The Light Touch
•Equipment
Touch the Light.....
John MacPherson
Landscape and Environmental Photography from Scotland
•EOS1Ds Mk2
After a great deal of consideration, and carefully counting the cost of this years film and processing (at the rate I have been using film the 1DsMk2 will be paid for in a year), I have decided to go digital, and bought a Canon EOS1DsMk2. This is a ridiculously expensive lump of technology, capable of exceptionally high-quality images. I have only used it briefly, during a week co-leading a group of aspirant wildlife photographers on a Wildshots photographic week in the Scottish Highlands. My fellow guides Mark Hamblin and Peter Cairns were using the 1Dmk2, as were several guests so it was interesting to compare output.
The week was bitterly cold and snowy, and the camera performed flawlessly. Image quality is remarkable. I am quite amazed at the clarity and sharpness. I mostly used the 300mm F2.8L.IS Canon, with both the 1.4 and 2x converters. Even with the converters the image quality is exceptional. I am also aware I have a long way to go on the digital learning curve.
The images I have uploaded will let you see the quality this machine can provide, testifying to the ability of both the camera and the lenses.
The pictures are of various animals: the wolves are in the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Strathspey. The pack lives in a large enclosure and are fed whole red deer carcases. Although in a controlled situation the animals are still wary and you must anticipate the action. The cat is a captive bred Scottish wildcat, released on private property and free to leave if it wishes. The snow bunting was photographed within the Cairngorm Ski Area, and the woodpecker attracted to a hide near some mixed woodland by the River Feshie. All these photographic oportunities were made available to Wildshots guests during their week stay in Strathspey.
The images have been converted from RAW (in PS8/CS), with between 75 and 90% sharpening applied in the RAW converter, then converted to 16 bit tiff files (90mb!), converted to 8 bit (save for web cant cope with 16 bit files - daft), resized and output as jpg in 'save for web'. I expect with some experience I can improve the result. I am having to learn a lot of new computer skills with the transition to digital.
Click here to view the images.
