The G9 does not have built in GPS – but what it does have is the ability to link via low-energy Bluetooth (BLE) to your phone and thereby import the GPS coordinates from the phone.
Betancuria
Fuerteventura’s former capital Betancuria lies in a picturesque valley next to a dried up stream which flowed up until the 16th century. The village is named after Jean de Béthencourt, who founded the town in 1404 with Gadifer de La Salle. It was the original capital of the Kingdom of the Canary Islands, and later capital of Fuerteventura.
Lumix G9 SH1/2 Pre-burst
So a little while ago I wrote a blog post here about the G9s 6K Pre-burst function. My conclusion on this function was that whilst it had its uses its usability, for me, was very much degraded by what I considered to be very poor auto-focus speed. Further investigation of this issue has not, unfortunately, found a solution – the simple fact is that the 6K photo functions are essentially using video technology including the cameras video auto-focus which is hugely inferior to the lightning fast stills auto-focus system. Overall therefore I am afraid that 6K photo is for me a disappointment.
Hoopoe
The funny thing about the Hoopoe is that it is one of those birds that if you go looking for them you will never find them. They are common here on Fuerteventura, although less so at this time of year when I think they must be sitting, and yet I have really struggled to find one to photograph.
Am I Boring You ?
Who knew that Stone Curlews yawn ?
Well this chap was clearly so bored with having my PL 100-400 poked in his general direction that he had a yawn and nigh on fell asleep !
Spanish Chat & Song
More bird photography today, no particular targets just a question of what was about. Unfortunately as with most recent days here in the Canary Islands it has been exceptionally windy and hence most things were hunkered down resulting in few decent targets. However I did manage to capture some nice shots of Fuerteventura’s only endemic bird the Fuerterventura Chat (a 1st winter male) and also an extremely handsome Spanish Sparrow that was having a good old sing song.
Shrikes & Warblers
Aside from testing out the G9s 6K mode the real purpose of the day was to try and capture some nice images of a couple of the more common birds of Fuerteventura, namely the Desert Grey Shrike and the Spectacled Warbler.
Lumix G9 6K Pre-Burst
So I was out today doing bit of bird photography and as the Desert Grey Shrikes were being particularly confiding I thought I would give the G9’s 6K photo mode a try. In 6K photo mode the camera is capable of taking images at an incredible 30 frames per second whilst still supposedly continuously auto-focusing and metering.
Colour or Black & White
Often times when capturing an image I have it in my mind whether the final image will be presented in colour or black & white. Some subjects just lend themselves to one or the other.
Ruin – Pano
The G9 has no Panoramic mode – this of course matters not one jot since Lightroom is superb at stitching images together – as indeed are numerous other applications.
Windmill
On a ridge above the village of La Oliva about 100m or so apart sit two dissused but intact Canarian Windmills – they should make good photographic subjects – but here’s the thing, they are tricky subjects – finding a good place to stand is just alot harder than it looks particularly if you want to capture both in the same image, so much so that I have yet to master that image. In the meantime here is the best I have managed of just one of the mills. This is a contra-jour image captured as five bracketed images and processed as an HDR image with the sacred Tindaya Mountain as a backdrop.
High ISO
Today was the start of a week of Fiesta activities in our nearby village and tonight they were kicking things off with a local band (Grupo de Música popular Tababairet) – now this kind of thing is not really my bag as you may have noticed that I rarely if ever photograph people – however I was keen to give the G9s high iso performance a try so off I headed to get a few “snaps”.
Sacred Tindaya
The little village of Tindaya sits at the foot of the Montaña de Tindaya in north-west Fuerteventura. It was considered a sacred place by the pre-Spanish local population, and is also known as the Sacred Mountain today. At the heart of the village lies the immaculately maintained church of Ermita Nuestra Senora de la Caridad. It makes a nice photographic subject with the sacred mountain as a backdrop.
No Cockatoos or Snakes !
Lest you were thinking of taking your Cockatoo or Snake for a Latte Macchiato and a Tarte de Limon at the cafe El Goloso in Lajares – DON’T
Volcano
Question: What does the perfect Volcano look like ?
Answer: Like this.
Every time I see this volcano (Montaña de Frontón 387m) near La Oliva it makes me smile – just like a volcano I would have drawn as a kid.
Punta Jandia
Punta Jandia is the southern most point on the island of Fuerteventura. Reached by a 20km off-road adventure that is not for the fient hearted especially if the weather has been bad, fortunately not often.