On my latest safari I took along my AF-S Nikkon 70-300mm lens instead of my usual Sigma 120-400mm. It was just a question of weight; I would be doing a lot of carrying and I wanted to keep my gear as light as possible. It still tipped the scales at 11kg! I almost never use the VR on the Sigma[…]
Read moreThis is the second part of my review of the Tamrac Expedition 6x camera backpack. The first part of the review covered first impressions of the backpack and how well it could accommodate all my gear. This second part is my impressions of the Tamrac Expedition 6x as a camera bag to use in the field. If you missed the[…]
Read moreMadikwe Safari Diary Day 3 After 2 pretty hectic days where we had been driving to all corners of the reserve, JP announced that this morning would be more sedate. We were just going to ‘bumble around’ and see what turned up; spending time with some of the other, less high profile, animals. That was fine with me. We’d enjoyed[…]
Read moreMadikwe Safari Diary Day 2 – Morning drive Where are the dogs? If there is one thing that Madikwe is renowned for it is African Wild Dogs. It is supposed to be the park where visitors stand the best chance of seeing these amazing predators because there are 2 resident packs. This was certainly one of the primary reasons why[…]
Read moreMadikwe Safari Diary Day 1 – Morning drive After a whole day of travelling yesterday – we’d driven over hours to get from Karongwe, in the North East, to Madikwe in the North West – it was great to be back out amongst the wildlife. After the dull, overcast conditions at Sabi Sands it was also great to see the[…]
Read moreSafari Diary, Sabi Sands, Day 3 Morning drive ((Excuse the quality of the photographs. I’m still on safari and not able to process photos properly on my old Toshiba Portege. I’ll re-do them all when I get back home)) As promised I have had a go at re-working the photos and you can find them in the African Wild Dog[…]
Read moreSafari Diary, Sabi Sands, Day 2 Afternoon drive ((Excuse the quality of the photographs. I’m still on safari and not able to process photos properly on my old Toshiba Portege. I’ll re-do them all when I get back home)) The skies showed no sign of clearing as we headed out for our afternoon game drive. In search of leopards We’d[…]
Read moreWe woke to a cool overcast morning. Leaving the lodge via the back road, the first animal we saw was a lone female Kudu. Something had clearly alarmed her but we couldn’t see what it might be. Julius, our tracker, pointed over the where a group of buffalo were lying together in the grass. As we made our way towards[…]
Read moreI touched down early on Sunday morning at OR Tambo International airport after a long – long and boring -flight from London via Abu Dhabi. I was very pleased to see from the arrivals screen that Pat’s flight from Perth had landed half an hour early so I wouldn’t have to wait around too long. Thanks for the fact that[…]
Read moreRecently I was looking at bird photographs posted on Birdphotographers.net and saw a really beautiful image of two crowned cranes in a courtship dance. (click here to see the photo) As usual, I looked at the technical info to see what lens the photographer had been using and was very surprised to see that it was a Sigma 300mm-800mm zoom[…]
Read moreIf you’re in the market for a new DSLR then this review of the Canon EOS70D from photographyblog.com will make interesting reading. A good in depth review of Canon’s latest DSLR together with a look at some of its main rivals.
Read moreDepth of Field Depth of Field (or DoF) is one of the most commonly used terms in photography and luckily it’s one that is fairly easy to explain. Quite simply it refers to the amount of your photograph, from front to back, that is in focus. It is a decision you need to make when considering how your photograph will[…]
Read moreMy purchase of a Tamrac Expedition 6x photo backpack marks a transitions for me. After 2 decades of Billingham bags and 5 years of Domke, I’ve decided that it’s time to try out a different style of camera bag. Ever since I started getting paid for taking photographs I’ve only ever owned 2 camera bags. (strictly speaking 3, but my[…]
Read moreIt weighs more than 4.5 kg and costs around £15,500 so Nikon’s 800mm f5.6 6E telephoto lens is not something that is within reach of every photographer. But for those of you out there who happen to have the odd £15,000 burning a hole in your pocket, here are a few user reviews of this substantial piece of glass. First[…]
Read moreThe AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR is Nikon’s long awaited successor to the venerable and now 13-year-old AF 80-400/4.5-5.6D VR. It covers a 5x zoom-range and has an improved optical design with quicker and quieter focusing and better image stabilization. Nikon’s 80mm-400mm lens has long been a favourite of wildlife photographers and this upgrade will be very welcome. Unfortunately[…]
Read moreCanon’s new EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x Lens is causing quite a stir. It certainly looks as though it could be a dream lens for wildlife photographers. As a Nikon user I am unlikely to ever get my hands on one so I can only look on enviously, but to help those Canon users out there who[…]
Read moreOne of the key things about taking kids on safari is to get them involved. A few years ago I escorted a couple of family groups on migration safaris in Kenya. Having children on safari changes the whole dynamic of a group. Whereas adults are content to use the time between game drives to relax, read, update diaries or catch[…]
Read moreI’ve become so used to travelling with about 12kg of cameras and lenses that it feels quite strange to be without them and have only my Fujifilm X10 compact camera for company. Getting along with a Compact Camera I’ve never been a fan of compact cameras. It has nothing to do with their capabilities it’s just that I love the[…]
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