Vernon Chalmers Photography: September 2019

25 September 2019

Another MOCAA Image published by National Geographic

As a National Geographic Partner photographer I had a second image from my Cape Town Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa snapshot series published in an additional National Geographic South African Travel Destination publication.

Image with Canon EOS 6D / EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens in Av Mode: f/11 / Auto-ISO / Handheld @ MOCAA V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

National Geographic Publication: South Africa Tourism Destination

Vernon Chalmers Photography for National Geographic

Vernon Chalmers National Geographic Image from MOCAA V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Vernon Chalmers contributions to National Geographic
"Vernon Chalmers has indeed made significant contributions to National Geographic. He is recognized as a National Geographic Your Shot Partner Photographer, representing Cape Town and South African Tourism. His work has been featured in various National Geographic publications, including images from his visit to the Zeitz MOCAA Museum at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town 1.

His photography often highlights the beauty and diversity of South Africa, capturing stunning landscapes, seascapes, and cultural landmarks. This collaboration with National Geographic has helped promote South Africa as a vibrant travel destination." (Source: Microsoft Copilot)

24 September 2019

Great white pelican in flight over Woodbridge Island

Happy to see the Great White Pelican above Woodbridge Island again

I did a mini-shoot with a few members from the Tygerberg Photographic Society this morning. It was a bit windy, but very nice to see everybody and to discuss / share Birds in Flight photography knowledge.

All great white pelican photos by Vernon Chalmers with Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. (Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 1250 / 1/5000s / 10 fps / AI Servo / Extended Zone AF / AF Case 1 / Handheld).

Location: Woodbridge Island Milnerton Cape Town. More great white pelicans in flight at Woodbridge Island.

(Click to enlarge)

Great White Pelican : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens Woodbridge Island

Great White Pelican : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens Woodbridge Island

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photography Gallery View

Vernon Chalmers Photography Training Milnerton, Cape Town View

20 September 2019

Great White Pelican in flight - Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Great White Pelican in flight - Woodbridge Island
It's a very big welcome back to the pelicans. Haven't seen them for a few months. Happy to have them back over / and hopefully on Woodbridge Island.

All pelican photos by Vernon Chalmers with Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. (Manual Mode: f6.3 / ISO 640 / 1/5000s / 10 fps / AI Servo / Extended Zone AF / AF Case 1 / Handheld).

(Click to Enlarge)

Great White Pelican in Flight : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Great White Pelican in Flight: Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photography Gallery View

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

16 September 2019

Southern Red Bishops in flight - Table Bay Nature Reserve

On my arrival in the Table Bay Nature Reserve last week I followed the bishops for a while, but gave up photographing them in flight due to the thickness of the reeds and the skittishness of the birds hopping and flying around.

I took a walk around the reserve and onh my way out tried the bishops again. This time as was a little more fortunate in getting a few in-flight images that is worth publishing.

Consecutive frames
The two images are consecutive frames at 10 fps taking advantage of the fast shooting speed of the Canon EOS 7D Mark II.

Lightroom Post-Processing
All images processed in Adobe Lightroom 8. Converted from RAW to JPG. Lens profile correction. Minor colour correction. Sharpness and noise reduction applied.

Cape Town Location
Milnerton Lagoon Woodbridge Island, Cape Town. Over the Diep River flowing past the Milnerton Golf Course.

(Click to enlarge)

Red Bishop male in flight in the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island

Red Bishop female in flight in the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island

Equipment (Birds In Flight / Action Photography)

Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
SanDisk Extreme 64GB 120MB/s CF Card

Manual Mode Settings

Shutter speed: 1/4000s
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal length 400mm
Auto-ISO (ISO 800)
Continuous shooting mode (10 fps) / AI Servo
AI Servo / AF Mode Option (Large / Wide Zone AF / Case 1)
Lens AF On / No IS / Handheld

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Birds in Flight Photography Gallery View

Birds in Flight Photography Training Cape Town View

Canon EOS 7D Mark II: Cropping and Lightroom Post-Processing

Cropping and Lightroom Post-Processing with my Birds in Flight Photography Setup
A few weeks ago I captured a butterfly with my Canon EOS 7D Mark II Birds in Flight setup (non -macro / non-close-up) with the objective to see to what extend it will be usable online - and for a few other projects I'm currently researching.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
The minimum focus distance of the 400mm lens used (from front lens element to subject) is 3.5 meters - not really made for close-up work as is.

