Photography
and the African safari
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When you go on your African safari, don’t
forget your camera. But which camera or camcorder is best for an
African safari?
A video of your African
safari experience is certainly a great way to keep the memories lasting,
but also take a good camera on your African safari. The small size
and amazing
functionality of cameras today are perfect for African safaris. Below
are a few things to consider when choosing which photographic equipment to bring on your safari.
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(Camera Lenses and Binoculars)
(Digital Storage
/ Film and Digital
ISO)
DIGITAL VS. FILM
Digital
vs. Film: The following are my thoughts on the "Film versus
Digital" decision for those of you who may be considering a purchase
of new equipment for your safari or other travel.
Bottom line: If you are planning to purchase a new SLR camera for
your trip, go digital. Period. Get the best one you can afford; optimally
one which accepts different lenses (as opposed to those with a non-removable
built in zoom lens). I would certainly not recommend purchasing a
film-based SLR instead of a digital SLR.
I
currently use two Nikon D2X bodies for my safaris and I'm very happy with this camera. I
shoot all my images in Raw format and use Adobe's Camera Raw software (and also Adobe Lightroom)
to optimize the images (see my software section below). The
following is a short summary of MY thoughts on switching to digital or
staying put with film for now (I believe that almost everyone will eventually
switch; however, some people still play their vinyl records instead of
CD's).
Reason
NOT to switch to digital format (YET)…
Cost / Investment
A professional-level digital camera the equivalent
of the Nikon F5 (pro film camera) is currently priced at over $4,500.
This is a large
investment in a camera given that newer, more advanced and better
versions of the
same
camera will
likely appear within 12 to 15 months or even less. The current top
of the line Canon digital, the EOS-1DS Mark III (which delivers over
21 million pixels maximum) is
priced at $8,000! Film cameras
on the other hand are really no longer being designed for the future…the
future is digital. However, more affordable, mid-level
DSLR's like the Canon EOS 40D (10.1MP for $1,300) or the Nikon D80
(10.2MP for $875) are superb cameras for a safari when paired with
a decent lens or two.
Reasons to
switch to digital format…
The reasons to switch are mounting, and other than those who have an
aesthetic connection to using film (especially black and white photographers),
the justifications for remaining with film are becoming few and far between. The
following are some of the pertinent reasons to "go digital",
especially for those going on a safari.
1. Image quality
In the not so distant past, I felt that
the quality of a digital camera image for producing large (i.e.,
magazine page size) prints was still not quite as good as what
was possible using high quality, fine grain film (like Fuji Velvia). However,
since using the new Nikon, I now believe
that digital images have finally caught up with film in terms of
overall quality. This is not to say that ALL digital cameras
will give the same results, but the high-end and even "prosumer" DSLR's
(like the Canon EOS 40D or Nikon D80) have, I feel, now equaled
the results of fine-grain film.
The CCD (or CMOS) technology used
in DSLR's is, in my opinion, just as good in capturing tonality and
details across the full range of light, as a high-end film SLR. DSLR's
are perhaps even better at capturing details in the highlights.
Some will argue otherwise, but almost all will agree
that the technology is advancing and still has lots of room for improvement,
while film has matured and will likely not go any further. One
potential downside of the digital sensors though, is that they are
far more "demanding" on your lenses and your technique. By
this I mean that they are "less forgiving" than film in
terms of picking up color or luminosity noise. Film has several
layers of emulsion to absorb the light and so noise is more likely
to be less noticeable on film. Result: Quality lenses are even
more important when using a good DSLR.
2. Immediate ISO speed
changes are possible
With a digital camera, one can change ISO settings (the
digital equivalent of film speed) at any time... no more changing out
an entire roll of film if the lighting changes. This has obvious
advantages.
3. Immediate Results
You can edit your shots and see the results immediately
using the camera's built in viewer or on a laptop if you've brought
one along for image editing.
4. Film and Developing
Costs
During my "film days", I typically
spent $1,000 or more for film and processing on one of my African safaris.
This is based on about 4,000 - 5,000 images using slide film. This is not
cheap, I'm sure you'll agree. Digital media is somewhere around
$50 to $125 for a 2-gigabyte CompactFlash card. Even assuming you have
two or three of these and a digital
storage device to upload the images
to when the cards are full, you save
money almost immediately. No more film, no more running out of film, no
more left over film, etc.
