Rodney Campbell's Blog

I climbed the stack of rocks out here at Cape Banks to shoot from up higher back towards this lovely little lighthouse as the light was fading to night.

Up first is an eight (8) vertical frames stitched panorama taken at the long end of the Nikon 16-35.

The Lighthouse

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 35 mm, 25 sec at f/8, ISO 400 x 8 Frames

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

The light was fading rapidly now so I had to be quick before twilight turned to night. I pushed the ISO a little and opened the aperture a touch.

With the source frames for the pano complete it was time for one natural long exposure with the camera switched back to horizontal. Six (6) minutes later we were done and it was time to head back to the car (and my daughter waiting patiently there :)).

Fading Light

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 369 sec at f/9, ISO 100

I’d received my new Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens quite some time ago but had only just received the Laowa filter holder for the lens more recently.

Leached

NIKON D750 + 12.0 mm f/2.8 @ 12 mm, 8 sec at f/11, ISO 100

The holder is designed specifically for this ultra wide lens with a bulbous front element. It accepts slot in 100mm wide filters (same as the existing Lee and other plate filters I regularly use) and also has a filter thread for a 95mm circular polarising filter. There are fairly tight tolerances and with this holder setup the CPL is on the inside of the slot in filters (close to the lens front element). Laowa suggests a CPL thickness of 4.9mm with a maximum thickness of 5.8mm.

I’d been using a 105mm Heliopan Slim multicoated CPL for some time with my Lee kit which I was extremely happy with so I ordered the Heliopan 95mm Slim Circular Polarizer SH-PMC Filter from Teamwork in the UK. This filter is 5mm thick so is pretty much ideal for going in this holder.

The CPL arrived shortly before our trip to South Australia so I took the lens, the new holder and my filters with me on the trip.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Cape Banks

NIKON D750 + 12.0 mm f/2.8 @ 12 mm, 10 sec at f/11, ISO 100

This evening session at Cape Banks was my first chance to try the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D with the attached filter holder for some serious landscaping.

Crossing Dimension

NIKON D750 + 12.0 mm f/2.8 @ 12 mm, 20 sec at f/11, ISO 100

My first impressions…

The lens is uber wide as expected – which allows you to really get in close to your foreground.

The filter holder is really solidly made and works well. I’m really very happy with the ability to use the circular polariser – I expect I’ll just leave the CPL screwed into the holder at all times (since it’s a bit fiddly to get in and out).

The slots for the 100mm slot in filters are quite tight – much tighter than the Lee holder (I tried both Lee and Formatt-Hitech filters). It does require fairly strong pressure to move the filters which I guess is both good and bad. Good in that they’ll never fall out, bad in that you have to be careful as you exert pressure on the whole kit when making finite adjustments.

There is some noticeable vignetting in the extreme corners – I can’t tell if this is just the CPL, the holder or slot in filters (possibly a combo of all three). Basically something is clipping the very tip of the corners. Those tips of the corners of the frame are extremely dark so I expect in real use some slight cropping of the frame (as I’ve done here) or some slight lens correction anti warping will be required.

The rock formations here at the point of Cape Banks in South Australia is pretty damn amazing. Both from the ground and in the air it’s awash with interesting shapes, colours and textures.

Tea Leaves

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/15 sec at f/2.8, ISO 446

I just had to give it a flyover here just before sunset and take it all in.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

The Claw

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/15 sec at f/2.8, ISO 421

I had to be pretty quick as the sun was about to set and I was planning to switch to proper “landscaping/seascaping” mode with the D-SLR kit. But for now my daughter and I were just enjoying the view from above.

Stains

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/15 sec at f/2.8, ISO 415

Slick

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/15 sec at f/2.8, ISO 233

Flying done, formations inspected, it was time to change gear and head down there to take some “real” photographs :).

My daughter an I headed out to “the other” Cape Banks for sunset. Gerry and I had shot at Cape Banks here in the eastern suburbs of Sydney… little did I know there was another far more impressive location here on the South Australian coastline.

Cape Banks Lighthouse

FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 111

It comes with some very nice rockery and colours out in the water, a lovely beach and even this very nice lighthouse.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Better still it’s a pretty ideal location for shooting either sunset or sunrise. With the sun setting off to one side roughly down the coastline/out to sea and rising on the other side of this little point of land.

Of course this is a little stitched full 360˚ panorama action composed of 33 frames taken with the DJI phantom drone.

Cape Banks Lighthouse

FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/120 sec at f/2.8, ISO 175 x 33 Frames

A look back at my daughter and I on the viewing platform above the beach.

The View

FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

I’d done a little recce on Google Maps of the area nearby to where we were staying and these arterial waters jumped out at me.

Arterial Flow

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/120 sec at f/2.8, ISO 146

It wasn’t just the shapes and patterns that were interesting it was also the crazy colour of the water that intrigued me. This is the southern end of Lake Bonney S.E. near Carpenter Rocks (which was my next destination this evening).

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Arterial Waters

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/120 sec at f/2.8, ISO 146

The lake is right next to the ocean so I’m not really sure what gives the water this green colour – perhaps it’s the limestone underneath?

Shadowline

DJI Phantom 4 - FC330 + 3.6 mm @ 3.61 mm, 1/120 sec at f/2.8, ISO 127