Visit to Napier

The past weekend we visited Napier which is situated between Caledon and Bredasdorp in the Cape Agulhas region in the Western Cape.  It is a picturesque little town with warm-hearted and friendly people. Here is a link with more information on the area we have visited:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier,_Western_Cape

During our visit I took a couple of pictures at The Red Windmill Restaurant and Nursery.

On our way back to Cape Town on Sunday we drove past the most beautiful Canola Fields and how I wished I could stop and take some pictures.  Unfortunately the rainy weather did not allow for that to happen.  Hopefully on our next visit I will get  the opportunity to take a couple of pictures.

Landscape Photography at Nighttime (2)

In my previous post I mentioned the landscapes I took at nighttime which were so badly affected by the streetlights.  Here are a few:

At my next attempt to take landscapes at nighttime, I will look for a darker spot with a light somewhere in the distant background.  Instead of leaving the shutter open for such a short time (couple of seconds), I will try leaving it open for 5 or 10 minutes instead.

Landscape Photography at Nighttime

I am focusing on improving my landscape photography skills and this weekend being very busy, I only managed to pop out to take couple of shots at night time.  It was the first time I have tried this at night and I need to practice a lot still!

I struggled to get the camera to focus on a certain point and allow me to actually take the shot.  I have tried using Auto Focus and set the speed and aperture manually, but really struggled.  The camera simply wouldn't focus.  I then had to change the composition completely and focus on something in a fairly brightly lit area that was much closer to me than what I originally focused on.

Also, the nearby streetlights affected the color of the pictures a lot.  The lights being an orange color, has cast an orange haze over the photos.  I thought it best not to try to take landscape pictures at night again because I felt so disappointed by the results afterwards, but then found this article when doing some online research about it::  http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/night-landscape-photography/

After reading this article by Mr Steve Paxton, I actually want to try and get it right.  He made it sound so interesting and rewarding when you finally do get a well-exposed, well-composed shot!

Before last night I never even considered trying to take landscapes at night, because I never thought it would be possible.  Now his article made it clear that the darker it is, the better your chances of getting a great shot.  Another thing I have learned is that I would have to use a much longer shutter speed than what I was using.  I only kept the shutter open for a couple of seconds, but will definitely try to keep it open for a couple minutes at a time next time.  I have noticed last night that what he has said about the battery life in cold weather is true.  I had a fully charged battery and by the third or forth photo I took, the battery was only half-full.

Working full time weekdays and only really being able to focus on photo shoots after hours and weekends anyway, I now have more opportunities which I didn't realize I had before.

Just for fun - Lights

On our way back from Camps Bay I was playing around with the settings on my camera.  It was dark already and I wasn't driving, so it gave me the opportunity to have some fun taking pictures leaving the shutter open for a couple of seconds at a time.  It was fun to say the least!

Here are a few pics:

Landscapes

This weekend we took a drive to the beautiful Camps Bay in Cape Town.  Along the way we stopped so I could take a couple of landscape pictures.  I have tried different settings, taking the same picture more than once, but focusing on a different subject to see the difference in the outcome.  I must admit I was very disappointed in the outcome of some, because they didn't come out quite the way I have hoped for!  But they say 'practice makes perfect' so I'm not giving up yet!

Here are a few of the landscape shots:

I have used the wide-angle setting (28mm) on my Sigma lens on my Nikon D50 for these shots.

Picture opportunities

Commuting by bus to work and back each weekday made me realize that there are so many photo opportunities out there if one would only stand still for 5 minutes and look around you.

It is very frustrating to say the least, if I am on the bus and I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset and I don't have my camera or tripod with me to take a picture.  You might wonder why I don't carry it with me all the time, but it simply isn't practical as I am already carrying two bags with me when I go to work.

Seeing that it is winter here at the moment, it is still dark when I leave for work in the mornings so taking a picture from a moving bus would not work well anyway.  The only solution is to get up very early on a weekend morning and go to the places I have seen on my journey to work and back.  I think it might be a good idea to make notes if I see such a place so that I know exactly where to go on a weekend and don't have to wonder about where I can take nice landscape photos.

There are two things I would like to practice this weekend.  Landscape composition and back-lighting.

Lets see how things go this weekend...

Lens: Zoom with Macro Capability vs Prime Macro

I thought about what the best lens would be to use for macro photography.  I looked at a zoom lens with macro capability vs a prime macro lens.

The advantage of a zoom lens with macro capability is that you could for example if you see a small bird or insect in your garden and you want to take a photo of it, you can do so without having to go too close.  You can simply zoom in and then use the macro function on the lens.

However, the quality of a picture taken using the macro function on your zoom lens is lower than the quality you would get on a picture taken with a prime macro lens.

Here is an interesting article I have found on this matter:  http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/compare-zoom-macro-and-fixed-macro-lenses.html

It might be worthwhile investing in both so that you can be assured you will have a lens for whichever situation, but one might end up having to carry around too much equipment 'just in case' you might need it.  In my opinion if you are serious about macro photography, the prime lens will be the way to go from what I have read and studied so far.  However, it is very tempting to maybe start out with the zoom lens with the macro capability just to experiment with it.

Surrounding yourself with the right people

If there is one thing I have realized this past weekend, it is that surrounding yourself with the right people is very inspiring to be the best you can be.

Even though I love photography, it is easy to get trapped in the rat-race and focus more on other things and not making time for doing what I love.  I also seem to at times feel a bit overwhelmed by trying to fit everything in that need to be done each day.  Then after having a weekend like the one that just passed, spending time with friends who love art and photography and being creative was so inspiring and made me want to drop everything that I'm busy with and just start snapping away and study every piece of photography study material that I can lay my hands on!

Looking at them and what they have accomplished as a family made me want to do better than what I'm doing at the moment and study harder and focus more on being creative and most of all enjoying life and teaching our kids to do the same.  It shouldn't become a chore, the art of photography should be enjoyed.

If you surround yourself with people who love doing what you love and are successful in the field, it will have a positive influence on your life.  There is so much one can learn from others greater than yourself and who already made a success in the field of photography.

Watching our friends interact as a family made me realize once again how important it is to spend quality time with your friends and family and those around you whom you care about and not to let the 'rat-race' isolate you from them.

I found this interesting link which reminded me not only to learn from others, but also to give back to those just starting out in the field to get on their feet:

http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/why-successful-people-leave-their-loser-friends-behind/

I don't think one should necessarily avoid all negative people, I doubt that it would be possible, but to take note of how much time you spend with positive, inspiring people and how much time you spend with negative people.  I truly hope that I will be able to inspire others as much as I have been inspired this weekend!