Back To South Africa One Last Time!

Good Morning Everybody!

I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me but I’m happy to
report that all is great with us in our part of the world.  I hope everybody had a wonderful 2024 and I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year as well!

OK, why am I writing today?  First is to share with you some fantastic news for 2025 and later to take a quick look back into 2024.

But first things first!

IMPORTANT! In October we are once again heading to South Africa for probably my final trip to that part of the world. We’ve had so many friends and acquaintances over recent years asking us to lead one more African safari, so we decided to say “YES”! This will be our sixth Safari to Africa and has always been one of our favorite travel adventures.  I sure hope you’ll join us on our final African adventure.

Tell Me About the Safari:

David Ziser and Kevin Dooley’s 

Small-Group Discovery Adventure!

A 9-Day Safari Adventure to South Africa

October 2 – 11, 2025 

Check out the detailed info about the entire safari adventure right here [LINK]:

To register

Call Tricia or Kevin at 505-280-3846 or 505-401-2988

or email them at idubephotosafris@yahoo.com 

Feel free to reach out to myself and LaDawn with any additional questions you may have about this adventure.  You can reach me at david@ziser.com and LaDawn at ladawn@ziser.com.

 

Why You Should Go:

The reason we like the South Africa safari so much is simply because there is so much to see and do there. Here is an actual photo from one of our previous safaris.

This Safari has the most varied and exciting wildlife you’ll see in Africa, outstanding photography opportunities, beautiful geography, gorgeous sunsets, great food, roomy and comfortable 4-star accommodations, and warm and friendly people.   

It is simply a wonderful visual, exciting, and educational experience for all!

 

Limited Availability:

This Small Group Safari is limited to only 12 reservations and tends to fill up fast.  The first Safari I announced a few years ago sold out in 48 hours! 

Here is a photo of one of our groups - 17 people, 5 guides, and 3 Safari vehicles

So, if you are the least bit interested, please be prudent and book early.  Again, all the Safari, lodge, itinerary, and cost are covered in the link [LINK] right here – along with some of Kevin’s fabulous images from past South African safaris.

Cool Things that Will be Happening on this Trip:

-Visiting a local school is always a treat. Seeing the smiling faces of the kids and hearing the teachers’ dedication to their education in this very rural part of Africa is truly a joy!

-Making an overnight stop at the Lasedi Cultural Center where we will experience the history and culture of the African nations. We may even sleep in a Zulu village hut that night.

-Discovering the Milky Way against the inky darkness of the African night sky and photographing it as well. For many of you, this will be your first time even seeing the Milky Way so clearly, and when you do, you will be “blown away” by the stunning visual experience

-Special Dinners at the Fire Pit one evening with lots of local fare and maybe a surprise performance of the energetic African dance customs. Every evening our lodge hosts welcome us with an evening meal that captures the unique, wonderful, and tasty cuisine of South Africa.

-Watching the Elephants at the local water pit just off our lodge’s overlook. This is quite the treat to see and photograph so close to our lodge – you don’t want to miss it.

-Hearing the monkeys racing across our lodging at night and hearing the call of the wild – elephants, lions, and birds during the evening. It might be a bit unsettling the first night, but as you settle in for the week, the sounds become a welcome respite from our normal city sounds.

-Plan to arrive a few days early so you more easily adjust to the jet lag. And use those extra days to explore Johannesburg and its surroundings.  We can give you many suggestions as to what not to miss and make local guide recommendations as well.

Your Four Hosts:

Kevin Dooley will be co-leading all of our Safari drives with me. Kevin and I have been friends for many years, and he is the best. He is a trained licensed African wildlife guide and has won numerous top wildlife photography awards including awards from National Geographic, Africa Nat Geo, and the World Photographic Cup.  His work is simply stunning – you will agree when you see his images at the link above. 

Kevin’s wife Trisha, who hails from South Africa, is just delightful and an enthusiastic guide as well and will also join us on the daily drives.

I will be co-leading the Safari drives suggesting lenses to use, camera settings, and composition considerations throughout the Safari drives so you can be guaranteed to capture your best photographs.  It is basically a photography workshop for photography amateurs and enthusiasts alike. 

