Wildlife Photography across the Water: Lets Talk

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Lets Talk

I have the in laws staying with me for a month so photography will slow down a little-although we are off to New York on Thursday and a visit to B+H should be on the cards as well as checking out Jamaica bay for a visit next month and a few hours shooting on the New Jersey beach, So a long action packed weekend in store before we head off to the Smokey Mountains at the end of next week where i have a week shooting landscapes with the 'fall' colours and hopefully plenty of wildlife to keep me quiet
I did have one surprise this week, I moved a cover i had left on the ground in my garden and under it was a mole salamander-very rare to see so i believe as they are as they name says mole like, had i known that i would have taken some time over getting some decent shots, Instead i took some record shots and left it alone-see image above
I have been umming and arring over the last few weeks on getting a decent compact for the wife, I rather fancied a 'pro' model like the new Canon G11, But they are not yet in the shops and neither is the Canon S9 so i thought of a Panasonic LX3-Hens teeth as is the Nikon P6000 so after much deliberating i decided that as i wouldn't be using it much and the wife only wants a point and shoot that i would get her Panasonic's LX3 baby sister at almost half the price and i must say its been great fun, The lens is a Leica and in good light the images are very nice indeed and i have shot off about 300 images in the last couple of days and have been very impressed-like all compacts low ISO is the order of the day but for our needs it fits the bill nicely,Even the shutter lag isn't too bad, The screen is big and clear and it has HD video- I have even taken a couple of (cough cough) videos with it, it will certainly be coming to NY with us and will probably get more use than the D3
The rumour mill is at full speed with lots of reports that Nikon's D3 will shortly be replaced with a D3s-adding video and a few other bits and bobs to the already brilliant body to keep it fresh for another year-So i will then have 2 cameras 1 year old and out of date
The Canon 7D has been around for a full week and there are lots of mixed feelings about it already-some people having problems from the off and some having to have their cameras replaced due to faults, I have been looking at all the forums for decent images showing the cameras full potential and haven't really seen any-lots of crap which i think says more about the photographers than the actual body but as Martin said before its release-best keep the pennies in your pocket for a month or 2 until its fully tested

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.