Our African Safari in 1000 photos or Less

Good Afternoon Everybody,

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend.  It was quite a bit different than in years past but connecting with family and friends still made it a special day.  I hope yours was special too.

I thought one of the most creative ideas to "church services" in these days of "sheltering at home" was the approach taken by the paster at Bellarmine Chapel at Xavier University here in Cincinnati, Ohio. He gathered photos of all the parishioners which he then proceeded to print out and tape to all the church pews.  It was quite an uplifting Easter story - here is the link to the short video [link]. Enjoy!

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Our African Safari in 1000 photos or Less

Now back to what we do here at DigitalProTalk.com, I want to share our 2020 African Safari with you this morning. As many of you know, LaDawn and I have been traveling with our good friends, Kevin and Tricia Dooley of Idube Photo Safaris [link] these past few years. 

Kevin has been leading safaris around the world, but mostly to Africa, for nearly 20 years.  About 4 years ago he asked if I would be interested in joining him - I leaped at the opportunity!  And now we have been on four photo safaris with the Dooley's - all pretty cool!

Our other two sold-out safaris for this year had to be postponed till next year because of all the current travel restrictions.  If you are interested in more info, please let me (david@ziser.com) or Kevin (idubephotosafaris@yahoo.com) know.  We will be happy to get you more info.

Anyway, after a big trip like this, LaDawn and I (mostly LaDawn, really just LaDawn), will edit the thousands of images, tweak the favs, and design a Blurb book telling the entire story from start to finish of our adventures.

LaDawn just wrapped the album design and exported the double-page spreads for upload to Blurb. But I had another idea for the 350 or so spreads.  I thought I would load them in ProShow Producer [link], a great video/slideshow program that I've been using for years with my wedding photography. Unfortunately, they just shut their doors, but the program still works very well for these types of projects.

Anyway, I loaded up all the high-resolution double-page spread, added my royalty-free music,  tweaked the show a bit, and let it rip.  About an hour later I had a very cool video of the entire album of images.  I have to tell you, it looks GREAT on our 82-inch Samsung 4K TV ;~)

I then uploaded the video to my YouTube channel for all to enjoy.  Just click the PLAY button below and enjoy the show.  Most of us have a smart TV so I would recommend loading it up from your YouTube app on your TV for the best viewing experience.

These videos have been a great way for us to re-live our travel experiences. LaDawn and I both agree that after spending hours, days, and even possibly weeks designing these albums and then"arm-wrestling" with Blurb to get them uploaded and published to the tune of about $250/book, the best way to enjoy the whole travel experience is much better accommodated with the videos. BTW...LaDawn LOVES the elephants so be prepared to see LOTS of elephants in the video.

I'm currently in the process of updating our other travel books to videos as well. LaDawn is currently working on a new travel book of our experiences in Iceland and Ireland, one of our favorite trips from 2018.  I'll plan on sharing those images with you as well.

But, in the meantime enjoy this video, including several images of LaDawn and I (lol) and if you have any questions, just leave them in the comments section below and I'll do me best to answer them for you in a timely fashion.

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Hey Gang,

That's if for me today.  I really hope you enjoy the post and the photographs.  I'll plan on putting up a few more Tips and Tricks in the coming days.  Remember, leave your comments below.

Adios for now, David

Hands-On With Tamron’s Fabulous 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro - My New Favorite Lens!

Good Morning Everybody,

LaDawn and I begin our travels around the globe in just about a week.  This time we’re heading to South America for about a month hitting Lima, Peru; Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley; the Amazon River for a Piranha Pedicure – OK, just kidding about the pedicure. 

We return to Sedona, AZ for about a week for a photography conference and then back to South America for another few weeks exploring the Galapagos Islands. These South American visits are both “bucket list”  trips and we are really looking forward to them. And… I will be packing my favorite travel lens for the entire trip.

My Favorite Travel Lens – Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro Lens [link]

I know, I know – that is a mouthful of a name for this lens so how about I just refer to it as my Tamron 16-300mm lens for the rest of the article. Sure, I carry a few other lenses in our travels but this lens is my absolute FAV.

