Costa Rica, December 2024
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the end of the year is approaching once again. When this happened last year, I was physically and mentally drained. I told myself it couldn’t go on like this, that I needed to slow down and do things differently. Another year has passed. I’m sitting here in exactly the same state, with only one thought in my head: This time, for real! Let me be clear, though – it was (again) an amazing year! As they say, it was quite a ride.
Text: Petr Bambousek
Translation: ChatGPT
OM System OM-1 II + OM 150-600mm/5.0 – 6.3 promotion
January – February
It all actually began in the fall of 2023, when I had the honor of testing OM System’s new 150–600mm lens and the updated version of my primary camera, the OM-1 Mark II. Since the release of both was planned for early in the year, I spent my time creating and analyzing hundreds and thousands of photos to prepare materials for articles, interviews, and photographers’ questions. The biggest challenge for me was that until the camera’s official release, its RAW files weren’t supported by any of the editors I use. Well, there were some exceptions. The original OM Workspace handled them, but… let’s just say it’s not worth getting into details. Like all proprietary software from camera manufacturers, it has the same quirks – the images are viewable and editable, but the program’s concept is so clunky that everything is slow, image rendering is subpar compared to standard editors, and the interface is downright painful. That said, OM Workspace does display accurate colors and provides detailed EXIF data, including focus points, which makes it invaluable for presentations and analysis. Lightroom/Photoshop was one of the first programs to eventually support OM-1 II files, followed shortly by DxO PhotoLab 7. As if I wasn’t busy enough, I decided to dive more seriously into YouTube. I’d been mulling it over for ages, had plenty of topics in mind, and finally started talking to people as yet another talking head on the well-known video platform. I enjoyed it. At first, I ambitiously aimed to release one video a week, but that wasn’t sustainable. I switched to an irregular schedule, fully aware that my first trip to the tropics would halt my video production for a while. And sure enough, the chain of events soon made any more videos impossible. For added fun, I began updating my OM-1 PDF tutorial with all the new features of version II. Initially, I planned to add just 3–5 pages, but that clearly wasn’t enough. In the end, I added far more, revising nearly every page of the original text. The document now exceeds 100 pages. So, there went January, February, and half of March, in a whirlwind of testing, writing articles, creating the PDF, making YouTube videos, and discussing new gear on the market. By mid-March, it was time for my first trip to the tropics. I was submitting my final work from a hotel at Prague Airport – the first warning sign.
The first video from the first series on YouTube
Updated PDF with my OM-1 (II) settings for any Wildlife photography situation
March – April
With everything done, I was done too. It was finally time for a trip to Ecuador with an amazing group of people. Everything was well-planned and went smoothly. Dozens of bird species posed for us – many of them firsts for me even after all these trips. I returned in early April with 8,000 photos, probably my record for a single trip. My primary goal was to ensure my fellow travelers had the best photography opportunities. Before the trip, I’d been asked to contribute to upcoming books by Karel Šťastný, a legend in ornithology, about the birds of the world. I couldn’t refuse and promised to expand my species catalog on future trips. Specifically, I aimed to photograph more tanagers and finally get a decent shot of the Sword-billed Hummingbird. Although we’d encountered it on almost every trip to Ecuador, I’d always focused on something else and realized I didn’t have a proper photo of it. If fate allowed, I also hoped to capture the Torrent Duck, which shares a similar habitat and had distracted me from the hummingbird on previous trips. This trip was a resounding success: I added new tanagers, plenty of Sword-billed Hummingbirds, and even got the ducks. One unexpected twist came on the last day of the trip. While trying to photograph my new Peak Design camera bag in the field, I tripped over a rock, went airborne, and landed flat on my back. For a moment, I thought I was done for, as my back is my weakest point. Fortunately, I only bruised my thumb and wrist on my left hand. Though I didn’t realize at the time, the effects of that fall would linger into December.
