Big Male

Big Male, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

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A sense of place

One of the most surprising things to me in Photography is how often people forget to give the subject a sense of place. Have a look at this video from Art Wolfe

http://vimeo.com/15203471

wildlife photography tips

Some useful tips on wildlife photography below

http://www.photoradar.com/techniques/technique/10-quick-wildlife-photography-tips

http://www.photoradar.com/reviews/product/sony-alpha-a55

http://www.photoradar.com/reviews/product/sony-alpha-a55

Farm Labour Cottage

Farm Labour Cottage, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

Church

Church, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

1937 Ford

1937 Ford, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

Big Guy

Big Guy, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

It's sad that in the last year and a bit rhino poaching has taken a sharp rise. South African National Parks has lost 152 rhino this year alone, an alarming figure. At this rate it's likely that their destiny will be in Zoo's if we lucky and museums if we continue to ignore this threat.

Kruger Day 2

Kruger day 1

Pearl Spotted Owl, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

first full day in the park today, the start of an 11 day trip. The day was a little slow but to be honest we let it be a little bit slow. It's just a pitty that the rest of the visitors don't take the same attitude, speeding is still a major problem in the park.

Sightings on the first day consisted of the usual suspects. Elephant, buffalo, Kudu, Waterbuck, Zebra, giraffe, Impala, Wildebeest, hippo and crocodile. The highlight of the day was probably the sighting of a Pearl spotted owl. This bird is only around 15cm and is seldom seen out in the open.

Sony Alpha A290 emerges online

Happy news in my opinion, not so much the fact that the A290 has emerged but rather the fact that the Sony Alpha range has a future on the A-Mount. This leak or rumour actually couldn't have happened at a better time for Sony as many users were questioning the commitment of Sony to the A-Mount. The rumoured specs for the A290 are as follows;

• APS-C image sensor resolution of 14.2 megapixels BIONZ image processor.
• maximum sensitivity of ISO 3200
• 2.7 inch LCD screen
• sensitivity optimized DRO range
• speed 2.5 fps continuous shooting
• user interface with visual images, like the A230
• memory card or MemoryStick Pro Duo SD / SDHC

Horse

Horse, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

Image taken with Sony 300mm F2.8, what a lens. I will be writting a little more about this lens this coming weekend. What an experience

Springbok on the move

Springbok on the move, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

Amstel

Amstel, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

A little bit of fun painting with light... this is how it was done. Simple infinity curve created with green card board. 1 X Amstel larger fom SA (note Amstel here is in a green bottle and not a brown bottle). Ensure the room is dark enogh to slow down your shutter speed to about 5sec. Then take a maglight and move it around the bottle. It's really good fun and I would recommend trying it

A little bit of rough living

I have had a bit of tough last 2 months and decided to get away from it all. So I packed my instant tent, have to love the modern world, and headed off to the Pilanesberg for the weekend.

The weather was great, 360, sunny and hardly a cloud in the sky. I have to say I'm quite excited about camping, a chance to be a man and make do with the meagre of supplies I had brought and face the elements. Having a look at the folks around me I now realize that camping can be pretty serious. I mean who knew you could get DSTV (Digital Satellite Television) for your tent. Anyway the real reason I'm here is to take photographs, today was pretty rushed so no luck as yet but we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Lying in bed and thinking of the sounds around me, the Pilanesberg is quite similar but yet so different to Kruger. It's 9:30pm and still there are campers arriving, camp life doesn't settle down as early as it does in Kruger and children certainly do not go to bed at their usual time. It’s also quite interesting that unlike me many of the people visiting the camping site have no intention of entering the game reserve. The Camps are situated at the perimeter of the reserves as to have as little impact on the animals and environment as possible, unfortunately for me that means that there aren’t any real bush sounds in camp. No Lions roaring and no laughter from a hyena just a lonely jackal calling for a mate and the mumbled ramblings of Afrikaans form the camp site near me, sigh, and as the Klipdrift kicks the ramblings get louder. Pilanesberg definitely doesn't have the same policy on noise as other reserves do.