Here’s why I like to travel light. I seldom travel with my Canon 5D Mark 3 (never did upgrade to the Mark 4). I’ve always liked my Canon 7D Mark 2 and have been using it as my primary camera for my weddings and travels. The main reasons – it allows me to travel with lighter optics when considering various international travel/weight restrictions. And, the “frame rate” rate is 9.5 FPS vs. 6 FPS for my 5D Mark 2. When shooting wildlife, this faster FPS is a necessity. There are other reasons too which I can easily cover in a future article or two.

But now let’s get back to my favorite lens – the Tamron 16-300mm – the image stabilized macro lens. As a Canon shooter, my go-to lens has been Canon’s 18-200mm IS lens – it’s a good all around lens and worked fine for most shooting situations.  I just always wished it was a bit wider and just a tab longer.

After doing a little research last year, I saw that Tamron had some interesting zooms in their APS sized lens arsenal, in particular, their 16-300mm lens and their 18-400mm lens, and I decided to explore further. I already was set in the long lens department going all the way out to 600mm so that sort of reduced the need for me to acquire the 18-400mm version even because of it’s long reach. Like I said, I wanted a little more on the short side of the zoom range. 

What I liked about the 16-300mm lens was that it was just a bit wider than my old standard Canon 18-200mm lens.  OK, your saying – “What, just two silly millimeters wider?” Come on DAZ, give me a break….  But wait, a silly 2mm difference translates to an additional 8 degrees of wide-angle wonderfulness – many times just enough to make or break the photo.  Think in terms of a 35mm full frame optic – 18mm on an APS size camera is equivalent to 28mm on a full frame camera.  16mm on an APS size camera is equivalent to just under 25mm on a full frame camera.  To me, that’s a big difference! Add to that the 300mm Tele reach and I’ve got pretty much a universal optic attached to my camera.

So How Universal Is The Lens Really?
Last year we traveled nearly two months around the Mediterranean countries – Spain, France, and Italy; crossed the Atlantic on a cruise ship; and traveled to Mexico for three more weeks.

I gave my friends at Tamron a call and asked if I could test drive their 16-300 lens – they were very gracious to oblige me. Over nearly two months of our travels, I took 8770 photos all of which were shot on the Canon 7D Mk2.  7320 of those images were made with Tamron 16-300mm lens – that’s 83.5% of all the images I made in two months of shooting – sounds kind of universal to me.

When I analyzed it even further I found that out of all my images, I made nearly 25% at the 16-17mm and 201-300mm settings. That percentage represents images I could not have gotten with the reduced zoom range of the Canon 18-200mm lens – like I said, I love this lens!  This lens simply makes travel photography fast, fun, and efficient!

Let’s Take A Look At a Few Images At 16-17mm

I’ve been making a big “fuss” about the wide angle benefits of this lens.  Let’s take a look at some of the images I would have missed with a slightly longer (less wide) lens (i.e. 18mm lens).

Whether it’s photographing wine cellars in Spain, scenic views for the top of Montserrat, vineyards in France, fresh markets in France, picturesque towns in Cinque Terre, the tight spaces of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, or beautiful sunsets in Cabo, Mexico; this lens captured exactly what I was looking for compositionally and esthetically. And, I loved that no lens changes were involved.

Now Let’s Take A Look At a Few Images At 201-300mm
Within the zoom range of 201-300mm, I was easily able to capture a lot more images without a lens change. I hardly ever carry a lens longer than 200mm because they are so inconvenient for our travels, size, weight… So, the greater than 200mm Tamron range gave me that much more versatility in my shooting easy and simply.

Although I’m a wide-angle fanatic, I still like my macro images, birds in flight, my “reach out and touch somebody” candid's, distant landscapes and seascapes. Check out the images below to see what I mean.

And All the Other Images In-between
Like I said earlier, about 25% of the images I made with this lens were at focal lengths shorter or longer than what I would normally use with the standard Canon 18-200mm optic, so, as it turns out, that’s a very important option for me and why I think this is such a fantastic lens, especially for traveling.

