Just before Xmas 2020 I completed the recording of over 100 videos covering all I know about Adobe Lightroom Classic. It’s not a course that explains every single little feature like a manual – it’s a distillation of my experience and what I actually do in the day to day operations of running my photographic business. I call it Applied Lightroom and, if that approach resonates with you, you can find out more about it here:
My latest book, Heart of Australia, is now available signed, direct from me. It’s still on sale in the bookshops of course, but sometimes it’s nice to have a signed copy. I will mail it using Express Post, but only within Australia as it’s very expensive to post books overseas.
I’d like to invite you to attend the QNAP Workshop 2019 for Creative Professionals. With this presentation and live demonstration, you will get the latest information about data backup strategies and personal cloud storage. I’ll be the guest speaker and will share how high quality NAS systems have improved my productivity and work efficiency. I will offer a step by step presentation that could quite possibly save your day.
August 29 – September 8, 2018.
A ten night, five star fly-in Safari around Namibia with Master of Photography Nick Rains. Nick will guide your photography practice in the field and then be on hand in the lodges for workshop sessions and editing advice.
The safari takes in the iconic sights of Namibia including the stark landscapes and Desert Adapted Elephants of Damaraland, the famous dead trees of Sossusvlei standing in vivid white dry salt lakes beneath some of the world’s highest sand dunes and the ghost town of Kolmanskop, slowly giving up to the reclaiming sand seas. We will also visit the villages of the serene and photogenic Himba and Herrero people.
The whole trip is by light plane, a Cessna Caravan. This means that there are no 8 hour drives to get from one place to another and it also means that the group size is very small at a max of 7 guests.
My new book is now in the shops or available by mail, signed, from this website. I’ll write a message in it as well if you want to send it as a gift to someone!
182 pages of full colour, case bound.
Wide apertures like f1.4 limit the focus to only the eyes – Banda Neira, M-Monochrom. 50mm Summilux.
The aperture is a crucial component of photographic lenses. It’s an adjustable iris mechanism that can be a narrow hole or as wide as the inside of the lens allows. Why is it important? Well, if shutter speeds determine the length of time light shines on a camera’s sensor then the aperture controls the intensity or brightness of that light. Think of it like a pipe. A narrow pipe can only let so much water through in a given amount of time whilst a wider pipe can let through more.
Your eye has an iris, and it will be small on a bright day and wide when the light levels are low. This is exactly how a camera’s aperture works – the aperture controls the intensity of light entering the camera. This is very important for two reasons: Exposure and Depth-of-Field.
Read on for more, and if you find this interesting consider joining me on one of my Leica Akademie workshops – Photo Fundamentals – where I take you through ten different core subjects including Apertures, Shutter Speeds and ISO.
(The following article was first published in Australian Photography magazine earlier this year).
Shutter speeds, apertures, focal lengths, camera brands, post processing tricks – these are all essential things to know about and understand, but, beyond the obvious, there are also plenty of aspects of modern photography that are not so well understood – call them photography myths if you like.
Join myself, Nick Rains, and my partner-in-photography, Christian Fletcher, for a 9 night exploration of Havana and Trinidad on the Caribbean island of Cuba.
The dates are October 16 – 25 2017. As with all my photography tours this is for a small group only – Christian and I take only 8 guests – so with one instructor per four guests there is ample opportunity for one-on-one advice and feedback.
The price includes twin-share accommodation and is also fully inclusive of all meals, travel on the island, accommodation, drinks, fees. Essentially you enjoy yourself without having to worry about paying for anything. It’s a tried and true approach which all of out past guests have greatly appreciated. You are on holiday to enjoy yourselves and concentrate on shooting awesome images.
The workshop starts and finishes in Havana which is best reached from Australia via Los Angeles, then Mexico and on to Havana. We can recommend a travel manager to assist you with flights if you like.
