Andaman Islands, India. Red Snapper (Lutjanus bohar) caught with a stickbait. SB800 through Orbis Ring Flash

Andaman Islands, India. Red Snapper (Lutjanus bohar) caught with a stickbait. SB800 through Orbis Ring Flash, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

The Orbis Ring Flash sure is a great light modifier for my fishing portraits, is just a tad bulky to carry on a suitcase full of lures, reels and all kind of tackle. Fort this reason I not always bring it with me, but when I do I never regret. She is pretty, has a gorgeous smile and can perfectly hold a fish, a great plus for a fishing photo. I love the specular ring on her sunglasses, is a kind of brand signature of the Orbis.

SB800 through Orbis Ring Flash triggered with Nikon CLS

Gregory Heisler whiteboards his Rudy Giuliani Time Magazine cover

Now, if you think that shooting Bruce Sprinsteen sitting on a stool was an easy task, check this one. Rudolph Giuliani 65 stories up, with Heisner making it look as if he is lit by the New York lights instead of a complicated Prophoto set of artificial lights.

I'm amazed looking at the image and thinking of what has been put in the making of it. Incredibly smart and somehow logical. These videos are of much help for someone who is trying to learn how to deal with lights, thus the creativity must be there, for any different situation that might arise. That one, either you have it or not.

Gregory Heisler whiteboards his Bruce Springsteen Time Magazine cover

Gregory Heisler is one of those photographers that can make look simple the most difficult shootings. He's a regular on the Time Magazine cover, and in this short video he explains his set up for the session with Bruce Springsteen. You listen, you follow his sketch and you think is easy, then you try do do the same and it sucks...

Have a look at the video and take notes :-)

LumiQuest Softbox III for fishing portraits

At last I could use the Lumiquest Softbox III for my fishing photos. I took it to Ireland and to be honest it really worked wonder. Compared to the sort of light I can get from a bare speedlight, this small softbox delivers a fairly radical change, providing a much softer light with less harsh shadows and certainly a way more interesting atmosphere.


It's compact, lightweight and foldable; it only takes less than a minute to mount it on the flash, quite some advantages when handling a fish on one side and the camera in the other, well quite literally.

From the pictures I've done in Kerry and Cork there is one that I favour over the others, and for one simple reason. Apart from the light which is nice, what strikes me is the reflection of the small softbox in the fish's eye, something, in my humble opinion, which works pretty well and is way cool.

On the next trip I will try to bring the Orbis Flash too, this time it wasn’t possible due to luggage overweight problems. I’m very curious to see what kind of reflection will leave in the fish’ eye.

The "perfect models": The deep water Jobfish family

Many tropical jiggers hate this fish; I don’t even dare to repeat the names they call it or how disappointed they are when they land one. Is pretty easy to catch and its average size is not so exciting thus, to its detractors I like to point out a couple of things.

First of all I show them the size of the tail of the fish. Is just huge. This is a strong swimmer, fast and powerful. Then I tell’em that if this fish would grow in excess of 30 or 40 kilos nobody would be chasing Dogtooth Tunas anymore, because the Rusties pull way hard. When you catch eight kilos Jobfish you find yourself with your hands full, I promise. You start thinking you have a nice Doggie , or a medium Amberjack for that matter.

But my love for this fish doesn’t ends to its sport value. For me is the perfect subject for my distorted, over exaggerated, ultra wide angle photos. His mouth to me is as beautiful as the best mannequin’s face to a fashion photographer. The texture of its skin (scales) is just perfect for side lighting, and its colour a real plus when working against a blue sky. Is also easy to handle and to hold for the fisherman, which makes things better and most of the time is among the favourite choices for dinner, so there’s no hurry to release it.

Well, so much for those who don’t like it. I’m Rusty’s # 1 fan, bring’em in and I’ll shoot’em. You’ll probably ask me for the photo later 

The Black Pharaoh

Have you ever met a Black Pharaoh? Neither do I but I’m sure I met a descendant of the inhabitants of the Kingdome of “Kush” as the Egyptian called.

The Nubians where established in the northern part of Sudan and southern part of Egypt and their history reverts as far as 2000 B.C. First conquered by the Egyptians for their mines of Gold, the Ivory, cattle and Slaves, they got their freedom back around 700 B.C, not only chasing the Egyptians away but also gradually conquering the south of the country, founding the dynasty of the Black Pharaohs that will later unify and rule the whole of Egypt.

Well, I met my new my friend Negrashy, a true Nubian, on my latest trip. We were floating on some sort of fishing boat, scouting a new area in the south, and he was the man in control of the local burocracy and logistic. Is a great guy and we had a jolly good time together, but the real reason why is here in my blog, friendship apart, is because an early morning I took a nice picture of him.

Nikon Flash SB800 shot through a Honlphoto Grid. Nikon D90 with the Tokina 11-16, not the most flattering lens for a portrait, yet quite successful here, with this “tight” close up, as tight as a such wide angle allows.

Sensei Ryan Lobo. Learning from a photojornalist

During my last trip to the Andamans I met this young talented Indian photojournalist named Ryan Lobo. He was there to shoot a week of fishing in a different way, far different from what people like myself, who do this for specialist fishing mags, do. The images he took of myself with the Yellowfin Tuna where so radical that he said to me: " I don't think you will have these photos featured in a specialist magazine." In fact, the director of an Italian monthly confirmed that:"Nicola, I'm a photographer myself and I love these shots but I don't think our audience will understand them." Thus, I have learnt from Ryan many things: how to use the foreground, how to be more creative and escape the rules, how to zoom the flash, how to blur. Blur is cool :-)

I'll always be grateful to Ryan for the time he spent with me those days, and for me it has been an incredibly rewarding experience to be able to actually share some time with somebody experienced. http://www.ryanlobo.blogspot.com/

One curious man

We were just arrived in Port Blair, during my first trip to the Andaman Islands, and everybody was waiting for the crew to load the boats and depart to Havelock, our destination for the week. I was playing with my Nikon when I saw this fisherman nosing around very much attracted by the active gang. Taking this picture was a matter of a second, then I approached him and showed the LCD and he allowed me for another image. This one is still the best.