Articles - Equipment

Important Equipment Checks

We are in the process of preparing our equipment for another fantastic safari in South Africa.  In doing so, we discovered that one of the SD flash cards is corrupted and no longer usable.  It happens to be the largest of the SD cards that we have.  It still contained images from our last trip to [ continue reading ]

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM: Rubber Deterioration

Owners of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM may be quite familiar with the rubber coating on the majority of the lens barrel towards the rear.  Over time, and particularly with heat, the rubber deteriorates and becomes unpleasantly sticky, reminiscent of melted electrical tape.  The rubber coating on mine is in a bad state [ continue reading ]

Kenya Trip 2019 - Gear to Take

Very soon, we are departing for Kenya, for what will be our first visit to Africa since 2015.  Naturally, there is some preparation in terms of photographic equipment.  A photographic safari requires a considerable amount of gear.  Here is a view of the equipment that we would like to take with us: And here is [ continue reading ]

How Large is the Moon in a Photograph?

During the early morning of Saturday, 28 July, 2018, a special celestial event was to occur: a total lunar eclipse, resulting in a red moon — one like this: I captured this particular red moon on 28 August, 2007.  Incidentally, it was the first and last red moon I captured!  For the most recent total lunar eclipse, I planned to rise early [ continue reading ]

Canon's Big White 200mm Primes Compared

People who are familiar with Canon's EF telephoto lenses may know that over the years, Canon has offered two wide-aperture, fast-for-focal-length 200mm prime lenses: Canon EF 200mm f/1.8L USM; and Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM.  Firstly, here is a view of these two wonderful lenses side-by-side: The Canon EF 200mm f/1.8L USM is a legendary lens [ continue reading ]

Guest Speaker at a Camera Club v3.0

Last year, a good friend of mine, who runs a growing camera club, asked me if I would return for the third occasion as a guest speaker.  I had the honour and privilege of presenting an audio-visual show and talk about light and composition in September of 2017, and in February of 2016, I presented [ continue reading ]