Nikon D800

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Roger

Wow! Look at this press release I just received from Nikon South Africa on the new Nikon D800′ the replacement for the well loved D700. Looks like it’s going to be a wonderful camera! Contact us for pricing and other information

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Johannesburg, South Africa, 7th February 2012 – Nikon in South Africa today announces a groundbreaking new 36.3 megapixel FX-format professional D-SLR, the Nikon D800.

Designed to answer the needs of tomorrow’s photography and video today, the masterful Nikon D800 is packed with new technology that delivers unprecedented levels of depth and detail in photography, and offers all the flexibility necessary to shoot broadcast quality video.

Firmly establishing a league of its own, the Nikon D800 offers imaging potential to rival medium format cameras, but with all of the agility of the D-SLR format — giving professionals who demand attention to detail the freedom to create monumental images.

In an industry first, this exciting launch includes a special edition of the D800 – the Nikon D800E. With a modified optical filter, the D800E offers a unique alternative for those seeking the ultimate in definition.

Romi Jacobs, Chief Brand Officer for Nikon in South Africa said: “The Nikon D800 is the ultimate full-frame D-SLR with significant ramifications for the future of image making and video. The overwhelming 36.3 megapixel resolution resolves detail like never before and the comprehensive video options will captivate moviemakers of all disciplines.” She added: “We’re really excited about what the D800 means for anyone who is serious about telling stories through still images, movies or both.”

The big picture

The groundbreaking 36.3 megapixel FX-format (full-frame) CMOS sensor incorporates key technology that enables unprecedented levels of detail and tonal range.

12-channel readout with 14-bit A/D conversion and high signal-to-noise ratio: delivers images of remarkable quality with low noise and wide dynamic range.

Broad ISO: offering an ISO range of 100–6400, extendable up to 25600 (equivalent) and down to 50 (equivalent), the D800 will set a new benchmark for D-SLRs with this level of resolution. The camera’s intelligent noise reduction systems manage noise without sacrificing fine details, allowing superb flexibility under all lighting conditions: images are crisp and clean, even at higher ISO settings.

Peak performance

Equipped with Nikon’s next-generation EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, the D800 makes light work of data-rich tasks without sacrificing the speed and quality that pros are accustomed to.

16-bit image processing: offering richer colours and tones than ever before, this cutting-edge image processor delivers smooth gradations with abundant detail and tone all the way up the scale to pure white, even when shooting in JPEG.

Broadcast quality video

For professionals whose workflow demands video, the D800 offers all the flexibility required for a wide variety of movie applications. It’s large format movie shooting at its best, with a comprehensive variety of frame rates.

Frame rates: Full HD (1080p) movies can be recorded in 30p, 25p and 24p, with 60p, 50p and 25p options at 720p. Movie clips can be up to 29:59 minutes long.

Multi-Format Full HD D-Movie: as introduced with the D4, Full HD recording is possible in both FX and DX based formats, enabling exceptional freedom of expression.

High-fidelity audio control: responding to feedback from the industry, the D800 sets a new standard for D-SLR audio recording, enabling your movies to sound as good as they look. Aside from the external stereo microphone input, an audio out for external headphones lets you fine tune audio in isolation, both before and during movie recording. A line input setting for PCM linear recorders is also provided.

Uncompressed HDMI output: for those who need the purest video output for professional quality editing, the D800 offers the possibility to output the uncompressed live view to external recorders and monitors. As with the Nikon D4, this data is output at the designated image size and frame rate, and is clean of the information overlay that can be simultaneously displayed on the camera’s TFT monitor.

Convenient custom controls: have been implemented for live view operation. Instead of rotating the command dial, power aperture enables smoother aperture control using assigned buttons on the front of the camera. Index marking helps you tag important frames in the timeline by attaching markers during movie recording, which makes for easy location during editing.

Advanced scene recognition with 91K-pixel RGB sensor

Nikon’s revolutionary Advanced Scene Recognition System now incorporates a newly designed 91,000-pixel RGB sensor that meticulously analyses each scene for outstanding accuracy. It can detect human faces with startling exactness even with exclusive use of the optical viewfinder, and recognize a scene’s colours and brightness with unprecedented precision.

This level of detailed scene analysis is also utilized to support more accurate autofocus; auto exposure and i-TTL flash exposure results in a diverse range of compositional and lighting situations. For example, 3D-subject tracking is particularly improved when shooting smaller subjects.