For all the images I made at the other focal lengths, I found the lens fast and easy to work. Build quality is decent, color is great, sharpness is just fine, and focus is reasonably fast. One note here – when shooting birds in flight, I wish it was just a bit faster in acquiring focus.  For just about everything else it was just fine.

So in addition to the images I shared above let me show you a few more images that I think capture the essence of what a travel lens is supposed to do for you, mainly keep lens changes at a minimum, be able to compose and shoot an image quickly, maintain excellent color and focus, and be image stabilized sufficiently to be able to take images in reduced light situations.

Here we go…

This first image illustrates the benefits of the image stabilization with this lens.  This image was made at 1/15 second in a very dark wine cellar in Spain. Everything is plenty darn sharp for my purposes. 

I even found myself able to capture images at even slower shutter speeds if I was especially careful in how I held the camera and lens.

I love these next two images as well.  When traveling on cruise ships, LaDawn and I enjoy the entertainment on board these amazing ships. Last Fall we made the first trans-Atlantic crossing of the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world. These ships are simply spectacular in every respect and, in spite of the 6,000 plus passengers on board, it just does not feel crowded. Nevertheless, the entertainment and shows are “first class”.

The first image above is from the stage show “Hairspray” – a fun theatrical romp if there ever was one. The second from another great show on the ship entitled, “Flight”. This lens lets me capture as little or as much of the shows as I wanted because of it super wide zoom range.

This next shot is from the ship’s ice show, another entertainment experience not to miss when cruising on Royal Caribbean's  “Oasis” class ships.

These next two images below give you a clear understanding of the zoom range and capabilities of this lens.  Both images were made during our travels through Cinque Terre, Italy.

The first images show the scene of the terraced vineyards on the side of the hill at 16mm.  Look for the tiny structure in the distance about half way up the hill – I’ve boxed it in.  Now, look at this second image of that structure itself taken at 300mm.  You can barely find it in the first image but this Tamron lens sure pulls it in for its close-up.

The list goes on and on. Here are a few more photos from our myriad travels from Europe, USA, and Mexico over those two months. 

The Tamron lens was the perfect solution for our adventures capturing sunrises to sunsets and about everything in-between.

Conclusions:

I find the Tamron 16-300mm lens the ideal lens for travel, or really just about any casual photographic need. It is the lens that spends most of its time locked onto my Canon 7D Mark 2 for just about everything we do photographically. The zoom range is just about perfect for  all my photographic needs whether that be travel or a quick assignment for any of the various civic duties I’m involved in.

But most importantly, it is now going to be one of my go-to lenses for wedding photography.  That’s right, I can think of no other lens that will give me the versatility in shooting that this lens will give me on the job. Reducing the need to change lenses will definitely give me the opportunity to capture more of those special moments that unfold over the course of the wedding day. I can’t wait to give it a try at my next wedding!

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Hey Gang,

That’s it for me today. I hope you enjoy the post today.  I’m thinking I’ll  do an update after I photograph my upcoming wedding.  We’ll see you then.

Cheers, David

Announcing My 2019 Photo Safari To the Galapagos Islands! and a Quick Wrap up of 2017!

Happy New Year Everybody,

I hope everyone had a fantastic 2017, wonderful holiday season, and a great welcome to our brand new year - 2018.  I've got three things I want to share with you in this quick newsletter. First, a few exciting personal notes - at least for LaDawn and I; secondly, my "once in a lifetime" event - don't miss this read; and finally, details of our 2019 Photo Safari to the Galapagos Islands.  Here we go...

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World Travels - 50,000 Miles, 8 Countries, and 34,000 Photos!

Since I last visited with you LaDawn and I have been around the world, well, not all the way around, but half-way at least. It's been quite a series of Fall adventures for us to say the least.

We started with a 5-day visit to Vancouver, Canada, then crossed the Pacific on a cruise ship hanging out in Hawaii, the lava was really flowing as we circumvented the Big Island around midnight and even with a rocking ship and misty rains I was able to capture some amazing images. Check out my favorite below.

