Fran Reidelberger

With gloom and doom all around, and an 11th-story open window nearby, I went mentally searching for something positive to keep me grounded and focused on the future.

In this setting, my thoughts turned to the wonders of travel filmmaking and how the ever-changing landscape of technology gives us an opportunity to learn something new every day.

Speaking of learning, here are two educational episodes that enriched my life in the past six months:

(1) If you’re not going to read/believe the instruction manual that says never let the recording microphone on your Sony 2000 get wet because it will cause said recording device to malfunction, you should always take at least two cameras on a field trip. Having “learned” that lesson on a dreary day in Bavaria this spring but still wanting to film a rain sequence, I also learned that not only will a little zip lock bag over the recording mic save the device, it will also produce an interesting soundtrack of rain crackling on the plastic bag.

(2) In search of an unusual/dramatic angle while filming even a common subject, you should carefully consider the risk/reward ratio before proceeding. At a wild bird sanctuary/hospital in the Bavarian Forest, I insisted upon lying on my back directly in front of and under a Golden Eagle about to be released for his daily flight exercise. Do you have any idea how much a Golden Eagle poops on take off, and how rotten it smells on your face, and how hard observers can laugh at your discomfort? I do. Now.

It’s finally my turn to meet with the financial consultant. I’ve decided not to yell at him and/or threaten his manhood. Instead, I’m going to invite him to go to the Bavarian Forest with me where I’ll teach him how to get a great picture of a Golden Eagle.

The writer is a veteran cinematographer and in the Travel Film Hall of Fame.