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2018-04-22: Wide Angles Project

My wide angles only project took a bit of an unexpected detour this week, into video editing.  I took loads of GoPro stills and video during my 2016 trip to Uganda and Kenya, and never did anything with them.  I think I edited one, possibly two GoPro still images.   Since the GoPro is by design a very wide angle camera, I thought going through my archives to find some still shots might be fun, but it turned out that compiling a video was more compelling.

I’ve created a short video that follows my journey through Uganda; from Kihihi to Bwindi, onto Ishasha, the Kazinga Channel, the Kyambura Gorge, Kibale Forest and then ending in Entebbe.  The still image for the post and the video of the Batwa tribe were shot with my Nikon camera, but the balance was all with the GoPro, generally on a head mount or out the window of a vehicle.  Video is not something I’ve ever spent much time on, but it does provide a good feel for what the areas, and a little glimpse into what the gorilla and chimp treks are like.  Pardon the shakiness at times and awkward head bobbing; when I was with the gorillas I was taking stills with my Nikon while wearing the GoPro on a head mount.

I hope you enjoy this week’s project. I’ll be going through my Kenya videos for next week.

Wishing you all a fantastic week ahead.

 

 

 

 

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2018-04-10: WPC – Smile

The photo prompt of the week is smile; either an image of a smile, or something that makes you smile.  Since baby animals are a universal crowd pleaser, here are a fewer images of youngsters that have made me smile.

I hope you enjoy!

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A trio of cheetah cubs braving a late afternoon windstorm.  Their mother was nearby, definitely ill at ease because of the weather.
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Looks at the big full bellies of these lion cubs.  They were going back and forth between the females, greeting each with affection.
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A pair of leopard cubs playing amongst the fallen branches in a ravine.  These two were all over the place; there Mom definitely had her work cut out for her.
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The tiniest lion cubs I have had the privilege of seeing.  Their Mom had brought down a giraffe calf, but these two were more interested in playing than feeding.  They were under 3 weeks old.
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An elephant calf having a go at the balance beam 🙂  He came pretty close to ending up in a heap on the ground, but recovered from it well.
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I don’t think I have ever seen anyone smiling as much as our ranger when we were at this sighting.  To say he was thrilled is a complete understatement.  A dream come true, once in a lifetime moment on safari.
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This is where mama leopard stashed her two youngsters.  The hollowed log didn’t make for the best photo opportunities, but it did make for a very safe spot for these leopard cubs to stay hidden and out of danger.

WPC: Smile

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2018-04-09: Monochrome Monday

A trio of cats to start the week.

Wishing you all a fantastic one ahead 🙂

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This leopard was the star of many of my images one evening in the Okavango Delta.  We stayed with him while he lounged in the tree, while another vehicle from the lodge was making its way over so some late arriving guests could spend some time with him as well.  Since I had spent over an hour with him at sunset, this night image under spotlight was captured just an opportunity to play around later with editing.
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As soon as this young cheetah rested her head down, she was invisible in the grass.  With the location she was in, I am still in awe of the tracker that spotted her.
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The king of the savannah heads off to patrol his territory (or find some shade for a nap).  Given the amount of time lions sleep, it was probably the less glamorous sounding second option.

 

If you’d like to see more images like this, head over to my gallery to see some of my favourite.  And remember, you can find beautiful textiles with my images on my Vida site.

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2018-04-08: Wide Angles Only – Cottonwood Park

It’s only the second instalment of my wide angles only topic for the month, and I was honestly ready to bail on it already.  The days when it was nice this week, I was knee deep in work and couldn’t sneak off with my camera.  Then the weekend arrived with the promise of more free time to get out and explore, and for the most part, dull, grey skies have been the order of the days.  Add to that the slowly melting snow carpeting the landscape in a dirty blanket and you’ve not really got the recipe for epic landscape images.

But, despite all that, I went out for a wander in one of the local parks yesterday and I had a great time.  Sure it was muddy and slushy and lots of paths and areas were inaccessible, but it felt awesome to go out and shoot.  It was also fun to be limited by only having one lens with a small range, and having to focus on things that wouldn’t probably be my first inclination.

I’m definitely going to have to get creative though if I am going to come up with something for each Sunday of April.  Stop by next weekend to see what I have come up with.

I hope you enjoy the selections for this week.

