Close-up


The Photography Blog







The Photography Blog
Photographic Field Guides
Practical Philosophies
Careers and Ideas
Good Gear
Inspiring Journeys
Inspiration and information to help you make the most of your photographic journey”

Close-up


The Photography Blog

Light and Lovely Macro

Few people take full advantage of extension tubes, but they are affordable, light and easy to use. Turn your telephoto zoom into a macro lens within seconds and explore the world of all things small.

The Mistletoebird

Meet the Mistletoebird, a very small but quite amazing little song bird.

My Other Birding Lens

Panasonic Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 – Long term review of this superb telephoto prime. How does it stand up to the 100-400mm options and how much better is the image quality?

TT Artisan 35mm F1.8

Food photography lens for smaller mirrorless cameras. Excellent quality images and a fast aperture make this lens the ideal companion to your APS-C sized sensor such as the Nikon Z50 and Canon R50.

The Perfect Camera Bag

Getting the right bag to cradle your kit is not easy. Comfort, space and security are hard to balance. For a decade I've travelled with one pack and one pack only. All that changed with the Flipside 300.

Full Frame 40mm F2 AF

Two weeks ago I set off on my journey across Nepal with this marvellous little lens. It's the 40mm F2 AF from TT Artisan and I'm really looking forward to sharing with you some of those photos, and also sharing my thoughts on why I think this is an absolutely stellar lens.

AF 50mm F1.8 Neo from TT Artisan

TT Artisan have made an amazingly affordable lens for mirrorless full frame cameras that opens the door to experimenting with fast primes on a budget. This lens is available for Sony, Nikon and Leica mounts.

Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 - Long Term Review

This is a hard lens to leave at home. It delivers quality and sharpness for landscapes and the night sky, plus has a neat party trick with rear pocket for ND filters. Worthy companion to any full-frame E-mount or L-mount camera. (Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN)

The Best 35mm Lens for My LUMIX

If you appreciate the value of a 35mm prime lens, you’ll also appreciate that there are a good many 35mm designs to choose from now. Here are my favourite two 35mm lenses from Panasonic and Sigma, both for full-frame L-Mount bodies, and why they appeal to such wildly different photographic styles.

Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN ART

I’ve had a chance to shoot with the new Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN Art over recent weeks, and explore the light and shadows on Melbourne's streets. This is not a one-size-fits-all lens, but a very professional mid-range zoom that delivers a bright and contrasty image.

Cruising for Albatross

A few days sailing the Southern Ocean is a journey that at first glance holds few photographic opportunities. But even in open waters the company of sea-birds and a reasonable telephoto lens can provide rich inspiration to the creative photographer.

Sunbirds in the Carpark

If your goal is to catch great photos of birds, your best opportunities might be easier to access than you imagined.