Implementing Nikon’s highly-acclaimed Multi-CAM 3500FX AF system — with individually selectable or configurable 9-, 21- and 51-point coverage settings — the autofocus sensor module and algorithms have been re-engineered to significantly improve low light acquisition sensitivity capabilities down to -2 EV (ISO 100, 20°C/68°F). The overall performance is similar to the latest flagship of Nikon, the D4: AF operation is even possible under a combined aperture value of f8 (e.g. a 600mm f/4 AF-S lens combined with 2x-teleconverter TC-20EIII) with 11 AF sensor involved, and with 15 AF sensors between f/5.6 and f/8.

Simplified AF and AF-area mode selection is now possible without taking your eye away from the viewfinder.

Responsive and intuitive

The Nikon D800 responds as quickly as you do, with secure, conveniently placed, buttons and controls that quickly become an extension of your hand.

Fast response: start-up is approx. 0.12 seconds1, release time lag is minimized to approx. 0.042 seconds2 (equivalent to that of the D4), with continuous approx. 4 fps capability in FX-format and crop modes, pushed to approx. 6 fps capability in DX-format Crop mode with the optional Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D12.

Precision 8-cm (3.2-in.), approx. 921k-dot, wide-viewing-angle LCD monitor with automatic monitor brightness control: delivers bright, crisp image playback with a much wider colour reproduction capacity. LCD brightness is automatically adjusted according to the viewing environment and images can be magnified up to 46x during playback, which can be a big help for spot focus confirmation.

Glass prism optical viewfinder with approximately 100% frame coverage and 0.7x magnification (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, -1.0m-1).

Dual-axis electronic virtual horizon offers accurate confirmation of level shooting by letting you check the LCD monitor, or the viewfinder, for both the camera’s position in relation to the horizontal plane and its pitch (forward or rear rotation).

Enhanced ergonomics: buttons and dials have been strategically laid out for fluid operation. Improvements around the shutter-release button mean your index finger can rest comfortably for longer periods of time, while the designated movie record button means you’re ready to trigger movie shooting in an instant. Build features high-quality rubber materials for secure grip.

Release mode dial: mode visibility and operability has been improved via a four-button layout and release mode dial on camera’s top deck, along with dedicated buttons for ISO, White Balance and Image Quality. A new bracketing button has been strategically placed to aid such features as HDR.

Direct access to Picture Controls via a new, dedicated button, rather than via the menu. Picture Controls let you customize the look of your stills and videos by fine-tuning parameters such as sharpness, saturation, and hue.

Durability

Despite its light weight and compact size, the D800 is as tough as Nikon’s professional single digit cameras, with extensive weather and dust sealing throughout to ensure you can keep working when the going gets tough.

High-precision, high-durability shutter: the shutter unit has been tested to well over 200,000 cycles of release to prove durability and precision. Boasts a speed range of 1/8000 to 30s; features an intelligent self-diagnostic shutter monitor and, for the first time, a drive unit designed to reduce the demand on power when the shutter is raised for extended periods during movie shooting.

Efficient power management: a re-working of the D800’s circuits now enables approx. 850 shots3 of still image shooting or approx. 60 min. of movie live view4. All on one charge of a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL15.

Build quality: as reliable on the road as it is in the studio, the D800 boasts a weather- and dust-sealed magnesium alloy body that weighs in at approx. 10% lighter than the D700.

Storage media: high-speed CF (UDMA 7) and SD (SDXC and UHS-1) dual card slots.

High-speed data transfer with USB 3.0.

Nikon D800E – The ultimate alternative

The Nikon D800E is a special edition of the D800, specifically designed for those seeking absolute definition.

Incorporating an optical filter with anti-aliasing properties removed in order to facilitate the sharpest images possible, this is an ideal tool for photographers who can control light, distance and their subject to the degree where they can mitigate the increased risk of moiré5 and false colour. Aside from the optical filter, all functions and features are the same as on the D800.

Creative expansion tools

The D800 incorporates a variety of creative and practical tools for those too busy to spend time in excessive post-production.

Time-lapse movies: the D800 extends the popular time-lapse photography function by saving images as a movie file in the camera. With playback rates from 24 to 36,000 times faster than normal.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) shoots one overexposed and one underexposed frame in a single shutter release. The range can be widened by up to 3 EV for different looks, full of saturation and tonal gradation, while the smoothness of the edge where the two exposures meet can be adjusted for a more natural appearance.

