John Isaac Reviews Olympus E-510

Most of the wildlife photographers that I meet are equipped with either Nikon or Canon. I've often thought that Olympus cameras were very suitable for nature and wildlife photography. I've seen some great results from Olympus E series cameras on Flickr, with all sorts of lenses.

The company has had a reputation for excellent optics since the 1960s, and their Olympus Trip camera sold 10 million units in nearly twenty years on sale - reputedly the biggest selling camera of all time.

The Four Thirds system (aspect ratio of 4:3 rather than the 3:2 of 35mm) has allowed Olympus to make their cameras and lenses smaller and lighter than the competition. The 2x crop factor is an advantage, too. All E series customers get a voucher for a free mount that allows use of older Olympus lenses, and many other lenses can be fitted. I've seen Leica, Voigtlander and Nikkor lenses used on an E-1 to great effect.

So it was with great interest that I read John Isaac's Olympus 510 Field Review (link below.) He's used an Olympus E-1 for all the photos in his new book, due out in 2008.

• Olympus 510 Field Review by John Isaac
• John Isaac's website
  
• Tengsama's photos on Flickr (great shots, and check out that lens collection!)

Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam

German wildlife photographer Florian Schulz is featured in a new exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington. "Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam" opened on June 16 and documents the effort to preserve wildlife corridors from Yellowstone National Park to Canada's Yukon Territories. These corridors would link existing parks and public lands to ensure the survival of one of the world's last intact mountain ecosystems.

This is a rare chance to see large format wildlife photography. Schulz spent 10 years roaming the Rockies to capture the images, and will give a lecture and slide show on Oct. 23. The exhibit is organized by the museum in collaboration with The Mountaineers Books and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

The museum is on the University of Washington campus, at the corner of Northeast 45th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

• The Burke Museum website
• The website of Florian Schulz

Heather Angel Workshop

"World renowned photographer Heather Angel is gearing up for the 11th Wildlife & Natural History Workshops at Saint Hill Manor in West Sussex with Nikon U.K. on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th July 2007."

The press release is here.

News Roundup

• The first osprey chick born at the Loch Garten RSPB site. If you're anywhere near Loch Garten the RSPB centre is well worth a visit. With a very large lens you could get some decent shots from the centre itself, they have a great viewing section.
• BBC Springwatch finished for another year, doesn't Islay look nice!
• Lots of updates on Andy Rouse's blog, he's planning tours for 2008 (and working through his 18-month backlog of captured images!). He's also updated his Canon 1D Mk III review.
  
• WildPhotos 2007 has been announced. "Find out how to take, improve, publish, earn a living from, and make a difference with nature photographs at WildPhotos 2007." It's on Friday 26 & Saturday 27 October at the Royal Geographical Society, Kensington, London. Speakers include Doug Allan, Karl Ammann, Colin Baxter, Gary Braasch, Peter Cairns, Mark Carwardine, Chris Dickie, Mark Edwards, Eddie Ephraums, Pål Hermansen, Laurent Geslin, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Tim Laman, Frans Lanting, Cristina Mittermeier & Colin Prior.
• Fantastic creepy heron
• Tim Ennis is still great
• Zooomr is back up. I like it and I think it could grow into a very good photo sharing site.
• The Valley of the Geysers, Kamchatka, Russia, has disappeared forever. In this article Igor Spilenok, one of Russia's top nature photographers, talks about the lost valley.