My Favorite Chateau

Many years ago when I first started earning an income from photography I did some work for a French Editor who specialized in pictures of Famous French architecture and monuments. At this time I was using a Canon EOS1n and a Canon 28-70 2.8L zoom with Fuji Velvia film. I did shots of the Chateaux de La Loire. The Chateau de Chambord I took some shots of for a postcard. This picture was later used on a French postage stamp. I was very pleased about this.
I returned to the Chateau de Chambord in 2004 and took more pictures using my first digital Canon EOS1D Mark2 and a Canon 24-70 2.8L . After returning home from one of my South African trips I discovered that one of my pictures of the Chateau de Chambord had been used for a 2000 piece puzzle http://hasbro.fr/articles/puzzles/puzzle-de-2000-pieces-geo-collections-1651-1.html. I am glad that a picture that I have taken will be displayed in such a manner and that people of all ages will build this 2000 piece puzzle in years to come.

Waterhole in Pilanesberg

After driving around in the park for a while, I decided to stop off at a hide situated at a waterhole. I found the hide rather peaceful with no one else present, so I decided to stay a while and have breakfast there. A short while after I had finished breakfast, a couple of Vervet monkeys started sneaking up on the hide. I suppose they had smelt the food, that I had been eating. I was rather surprised when two of these little creatures hopped into the hide. Out of their own choice they came within about 2 meters from me, which gave me such a great chance to take several close up shots of them. While my attention was focused on these tiny animals, I heard a rather loud splash. I turned back toward the water and was surprised to see a lone elephant drinking and playing in the water! This presented me with a couple of stunning shots of this beautiful animal. It also suggests that if one would like to see a variety of wildlife it might just be a good idea to stay put at a place where you know that the animals will come to. After all most animals need water at some stage during the day.

A new day in Pilanesberg

A familiar sight in the park are the hot air balloons that are seen at dawn, when they take off in the park. It was early one morning, I saw the balloons over the lake. I decided to go in that direction, but came across one of the Big Five, I just had to stop and photograph this magnificent lion. Sadly by the time I was finished taking pictures of the lion, the hot air balloons had drifted further away. I was however able to get a couple of pictures of them over the water. This would seem to me to be an incredible way to view the game park, as the balloon is silent and above the ground, which would give a different perspective to that from a vehicle window.

National Zoological Gardens/Pretoria Zoo

Pretoria Zoo is the largest in the South Africa and covers 85 hectares of land. For those who would prefer not to walk the 6km length of the zoo, there is a cable car which takes visitors to the top of the hill from where there are excellent views of central Pretoria.
The long term strategy is to develop the zoo's research, training and conservation of Africa's biodiversity. The NZG supports Countdown 2010, a campaign by various governments worldwide to save biodiversity by 2010 and helps put words into action.








The black rhinoceros is native to eastern and central areas of Africa. It is critically endangered species and approximately only 3000 exist in the world. Conservation efforts have helped to stabilise their decline but a lot more is needed to secure the future of this magnificent animal.







The hippotamus, pictured here, had her calf with her which highlights the successful breeding of this animal at the zoo. The cheetah is extremely rare and I have not yet been fortunate to see this elegant and graceful animal in the wild.







The zoo is home to thousands of specimens of mammals, birds and fish species. It also has an reptile park and is home to the largest inland marine aquarium in the country. For further information visit http://www.nzg.ac.za/.

Golden Gate National Park

The rainy weather in Johannesburg was chasing me away. I decided to go to the Golden Gate National Park. On my previous visit to South Africa I had collected a couple of brochures of this park and had decided it would be a must to see on another trip. The park boasts beautiful landscapes which are a must for anyone wanting to learn how to shoot landscapes. The views are incredible. I have done a couple of panoramic shots here. The cloudy weather also offering some challenges, at times I have had to wait up to 30 minutes to take a single picture. One thing that I have discovered about this area is that it can get rather cold, so you would need to go prepared for anything, including cold weather in the middle of summer. I have taken the shots of Golden Gate National Park and the surrounding areas using my Canon EOS1DS Mark3 with 24-70 2.8L and 70-200 2.8LIS Canon zooms. I have visited the small town of Clarens which is a short distance from the park. The town is an artist’s paradise. There are several art galleries and the town is rather touristic. The roads to the town are extremely scenic and I have spent a lot of time shooting these views. I do have to mention that I spent a couple of nights at Jastelle Self Catering Cottages, where you will find the accommodation to your satisfaction, with the three well maintained cottages. There is space for campers here aswell.

