2 days late, but back on track with the uploads. My 2nd book is now available for pre-order. It's been a long time coming: thomasheaton.co.uk/product/hardback-book-vol-2/
I got my stepson the digital version of your other book because as he says "I don't like dead trees," (books). Are you doing a digital version of this one too?
When I traveled to Kenya in 2016, I packed a Coolpix A for quick wide angle shots while I had the longer lenses on my DSLRs. The Coolpix A had a similar fall, a similar "kink" in the extension mechanism, a similar fix with a bit of muscle strength coaxing it back into position. After all that, it never missed a beat, never showed any signs of major misalignment and allowed me to capture some memorable images on the trip. I wish you the same kind of luck with your repaired 24-70 on the rest of this trip. That being said, the images taken with the long lens were absolutely delightful and you certainly made good use of a bad situation. The whole set is amazin but the image at 14:54 is particularly lovely. I can't wait to see what the rest of the trip offers. Great stuff, Thomas!
Great video Tom. Similar thing happened to me with the 24-70mm f4. Sent it off to Nikon, dreading the potential repair cost, but Nikon sent it back, fully repaired and for no cost. Great customer service!
Love it, nice to see the structure of this tree, again you don't mind but you have to make do with that. magical with the mist maybe closer even more beautiful. too bad about your lens, 100-400 mm fortunately you have that extra one, but perhaps the right one for this. Glad to see you enjoying it because that's the most important thing. see you next time, have a nice evening.
Another cracking video Thomas. Spent a few days in Madeira over 30 years ago as it was a regular port call for us. Never really got much further than the bars of Funchal though! Thor really is a 'top man'! He's a great teacher and not a bad photographer either! Cheers, Andy
You lucky sod! I had just got my 12-40 f:2.8 back from Olympus when we met in Yorkshire having smashed it at Mam Tor a few weeks before when it fell out of my open rucksack onto the tarmac. I was rushing for sunrise and just muffed up. No strong man was gonna fix it. Pleased you got it working again. As for shooting woodlands with a longer lens, I find compositions can be much easier as even with fog, you can simplify things even further. Nice shots, Tom.
Fanal!! I was there first week in December - ZERO MIST! That's twice I've been and no mist either time. Glad you have better luck with the conditions than me, even if it took 2 tries.
Just ordered your book for my father for Christmas. He got me into photography buying me my first dslr (700D) for my birthday nearly 8 years ago. Now I'm running around with my 6Dmk2 almost never leaving home without it :P
Great vid Tom! I can attest to the fact that it is in fact possible to smash Nikon gear. It’s not easy but it is possible. I happen to be one of the most “fumblesome” persons on the planet and not even my Nikon gear can always take it, ha ha! Most accidents have happened in connection with collapsing or falling tripods. This has become such a reoccurring theme that I finally decided to get one of the strongest, heaviest, tallest and sturdiest tripods on the market; the Benro Mach 3 (aluminum) is heavy to carry around but man do I feel confident with this beast! It is also the first tripod in my possession that work well in all weather conditions including our freezing conditions up here in the north of Sweden. With the serious! spikes that comes with it I feel completely secure on all surfaces, including slippery ice. I agree that your involuntary shift of lenses turned out to be a lucky strike. The compositions where really very well crafted. Spot on! I’d say more than 80% of my shots are with focal lengths between 100 - 500 mm. A lot of the time handheld too. Cheers! 👍
Such a great place, We went to Madiera earlier this year and I loved the Fanal Forest. At 3am the frogs in the small pond sound like goblins though and the fact that I forgot my head tourch only added to the illusion! Milky way was spectacular, even to the naked eye.
Loved that video. Your 24-70 took a knock to show us that the best 'fog lens' for trees is the long one because visibility fades away into the cotton wool world sooner than we think, adding a bit of tension for the viewer.
Nice location. One of the big things I look forward to when viewing your pics on the channel are your picture settings at the bottom of each pic. Will this return in the future? I noticed settings were mentioned for one before the camera fell from the tripod. I agree the longer lens worked best for this location. ‘Thor’s Magical Camera Restoration’…has a nice ring!
So now we all need to have a Thor in our gear . . . .. hahah. Great set of images Tom - I've never heard of Madeira let alone seen any images. So for me, they were all fantastic and amazing.