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A foot bridge heading into Cottonwood Park in Prince George.  1/150 sec, f13, ISO 400 at 10mm.
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Do you feel like you are being watched?  The park features several carvings in the massive trees that line the paths.   1/180sec, f6.4, ISO 400, 10mm
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Another view of one of the carvings in the trees.  1/450sec, f6.4, ISO 400, 10mm.
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This is as colourful as the day was when I was out wandering.  Even then, I still applied a “colour boost” filter during editing.  1/5800 sec, f4, ISO400, 10mm
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The trees reaching their barren limbs up towards the sunshine.  Soon, there will be leaves to obscure all the birds that chirped and sung as I wandered along.  1/340 sec, f20, ISO 400
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I had never contemplated photographing a small, fast moving bird like a chickadee with a wide angle lens.  But the birds in the park are so tame and used to people, that I had one land on my hat while I was taking images of the face in the trees.  I crouched in front of this stump after seeing the birds landing on it, pre-focused, and waited for one to stop by.  1/680 sec, f4, ISO 400 at 24mm
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2018-04-03: WPC Rise/Set

The photo challenge topic of the week is sunrise and sunset.  Here is one of each from my travels in Southern Africa.

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Sunrise on my last dat of safari.  May, 2017.
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A flock of red-billed quelea searching for a spot to roost as night falls over the Okavango Delta.  May, 2017

 

 

WPC: Rise/Set

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2018-04-02: Monochrome Monday

Does this bring back memories of childhood for anyone else?  Of the times when your sibling was being a complete jerk and Mom looked on and told you to sort it out for yourselves??? 🙂

Happy Monday Everyone!

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Got your tail!  A pair of leopard cubs play under the watchful gaze of their Mom.  Londolozi, May 2017.
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2018-04-01: Wide Angles Only

I have a real tendency to want to zoom and and get close up with subjects.  I have been without a long lens now for my main camera since making the switch from Nikon to Fuji, as I patiently wait for the 100mm – 400mm lens to go on sale.  So, I thought that this is a great opportunity to embrace the gear I have, and explore the world in wide angles only.  I am going to limit myself to 25mm and under for this project.  I went out and played around with the concept yesterday in my yard… or what I can access of it with the amount of snow still on the ground!

We had a fair bit of snow overnight on Thursday, and much of the snow remained on the trees still by Saturday morning.   With a strong wind and clear blue skies, it was interesting to watch the snow flying through the air.  The images didn’t turn out quite as expected, mostly because I physically couldn’t get into the position I wanted to to take the shots, but that’s how things go sometimes.

Watching the snow fly. Fuji XT-2 with XF 18mm – 135mm lens, at 18mm. Cropped slightly to remove the vignetting from the filter stack I was using.
Luckily the large clump of snow heading downwards missed me and my camera by a few inches! Fuji XT-2 with the XF18mm – 135mm lens at 24mm, cropped slightly to straighten the image.

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2018-04-01: March in Review

Another month has come to a close, and we are still no closer to spring here in Prince George.  I guess I should be grateful because it’s given me lots of time to work on my website, edit photos and work through some learning resources, but in all honesty, I’m ready for warmer weather, being able to see my lawn, and having the opportunity to get out and explore some new places with my camera (without needing to bundle in 3 layers of warm clothing.

March’s topic of the month – Multiple Exposures

I had hoped to create both in computer and in camera images for this project, but in the end the weather got the better of me, and I spent the time at the computer instead of with camera in hand.  So it ended up being a bit of a continuation of the revisiting old work project, and I had the chance to travel down memory lane a bit with my photos and create something artistic out of my old images.  I’m happy with the results; it was also good to take the time to work on some basic skills in photoshop, like masking and blending, but now it’s time to pick a project that involves getting out shooting each week.

What’s new this month

I’ve continued adding images to my gallery and have flagged a fair number more that need to be added in April.  Please feel free to head over, take a look, and let me know what you think.  The opportunity to purchase prints is now built into the gallery; images are printed by Bay Photo and shipped directly to you, in the size and medium of your choice.

Five favourites from this month

What’s coming up next?

Even though it is only the first day of the month, I have already started creating some new designs for my Vida shop, with lots more planned!  More images are destined to hit my gallery this month as well.

The topic for the month I have chosen to explore in April is Wide Angles Only.  Since I have a tendency to want to zoom in and get up close, I thought it might be nice to force myself to shoot limited to a range of 25mm and wider.

 

 

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