Refined colour temperature control enables minute control over white balance. The monitor hue of live view and the resulting image’s white balance can be adjusted so that the two are aligned. Colour temperature can be manually set in 10-Kelvin increments, or in mired units.

Auto shutter speed control for auto ISO sensitivity control: a new auto option for minimum shutter speed, which automatically controls the balance between shutter speed and ISO sensitivity based on the focal length of the lens being used.

Four image area options: for the first time in a camera of this class, you can choose from a variety of image crop modes, all visually masked in the viewfinder. 5:4 (30.0 x 24.0 mm), 1.2x (30.0 x 19.9 mm), and DX-format (23.4 x 15.6 mm).

In-camera editing: captured images and movies can be altered and edited in camera and on the fly if required. Retouch menus include an array of useful features such as NEF (RAW) processing, resize, distortion control, fisheye, miniature effect, red-eye correction, filter effects and image overlay — as well as the ability to designate the start and end point of movie clips all at once, in order to save them more efficiently.

Accessories

Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D12 (optional) accommodates a variety of batteries (see specifications) and utilizes the same integral magnesium alloy construction and weather sealing as the D800 body itself. You also get approx. 6 fps continuous shooting speed6 in DX-format. The MB-D12 has its own dedicated shutter-release button and command dials for vertical composition shooting.

Nikon SB-910 (optional) — unparalleled lighting performance: Nikon’s SB-910 offers versatile i-TTL for on-camera or wireless flash control, refined operability and a powerful guide number of 34/112 (ISO 100, m/ft, STD, FX format, zoom 35mm). Menus and controls have been improved for more operational ease. Hard-type incandescent and fluorescent colour filters are included, which can adjust your D800‘s white balance instantly.

Capture NX 2 (optional) — Fast, powerful and creative image processing: to accommodate the imaging power of the D800’s 36.3 effective megapixels, the latest Capture NX 2 is faster than before and 64-bit compatible7.

Camera Control Pro 2 (optional) — Versatile remote camera controls: aside from controlling exposure mode, shutter speed, and aperture, the software now offers numerous improvements to make the D800’s live view operation exceptionally smooth. New creative controls include remote start and stop for movie shooting and switching between live view for stills and movies.

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From Rhodes to Plettenberg Bay

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Roger

This account picks up the story as we leave Rhodes in the Drakensberg Mountains of the Eastern Cape after our one night stay en route to Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town.

We have friends (Chris and Julie Marias) living in the small town of Cradock in the Eastern Cape, so we thought we’d make that the next overnight stop and pick up on all the skandaal from the Karoo. Chris and Julie are very talented writers and photographers who have done a wonderful book (amongst others) on this region (it’s now into its 3rd print run!) and on top of this are great people to spend time with. We had a splendid evening with them, nibbling on leftover braai from the afternoon and getting really gesellig over a bottle of red. But we are a little ahead of ourselves here…

We left early from Rhodes, the mountain air fresh and crisp after the massive storms the previous night. Fiona (the frightfully stern English lady that lives in our Garmin Nuvi 500 GPS) told us that we should route via the small town of Elliot. Now who the hell was Elliot? Well, it seems that the town was named after Sir Henry Elliot, a major in the British army who was well known for his peace keeping efforts between the various groups of the Eastern Cape Frontier. The town became a municipality in 1911 and was (is still perhaps?) called eCowa by the Xhosa people. eCowa means mushroom by the way.

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Normally when we travel, we set up the speed control on the car at 120 kmh, put our ears back and go. But not on this trip. Most of the 4 days it took to get from Howick to Plettenberg Bay (a trip that you could do in one day if you really wanted to) were done at under 100 kmh and what a difference it made. We were able to look at the scenery, talk, relax even. Our route took us through some stunning scenery and little towns with lovely sounding names – Lady Grey (named after the wife of the then Governer of the Cape Colony, Sir George Grey), Queenstown (named after Queen Victoria) and Tarkastad (believed to come from the Khoi-Khoi word Traka, meaning women, or the Celtic word Tarka, meaning otter, and the Afrikaans word stad, meaning town or city).

We checked into our B&B in Cradock, set up en evening kuier with Chris and Julie, and headed out to explore this little town. The town was founded in 1818 when a Dutch Reformed church was built, which, interestingly, was based on that of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. Cradock is named after Sir John Cradock, Governor of the Cape from 1811 to 1813. It is one of the Eastern Cape’s primary centres of the wool industry, and also produces beef, dairy, fruit, lucerne, and mohair. Close by is the Mountain Zebra National Park (well worth a visit even though we gave it a skip on this visit) and it is part on the Fish River Canoe Marathon. It’s a great place to do some walking and we explored the little streets and alleys, the Victoria Manor Hotel and the Tuishuise, a collection of restored Victorian era craftsmen’s houses in Market Street. We ended up on the sports grounds lining the banks of the Fish River, locals enjoying the early evening coolness with their dogs.

