Wildlife Photography across the Water: Photokina-Some goodies

Saturday, 25 September 2010

Photokina-Some goodies

The Photokina show threw up a couple of nice surprises for us nature photographers this year, Namely from the Sigma camp, I have always liked Sigma for their originality in their focal lengths like the 300-800, 50-500 and 120-300f2.8 lenses and i have always taken a look at their range when i am about to purchase a new lens, In days gone by i have used their 70-200F2.8 and it was very good and my brother gets very good results from the 300-800 sigmonster, They have just released a new 70-200F2.8 with image stabiliser, The list price is about the same as the new Nikon which is rediculous but the prices in the shops are already much cheaper and a true alternative to Nikon and Canons lenses, I mentioned the 120-300F2.8 and its one i have looked at time and time again, It was always a small chunky, solidly built lens and known as being very sharp, It didnt have an I.S system which it really could have done with and now that has been addressed and really does look like a good lens to have in your kit bag-add a 1.4x on a cropped body and you have a hand holdable 600mm lens with the versatility of a zoom, If i didnt have the 200-400 i would imagine one of these being high on my list, Sigma has always been at the top of the macro lens charts and the 150mm F2.8 is one of the very best and now they have added a stabiliser its another very serious piece of kit-just about perfect in fact, The big guns had already announced their new kit before Photokina so it was nice to have some nice surprises and maybe one or two things on the wanted list, I would suggest having a close look at the Sigma range the next time that you are in the market for a lens or two

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.