LaDawn will be joining us on our drives as well.  Nobody is better at spotting and identifying the variety of birds we see every day. For me, capturing birds in mid-flight is both challenging and fun. Our groups will switch safari vehicles every day so you will get to experience a varied game drive exposure from all of us.

 

This is a Once in a Lifetime Experience!

I still remember with “goosebumps” our very first African Safari with Kevin and Tricia – it just took your breath away with non-stop sensory overload. Every day each game drive was a completely new adventure. Many of our friends who have taken this trip have called it a “Life-Changing” experience!  

It really opens your eyes and gives you a much more appreciative view of the world and people around you.  And you don’t have to be a photographer to take this trip either - although it is a photo-centric experience. Even the cell phone shooters have had a wonderful time. – yes, the animals do get that close ;~)

Wait! There’s More - Wine Country!

It’s such a long way to travel for just a 10-day stay, LaDawn & I  always tack on a week to Cape Town.  The geography and history of the Cape Town area is simply amazing.  

But, for us, our top priority has always been to make the short drive to Wine Country (they call it the Wine Fields over there).
We like to stay at a comfy, affordable Airbnb in Paarl, SA – it’s a small town very close to the Stellenbosch wine fields.  

The flights are always very reasonable, and the auto rental is fairly priced too. This gives us an extra travel week in South Africa letting us soak up even more sights and sounds.

Please consider joining us on Safari - October 1-12, 2025

Once again, here is the link [LINK] for all the details.

Want even more information, 

Check out all my past Safari posts below:

Here are a few of my very informative links on our past African Safari experiences – Enjoy!

Link 1: My Top 5 Tips for Safari Photography [LINK]

Link 2: African Adventures [LINK]

Link 3: Just Back From Africa [LINK]

Link 4: My Interview With Kevin Dooley [LINK]

Link 5: YouTube Video of Our Interview [LINK]

Link 6: Slide Show of Entire Safari [LINK]

Link 7: Live-action Lion takedown of an Impala – I call it “Impala Blues.” [LINK]  P.S.: It has a happy ending ;~)

Link 8: Eye Opening numbers for Wildlife photography – F-Stops, Shutter Speeds, and ISO’s [LINK] 

Link 9: Camera Settings for Wildlife Photography and Why [LINK] 

 

What Happening with us in 2025:

Things are gearing up for LaDawn and me as well for 2025. In a few months, we are heading for Antarctica, Yep, near the South Pole, for a two-week chilly adventure! I sure hope we can keep warm that long ;~) I’ll update you on our trip after we return.

Hey Gang,

I’m going to let that be it for me today.  This post just took on a life of its own as I kept developing it.  The goal was to let you know about our upcoming Safari adventures in October and give you as much “Safari” information as I possibly could to help you capture your best photographs.

I dug through my DigitalProTalk blog scouring every previous safari post to compile in one place every single piece of safari information I’ve published in the past so you didn’t have to be digging around on your own looking for it. They are listed above. I hope I did a good job, and that you appreciate all the good information. 

Hopefully, it helps you photographically if you decide to join us on our October Safari or if there is another safari in your future.

Check back soon for a report of our 2024 travels to India and Dubai, two of our favorite travel adventures to date.

Cheers Everybody, David

African Adventures - Exciting Safaris in Botswana and South Africa

Good Morning Everybody,

I'm not photographing many weddings these days, but we still have a  lot of things going on in our lives that keep us plenty busy. LaDawn and I have been traveling the world quite a bit pre-Covid but sadly, Covid kept us at home in 2020 and 2021. Finally, travels are ramping back up this year.

That said, I've got some cool adventures to share with you today.  We recently returned from another month-long trip to South Africa and Botswana. These were two safaris that were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic but we finally were able to reschedule them this year. 

Both safaris were extremely exhilarating and I can not recommend them highly enough. My friend, Kevin Dooley, and I led the photo safaris, and LaDawn and I helped hosted these events too. Both safaris turned out to be spectacular. In Botswana, we saw more cheetahs than we’ve ever seen before on any of our other three previous safaris, and I captured some great photographs.  South Africa was equally exciting as we saw some very rare instances of a lion taking down an impala. There’s more to the story so please read on.

Botswana - the Cheetah Capital of the World.