Chris and Julie had suggested we take a quick look at the tiny town of Aberdene en route to our next overnight stop at, well, we hadn’t actually decided this yet. Our idea was to get close to the Outenique Mountains just to the North f Plett, spend the night there and then we’d have a short run to the coast the next day, leaving some time to explore.

Aberdene is a tiny village just off the R61 and with the Cambeboo Mountains forming a backdrop. The Victorian architecture in the town is amazing, some of the buildings dating as far back as 1890 and there are two things we found fascinating: The first is that the Dutch Reformed Church tower, at 50m, is the highest in South Africa but it’s a little over 45cm out of true giving it the name of ‘The Leaning Tower of Aberdeen’. The other thing is that, while the post office at Cradock is pretty ordinary, the one at Aberdene is exquisite and way bigger and better than the size of the town warrants. Some say that it was originally intended for Cradock, a much larger town, but some clerical glitch resulted in it being built at Aberdene. It’s certainly worth pausing on your journey to take all this in and a stop at the local butchery for some biltong to nibble on the short walk around town will quickly get you ‘in character’.

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If you suffer from Agoraphobia it’s probably best to do the section between Aberdene and Willowmore with your eyes closed. (Not a good idea if you’re driving, by the way). The plains stretch on for ever. Karoo bossies, the occasional trees along a drainage line and a windmill or two are all that break these vast plains. It’s incredibly beautiful and quiet if you stop at one of the picnic areas along the road for a cup of tea.

Chris and Julie had suggested that we have lunch at Sophie’s Choice in Willowmore and it was a great suggestion, the seeded chicken salad is well worth a bash. They had also suggested the Willow Historic Guest House as a place to stay and while it looked delightful and has a great restaurant (we had a lovely dinner there) we were looking for something out of town where we could do some walking. We found Finchley Farm, just 2km away on the R407. It’s small, well run, comfortable, has a very friendly female ginger cat (the only female ginger that we’ve come across) and some delightful tame meerkats. A working marino sheep farm, it’s just the spot to really get away from it all and in a moment of sheer brilliance we packed a bottle of wine and some glasses into a backpack before heading out on a late afternoon walk across the veld. Our walk ended up, without us intending to, on top of a koppie just as the sun was setting. We found a comfortable rock and sat there sipping wine, marvelling at the stunning beauty of the place. Not a sound could be heard, not from the skaapies nibbling the Karoo bossies, far below, nor from the small herd of donkeys walking down the dusty road heading out into the plains. Just us, the wine, the sunset and the Karoo…

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Clearly the place marches to a different drummer on a Monday morning. We awoke to the sounds of a sheep farm in action: Sheep dogs yapped as bleating sheep were hearded into pens, men shouted instructions in Afrikaans, tractors headed out to the lands and, outside our door, the ginger queen mewed a request for a saucer of milk. I could live here!!

It was a shortish leg from Willowmore to Uniondale, over the Outeniqua Mountains via the very scenic Prince Alfred’s Pass and then down to Plettenberg Bay on the coast. As we got closer to the mountains, mist started to roll in so we took it very slowly, the narrow dirt roads restricting speed anyway. The pass was named after the son of Queen Victoria who later became the Duke of Edinburgh. Work began on construction in 1860 by Andrew Bain, his son Thomas and a team of men and from all accounts it was a gruelling labour. It’s probably worth spending some time exploring de Vlugt deep in the Keeurbooms River valley as many of Bain’s original buildings remain but we didn’t, stopping rather at a view sight on the climb out of the valley where we drank coffee and munched biskuit that we had bought in some Karoo dorpie.

On a previous trip to Plett we had dinner a couple of times at the Look Out Deck that has lovely views on the coast and the mountains behind it. Their fish and chips had been scrumptious and we were very keen to partake again, but would it be as good as we remembered? It wasn’t. It was better!

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Fish and chips finished and the Sauvignon Blanc chilling in the ice bucket we chatted about the previous few days. What a lovely trip it had been. It really is the answer. If you stick to the main roads, travelling at high speed, stopping nowhere, focused on the destination, your holiday starts when you get there. If you do it slowly, stopping every now and then, exploring, your holiday starts when you leave home. Much better!

