NZPhotographer Issue 59, September 2022

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Lenses I’ve always been a fan of prime lenses for landscape photography, although today’s zoom lenses have developed miraculously in terms of sharpness and distortion. Prime lenses do still offer the ultimate construction with fewer elements resulting in the sharpest glass. Whilst I own five lenses for landscape photography, I will very rarely carry all of these lenses at once. Nikon 24mm f3.5D ED PC-E - The 24mm has always been my most used wide focal length lens. I love the perspective and depth of field it offers. I rarely work with focal lengths wider than this as I find the ultra-wide lenses often don’t shoot my style of photography. The tilt-shift features also enable me to control perspective and extend the depth of field if needed. Using tilt-shift lenses requires some honed skills and knowledge of the camera movements, so it’s not a simple lens to use. It is also a manual focus-only lens which for landscape photography I do not mind. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 G AF-S - This is far from my most used lens, but for the right subject and required perspective, I will often reach into my bag for it. Nikon 70-200mm f4 G ED VR - This lens is a real workhorse, and I often use it for picking out parts of the landscape and creating a more abstract approach to the landscape. This f4 lens is half the weight of the f2.8, and is also nicely a lot sharper at smaller apertures, so much better suited to landscape photography than its big brother. Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S - I bought this after often not finding the reach on my 70-200 to shoot the compositions that I was seeing. It is also one of the sharpest lenses that Nikon makes. Nikon 18-35mm AF-S f/3.5-4.5G ED - While I will often not carry this lens, I use it for coastal photography and in more adverse weather conditions to which I don’t want to expose my 24mm tilt-shift to. This is a lightweight and incredibly sharp lens. In fact, one of the sharpest wide-angle zooms that Nikon makes. Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III - I always have this in my pack for those times when my lens just isn’t long enough. It can be used on both my 70-200mm and my 300mm lenses; with the 300mm, it extends its reach to 420mm. Other Accessories I own two Benro tripods; one is more stable and the other is a smaller, more lightweight option. For my main tripod, I have a Benro Mach3 TMA38CL & V3 Ball Head. It offers good stable-shooting conditions for coastal environments and in the wind. My smaller TMA328CL & V2 Ball Head offers a much more compact set-up for times when I’m walking long distances or travelling lighter. I use a lot of filters for my landscape photography, both solid ND filters and graduated ND filters. I have carried the Benro 100mm filter system for about the last six years, and I love the features and precise control it offers. For me, the biggest advantage of this system is the plastic frames around each filter, making them easy to handle and—with a fair amount of testing—quite drop-proof compared to others. I also love the latest edition of the magnetic polarising filter for the system, which makes it so easy to use. Three of my lenses have a 77mm filter size. My other two lenses live permanently attached with step-up rings on them, making them 77mm. I find this great for efficiency when using filters and It also enables me to have a 77mm lens cap on every single lens; meaning that I can quickly swap lens caps when changing lenses. Other Items As previously mentioned, my bag is always loaded with a lightweight waterproof, a down jacket, hat and gloves – just in case I get caught out in some cool conditions, plus a small Blunt Metro umbrella which is great for shooting in a shower. At the top of my pack, I always carry a first aid kit, PLB (personal locator beacon), sun cream, a Swiss Army knife and a head torch, plus a lightweight towel for drying wet camera gear. I carry very few other gizmos and gadgets apart from spare batteries, memory cards, a shutter release cable and lens cleaning accessories. Spare Equipment