Christmas 2014 and I was in Manilla for an Akademie Masterclass as part of a tour of SE Asia. One of the guests, Raul Echivarre, wrote an in depth review of the proceedings which I link to here because it will give you an excellent idea of what my workshop are all about. Thanks to Raul for his candid assessment.
Raul Echivarre – The Bigger Picture
Here it is, hot off the press, the totally new Leica SL. What does SL stand for? There are many theories but the one I like is that it’s not an SLR (because it’s got no mirror) so therefore it’s an SL.
Regardless of the name, the spec sheet is impressive:
24MP
ISO to 50000
Very low noise – ISO6400 is stunningly good
Exposure times up to 30 minutes
11FPS with a 30 image buffer
Autofocus that is blindingly fast, as well as super accurate
Dynamic focus tracking
Focus Peaking for manual focus
GPS
Wireless image transfer
Timelapse
Rock solid construction
New lenses – the internally stabilised Vario-Elmarit 24-90 f2.8-4 is available right away
Will take M lenses via adapter, soon to be adapters for other lenses
Video – if you use the MP4 codec the SL will shoot full 1080p HD at 120fps and will record 4K at 24, 25 and 30fps.
I only got my hands on it the other day as the very first production models arrived in Australia. I spent a while shooting around the Melbourne CBD and tried to shoot some difficult situations including inside the NGV at The Hermitage Exhibition (photos were allowed).
The image below is a 100% crop at ISO2200, hand held, f4 @ 1/60th.
These next two were shot at ISO6400 and are completely publishable. Sure, there is a little pixel level noise but it’s sharp and crisp and would pose no problems in a print up to about A2.
This next pair shows how much shadow detail there is in this super-contrasty situation with deep shadow and intense sun in the same shot. No prizes for artistic effect but it’s a good get out of jail card if the light is tricky.
This next one is in those cool back alleys with the great cafes, near Block Arcade I think. I used ISO3200 this time and I made a 13″x19″ print from this which is quite stunning in its clarity and sharpness. Wish I could show you!
I have not had time to try out the Dynamic Focussing as yet. I had a quick look at it and you can define a focus target with a small green box in the viewfinder. Once ‘locked on’ the AF will keep the focus on the object no matter where it goes in the frame and refocusses as the subject-to-camera distance changes. It looks very promising for portraits.
Another very contrasty scene nicely handled – I don’t know what the dynamic range is but it certainly seems to be plenty.
My impressions so far:
I’ll have more to say over the coming weeks as I get used to this amazing new camera.
Update #1 : November
In manual focus mode there is a DoF readout which is displayed when you hold the shutter button and turn the focussing ring. I am pleased to confirm that the calculation is accurate and uses the correct Circle of Confusion number for the sensor. The readout shows the distance at which the lens is focussed, as well as the DoF in front of and behind the focus point. If the Rear value shows infinity then you have found the hyperfocal distance for that focal length and aperture.
The published specifications say that the camera is fully weather sealed and that the lens has the same water repellent coating as the S. I know from my experience with the S that it’s almost impervious to rain and dust etc, so this is a Very Good Thing.
I was out with the dog today, grabbed this quick shot and was very pleased how accurate the focus was and how crisp the image appeared at ISO800 – you can see me and my wife reflected in his eyeball. Lovely smooth bokeh too – very Leica.
Charlie – Vario-Elmarit 24-90 @f4. 1/250 ISO800
Update #2 : December
New Firmware (1.2) released. Biggest change is the use of the rear joystick to magnify the image for manual lens focussing. This is very effective and makes working with R and M lenses much easier. I will be trying out some R lenses soon…
New images from recent trips:
Fiji : Vario-Elmarit 24-90
Fiji – 18mm Super-Elmar
Uluru – 18mm Super-Elmar ISO3200
Uluru – Vario-Elmarit 24-90
Uluru – Vario-Elmarit 24-90
Brisbane – Vario-Elmarit 24-90
Brisbane – Vario-Elmarit 24-90
Brisbane – Vario-Elmarit 24-90
Full Technical specifications here: Leica SL
