Adobe has released a public beta for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5. It was only around 12-14 months ago that Lightroom 4 was released and now Adobe has unleashed a Lightroom 5 beta to the masses. The main new features for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 are touted by Adobe as: Advanced Healing Brush – Easily remove objects and fix defects—even those… Read more →
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Recommended Packing List – Photography Expedition – Xinjiang China – Spring
With our departure for our Investigative Photography Expedition to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China looming I thought it pertinent to pen a recommended packing list. The Xinjiang region of China at this time of year doesn’t have the extremes of heat/cold or humidity of the other regions I have recently visited, but it does have regions of high altitude which can be… Read more →
10 items to pack in your camera bag for your next photography expedition
All too often when getting ready for a photography expedition we focus on packing our camera gear with little time spent focussing on anything else. I must admit I’m guilty of it. I’ll pack every lens, lens cloths, a stack of memory cards, too many batteries, a tripod, 2 camera bodies, spirit levels, cable release, filter sets, a good 17kg+… Read more →
Free Webinar – X-Rite & Nik Software Webinar: Tips and Techniques for Shooting Ice and Snow
My good friend and colleague, Joshua Holko, is running a free webinar: X-Rite & Nik Software Webinar: Tips and Techniques for Shooting Ice and Snow. As most of you would know, Joshua is an award winning photographer who specializes in Polar and Sub-Polar Photography Expeditions. His photographs have won awards world wide. If you’d like to get some insight as to… Read more →
A flurry of feathers and squawks – Bird Photography – Rainbow Lorikeets
Bird Photography is not my speciality by any means, but I do have a passion for birds that I’ve carried from my childhood.
As I was unpacking the car from our most recent family camping trip I heard the chatter of some local birds as they were feeding in my front garden.
Funnily enough I had just picked the trusty Lowepo Computrekker AW out of the boot as that familiar noise hit my ears. I put the bag down, unzipped and luckily my 70-200 f/2.8 IS was mounted to one of my bodies (Why it was on the 5D Mark III and not the 1D Mark IV I’ll never know but I didn’t have time to change it).
I picked it up.
Flipped the switch to on.
Its a clean card and I’ve got battery.
As I started to stalk slowly and silently as possible through my bush garden I changed the drive mode to Silent High Speed.
I set Focus Mode to AI Servo.
I slowed and start to inch my way towards to the sounds of feeding birds I took off my lens cap…. and subsequently dropped it on a rock. I froze. I waited. I wasn’t greeted by the sound of birds taking flight.
I starting inching forward again.
As I peaked around one Grevillea bush to the back corner of my front yard I was greeted with the sight of two Rainbow Lorikeets feeding on the nectar from the flowers on another Grevillea bush just a mere six feet away.
I must admit, I stood and stared. The Rainbow Lorikeets are so vibrant in colouration and like most parrots quite vocal. A true pleasure to observe.
A moment later I lifted my camera, starting shooting. A bunch of frames later, the Lorikeets had noted my presence with a quick glance and took flight in a flurry of feathers and squawks.
As I sit and contemplate starting to get organised for my investigative expedition to XinJiang, China with Joshua, I do wonder sometimes how that we travel all over the world yet sometimes overlook the beauty that can be found right on our front doorsteps. Luckily for me, my landscaping in my front garden and my proximity to bushland area means that I have the pleasure of Bird Photography without travel.
Canon 5D Mark III Canon 70-200 f/2,8 IS, ISO 800 f/3.2 1/1250
Canon 5D Mark III Canon 70-200 f/2,8 IS, ISO 800 f/3.5 1/2000
Family, Friends and Fog Photography
With only a few weeks now until Joshua and I head out on Xinjiang Investigative Expedition its always nice to some spend quality time with my family and friends. With constant travel throughout the year when I am home I really try and make the most of my time with family and friends. And what better time to catchup with friends and family… Read more →
Jewels of the Arctic August 2013 Limited Places Available
Just a quick update, limited places are available for the Jewels of the Arctic expedition August 18th to August 31st 2013 that I am assisting Moab Master, Wilderness, Landscape and Wildlife Photographer, Joshua Holko –www.jholko.com who is co-leading this trip with Grand Master of Photography, Peter Eastway – www.petereastway.com. If you are interested in grabbing one of the remaining places and would like more… Read more →
Photographers Gloves – Freehands Stretch Thinsulate – Review
One of the most frustrating things about photographing in cold climates is funnily enough the cold. Well not really the cold, rather the problems that arise during cold photography expeditions. <br><br> First and foremost we always look after keeping ourselves warm. That’s something we can do quite easily by donning layer upon layer of clothing with an outer layer of… Read more →
Photography Expedition – Vanuatu- Volcanic Ash meets Coral Sand
Whilst on a photography expedition to the Vanuatu archipelago I was able to experience the variety of beach types. Vanuatu a wide variety of colours and textures of beach sands on offer; white fine grain sand, coarse coral sand and volcanic ash black sand. Due to the Volcanic heritage of Vanuatu, lying on the edge of the Indo-Australian and… Read more →
Immersing Oneself In Local Culture Can Produce Amazing Photographs
When on any photography expedition, it is important to immerse yourself in the local culture. Doing so can produce amazing photographs. Local markets are always a buzz of life, culture and color. And depending on the type of market, there is usually a vast array of culinary delights to tickle your taste buds whilst you make your way about. (But… Read more →
Sometimes its the little things that make a big photograph
Its all too easy when travelling to a location to get hyper focussed on the location one is heading to. How one will take a photograph. I know, I’ve done it myself, and I’ll do it again for sure. Hiking along a track, walking along a cliff face, sitting patiently in a 4WD with thoughts of the destination running through… Read more →
Humidity, Mildew and Photography Equipment – What you can do.