First, the Botswana trip. The highlights of our Botswana safari were the amazing group of photographers joining us the awesome sightings we experienced and the fact that the geography is so much different from South Africa. There are more hills, mountains, and rock outcroppings than you ever see on the plains of South Africa. It almost looks a little like Arizona. Great weather, awesome sightings...we got some great photos. 

Just look at a few of the photos below – the first photos are  LaDawn‘s photographs. 

By the way, she does a great job with her  Sony RX 10 Mark 4. 

This year I was shooting a new Canon EOS R5 which is a very cool camera to shoot with.  Let’s take a look at the first photograph below. It’s a photograph of the cheetah brothers, yes they are indeed brothers. Kind of like teenagers as far as age goes. This is a rare thing to see because the mother raised five cheetahs and they all lived to adulthood. Because of the wildlife dynamics in Botswana, this is pretty much a rarity.

Very quickly, I upgraded my Canon 7D Mark II to the new Canon EOS R5 just about a year and a half ago. This is the first time I really had a chance to put it through its paces. And the results emphasize just how good this camera is. I prefer the much faster shutter speed (20fps), the lower light sensitivity, and the quickness of the focus. Here are a few more of my images with the EOS R5.

I know this is a little "gross" but we actually witnessed the leopard catching this warthog and then proceeded to watch him carry it up into the tree the night before - way cool!  The first photo above is of the leopard leaving the tree a few days after he finished his lunch.

And a photo of our entire Safari group including guides - we all had a great week!

On To South Africa...  Where the Action Was

Our trip to South Africa represented our fourth Safari to that part of the African continent. We have been three times to Thakadu and we love the wonderful adventure in the wild, the unbelievable wildlife we see,  and we love all the folks at the lodge – some of the friendliest on the planet earth!.

Once again our safari to South Africa did not disappoint. People ask if one safari location is better than the other? My answer is always "that each and every safari is different and special in its own way". That could be in the animals that you see, the activities that the animals are engaged in, or just the quantity of animals you may encounter.  Here is one of my favorite images which LaDawn took on her Sony RX10 Mk 4.  She caught the giraffes just right for this fun photo.

And a few more...

Pretty cool images, don't you think?

The highlight of our South Africa trip this year was the fact that we saw two male lions and four female lions hunting for prey. The prey turned out to be the poor lowly impala - the savanna smorgasbord for big cats everywhere in Africa. We found the lions on the prowl and followed them for several minutes monitoring their hunting behavior. It was only a few minutes later when all "heck" broke loose. 

We were the first ones on the scene to see that the female lion had taken down the impala her jaws were around the impala‘s neck and its demise was a foregone conclusion. 

Within a minute or two a male lion shows up and chases the female lion away saying he was going to take over {in lion talk}. The impala, which we thought was dead or near dying quickly springs to it's feet and took off. This is when all "heck" broke loose a second time. 

The male lion goes after the impala, thinks he has captured it, and then the impala makes a break for it again. During the ensuing chaos, the female lion returns to take over and show the male what needs to be done. The male lion bats her away again and while that is going on the impala is making a break for it again. This continues to go on for several minutes. 

I captured a great series of photographs showing the chase and capture of the impala along with the battle between the male and the female lion. Above are just a few of the images. 

The action was going on for so long, thankfully something in my "brain" said to start the video rolling on my camera - which I did. 

This YouTube video below shows the height of the action and really captures the excitement of the moment. Our tour guide shared that it was a very rare sighting and only about 1% of visitors on safaris ever see anything like what we witnessed. 

When we got back to camp at the end of the day we all felt mixed feelings about this special event that we had witnessed. Oh, the rest of the story... the impala eventually got away! Yep, it’s true the impala got away, all the other lions were very ticked off with the male lion who let their "lunch" slip through his claws. The whole thing was really exciting to see.

We had a terrific group of folks on this safari which made it totally enjoyable for everyone that was part of our Safari adventure.

On to Capetown and Wine Tasting

After our trip to South Africa, we headed to Cape Town and spent a week there sampling the wonderful South African wines. That week was an easy, relaxing week after our too exciting and fairly strenuous safaris. The image below is of LaDawn and I with the winemaker at Anura Wineries - one of our favorite places.

