Africa 2016 part 2

Addo Elephant Park: After Colchester we entered Addo at the Mathyolweni Gate. Driving slowly through the par we were a bit worried that we would not see much being without a guide. That would turn out to be an unfounded fear… The biggest surprise was when we turned onto the main road from a side loop road and as we turned in front of us was a huge old bull elephant strolling down the middle of the road with all the time in the world… African style. A little further on we came to the waterhole where he must have strolled away from.

It was a hot day so a lot of animals were close to the waterholes around the park. Spending most of the day driving around we ended up at our accommodation at Spekboom tented camp. Yes, inside the park! You are on your own and we settled in with a braai and some big T-bones to end an eventful day. However we were not done yet! Next to the tented camp is a waterhole and the following sunset was amazing!

Early morning I was back at the waterhole and had a visit from a spotted Hyena which was curious and came right up to the fence to see what was making a “click, click” noise. The Sony a7r does NOT have a quiet shutter.

Africa 2016 part 1

1st phase of our African safari/vacation was in the Eastern Cape. We landed in PE and drove to Colchester where we stayed in the Dung Beetle guest house on the Sundays river for 3 nights. This was an extremely good base to explore the area. On day one we drove down to the beach (Sundays river mouth) where we enjoyed the harsh African sun and sand dunes. Some nice birdlife in the area.

Sundays river early morning

Sunbird

On Day 2 we decided to visit the beach again in the morning and late afternoon we went for a Safari in Scotia Game reserve. The safari was in an open Land Rover and our guide took us all over the game reserve looking for all kind of animals. We missed out on the Rhino but saw most of the other antelope, elephants, buffalo etc. After the “tea break” we went into a different area of the reserve and got to know the local Lion population. 14 year old male with female and their young adult male off-spring. Lucky for us they were still full of the baby Giraffe they ate a day or 2 earlier. Scotia was a great experience and it included dinner and drinks and a night safari afterwards with spotlights. Did not see too much but was exciting nonetheless.

14 year old male Lion in Scotia

Sunset in Scotia - Giraffe keeping an eye on the Lions...

Day 3 we made a move to Addo Elephant park… tbc.

Birding in Paschberg

I have had my Sony a7r for a while now and am getting used to the manual focus. I had to because I still do not have an e-mount AF lens. I use my Canon lenses with an adapter and one lens that has really impressed with sharpness is my 100-400mm L lens which I have been using to get shots of birds in Paschber.

Kohlmeise (Parus major)

Kohlmeise (Parus major)

I spend a few hours set-up near feeding areas and wait till the birds get used to my presence, now in winter the results are pretty good and I have been lucky to get some goods shots of my favourite bird the European Robin.

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Paschberg Innsbruck

Paschberg is a forest area near Innsbruck - walking distance from the city it is a very popular escape for the locals. Popular for dog walkers, joggers and anyone just looking at getting out of the city. I like to walk through it early morning especially when it gets foggy in autumn and winter.

I have not seen much wildlife in Paschberg other than the usual squirrels and birds but I have hear that there are the occasional deer and fox. It is a very busy area so not sure how often you will be able to see any.

Paschberg is the ideal place to recharge your batteries! 


Venice

Best time to visit Venice must be December! You can move around without being squashed! It is a bit chilly but the fog/mist in the morning makes for very moody photos. I did a lot in B&W which I really like.

This has the feel that it could have been taken anytime in the last 60 years!

Getting up at 5:00 in the morning gets you to roam around Venice and have the streets all for yourself.

Also got a nice Colour shot of the classic view in Venice. This taken with my little Ricoh GR

2 minute exposure

Here another shot I liked that captured the mood early evening.


Sill

Innsbruck has a small river that feeds the Inn, the Sill. It is one of the locals and my favourite hiking routes around the beautiful city. There are rumours however that it is in danger of some sort of development :-( Hope it is only a rumour. Here a pic I took this Autumn:

Here some more from my Autumn walk:

Now with the beginning of winter here a shot where the Sill joins the Inn:

Karwendel Tirol

I helped out at an event "Karwendelmarsch" and had the opportunity to stay the night in the Falkenhütte.  One of the most picturesque areas in Tyrol - well most of Tyrol is picturesque ;-) One positive thing was that I did not have to hike to this location so was pretty fresh to go out in the evening to get some shots.

Sunset taken from the Falkenhütte with my 58mm Rokkor lens on the A7r

The Falkenhütte just after sunset.

Definately a place to visit when in the area with some great food - beautiful hiking trails around the area to keep you busy.

Took this panorama shot just before sunrise from the hut - 4 images stitched in Lightroom CC. Taken with the Samyang 14mm lens.

This one was taken at night (moonlit landscape) also with the 14mm Lens.

Next year I'll try and make another visit

 

Hiking in the Clouds

Last weekend I went with a colleague of mine on a photography hike in the Alps. The weather was not great (Overcast and wet) but it was a Sunday and we had nothing better to do so we went up Patcherkofel and walked along the Zirbenweg. Due to the weather I was in a B&W mood :-) 

Here some pics to show the mood/feel of the area

Here some close up shots of a “Molch” and spider web:

FIF Walk in Gaisau

Last week my Photo club (FIF – Fotografie INN Fokus) had a get together in the nature reserve Gaisau near Inzing in Tirol. The weather was not great but we went anyway and we were rewarded with an awesome sunset. Here one picture that shows off the Dynamic range of the Sony A7r:

Here I got one and with help of Lightroom CC's new HDR add on I managed to get this from the scene:

One of our members had her kids along and with the Corn fields and golden light this shot presented itself:

Most of the pics I take with my Sony are with Canon lenses at the moment which work pretty well with an adapter but you can forget about AF (Auto focus on these lenses - too slow) however the focus peaking that the Sony offers works quite well.

Black & White moods

I read somewhere that “if colour does not add anything to a picture then you should go black & white” For me black & white just has that extra bit of atmosphere/feel to it that makes it special. I love looking at the classic photo books of street photographers with their high contrast B&W photos. 

When I take pictures I try to get my subjects back lit. Here I got a lucky shot of a dog playing in the water

On a hike a few days back I made a few to get the dark forest feel – best place to find one self when stressed by work etc.

My favourite camera for street is my little Ricoh GR – small, light and powerful.