My Canon Travel thermos arrived in the mail today from Canon Mugs in China – I must admit I had my doubts anything would ever arrive (its the cynic in me). Overall the quality is quite good. The thermos is lined with stainless steel and the lid is a good snug fit. This should do nicely for the morning coffee on the way to the office.
Uncategorized
The Making of a Canon Super Telephoto L Series Lens
Equipment, News and Updates, Reviews, UncategorizedThe first time a new photographer encounters the price tag on some of Canon’s super telephoto lenses they quite often suffer from sticker shock at the price of entry. Just why does it cost more than $6000 Australian dollars for a 300mm F2.8L lens, more than $8000 for a 500mm F4 and more than a whopping $15,000 for an 800mm F5.6 lens?
These three videos show just what goes into the construction of the Canon EF 500mm F4L IS USM lens and gives a greater appreciation of the complex construction process, attention to quality and cost of ownership.
Canon Lens Production – Part One
Canon Lens Production – Part Two
Canon Lens Production – Part Three
New Zealand – The North Western Arch
Landscape Photographs, New Zealand, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, UncategorizedOne of my favourite places in New Zealand is the small village of Kaikoura on the East Coast of the South Island. This tranquil, peaceful fishing village has simply the most stunning and spectacular sunrises I have ever experienced. Set against the Southern Alps Kaikoura offers not only amazing opportunities for landscape photography, but also Sperm whale, Sea Lion and Dolphin photography; all of which are quite accessible by local charter. If you have ever seen the 1983 Scottish film Local Hero and can remember the small fishing village in which it is set, then you have a pretty good idea of what Kaikoura is like (at least that is the feeling and memory I have from the place).
This photograph was taken seconds before sunrise and includes the Southern Alps in the background with the amazing North Western Arch cloud formation brilliantly lit with dawn colour – that colour is real! Lenticular clouds, formed by high winds are just hovering over the distant peaks. In a large print you can clearly see the spindrift coming off the tops of the peaks and the ocean spray on the horizon.
Iceland Volcano Update – Katla is Stirring
Iceland, News and Updates, Travel Photography, UncategorizedHISZ RSOE is reporting that there is volcanic activity at Katla! Things are moving very fast indeed! There is as yet no further detail, but I will update as soon as I see that they have added more information.
Edit – Approx 12 hours on and no further updates. Webcams show pretty good visibility.
Edit – Another 12 hours on and still no more news out of Iceland about Katla. There have been no more reported earthquakes on HISZ RSOE
Is it over?
New Zealand – Lenticular Clouds over the Remarkables
Landscape Photographs, New Zealand, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, UncategorizedDuring my two weeks in the South Island of New Zealand last year I had several opportunities to photograph The Remarkables on the foreshore of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. This is a wonderful location for landscape photography – not to mention convenient. One can simply wander down from one of the many restaurants before or after dinner, set up, get the shot and then wander back for an evening night cap – pretty civilised stuff and a pleasant change from hours of driving and hiking.
The Remarkables make a stunning back drop to the view across the Lake and the whole scene comes alive with evening light and soft cloud. I was fortunate to get one really good sunset with some lovely soft lenticular clouds to offset the jagged peaks of the Remarkables themselves. Photographed with the Canon EOS 1DS MKIII and 24mm F1.4L MKII at F11 ISO 100 with a 3 stop hard graduated neutral density filter exposure time was still only a quarter of a second (the setting sun is just out of frame on the left). This was pretty much F11 and be there.
Iceland Volcano Update – Is there about to be an Earth Shaking Kaboom?
Iceland, News and Updates, Travel Photography, UncategorizedIn the past 48 hours there have been four earthquakes at the larger Katla volcano in Iceland. The earthquakes may be due to ice movements within the Mýrdalsjökull glacier or magma movement under the volcano. Scientists have been keeping a close watch on the Katla volcano, due to the possibility of an eruption triggered by the activity at the nearby Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Earthquakes are the inbuilt warning that an eruption may be imminent and history has shown that Katla usually erupts after being triggered by an eruption at Eyjafjallajokull. Historically large eruptions at Katla have occurred at regular intervals about every 50 years. Katla usually produces eruptions far more devastating and an eruption in the next 8 weeks could seriously screw up my travel plans. On the other hand, an eruption when I arrive could turn into some pretty special photographic opportunities. This is proving to be nail biting stuff for me…
You can view a live webcam of current activity HERE.