I am amazed that there did not seem to be any other people there, like you had all that beautiful space to yourselves. My favorite was the one with the long lens with a single close tree framing what looked like an apparition of an oak in the foggy distance. Well done.
Telephoto is my preferred shooting range for a lot of stuff. It can be constricting, but it forces you to focus on what you want to include in your photo and be really intentional. Compression is also always a cool effect IMO.
100% agree, 100-400mm images looked much more interesting than the other 24-70mm, super work, very interesting compositions. Lucky that the 24-70mm worked too 👍
Madeira! :D I went there for photos a few months ago with a temporary lens- broke the other one up Glen Shiel after a fall. That temp lens was also from MPB! Sold it back to them now after Nikon repaired it. Went to Fanal too! Great place for mist!
This pictures are fucking awesome! Love them all! I did drop my Z6 with a Z24-70/4 in Iceland on a stone and the lens still did work. But I got a scratch on the front lens which never had any impact on the quality of my photos. But I let Nikon repair the lens anyway. This was fairly priced (190€) but it did took a few weeks caused by spare part shortage.
Very good. Did anyone see the running man in the last shot? My 24-70 fell over years ago, but it's funny, it was kind of a lost birth child; I never got close to it and I never replaced it. So, it's 16-35, 70-200 with a sixty Sigma in the middle. I did buy a new Sony a while back and it came with a 18-135 so that kind of broke up the old gang.
Remember how proud Thomas was in his last video about cable management?Anyone else see the huge pile of wires at the start of the video?! 😂 just teasing, love you Thom. I’m your biggest fan ;)
I love this so much. I live in one of Canada's most beautiful locations in the Canadian Rockies and im always trying to find something new. With the national park being home to some of the most photographed places in Canada, and the world, this can be a challenge. I think the lesson here for photographers to explore their limits, or even create limits, is so so important to creativity and uniqueness. Wonderful video! Those 100-400 shots are spectacular.
So Thomas, you went to photograph Madeira, well known for it's atmospheric misty conditions but also took along a Nordic weather God for good measure!. Now that's what I call a belt and braces approach... Keep up the great work buddy, Nick
I love my Nikon lenses. The colors are amazing and punchy but most of all they are like tanks. Dropped my 24-70 2.8 F mount when someone knocked it to the concrete floor. The lip was bent but the lens work like new. Sticking with Nikon for over 20 years now.
Wow!!! I keep struggling with the idea that when I decided to get back into photography after quite a long hiatus, my local photography shop listened to my past history, how much I wanted to spend, what I wanted to photograph, and what I wanted to accomplish. They were great and steered me towards the Canon RP as the sorta entry level full frame camera for me. They were right as this is really a very good camera. But my anxiety rests on the choice of lens they guided me to. The RF 24-200mm is the lens they pushed and I bought it as a kit. I’m still experimenting with it and I like it, but I don’t know. I have it ingrained into my brain that it’s just a kit lens, and I need better, even though I know that’s a lie. But this video like all of yours has helped me realize a lot of things!!!!! Merry Christmas and I can’t wait to see what you do in 23!!!!!!!
If, like me, you have come back after a hiatus then learn everything you can about photographic composition. Treat your 24-200 as the ideal way to fully explore the compositions available in any scene. Force yourself to try different focal lengths. Don't just settle back into whatever standard compositions you used when you were younger. Later, when you have expanded your compositional skills, you can consider your 24-200 to be your scouting lens and return with a prime lens or two to take higher-quality versions of the same compositions.
Going back there after Xmas. Same experience as you in Fanal, still waiting for mist but no pouring rain! Hopefully, you will be showing us Pico Ariero next week! Have pre-ordered your book.
Fantastic images, especially the long lens ones. My favourite is the solo large near tree framing the smaller tree to the right. Great lesson for us all!
Beautiful images, I love Fanal but it is a tricky place to shoot and sometimes it can be difficult to find great compositions. You were lucky to be almost alone, often it is crowded. I love Madeira and look forward to see whatelse you will be shooting
Great video Thomas! When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! We are all creatures of habit, when forced to do something different we find our better selves! Love the telephoto shots!
