Tanzanian Safari
Tanzania - Lions of the Serengeti
In Part 3 we get to the Serengeti, Salwa gives us a little baby elephant teaser and then we get to see so much more in the “Forever plains”. We definitely underestimated the shear number of animals we might see, at first worried if we would even get a chance to see lions.
Tanzania - The trip that almost wasn’t
Part 2 of our Tanzanian safari is up now on YouTube on no.fixed.plans. From 6am to 6pm daily we traversed Tarangire and Lake Manyara National parks Salwa concentrating on video while I did mostly photos.
The Big Five, and a few more
As a child I remember getting up on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons and nature shows like New Wilderness or Wild Kingdom. Years later, as a nature photographer, my dream has always been to go to Africa to live that life, even if only for a short time.
Tanzania - Wild at Heart
Salwa has put our first video from our Tanzanian Safari up on YouTube, a first look into a trip of a lifetime for us.
What’s likely in my bag for our Safari trip to Tanzania.
I’ve had plenty of time to overthink this, a couple different camera bags and many different combinations of cameras and lenses but I think I’ve got it down to two options now since I have been shooting with one combination out with black bears this fall and seem to have everything I need.
Camera Gear
Canon R5 II - Finally the mirrorless camera I was hoping for.
I have been using Canon cameras for nearly 30 years but Canon’s foray into mirrorless nearly made me sell it all. The Canon R5 II is finally a great mirrorless camera, and is as reliable as my old 5DS and 5D II workhorses of the past. In this article I take a look at some of the features that make this camera the right one for me now for nature and landscape photography and I compare it to my current workhorse the Sony A7RV along with the original R5.
Sony A1 II - Seemingly a disappointment, but a fantastic camera
The update to Sony’s flagship camera that didn’t seem to make people excited but this camera has many updates to make it likely the best allround camera on the market if you can afford the price.
Second Tier gear for nature photographers who want great quality but can’t afford a mortgage for a lens and camera
Even most professional photographers don’t have the latest and most expensive gear. If you want gear that can do what you really need but not break the bank the second tier from most brands can give you 95 percent of the capabilities often at less than half the price of the flagship gear.
Sigma, Please bring it back
There is one piece of camera gear that I sold that I truly want a new version. The Sigma 120-300 was one of my most used lenses for low light nature photography and I would love for Sigma to come out with a new version updated for todays Sony cameras. See my latest blog posting for my particular reason for wanting a reasonably priced large aperture telephoto zoom.
My Love/Hate relationship with Canon R5 -how that relates to the release of the R5 mark II
With the latest releases from Canon and after selling my R5 a few months ago I really have to think about whether or not I will buy this camera or start to divest in my Canon gear. Latest blog post goes through my thoughts on this camera and what I’m thinking now.
Photography Stories
Summertime Bald Eagles
A few pointers for those who want to get some interesting eagle shots. With a few days of rain I finally sat down and did some writing and editing instead of being out with the camera. Hopefully the results may help a few new nature photography enthusiasts out there.
Persistence and Patience - Short eared owls
Sometimes there are dry spells, sometimes months between interesting moments when you do nature photography. After the Salmon spawning season last fall I have been experiencing one of those times.
Salmon run on Vancouver Island - How to get Good shots while Watching Black Bears get Fat
I've recently been able to show a few fellow photographers around our new home and in particular they came during the Salmon spawning season on the local rivers. I had been working on an article about what to shoot and how in these conditions and have finally been able to finish my thoughts after talking about the bears and where and how to get the shots with those friends.
Black Bears on Vancouver Island - first video of the Salmon season
As we approach Labour Day on Vancouver Island the Salmon have already started making their way up some of the rivers, and when they do the black bears forego the blackberries and head up river. Salwa and I have been out each evening walking along the river for the last week or so and she put together this video from one of the walks.
No Fixed Plans - Episode 10 - Don’t Settle
The final episode of our 5 months on the road with our camper trailer and cameras. We chased the sun, but the rain and cold were always just nipping at our heels. It may not have been the trip we expected but it was certainly a trip to remember.
Campbell River Eagles
Campbell River on the east coast of Vancouver Island is a town with many highlights from a photography point of view. Bears and salmon in the fall, Whale sightings daily, and eagles….so many eagles. Below is a gallery of some of the most interesting bald eagle shots I have captured this year. Most of these shots have been taken within 10 km of home. This is one of the things I look forward to after work daily going for a walk along the coast with the camera with a chance to capture some interesting action and some beautiful birds of prey.
Winter Photo Trip - Final Stage - the long road home
After getting our trailer fixed in east Texas, we took a long detour all the way to Miami for a boat show. The weird weather followed us pretty much to the Florida border and then we finally got some sun. The way back allowed us to visit old friends in South Carolina before that long trip across the country and then back north. We did manage to find plenty of interesting places to stay and some great photo locations. We also finally got to really do some back country camping on BLM land instead of mostly being in State or National parks. This was a nice change of pace camping out there mostly alone. Take a look at the final days of our trip, both the nature and landscape was amazing. In the end this was what I would consider a sampler trip, not too much time any one place but we now know a great many places we want to go back to. Hopefully some places where at the right time of year we can get those portfolio shots.
NO FIXED PLANS - STAGE 9 - Westward bound again
After our detour to Florida for a boat show we started back towards the west coast. The road seemed clear a head of us but storms were right behind us all the way. We did start to find some of the best campsites of our trip and some fantastic photo locations along the way. Welcome back to our photo road trip as we visit a beach tree grave yard in South Carolina, go through sand storms in Texas, sleep with the cows in Arizona, and find some burrowing owls in the California desert.
Bears Galore
Salmon spawning in the rivers on Vancouver Island means food for bears, and that means a lot of bears wandering up and down the rivers near home. Black bears are currently after the pink salmon as they come up river and that gives me a great chance to capture them doing lots of interesting things. Take a look in the Bears gallery to see some of the latest shots.
Tech Blog - The Fuji GFX100 II.
Another temptation but is it a camera that a nature and landscape photographer should buy? Fuji has brought the “medium format” to the masses with their GFX cameras and the latest versions are starting to become not just one trick ponies but closer to a jack of all trades at an amazing resolution.
NO FIXED PLANS - STAGE 8 - MORE TEXAS
Texas was so big that we couldn’t fit everything into one video. This episode takes us along the southern border through Big Bend State park and up to Marfa a tiny artist town in the middle of nowhere.
No Fixed Plans - Stage 7 - Texas
This episode of Chasing the Sun takes us into Texas and down to Big Bend National Park. Head on over to No.Fixed.Plans on YouTube to check out more.
Northern Lights from Campbell River
The skies lit up with pastel colours as the Northern Lights were visible across much of North America due to a parade of coronal mass ejections that interacted with the earth’s magnetic field. If you could get away from city lights the Aurora was visible to the naked eye but with a camera we can capture a bit more light and get some amazing shots.
