CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

In just over two weeks time we will head up to the Highlands of Scotland and visit our friends on the Isle of Skye.  Weather permitting the trip will present some good opportunities for landscape and wildlife photography. This shot was taken in June 2012 and is of 'Bla Bheinn', or Blaven, and some of the other Cuillin peaks reflected in Loch Slapin on the road near Torrin.  The image was originally shot in colour on a Nikon D300S and Sigma 10-20mm f4.5/5.6 ultra wide lens.  The file was converted to mono using NIK Silver EFEX Pro2 software. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MAC...

This was the scene from the Mull Charters boat that we were on when we were spotting the White Tailed Sea Eagles.   The day had started very overcast and it was raining but as we headed out from Ulva Ferry the clouds started to lift, as did the rain.  As we approached the coast where the Sea Eagles were located the tops of the mountains and cliffs were covered in mist and low lying cloud that spilled over and down the rocks towards the sea.  I saw a rock tower that was the perfect focal point and with the Sigma 50-500mm zoom lens I was able to isolate the area perfectly. The image was taken on a Nikon D800 with a Sigma 50-500mm f4/f6.3 lens at 1/1000 @ f8 ISO500 and converted to a mono image in Silver Efex Pro2. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE NEW GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fe...

The Focus on Imaging Show is the biggest photography show in the UK and I have to admit that this year is the first time I have ever attended. Held at the NEC in Birmingham, the four day show started yesterday (Sunday) and we chose today to attend having registered for our free tickets in January. The New X100S The obvious place to start was the Fujifilm stand as I wanted to see the new Fujifilm X100S and compare it to my X100 Black.   On the outside the cameras look identical except for the 'S' emblazoned on the front of the body and the 'Q' button in place of the RAW button on the backplate.  Also on the cosmetic front, the X100S is only available in silver and I like my all black X100.   The manual focus seems slightly better on the 'S' but not significantly and the AF also seemed slightly faster but, again, not significantly.   The 'S' was also slightly quicker on start up. However these differences, coupled with the new 16MP X-TRA...

There was a bit of good news this morning when the March issue of Outdoor Photography magazine arrived in the post, one of my images that I had submitted for their 'Night' photography competition had been picked for the top 10 submitted images. The shot was of Calve Island off the Isle of Mull in Tobermory Bay and was taken at dawn just over a year ago.  It was taken on a Nikon D90 and a Sigma 18-50 f2.8 lens, exposure was 30 seconds at f11 and I used a tripod. While there is no prize for a runner up the fact that they chose this image is reward enough as the photography in this publication is outstanding with many of the contributors are my favourite landscape and wildlife photographers.  And there is a link to my website, so a bit of free publicity as well.   If you don't subscribe, the March issue of Outdoor Photography will be in the shops in a couple of days. The two pages from the March issue of Photography Magazine ---------------------...

In the Digital SLR Photography CC Facebook group I belong to we have started to run weekend challenges with the owner of the image that receives the most 'likes' choosing the subject of the next challenge.  This weekend's challenge is 'silhouettes' and this is one of my favourite photographic genres.  It is also dead easy to learn. Sail boat sunset - off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa - Nikon D90 + Sigma 50-500 f4/f6.3 The subject has to be strong and it also has to be backlit (ie the light source is behind the subject).  This usually means sunlight but you can use off camera flash, a street light or other bright source of illumination. My silhouettes are usually landscapes but I have used the technique to shoot wildlife as well.  The technique is very simple.   Find a suitable subject with a strong light source behind. Set your camera on aperture priority or manual exposure at around f8 or f11 and take a meter reading off a brig...

I have been lucky enough to travel the world with my job and with my family and take photographs of wild animals in their natural habitat.  However not everyone can afford to travel to these exotic places and take an organised safari or boat trip, so the next best thing is zoos and safari parks in the UK.  I'll be honest I don't like the concept of zoos but most now have conservation programmes that means their existence can now have a positive effect on the wild populations of endangered animals.  London's Regents Park Zoo in one such establishment at the forefront of these various campaigns.  We visited the zoo in 2007, which was also my first trip to London Zoo for 30 years, since my childhood.  Things have changed for the better and all the enclosures have a natural feel.  However at the end of the day I still have mixed feelings because however nice the enclosures are they are still cages for the public to go and see these magnificent creatu...