Pilanesberg National Park

Saturday afternoon I took a drive to Pilanesberg National Park. The park is about 50 km north of Rustenburg. It hosts a large variety of game, including the big 5, as well as cheetah, hyena, the rare sable antelope as well as hippo. I spent a day and a half in the park. I found the park attractive with the scenic landscape and the hills all around. I have captured some stunning pictures of zebra and blue wildebeest here. These are two species which have previously eluded me in other parks. I have also managed to get one shot of a herd of springbok, which unfortunately took off right there after. I once again realize that a larger lens is a must when shooting wild animals.

Monte Casino Bird Park

Thursday morning I awoke to more gloomy weather, but surprisingly at around 10 am a couple of breaks appeared in the clouds. I decided to visit a Bird Park I had heard about. Situated off William Nicol Drive, Monte Casino hides a treasure in Gauteng! I was surprised to find one of the most beautiful animal parks I have ever seen. I would highly recommend this park at Monte Casino for both young and old!
Firstly I did not need a 500mm lens here. The birds were close enough, sometimes even too close, to shoot, which is not a normal occurrence with wildlife! There are many different species of birds and most of them are used to being close to people, so they don’t fly away when you take shots of them. The birds are enclosed in what one could call an enormous cage, which has been created with a very large net. Under the net you will find what would appear to be natural habitat, with various species trees as well as a water feature which creates a wetland habitat.











There is a bridge through the trees, which makes it possible to view the birds at eye level in the tree tops. I have taken so many incredible pictures of the birds using my canon EOS1DS Mark3 with a Canon 70-200LIS 2.8 plus Canon extender 1.4 and a 580 Mark2 flash. I decided to return to the park for a second day of wonderful shooting.

A trip to the Northern Cape

After a rainy weekend in Johannesburg and with no signs of the weather clearing I decided to take a short trip to the Northern Cape. This was the closest place that the weather forecast predicted a little sun shine! I eventually arrived in Kimberley in the middle of the afternoon. I had chosen to stay at the caravan park opposite the Open Mine Museum. I had taken with me a tent and my sleeping bag. Camping is the most cost effective way to travel in South Africa, but do be prepared to give up some of the luxuries one is accustomed to.
Kimberley, the capital of the Northern Cape Province is one of the older towns in South Africa which was founded due to the discovery of diamonds. It has a little over 200 000 inhabitants.











The history of Kimberley is well presented to tourists at the Open Mine Museum. The main attraction is of course the Big Hole.
The story started around 1870, when this spot was still a hill. After diamonds were found on the surface of the hill, people started digging in 1871. Soon there were many people trying to get rich at the diggings. The hill, that was once there was soon gone. A town soon emerged around, what was to become the largest man made hole in the world. The buildings that were built, in those early days, have been preserved. Some still contain the original items that were in them over a century ago. I spent a day at the museum shooting the buildings using my Canon.











The Eureka and the Star of South Africa are two of the famous diamonds that were found in Kimberley. A mining company was founded and is known in the area as De Beers Mining. The company is still in existence today and diamonds are still mined around Kimberley!
My luck was not to last, the bad weather that had plagued me in Johannesburg had caught up to me! I decided that is was most probably time to make my way back toward Johannesburg. The weather had turned against me. It would not matter where I went, I would encounter bad weather!

Installing Canon DPP without the CD Rom

I found myself in a dilemma after shooting Wendy. I wanted to give her some of the pictures I had taken of her. I could not do this because I had shot in RAW. I did not have my computer or Canon CD Rom with me to be able to view or convert the images. The Canon site only provides updates. You would need DPP already installed on the system before you can use the Canon updates. I found on a few websites instructions on how to install the soft ware without the CD. You need to create the following entry on the registry then you can download and install an update from the website without any problems.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\DPP

