About the Author

David Dampier

Financial Manager

David left the bright lights of Johannesburg and a promising career as a chartered accountant to join the Londolozi Ranging team in 2009. After three years spent as a guide, during which he built up a formidable reputation as one of Londolozi's top ...

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5 Comments

on Is Bigger Really Better?

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All beautiful pictures David! Thanks for sharing.

Master Tracker

A good half frame camera with a 400 mm lens (with image stabilisation) is quite a practical alternative , it won’t go to the nth degree as a top of the range full frame with a 600 mm lens.

Louis Shornick
Guest

PHANTASIC Photos ! GR * Shots with any length lens !

David,

I have used a 600 mm f.40 IS Canon lens since 2001. It is eleven pounds also, and now Canon does have a lighter third generation version too. I can’t hand hold it; it’s just too heavy. I used it on primarily on a tripod. I did take the lens to South Africa and used it to photograph birds and mammals at Kruger National Park and four days at Londolozi during my September 2005 visit. Used it mostly on top of a molar bean bag when riding in your Landrovers and on a tripod during stops at hides and rest stops.

Even though I also have a 100 -400 mm f4.5 to f5.6 lens then and now, I still used the 600 mm lens a lot while I was there.

My photographic artist style is to get in close and show the spirit and sacredness of life. I recently when back to my images of Maxabene, and wrote a blog post about her and my short and yet everlasting love affair with this beautiful female leopard. I also got shots of the Bicycle Crossing Male, who was known then as the Four five short-tailed male. I understand he is still alive and going strong.

Very similar to yours, I have some off-centered close-ups of an Africa Darter from the Lake Panic hide near Skukuza rest camp within Kruger National Park. Thus, for me, bigger is better. However, a lot of time I am too close. I have started to use Photoshops new content-aware crop add canvas space where possible to fix this and give these type of tightly cropped subjects a bit more room to breathe.

Here is a link to my Londolozi story about Maxabene which I think you and your readers would enjoy, as well as a link to my South African wildlife page where you can see a lot of good examples of what a 600 mm lens can do for you.

All the best,
Bruce Finocchio

https://dreamcatcherimages.net/2016/08/01/the-leopard-of-londolozi/

https://dreamcatcherimages.net/portfolio/bruces-2005-south-african-images/

Senior Digital Ranger

Great!!!

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