Welcome to Strydenburg !

I don't have much to say about sleepy Strydenburg, except that on the day we were there it was very hot and dusty.  But the town is neat & clean and the people are friendly!

Welcome to Murraysburg !

Murraysburg is far from the main road to Cape Town...We drove through it on our way to Nieu Bethesda from Victoria West.

Our first impressions were rather sad as the first thing we saw as we entered town was the cemetery...

                                                           'God is love'

Eos 6D Review - Part 3 ( Homage to Tri-X with my Eos 6D )

Intelligent Life has an article in its March/April edition on Tri-X, the iconic Kodak b&w negative film. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Tri-X. The article is well worth reading and explains things from a photographers perspective, but of course we photographers must remember that the viewer knows none of what goes on behind the scenes and in the photographers mind, and can only judge what he/she sees in front of them. The viewer sees only the final product and doesn't know or care what camera was used, whether it was digital or film or if it was a modern Japanese 'plastic' camera or a German luxury metal one...

So in a moment of inspiration and homage I thought I would convert some of my very recent 'street' images from the also iconic Longstreet in Cape Town using the Tri-X filter from my Silver Efex 2, Photoshop plugin. 

Btw, the e book version of 'Intelligent Life' can be downloaded to I Pad,  available for free  from the I Store.

Eos 6D Review - Part 2 ( GPS & The Garden Route Portfolio )

Well I have had the Eos 6D for about 4 months now and I have come to really appreciate some of its unique features...and unfortunately some disappointment in others...


                                                     

My Canon Eos 6D Review - Part 1 ( Image Quality & General impressions. )

What better way to test my new Canon Eos 6D than on a 4500km three week journey through the Karoo and on to Cape Town... and back?

This is exactly what I did over this past December and January. My wife and I made a slow six day photographic journey to Cape Town via the Karoo. My three children drove to Cape Town on their own and then we spend another two weeks in Cape Town with them before the two day, 1500km drive back to our hometown of Centurion near Johannesburg.

For this journey I used the Canon Eos 6D and the Canon EF 40mm f2.8 pancake lens as my main combination, plus 24mm, 85mm & 70-300mm lenses. I also brought my Eos M as a backup camera.

Blue Is The Colour...

Yesterday I went for a walk down Steve Biko str and Voortrekker str in Pretoria North...

I wanted to test my Canon Eos 6D and Canon Ef 85mm F1.8 lens. I recently bought the Eos 6D as a replacement to my Eos 5Dmk2. A few weeks later I also got the Eos Ef 85mm f1.8 lens.   The 85mm gives subtle compression, is small not to attract too much attention and is sharp right out into the corners at medium apertures

Milan, Italy

We arrived in Milan from Stresa and the contrast was fascinating...

The small almost sleepy village of Stresa lies on the shore of  Lago Maggiore, a beautiful lake with snow capped mountains in the distance and surrounded mostly by steep mountains. Milan on the other hand was a cacophony of sound & noise...especially on the Sunday when we arrived. There was some festival on with bands playing and stalls selling all sorts of things for charity. The streets near the Duomo were packed!

Greylingstad...

I stopped in Greylingstad on my way to an assignment at the nearby Sasol Impumulelo mine. 

This is what I saw in the short half an hour or so . . .

       

Review: Canon Eos M & Ef 50mm F1.8 - Part Six

My user report of the 'old' Ef 50mm F1.8 doing duty as a portrait lens on the Eos M.

When I tested the Eos M with the pancake lens last week I said that it was a perfect match with the Eos M and the EF M 22mm f2. The pancake lens has an equivalent focal length of  64mm and the EF 50mm f1.8 has an equivalent focal length of 80mm (in 35mm terms) on the Eos M. Traditionally a focal length of 80mm to 135mm is considered the 'ideal' for portraiture. The 64mm of the pancake falls just a little bit short from that 'ideal'. 

The 80mm to 135mm focal length is considered ideal because of the flattering perspective that it renders.

Review: Canon Eos M & EF 40mm f2.8 STM 'pancake' lens - Part Five

My user report of the 40mm F2.8 pancake lens and the Eos M . . .

These two were made for each other...

Read part five of my review.

                                                             

My Eos M...Some Personal Photographs

I visted some friends in the small town of Mokopane. 

There was not much time for photography but I saw this young woman at the supermarket...luckily I had my Eos M with me...

Review: My Eos M at Work - Part four

Well I have had my Eos M for more than a month now doing lots of tests and things....but at some stage one should stop testing and see how it works!

Read part four of my review:

                                                                         

Review...Canon Eos M High ISO Noise - Part Three

Canon Eos M 18mp Aps-C size sensor, how does it perform at high iso, noise and some suggestions on how to eliminate it . . .

Read Part Three of my review.

ISO 3200 

The Owl House, Nieu Bethesda

I am currently busy with my ongoing 'review' of the Canon Eos M. But I thought I would take a break and post some images of a remarkable house in Nieu Bethesda...

Review: Eos M - Part Two

How does the Eos M handle itself in the street with some full frame lenses attached via the lens adapter?

To test all of this I drove to a street called Steve Biko road (formerly Voortrekker str) in Pretoria North . . .

Read part two of my review.

                  Eos M on steroids!  Mamiya 50mm lens and two adapters

Review: Canon Eos M - Part One

Actually its more of a 'first impressions' as I have only had the camera for a few days.

And its much better than I expected...

Read part one of my review.

NB : My new review of the 'Eos 6D, Two weeks in Cape Town' is now up here at: http://thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-canon-eos-6d-review-part-1-image.html  

Surreal moment in Rouxville...

Rouxville is in the Southern Freestate Province of South Africa.

We arrived there on a Sunday morning just after the end of the morning Church service. All the farmers were in their Sunday best having a chat in front of the beautiful 'klip kerk'. On the other side of the church there was loud traditional music blaring from a house with the front door wide open and no one to be seen. . .

Ultra Colour...

In the days of film we use to increase developer agitation to bump up the colours and contrast of colour negative film...today we have Photoshop, Nik Color Efex, LR, Topaz etc etc...

In Full Colour and Detailed...

This past Easter weekend we went with friends to the Ebenezer Dam in Georges Valley, Magoebaskloof . . .

Smithfield in the Freestate

After a long days driving from Centurion we eventually arrived in Smithfield at about 4h30 on  a Saturday afternoon in December last year.

Smithfield is on the main route to Port Elizabeth and a popular stopover. The are numerous b&b establishments and even a few restaurants etc. We stayed in 'Rusties place' for the night and we had a very unique two bedroom apartment all to ourselves . . .