The Royal National Park

Its been a while, I had a few problems with my internet connection and I suppose I was a bit lazy but here I go again.    I love the Berg

Hlalanathi, a view from our campsite

The dam a the Royal national Park

A panorama from the same location

My wife and I often go to the Drakensberg, here are a few shots from the Northern Berg, some from the Royal National park and one from Hlalanthi. Enjoy.

I am doing photoshop lessons from home now, if there are any interested people please email me thanks

Carl

Black and White

Lion Park( Shot near the Lion park as a storm was approaching)

Koegal Bay( Bright contrasty light makes the Pic}

The Windmill ( No bright sky's this morning , instead a long shutter speed makes the clouds look fast)

The Pool ( 3 exposures processed in Photomatix then converted to Black and white. The HDR brings back more detail)

Sometimes I like to convert my photos to black and white. High contrast and sometimes low contrast images do well but the most important I feel is texture. Composition is the same in both.

Enjoy Carl

Lightning

I love big storms. As soon as there is one that promises lots of lightning, I try and get out there. I do realise the dangers though and am careful.

Taking photos of lightning is tricky and the correct F stop must be used to ensure; firstly enough depth of view in the shot, (at night this is not a huge problem) and secondly that you have a long enough exposure to record it.  Composition is quite difficult as lightning is unpredictable and often many shots are required.

Shot 1 is taken over the Kloof gorge.

Shot 2 is taken over Pinetown.

Shot 3 is taken on the way down from the Valley of Desolation outside  Graaff- Rienet

Enjoy the photos and have a great day, Carl.

PS. If anyone wants a print please give me a shout

Koegal bay

On a recent holiday to the Strand I was lucky enough to be close to Koegal bay and most nights I was there till 9pm. Wish I had more time to spend there, but work and earning money comes first. I took a number of pics which I think are nice. I am going back to the Overberg in July, so maybe I can shoot down there again.

The Classic

Strormy days

Something different

Long exposures

Not so Classic

Enjoy Carl

Trees

Trees are one of my favourite things to take photos of . They have all got different characters and in different lighting take on different moods. I took some of these following photos in the Midlands and some of them around Kloof and The Lion Park. I go and search for trees often and have walked almost the whole of the Kloof Gorge to find a few.  Then I have just got to wait for the right light. More than often the early hours of the morning and late afternoon provide the best light, warm and inviting. Sometimes the right conditions make a great black and white photo as you will see.

Anyway Have a great day

Reflections

Landscape photography is a lot of work, waking up at 3am is not uncommon to me, but that is the easy bit . Finding a location with strong compositional element is the hardest bit. Sometime I am lucky and just stumble on a a great location but most of the time I walk around an area looking, sometimes for hours. You cannot be lazy with this kind of photography, planning is everything. Once I have found a great spot I mark it and then go back when the right weather is around.

To create impact in a photo I often use reflections, it is a instant wow and draws a viewer into the photo, makes them want to be there. I was lucky with these locations I just stumbled on them.

have a great day  Carl

Evening all

Mtwalumi sunrise

PS thanks for the comments

Part 2

This is the second image from Sunday morning.

Enjoy Carl

PS please feel free to pass a comment .