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        • 5 day Mountain Masterclass - Drakensberg Mountains
        • 5 day Mountain Adventure - Drakensberg Mountains
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      • Uganda Private Wildlife Photography workshop
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      • Lesotho - Exploring The Mountain Kingdom - 6 night Landscape Workshop
      • Namibia - Namibia's North - 13 Nights
      • Namibia - Composing the Dunes - 14 Days
      • Madagascar - Exploring the Island Continent - 15 Days
      • Madagascar - Beyond The Horizon - Madagascars far North
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Filters vs. Post-Production: Why Photographic Filters Still Matter

7/6/2025

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An image of Kirkjufellfoss in Iceland created using 6 Stop ND (to drag the shutter), Circular ND (to remove the reflection in the water) and 3-Stop Graduated ND (to balance the highlights in the sky against the much darker foreground). Post-production involved stitching the images together in this 4 image pano stitch.
Once you move beyond the basics of photography and begin to take your craft seriously, you’re likely to encounter a key decision: should you use physical filters to control light at the moment of capture, or simply rely on the power of digital post-production? In today’s world of powerful editing software, it’s a common question — and one worth unpacking.

Photography forums, YouTube channels, and online tutorials are awash with tips on how to blend exposures, adjust highlights, and pull back detail in software like Photoshop or Lightroom. There’s a divide among photographers — some insist that everything can be done in post, while others argue filters remain essential tools in the field. The truth is more nuanced.
You can watch the video about Filters vs Post-Production by clicking on the link above.

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Selecting a Camera Step 3 - Build Quality and Ergonomics

8/2/2021

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Picture
The Nikon F4s - what I consider one of the most ergonomic, easy to use and rugged cameras ever designed. It was a sheer joy to use and even ended up being my primary body when shooting film, despite owning a Nikon F100 (image from Wikipedia)
Oddly the way a camera feels in the hand is often the last thing that a potential buyer considers when selecting a camera. This is particularly the case now that the internet has become the great big mall in the sky. It's so easy to click on a button and 24 hours later a shiny toy arrives at the gate. Then the buyers remorse sets in as you quickly realize that although said toy looks like the pictures on the websites, it doesn't feel anything like you thought it would.


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Selecting a Camera - Step One: Sensor Size

5/3/2021

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Picture
The original article that I wrote on buying a camera  (see it on Photo Writing) was written seven year’s ago. Surprisingly, and despite the rise of mirrorless cameras, not all that much has changed in the intervening years. My advice then, remains pretty much the same now. Still, seven years in the digital world is a lifetime when it comes to the hardware and software that we use to create images. Due to a recent spate of emails requesting advice on what camera to buy, here is our (the Nature's Light team) ‘updated’ thoughts on buying a camera (particularly as a first time buyer). Below is a brief synopsis in table form. More detail below.


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Deciding Between Legs: The LS-285C vs. LS-324C

10/27/2020

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Picture
So you have decided that you need a new set of legs and you like what you see in the Leofoto Ranger series of carbon fibre tripod legs (If you want to know more about the Leofoto tripods you can read this primer on understanding what makes them different: https://landscapegear.co.za/blogs/news/introducing-the-ranger). Here comes the crunch then, The LS-324C and the LS-285C are the same price and have very little difference between them on paper. So how do you decide which one to go for? Let’s start by looking at the actual specs between the two sets of legs:


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Working with the Leofoto Macro Arm

7/6/2020

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Suggested Kit List for Landscape Workshops

1/9/2019

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Picture
 Before any major workshop we usually send out a suggested equipment list. The emphasis here is on the word ‘suggested’. One can always bring more or less on a workshop. Indeed, there are professional travel photographers who travel only with a Fujifilm X100t, an iPhone and backup hard drive. Being geared more towards landscape photography we tend to pack a little more into our camera bags. The kit below is the equipment that Emil would take with him to Madagascar, Iceland or Namibia for landscape photography (an important addition is a Macro lens which is not pictured here).

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    Dedicated Photographic Tours and Workshops Internationally and in Southern Africa

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  • Home
  • Photography Courses
    • Mini Courses & Classes
    • Photography Mentoring
  • Photography Tours & Workshops
    • South Africa >
      • 4 day Swartberg Mountain Retreat
      • 5 day The Waves of Luphathana
      • 9 day Wandering the Wild Coast - South Africa
      • Drakensberg >
        • 5 day Mountain Masterclass - Drakensberg Mountains
        • 5 day Mountain Adventure - Drakensberg Mountains
    • Africa Workshops >
      • Uganda Private Wildlife Photography workshop
      • Morocco - Meandering Morocco - 10 Nights
      • Botswana - Photographing Giants - Botswana 5 night astrophotography workshop
      • Lesotho - Exploring The Mountain Kingdom - 6 night Landscape Workshop
      • Namibia - Namibia's North - 13 Nights
      • Namibia - Composing the Dunes - 14 Days
      • Madagascar - Exploring the Island Continent - 15 Days
      • Madagascar - Beyond The Horizon - Madagascars far North
    • Europe & the North >
      • 6 day Chasing Reindeer - An Ethnographic Photography Workshop
      • Chasing Auroras - Iceland Late Winter
    • The 'Where To Next' Survey
  • About Us
    • About Nature's Light
    • Photography Instructors
    • The Workshop Experience
    • Photography Tours and Workshops Calendar
    • Contact
    • Payment - Ts & Cs
    • FAQ
  • Gear Sales
    • Leofoto
    • Leofoto Flagship Tripods
    • Leofoto Accessories
    • Leofoto Mini Tripod & Smartphone
    • Leofoto Monopods
    • Leofoto Quick Release Plates
    • Leofoto Ranger Tripods
    • Leofoto Leveling Ranger Tripods
    • Leofoto SOAR/PRS
    • Leofoto Summit Tripods
    • Leofoto Tripod Heads
    • NiSi
    • NiSi JetMag Filter system
    • NiSi 100mm
    • NiSi 150mm
    • NiSi M75
    • NiSi SWIFT Filter system
    • NiSi Circular Filters
    • NiSi Close Up Lens Kit NC 77mm
    • NiSi Drone Filters
    • F-Stop Questionnaire
  • Blog
  • NiSi SWIFT Filters