1st Image: RAW image processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6 and the free Google Nik Suite plugin (exported as JPEG). Download the free Google Nik Suite

2nd Image: RAW Image - Straight Out Of Camera (exported as JPG).

Location: Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Canon Camera / Lens Settings

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

M Mode: f/6.3 ISO 1000 1/5000s

Wide Zone AF on

AI Servo on

10 fps

Handheld

(Click to Enlarge)

Canon EOS 7D Mark II: Cropping and Post-Processing

Image 1 : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens (Cropped)

Image 2 : Canon EOS 7E Mark II / 400mm Lens (Original RAW)

Vernon Chalmers Photography Training / Workshops Cape Town

Birds in Flight Photography Workshop More

Canon Speedlite / Ring Lite Flash Photography Workshop More

Macro / Close-Up Photography Workshop More

Landscape / Long Exposure Photography Workshop More

Digital Workflow / Lightroom Post-Processing Workshop More

Aperture / Shutter Speed Testing in Variable Light

Bee i n Flight : Birds in Flight Settings - Manual Mode

Aperture and shutter speed testing with Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

This morning's overcast condition, with partly son and partly light fog worked quite well for my aperture (and shutter speed) testing with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens. I spent most of the morning between apertures f/5.6 and 6.3 while toggling between 1/3200s - 1/4000s shutter speeds.

Cape Town Location
Diep River Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Equipment

Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
Sandisk Extreme 120MB/s 64GB CF Card

Manual Mode / Aperture Priority Settings

Shutter Speed: 1/3200s - 1/4000s (Birds and Bee in Flight) Manual Mode
Shutter speed: 1/800s - 1/1000s (Wild flowers) Av Mode
Aperture: f/5.6 - 6.3
Focal length 400mm
Auto-ISO (ISO 100 - 500)
Continuous shooting mode (10 fps) / AI Servo
AI Servo / AF Mode Option (Wide Zone AF / Case 1)
Lens AF On / No IS / Handheld

(Click to Enlarge)

Reed Cormorant in Flight : Woodbridge Island, Milnerton - Manual Mode

Pie kingfisher in Flight : Woodbridge Island, Milnerton - Manual Mode

Yellow-billed Duck in Flight : Woodbridge Island, Milnerton - Manual Mode

Darter in the water : Woodbridge Island, Milnerton - Manual Mode

Wild Flower : Woodbridge Island, Milnerton - Av Mode f/5.6

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photo Gallery

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town

15 September 2019

Sample Images: Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Lens

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens - Sample Images

In the market for a cost-effective Ultra-Wide Canon APS-C Lens?

The Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens is one of Canon's most unassuming lenses for wide and ultra-wide applications.

Retail price in South Africa is +- R3000-00

Please note: This lens is not compatible with Canon Full Frame bodies (i.e. Canon EOS 5D Mark III / Canon EOS 6D ), but will work on all Canon APS-C / Crop bodies (i.e. Canon EOS 650D / Canon EOS 70D / Canon EOS 80D / Canon EOS 77D / Canon EOS 7D Mark II).

Attached Sample Images:

Image 1 - 2 handheld (f/8 - f/11)
Image 3 with tripod (f/16)
Image 4 - 9 handheld (f/5.6 - f/11)
Image 10 - 11 handheld night (f/8)

Canon Camera Used: Canon EOS 700D. JPEG images SOOC (straight out of camera)

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra Wide Lens: Links to professional / consumer reviews
Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra Wide Lens: Links to professional / consumer reviews

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens - Sample Images (Click to Enlarge)

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens - V&A Waterfront / Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens - V&A Waterfront / Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens - Woodbridge Island / Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens - Woodbridge Island / Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens - - Canal Walk Century City / Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens - Canal Walk Century City / Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens - Canal Walk Century City/ Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens Arnhem / Milnerton Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens - Arnhem / Milnerton Cape Town

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens - V&A Waterfront / Cape Town at Night

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens - V&A Waterfront / Cape Town at Night

Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Lens : Different Focal Length Sample Images View

V&A Waterfront Cape Town with Canon EF-S 10-18mm IS STM Ultra-Wide Lens View

Cropability of the modern Canon APS-C / Crop Sensor Camera

A few weeks ago I did a demonstration on the cropability of the Canon EOS 6D paired with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.