Anyway, we returned home safe and sound having created over 45,000 images and endless memories from our month-long visit. LaDawn had taken about 16,000 images on her Sony and I took the remaining 30,000 mostly on the EOS R5. Yes, I’m still sorting through all of the images but it's fun to look back and relive the exciting moments we experienced.

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Hey gang, that’s about it for me today but stay tuned I’ll see if I can get a few more of the Safari photographs up for you to enjoy. Oh, and don't forget to check out my post below for three very exciting adventures we have planned for next year - Bengal tigers in India, Jaguars in Brazil, and Antarctica in 2024. Hope you can join us!

Adios, David

Is Antarctica in Your Future? Or Tigers and Taj Mahal, They Can Be!

Good Morning Everybody,

Hey everybody I wanted to invite you to three very exciting life-changing adventures coming up in 2023 and 2024.  Please read about them below. As you know I’ve been leading these photo safaris with my friend Kevin Dooley, owner of Idube Photo Safaris [link] since 2018. It has been a great segue from wedding photography and even a better segue into a brand new teaching experience! We call it "Life Changing" adventures. 

But I wanted to get this news out to you right away so if there’s a chance you can make any of our upcoming adventures you can call Kevin or his wife Trisha for more information and start making your plans right away.

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Exotic Bengal Tigers and the Beautiful Taj Mahal - May  1-15, 2023

Our first safari is scheduled for May 1 - 15, 2023 of next year. We are going to venture off to India for two reasons. 

First to photograph the Bengal tigers. Kevin tells me that the 2022 trip to India was an unbelievable adventure because of so many Bengal tiger sightings.  He has some fabulous images from his trip. 

Another great reason you've got to go to India is to do a couple of tourist things. We have a few of those scheduled the most important is a visit to the majestic Taj Mahal.

This has been one of my bucket list places to visit for all of my life and I am truly looking forward to getting there next year. Here is the [link] for our adventures in India and Taj Mahal trip right here.

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Jaguars and Wildlife of the Pantanal - August 5-15, 2023 [link]

Our next adventure is scheduled for August 5-15, 2023. This trip will be to the Pantanal in Brazil.  In 2000, the Pantanal wetland was designated a World Natural Heritage and World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.  It’s almost a two-week trip and we will actually be staying in one of two floating hotels if you can believe that!

The things to see in the Pantanal are the leopards along with many other varied species of fun animal faces. Kevin has some great images from this year‘s trip as well. Here are a couple of my faves in this post. As I said earlier, both of these trips will be adventures of a lifetime and certainly a first for LaDawn and me and we can’t wait for next year! Here’s the [link] to the Jaguars and Wildlife of Pantanal trip right here.

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Antarctica - Get on Your Happy Feet! January 12-22, 2024 [link]

That’s right, we’re heading to Antarctica in January 2024 [link]. This is certainly been one of the most momentous buckets on my bucket list. We’ve been to six continents already and I really want to get that last one crossed off. Many cruise companies have what I call "Sail-bys" to Antarctica but, it doesn’t really count unless you can put your foot on the ground of the continent. This is your opportunity to do just that!

And that's what we’ve arranged for January 12-22, 2024. Kevin has been negotiating with the cruise ship company to really obtain the best price possible for this Antarctica trip. I think he’s got a reasonable price negotiated and far less than other cruise companies offer. 

Just for reference, LaDawn and I looked at National Geographic‘s cruises to Antarctica and we were shocked to hear that their quote was $75,000 for both of us - YIKES!!! We even looked into the Viking cruises and that was going to be $40,000 for both of us. So I think at this cruise price of about $12,500 at least makes it much more affordable than the other two options, that's for sure. 

It’s a small ship but the accommodations still look fabulous. We had some friends do an Antarctica cruise a few years ago and they raved about it. And, everybody I’ve ever talked with that has been saying they would not hesitate to go back because of the thrilling adventure it was. So, check out the link below to probably one of the best adventures of a lifetime, our trip to Antarctica in January 2024.

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Hey Gang, first of all, thanks for taking the time to review the information on these three adventures of a lifetime. These are three new places LaDawn and I have not been to so we are really looking forward to sharing with you our travels next year and beyond. I suggest you contact Kevin and Tricia directly at their contact information below.