A few photos from Ecuador 2024
April – May
Back from Ecuador, I intended to slow down. The year’s first quarter had seamlessly continued last year’s unsustainable pace. Surprisingly, I almost managed it for the first two weeks. But then it all picked up again. Spring brought its usual lineup of group and individual photography workshops, along with several online streams. I did carve out some personal time (not the magazine kind). I even got back on my bike a few times, started rehab for my back, and sought treatment for my injured thumb and wrist. Initially, the injuries weren’t too limiting, but I soon discovered I couldn’t hold a lens aloft – my wrist simply couldn’t handle it, and the pain outweighed any joy. After wearing a brace, the injuries healed over a few weeks, though my thumb still doesn’t bend like it used to. Improvement has been slow. This period had its highlights, too, including a collaboration with DxO, whose software helps me create my photos. My work is featured on their website, with a dedicated page in their Inspiration section. Some of my hummingbirds even appear when users open their software, and a few images are available for testing DxO’s capabilities. When I get back to making YouTube videos, I’ll definitely talk about the program’s capabilities. I think it’s a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to pay for Adobe or Capture One subscriptions. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Two and a half months flew by, and the part of the year I’d been looking forward to was finally here.
DxO Photolab 8 Pro interface and sample of my profile page on DxO websites
June – August
The plan for the next few months was clear: first, a trip to the Pantanal, then prepping my apartment for a partial renovation, a short vacation in Greece, and finally the long-awaited expedition to Papua and Sulawesi. I didn’t catch my breath until the end of August. Both trips (Pantanal and Papua) were epic, albeit for different reasons. The Pantanal offered an incredible array of opportunities despite the worsening drought that continues to plague the region. Would you like to join an expedition to Pantanal in May/June 2025? Here are the details. I believe it will be another fantastic adventure. Papua, on the other hand, was epic for its sheer intensity. Daily wake-ups around 3 a.m., long treks through muddy rainforest in the dark, endless waits for fleeting chances, spartan accommodations, and the opportunity to photograph species I’d only ever seen in books. Another dream fulfilled, but also extreme physical exhaustion. Could this finally be the moment to take a break?
A few photos from Pantanal 2024
A few photos from Papua & Sulawesi 2024
September – November
I had a period ahead of me that I thought would allow me to catch up on all the unfinished business of the year. Everything I had postponed was now on the agenda. I had almost three months of free time. Time for a new wave of courses, especially individual ones. To boost efficiency, I got myself a new Apple Mac Mini M4. I planned to create videos and the promised tutorials.
But soon, the requests started rolling in:
“Would you like to try the new Peak Design Outdoor backpack?” – Well, of course, I have plenty of free time right now!
“Do you have time for an online stream?” – Of course, I have free time.
“Can you join an online Zoom meeting?” – Of course, I have free time.
“How about a lecture at a Polish nature photography festival?” – Definitely, I have free time.
“Could you prepare a set of photos?” – Sure, I have free time.
“We’re filming a promo for the FotoŠkoda Fest, want to join?” – Absolutely, I have free time.
Well, what can I say? My idea of “free time” quickly clashed with the sheer volume of commitments I made. And as Viktor Chernomyrdin’s now-classic saying goes: “We wanted to do it as best as we could, and it turned out as it always does.”
Mac Mini M1 a Mac Mini M4 size comparison
December
And so it happened that I left for the last trip of the year (to Costa Rica) once again utterly exhausted. But Costa Rica never disappoints – it’s always a guarantee of amazing travel and fantastic photography opportunities. The first week went exactly as planned. But, as Woody Allen’s famous saying goes: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.” In the second week, a storm rolled in with heavy rain and fog, causing floods, landslides, long traffic jams, and making key areas inaccessible – the very places where our trip was supposed to culminate. Goodbye peace of mind, hello improvisation, itinerary adjustments, and visits to locations we hadn’t originally planned. This led to the unexpected chance to photograph things we weren’t supposed to see at all. In the literal last minutes of the trip, it all culminated with a dramatic encounter: a boa constrictor in the middle of a dusty road, suffocating an iguana. As the saying goes: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Once again, I returned with a mountain of photos, though I’ve only had time to process a few.
A few photos from Costa Rica 2024
What are my plans for 2025?
After returning from Costa Rica, everything happened quickly. Now I’m sitting here post-Christmas, and my Mac Mini M4 is asking me: What’s the plan? Are we going to do those promised videos, tutorials, and other activities? We will, buddy, we will. In just a few days, it’ll be New Year’s Eve. We’ll draw a thick line and start fresh. This time, for real. Seriously. I’ve got January and February 2025 free and a year packed with plans. A new website, a video course on flash photography, another on Lightroom, new YouTube videos, organizing photo expeditions, writing down my travel experiences, starting work on my photo book, running individual courses, embarking on new journeys, splitting the atom… I’ve got everything planned perfectly. It’s bound to work out, right? What could possibly go wrong…
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