Iceland Volcano Losing Intensity
Iceland, News and Updates, Travel Photography, UncategorizedIceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano is erupting with much less force than before – spewing just five tonnes of ash per second instead of 200 at its peak earlier in the week. The material being produced is tephra rising to 1.5 to 2 km into the air. No lava is flowing from the crater according to the latest reports on the ground. Nearly 30 earthquakes have been reported shaking the Eyjafjallajokull glacier since yesterday; but most were very small. The force of the eruption has diminished considerably and the cloud blowing up from the west of the volcano contains little ash. Explosive activity is also said to be minimal and no lighting has been observed for a couple of days. Although it may appear the volcano is coming to an end, it could equally intensify again at any moment, so it is not surprising that no scientist has yet come forward to say that he/she believes the eruption is ending.
What does this mean for my photography trip? Well, its probably to early to say; but, with less ash being thrown into the atmosphere the chances of air travel being grounded diminishes; which is a good thing (it means I can get there with a higher degree of certainty). But, this latest news may also spell the end of the eruption before I even hit the ground – ending a potentially great photographic opportunity. I am continuing to monitor news as it comes to hand, but admit to being somewhat torn at this latest turn of events.
Endangered Species Day in the USA
News and Updates, Uncategorized, Wildlife PhotographsToday is endangered species day in the USA (pity Australia isn’t so pro-active – Are you listening Peter Garrett?). Endangered Species Day is an opportunity for people young and old to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions that people can take to help protect all disappearing wildlife. Protecting America’s wildlife and plants today is a legacy we can leave to our children and grandchildren, so that all Americans and visitors can experience the rich variety of native species that help to define the United States. See http://www.stopextinction.org/ for more information.
Need a Lens? – Lens Rental Made Easy
Equipment, News and Updates, Uncategorized
I dont know why someone didn’t think of this sooner – Or, maybe they did and I have just been living under the proverbial rock and missed it. Rather than purchasing an ultra expensive lens or even a camera for that matter for a photographic trip (such as a Safari to Africa or a trip to your favourite sporting event) you can rent one and have it shipped directly to your destination; then after your trip you can simply send it right back – avoiding all the hassles of airline carry on luggage. Who offers this service? Imaginatively enough its a company called Borrow Lenses.
By way of example: Compared to the costs of renting a 500mm F4 locally in Australia Borrow Lenses are pretty cheap. Normal cost in Melbourne to hire this sort of lens is $700+ per week – Borrow Lenses are less than $300 including shipping to and from your destination.
How Does it Work?
The short version is this: Rent, shoot, return. You choose what you want and how long you want it, and they ship it to you on the date specified with a return label inside the box. When your rental is up you put the lens back in the box it came in, affix the return label and drop it off at FedEx. Once they receive the equipment and inspect it and assuming there’s no damage your rental is complete. Pretty simple and a very useful service for photographers. Definitely something I will be taking further advantage of in the future.
New Macbook Pro
Equipment, News and Updates, UncategorizedThe “boss” has begrudgingly approved a new laptop (after some not so general prodding on my behalf) so I ordered a new Macbook Pro today – A 17″ anti-Glare screen, Core i7 2.66 Ghz with 8 Gig of RAM and a 256 Gig Solid State Hard drive. It should arrive in a few days time; which is perfect timing for both my trip to Iceland and a couple of quick pre-Iceland weekend excursions in Victoria – one to Bright, Mount Buffalo and Falls Creek with the family and the other to Mungo and the Walls of China in the far north of Victoria. Both trips I am very much looking forward to.
My current MacBook Pro is about two years old now and has not missed a single beat from day of purchase (typical Apple product in my experience). The new laptop should be significantly faster for working with 1DS MKIII RAW files in Lightroom in 64 bit mode with the extra 4 gig of RAM. More importantly however, battery life is supposed to be significantly improved over my current machine; which is great for working in the field when camping without power. Although I have not had a laptop hard drive ever crash and die on me (I have had plenty of desktop drives die) I am looking forward to the added stability and peace of mind the solid state drive brings to the table.
Holko's Test 