Humidity is the plague of all photographers world wide, the root cause of mildew in lenses and camera bodies. Having been in Vanuatu now for a few days I have had a chance to experience much of the local weather and I must say I am a little over the humidity. Speaking to a local amateur photographer, he lamented the… Read more →
Tropical Photography Expedition Packing Guide
On Sunday I’m flying out to Vanuatu for a 7 day / 6 night photography expedition. As I am slowly packing my gear off my own recommended tropical photography expedition packing guide, I thought I’d share my packing guide for Tropical climates. I pack off essentially the same recommended packing list that I give to my clients give or take a few… Read more →
The Digital Negative Book Review
The Digital Negative – Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw and Photoshop by Jeff Schewe is the latest book to grace to my bedside table. Having recently completed reading the book I thought I would share my thoughts with The Digital Negative Book Review. I must admit that in the past I was a book collecting nut! I bought every photography… Read more →
Canon 200-400 F4 L IS with 1.4x extender Prototype Hands On Review
Below is a hands on review of the Canon 200-400 F4 L IS with 1.4x extender Prototype by Joshua Holko
Canon 200-400 Pre-Production Sample Lens Review from Joshua Holko on Vimeo.
Pre Production prototype review of the new Canon 200-400mm F4L IS Telephoto Lens with inbuilt 1.4 teleconverter on the Canon 1DX camera with Landscape Nature and Wilderness Photographer Joshua Holko – www.photographyexpeditions.com
GURA GEAR BATAFLAE 32L vs. GURA GEAR KIBOKO Camera Bag Review and Comparison by Joshua Holko
Late last year my good mate Joshua Holko and I were in a nearby nature reserve. Whilst we were waiting for the light to improve we decided to shoot a short video of the differences between the original Gura Gear Kiboko and the new Bataflae 32L camera bag. Given that between the two of us there was the original Kiboko and the new Bataflae 32L and with lighting conditions not what we were looking for it was time to switch the Canon 5D Mk III into video mode and sho0t a couple of short videos.
This is the first video in a series of camera bag review, comparison and use for the new Gura Gear Bataflae 32L.
As you can tell by the audio, I hadn’t packed an external mic with a windscreen which I will remember to leave in my kit in future I promise.
Jump over to Joshua’s blog to read Joshua’s thoughts on the bag and the video.
Here is a direct link to the camera bag review and comparison video.
Mount Batur – Bali, Indoneisa
Indonesia is dominated by Volcanoes. Being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia reisdes on the edge of two tectonic plates. In fact there are some 150 Volcanoes throughout Indonesia and its many islands, with 127 of these currently active. When travelling to Indonesia there was no way of stopping me visiting some of these mammoth ruptures on our planets surface.… Read more →
Investigative Expedition to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China
2013 is starting to look very exciting and I can’t wait to share the latest news. As you will have already read I will be travelling and working on the Jewels of the Arctic trip with Joshua Holko and Peter Eastway in August. Prior to this I will be spending a week in the absolutely stunning Iceland which I cannot wait to… Read more →
Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity and Travel Photography
We all love travel photography. Visiting interesting places, seeing the sights, meeting local people and …. photographing each and every single one of them. After all its what we came here to do wasn’t it? Photograph everything? I’ve been guilty of this in the past, indiscriminately photographing everyone and everything that came into sight. But is it the right thing… Read more →
Using Google Earth to plan a landscape shoot
Technology has come a long way since the old days of topography maps. More often than not during my 4WD travels I will carry topographic maps as a backup to today’s modern GPS mapping devices but very rarely do I crack the old map folder out unless the electronic maps don’t show a track that I’m looking at. Even with… Read more →