A1 Impressions Blog: Tamron

Showing posts with label Tamron. Show all posts

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Redshank at RSPB Elmley

Photograph Details: Nikon D7000 Focal length 300mm ISO-400 exp: 1/500 f10

I spotted this on a rather rainy drive to the farmhouse. Although they are resident here, I still like to spy them mooching around

Friday, 11 May 2012

Lapwings On Sheppey

by Olly Hitchen at 18:43

Photograph Details: Nikon D7000 Focal length 300mm ISO-100 exp: 1/800 f5.6 Exp bias +0.3step

Today I got some swabs for cleaning the sensor of my D7000. I figured it was about time as I could see what appeared to be oil on the images, along with over 20 sizeable blotches of dust, dirt and general grime!

So when the swabs arrived in the post off I went to suss out the cleaning etc and managed to have my sensor back in acceptable condition in no time. What to do now then? Time to cut the grass! This took quite a while as it was very long, but when it was done, then what?

Since I live about 3 miles away from RSPB Elmley Marshes Reserve I figured I'd pop there. The sun is shining, cleaned camera and raring to go!

Photograph Details: Nikon D7000 Focal length 280mm ISO-200 exp: 1/1250 f9 Exp bias +0.3step

Hopped in the car about 3pm in time to catch the less harsh lighting and was there by about 10 past. Upon first arriving not much seemed to be happening, nothing more than yesterday in the drizzle but it was a pleasant drive non the less. I turned around at the farm and started back at about 3.45. On the way back the lapwings seemed to be a bit more playful and these are the shots I managed to get from my car.

I hope you like them!

Photograph Details: Nikon D7000 Focal length 300mm ISO-250 exp: 1/640 f8 Exp bias +0.3step

Knole Park Deer Rutting

by Olly Hitchen at 13:09

Photograph Details: Nikon 7000 Focal length 300mm ISO-250 exp: 1/500 f6.3

Photograph Details: Nikon 7000 Focal length 280mm ISO-250 exp: 1/500 f6.3

Photograph Details: Nikon 7000 Focal length 300mm ISO-250 exp: 1/500 f5.6

Photograph Details: Nikon 7000 Focal length 170mm ISO-250 exp: 1/400 f4.5

All of these were shot last year in October during a fantastic rutting display at Knole Park

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

How to make a homemade studio for free by recycling...‏

by Olly Hitchen at 22:37

Photograph Details: Nikon D7000 Focal length 180mm ISO-100 exp: 1s f16

I love the word 'Free' - whats not to like, even though it is a bit of a misnomer. Nothing is actually 'free' per se, but with the current economic crisis and all that, making something is not only rewarding but it can save a small fortune!

Did I really make a studio for free then?

Well not really but it didn't spend anything after deciding to do it. It wasn't hard either, certainly easier than driving to my 'local' camera shop 30 miles away and driving back and setting it up and finding out how to use it and packing it away... You get the idea! All it was was some old stuff I had lying around...

The Kit Used:

Software:

Photoshop

Camera Equipment:

Jessops external Flash
DSLR body (D7000)
Tamron 70-300mm (at 180mm)
Remote control for a remote shutter release (helpful, but a self timer function built into most cameras will work fine)
Tripod

Other Stuff:

Table
An old carboard box about 50-75 cm tall, 10-20 cm deep
Big stack of books - more is better as you can always not use some, as opposed to stuggling if you don't have enough
scissors or a knife
a large black cloth (I used an old bed sheet)
Smoke source (I used an incense stick, but I guess even a cigarette would do)
Plate for the smoke - incense sticks can drop embers as can cigarettes so a plate acts as a little protection

If you wanted to, there is absolutely no reason why I (or anyone for that matter) couldn't have got a shot just like this one on any other DSLR camera as long as it can have a shutter speed of 1 second.

Preparation:

I simply chopped off part of the box so that it still had 3 sides. I actually left one of the ends on the box too so I could place some weight on it for stability, but resting it on a wall would do the job just as well. I placed it so it was taller than it was wide.

I drapped an old black bedsheet over the box to make a clean background for the smoke to stand out against, placed a stack of books on the table and set the smoke going using an incense stick. I placed the flashgun behind the books aimed upwards towards where the smoke would be.

I set up the camera by focussing and positioning it correctly and making sure it was set so that the built in flash wouldnot fire, pulled the curtains shut and turned off the lights. Using the Nikon remote control on a 2 second delay, I set the delay countdown off. When the shutter opened I fired it within the next 1/2 second or so by pressing the test button on the back of the flashgun.

Result

This meant that the camera would only be exposed effectively for a fraction of a second despite having the shutter time of 1 second. I think all in all I took about 15-20 images (one of the great advantages of DSLRs).