5. Transportation
of film
Let's face it, carrying 100+ rolls of
film in your carry-on baggage is not fun. Getting any amount of film
through airport security and x-rays with a hand check is now virtually
impossible. Even
if you buy
the
film
overseas and have it developed before coming home (which is what I did
for my last few "film trips"), you still have to lug it around in your
luggage from camp to camp. Even shooting in Raw, with image sizes
of 20MB, I can get 200 images onto a 4GB Compact Flash card. This
is the equivalent of over 5 rolls of 36-exposure film.
6. Post processing
overhead
Scanning of my slides (to convert
them to digital), labeling all the slides and filing them ...we're
talking LOTS
of hours. I'm happy to do away with all of this. The digitally stored
image file includes all details or metadata for the image (date, time,
aperture, shutter speed, etc.); no more labeling, just upload to
your PC. Of
course there's still a considerable digital work flow which will
occur for digital images, but it is still less work than working
with slides.
7. Existing Equipment
Most of the lenses I own and have used with my film cameras are compatible
with the new Nikon digital bodies. Only my wide-angle lenses
had to be replaced due to the "field of view crop" factor
(see item 8 below).
8. Image
magnification / Field of View Crop
This one's perhaps a bit more complicated...
Most of the digital SLR's today use an
imaging chip (CCD or CMOS) that's about 40 percent smaller than a 35mm
film frame
(which
measures
24x36mm).
The results of these smaller sensors being used in the digital SLR are
a
"field of view crop" or lens magnification factor of approximately 1.3 to 1.6
(depending upon the camera) times the focal length of your lens. I will not attempt
to explain the physics of the
reasons
behind why
this
is true, but suffice it to say that the smaller sensors use only the center
2/3 portion of the image created by the lens.
Therefore, if you use lenses designed
for 35mm cameras, the effective focal length of the lens increases
by about 50% when used on a digital SLR.
So,
if
you
use an
80-200mm
lens on a digital body, the lens will have a field of view of 120-300mm
and a 300mm lens becomes a 450mm lens and so on. The effective aperture
(maximum f/stop) remains the same. All of this extra magnification
can be either good or bad (if you want wide angle shots, the additional
focal length is undesirable), depending on your needs.
Most African safari photographers will
usually benefit from additional focal length since good quality telephoto
lenses
are both expensive and heavy to lug around on African safaris and we
all wish we had a bit more magnification to get closer to our wild
subjects.
A few final comments:
One less
obvious benefit of all this is that since a digital sensor is capturing
only the middle portion of the image,
the
image
quality
will (should) be better (all other things remaining equal) since
camera lenses typically have better optical performance (sharpness
and contrast) at their centers
than at their outer edges.
For those photographers who would
still like to be able to get those beautiful wide angle landscape
or people
shots (this includes me!),
the
additional focal length is not always good news. A 20mm ultra-wide
lens becomes a not-so-wide 30mm lens. You'd need a 13mm lens to get
that
same ultra-wide
coverage on a digital SLR, but no one makes such a lens. A few companies
make 14mm lenses, but they are very expensive.
Finally, there are now several
digital SLR cameras (Canon EOS-1DS, EOS-1DS Mark III, Canon EOS 5D and Nikon D3) which offer a "full
frame"
digital sensor. These cameras have 24x36mm image sensors (the same
size as a frame of 35mm film) without any field of view crop
(focal
length
multiplier). Simply put, a 16-35 mm lens on a "full-frame" digital
SLR's will provide the exact same field of view as it would
on
a "traditional" SLR
with
film. Note that these are top-of-the-line cameras - not cheap!
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VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHY
Camcorder: A
video of your African safari experience is also a great way to keep the
memories lasting and more and more guests are bringing their own video
cameras
(or camcorders) on an African safari. The small size and amazing functionality
of today's video cameras makes them a great way to record your African
travels.
There are a few things to consider when choosing a video camera... Like
the world of still photography, video has gone digital as well.
The options are endless and I won't try
to put a full glossary of terms here. Here are some things to consider:
Mini
DV: The
latest camcorders now use Mini Digital Video Cassettes (DVC).