To register for any of these adventures please

Call Tricia or Kevin at 505-345-6302 or 505-401-2988

or email them at idubephotosafris@yahoo.com

If you’d like to contact me about any of Kevin‘s upcoming safaris to Africa please reach out to me at david@ziser.com and I’ll be happy to share the experiences we had over our five safaris to that part of the world.

And speaking of exotic travels, please continue to read my Blog post below about our recent travels to Botswana and South Africa - pretty darn exciting!

That’s it for me today. Hopefully, everybody has a great Fall, and hope I’ll see you again soon.

Cheers for now, David

What! A Five Day FREE Lightroom Conference - Yes, It's True

Good Morning Everybody,

I've got some news "Hot Off the Presses" for you today. Earlier yesterday I had a fun conversation with Dave Cross of Photoshop fame.  

We had an exciting discussion about he and Matt Kloskowski's brand new 5 Day Virtual Lightroom Summit 2021 [link] which begins Monday, May 3, next week. Check out my interview with them and all the conference details below.

Also, our Safari to deepest, darkest Africa only has three spaces left. See update below.

And, finally, I'm putting out my For Sale Sign. Those details are also shown below.

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My Video Interview With Dave Cross about his and Matt Kloskowski's FREE Lightroom Virtual Summit Begining Monday!

Hey Everybody, this is about the hottest news I have to report today and I wanted to get it out to you right away! This morning I had a video meeting with Dave Cross. He and Matt Kloskowski have put together an exciting, brand new Lightroom Virtual Summit 2021 [link] which begins Monday, May 3, 2021!



20 Instructors, 40 Classes, 30 hours of classes, and FREE!!!

That's right I said FREE! That is for 48 hours after each lesson becomes available. If you want to have unlimited access to all 30 hours of programming till the end of time, it will only set you back $99 for the VIP Access Pass [link].

Please Note - The VIP Access Pass increases to $149 noon on Monday.

And wait, there's more ;~) Each attendee receives a "Swag Bag" of added goodies supplied by many of the Instructors and Sponsors. Plus, if you opt-in for the VIP Access Pass, you become eligible for some great prizes, like the complete Creative Cloud Suite for a year - an over $600 value! Or a $100 Gift Card from B&H and many more prizes too.

It was great to catch up with Dave again and hear about this exciting Lightroom Summit. Why not drop in on our conversation below - it was fun to visit. Just drop in on our conversation below.

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Update: Our Africa Safari May 3-12, 2022

I mentioned our May 2022 Safari a few times here on my blog and in my recent newsletters. I need to let you know that we are now nearly SOLD OUT for our second Safari.

As you can see in this photo, this is a small group safari maxing out at 11 couples only with three guides in three safari vehicles and everybody has a "window seat" (Singles are welcome too.)  We just a few seats left, so if you want to join us, and I hope you will, just follow the info and contact links below.

Here are the Safari dates and trip info [links]:

May 3 -12, 2022: The Best of South Africa With Kevin and David Photographing the Big Five!

To register

Call Tricia or Kevin at 505-345-6302 or 505-401-2988

or email them at idubephotosafris@yahoo.com 

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For Sale: Mavic Mini Fly More Combo - hardly used!

Hey everybody, I can't tell you how much fun this little quadcopter is to fly! It's the perfect way to try out a brand new hobby without breaking the bank.

I purchased my Mavic Mini Fly More Combo [link] in November 2019 for $499 which I thought was a "steal". It's still selling for that price at B&H and Best Buy right now.

My quad combo is in perfect, almost brand new condition, and includes everything you see above. Heck, some of the extra parts are still in the original plastic bags. It has only been flown about a dozen times and no crash landings ;~)

I'm looking to get the newer Mavic Mini 2 - it costs $100 more and LaDawn says "No Way!" till I sell this one. So if you want a super bargain, the first $349 plus shipping takes it. Just drop me a note at david@ziser.com if interested. Thanks.

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Hey Gang, 

That's going to be it for me today. I wanted to get this post up before it got too late so you have time to check out Dave and Matt's Lightroom FREE Virtual Summit coming up Monday. I'm planning to be there - maybe I'll see you there too ;~) 

Stay safe and...

Cheers for now, David

My Interview With Acclaimed Wildlife Photographer Kevin Dooley, the New Canon R5 In My Life, and High ISO Tricks!