(For the photographers out there, the pix were shot on Nikon’s delightful little P300 camera and the images processed and the text written on an iPad)

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The trip to Rhodes

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Roger

For the first time in many years we’ve decided to take a bit of a holiday – yes, holiday! It’s been a gruelling few months in the lead up to the deadline of our new book, so we thought a few days on the beach at Plettenberg Bay before heading to Cape Town to meet up with our publisher, some clients and a few friends may just the thing to recharge the batteries. Rather than stick to the main roads we chose to do the scenic route and so, on this, the first day of out trip, we find ourselves in the tiny village of Rhodes, high up in the mountains of the Eastern Cape.

Rhodes was established in 1891 and is the only village in the country that is a National Monument in its entirety. It’s situated in stunning mountain territory, part of the Southern Drakensberg, and all about are crystal clear streams, rivers and waterfalls, their abundance due in no small way, I would imagine, to the huge thunderstorms we went through on our way here. Thank heavens for the Pajero! The heavy rains had turned the road between Makeng and Elands Height into a mud bath and what with wash-aways, steep descents and pretty much zero visibility, the driving was, er, interesting.

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The scenery that appeared as the mist cleared was absolutely stunning and the flower lined gravel road up to Naude’s Nek is a definite “must do”. At 2 500M Naude’s Nek is the highest pass in South Africa and was built between 1890 and 1911 by Stephanus and Gabriel Naude.

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As we sit here on the stoep at Kinmel Guest Farm, just outside Rhodes, sipping some of Scotland’s finest, mixed with a splash of mountain water we realise just how important it is to sometimes take the scenic route.

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Howick Photographic Workshop.

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Roger

It started off as a rather small, informal little workshop for a previous participant (Tammy) on one of our previous workshops and also for the son of some friends who is heading back to university in the next day or so. The next thing I knew we had 12 really

One of the models on the Africa Imagery Photographic Workshops posing with a lantern. Shot using a Nikon D3x and an off camera Nikon SB900 flash gun.

One of the models on an Africa Imagery Photographic Workshop posing with a lantern. Shot using a Nikon D3x and an off camera Nikon SB900 flash gun.

great people on board, some from previous workshops, some older, some young, some male and others female but everyone really passionate about photography.

Tammy had asked is we could do something relating to photographing people outdoors and so we got in a bunch of models and dragged everyone off to a photographer friend’s home that has some very photogenic dams and a photographic studio – all very useful. We blazed away, some of the shooters using some pretty sophisticated camera gear and others on point and shoot cameras. We hooked up a few external flashes for everyone and got some pretty interesting pix in the end. Have a look at some (just some) of the many pix we shot here.

Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested on joining us on one of our Photographic Safaris or Workshops.

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Nikon D4

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Roger

Great Excitement. The Nikon D4 has just been announced and I haves never desired and camera more than this one. [Just hang on - I need to pop out and see the bank manager...Nikon Launches new 16mp camera ;-) ]

Have a look at these key specifications:

    • 16.2 megapixel FX-format (full-frame) CMOS sensor with fast channel readout and up to 11 fps consecutive shooting in FX-format.
    • ISO 100–12800: extendable up to 204,800 (equivalent) and down to 50 (equivalent). High signal-to-noise ratio and wide dynamic range.
    • Multi-area format D-Movie: records Full HD (1080p) movies in FX- and DX-format, as well as in native Full HD (1920×1080) crop. Offers uncompressed full-resolution HDMI output to external devices.
    • Newly developed, highly durable Kevlar/carbon fiber-composite shutter unit:standard life cycle rating of 400,000 releases, with a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 to 30s and flash synchronization at up to 1/250 sec.
    • Multi-CAM3500FX 51-point AF system: individually selectable or configurable in 9-point, 21-point and 51-point coverage settings. Sensitive down to -2 EV (ISO 100, 20°C/68°F).
    • EXPEED 3 image processing engine with 14-bit A/D conversion and 16-bit image processing for superb tonal gradation.
    • 8 cm (3.2-in.), 922k-dot LCD monitor with auto brightness control. Anti-reflective with wide color reproduction.
    • 3D Color Matrix Metering III: 91k pixel AE AF sensor with full-time face recognition.
    • 100% viewfinder coverage and three Crop Modes: 5:4, 1.2x and DX-format. With viewfinder masking.
    • Movie frame rates: offers 30p, 25p and 24p and a max recording time of approx. 20 minutes.
    • High-fidelity audio control: features a stereo microphone input and an audio out for external headphones, which lets you fine tune audio in isolation both before and during recording. A line input setting for PCM linear recorders is also provided.
    • Storage media: two card slots. One for high-speed CF (UDMA 7) cards and one for high-speed, high-capacity XQD card slots.
    • Wireless LAN and Ethernet support via optional Wireless Transmitter WT-4 or the newly designed compact Wireless Transmitter WT-5.

