Archives
The Nikon D500 – is this the ultimate DX wildlife camera?
The news that Nikon will be bringing us the Nikon D500, a brand new professional grade DX format camera, in March this year has been eagerly awaited by many Nikon enthusiast for quite some time. For the past 20 months, as a keen and enthusiastic amateur, I’ve been using the 36 MP full frame Nikon ... Read more
A hard working male
Late afternoon I took my D800 and Sigma 150-600mm for a stroll through the vineyards and encountered a male Pin-tailed Whydah, hard at work impressing the ladies – and I mean hard at work in his breeding finery – small red beak, pure white rump with black back and wings and then off course the long, long black tail. ... Read more
Eagle-Owl with prey – Wildlife Video with Sigma 150-600mm Sports
So late one afternoon this past March, we return to Skukuza camp in the Kruger National Park and stop on a bridge when we hear this repetitive, strange and haunting call and find a pair of Verreaux’s Eagle-Owls squabbling over a dead baby monkey. After a good long look and a few photographs, we head ... Read more
Lightroom CC Panorama stitching tips
After a long and gruelling trip, through deserts, over mountains and down steep sandy valleys we finally arrived at our destination, the Tatasberg Wilderness Camp, in the dark, long after sun-set. Early the following morning with the first light of dawn, I headed out and climbed the koppie (small rocky hill) behind our camp with tripod and camera in hand, exited about what might unfold as the day breaks. As you have seen above, I was not disappointed – this remains one of my favourite images. ... Read more
Wildlife Photography Basics: Part1 – Camera master class
How to guide for aspiring wildlife nature and travel photographers - Part 1: Get to know your camera backwards - every button, every dial, every setting.
Wildlife Photography Basics – a multi-part tutorial I’ve often been asked by many friends and colleagues for tips and guidance on how to get started as an aspiring wildlife photographer so, in line with my pay-it-forward philosophy, herewith the first in a series of articles on the basics of wildlife photography. Of course, many of the basic ... Read more
Sigma TC1401 teleconverter – Review and sample shots
Quick field review of the Sigma TC1401 teleconverter on the Sigma 150-600mm Sports with sample shots taken with a Nikon D800
This 1.4 times converter changes the lens to a 210-840mm f/7.1-9.0 super telephoto. It adds 40% in reach, 1 f/stop loss in aperture and adds an additional 190 g in weight, which takes the lens to 3.05Kg. What I wanted to confirm was: Is it usable early in the morning at first light Is the autofocus able to lock on subjects fast and reliably, including birds in flight Are the resultant images still sharp enough? ... Read more
Tips for default camera settings for wildlife photography
My default camera settings forces the highest possible shutter speed using the Nikon “auto-ISO” setting – this results in the best chance of freezing unexpected action and for pin-sharp hand-held shots with long telephoto lenses ... Read more