Sunny Morning Photography at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Bird Life Photography at Kirstenbosch
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| Cape White-Eye : Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden |
Follow-up morning visit to Kirstenbosch: Small perched birds, a butterfly and some wild flower photography at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
After a few days of rain in Cape Town I returned to Kirstenbosch with the objective to see how well my Canon EOS 7D Mark II camera / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens will perform with the relatively close small birds and flower photography.
I knew I would have no problem with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II body - my only concern was the relatively long Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) of the 400mm prime lens. I generally have no issues with Birds in Flight photography (with EOS 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens), but this combination could be challenging in the Kirstenbosch close-up / variable distanced perched small bird photography environment.
It took me a while to get used to the non-zoom 400mm Canon lens with its challenging MFD, but am overall quite satisfied with the body / lens performance for small bird, butterfly and flower photography - definitely my go-to kit for small bird, butterfly and flower photography at Kirstenbosch.
Last week at Kirstenbosch (in similar weather conditions) I tested my Canon EOS 70D paired with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens for small bird and flower photography. Although the lens had a shorter MFD than the 400mm prime lens I found the image quality improvement, noise management, continuous shooting speed and Autofocus responsiveness of the EOS 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f.5.6L lens of a higher standard for my Kirstenbosch photography requirements.
New Kirstenbosch Bird Species Index
During the morning I photographed four new bird species which I added to my own 'Kirstenbosch Bird Species Index' as I did over the last ten years with my personal 'Woodbridge Island Bird Species Index'.
Kirstenbosch birding photography training also offered as Photography Training Gift Vouchers
Kirstenbosch birds photographed during the morning:
- Southern Double-Collared Sunbird
- Cape white-eye
- Cape bulbul
- Dusky flycatcher
- Southern boubou shrike
- Karoo prinia
- Southern Double-Collared Sunbird
- Hadeda ibis
- Egyptian goose
Canon Camera / Lens: Birds and Flowers Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
- Canon EOS 7D Mark II
- Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
- Manual Mode: 400mm @ f/5.6 / Auto- ISO (Various) / 1/1000s - 1/2500s shutter speeds
- No Lens IS / Handheld
Post-Processing: Adobe Lightroom
Perched Small Birds at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
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| Southern Double-Collared Sunbird Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Cape Bulbul on Guard Duty Kirstenbosch Garden Cape Town |
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| Dusky Flycatcher Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Southern Boubou Shrike Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Karoo Prinia Bird Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden |
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| Hadeda Ibis in Flight Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Egyptian Goose Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
Small Garden Acraea Butterfly at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
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| Male Garden Acraea Butterfly Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
Plants / Flowers at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
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| Arum Lily Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Flower Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Protea Flower Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Small Flower Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
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| Wild Plant Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden Cape Town |
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| Blooming Pincushion Protea Flower Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town |
Bird / Flower Photography Training Kirstenbosch More
Glorious Morning at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden View
Fabulous Friday at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden View
Vernon Chalmers 'Kirstenbosch Bird Species Index' View
From Darkness into Light... Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Butterflies and Sunbird at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Images © Vernon Chalmers Photography Copyright Policy
Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden Map & Directions Kirstenbosch Google Map
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Website
Canon Photography Training Milnerton Woodbridge Island | Kirstenbosch Cape Town