Awesome video Thomas, I loved all of the images but yes indeed the telephoto images are just fantastic, thanks for sharing and for the inspiration, Merry Christmas to you and yours.
First off, you got some fine images with each lens, Thomas. You have to be happy with this trip. Glad you got your short lens working again. I got "caught out" with my 80-400 lens one time. I went out to do a walk around a pond to shoot birds and ended up shooting small landscape areas. Worked out just fine, so I decided later to try some street photography with it. Definitely had a different look than my previous years of street photography and I was able to get some shots I never would have had with a shorter lens. That lens is so versatile that I use it for more things than I ever thought about when I bought it. Good luck to you and I'm looking forward to your next photo adventure.
I have been to Madeira a few times but only managed to get up to the Fanal forest for the first time last January. Unfortunately I was on an excursion and we only stopped at the forest for 40 minutes! Running around like a mad man trying to get as many shots as I could, the good thing was I had lovely fog (and cows)! Back again in 5 weeks time, so who knows?
I went to Madeira twice this year, parked in the same spot at Fanal. Those photos are incredible. Hard to get exposure right in the fog. The great thing about Fanal is if there isn't high cloud, it's top ten in the world for astro... assuming you don't mind cows.
This happened to me with my 24-70 s f 4 in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. I fortunately had a 50 f 1.8 s prime with me that I shot for the rest of the day. Also fortunately the lens was ok, but it led me to purchase the beautiful 24-70 f 2.8 S lens. This is the lens that I now use most on my Nikon Z 7.2. It is creates magic when it is on the camera. Nice video
Videos with dad jokes, how good is this. Got to shoot my 'lone tree in field' with fog earlier this week. Picture of the week in the local paper, so that was nice. Wish I'd seen this first and would have tried a longer lens. Great video.
I like to go out with 1 prime lens sometimes, just force myself to see from one focal length. I find it will usually guide me to some really good, or at least interesting, images. I can tend to get "sloppy" with my compositions when I have a huge focal range to work with. It was something my photography teacher told me back in high school "You should be able to create good images with any focal length, sometimes you just have to tie your own hands to see it." Another great video.
I agree with that. When I shoot film, I often have 1 or 2 primes and nothing else and it's amazing how differently you start to see things when you are restricted.
Same! I used to do this with my Canon 90d as well, and for the better, I now have a Fuji XH2 with only a 16-80 and since I have still a decent amount of focal length to work with I had a 18-400 on my canon, Now I actualy think alot more about componsitions when I do landscapes, Still found out that during editing my favourite focal length tends to be around 30-50mm and sometimes 70, I barely used the extra 200mm I had on my Canon, I am still getting a 18-300 because I need it because most of my photography is maritime related and when I have the money I will be traveling alot on cargo-ships (way cheaper then a cruise and you basically get the same experience!) but when I am out in the city or whatever it is fun to shoot with the 16-80 or when I do landscapes. I will however also be getting the 7artisans 50mm because I really miss my 50mm focal length.
At the moment, I own four lenses, all primes. A 20mm, a 24mm, a 50mm and a 200mm. The 200mm is by far my favorite-there is so much potential with telephoto lenses
Hi, I am a former photographic teacher and coach, been watching your videos for a long time. You do one thing that drives me crazy and it's really grating me. Normally I would keep my gob shut, but as a favour going to give you a creative trick to help with your photography. If you find yourself wandering about or waiting you do this trick and it will help with composition and variety. You have a real bad habit of setting your camera on a tripod to eye level. It's like a defacto comfort zone, eye level shots are hard as they are familiar and can be undynamic . For a day whilst doing photography try setting your tripod to 1 foot high, it will force you to find a composition that people will not see. Next day do a two foot high rule, and you will get differing viewpoint again. Also if you are waiting or can't find a shot, drop your tripod height and look about you, converging verticals, foreground, framing of shots can be found below eye level. It helps take you out of your comfort zone. Have a go and try it.