Then it was on to Tahiti, Bora Bora, and New Zealand finally completing our 4 weeks on water in Sydney, Australia. Below is a photo from the aft of the ship as we departed Auckland - pretty cool!!!

After our quick arrival in Sydney we flew back to Auckland, NZ where I discovered my driver's license expired two days before we were to pick up our rental car - WHOOPS!!! You guessed it - LaDawn had to rent the car with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and had to drive on the left side of the highway, which she had never experienced - YIKES!!! 1400 beautiful miles later we returned the car safe and sound to Queenstown, NZ. Actually…. she really did a great job driving!! Here's a photo of a stunning sunset on our first evening in Rotorua, NZ.

After 14 days of adventures in New Zealand we flew  to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and spent two weeks traveling up the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia - our most astounding two weeks travel EVER!!! Check out the Angkor Wat sunrise below. Sadly it required waking-up at 5:00 a.m. to capture this image. But… well worth it!!

Our next city of adventure included a 5-day stop in Seoul, South Korea stopping off at the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone which USA Today called the most dangerous places on earth [link] – hey, who knew;~) It was just for a little additional excitement.  That’s a photo of North Korea below.  Our family was "freaking" out when we told them  we planned to visit the DMZ. Hey, you only go around once;~)

It was home for Thanksgiving with family and then off to Cabo, Mexico for 3 more weeks and returning home a week before Christmas. Thus completing our three months of travels.

On top of that LaDawn has become a grandmother for the third time on Christmas Eve - her best Christmas present ever!

Here is a quick photo of handsome Sam about 6 hours after he was born - Wow, just look at all that hair!

Speaking of our travels, we are looking forward to our African Photo Safari [link] in just a few weeks. If interested we had two people that had to cancel so we still have one room (1-2 people) left at the main lodge for either safaris.

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Announcing My 2019 Photo Safari To the Galapagos Islands!

That's right everybody, we're heading to the Galapagos Islands in mid-May, 2019. Join me as we follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. The Galapagos Islands  are considered one of the world's foremost destinations for wildlife viewing. It should be a photographer's paradise. I’ve spent some time talking with other photographers and travel enthusiasts who have been there, they say that it truly is amazing!

Space is super-duper limited - only 12 seats total! If you are interested please drop and email to me at david@ziser.com or Kevin at idubephotosafaris@yahoo.com.

Kevin tells me that he is also planning another two Safaris to Africa next year.  This time he’s going to be doing one in February and one in March. One will go to Zambia [link] and the other to Namibia [link], both locations are home to utterly beautiful scenery, interesting history, and amazing African culture.  It sounds like a great trip, too.  I'll keep you posted when I have more details.

Anyway, if you have even the slightest interest in the Galapagos trip drop myself or Kevin a line at our emails addresses above and let us know so we can at least get you on the waiting list.  It's going to be a first-come-first-served booking opportunity with only 12 seats available.

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Oh, I Almost Forgot!!! PhotoPro Expo 2018 Is Right Around The Corner

That's right PhotoPro Expo is coming up next month, February 8 - 12, 2018 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center located just across the river from Cincinnati OH. This year the Expo is being planned by my good friends Bert and Al Behnke. Bert has been extremely active with the Professional Photographers of America Imaging convention for years and was a natural fit to take over the reigns of PhotoPro Expo.

Click the banner above for all the details.  It's shaping up to be a great show with a fantastic 24 person/speaker line-up, the best in the industry and BIG trade show.  I plan to be there - I hope you will too.  See ya' there!______________________________________________________

Hey Gang,

That's it for today - I've got to get "scooting" out of here. I hope you enjoyed the images and the article links in the newsletter this time around.

I'm heading up to Whistler Mountain in beautiful British Columbia, Canada tomorrow morning to join 21 of my photography buddies for a guys week of skiing, fine wine, and good food (I'm the guest chef on Monday evening's dinner). It should be a blast!

