Fuji x-e1 + xc 50-230

Random shots from the Fuji X-E1 and xc50-230mm lens ...

Sigma 120-400 or 400 f/5.6?

Some images with both these lenses, I can't decide which one I want to keep, so I will keep both for now! :)

More Sigma 400mm f/5.6 APO Macro shots

I am starting to really like this lens...

All shots taken with the Nikon d90 Sigma 400mm f/5.6 APO MAcro lens, RAW edited in camera raw CS5.

Sigma 400mm apo macro f5.6

So not content with the 120-400mm Sigma lens, I got me a Sigma 400mm prime F5.6. So far, it looks promising!
I will have to test it out properly but in the meantime here are some images(manual focus was used for all these shots):

Sigma 120-400mm DG APO HSM lens

So, test shots from my new Sigma 120-400mm DG APO HSM lens. So far, I can't say that I am impressed but it could be more my lack of talent than any fault of the lens!
                                     

Random bird images and things ...

Some shots, mostly taken with my SIGMA 120-400 4.5-5.6 AOP HSM , last couple of shots are with the 18-200 siggy...

Eid-ul-Adha 2014

Eid al-Adha is an Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow Allah's (God's) command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.Just as he was to sacrifice his son, an angel stopped him and gave him a ram to sacrifice in place of his son. Muslims around the world observe this event.

The underlying importance of this festival is the spirit of sacrifice (qurbani) in memory of Abraham's great act of faith many centuries ago.

Time...

When you wake up in the morning, do not expect to see the evening. Live as if today is all that you have got. Yesterday had passed with all its good and evil, while tomorrow has not arrived yet. Let the span of your life be but one day, as if you were born in it and will die at its end. With this attitude, you will not be caught between an obsession over the past, with all its anxieties, and the hopes of the future, with all its uncertainties.

Live for today and during this day you should pray with a wakeful heart, recite the Qur'an with deep understanding and remember Allah with sincerity. During this day you should strike balance between your affairs, get satisfied with your allotted portion, and be concerned with your appearance and health.

Live today free from sorrow, bother, anger, jealousy, or malice. Organize the hours of this day, so that you make years out of minutes and months out of seconds. Seek forgiveness from your Lord, remember Him, prepare for the final parting from this world, and live today happily and in peace. Be content with your sustenance, your wife, your children, your work, your house and your life.

{So hold that which I have given thee, and be among the thankful.} (Al-A`raf 7: 144)

Tweety the Lovebird

Some pics of our 6 week old Fischer Lovebird ..

Mni Cooper Old school

5 one of a kind Mini coopers... Fuji X-E1 18-55

A Father's advice to his Son ...

Ibn al-Jawzī authored the following as an advice to his son, Abu’l-Qasim Badr al-Dīn ‘Alī al-Nasikh.1

You should know, my son, may Allāh guide you to what is right, that man has been distinguished by intellect only so that he would act according to it. Bring it to the fore, use it in contemplation and spend time alone with yourself. You will conclude that you are a created being who has responsibilities and obligations and that the two angels are counting your every word and glance. Every breath is a step closer to death. The time we spend in this world is short, the time we are held in our graves is long, and the punishment for following our base desires is calamitous.

Where is the delight of yesterday? It has departed leaving only regret in its wake. Where is the soul’s desire? How many has it brought low, how many has it caused to slip and falter? People have only attained happiness by going against their lusts and desires. People have only become wretched by giving preference to the life of this world. Learn from the lives of kings and ascetics: where is the delights of the kings and where is the weariness of the ascetics? The only thing left is the abundant reward and beautiful mention for the pious, and the malicious words and calamitous punishment for the disobedient. It is as if those who starved never starved and those who ate to their fill never did so. Laziness in virtuous deeds is an evil companion indeed, and love of comfort causes regret greater than any enjoyment. So take heed and tire yourself for your self.

Know, that performing the obligatory and avoiding the forbidden is a must; whenever a person transgresses the limits let him beware of the Fire. Then know that aspiring to virtuous deeds is the highest goal of those who strive yet virtuous deeds vary in status and ranks; some people consider them to mean abstaining from worldly vanities and others think they stand for dedicating oneself for worship. The truth, however, is that complete virtue is nothing but joining knowledge with action. When these two are combined they raise a person to the level of truly knowing the Creator, Exalted and Most High, causing him to love, fear and yearn for Him. This is the true goal. People also vary in determination: not everybody who wants is wanted and not everybody who seeks finds what he is looking for. Still, everyone must strive to reach their goals because “everyone is eased towards what he is created for.”2

Allāh is the source of all help.

Panasonic FZ200 animal portraits

Sampling of FZ200 animal portraits.

Butterfly macro Panasonic FZ200

Some macro shots of a butterfly with the Panasonic FZ200 and Raynox DCR 250... Nature is where it's at!

To live in a time...

To live in a time where solitude in the depths of the night and the silence of the stars does not breed loneliness but rather a greater sense of belonging. – S Malik Prism of the heart.

Fuji X100S long exposure 

Panasonic fz200 (and 1 shot Fuji x-e1)

Random shots ... Not a great day for photos

Puppies...

Jack Russell puppies Fuji x100s ...

This world ...

S

"So beware of this World that is falling down and is misleading and deceiving, being decorated by its deceit and having eluded (others) by its delusion, and having killed its people with its hopes. It looks forward with anticipation towards the one who proposes to it for marriage. Hence it becomes like the unveiled bride - all the eyes are looking towards it, and the souls are in love with it, and the hearts are captivated by it."
 (Abu Nu'aym in al-Hilyah, 2/135-136)

Panasonic FZ200 RANDOM images

Some randomness with the Panasonic FZ200...

Daily life : Macro photography

Nikon 1 J1 and Raynox DCR-250 and D3100 Raynox DCR-250

Daily life: Fuji X100S,Warmbaths Bela Bela

Weekend trip to Warmbaths Aventura resort, Bela Bela. Once again, I took the Fuji X100S along and as per usual, I wished I taken the Nikon! Will I ever learn! The Fuji is for the urban environment, anything remotely close to nature photography and the fixed lens shows it's limitations. It lacks on both ends, wide and zoom, neither here not there!

Long exposure night shot 30 sec 

Daily life: Fuji x100s , fishing on the Vaal river

Just a day trip to the Vaal for a day of river fishing. The water conditions were less than ideal, very high, fast flowing and muddy. My son and his cousin still managed to catch 6 fish in spite of this. Again, I was left wishing I took my Nikon along with the 18-200mm lens! (All fish were safely released)

Location: Woelwaters, Lindequesdrift, North West province of South Africa:

Garden variety mudfish