The Mini DV tape format is approximately 56% smaller than
an 8mm
tape,
so
Mini
DV digital
camcorders are smaller than comparative Digital 8 models. Mini
DV was developed as a future digital video format in 1994, while
the 8mm technology that Digital 8 uses was developed a decade
earlier, in 1984. The DV format is supported by over 56 companies
worldwide, ensuring compatibility with other DV equipment, while
Digital 8 is currently supported by only two companies (Sony & Hitachi).
The Mini DV tapes are not expensive and come in various lengths.
A Mini DV Cassette
(DVC) occupies less than half the volume of an 8mm cassette
and holds one hour of video—an amazing 11GB of data on
a tape 65 metres long. It’s this small cassette size that
makes possible much smaller and more portable camcorders.
Optical Versus Digital Zoom: Optical zoom
is the best you can get. It means that the camera lenses give
you a true zoom, without
losing
image quality. Digital zoom takes a portion of the optical image
and enlarges from the center electronically, which creates a lower quality
enlargement. A digital camera with a good optical zoom raises the
price.
As a general rule, try to purchase a camera that has at least a 10X
optical zoom. Many cameras, for example the latest offerings from Canon,
include
an 18X optical zoom and an amazing 360X digital zoom!
Use the digital zoom for fun, but don't expect the higher quality
you get with an optical zoom. Optical zoom cameras use more power,
since they have to physically move lenses back and forth (versus
a non-moving
digital zoom camera). The higher the optical zoom (combined with
high resolution) the higher the price. Also, once your camera moves
beyond
its optical zoom limit (and moves into digital magnification), it
becomes extremely difficult to hold the camera steady enough to avoid "camera
shake".
Image Stabilizer: Many manufacturers now include
a stabilizer feature to their camcorders. Image stabilization
corrects camera shake caused by an unsteady hand,
for example.
This image stabilization system makes for smoother and steadier video
even with hand-held shots, at full telephoto, and with shots taken
from a moving car. This feature is a great one to have for an African
safari as you
will have to worry far less about hand holding your camera while
filming. However, do not underestimate that you may get tired of
holding even
a small camera for long periods of time. Consider a small monopod
perhaps.
Color LCD Screen: The screen should fold-out
and be very clear. The reason for suggesting a fold-out screen is
that you
do not want to have to put the camera up to your eye in order to
film. You are likely to miss a lot of action happening around you
if you
are always focusing through a camera lens. With the fold out screen,
you
can position the camcorder at arm's length in front of you and see
what you're filming through the LCD screen. The screen does
suck battery power however, remember to bring lots of batteries.
Also, read my section
above on rechargeable batteries as it holds true for camcorders too.
Our Video Camera: For our
safaris, we use the Sony DCR-VX2000 digital camcorder.
All
I can say is - WOW! What an exceptionally fine piece of equipment
this camera is! I never expected to get the kinds of images
we came home with. This is not a cheap camera (the newer VX2100
model is currently priced at about $2,200),
but I feel that it creates incredibly sharp and vivid video of
DVD-level quality. The image and sound qualities are nothing short
of amazing; the camera is easy to use, fairly lightweight and for
those who are video experts, not short on features. Nicky took
the majority of the video but I got my chances with it as well
and fell in love! Feel
free to contact us with any questions, but we both give it a wholehearted
recommendation.
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JAMES'
EQUIPMENT
Quite a few people ask me
about my photography equipment. What do I bring on safari to
Africa?
What lenses do I think they should buy?
As you may already
know, I am, and have always been, a Nikon customer. I would never
enter an argument about whether Nikon optics or cameras are superior
to Canon or the next company, but I do know that Nikon make superb
cameras and optics. That
said, here's what I shoot with currently:
Cameras
Nikon D2X Digital SLRs (2) . What
can I say. The best camera I have ever used. Rugged and
with all the buttons in about the same places they were on my F5's. I
love this camera.
Lenses
Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED. I have
used several variations of this lens over the years and, like the
others, I couldn't live without this lens. Very versatile,
very fast, great optics. If you shoot Nikon, this one should
be in your bag or at least on your wish list.