Now, Wouldn’t you love one?

Are you needing new camera gear? We offer advice based on 25 years of professional wildlife and travel photography. E-mail me for more information

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Lightroom Shortcuts

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Roger

I use Adobe Lightroom for the vast majority of my image editing and have found that these days I only really use Photoshop for stitching images into panoramas and for the more involved edits where I have to use layers and things. Like Photoshop, there are a myriad of short cut key options that you can use to make life in Lightroom quicker and easier and I have posted a few here that I use and find useful. You can of course research the full list and memorize all of them (what? Rather go and shoot some pix!) but I’ve got better things to do with my life than that.

If you’d like to buy Lightroom, drop me an e-mail and I’ll get a price for you and if you’d like to attend one of our Workshops or Photo Safaris where we work with Lightroom then have a look here for more information.

Shortcut Key Command
Ctrl or Cmd + Z Undo
Ctrl or Cmd + Y Redo
Ctrl or Cmd + F Find
Ctrl or Cmd + E Edit in Photoshop
Ctrl or Cmd + G Group into stack
P Pick (Flag)
U Unpick (Unflag)
X Reject
0 to 5 Set * Rating
6 Red Colour Lable
7 Yellow Colour Lable
8 Green Colour Lable
9 Blue Colour Lable
V Convet to B&W
Ctrl or Cmd + S Save Metadata to File
G Grid View
E Loupe View
C Compare
D Develope Module
W Auto White Balance
Tab Toggle Side Panels
Shift + Tab Toggle All Panels
L Cycle Light Dimming
I Cycle Image Info
J Show Clipping

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Wildlife Panoramas

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Roger

When one thinks of panoramas the mind automatically leaps to scenes of great vistas and awesome landscapes. (well mine does…) While working on our new book about lions I started playing about with shooting panoramas stitched from 2 or 3 images of lions. And it works quite nicely!

I simply shoot the pix with a long lens on a Benbo GH-2 Gimbal Head, leaving enough overlap to ensure good stitching, edit the images in Lightroom and then, from within Lightroom, stitch the images into a panorama in Photoshop. Works like a charm!

If you’d like to know more about this and other photographic techniques, join one of our Photo Safaris.

Lion pride at MalaMala (Mala Mala) Game Reserve. Mpumlanga. South Africa
Lion pride at MalaMala (Mala Mala) Game Reserve. Mpumlanga. South Africa

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500px Plugin for Lightroom.

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Roger

Wow, now this is a useful one: 500px (a wonderful site that allows you to post photographic portfolios and images and follow and interact with other photographers) has just launched a publish plugin for Adobe Lightroom. For those of us that are using Lightroom to manage and process their images this is a huge time saver. From right within Lightroom you can create portfolios, edit titles and follow and comment on other photographers and images and much, much more.

If you’d like to join is on one of our Photo Safaris where we work with Adobe Lightroom please contact us.

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Lion Roaring at MalaMala

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Roger

We are spending a few days at MalaMala Game Reserve working on our book about lions and on our first evening here came across this male lion on the airstrip. There were some lions calling to the north and he joined in. What a chilling sound – you feel it as well as hear it.

We used the Nikon D7000 to film this clip, bumping up the ISO as night approached. One of the other game drive vehicles had a spotlight on the lion and provided the lovely cross lighting.

Mala Mala is a spectacular place for shooting wildlife, especially predators  like lions and leopards. Please email me if you would like us to custom design a photographic safari at MalaMala for you.

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Mala Mala Predators

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Roger

We are at Mala Mala Game Reserve at the moment and are having a very busy time shooting pix for our new book on lions. We’ve been getting some very nice material some of which I have put into a gallery here. I have embedded two videos below that you may be interested in – the one on leopards mating (filmed by our production secretary, Sarah Caithness) shot with the Nikon P500 and the one of the lion on the Nikon D7000.

As a matter of interest, we run custom photo safaris to Mala Mala and if you are keen please e-mail me for more information.

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