Posted on 7th September 2009 by admin in Articles |Landscape |Night Photography |Pretoria |SA Photographers |South Africa |Travel |Tshwane |Urban Landscape
Africa, botanical, city, elements, gardens, human, Landscape, monuments, museums, night, nightlife, Photography, skyline, south, sunsets, urban
Landscape photographers will often disregard the Urban Landscape, missing many photography opportunities right on their doorsteps. While lengthy drives several hundreds of kilometres away may reveal pristine landscapes, it is not always possible for many photographers to travel such distances. As a landscape photographer based in or near a city you can still easily keep your landscape photography in tune and up to scratch by using opportunities closer to home.It is also no secret that some of the best images you may ever produce will come from locations close to home, locations that you have become familiar with.
The Voortrekker Monument with the Magaliesburg Mountains in the Distance Photographed from Fort Schanskop in Pretoria. From Mitchell Krog's Urban Landscape Photography Portfolio. (Copyright Mitchell Krog - All Rights Reserved)
South African landscape photographer Mitchell Krog often travels to various locations around South Africa, no matter where he ends up he always seems to find a landscape photography opportunity, be it pristine landscapes or cities full of human elements. It’s all about conditioning, says Mitchell, too many photographers have conditioned their minds to thinking a landscape photograph must be “pure” and “pristine” when quite simply life and our planet is just not that way. We are after all humans and as photographers we should not only seek out untouched landscapes but also from time to time include evidence of our impact on the planet in photographs, including human elements can often add great impact to images.
The Iconic Telkom Tower and The University of South Africa UNISA Buildings at Night Photographed from Fort Schanskop Near the Voortrekker Monument Just Outside Pretoria. From Mitchell Krog's Urban Night Photography Portfolio. (Copyright Mitchell Krog - All Rights Reserved)
Cities are full of exciting things to photograph. Virtually every city in South Africa has a history going back 100 years or more, there are monuments, museums and lots of modern architecture just begging to be photographed. Of course crime in South Africa is always of concern to a photographer but there is a multitude of safe locations around city centre’s and for those safety conscious individuals, shooting in groups is often advisable. Botanical gardens offer a safe haven for photographers and most major cities in South Africa have one with very reasonable access fees, some even free.
Posted on 1st September 2009 by admin in Articles |Insects |Macro |Magaliesburg |South Africa
Africa, bees, birds, butterflies, gardens, human, Insects, lens, Macro, spring
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant and if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome ~~~ Anne Bradstreet (1612 – 1672)
Spring has arrived in full force in South Africa, it’s the 1st of September and already we are set for day time temperatures reaching near 30 degrees. As Spring returns so does a plethora of life return to our gardens and there is no better time for Photographers in South Africa to get their Macro lenses dusted off and get crawling around in their gardens. Macro photography is one of the most enjoyable forms of photography.You can also get started in Macro Photography without breaking the bank.
A Banded Bee Captured in Flight Near a Salvia clevelandii x leucophylla Flower. From Mitchell Krog's Macro Photography Collections. (Copyright Mitchell Krog - All Rights Reserved)
Only once a photographer has crawled around their garden for a few hours with a Macro lens do they realise how much life is in the garden normally unseen to the human eye and the more you start crawling around as a photographer the more you actually see. Of course it goes without saying don’t go sticking your fingers into dark places and watch out for spiders and snakes. With Macro Photography it is quite essential to learn to use flash to freeze action and ensure sharper images. There are many ways of doing this. You can use a standard flash unit attached to your hot shoe or you can make yourself a bounce card to force the light down towards your subject. The best way however is to purchase a Macro Ring Flash unit which sits around the lens itself and pushes light directly onto your subject.
A Mantis/Stick Insect Photographed in the Dead of Night using Macro Flash Techniques. From Mitchell Krog's Macro Photography Collections. (Copyright Mitchell Krog - All Rights Reserved)
The night time garden is full of life, most insects come to rest at night and this is one of the best times to get out and photograph them as it does not involve you chasing them around the garden in the daylight. This however requires that you absolutely positively need to have flash lighting to assist you.
If you are relatively new in photography and have wanted to experiment with Macro photography there is no better time to get started. A good quality Macro lens is relatively affordable and Macro ring flash units are also not too badly priced either. I can assure you that Macro photography is very addictive but also very enjoyable and rewarding and you get to appreciate a whole part of life that most people do not take notice of.
A Bee in Flight Coming in For Landing on an Aloe mutabilis Flower. From Mitchell Krog's Macro Photography Portfolio. (Copyright Mitchell Krog - All Rights Reserved)
Watch out for more Macro Photography Articles and Image from Mitchell Krog