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
ED 17-55mm f/2.8G IF. I have sold my old 20-35mm and 35-70mm and now use this lovely lens. Nikon DX lenses are designed specifically for the APS-size digital sensor used by Nikon (there is still field of view crop, but it will not work on a 35mm film camera). Great lens for people shots and its super-wide zoom range make this one a great lens to use at home as well.
Nikon
AF-S Nikkor ED 300mm f/2.8 D IF. A remarkable lens. Super-sharp.
Very fast focusing and silent motor. Superb results, even
when paired with the 1.4x Teleconverter.
Nikon AF-S Nikkor ED 600mm
f/4 D IF. The big daddy. People
generally duck when I pull it out and attach it to the tripod. A
monster, but great for birds and other super telephoto work. Retains
auto focus with the 1.4x TC. This one is heavy, so do your
arm curls and push-ups if you plan to get this one.
Nikon TC-14E II & TC-17E II AF-S Teleconverters. The latest versions
of Nikon's teleconverters. I use the 1.4x on my 600mm, but only use the 1.7x TC on my f2.8 lenses. I do not use a 2x TC as I feel that it causes to much image degradation.
Other Photo
Gear
Nikon SB-800 Autofocus Speedlight. Nikon's latest
version of external flash. This one is made for the new
DSLR's. As amazing as those in the past.
Really Right Stuff Camera Plates. Tripod mounting
plates to make quick release a no-brainer. I have them on
all my big lenses, plus on the D2Xs. Incredibly precise and
finely engineered. Without peer.
Gitzo G1548 Mountaineer Tripod. Carbon Fiber construction. Strong
and light-weight. I use this in the vehicle for my 300/600
lenses primarily. Mine has been used heavily since I purchased
it in 1998 and it seems like it might last forever.
Arca B-2 Monoball w/Quick Release. Attached to my
tripod at all times. Strong enough for the 600mm. Never
had much of a problem, although it does seem to expand when left
in the sun, making it difficult to move at first. I may look
into another option some time soon - maybe the Wimberly. Not
sure. I like the B-2 a lot though.
Camera Bags
Here's how I transport my gear when I go to Africa and also when on
game drive...
Pelican 1620 Watertight Roller Case w/foam. Pelican
make superb hard cases for transporting camera equipment and
I have used this one for many years. Other than some cosmetic
scratches and dings (thanks to luggage handlers I suspect),
this baby is as good as new. I tossed out the middle
foam layers and left in one layer on top and bottom only. My
Lowepro Pro Trekker AW (see below) fits inside the Pelican
perfectly and I secure the Pelican with some heavy duty key
locks. Note that I usually have to wait while the luggage
screeners search the Pelican before I head to the gate; after
they search it, I make sure they lock both locks before I let
it go on its way.
Lowepro
Pro Trekker AW. I own several Lowepro bags and this
one has been on safaris with me since 1996 - still works great. For
flights to Africa, it holds my 600mm f/4 and 300mm f/2.8, various
other lenses and/or camera bodies, plus other miscellaneous
items. Once packed, I
put it inside the Pelican and into checked baggage.
Lowepro
Rolling Computrekker Plus AW. This is my carry-on
bag for air travel to Africa. It holds my laptop, the
70-200mm lens, both D2X camera bodies, portable hard drives,
flash, and other items as well. It's heavy when loaded
up, but fits into overhead. Lowepro also
make a standard version of this same bag (sans the "Plus" designation),
which is just slightly smaller and definitely safer for stingy
carry-on baggage airports (like London Heathrow and JFK) and
especially when flying coach class. This bag accompanies
me on game drives.
Tenba
LL600 Large Lens Bag. I'm onto my second Tenba bag
now (the first one finally became too beat up after many trips
to Africa). This bag now stays in Johannesburg with my
Gitzo G1548 tripod and I pick it up on my way through Joburg
before I head on safari. I use it to transport my tripod
and other items and then it holds my 600mm f/4 (with lens hood
attached) while on game drive. I place the bag and lens
vertically and it has very sufficient padding. It is
tied to the vehicle with a strap just in case. I have
used this set up for years and find it works the best for me.
