Best trip yet....Phinda, Sabi Sabi, Tswalu

[Bush dog]

 

This is an excellent reporting, good text, excellent and vivid pictures.

 

Very impressed by the puff adder's pictures, though I think it was a bit reckless but at least rewarded by those pictures.

 

Be carefull of the perspective caused by lens length.

 

By using a long lens, it is possible to pose a scene in such a way that the people appear very much closer to the snake than they really are. Remember that these were taken with a 600mm lens, which has a minimum focus distance of over 4m, and that a puff-adder can only strike 1/3 to maximum 1/2 it's own length, and I am pretty sure no risks whatsoever were taken...

 

Just my two cents.

 

Thank you for those precisions.

[PCNW]

Peter Connan, on 27 Aug 2014 - 10:30 AM, said:

 

Bush dog, on 26 Aug 2014 - 06:54 AM, said:

This is an excellent reporting, good text, excellent and vivid pictures.

 

Very impressed by the puff adder's pictures, though I think it was a bit reckless but at least rewarded by those pictures.

 

Be carefull of the perspective caused by lens length.

 

By using a long lens, it is possible to pose a scene in such a way that the people appear very much closer to the snake than they really are. Remember that these were taken with a 600mm lens, which has a minimum focus distance of over 4m, and that a puff-adder can only strike 1/3 to maximum 1/2 it's own length, and I am pretty sure no risks whatsoever were taken...

 

Just my two cents.

 

It didn't feel too dangerous at the time but looking back at the photos make me wonder. I don't think the guide would have let us get in harms way though. I believe Peter has explained it.

[safariguy]

@@PCNW, thank you for your superb photographs and stories!! A wonderful trip report, and you had an excellent time to boot. What else can you ask for?

[martywilddog]

Oh my gosh @PSNW, what photography! Please do tell me you are a professional? I can't imagine anything else!

 

(given the gear I see you toting around - i have never seen a lens that big! - you must be!)

 

I read all 6 pages at one go, and I can't count how many times you said "nothing really great, nor really good came out of this shoot" and then I'd see this listing of beyond gorgeous pictures! You are clearly your owns toughest critic :-)

 

I absolutely loved the lion sequence around post 24 or 34 (as I said, one go, so my memory is failing me), the pictures of the roaring faces, the paw, etc! Surpassing great by miles!

 

I have one word for your photography: spectacular!

[martywilddog]

Sorry, of course I meant @@PCNW and not PSNW

[xelas]

@@PCNW

 

Thank you, @@martywilddog, to bring up this excellent trip report which I have sadly missed. Because the photography is truly something special, both in composition, execution and colours. Everything was already said by others, more competent members, so just a humble "my hat off" to you!

 

I will need to go through them more times, to get the angles and approaches, yet immediately I have two (technical) question:

 

1.) DOF is very narrow, and I do understand that part as you have been using a very long telephoto lens at a quite short distances, many times close to MFD. However one thing surprises me, and that is the complete isolation of a subject (very sharp) from both the foreground, the background, and even from lateral sides?! Is it only my first impression (will go through the photos again on my iMac at home) or you have used some special techniques while PP (some) your photos?

 

2.) colours are fantastic; they remind me of those from CCD type of sensors (Nikon D200 or Sony A100); you have mentioned a Neutral PC, and I have recognised the 600 mm and 80-400 (??) but you never mentioned which bodies you have used? Any chance you would share the PP steps, at least the ones that are "guilty" for this colour scheme?

 

And I do understand that not much of pushing the sliders is needed to get fantastic colours when photographing in Africa (Namibia in my case).

 

Thanks In Advance, Alex

Edited July 10, 2015 by xelas

[PCNW]

Oh my gosh thank you @@safariguy and @@martywilddog, very kind words indeed. I'm sorry to not have seen this but I haven't been on here in awhile...just finding out about Nancy today.

 

No, I'm not anywhere near a professional and regarding the shallow depth it's mostly due to wide apertures. I used a Nikon D4 and the new 80-400 lens at the first lodge and then a rented 600mm for the next two lodges. Most photos with that combo were at f/4. I also have a D800 and used my 70-200 or 24-120 on it.

 

I don't have too much to offer in the way of PP work. I was using Lightroom and the Nik software back when there photos were edited and several/some/many had "Glamour Glow" applied and/or a radial of "Soft Focus" from Nik Color Efex after general editing in LR. But a wide aperture and that 600mm were really the reason for the shallow depth.

[PCNW]

Actually @@martywilddog in Color Efex Pro it was a radial of "vignette blur" that I was using back then and not soft focus as I stated.