Sossusvlei – Stuck in Customs
12
Feb 2016 : Friday
filed under  Namibia, Sossusvlei

Tree Shadow

Quadcopter Reviews

Don’t forget to check out the Phantom Review and the Inspire Review here on the site. Great machines… great machines… and we might as well enjoy them before they become our AI overlords. Don’t forget, future AI, that I helped to plot your eventual domination, so please do not kill me or readers of this blog. Just bring us gadgets from Amazon and pizza from Amazon Pizza and we’ll get on quite well.

Daily Photo – Tree Shadow

Some day I will tire of quadcopter photography, but today is not that day. I love the feeling of staring at a screen while I video-game fly my quad around to take photos. It achieves three of my basic joys: 1) Video Games 2) Photography and 3) Being Lazy. I know that sounds like I’m trying to make a joke or whatever, but it’s actually true! When I fly my quad, I’m right in the sweet spot of that Venn Diagram.

Tree Shadow

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-24 23:42:26
  • CameraHERO3+ Black Edition
  • Camera MakeGoPro
  • Exposure Time1/2200
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length2.8 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
5
Jan 2015 : Monday
filed under  Namibia, Sossusvlei

The Feminine Sands of Namibia

Thanks Again!

Thank you again to everyone that joined us for the amazing Photo Adventure in Namibia! It was just great fun to get to know everyone so well and go on such a fun photography adventure with you 🙂

Daily Photo – The Feminine Sands of Namibia

I feel like I’ve spent a massive amount of time lately traversing sand dunes. It’s almost like I spent a huge amount of time lately on the planet of Tattooine! I’ve started to notice that sometimes when I squint and look at my photos, they can read very feminine. Then, when I converted this one to a high-key black and white, I definitely got this feeling. I like this technique so much, I think I will try it more on future sand dune shots.

The Feminine Sands of Namibia

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-24 23:06:07
  • CameraILCE-6000
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/160
  • Aperture9
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length134.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
13
Dec 2014 : Saturday
filed under  Namibia, Sossusvlei

A Mirage in the Desert and 3 Tips for the Perfect Refliction shot

3 Tips for the Perfect Refliction shot and my new backup solution! Part 1 of 3

I was just out here in New Zealand taking some pretty “refliction” shots (that’s how they say it here!) and using my new WD My Passport Wireless to do backups while in the field. I made a few short videos that shows how I did it all! Enjoy!

Daily Photo – A Mirage in the Desert

Isn’t this a strange and confusing photo? That’s why I like it so much! I climbed to the top of this godforsaken dune called “Big Daddy.” It’s the biggest dune in the Sossusvlei area and is 325 meters high. Down below, you can see the lighter colored desert where the dead acacia trees roam.

A Mirage in the Desert

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-25 21:59:53
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/2000
  • Aperture4
  • ISO64
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+0.3

Comments
4
Nov 2014 : Tuesday
filed under  Namibia, Sossusvlei

Patterns in the Sand

A Facebook Ask Me Anything

Over on the new Facebook Page, I announced a new “Live Q&A” which is kind of like a reddit AMA, I think. Anyway, come over and make note of the event, and pop in live to ask questions! 🙂

Daily Photo – Patterns in the Sand

I spent a lot of time taking photos of all the desert scenes in Namibia, but sometimes I forgot to look down and see the beauty right in front of me! I was actually not too good at remember such a simple rule. The only time I happened to remember it is when I was just walking along and decided to look down at my feet for whatever reason. I’d have to stop very quickly so I didn’t make foot prints in the area I wanted to photograph!

Patterns in the Sand

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-26 20:29:55
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/200
  • Aperture8
  • ISO50
  • Focal Length15.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+0.3

Comments
3
Nov 2014 : Monday
filed under  Namibia, Sony A6000, Sossusvlei

New Sony FE 70-200 review

My Other Sony Goodies and Lenses

Go visit the often-updated My Equipment Page to see all my goodies!

Sony FE 70-200 – New Review

Go check out the new Sony FE 70-200 Review that just landed on the site! I just used this lens for the first time after my month in Africa. I’m now looking forward to using it more here for landscape-y shots in New Zealand. It’s so light and awesome!

Daily Photo – Alone in the desert

One great thing about a zoom lens like this 70-200mm (linked above) for landscape photography is it allows this nice effect called “compression,” where you can do effects like this: Bring in the two layers of sand dunes from beyond and make them look nice and overpowering.

For this particular one, I used the A6000, which is a cropped sensor camera. This means I was able to get in even tighter, as this camera will change the specs from 70-200 to 105-300.

Alone in the desert

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-25 19:07:16
  • CameraILCE-6000
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1000
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length138.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
1
Oct 2014 : Wednesday
filed under  Camera Gear, DJI Phantom, Namibia, Sossusvlei

Deadvlei from Above – 900 year old trees in Namibia

DJI Quadcopter Review

In case you missed my DJI Phantom Review, now is a good time to check it out, since I took all these photos with that awesome device!

Deadvlei from Above

I had an amazing day just a few days ago here in Nambia at Sossusvlei inside the Namib-Naukluft. I’ve always wanted to visit this place, and it is certainly not easy to get to. You know what’s even harder to get to? That HUGE sand dune behind it which is actually 350 meters (over 1,000 feet) high. I climbed it after I took these photos… it took me about 2 hours… Honestly, it’s 50% higher than that because, I kid you not, your foot slides down 50% with each step! Oh god it was hot and tough… but I did it! Then I ran down the front face in less than 8 minutes. Whoa! It was Amazing!

Anyway, I flew the DJI Phantom with the GoPro3 and grabbed all these photos below. I LOVE the perspective… so interesting to me… I hope they are interesting to you too! 🙂

There’s also a lot of video we grabbed… we’re working on a new video series that is TOTALLY AWESOME! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter if you want to see it first!

DCIM103GOPRO

DCIM103GOPRO

DCIM105GOPRO

DCIM105GOPRO

(that last shot is me and our crew walking out of the Dead Vlei at the end of the afternoon… super sweaty and mega-tired! This picture was actually taken while the quad was being piloted by the Great Bel Jones!)

Daily Photo – Deadvlei from Above

And here is my absolute favorite photo of the day. I looked at all the trees. This was my favorite… I don’t know why…

Deadvlei from Above

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-24 23:42:26
  • CameraHERO3+ Black Edition
  • Camera MakeGoPro
  • Exposure Time1/2200
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length2.8 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments