Great link Stefan. They are superb images which really go beyond the obvious. Looks like a combination of visiting the zoo at the right time of day, choosing shooting angles which maximise the effects of backlighting, and some very skilled processing. I expect he is very good at previsualising what the raw material will end up like.

He has totally avoided the approach of 'ooh look, a giraffe' - click! 'ooh look, a water buffalo' - click! which I suffer from at the zoo.

Excellent. Shoot more male portraits, John. I find this guy one of your more characterful models.

Cool. Enjoy the lens!

I can't tell any difference between shots with or without a skylight filter, in terms of iq. And mine originate from the bargain bin at my local camera shop - they aren't fancy.

However, i've seen enough to convince me that a broken filter can cause a lot of damage, whereas a hood will provide some protection and also potentially improve iq.

I might use a filter for protection by the sea, or in a situation where I was perpetually wiping the front element tho.

Allium christophii is the plant, I think. Wonderful macros. The colours in the last shot are gorgeous.

Given the popularity of black and white images, I'd say this wasn't true

Not forgetting slow shutter speed, limited dof, etc etc.

Love that James Knight-Smith stuff... very pure photography, I'd say.

Some black and white conversions.

ISO 1000


ISO 1600





C&C welcome!

Recently I went to a friends wedding in Ireland - I didn't want to overdo it on the photography, but took a few crafty shots. I mainly used the Tamron SP 90mm, with the Sigma 24mm f2.8 and the SMC 50mm f1.7 used in the last two here.

Colour shots

Pentax 28mm f3.5 still available. Excellent lens in spotless condition. Also, a MINT 135mm 3.5.

I would have thought using primes would mean less weight, not more! In fact you could do away with the camera bag altogether and pop them in your pockets.