As a photographer, I think it’s almost impossible not to do some street photography at a certain point in your career as a hobbyist or professional. So here’s my Brussels street photography portfolio.
Read moreMy street photography in Brussels
Category: Photography inspiration
I made photos on all apertures of my 50mm 1.8 lens
Imagine a Saturday, around lunchtime; you just had a short visit somewhere and are planning on walking back home. It’s about an hour’s walk, and you have a camera. What do you do? Indeed, an aperture photography challenge.
Read moreWhere to find new photography ideas to get inspired
Finding new photography ideas can be a challenge. You can google some ideas, but usually, those ideas are pretty plain and not that new. It’s always better to have sources that inspire you to do photography.
Read moreMy experience as a photographer in Brussels
A little over half a year ago, I moved to Brussels with my girlfriend. A whole new world. Or at least a whole new city. This provided me with a lot of new opportunities as a photographer in Brussels. Especially to pass the time during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read moreBirdwatching with the Swarovski Optik Dg at the Zwin in Belgium
On a droopy Friday morning, I headed for the Zwin nature park on the Belgian coast. A beautiful piece of nature where many birds stop during their migration. The goal: to try out the new Swarovski Optik Dg together with Glenaki.
Glenaki is a PR agency focussed on travel that I like to work with. And they work with Swarovski Optik, a brand that should not need any introduction. But just in case it does.
Swarovski Optik is an Austrian brand that makes the most excellent binoculars. They aim to bring the world around you closer to you. Which as a travel blogger and photographer, I support!
Birdwatching with the Swarovski Optik Dg 8×25
For that day, they had a specific target—namely birds. We wanted to watch and identify them. For that reason, they brought their brand new Swarovski Optik Dg. The Dg stands for Digital Guide.
It’s an electronic binocular that allows you to watch birds, but wait; there’s more!
It has a built-in camera that can capture photos and videos of the birds* you see. Then, in combination with the Merlin app, you can identify those birds. And it does a fantastic job at that!
*works fine on other animals too, though.
I like birds. So I know a bit of birdlife. But I don’t get that much farther than a bit. I can tell an animal is a duck. But I don’t know all 180 different types of duck. The Dg does know that, and it can within a couple of seconds.
It could even identify birds that were too far away to define even with the binoculars 8x magnification.
From birdwatching to guide watching
At a particular moment, I noticed the guide from The Zwin getting excited. His job was to show us around some beautiful bird spots. But he also had a Digital Guide. Why I preferred watching him instead? Well, his excitement and reaction told me everything I needed to know. This is some fantastic technology.
This person, who is a professional in spotting birds and identifying them, tested this little piece of glass and electronics. And he was trying to push the limits of it. Though, he never seemed to reach them.
To make it easier for me to see why he got this excited, the Swarovski Optik Dg can stream to nearby smartphones. Whatever the guide saw, I saw. On my smartphone screen, I could see what was going on and even take pictures in his place.
The photos (13MP) quality isn’t great (yet), but it does the trick for people who want to enjoy the birdlife.
In conclusion, it was lovely to see the birds, be out in nature, and see the Zwin guides and Swarovski guides get so excited about this little piece of quality glass. Something I should repeat soon!