I did a similar crop demonstration with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.

The two cropped images below from a modern 20 Mega-pixel Canon crop-sensor body illustrates the extreme cropping capability of the non full frame sensor (in retaining a fair amount of acceptable detail).

Each cropped image with the original RAW file just saved as a JPG. Some post-processing and noise reduction in Lightroom 6 on the crops.

Cape Town Shooting Location
Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Canon Equipment Used

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Body

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens

Camera / Lens Settings

Manual Mode: ISO 500 / f/5.6 / 1/ 5000s @ 400mm

Multi-Shot / AI Servo

Zone AF

(Click to Enlarge)

Cropability of the modern Canon APS-C / Crop Camera

Cropped Image : Canon 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

Uncropped Image : Canon 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

Cropped Image : Canon 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

Uncropped Image : Canon 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photo Gallery View

Confused Seagull - Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Confused Seagull - Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island
Seagull in the Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island with golf ball most probably from the Milnerton Golf Course. The activity of dropping and collecting the ball from the lagoon continued for well over thirty minutes.

Environmental concerns
Although the images of the gull with the golf ball that I captured above the Diep River, Woodbridge Island a few years ago gained quite a lot of interest / traction online its a reminder of our (human) responsibility of keeping our natural environment safe and pollution free.

The amount of litter that I often see in my birding area of Woodbridge Island / Table Bay Nature Reserve is unacceptable. Unfortunately we have value-less people that care absolutely nothing about our natural environment.

Please note this post is not suggesting golfers are litter bugs and / or are insensitive to our natural environment.

All photos by Vernon Chalmers with Canon EOS 70D and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens (fast shutter speeds 1/1600s).

(Click to Enlarge)

Seagull Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island (Canon EOS 70D)

Seagull Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island (Canon EOS 70D)

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

10 September 2019

Birds in Flight Photography on a crisp Saturday Morning

Little Egret in Flight : Diep River / Woodbridge Island

Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens - Birds In Flight Woodbridge Island / Cape Town

A few of us ventured out this morning for some Birds in Flight photography and to assess the Diep River water levels down at Woodbridge Island.

Restoration of the old Wooden Bridge
We spent quite some time discussing the proposed restoration of the old wooden bridge of which should hopefully begin shortly - our biggest concern is the probable impact on the bird life - but, hopefully all will return back to normal after the restoration.

Cape Town Location
Diep River Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Equipment (Birds In Flight / Action Photography)

Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
Lexar Professional 800x / 120MB/s 32GB CF Card

Manual Mode Settings

Shutter speed: 1/4000s
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal length 400mm
Auto ISO (ISO 400 - 1000)
Continuous shooting mode (10 fps) / AI Servo
AI Servo / AF Mode Option (Wide Zone AF / Case 1)
Lens AF On / No IS / Handheld

(Click to Enlarge)

Red-Knobbed coot in Flight : Diep River / Woodbridge Island

Blacksmith plover in Flight : Diep River / Woodbridge Island

Yellow-billed duck - Diep River / Woodbridge Island

White-breasted cormorant : Diep River / Woodbridge Island

Giant Kingfisher flying out the fog over Woodbridge Island

Cape Shoveller Duck in Flight Diep River / Woodbridge Island

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photo Gallery

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens: Professional / Consumer Reviews

The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens was announced on 26 August 2010. (Canon Media Release)

High ISO Tests with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens >>

Designed to deliver ultra-high quality images along with lightning fast operation, the new Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS USM telephoto zoom lens brings a favorite zoom range to the celebrated Canon L-series of lenses.

It features two Ultra Low Dispersion (UD) elements for improved image quality and reduced chromatic aberration, incorporates a floating focusing mechanism for sharpness from close up to infinity, plus an IS system that increases usability by approximately four stops. The Image Stabilization system also features a function that allows it to continue to operate, even when used on a rigid tripod. (Source: Canon USA)

Canon EOS 6D / EF-70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens

Canon EOS Body Compatibility
The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens is compatible with both Canon EOS APS-C (crop) sensor bodies and Canon EOS full frame bodies.

Personal Application
I have used the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens on the following Canon EOS bodies (with more than satisfactory results):