Good Morning Everybody,

I can't believe it, it looks like Winter is behind us and the first few signs of Spring have been looking mighty nice. I know the weather has been pretty crazy this winter in several parts of the country.  Here in KY we only see a few inches of snow a year and it clears out in about a day or two. 

This is what we woke up to on a cold February morning not too long ago - about 15 inches of snow on our back deck - the most in over 13 years for our neck of the woods!  Anyway, all was good - it sure looked beautiful!  LaDawn and I took a drive through one of the local parks and enjoyed the beauty of the surrounds and watching the kids playing and sledding to their heart's content.

But now, back to business. I've got a few very cool things to share with you today, the most important is my interview with my good friend and acclaimed wildlife photographer, Kevin Dooley. Here we go...

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And Now Acclaimed Wildlife Photographer, Kevin Dooley

As you know from reading my posts these last few years, at Kevin's invitation, he and I have been leading photo safaris to Africa and beyond since 2018. Kevin's photography is absolutely amazing!  And because of that, he has been encouraged to write a book. 

The good news, it was just published a few months ago.  It's entitled Wild Faces in Wild Places [link]. This photography table/art book does not only appeal to photographers but with Kevin's inspiring short stories about his experiences as a wildlife photographer and safari guide, it is unique in that it also offers great messages about how to live a positive life. It is a great buy and a good read.

I asked Kevin if he would mind sharing his images and some of the stories behind his wonderful images with me and our DigitalProTalk readers. He happily obliged.  Below is our conversation.

Want to join Kevin and me on an upcoming African Safari - we've got two coming up in 2022. Details below.

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Join LaDawn and Me In Africa Safari Coming Up In 2022

As you may or may not know, we were scheduled to participate in 3 safaris in 2020. COVID 19 kind of changed things up a bit for us as Africa went into lockdown canceling our final two safaris last year.  We thought rescheduling for 2021 would solve the problem for us but as you know, not all is back to normal yet.  That being said we rescheduled again for 2022. Of the two rescheduled safaris, one is completely sold out but we still have a few spaces in the second one shown below - I hope you can join us. For LaDawn and I, it has been a life-changing adventure and one you will NEVER forget!

Here are the Safari dates and trip info [links]:

May 3 -12, 2022: The Best of South Africa With Kevin and David Photographing the Big Five!

This is an experience of a lifetime photographing in the exotic bush! There are only 3-4 openings left as this is a very small group safari with lots of hands-on photography and cultural experiences.

To register

Call Tricia or Kevin at 505-345-6302 or 505-401-2988

or email them at idubephotosafris@yahoo.com 

You can get a great idea of what this safari is like by checking out my YouTube video below of last year's adventure at the same location. The video is a great overview of what our 2022 experience will be like.  Heck, even if you can't join us, enjoy the images, experiences, and excitement of our 2020 adventures.

As we get closer to dates, I'll post even more details.

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I Have a New Canon R5 In My Life!

WOW! What a surprise for me this Christmas when LaDawn, to my astonishment, gifted me Canon's new exciting R5 camera.  This is Canon's 45-megapixel masterpiece that has been getting all the "RAVE" reviews everywhere across the internet and YouTube.  

Unfortunately, we haven't been doing too much traveling so far this year so I really haven't been able to run this beast through all its paces yet. 

I do have a few favorite features though.  As you know, I'm a High ISO "nut" so I had to try it out at its highest ISO of 102,400! Uhhh.... skip that setting - way too noisy.  Below is a quick sample I made on Christmas morning of LaDawn's dining room centerpiece - just way too noisy, I think.

Even ISO 51,200 doesn't look all that great either. Below is a sample I made just the other day of our back deck in the late evening - even with the Lightroom tweaks, the image still lacks detail especially in the darker area of the image.  

DAZNOTE:  But... you can get a fabulous result at ISO 51,200 by utilizing this one little trick which I'll describe in the next Canon R5 section below.

At ISO 25,600, things begin looking better. Below is an image of one of our "Christmas carolers" which I think looks pretty good.

Next up is a photo of LaDawn's youngest, super cute grandson, Mikah, at ISO 16,000 which I think looks much better.

And finally here is a Christmas morning photo of LaDawn at ISO 6400 which looks great even at that high ISO.