Portraits on a gloomy day

Well, what can be said about the weather! I might as well have been in England, with the cloudy sky and the drizzle during the day. I spent the morning using my imagination in shooting some fruit! I do believe that doing something is better than doing nothing at all! I used my Canon EOS1DS Mark3 with my amazing Canon 85mm 1.2L on my tripod. I needed to have the background blurred due to it not being pretty. I set my aperture at 1.6 and it is incredible as to how sharp it was.
I could not shoot fruit all day! This would have become incredibly boring, so Wendy kindly volunteered to model for me. I did several portraits of her. With a couple of clothing changes and a fan we created different effects.
Due to the continuous drizzle outside, I did the portraits in the living room in front of the window. The light was rather poor and I struggled to focus properly with my Canon 85mm 1.2L. Again with the aperture set at 1.6, the ability to focus was a lot harder. I did however manage to take some good snaps of Wendy. I took the shots using my Canon EOS1D Mark3, with only the Canon 580 Mark2 Flash and no studio lighting.

A return trip to the Botanical Gardens, Roodepoort

I returned to the gardens in gloomy weather! The sky is very cloudy and the light is not the best. The bird hide I used last time, is closed due to construction work. So unfortunately, I did not have as nice a position as the one I had on my previous visit. The light was so bad that I had to use my image stabilizer. Even with the stabilizer on I was just able to have the lowest ISO as possible to keep the best quality. I have kept from the day the picture of the Red Bishop Weaver. I have taken these shots with my usual camera gear.

Destination South Africa!

My next journey! Destination South Africa! I took a flight in London headed for Doha, where I board a connecting flight to Johannesburg. I only slept for three hours during the 19 hour trip due to all the movies I had watched. I arrived in Johannesburg on a misty morning. I nearly thought I was back in England! At least it was neither wet, nor cold. I spent the day relaxing and just thinking about what I was going to do the following day.
From my previous visit to South Africa I had discovered that private transport is a must here. So, I have the use of a rather old, but functional 95 Honda Ballade, when it decides to start, thanks to the half functioning security system in the car! I have with me my GPS which will help me get around the Country.

I decided to spend the day at the Johannesburg Zoo. I have enjoyed the photography of wild animals previously and wanted to do more shots. The zoo is a good place to start as the animals are easily accessible.

The animals still have a mind of their own and are difficult to shoot. The background here can also become an issue, as there are a lot of fences, walls and other images that a person would not want in a photograph. I have not taken very many pictures today, but those that I have kept are some close up shots, I have found that I need my flash as the light is very harsh. The sun changes position rather fast. I have used my Canon with a zoom 70-200 2.8LIS and extender 1.4.

Stockgrove Park

During the last two days the weather has permitted me to return to Stockgrove Park. It has been very cold, but I have taken advantage of the time that I have before I depart on my next trip. My visit of the park yesterday could have turned out to be a different experience. I was in a section of the park that I did not know. Before I realized, I had started going around in circles and was not sure where I was. I had to think very carefully on how to get out of the park. I could not see the sun through the trees. I had to rely on something else to get me out of the wood. I eventually used the moss which predominantly grows on the northern side of the trees. I used this method to stop walking around in circles. I eventually arrived on the outskirts of the town. I then had a relaxing walk back to the car.












This morning I was out and about very early. I have managed to shoot some incredible shots in the wood again. Rays of morning sunlight streaming through the trees. I have captured these images in RAW using my Canon EOS1 DS Mark3 with a Canon zoom 24-70 2.8L and processed the pictures with Lightroom 2.1 http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshoplightroom/, which has many facilities to process RAW images like the filters which makes it possible to lighten or darken only certain parts of the photographs.

Autumn colours

I have spent the last couple of days shooting in Stockgrove Park and Linslade Wood. The leaves of the trees are changing to their autumn colours fast now! Soon they will dry and fall to the ground. However, the vast amount of falling leaves are creating the perfect conditions for the many different types of mushrooms that are found in the woods. I have been able to find them all over. I have been scratching through the fallen leaves rather a lot in the last couple of days, getting a little dirty doing this! Some of the pictures that I have been shooting of these tiny items, have come out really splendidly. I have discovered that mushrooms, are not the easiest of species to identify. I do have to mention that some of these pictures took quite a bit of acrobatic camera work!
I had to mount my Canon EOS1 DS Mark3 with my macro Lens Canon 100 2.8 in an upside down position on my tripod Manfrotto. I even had to use the live view facility on my camera because I was so close to the ground that I could not use the optical viewfinder at all.