Great images specially with the long lens! To all of you who have dropped their lenses and think it is still working: The image center is usually not that problematic and would appear sharp even with a decentered lens. You have to examine image quality wide open and look left and right to see the difference 😃
Such a great response to a potential setback. It’s hard when you’re in challenging weather/settings and something goes wrong to maintain a positive attitude and keep making images. Thank you for this fundamental lesson! 🙏
Also, always check with whoever sold you the lens. I once smashed a 70-200 Fuji lens after falling on wet rocks and it was months after the end of the warranty. The lens would slide with difficulty and couldn't auto focus or focus, it was too out of shape. But I contacted the seller who was like "don't worry we'll send it to Fuji no charge". It took about 2 months to have the lens back, but it's now as good as new and I didn't pay a cent... Of course it only hit the metal rings, and didn't damage the glass at all, I would expect the situation to be very different if you had damaged glass.
Loved the images. Suggestion- bring a Nikon prime 50mm with you. Even a 1.8 is an all out fantastic lens. To frame it you have to take three steps forward or backward and you basically got a 24-70mm 1.8 for just around $100!
Another great video Thomas with an interesting start! I have already preordered your book and looking forward to receiving it in the new year. Have a wonderful Christmas if we don't see you before then.
Best of both worlds Thomas, taking a different approach by using the long lens then finding out the 24-70 is still operable. Lovely images and one thing I took away from looking at the images that separation of the subjects was vital to ensure the composition had space within it whenever possible
Nice, brings back good memories for me as well ! I did a dolphin tour last year from Funchal and only brought my 100-400mm Afterward we explored the city and I brought home some amazing photo's. Glad your lens is usable again, hope there isn't too much play or permanent damage...
I think you are right about the long lens images being different to others from the same location. But, I still like the second shot in the vlog of the Ent from Fangorn Forest.
Love your comment at the end about Nikon gear “built like a tank”. All your photos were fabulous and mysterious but the images taken with the 100-400 were awesome! The trees look like mythical creatures and the mist and fog really create an other worldly atmosphere. Really great photography!
The attention to detail with the framing of distant trees in the mist was brilliant with the 100-400mm. Beautiful images but a great lesson to take your time and examine the scene
It really would be interesting when you were on Madeira - I was there 2 weeks ago and it looks like you' ve been at the same hotel as me (I think I recognized the parking garage of the hotel).
Ah man, I'm thrilled you (Thor) got your lens working again, but even more excited by the second set of images! You did some great work out there. Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
2 days late, but back on track with the uploads. My 2nd book is now available for pre-order. It's been a long time coming: thomasheaton.co.uk/product/hardback-book-vol-2/
Yay for second Photobook! I know what I want for my birthday😁
Just ordered and paid for your book 2 also a Hasselblad 907x good job is Chrismas.
I got my stepson the digital version of your other book because as he says "I don't like dead trees," (books).
Are you doing a digital version of this one too?
Hi Thomas, preordered the book. But I think I will get it a few days after my birthday ;-)
Sad to see you are another YT photographer accepting sponsorship from MPB.
Madeira 🇵🇹
thanks for visiting Thomas..
Omg some of those latter images were out of this world the depth created and compositions you found really made the difference. Love your work fella
From the thumbnail I immediately knew this was fanal, and the fiat 500 with a Portuguese plate confirms. Glad to see so much people coming here now
Love those trees. So much motion sitting still. " dancing"..
When I traveled to Kenya in 2016, I packed a Coolpix A for quick wide angle shots while I had the longer lenses on my DSLRs. The Coolpix A had a similar fall, a similar "kink" in the extension mechanism, a similar fix with a bit of muscle strength coaxing it back into position. After all that, it never missed a beat, never showed any signs of major misalignment and allowed me to capture some memorable images on the trip. I wish you the same kind of luck with your repaired 24-70 on the rest of this trip.
That being said, the images taken with the long lens were absolutely delightful and you certainly made good use of a bad situation. The whole set is amazin but the image at 14:54 is particularly lovely.
I can't wait to see what the rest of the trip offers. Great stuff, Thomas!
im from madeira, and our landscapes are one of a kind. I`m happy you came to visit us, hope you have several more videos about the island
Cheers mate
Great video Tom. Similar thing happened to me with the 24-70mm f4. Sent it off to Nikon, dreading the potential repair cost, but Nikon sent it back, fully repaired and for no cost. Great customer service!
Love it, nice to see the structure of this tree, again you don't mind but you have to make do with that. magical with the mist maybe closer even more beautiful. too bad about your lens, 100-400 mm fortunately you have that extra one, but perhaps the right one for this. Glad to see you enjoying it because that's the most important thing. see you next time, have a nice evening.
