colors containing the most important thing a picture has to have inside: Soul. And definitely, your pictures ooze soul.
David, you, as a person and as a photographer, are the best example to follow. Thank you for sharing your work with us!!!
Peace.
Ana
Posted by: Ana Yturralde | October 18, 2007 at 05:54 AM
I can't afford to buy full price, amazon has been good to me in that view, I see they have 7 of the DS book, starting at 32$.
Soon out of circulation? I feel good as I got DS and Cuba a few months ago for those 32$, shipping included!
PS: BTW, I can sell you back VIRGINIA, but it'll cost you! :-))))) (just teasing)
Posted by: Herve | October 18, 2007 at 04:15 PM
J...
the last two "portrait" pictures were shot prior to the cowboy ride during the workshop as you know..didn't i post that above somewhere?? thought i did...anyway,the first five shots posted were shot during the day and a half ride for the NG assignment during the first week of january this year, two months after our workshop...
cheers, david
DAVID UKALEG B...
where did you even see the 6 min. version?? yes, there is a one hour full version , but you can only see it when it is on television...NG Channel...they run it every now and then..
MERRITT...
welcome...we hope to hear from you from time to time....
JONI...
i was not trying to tilt the horizon..and did not even notice until you mentioned it...i was in a very awkward position when taking this picture...lying on the ground basically and was just composing in a way that looked as good as i could make it considering my back was up against a rock!!!
HERVE....
well, i do not know whether to burn all copies of the Virginia book or somehow treasure them as a "collectors item"...since there are a couple of pictures in there of my sons and a picture of my father too, i think i will hang on to them....thanks for the tip about Amazon...i never go there for my own books, but maybe i will now!!!
cheers, david
Posted by: david alan harvey | October 21, 2007 at 12:52 PM
Thanks David, it's not so easy then... I'll ask my family if they have NG channel at home. As for the 6 min version, well I just followed the link posted above by Nick Yoon (it's on the digitaljournalist web site).
Posted by: david ukaleq b. | October 21, 2007 at 02:31 PM
Hi David, your work is very inspiring, it is quite cool to have the opportunity to read thoughts and watch the work of a pro, your initiative is great. I recently purchased Cuba and Divided Soul and I am found of the content, many beautiful compositions, again a source of inspiration. Your fast shooting session in Mexico is superb...
I've personally tried to capture some moments in a Leprosy hospital in India, I can display the pictures on Internet but I wonder how I could show this to a bigger audience, they deserve it...
http://www.pbase.com/yanseiler/lepr, would be cool if you would have some hints...
A while ago I read that you had an assignment for the TGV, is is possible to see the result somewhere ?
Keep us posted with your talented work
Best
Yan
Posted by: Yan | October 29, 2007 at 12:09 PM
Really nice picture, full of colour and passion. Nice shots.
Posted by: Photographer Italy | November 12, 2007 at 08:03 AM
beautiful honest heartfelt work
Posted by: robert wiedenfeld | November 15, 2007 at 04:56 AM
DAVID:
I don't know if Typepad gives you a heads-up as Blogger does, but I have been longing to reference these images for a long time now; the dusk shot with the moon in particular.
http://liamlynchphotographer.blogspot.com/2008/01/throw-stones-at-can-whistle.html
Everything is explained via the link to my blog; would that the magazine had given me some more time and a chance to make a meal of the piece. That said, I guess as "dead" as Panos and others may regard Geographic, it is nice to know that the only time constraint placed on you in this story was by the story itself, and not those who assigned you to shoot it.
Your work is inspiring as always,
L.
Posted by: Liam Lynch | January 10, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Hello,
This subject is beautiful !
Thank you
XL
Posted by: Xavier | September 07, 2008 at 08:44 AM