South Africa Living Using a Vernon Chalmers Image Without Permission

South Africa Living Using a Vernon Chalmers Table Bay Nature Reserve  Image Without Permission

It came to my attention that South Africa Living at https://southafricaliving.com/best-things-to-do-in-milnerton/ is using a Vernon Chalmers Table Bay Nature Reserve Milnerton, Cape Town  copyright image without permission.

When visiting the South Africa Living website the Vernon Chalmers Table Bay Nature Reserve Milnerton, Cape Town image is located on the URL listed above page on the South Africa Living Website (Milnerton)

Table Bay Nature Reserve Milnerton, Cape Town Image Used by South Africa Without Permission
This is the Table Bay Nature Reserve image that was taken by South Africa Living without permission from a Vernon Chalmers website in Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa Living also changed the original Vernon Chalmers .JPG file from hiding / deleting a section where the known Vernon Chalmers Copyright was clearly identified on the image

South Africa Living Using a Table Bay Nature Reserve Milnerton Image Without Permission

Vernon Chalmers Photography Copyright Policy

Vernon Chalmers Photography Copyright Policy

Copyright Infringement Warning to Cape Town Photographers

Copyright Infringement Warning to Cape Town Photographers

Variety of Birds in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

Early Morning Milnerton | Woodbridge Island Birdlife

Bird Photographer and Photography Training | Vernon Chalmers

Levaillant's Cisticola Diep River Woodbridge Island / Table Bay Nature Reserve

A still foggy, but with some really good early morning sun coming through. I took a brisk walk to to the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island just after 10:00 this morning.  Lots of grey herons and yellow-billed ducks on the small island. They've spotted me early enough to make a hasty getaway. 

I noticed the resident water thick-knees out on the small island. This is quite unusual for them as they are generally found on the adjacent mainland side of the river flowing through the reserve. Nevertheless it was very good to see them.

I also noticed (for the first time) an African swamphen walking quite casually on the Milnerton Golf Course. Took a long range (record) shot. The bird lovers over at the Birdlife South Africa Facebook Group was kind enough to provide me with the correct species identification. Many of them was surprised about the swamphen walking around quite casually on the open grass banks.  

Back against the Diep river, close to the wooden bridge, I was was fortunate to photograph Levaillant's Cisticola at close range.

Birds of the morning:

• Levaillant's Cisticola
• Cape teal ducks in flight
• Cape Shoveler duck in flight
• Cape Teal duck in flight
• Yellow-billed ducks in flight
• Speckled pigeon in flight
• Water thick knee
• African swamphen

Cape Town Location
Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island, Milnerton

Canon Camera / Lens Settings

• Canon EOS 7D Mark II Body
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
• Manual Mode: Auto-ISO: 250 - 800
• Aperture: f/5.6
• Shutter Speed: 1/1000 - 1/3200
• AI Servo: Case 1: Wide Zone
• 10 fps High Speed Continuous Mode
• Handheld

Post-Processing
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 9.4: Cropping. Colour correction / noise reduction / lens profile correction

Cape Teal Ducks in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Cape Shoveler Duck in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Cape Teal Duck in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Yellow-Billed Ducks in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Speckled Pigeon in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Water Thick-Knee Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

African Swamphen (Record Shot) Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

Bird Species Woodbridge Island, Cape Town View

Pincushion Flowers using Autofocus and Manual Focus Override

The objective of this post is to show the ability of a macro (and many other lenses) to manual focus while in camera / lens AF Mode.

For these images I focused from four different distances with my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens - while just hand holding the camera / lens and after 'locking focus' with the AF focus I just turned the front focus ring (for further fine-tuning). For optimum focus / sharpness results it's recommended to use a tripod - but, not always possible (in limited time / space).

In my upcoming Macro and Close-Up Photography Workshop I will demonstrate the Canon Extension Tube EF25 II on various non-macro lenses.

With Canon EOS 70D / 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens: f/8 ISO 400 (Ring Lite MR-14EX II Flash).

(Click To Enlarge)

Canon 100mm Macro Lens - AF Focus with Manual Focus Override

Canon 100mm Macro Lens - AF Focus with Manual Focus Override

Canon 100mm Macro Lens - AF Focus with Manual Focus Override

Canon 100mm Macro Lens - AF Focus with Manual Focus Override

Grey heron and small birds | Table Bay Nature Reserve

With a slight over the sea and the Diep River I  took the relatively short hike to the Table Bay Reserve, Woodbridge Island just after 09;30 this morning 

Still quite wet underfoot I scanned the reserve and was greeted with a few white-breasted cormorants, reed cormorants, Cape spur fowls and quite a few grey herons. 

Overhead was a fly past  of one of the black headed herons, yellow-billed ducks, a pied king fisher and an abundance of small birds (Cape sparrows / Sothern mask weavers, Southern red bishops  and Levaillant's  cisticolas). 