14:54 My fav of the bunch from this video. Love how both trees look like swaying away from each other. The fog just perfected the separation needed.
Another cracking video Thomas. Spent a few days in Madeira over 30 years ago as it was a regular port call for us. Never really got much further than the bars of Funchal though!
Thor really is a 'top man'! He's a great teacher and not a bad photographer either! Cheers, Andy
You lucky sod! I had just got my 12-40 f:2.8 back from Olympus when we met in Yorkshire having smashed it at Mam Tor a few weeks before when it fell out of my open rucksack onto the tarmac. I was rushing for sunrise and just muffed up. No strong man was gonna fix it. Pleased you got it working again. As for shooting woodlands with a longer lens, I find compositions can be much easier as even with fog, you can simplify things even further. Nice shots, Tom.
Fanal!! I was there first week in December - ZERO MIST! That's twice I've been and no mist either time. Glad you have better luck with the conditions than me, even if it took 2 tries.
that second set of images with the 100-400 are hands down best of video
Just ordered your book for my father for Christmas. He got me into photography buying me my first dslr (700D) for my birthday nearly 8 years ago. Now I'm running around with my 6Dmk2 almost never leaving home without it :P
Great vid Tom! I can attest to the fact that it is in fact possible to smash Nikon gear. It’s not easy but it is possible. I happen to be one of the most “fumblesome” persons on the planet and not even my Nikon gear can always take it, ha ha! Most accidents have happened in connection with collapsing or falling tripods. This has become such a reoccurring theme that I finally decided to get one of the strongest, heaviest, tallest and sturdiest tripods on the market; the Benro Mach 3 (aluminum) is heavy to carry around but man do I feel confident with this beast! It is also the first tripod in my possession that work well in all weather conditions including our freezing conditions up here in the north of Sweden. With the serious! spikes that comes with it I feel completely secure on all surfaces, including slippery ice.
I agree that your involuntary shift of lenses turned out to be a lucky strike. The compositions where really very well crafted. Spot on! I’d say more than 80% of my shots are with focal lengths between 100 - 500 mm. A lot of the time handheld too. Cheers! 👍
Those pics with the 100-400 are my favorites. Great set of images.
Such a great place, We went to Madiera earlier this year and I loved the Fanal Forest. At 3am the frogs in the small pond sound like goblins though and the fact that I forgot my head tourch only added to the illusion! Milky way was spectacular, even to the naked eye.
Loved that video. Your 24-70 took a knock to show us that the best 'fog lens' for trees is the long one because visibility fades away into the cotton wool world sooner than we think, adding a bit of tension for the viewer.
Nice location. One of the big things I look forward to when viewing your pics on the channel are your picture settings at the bottom of each pic. Will this return in the future? I noticed settings were mentioned for one before the camera fell from the tripod. I agree the longer lens worked best for this location. ‘Thor’s Magical Camera Restoration’…has a nice ring!
I like your 100-400 images, they are unique and beautiful. So much soul.
So now we all need to have a Thor in our gear . . . .. hahah. Great set of images Tom - I've never heard of Madeira let alone seen any images. So for me, they were all fantastic and amazing.
I agree, those 100-400mm shots were even more atmospheric and amazing!
I am amazed that there did not seem to be any other people there, like you had all that beautiful space to yourselves. My favorite was the one with the long lens with a single close tree framing what looked like an apparition of an oak in the foggy distance. Well done.
An amazing set of foto's.
Thanks for sharing.
Telephoto is my preferred shooting range for a lot of stuff. It can be constricting, but it forces you to focus on what you want to include in your photo and be really intentional. Compression is also always a cool effect IMO.
Some absolutely lovely use of foreground darker trees as framing devices. The 2nd image and the one at 14:37 are my favourites of the sets.
Great photos thanks taking us along!
100% agree, 100-400mm images looked much more interesting than the other 24-70mm, super work, very interesting compositions. Lucky that the 24-70mm worked too 👍
Images with 100-400 certainly were amazing! Also loved the second shot of the episode with the wide angle lens.❤️📷
That's very kind, thank you. Yes, that second shot is a favouroite of mine, sadly though I wasn't able to film any of it. That mist moves too quickly.