Sony Strategy for DSLR's in 2010

Sony has given a clearer indication to it’s camera business unit’s future. Sony announced a Ultra-compact new camera with interchangeable lenses, APS-size sensor and AVCHD; and is planning at least two new additions to α DSLR line-up

The Ultra-compact new α camera with interchangeable lenses is in development should launch in 2010, Sony is also planning to launch a mid-range successor to α700. You should also see the introduction of HD video into Sony’s entry and mid level DSLR camera’s

Sony also announced 3 new lenses currently in development including Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm f/2 ZA SSM 24mm, new Carl Zeiss wide angle lens and Sony Super Telephoto 500mm f/4 G Lens. Hopefully this will be ready for the world cup but I don’t think we should hold our breath.

One annoyance I have with this announcement from Sony is the fact that they tend to show their cards a little too early, if the launch of these products is planned around the end of the year it once again, like the launch of the α900, allows Nikon, Canon and the rest to plan counter strategies and develop products to directly compete with the α’s. So if I have one request it is that Sony speed up the release to market. All in all though, as a Sony user I am extremely happy to see that movement has finally come in Mid range enthusiastic market and lenses areas.

Full press release

22 February 2010

Sony highlights digital imaging strategy at PMA:
Ultra-compact new camera with interchangeable lenses, APS-size sensor and AVCHD; more additions to α DSLR line-up
• Ultra-compact new α camera with interchangeable lenses in development for launch 2010
• Additions to mainstream α family and mid-range successor to α700
• New lenses in development including Distagon T* 24mm f/2 ZA SSM 24mm, new Carl Zeiss wide angle lens and Super Telephoto 500mm f/4 G Lens

At PMA this year, Sony confirms plans to further expand the appeal of its digital imaging range. Additions to the α (”alpha”) range of DSLR cameras will be joined by a new product concept that makes high-quality imaging accessible to an even wider audience of photographers.
Ultra-compact camera with interchangeable lenses and APS-C sensor

In 2010 Sony will introduce a new ultra-compact camera with interchangeable lenses that teams “any time, anywhere” convenience with DSLR picture quality. Exhibited in early concept mock-up form at PMA, the camera features a newly-developed Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor. It will also support HD video recording using the efficient AVCHD format. Shown in mock-up form alongside the compact, easy-to-use new camera is a selection of compatible interchangeable lenses.

Mainstream DSLR range to grow further
Sony also confirms that the current α range will continue to grow with the introduction of further new mainstream DSLR models using the newly-developed Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and integrating HD video function with AVCHD format.

New DSLR lenses from Sony
The α family of over 30 interchangeable lenses and teleconverters is set to grow with the addition of exciting new models. Shown in advanced pre-production form at PMA is the Distagon T* 24mm f/2 ZA SSM Carl Zeiss wide angle lens. Scheduled for launch in 2010, this bright, wide angle prime is an ideal choice for reportage, naturally lit interiors and other quality-critical handheld shooting applications. Displayed as a mock-up on the Sony booth, the newest lens to carry the G Lens name is a bright, high-power Super Telephoto 500mm f/4 G with class-leading optical performance.

High key

High key, originally uploaded by holtphoto.

This image was taken in a home studio set up using two 300watt Linkstar studio flash units with soft boxes and a white backgroung. I will be doing a series of these images and experimenting with high key. I hope that you find these images intresting and please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

Really need to get doing some projects around my passion photography

Sony releases A450

Honestly you are telling me that Sony has spent it's time developing an A450 instead of address the urgent need for a replacement of the A700... I will not purchase another single Sony product until they show that there is a future in this system.

If for some reason you would like the specs of this cut down A500 follow this link to Dpreview http://www.dpreview.com/news/1001/10010506sonyA450.asp