Northern Berg Photo Trip August 2012

15 Oct 2012 21:52 #55449 by Serious tribe
@ghaznavid - not sure what time the gate closes, Chris may know. If you phone through ahead, they can perhaps leave the gate unlocked for you. The two chaps in the hut looked pretty ensconced and did not seem to be going anywhere, even at that time.

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15 Oct 2012 22:01 - 15 Oct 2012 23:23 #55450 by Serious tribe

mnt_tiska wrote: Thanks for the trip report and great photographs ST.

A few questions:

what lenses did you take with you? The meta data shows 28mm?
Did you use the software that merges -1, 0 and +1 exposure photos?
Can you say more about tungsten lighting?
Thanks....


I was using a zeiss 28mm f2.0 made for canon and a voigtlander 90mm 3.5. Both are manual focus lenses with an indication when they are focused, however i usually shoot at hyper-focal most of the time. Both of these are much better than the 24-105L canon lens which is not a bad lens and a good focal range, but always looking to better my work.

As far as the tungsten goes, I shoot at the auto white balance and then in adobe or capture one i set it to tungsten and then manually mess with the slider until it looks good.

Yes the software does merge different exposures.

Carrying the 5dii. Yes she is rather large, but not as large as my previous Pentax 67ii medium format camera and my old Nikon D3x. She at least does not have a vertical grip which makes packing it easier, although i must admit i do miss having one on occasion. I have bought the cheapest, smallest and lightest holster camera bag that will fit the camera with a few accessories like cable release, bubble level and extra battery. I attach it to my pack waist belt and then hitch it to one of the pack straps closest to the pack to stop it swinging forward. The neck strap i then thread over the shoulder straps of the pack and synch it up to take some of the weight off the waist strap. The filters, filter holder and a third battery i keep in another pouch on the other side of my waist belt. It is a bit cumbersome, but it is the only way that has worked so far. I do need a full frame point and shoot though to get shots on the run.
Last edit: 15 Oct 2012 23:23 by Serious tribe.

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17 Oct 2012 12:35 #55455 by tiska
Thnks for the details ST.
How often do you find yourself changing between the 28mm and 90mm? Do you use the 28mm more than 90mm and do you sometimes need something bigger than 90mm?
What tripod did you take? What tripod is optimal to take?

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17 Oct 2012 18:39 #55457 by intrepid
Thanks for the write-up Karl. Memorable trip it was, and glad some good photos came out of it.

It was fun to see the dude behind the lens. Here are some behind-the-scenses shots:


This was where you look onto Madonna and Her Worshippers:




And this is near Ian's Kitchen, on the edge of the Black And Tan Wall:



Our time looking for Ian's Kitchen and hanging out there really had John Hone's memory in our thoughts and conversation. Whenever I see that grand view from there, it'll always remind me of him.

Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.

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18 Oct 2012 00:19 #55458 by Serious tribe
@ intrepid Thanks bru. Gr8 trip, nice to see images of me doing my work behind the lens. Yes John's memory will be indelible etched into this part of the berg for me as well.

@mtn tiska Mostly the 28mm with big scenes, however when there are features i want to extract from a scene like the horns image. Yes something bigger would be good as well, however with big sensors it does allow a lot of latitude for cropping.

I use a sirui T-1204X tripod and joby head. All up weighs 1240g. You will need a bungy cord to lock it down rock-solid.

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18 Oct 2012 06:18 - 18 Oct 2012 06:19 #55460 by Sterkhorn
@ST and Intrepid
Great photos ST.
ST wrote

A little later in the morning, we climbed out the gully (from Fangs Cave) and headed towards the Mweni Pinnacles.

I presume you headed up the gully in which the cave is situated? How easy is the gully and how easy is it to find from the escarpment? Would this be an easier approach than going down Fangs pass and then up the gully?
Last edit: 18 Oct 2012 06:19 by Sterkhorn.

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21 Oct 2012 06:29 - 21 Oct 2012 06:30 #55482 by Serious tribe
If you are coming from the south it would be easier and quicker to go down the gully. It is not that difficult with full packs going up, but extra caution should be exercised coming the gully with a pack. If you are coming from the north I think that it would still be slightly quicker going down the gully rather than going down Fangs and then up the gully which is what we did on our trip.
Last edit: 21 Oct 2012 06:30 by Serious tribe.

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21 Oct 2012 13:15 #55483 by Sterkhorn
Thanks.
I presume the gully would be fairly easy to identify from the escarpment?
You mention that extra caution needs to be exercised going down the gully with a pack - is that due to steepness, scree or exposure?

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21 Oct 2012 21:51 - 21 Oct 2012 22:17 #55485 by Serious tribe
It is quite steep. When we went up, it had a fair bt of snow, so that would have made it a bit more tricky as we had to use the rock sections on the left of the gully.

As for finding it, I think it would be fairly difficult if you did not know where it was exactly, it does look a bit like all the other gullies in the area. However if you look down it, you should see the distinctive peaks that are behind me in the image. Intrepid might have a shot of the gullies exit point though from the top.

These are two of Chris's images of me climbing the last section...




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Last edit: 21 Oct 2012 22:17 by Serious tribe.
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22 Oct 2012 16:23 #55491 by Sterkhorn
Thanks, I'm sure the photos will help somewhat.

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