Birds of the morning:

• Grey Heron in flight (first two images)
• Southern red bishop female
• Levaillant's  cisticolas

Cape Town Location
Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island, Milnerton

Canon Camera / Lens Settings

• Canon EOS 7D Mark II Body
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
• Manual Mode: Auto-ISO: 250 - 800
• Aperture: f/5.6
• Shutter Speed: 1/1000 - 1/3200
• AI Servo: Case 1: Wide Zone
• 10 fps High Speed Continuous Mode
• Handheld

Post-Processing
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 9.4: Cropping. Colour correction / noise reduction / lens profile correction

Grey Heron in flight Closer Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island Milnerton

Southern Red Bishop Female Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island Milnerton

Levaillant's Cisticola Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island Milnerton

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

Bird Species Woodbridge Island, Cape Town View

Bird Photography in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

This is the view from the Table Bay Nature Reserve close to Woodbridge Island, Milnerton. I often refer to this area as the ‘Hidden Urban Treasure’ of local bird photography. I've created some of my best images here over the last 10 years. The location is approximately 2.5 km’s from Woodbridge Island.

The best place to park should you want to visit the reserve is Woodbridge Island (next to the Milnerton Canoe Club) and take a walk along the Diep River to the Reserve (with the entrance opposite Milnerton High School).

Table Mountain / Reserve Image
Notice the small channel of water to the right. There is a small island with the Diep river flowing towards the right – opposite the Milnerton Golf Course. On any day there will be an abundance of birds on the small island (i.e. African spoonbills, grey herons, pied kingfishers, cormorants, ducks, geese, various small birds and the rare sight on occasion of the night heron).

Woodbridge Island Bird Species Index

Birds images: Grey heron in flight / Water thicknee in flight / Pied kingfisher

Table Mountain View From the Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island Milnerton

Water Thicknee in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island Milnerton

Perched Pied Kingfisher Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island Milnerton

Birds in the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island

Levaillant's cisticola Table Bay  Nature Reserve

On my morning walkabout to the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island I was greeted with slightly windy conditions, but otherwise a crisp early morning with various bird species in the reserve.

The Cape spurfowls were there, but as usual took of on my arrival, a couple of grey herons, many ducks and geese. The Levaillant's cisticolas were frolicking in the early morning sun and I was fortunate to photograph at least one of them.

Birds of the morning:

• Levaillant's cisticola
• Yellow-billed duck
• African darter
• Egyptian goose
• Blacksmith lapwing

Cape Town Location
Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island, Milnerton

Canon Camera / Lens Settings

• Canon EOS 7D Mark II Body
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
• Manual Mode: Auto-ISO: 160 - 1000
• Aperture: f/5.6
• Shutter Speed: 1/1000 - 1/3200
• AI Servo: Case 1: Wide Zone
• 10 fps High Speed Continuous Mode
• Handheld

Post-Processing
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 9.4: Cropping. Colour correction / noise reduction / lens profile correction.

Yellow-Billed Duck in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

African Darter in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

African Darter in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Blacksmith Lapwing in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

Bird Species Woodbridge Island, Cape Town View

Photography Day at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Canon EOS 6D Photography V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Clock Tower V&A Waterfront Cape Town  © Vernon Chalmers

This was part of the magnificent photography morning (3 June 2021) with Karen Donaldson at the V&A Waterfront and Signal Hill.

We had a lovely time strolling through the V&A Waterfront, past the Clock Tower and Zeits Mocaa Museum and back via the Wellness Warehouse to end the morning with lunch at Tashas Restaurant. 

Table Mountain | Cape Town Views from Signal Hill View

V&A Waterfront Images:

• Clock Tower V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
• Table Mountain – omni-present, majestic presence
• Ferris wheel – an (almost too) prominent landmark
• View towards the Clock Tower / Zeitz Moccaa Museum
• Quay Four Tavern & Restaurant and Surrounds
• Architectural perspective - one of many around
• Proteas - colourful African craftsmanship on display
• Coffee Mugs - colourful African craftsmanship on display
• View from inside the Wetness Warehouse
• Interesting light covers inside Tashas Restaurant

Canon Equipment / Settings:

• Canon EOS 6D
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens
• Av Mode: f/11 / ISO 100 / 1/60s
• Handheld

Vernon Chalmers Copyright Policy

Table Mountain from the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town  © Vernon Chalmers

Ferris Wheel V&A Waterfront, Cape Town © Vernon Chalmers

View toward the Clocktower V&A Waterfront, Cape Town Image  © Vernon Chalmers

View towards Quay Four V&A Waterfront, Cape Town  © Vernon Chalmers

An Architectural  Perspective V&A Waterfront, Cape Town  © Vernon Chalmers

Wellness Warehouse V&A Waterfront, Cape Town  © Vernon Chalmers

Proteas - African Craftsmanship V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

African Craftsmanship V&A Waterfront Cape Town © Vernon Chalmers

Light Shades Tashas Restaurant V&A Waterfront, Cape Town © Vernon Chalmers 

Previous Visit to the V&A Waterfront Cape Town

Table Mountain | Cape Town Views from Signal Hill

Table Mountain | Cape Town Harbour | V&A Waterfront | Cape Town Stadium

Spent a glorious day at the V&A Waterfront and Signal Hill with Karen Donaldson.