Binoculars
Leica Trinovid 10 x 25 BC/BCA. A guide let me use
his back in 1996 in Botswana and I couldn't believe how much
better they were than my Nikon's of the same size. These
Leica's are superb, especially in low light situations, but their
biggest advantage is that they fold up and fit into a shirt pocket;
amazing. I will likely purchase the larger Leica Trinovid
10 x 42 at some point, as these are a bit better for their wider
field of view (easier on my eyes - but much heavier!)
Computer Equipment
I use Apple for my personal and professional computer
systems.
Apple Dual 2Ghz PowerPC G5. By far the best
computer I've ever used. I have 4GB of RAM just to
give me more room when editing my large images in Photoshop.
Apple
23-inch HD Cinema Display. A large monitor like this
makes a huge difference when working with large image files. The
increased "real estate" from its high-definition 1920x1200
resolution also allows you to keep more Photoshop pallets open
and also do precise edits
Apple PowerBook
1.67Ghz G4 17-inch Laptop. This laptop has 2GB of RAM.
I use the PowerBook only when I'm traveling. I won't purchase
an Intel-processor MacBook Pro until Adobe writes their Photoshop
software to work natively on these machines. In
the meantime, this is a lovely laptop.
OWC
Mercury On-the-Go 160GB Firewire 800 Portable Hard Drives (4). I
use these portable hard drives when I'm traveling to store 2 copies
of each image I make. Lots of storage in a very well put together
package. Fast
Firewire 800 data transfer speeds.
Lexar Professional
Firewire CompactFlash Card Readers (2). Supports Firewire
daisy-chaining so that you can connect up to four readers with
a single computer connection. I
bring two, just in case. They're compact in size.
Sandisk 8GB
Extreme IV Flash Cards (4). The Extreme
IV CF Cards are fast and I have not yet had any problems. Raw
images from the Nikon D2X are over 19MB in size, so I typically
get around 400 images per card. I've come close to filling
all four on one game drive, but not quite.
Desktop Slide
Scanner
Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED. I have scanned well
over 5,000 slides to date with this scanner. It scans at
up to 4000 dpi true optical resolution in 16-bit. The scanner
is also quite fast, even at 4000 dpi (which I recommend, but
note that the resultant image file is over 125MB). It has
a USB 2.0 interface and also does a decent job of scanning batches
up to 50 slides with the optional SF210 slide feeder. Note
that the batch scan feature was a life saver with all the slides
I had to scan, but it also locks up due to unknown communication
errors regularly. Still, even with the need to baby sit
the batch feeder, it would have taken me 10 times as long (or
more) to do each scan one at a time.
Image Storage
LaCie d2 Triple Interface Desktop Hard Drives. My
primary images files are stored on these desktop hard drives. I
have multiple hard drives up to 1Terabyte per drive (they keep making
bigger drives). The triple interface refers to USB 2.0/Firewire
400/Firewire 800 connection options. I use the Firewire
800 with my Mac's as this is the fastest. The drives are
small and they make a nice rack to mount them, but if racked,
don't leave them turned on all the time as these drives run a
bit hot and there's no space between the drives on the rack.
Exabyte VXA-2 FireWire Packet Tape Drive. Tape
Backup System (backup software shown below). Stores
up to about 70GB on a single Exabyte VXA Tape Cartridge (they
claim more, but image compression only goes so far and I've
only ever gotten 70GB). I store the tapes off site as
a secondary backup.
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JAMES'
SOFTWARE
Following is a list and some commentary on the different
software I use in conjunction with my photographic images. As
mentioned above, I am an Apple computer user.
Image Editing
Adobe
Camera Raw. Since
I shoot entirely in Raw mode, I use Adobe's Camera Raw (integrates
with both Bridge and Photoshop) to do any initial adjustments to
exposure, white balance (color temperature and tint), and for noise
removal. Really
a masterful piece of software and it works with all proprietary raw
formats. Camera Raw can perform white balance and tone mapping
adjustments to an image no loss of the original data (the digital
negative) that are not possible using Photoshop.
Adobe Photoshop CS3. The
standard image editing program used by nearly all professionals. Adobe
also make a "light" version called Photoshop Elements,
which has most of the tools needed by photographers who don't want
all the extra "bells and whistles". Photoshop Elements
is also priced substantially lower the full version of Photoshop.
