December 2014 rolls in, and my wife and I make a commitment to hike at least once a month for the coming year, and this would be the start. We are trying get a little more fit and throw in some photography while we’re out there in the bush. With the mid-summer heat of December hitting highs of 34 degrees Celcius, we would like to get to the hiking locations nice and early, around 6am. However, some of the locations only open 7am or 8am. It will have to do.
The bush gets beautifully green in summer, as a lot of our summer rain has already started falling by the end of the year. We went to a hiking spot we have been before, as the view from the summit was breathtaking. Especially here, we could see the big difference from the previous time we were there. Where in winter, everything was brown and the sky was hazy, now it was bright green, with a clear, blue sky.
Pano with X100T
This area we call Magaliesburg. The Magalies mountain range is the closest of its kind to Johannesburg, where we stay. It always amazes me that it is a mere 45min drive from the city.
With the X100T being small and light, dragging it along is no problem. The biggest advance for me, however, is ND filter. It does not matter which version of the X100 you have, they all have it built in. The bright South African sun makes taking photos with a limited shutterspeed of 1/4000 an issue. This is were the ND filter plays a huge factor, as I love shooting wide open.
Winter tones
Midday shadows
You may not always come home with award winning images, but you do come back with memories. It also gives you an idea of what is out there if you do want to get there at the best light and take more time with it.
The key thing about the ND filter and now the new electronic shutter, is that one can take photos of the most amazing places like the top of Table mountain, when the time of day can not be planned.