Well I thought the first few shots were beautiful but the long lens ones were something else... absolutely stunning!
Thanks, Henry. Glad you liked the longer lens images. I think it might have been to do with the fact that I was handheld and moving around much more.
Madeira! :D I went there for photos a few months ago with a temporary lens- broke the other one up Glen Shiel after a fall. That temp lens was also from MPB! Sold it back to them now after Nikon repaired it. Went to Fanal too! Great place for mist!
We didnae get any rain though when there, thank god xD
This pictures are fucking awesome! Love them all! I did drop my Z6 with a Z24-70/4 in Iceland on a stone and the lens still did work. But I got a scratch on the front lens which never had any impact on the quality of my photos. But I let Nikon repair the lens anyway. This was fairly priced (190€) but it did took a few weeks caused by spare part shortage.
My favourite location on the island. Great shots Thomas ❤
Very good. Did anyone see the running man in the last shot? My 24-70 fell over years ago, but it's funny, it was kind of a lost birth child; I never got close to it and I never replaced it. So, it's 16-35, 70-200 with a sixty Sigma in the middle. I did buy a new Sony a while back and it came with a 18-135 so that kind of broke up the old gang.
Agreed, the long lens images were stunning!
Remember how proud Thomas was in his last video about cable management?Anyone else see the huge pile of wires at the start of the video?! 😂 just teasing, love you Thom. I’m your biggest fan ;)
That first 100-400mm image is by far the best of the bunch imo!
Directly ordered your volume 2… now watch the video!
Fantastic. Thank you. 👍📷😎
Love those 100-400 images at the end! Well done!!!
I love this so much. I live in one of Canada's most beautiful locations in the Canadian Rockies and im always trying to find something new. With the national park being home to some of the most photographed places in Canada, and the world, this can be a challenge. I think the lesson here for photographers to explore their limits, or even create limits, is so so important to creativity and uniqueness. Wonderful video! Those 100-400 shots are spectacular.
Meanwhile I struggle to find places to photograph bc it’s so flat here lol
Some seriously great life lessons in this episode! Thanks for another great one!
So Thomas, you went to photograph Madeira, well known for it's atmospheric misty conditions but also took along a Nordic weather God for good measure!. Now that's what I call a belt and braces approach...
Keep up the great work buddy,
Nick
I love my Nikon lenses. The colors are amazing and punchy but most of all they are like tanks. Dropped my 24-70 2.8 F mount when someone knocked it to the concrete floor. The lip was bent but the lens work like new. Sticking with Nikon for over 20 years now.
Wow!!! I keep struggling with the idea that when I decided to get back into photography after quite a long hiatus, my local photography shop listened to my past history, how much I wanted to spend, what I wanted to photograph, and what I wanted to accomplish. They were great and steered me towards the Canon RP as the sorta entry level full frame camera for me. They were right as this is really a very good camera. But my anxiety rests on the choice of lens they guided me to. The RF 24-200mm is the lens they pushed and I bought it as a kit.
I’m still experimenting with it and I like it, but I don’t know. I have it ingrained into my brain that it’s just a kit lens, and I need better, even though I know that’s a lie. But this video like all of yours has helped me realize a lot of things!!!!! Merry Christmas and I can’t wait to see what you do in 23!!!!!!!
If, like me, you have come back after a hiatus then learn everything you can about photographic composition. Treat your 24-200 as the ideal way to fully explore the compositions available in any scene. Force yourself to try different focal lengths. Don't just settle back into whatever standard compositions you used when you were younger. Later, when you have expanded your compositional skills, you can consider your 24-200 to be your scouting lens and return with a prime lens or two to take higher-quality versions of the same compositions.
Good lesson to learn. Thanks.
Going back there after Xmas. Same experience as you in Fanal, still waiting for mist but no pouring rain! Hopefully, you will be showing us Pico Ariero next week! Have pre-ordered your book.
Fantastic vid! Didn't know there was a place where it is continuously earie! That Tor guy "is the man."
Pre ordered Vol 2. Glad to support you and your work any way I can.
That is some great advice at the end of the video. Great video!
Always great watching your channel
One of your best, Thomas! Love these photo trip adventures.