Cheers, David

4 Important Updates and More!

Hi Gang,

I really appreciate you joining me again today.  I know you just heard from me a few days ago but as promised I wanted to give you the latest updates on the home front. It's very exciting!!

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Second African Safari Just Announced!

February 22 - March 4, 2018

That's right! My first Safari [link] sold out within two hours of my announcement on Thursday! I have to tell you - I was extremely, as well as, pleasantly surprised.

Kevin called me immediately and cleared calendars and set dates for a second African Safari. Those new dates are February 22 - March 4, 2018.  Feb 22, 2018 is your travel day from the states to arrive in Johannesburg on Feb. 23. Kevin called me Saturday and told me the second Safari is already 50% sold out. That means we only have 6 seats available. 

This is going to be a once in a life-time event.  Even if you're hanging on the fence, please give Kevin a call at 505-345-6322 or his cell at 505-401-2988 for all details.

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 Wow! I've been called a Legend! 

I kind of smile about that but here's the backstory. So right before Christmas I received a call from my good friend Sandy Puc to be part of her Legends of Photography Tour [link].  Not only is Sandy a fabulous photographer running a successful studio in Denver, she is also one of the best trainers/teachers in the industry.  She has conducted some of the biggest and best attended tours in the country.

Like I said, she calls me right before Christmas to ask me if I would be part of her brand new Legends Tour for 2017 [link]. I have to say... that I was very honored.  The line up is fantastic! Just look at all those good looking folks below and you'll get an idea that this will be the biggest tour series this year!  It's a big deal!

For all the details about the tour just hit any of the links or images above. Now for the really good news. Registration is now listed at $40 but since you are reading this newsletter, I can get you in for only $20 with the

Only $20 with Secret Code DZ20

Register NOW!

Check it out to see which "Legend" is visiting a city near you. You'll find me in Orlando on Tuesday March 28, 2017 - I hope to see you there. D

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PhotoPro Expo 2017 Wrap Up

PhotoPro Expo 2018 Announced

One last thing - we just wrapped PhotoPro Expo 2017 [link] and it was a fantastic conference! Our 24 fabulous instructors rocked the house! Literally - Tony Corbell, our Master of Light turns out to be a master guitarist as well. 

I couldn't believe it but Tony and several others rocked on till the wee hours of the morning (like 4:30 a.m.!) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Folks said it was the best time of their lives.  You know, you just can't get that on line.

Plus we raised approximately $3500 for our favorite charity Crayons to Computers and presented them a check for $20,000! They were thrilled as you can imagine. 

And just like every previous year, if you register for next year's PhotoPro Expo 2018 [link] you'll get the best price ever! Details of next year's show have not been posted - but the first 50 or who register get the lowest price possible and Priority Seating - only $109.00 with

Promo Code PPEVIP18.  So don't wait...mark your calendars NOW and register for PhotoPro Expo 2018!

REGISTER NOW!

to reserve your space. 

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GEEK TIP OF THE WEEK - Hacking The Amazon Echo

OK, this is a random thought before I sign off today.  I think most folks in the USA bought an Amazon Echo Dot this year over the holidays as they quickly sold out at $39 on Amazon's website. We have one in about every room of the house right now - LaDawn is totally ready to kill me for my "geeky" habit ;~)

Anyway, here is my Amazon Echo hack.  As you know Pandora Radio, my favorite streaming radio station only streams in the good ol' USA so when LaDawn and I are traveling the world I miss my Pandora.

But I discovered that you can make the Amazon Echo Dot stream Pandora from anywhere in the world.  The secret to getting the Amazon Echo Dot, or any Echo device for that matter, is to set your local USA Zip Code as your location during the set up then hit the road.  The down side is that if you request time or weather you'll receive the zip code you entered not your local out-of-the-USA location. Hey, a small price to pay, right? Still kind of fun.

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Hey Everybody,

That's it for me today. I'm on my way to Cabo San Lucas to spend most of the week with my good friend Kent Smith.  He's got that brand new super cool DJI Mavic drone and we plan to check out.

Until the next time -

Adios for now, David