Message from Andrew Hardacre
I have toyed with photography over the years and started to put this gallery together in 2005 to show some of the newer digital images. I get very frustrated when I see the quality of other peoples work and sometimes feel like deleting the lot and starting all over again. I always welcome constructive criticism. One day I would like to have the time to take this hobby seriously but for now, this is for fun. A lot of the bird and insect shots were taken in an area called Ho Chung which is between Clearwater Bay and Sai Kung. It is a combination of cultivated fields, scrub and wooded hills with a couple of streams flowing through. Many again have been taken at Mai Po Nature Reserve. Administered by WWF HK this is one of Asia's most wonderful sites for wader watching and birds generally. More recently as we have moved house I have been doing more around Sai Kung.
I frequently used the fabulous Canon 800mm f5.6 lens which is just stunningly sharp. I have just upgraded from the 1D mk III to the mk IV. I also have the 400mm f4DO and f5.6, the 300mm f4 and my favourite, the 300mm f2.8 (probably Canon's best lens) and some smaller lenses including the 100mm f2.8 and 180mm f3.5 macro.
I also have 3 small but good point & shoot, the Lumix ZX18, which has a Leica lens, the Canon Powershot G9 and the Panasonic LX5 (a Leica D Lux5 under the bonnet) which sports a Summicron lens. All have RAW capability but the sensors are highly noise prone above ISO200. But in good light these are fine pieces of equipment.
Much to my amazement my wife gave me a Leica M9 and a Noctilux 50mm F0.95 for my 2010 birthday. This takes me back to the days of using my 1959 M3. I am thrilled to be using a rangefinder again and the difference between wildlife photography with an 800mm on a DSLR and a 50mm on a rangefinder is massive. Great re-learinng opportunity. I have now added the a wide angle 24mm F1.4 Summilux and an F2 90mm Summicron to do some portrait work and give me a bit more distance on candids. I do like shooting wide open.
The latest addition is the Leica X1, amazing image quality but plenty of things to improve on. Nonetheless it is an excellent compromise between the P&S level and a high end rangefinder or DSLR.
I process using CS4, LR2 and Silver Efex Pro 2. I love SEP's B&W conversions.
The hobby is wonderfully relaxing (but frustrating) and although I enjoy all sorts of photography, birds remain my passion.
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