That second picture at the forest, superb, beautiful.
Fantastic images, especially the long lens ones. My favourite is the solo large near tree framing the smaller tree to the right. Great lesson for us all!
Beautiful images, I love Fanal but it is a tricky place to shoot and sometimes it can be difficult to find great compositions. You were lucky to be almost alone, often it is crowded.
I love Madeira and look forward to see whatelse you will be shooting
When stuck with a long lens it is time for a Panic Pano! Thanks for sharing👍
Bem vindo a Portugal / welcome to Portugal
That was a beautiful forest! You owe Thor a dinner. Looking at some of those photos it looks like you stumbled onto a Ent moot.
Thoroughly enjoyable video thank you
Thanks for a great and windy trip mate.
Great video Thomas! When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! We are all creatures of habit, when forced to do something different we find our better selves! Love the telephoto shots!
this place on my bucket list
Awesome video Thomas, I loved all of the images but yes indeed the telephoto images are just fantastic, thanks for sharing and for the inspiration, Merry Christmas to you and yours.
First off, you got some fine images with each lens, Thomas. You have to be happy with this trip. Glad you got your short lens working again. I got "caught out" with my 80-400 lens one time. I went out to do a walk around a pond to shoot birds and ended up shooting small landscape areas. Worked out just fine, so I decided later to try some street photography with it. Definitely had a different look than my previous years of street photography and I was able to get some shots I never would have had with a shorter lens. That lens is so versatile that I use it for more things than I ever thought about when I bought it. Good luck to you and I'm looking forward to your next photo adventure.
Great images Thomas, the forest looks like the new forest in Hampshire, minus the ponies we have.
Great freewheeling video. Love the contrast in the later 100-400 lens
It s jaw dropping 😱😱😱 amazing pictures again 😂 could not resist, I had to pre order the book!
I have been to Madeira a few times but only managed to get up to the Fanal forest for the first time last January. Unfortunately I was on an excursion and we only stopped at the forest for 40 minutes! Running around like a mad man trying to get as many shots as I could, the good thing was I had lovely fog (and cows)! Back again in 5 weeks time, so who knows?
That second shot is composed to perfection!
Stunning! Great lesson in creativity and perseverance!
Nice! im travelling to Madeira as well with my 24-70 f4 this weekend as well, thanks for the inspiration
I went to Madeira twice this year, parked in the same spot at Fanal. Those photos are incredible. Hard to get exposure right in the fog. The great thing about Fanal is if there isn't high cloud, it's top ten in the world for astro... assuming you don't mind cows.
This happened to me with my 24-70 s f 4 in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. I fortunately had a 50 f 1.8 s prime with me that I shot for the rest of the day. Also fortunately the lens was ok, but it led me to purchase the beautiful 24-70 f 2.8 S lens. This is the lens that I now use most on my Nikon Z 7.2. It is creates magic when it is on the camera. Nice video
Videos with dad jokes, how good is this. Got to shoot my 'lone tree in field' with fog earlier this week. Picture of the week in the local paper, so that was nice. Wish I'd seen this first and would have tried a longer lens. Great video.
What spectacular images out of the long lens. LOVE it as usual. You sir, are a MASTER... at work.
Loved the second shot and how you maintained the separation between the trees, but I also loved the shots taken with the long lens.
I like to go out with 1 prime lens sometimes, just force myself to see from one focal length. I find it will usually guide me to some really good, or at least interesting, images. I can tend to get "sloppy" with my compositions when I have a huge focal range to work with. It was something my photography teacher told me back in high school "You should be able to create good images with any focal length, sometimes you just have to tie your own hands to see it." Another great video.
I agree with that. When I shoot film, I often have 1 or 2 primes and nothing else and it's amazing how differently you start to see things when you are restricted.
Same! I used to do this with my Canon 90d as well, and for the better, I now have a Fuji XH2 with only a 16-80 and since I have still a decent amount of focal length to work with I had a 18-400 on my canon, Now I actualy think alot more about componsitions when I do landscapes, Still found out that during editing my favourite focal length tends to be around 30-50mm and sometimes 70, I barely used the extra 200mm I had on my Canon, I am still getting a 18-300 because I need it because most of my photography is maritime related and when I have the money I will be traveling alot on cargo-ships (way cheaper then a cruise and you basically get the same experience!) but when I am out in the city or whatever it is fun to shoot with the 16-80 or when I do landscapes. I will however also be getting the 7artisans 50mm because I really miss my 50mm focal length.