I have a large and a medium Lowepro GearUp Box for my spare equipment. In the large GearUp Box, I keep a few things like my battery charger and a few accessories I don’t need out in the field. I also use it for storing lenses I’m not taking with me; it has enough spare room to put two lenses in. The medium GearUp Box contains my Vlogging kit. It’s got all the equipment I need to film myself for YouTube videos out on location. It contains a great little Nikon ZFC with the 16-50mm kit lens along with a Joby Beamo Mini LED light and microphone. PUTTING THE GEAR INTO PRACTICE - ON LOCATION AT SAINT BATHANS The gear shots for this article were taken while out on location at Blue Lake, Saint Bathans. It’s a classic New Zealand landscape location and one that I enjoy guiding groups to on some of our Central Otago workshops as I think it offers both the larger and endless small abstract views. Heading out here for an opportunist evening away in my VW Camper during mid-summer, I was not anticipating any interesting light, although some cloud cover provided some interesting light to work in. I managed to make a wide-angle vista of the scene as well as the chance to focus on some more personal Interpretations of the landscape with some longer lenses. Why the best gear might make a difference; training your eye to see the image and working with the right focal length lens for the shot makes the largest difference to your end photographs. 58 September 2022 NZPhotographer
SHOT 1 - NIKON 24MM F3.5D ED PC-E For me, a 24mm lens offers the perfect focal length for a wide landscape like this, any wider I often feel the foreground becomes a little too bold, and any distant subjects (like the hills) become too small. While there was a little colour at sunset, I preferred the more subtle light just before, when a small break in the clouds offered some nice depth to the vista. NZPhotographer September 2022 59
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ISSUE 59, September 2022 ESCAPING S
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CONTENTS 4 6 12 26 45 54 62 68 74 B
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CAROLE, REMIND US WHO YOU ARE... I
Page 7 and 8: NZPhotographer September 2022 7
Page 9 and 10: WHAT DO YOU MOST ENJOY ABOUT LANDSC
Page 11 and 12: Subscribe today and download all ba
Page 13 and 14: Protors Beach Canon 5DMKIV, 24-70mm
Page 15 and 16: Misty Morning Canon 5DMKIV, 70-300m
Page 17 and 18: Ruakaka Beach Canon 5D MKIV, 70-200
Page 19 and 20: Awaroa Bay Canon 5DMKIV, 70-200mm l
Page 25 and 26: Click here for more informaition NZ
Page 28 and 29: CHERIE ENGELBRECHT
Page 32 and 33: KELVIN WRIGHT
Page 36 and 37: PAUL JOHNSTON
Page 40 and 41: TULIPA BRIGGS
Page 44 and 45: Print On Demand Why not read your f
Page 46 and 47: Millie Nikon D810 @ F2.8, 1/200s, I
Page 48 and 49: MAKEUP & COSTUME I have always been
Page 50 and 51: Marauding Millicent Nikon D810 @ F2
Page 52 and 53: Taking Stock Nikon D810 @ F2.8, 1/4
Page 54 and 55: 54 September 2022 NZPhotographer
Page 56 and 57: THE CAMERA BAG Having a well-organi
Page 60 and 61: SHOT 2 - NIKON 50MM F/1.8 G AF-S So
Page 62 and 63: Creative Studio Spaces by Fairlie A
Page 64 and 65: THE DIY HOME STUDIO WITH EMMA MONAG
Page 66 and 67: 66 September 2022 NZPhotographer
Page 68 and 69: Stephen Milner and the Volcanic Aot
Page 70 and 71: The explosion of White Island in 20
Page 72 and 73: “If I were to say the word ‘vol
Page 74 and 75: From the Road: Ho Chi Minh City by
Page 76 and 77: Bac (uncle) Ho as he was affectiona
Page 78 and 79: Also in District One, you’ll find
Page 80 and 81: The neighborhood streets of Saigon
Page 82 and 83: BINH THANH DISTRICT This district h
Page 84 and 85: ROADS READERS' SUBMISSIONS Whether
Page 86 and 87: BUDDING PONGA TREE Image descriptio
Page 88 and 89: DIETES BICOLOR Also known as the Af
Page 90 and 91: SPRING AND TUIS - A MATCH MADE IN H
Page 92 and 93: MAGNOLIA, YOU SWEET THING This was
Page 94 and 95: EARLY SPRING DUCKLING I was visitin
Page 96: "THE WHOLE POINT OF TAKING PICTURES
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NZPhotographer Issue 59, September 2022

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