Digital Asset
Management
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Adobe's new software which I use interchangeably with Adobe Bridge (Bridge ships as part of Photoshop and is discussed below). I use Lightroom to perform certain batch tasks like converting Raw images to Jpegs (great for creating email-size images of my son for sending to relatives), creating slide shows of my images and also doing Raw image adjustments (Lightroom uses the same Adobe Raw engine as is used by Bridge and Camera Raw). Lightroom does some things that Bridge does not (Printing, etc>0, but I believe Adobe is not quite sure where this software fits in with the rest of its image software.
Adobe Bridge. Part of Adobe's Photoshop CS3 software, this
is my tool for performing all initial edits (ie, deletes) of my images. I
use this software essentially as a combination file browser and virtual
light table for images (it can load and read all types of Raw files
using Adobe Camera Raw). It's
the first stop in my digital workflow.
Bridge is highly configurable
and you can save various different viewing layouts including
thumbnail and preview sizes, metadata views, a multitude of sorting
criteria, background colors, etc. I
use Bridge to strip out throwaways, perform batch processes (such as
renaming my files for easy ID based on the trip or project), and also
to add metadata such as copyright, keywords, descriptions and
my contact information. Certainly one
of the most used software programs on my computer.
Adobe DNG Converter. Adobe's
DNG (Digital Negative) Converter software is used to convert my Nikon
Raw files to Adobe DNG files. I do this format conversion
primarily to provide long-term insurance against file format
obsolescence because, unlike proprietary raw formats, the DNG format
is an open, documented format whose file spec is readily available.
Also, because proprietary raw formats are undocumented,
Adobe treats them as read-only files and adds a sidecar file (XMP
file) or creates a separate database to store each image's metadata,
such as copyright, keywords, etc. Since DNG is a documented
format, it's safe to write the metadata directly into the DNG file
itself, thus simplifying my workflow. Another benefit is that
the DNG files are compressed (lossless), reducing file sizes significantly
(up to 45% in my case) and saving space on your hard drives.
Extensis Portfolio. I
use Portfolio as my true Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. One
difference between a DAM system and file browser systems (like Adobe
Bridge, ACDSee, Lightbox, or the Windows File Browser) is that file
browsers work directly with the source files (in my case, large image
files). In contrast, a DAM system is a database that
contains thumbnail shortcuts to the original files (thus making the
DAM database far less memory intensive).
For finding images, anything is possible
as long as you add the applicable keywords to your image metadata.
For example, if I need to find all my images that have an
elephant or all images taken in Namibia, I do this search in Portfolio
and it brings up thumbnails of each.
Portfolio
can also burn a DVD of my entire image catalog or individual galleries
(with a browser only version of Portfolio
software installed on the DVD). Just like my own Portfolio database,
the DVD will only contain image thumbnails and all my searchable
metadata. I can easily send this DVD to a photo editor, who
can then browse and search my images and call me when they want one. There's
no risk of losing high-res images if the DVD goes missing as it only
contains thumbnail images. I can then FTP a high-res
version of an image if someone wants to use it.
If you have lots of images, a DAM system
is a good investment.
EMC Retrospect. Backup
software. I use Retrospect for making digital tape backups
of my image libraries for off-site storage. I use an Exabyte
Tape Drive for my tape backups (see hardware section above).
Slide Scanning
Lasersoft Silverfast Ai Studio. Slide scanning software for
use with nearly any desktop scanner (film and flatbed) made (see my
scanner above in my equipment section). I've used Silverfast
for many years and it just keeps getting better. You'll definitely
want to use its calibration software to create scanner profiles for
each film type you scan. To do so, you'll need to purchase calibration
targets. Contact me for my source if interested.
Have more questions? Feel free to call us
and we'll answer all your concerns with regards to cameras, digital
media, computers, software, etc.
GO
TO PAGE 1
(Camera Lenses and Binoculars)
(Digital Storage
/ Film and Digital ISO)
 |
Eyes
on Africa was selected most knowledgeable
Regional Expert for Southern Africa / Safaris by
National Geographic Traveler Magazine,
20th Anniversary Special Issue, October 2004. |
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