During a business trip to Calgary (Alberta, Canada) in June one year, I saw many mounds of dirt on the grass and around the paths in downtown Calgary. The locals told me these were created by the local gophers, but it took a few days before I saw a gopher in the flesh.

This photo was taken during a weekend visit to Banff and the surrounds in 2005, with my point-and-shoot Olympus C-770. The Olympus camera really helped my photographic progression, but also really frustrated me with some of its limitations, and thus helped me to make up my mind to buy a DSLR.

Watchful gopher

Banff, Alberta, Canada
Olympus C-770 UltraZoom @63mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.7, ISO100

I've always believed that glass (ie, camera lenses) is more important than the camera body. When I bought my first DSLR, a Canon 350D, rather than buy the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II kit lens, I opted for the more expensive Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. I didn't see the point in putting a ~AUD$150 lens onto a ~AUD$1000 body!

Bill Wadman recently wrote about this in a blog post titled Glass (part one). He introduces the subject by saying: Bill also goes on to discuss the benefits of prime lenses instead of zoom lenses.

Read Bill's article to see what else he has to say about choosing lenses.

Dawn is a great time of the day for photos, and the photo below is one of my favourites from a trip to Darwin and Jabiru in 2006.

It was taken at Mamukala Wetlands, near Jabiru, which is approximately 200km east of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. The water was very flat, and there was a bit of fog over the water as the sun came up. Everything is very still, and the only sign of life is the birds foraging for food.

I like this photo, because it portrays the peacefulness and quietness of the dawn.

Dawn at Mamukala Wetlands

near Jabiru, Northern Territory, Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO400

I recently went on an overseas holiday to Phuket, Thailand, and had a hard time deciding which lenses to take. On the one hand, I wanted to ensure I had lenses to cover the focal lengths and lighting conditions I might encounter, but on the other hand, I didn't want to have to carry around all my lenses all the time.

In this post, I discuss the camera gear I took, and provide details on why I decided to take that gear.
I also provide the results of some quick analysis of the photos I took, determining how I used the lenses I took, and which focal lengths were the most popular. This allows me to then review the choice of lenses, and provide some recommendations for other travelling photographers.

My two older children, Ashley (9) and Michelle (8), mucking around on Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. The boat in the background is a long tail boat.

fun at the beach

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @35mm, 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO100

This is a view inside Concourse C of the new Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi airport. It's an an interesting design, and appears to consist of sails stretched between sections containing windows.
There wasn't much colour in the original image, and I found the duotone version a little more interesting than the colour version.

inside Concourse C, Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi airport

Bangkok, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/15 sec, f/5, ISO200

Here's an overview of all the photos I blogged during the month of April.






Click any image to navigate directly to that blog post.

Looking up into a beach umbrella.
This photo was taken while on a recent holiday to Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand.

beach umbrella

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO100