As mentioned in my previous article on Plane Spotting, written for Sigma South Africa during the Covid-19 Level 3 and 4 Lockdown which I suggest you read along with this article, I have no claim to fame as a knowledgeable person on aircraft and I don’t even like flying. I see it as essential way of travelling long distances in a short time. As a sport and action photographer and proper petrol-head, I love the sound of powerful engines, and aircraft tend to have big ones. I do plane-spotting and… read more →
What has isolation/lockdown taught you? There are many ways in which people over the last year and a bit have had their lives changed. Whether its socially, financially, and other ways it most definitely has changed our lifestyles. However, how has it changed photography? For some and I should say most, travel has been restricted. Only now are international borders starting to open, whether you travelling to the many reserves and private lodges within South Africa or travelling further into the Masaai Mara, Uganda, Mana Pools, Okavango Delta or the… read more →
Shoot what you enjoy A great part of becoming successful as a photographer is shooting what you love. There is nothing more rewarding than shooting what you are passionate about and seeing the result displayed and recognised by your peers and those that appreciate what you do. When you are shooting what you enjoy, you will never feel constrained or limited to a certain style or type of photo. It will always be rewarding; you will constantly learn or see something new. Develop your own style and perfect it There… read more →
I have no claim to fame as a knowledgeable person on aircraft. I don’t even like flying. I am however a sport and action photographer and a self-confessed petrol-head, so I love the sound of aircraft engines, the bigger the better, and photographing them doing their thing which is making aircraft fly. I do plane-spotting and go to airshows to listen to the aircraft and photograph them, along with the weaponry they can carry which is also of interest to me. In this brief article I will discuss planning your… read more →
I believe every birding photographer, after getting all the regular ID type shots, will work his way towards photographing birds doing some sort of activity. This would imply the typical foraging or eating photos, building nests, birds in flight (also see my previous article on this topic), even birds doing the natural thing of ensuring their species will continue to exist, birds on the hunt and so on. When catching those birds in flight, it invariably leads to birds landing and perching again, which is fairly easy to do; the… read more →
Welcome back everyone to another Photographic Tip part of the Learning in Lockdown series brought to you by Sigma South Africa. It has been a while so where have I been? Well, the last few months have been interesting… from testing new gear from Sigma SA to receiving guests back at all the lodges across the country and to the enormous amounts of rainfall received. Based on the above you can see what I mean by ‘the last few months have been interesting.’ I have decided to change up the… read more →
I regularly see many photographers posting their birding images on social media, websites etc, in the typical ID pose – full body, cleanish background, head turned slightly sideways to show off the profile of the head and bill, feather detail and colours, and legs with claws. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, I do it too, there is more to bird photography than just the typical poses. The detail in facial features and bills of birds are just waiting to be captured. Over the years I have done just… read more →
The continuation of a new series of blog posts that are here and available for your reading pleasure, I have decided to not only tell you about the amazing Sigma brand, but to teach you about how to use your camera along with your Sigma lens to capture photographic content that you’ve always wanted to have. Welcome back all, and I hope everyone is doing all well and keeping going as we continue with the national Lockdown in South Africa, but mostly I hope you advancing your photographic knowledge and… read more →
The continuation of a new series of blog posts that are here and available for your reading pleasure, I have decided to not only tell you about the amazing Sigma brand, but to teach you about how to use your camera along with your Sigma lens to capture photographic content that you’ve always wanted to have. In this 10-blog series we have just reached half way (blog post number 5) and have already covered many topics, namely, the adjustment/interaction with normal light, understanding your camera based on your photographic needs… read more →
Capturing images in low light and shooting wide open can be challenging, so here are some Tips & Techniques to help you overcome these obstacles. Firstly, my Sigma 85mm Art communicates perfectly with all my camera systems and this gives me super fast AF controls, especially in low light conditions. I achieve this my manually taking control over my camera. I always shoot Spot Metering/Single Shot and deactivate all focus tracking functions, thus giving me full control on where I wish to focus. Shooting wide open ( f1.4 – f2.8… read more →