Visit to the V&A Waterfront earlier in the day.

Perfect June weather for an outdoor walkabout. Blues skies, great company, a good lunch and do what we love most - taking pictures of our beautiful city, mountain and surroundings.

Images / Views:

• Table Mountain
• Cape Town Harbour
• V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
• Cape Town Stadium, Green Point

Canon Equipment / Settings:

• Canon EOS 6D
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens
• Av Mode: f/11 / ISO 100 / 1/60s
• Handheld

Vernon Chalmers Photography Copyright Policy

Table Mountain Cape Town view from Signal Hill

V&A Waterfront | Table Bay Cape Town view from Signal Hill

Cape Town Harbour | Table Bay view from Signal Hill

Cape Town Stadium Green Point view from Signal Hill

Photography Day at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Woodbridge Island birds after the rain

Southern Masked Weaver Table Bay Nature Reserve

After Monday's rainy conditions Tuesday morning provided me with quite the opposite conditions around the Diep River, Woodbridge Island. Apart from a blanket of winter clouds covering Table Mountain the overhead and light conditions were fair
to good for bird photography - what I would call ISO 400 - 640 light. 

I took a walk into the Table Bay Nature Reserve looking for the Cape spurfowls. I spotted a few, but they were too far and flew off immediately on my arrival. Interestingly, I did see the resident black-crowned night heron, but again, he flew off and quickly disappeared in the bush on the reserve's small island.

Birds of the morning:

• South Masked Weaver
• Fast flying rock pigeon
• Yawning king gull

Cape Town Location
Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island, Milnerton

Canon Camera / Lens Settings

• Canon EOS 7D Mark II Body
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
• Manual Mode: Auto-ISO: 400 - 640
• Aperture: f/5.6 - f/6.3
• Shutter Speed: 1/1000 - 1/2000
• AI Servo: Case 1: Wide Zone
• 10 fps High Speed Continuous Mode
• Handheld

Post-Processing
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 9.4: Cropping. Colour correction / noise reduction / lens profile correction.

Rock Pigeon in Flight Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island

Yawning King Gull on the Wooden Bridge, Woodbridge Island

Egyptian Goose in Flight Diep River Woodbridge Island

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

Bird Species Woodbridge Island, Cape Town View

Kelp Gull attacking Grey Heron Woodbridge Island

Kelp Gull Woodbridge Island

'Ducking and diving....'

Kelp gull attacking the resident grey heron. Notice the heron ducking lower and lower - Little island / Woodbridge Island. Quite unusual to witness this. This was repeated about 5 times before the kelp gull left the battle zone.

Cape Town Location
Table Bay Nature Reserve Woodbridge Island, Milnerton

Canon Camera / Lens Settings

• Canon EOS 7D Mark II Body
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
• Manual Mode: Auto-ISO: 400
• Aperture: f/5.6 - f/6.3
• Shutter Speed: 1/1000 - 1/2000
• AI Servo: Case 1: Wide Zone
• 10 fps High Speed Continuous Mode
• Handheld

Post-Processing
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 9.4: Cropping. Colour correction / noise reduction / lens profile correction.

4 Consecutive Frames - Kelp Gull vs. Frey Heron

Image 1 / 4: Kelp Gull Attacking Grey Heron Woodbridge Island 

Image 2 / 4: Kelp Gull Attacking Grey Heron Woodbridge Island

Image 3 / 4: Kelp Gull Attacking Grey Heron Woodbridge Island

Image 4 / 4: Kelp Gull Attacking Grey Heron Woodbridge Island

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

Bird Species Woodbridge Island, Cape Town View

Small birds enjoying the sun at Woodbridge Island

Olive thrush - Canon EOS R6 / RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lens

Photographing Small birds at Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

I captured these small bird species in the Table Bay Nature Reserve close to Woodbridge Island / Milnerton Cape Town:

• Olive thrush
• Cape canary
• Pied Kingfisher
• Cape Sparrow
• Levaillant's Cisticola
• Weavers
• Common starling 

All photos by Vernon Chalmers with Canon EOS R6 / RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lens / Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens - handheld in good light. All birds captured with my standard Birds in Flight Photography settings.

Canon EOS R6 Field Testing

The Cape canary is a new image during testing the Canon EOS R6 / RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lens for Canon South Africa (September 2020)

(Click to Enlarge)

Cape Canary - Canon EOS R6 - Woodbridge Island, Milnerton

Cape reed warbler - Canon EOS R6 - Woodbridge Island

Pied kingfisher = Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Table Bay Nature Reserve Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens - Table Bay Reserve / Woodbridge Island

Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens - Table Bay Reserve / Woodbridge Island

Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens - Table Bay Nature Reserve  Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens - Table Bay Nature Reserve Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens - Table Bay Nature Reserve  Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Table Bay Nature Reserve  Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Table Bay Nature Reserve  Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Table Bay Nature Reserve Cape Town