Wildlife Photography across the Water: 200-400

Monday, 7 February 2011

New Canon Gear

Canon made some significant announcements today in the way of new gear, A couple of the low end camera bodies have been updated, A couple of small flashguns but then the really interesting stuff-Big lenses, We have known for some time that the whole range of long telephotos are being replaced/updated with lighter versions but the big surprise is the announcement of a totally new 200-400 (wonder where they got the idea of that focal length from ) which has a built in 1.4x, Look at the image and you will see the hump on the side, I am not sure of the idea behind it as they have just announced a new 1.4x but i guess it will make it quicker to use and stop any dust getting in , The long telephotos have a considerable weight saving which will be a big benefit and will mean that the 600 should now be hand holdable which will be amazing, Canon should have had some of the big lenses available already but seem to have had some problems and they have still to reach those with deep pockets who pre ordered them, Prices are huge, the 500mm will retail at $9500 and the 600mm will be $12000 which is a massive increase over the current model, but glass has always been the best place to put your photographic money as they hold their value much better then any camera body,
I leave for Japan early tomorrow and may make it to the Yokohama show at the end of the week, If i make it there i will report back-hopefully with some images
More info here

Dave

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

Trip Report-Moody skies

A couple of weeks ago when i was at the coast, Things were tough,The conditions were extremly hard to shoot in, Bitter cold and High winds were some of the toughest i have shot in for a long time, I dont remember having colder winds in either Switzerland or even when i shot polar bears in Canada,

The birds werent playing ball and many had moved further south or inland to get away from the unseasonal weather, So what to do,Well i had plenty of time to have a think,Do i move or do i stay, I decided to give it another go and one morning before the sun came up i headed out ,Driving down the coast i noticed some nice moody cloud formations out at sea-East where the sun will rise, I thought it would be nice to try and incorporate the cloud formations in the images i wanted of the Snow Geese making the clouds just as much of the image as the birds,

Luck was with me, I watched the Geese as i arrived and the did something i had not seen there before,They left the partly frozen lake and did a short flight up and over the road and landed in the grass next to the sand dunes,I parked next to the road and grabbed my D3 and 200-400 combo,This would allow me to better compose the images as the birds flew in,Not only from across the road but from further down the road where another group were sleeping on the ice, This would either work or it wouldnt,The images would look good or fit for the bin,I had nothing to loose and spent a cold but enjoyable 2 hrs shooting small groups of Snow geese in flight.All the time the light was changing so i kept in AV mode and compensated as needed to stop the bright areas in the clouds from blowing out, A different style for me i guess but one i like and will try again,more a bird in landscape shot than straight portrait type images-what do you think?

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.