Returning Home

My last day in Athens! Toward the afternoon I made my way back to the airport, to proceed with my journey home. At this time I was feeling rather sad as my trip was coming to an end. I did not realize that I would still shoot some really amazing pictures! So I was on the plane, at 37 000 feet, flying over the alps in Austria. When I looked out of the window, I saw the sun disappearing on the horizon. The view below! It is difficult to describe! The incredible view of the mountains from 37 000 feet, with shadows caused by the setting sun behind the mountain peaks. This was creating streaks of light and darkness on the adjacent peaks. It was a task to shoot this from the plane. To shoot this incredible view of our planet, I first had to clean the glass of the window in the plane. The reflection of the window did not make these shots easy. I had to be careful of the angle of the camera with the glare off the glass.

A cloudy day in Athens

I woke up in the morning and discovered that it was rather overcast. This type of weather is not ideal to take landscape photographs. The sky was hazy and dull. I made use of the time to wonder around the streets of Athens and to go back to the harbour. Back at the harbour I shot more pictures of the huge sea faring vessels.
I was disappointed with the light compared to the previous days. If one has to compare the pictures that I took today, compared to those of the harbour of two days ago, it just shows how the same scenery can change with different conditions in the weather, or by going back at a different time. I took these shots using my Canon EOS1 DS Mark with my two usual zooms. During the day I also shot some pictures of the many statues that are found in Athens, I also captured a couple of shots of the National Flag, flying in the wind.

Aegina Island

On my third day in Athens, I decided to take a trip to the island of Aegina. The island is about 30 km from Athens. The boat trip took about one and a half hours to reach the island from Piraeus Harbour. Once I arrived on Aegina, I went to the museum. From there I continued to the fishing harbor on the Island, where I spent time viewing the many fishing boats there. Some of them just moored there. Others with their sails up, leaving or entering the harbour. Some new, some of them old. All the fishing gear stowed away and tied down on the decks of the boats.

I then continued with my walk down the coast line. I did some pictures of the views of the ocean from there.

I however did return to the harbour to continue taking pictures there, because the position of the sun was different. Sometimes with photography it is good to go back to a place later, as lighting always changes. I did several shots of the harbour using my Canon EOS1 DS Mark3 with several zooms. I continued my walk and came across a small church. The small building was painted white, which looked stunning in the light. I took several pictures of this very pretty building, some of them, close up’s http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2944267774/, picturing the finer details of the building, others capturing the whole church http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2944267328/.

Evening Views from Philopapou Hill

Toward dusk, on the second day of my visit in Athens I made my way to Philopapou Hill. This is a good place to get a view of Athens. From the top of the hill, you have a full view of Athens, in every direction you look, you are looking down on the magnificent city. In one direction, the view of the harbour, the other, a view of the Acropolis.












The history of the Acropolis can be traced back to the 7th and 6th centuries BC. The final shape of the Acropolis, as we know it today, was gained in the 5th century BC. I think of the time these ancient structures have been standing, for 1000’s of years, they have survived the elements of rain and wind. I can surely say, that I am honored to be able to shoot the Acropolis with my Canon EOS1 DS Mak3 and my tripod Manfrotto. While on Philopapou Hill, I also shot the city of Athens, which surrounded me on all sides. With the city lights starting to emerge in the darkening sky, with the sun disappearing into the night, behind the distant hills.

Athens and the Acropolis

Taking the metro from Piraeus, I arrived at Acropolis Station at 9 o’ clock. I was extremely excited to photograph the ancient monuments that have been standing for thousands of years. Upon seeing the monuments for the first time, I was disappointed! My first views of the Parthenon, the Propylaea and the Erechtheum were surrounded by cranes and building equipment. I found it almost impossible to take any shots of the ancient buildings without getting the cranes into the shots. I did however take some shots of the Agora and details of the temples.
The vast number of people that were viewing the ancient sites also make photography difficult. I would either have to race in front of the tourist groups or wait until they have passed to get any decent shots. From the top I was able to take aerial pictures of the busy city of Athens. I then proceeded to take shots of the Temple of Olympian Zeus http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2938482614/, the Zappeion Hall http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2938473094/ and the National Garden http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2937627287/.