HarveyG

To watch the mothers and children initially playing in the mud was so much fun. Then the old bull emerged from the bush, where he was hidden from our view feeding. With a flick of his trunk and a subtle move of his body the entire herd stopped playing, as if chided by him, and then proceeded to regroup and leave the water sports in the dam to go dry off. It was inspiring to witness the interaction and intelligence of these massive creatures, and yet not a sound was made by any one of them. Read on to see an edited image and decide what impact that has overall.

Elephant Dust Bath, Nsemani Dam, H7 near Satara © HarveyG Photography

(continue reading…)

Photographic Workshops:

I’ve had the good fortune to travel around Africa on my photo tours/workshops and see many camps, lodges, parks, hotels, conference centres and the like. There are only a handful that are memorable and make you want to return time and again. Not just the scenery, wildlife, facilities and peacefulness but what really makes the difference is the people. Seokama is one of those rare places where you can relax with family and friends and truly feel at home.

At the beginning of, and throughout the summer I visit Dave, Monika, Peter, Ryan, John and Tepa. The Waterberg is one of my favourite bush-veld getaways. Whilst there are dozens of lodge choices in the area, I occasionally need some escape from the pressure of only chasing the Big 5 for clients and not focussing on the other wild and birdlife, scenery that Africa has to offer.

Seokama Private Lodge is this escape.

Lodge Building. Seokama Private Lodge.

Sunrise

Vista

African Sunsets

Within walking distance from the lodge, 4 luxury canvas tents sleeping 8 on very comfy beds, each one with a covered verandah and an en-suite bathroom where the shower overlooks the bush at the back (just your head is visible!). A well appointed lodge with kitchen, lounge, bar and pool deck with views of the bush-veld savannah tucked amongst some beautiful mountains and landscape, a boma with Bush-Baby’s calling at night, has all one really needs to wind down. There is also a conference centre for hire, with facilities. Seokama has an abundance of bird life, especially around the summer rainfalls, as well as a good variety of game..

(continue reading…)

I’ve been asked that dreaded question again:
Q: More Mega-pixels is better, right?
A: Sure, if you can afford an H4d-200MS or 645DF & IQ180 Medium Format…with a lens or two.
Q: What’s Medium Format?
A: * Sigh *

Nikon Canon Nikon Canon ...

Has aggressive marketing and consumerism made potential DSLR buyers really believe that N is better than C or C better than N thanks to the Mega-pixel count of the latest release? Are Mega-pixels the be all and end all buying factor of the perceived quality of a digital camera and thus the only basis for a purchasing decision? It’s as bad a question as the “What camera is better? Nikon or Canon?” Define “better”?

What about Sony, Sigma, Pentax, Kodak, Olympus, Fuji, Samsung, Panasonic, Leica, Hasselblad, Phase One, Mamiya, Zeiss etc. Are they no good? Never heard of them? Won’t consider them?

Sensor Sizes (Not to scale) Image courtesy Wikipedia. Click on the image to go their comprehensive sensor article.

What about the actual sensor dimensions used in various iterations of all these brands and cameras?
What about the TYPE of sensor, the design and the technology of the actual sensors that record the image? There are many different types of sensors each with their own unique design and improvements over the years. How does the manufacturers in-camera image processing software algorithms shape up? Do you need to shoot low light without flash? Are you only shooting in natural light. Wildlife, events, PJ? How about studio work?
Are lenses/glass quality also not part of this equation? Do you want one lens that goes from wide angle for landscapes to 600x zoom for spotting the tick on a Warthog’s butt at 200 meters? It’s ok, it’s got anti-shake! Will it still be as sharp on a P&S 600mm 12Mp with 1/1.8″ sensor (24.7mm²) as on a full frame 24Mp with 600mm f/4? with a 35mm (370 mm²) sensor? What about the signal-noise ratio? The larger sensor also has less clipping.

Based on ones need, I can make a purchasing suggestion wrt body, make, model, lens and sensor type/mega-pixel choice. It’s about the intended use, not only the Mp. Get a FF DSLR and the 4 or 5 lenses you will need to go from Ultra Wide Angle to Super Zoom at 800mm. Now try sneak it on as hand luggage on your way to the Serengeti.

There is not one definitive answer unless money is no object. Note that these two cameras are used in mostly studio and product photography and may not be ideal or practical for wildlife, astronomy, your next fishing trip (or event work?) due lens selection and body size, practicality and even weather resistance:

Who here has seen (drooled over) the Hasselblad H4D-200MS yet?

Hasselblad H4D-200MS - CCD based back.

Or the Phase One 645DF with IQ180 Digital Back?

Phase One 645DF - CCD based back.

In order to answer the More Mp is better question:

What is your intended use of the camera? (Holiday snaps to billboard advertisements of supercars/models).
What print size do you want? (Postcard or a wall mounted A1 Canvas?)
What is your budget!? (How deep are your pockets?)
Have you got old AF or MF lenses from the film days and what brand? (Saving money on glass allows you to spend more on new body technology)
How big are your hands and how strong is your back? (Good glass weighs a tonne)

You can see where I am going with this… (continue reading…)

Despite 4 hours of standing outdoors in the freezing Highveld winter near Jo’burg, it was fun! What photography isn’t? Thanks to my friend Wayne for letting me shoot on his plot and keeping the coffee, red wine and conversation flowing! I eventually lost the feeling in my feet, it was so cold. The joys of outdoor photography

Lunar Eclipse 2011 06 15 © HarveyG Photography

How was it shot? See my technique here:

(continue reading…)

Nikon VR Cutaway on the Nikon Coolpix 8800 (Image from www.digitalreview.ca)

I’ve done a lot of research online and yet to come up with a difinitive solution. When I do I’ll post it here.Generally I was of the opinion that one should NOT use VR “On” with a ‘pod as it can confuse the VR. But with VRII that has changed somewhat.

In the interim here is the official position of Nikon with some of their VR’s when used on a tripod.

I’ve only just started posting to DP Review and am quite excited to have one of my images achieve a top 10 (9th out of 200 entries) in a very short space of time. Candid portraiture is a speciality and favourite photographic subject of mine, especially at events I shoot.

Chinese Dancer © HarveyG Photography

The winner of the competition was another South African, Joggie Van Staden with “Joyfull”. Well done Joggie! Classic portrait and wonderful emotion.

Joyfull © Joggie Van Staden

Gear I use: Bodies: Nikon D-SLR’s / Lenses: Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar /
Filters: Hoya UV & Polarizing / Flash: Nikon Speed-lights / Bag: Lowe Pro /
Tripods & Heads: Manfrotto / Grips and Batteries: Phottix
Editing Plug-in: Topaz Labs for Noise Reduction, HDR.