It has been cloudy and raining a lot here in the west part of The Netherlands. This is a good thing for the vegetation and farmers are happy I guess. It doesn't do well for great photography when its dull and grey. However sometimes the cloudy skies will let sunlight filter through as it did the last few days. You can feel the damped air, sun light when it hits and with this the grasslands just explode.

A few weeks ago when borders where opened and Corona restrictions where slowly lifted I went to a nature park that crosses the Dutch and Belgian border. I went to Kalmthout to photograph birds and see if a new photo hide would give me a new and exciting perspectives in bird photography. The hide was surrounded by water, which is not always the case. In this situation there was not only a small pond for the birds, but also a small creek crossing at the other side of the hide. So two different views and compositions.

Summer is here! Warm weather, late(r) evenings and golden hours for ages. Ha! I love it. Time to go explore, just around the corner here over in the meadows, but still fun to do and doesn’t take up much time. This time I took my new gimbal head with me on a tripod to get the best shots, but more so to get some additional video. I really got excited in not only capturing photos but also video. So scroll down to see short clips and the photos of course.

Recently I enjoyed a well deserved break. Time for the family and time for myself. The latter was easy to fill in, taking out the new Sony to different areas in The Netherlands. So I did a back to back photography trip to two places I visited multiple times before. However the weather was not really in my favour. Still got some decent photos and one short video, which I really like. Never thought I enjoy capturing video of the birds I encounter. Next blog will also have some, spoiler.

So a few weeks ago the weather turned and the first weekend was like a real spring weekend with sunshine, warmer temperatures and all that combined with nice golden evening light. That was the thing I needed for my next tests and experience with the Sony camera and lens. It really was a lovely evening and while it started of pretty quiet and boring even. It came together at the end of my time at Waverhoek.

So after my initial test and getting used to the camera I’m more and more finding my way and trying out new settings and configurations. Still there is no holy grail camera or settings, so. you make due with what you have. Although that A1 looks mighty nice, except its price tag. I’m slowly getting to grips with the camera and especially with 600mm versus 400mm on the Fujifilm. This new focal length is not just another focal length or equivalent to the crop on Fujifilm. There is a noticeable difference in compression, stability and again weight of course.

So where to begin? A brief history before we get into the photos and the first impressions of this new combination. TLDR; It’s great, sort of! Its a really powerful combo, but it needs to be handled with respect. That glass is great, but the sensor with its 60+mpx is unforgiving if you just smash that shutter button. In short its a learning curve - all over again, but I like it!