Riding a bus with Osama Bin Laden, Part 1

I knew I wasn't going crazy when even the Chinese border guards stopped our bus to question our fellow passenger, Osama bin Laden. So we called him anyway. Our Pakistan-bound bus was traveling the Karakoram highway from Kashgar, an ancient city along the Silk Road in Southwest China. Our 18 passenger bus was full of Pakistanis of various tribes, a few Ughier, and me a white American with a clean military-looking haircut. Oh, and also a passenger who bared a terrifying resemblance to O.B.L., whom the Chinese guards were now questioning behind a closed door at this lonely high altitude boarder post, a few dozen miles away from where Osama was supposedly in hiding. I nervously waited on the bus while my fellow passengers talked in their own languages, seemingly saying something like "nah, he can't be... or could it really be him?".

It was July 2006 and I was on my way to Pakistan to work with Shelters for Life, a group helping the victims of the devastating earthquake that took place the year before. The two day, once-a-week trip from the Kashgar bus station was suppose to leave at 10am, but because of a prolonged cargo negotiation by one of passengers, we did not leave until noon. Waiting outside the bus, I was getting familiar with the other passengers and what they looked like. But it was only a minute or two before we departed, after we were on the bus, did "Osama" and his two friends emerge from nowhere and sit down just two rows ahead of me.

My heart raced and palms moistened at the same time as the bus jerked forward into first gear, inching out into the traffic of Kashgar and heading south towards Pakistan. My mind began to process what was happening. It was obviously preposterous to think that OBL could actually be on my bus, but at the same time, it was shocking to me that I couldn't entirely rule out the possibility. I tried to remember "facts" that our U.S. government knew about the man. He was said to be fairly tall, in his 50's, and travelled with an entourage of security. This man was not that tall, younger looking, perhaps in his 40's, and only had two people with him. Not a match. Ok, I can relax. But what if the intel on him was wrong? We were wrong and missed so many obvious things both pre and post 9/11, that the tiny chance I was now a target of a drone missile was still on my mind. Was Osama getting plastic surgery in China and laying low among the million or so Uigher muslims? I actually looked out the windows for a time, trying to see if there was anything up there circling us in the clear blue sky and I studied the lock mechanism on the window in case I somehow had to make a jump for it before the bus was blown into a million pieces.

Part 2 coming soon!

I mentioned in my last post about the new website and gave the link, but forgot to provide the link to the new wedding photography blog. Wedding photographers that I know almost exclusively use wordpress and I made the switch earlier this year. It's not intuitive at first, but once you get the hang of it the features blow away blogspot by a mile. I might post here from time to time, but for my latest wedding photography work as well as some personal/ travel photography, check out my new blog.

The New Dan Johanson Wedding Photography site is now up! And of course the new blog has received an upgrade too. Thanks for stopping by the old blog, but this won't be updated much in the future. Check the links above for the latest DJP has to offer.

well blogger, it's a been a good ride. This is my last post here -- from now on, please find my new wedding photography blog here

I finally posted some wedding photography tips for couples at my site www.johansonphoto.com

But for those blog fans out there, here you go!

Whoever you choose to capture your wedding, these tips might come in handy as you plan the big day.

1. Communicate the must have shots to your photographer. If you see something on the web or in a magazine that you must have, be sure to forward that in advance (it might be difficult to verbally describe on the wedding day).

2. Plan and think carefully about how much time you allot to taking pictures. Even the best photographer needs at least 10 minutes to do a good set of portraits. Consider doing bride/ bridesmaid, groom/ groomsman photos before the ceremony, which will reduce time needed for post-ceremony photos. Even better is to do all the portraits ahead of the ceremony. This option really has tremendous upside (if one can set aside the superstitions) 1) you get to have a private moment before all the non-stop craziness starts, which should help alleviate some anxiety and stress you might be feeling. 2) Your photographer can capture that amazing moment when you first see each other-- these shots are FULL of wonderful emotion and make GREAT photos. 3) Getting these out of the way ahead of time allows you to enjoy more of the reception. I have more schedule suggestions that will get posted soon.

3. Enlist help. Choose a friend or relative that knows a good number of folks who will join the formal pictures. Get this person a shot list and have them help corral everyone for each picture. This speeds up picture taking and allows your photographer to focus on composing and taking great portraits. Also consider not to getting carried away with your shotlist. Assuming your photographer is slanted toward a journalistic approach, he/she will likely can get far more interesting candids of all the bubbly happiness following the ceremony.

Would like to know more? Check out the wedding galleries, package rates, or how it supports a cause when you hire DJP

Finally got the new website up - www.johansonphoto.com

Our good friends here in Yokohama -- Arnold and Nora. I'm experimenting a bit with a new photoshop plugin called Topaz. I'm not sure I like the effect but it certainly does something amazing for very little effort on my part. Yeh or ney?

Glenn and Vickie picked the perfect place to get married -- in a beautiful backyard in the hills of Alamo, CA on a warm September afternoon. Vickie's surprise was a darling new haircut which Glenn didn't know about until she walked down the isle. Thanks guys for the amazing privilege to work with you. Glenn, we'll definitely drop by your studio when we're in LA. :-)