Well done Thomas, nice picturies !
At the moment, I own four lenses, all primes. A 20mm, a 24mm, a 50mm and a 200mm. The 200mm is by far my favorite-there is so much potential with telephoto lenses
Hi, I am a former photographic teacher and coach, been watching your videos for a long time. You do one thing that drives me crazy and it's really grating me. Normally I would keep my gob shut, but as a favour going to give you a creative trick to help with your photography. If you find yourself wandering about or waiting you do this trick and it will help with composition and variety. You have a real bad habit of setting your camera on a tripod to eye level. It's like a defacto comfort zone, eye level shots are hard as they are familiar and can be undynamic . For a day whilst doing photography try setting your tripod to 1 foot high, it will force you to find a composition that people will not see. Next day do a two foot high rule, and you will get differing viewpoint again. Also if you are waiting or can't find a shot, drop your tripod height and look about you, converging verticals, foreground, framing of shots can be found below eye level. It helps take you out of your comfort zone. Have a go and try it.
Great images specially with the long lens!
To all of you who have dropped their lenses and think it is still working: The image center is usually not that problematic and would appear sharp even with a decentered lens. You have to examine image quality wide open and look left and right to see the difference 😃
Such a great response to a potential setback. It’s hard when you’re in challenging weather/settings and something goes wrong to maintain a positive attitude and keep making images. Thank you for this fundamental lesson! 🙏
Only had 6 hours on Madeira, and got a great Pano up in the mountains. Will certainly be going back there to shoot more.
Also, always check with whoever sold you the lens. I once smashed a 70-200 Fuji lens after falling on wet rocks and it was months after the end of the warranty. The lens would slide with difficulty and couldn't auto focus or focus, it was too out of shape. But I contacted the seller who was like "don't worry we'll send it to Fuji no charge". It took about 2 months to have the lens back, but it's now as good as new and I didn't pay a cent... Of course it only hit the metal rings, and didn't damage the glass at all, I would expect the situation to be very different if you had damaged glass.
Loved the images. Suggestion- bring a Nikon prime 50mm with you. Even a 1.8 is an all out fantastic lens. To frame it you have to take three steps forward or backward and you basically got a 24-70mm 1.8 for just around $100!
Another great video Thomas with an interesting start! I have already preordered your book and looking forward to receiving it in the new year. Have a wonderful Christmas if we don't see you before then.
Best of both worlds Thomas, taking a different approach by using the long lens then finding out the 24-70 is still operable. Lovely images and one thing I took away from looking at the images that separation of the subjects was vital to ensure the composition had space within it whenever possible
Nice, brings back good memories for me as well ! I did a dolphin tour last year from Funchal and only brought my 100-400mm Afterward we explored the city and I brought home some amazing photo's. Glad your lens is usable again, hope there isn't too much play or permanent damage...
I think you are right about the long lens images being different to others from the same location. But, I still like the second shot in the vlog of the Ent from Fangorn Forest.
Love your comment at the end about Nikon gear “built like a tank”. All your photos were fabulous and mysterious but the images taken with the 100-400 were awesome! The trees look like mythical creatures and the mist and fog really create an other worldly atmosphere. Really great photography!
Looks like a great place ! Nice set of photos 🙌🏻
Cracking images and you’re right, those last images photographed with the 100-400 are stunning and some what unique. 🏆👍🏻🇸🇪🇬🇧
The video was Absolutely stunnin
You really need to get that Lens more out!! ;) on locations like this.
The attention to detail with the framing of distant trees in the mist was brilliant with the 100-400mm. Beautiful images but a great lesson to take your time and examine the scene
It really would be interesting when you were on Madeira - I was there 2 weeks ago and it looks like you' ve been at the same hotel as me (I think I recognized the parking garage of the hotel).
Ah man, I'm thrilled you (Thor) got your lens working again, but even more excited by the second set of images! You did some great work out there. Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
All the photos look like they were photographed in a different planet! They are beautiful!
The pictures with the long lense are so amazing because they are unique.