I uploaded them to the computer in an instant (another one of the great advantages of DSLRs) and was immediatly dismayed - the smoke was either blown for some reason so it was not in the right place, or the smoke trails were simply quite boring.

As I was reviewing them, I spotted the potential in this one and decided to play around with it. I loaded photoshop and mirrored the image down the centre, applied a layer with a few colours in it and saved it with the watermark.

I love this image, even thouigh I am generally not for using a computer to touch up an image. To be honest, I felt quite relieved, mainly for two reasons:-

I had set out to create something which looked good visually and after farting around with it came up with an image I was happy and proud of
and I had managed to prove that with an old box and the kit I already owned I could set up a studio in my living room (albeit rather small)

Conclusion

So as you can see, there is very little costs involved with this project, and it makes a great photography project or opportunity for a rainy day, if you are bored or secretly a miser. I still have the box and cloth now and still bring it out now and then when I find time.

Eastern Javan Langur at Howletts

by Olly Hitchen at 22:30

Photograph Details: Nikon D40 Focal length 300mm ISO-400 exp: 640 f5.6

For those of you who know me will be aware of my love of animals and nature. You will probably also be aware of my terrible bank balance and the fact I never have any money! As much as I would love to travel around the world to visit all the wonderful animals featured in this blog, the sad truth is that I simply cannot afford it...

So what do I do? Probably the same as most of the people in this world - I visit zoos and I love it! Whatever your views or animals kept in captivity, you can't hide from the fact that they do bring exotic animals to the masses. If the zoo can do something worthwhile in the process then that's such an added bonus.

One zoo which claims to do this (and from what I can tell certainly does) is Howletts and it's sister zoo Port Lympne. On a recent job advertisement on their website they say:

Howletts is a world class wildlife park run by the international conservation charity
The Aspinall Foundation, and works to support a number of overseas conservation
projects including the Java Primate Project in Indonesia. We are home to a collection
of around 160 rare and endangered primates, including Javan gibbons, Dusky langurs,
Sulawesi macaques, Pied tamarins and Gelada baboons to name a few.

We have recently built a rescue and rehabilitation centre in Java where rare
Indonesian primates can be confiscated and taken care of; with a view to either
returning them back to the wild or providing them with a better quality of life.
Ultimately, captive bred animals may also relocate to the centre, providing offspring
that could boost the wild population when reintroduction conditions are right.

Owned by the Aspinall Foundation, Howletts and Port Lympne also have a rather excellent proven track record of helping Apes in Africa. The Aspinall Foundation is a registered charity that is actively involved with several projects that incorporate a diverse range of conservation activities both at their Kent based Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks, in addition to well-established overseas projects in the Republic of Congo and Gabon and more recent developing projects in Indonesia and Madagascar. Our main spheres of conservation-based activity include captive breeding, education, ecosystem management, local community education projects, capacity building, habitat surveys and the rehabilitation of confiscated wild animals.(source)

Here is what they have to say about the Eastern Javan Langur

The Javan Langur, also known as the lutung, is a popular member of our collection at Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks. Highly active and social, we have around 50 of these primates across our two parks, and their complimentary colour forms of orange or black make them a visually striking attraction.

HABITAT: Javan langurs are found across the rainforest habitats of Indonesia on the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok. There are two species of Javan langur (Eastern and Western) that are geographically isolated within this broader habitat range.

CHARACTERISTICS: The most notable feature of this species is the variant colour forms that exist within groups, and animals may have a coat that is either black or an orange/brown shade. At birth, all infants will have a bright apricot coloured coat, which will gradually darken to one or the other colour form at around three to five months old. As with all langurs, this species has a remarkably long tail – which may reach nearly one meter in length!

BIOLOGY: A tree-dwelling species that is active during the day, Javan langurs feed primarily on leaves, flowers and fruit. As with many leaf-eating primates, it has developed a specialized digestive system to help it cope with the high cellulose and sometimes toxic content of this leafy diet, and also has enlarged salivary glands that help in breaking down food more readily. Living in small groups that normally number less than ten, they can breed all year round and females will share in the care of group offspring.

CONSERVATION STATUS: A Vulnerable species, Javan langurs are facing the same threats as other primate in Asia; including the loss of habitat and hunting. The clearing of forest habitat by burning has had disastrous consequences for many populations.

BREEDING AT THE PARKS: Javan Langurs are not particularly common in zoos and Howletts and Port Lympne have the largest captive collection of Javan langurs in the world! Our parks have a long and successful history with the captive breeding of this species; since the early 1980’s we have had over 100 births, and some of our residents are third-generation captive-born animals.