DAZNOTE: Many times when I'm shooting in the "nose bleed" section of the high ISO range, I'll shoot the image as a JPEG and take advantage of the camera's "in-camera" noise reduction capabilities. Then I can "double-dip" in Lightroom if I want to tweak the image a bit more. 

So all said, I do like the much higher ISO capabilities of the Canon R5 and would feel totally comfortable shooting at ISO 12,800, and on the rare occasion, I would even push things to ISO 25,600. 

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A Few More Points on the Canon R5

High ISO Trick: OK, so you ask, "What this new little trick of yours for shooting at ISO 51,200 and getting great results."  Well, let me tell you.  It's a little-known fact that if you shoot in HDR, you can really reduce the noise of your image. And, there folks, is the secret of getting wonderful images at super high ISO's. 

Check out the image below. It was taken just about 3 weeks ago when we visited friends in San Jose del Cabo, MX. Yes, LaDawn and I, armed (literally) with on second COVID 19 vaccine, jumped on a Delta jet (with the middle seats blocked) and headed south - our first international trip in over a year!

The photo was above taken at ISO 51,200!

Everyone had already turned in for the evening and I was just relaxing on the portico when the thought hit me about using the HDR capabilities of the Canon R5 to reduce image noise at high ISOs. What happening here is that when the camera combines the three images, we get the benefit of something called "Noise Stacking" which reduces the noise in the final image. 

The image may be slightly less sharp but that's easily fixed with a sharpness tweak in Photoshop or Lightroom. The image looks pretty amazing for ISO 51,200, doesn't it!  You can find a quite fascinating discussion of noise stacking right here [link].

Animal Eye Focus:  Another feature I absolutely love about the camera is its focusing capabilities. The "people eye focus" and "animal eye focus" are amazing!  I'm going to spend a little time here on the latter.

One of our favorite things to do when we visit Cabo is to walk the bird estuary. Last year I did a fascinating Mavic Mini flyover video of it which really shows off the natural beauty of the area - you can find it right here [link].  The natural beauty is a joy to see and the "bird" action is always fun to watch.

While visiting the estuary this year the pelicans were going "crazy" diving for the fish in the stream.  I loved shooting them taking off having just splashed the water for liftoff.

Check out these next two images. the first is a slightly cropped image of one of the pelicans having just taken off.

Then I cropped the same image quite close so you can see just how sharp the focus is on the pelican's eye - like I said, amazing!

The images of the pelicans were all taken with my favorite safari lens, the Sigma 100-400mm F5.6-6.3 DG OS HSM/C lens [link] zoomed nearly all the way out at 315mm, shot wide open at F6.3 at 1/3200 sec. at ISO 500. The Sigma lens is tack sharp all the way through its range with super quick focusing as well.  It's a great wildlife lens! 

There's a lot more I could say about the camera but I'll save that for future posts here at DigitalProTalk. So, stay tuned.

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Wait... There's More - Ever Higher ISO's!

Just as I was wrapping up this post this morning, I once again began thinking about the great noise reduction decrease I got when shooting in HDR mode as I described above. I began to "fantasize" about shooting at ISO 102,400 or, maybe even ISO 204,800, near a quarter-million ISO!!!  

I ran a couple of quick tests this morning and discovered that when shooting in HDR mode the highest ISO possible with the camera was ISO 51,200 - bummer. 

OK, I shifted gears.  If I shoot in Manual mode and underexpose the image one stop then adjust as necessary in Photoshop or Lightroom I should be able to hit the ISO equivalent of 102,400.  And if I do the same and underexpose by two stops I should be able to theoretically, of course, hit ISO 204,800! 

What you see here are the first fruits of that effort. I underexposed the image by 2 stops but only had to increase the image exposure in ACR by 1.5 stops to get what I was looking for exposure-wise. That means this image was taken at approximately ISO 150,000! I think there are some possibilities here and I want to do a little more research on this somewhat crazy idea. I'm going to spend the next few days working on this so, stay tuned. 

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Hey Gang, 

That's going to be it for me today. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Kevin and all his great images. I also hope you enjoyed the Canon R5 observations, especially the high ISO discussion. And finally, maybe we will see you on safari with us in Africa next year.  Stay safe and I'll look forward to seeing ya' soon. Continue to stay safe!

Adios,  David