Plus Photo Extract: Top Google Plus Images of the day

Those of you on Google Plus (Google+) will probably have seen that people often tag photos with #PlusPhotoExtract. This is because that places the image in contention for a very intruiging "Photo of the Day" contest.

Jarek Klimek from PhotoExtract Online Magazine (WEBSITE) has written an algorithm that "selects" a selection of images for the day from images that were tagged in this way.

One of my images was selected for the selection of 22 May 2012. Have a look at the link HERE...

You can also check it out at a higher resolution on my 500px portfolio HERE. 


Enjoy the weekend!


(and if you are not yet on Google+, why not check it out???)

Morkel Erasmus

AFRICAN TUESDAY: New GooglePlus Theme

Hi folks.

So, I was one of the first South African photographers to sign up for Google+ in the days when it was still in Beta mode. I have to admit I didn't do much on that network for a while...though I did make a post here and there it took me a while to get into the swing of things, and even then I was still only logging in at invariable times during the week.


I did step up my activity there during this year, however, as it's a great platform for photographers to connect and to view content that you are interested in easily. Lots has been said on the web on the difference between Facebook and Google+, but Google has done something right to attract over 100 million users in the short time that they did.


The main difference is that Facebook "connections" are mostly based on real-life relationships (many from your past - think school and college etc), and so you end up with content in your feed from a lot of folks you may well know, but who end up sharing content that is not in line with your own interests and passions - so for the most part you ignore it. On G+, however, due to the way the "circles" operate, you end up viewing content from mostly total strangers, but the content is in line with what you yourself are sharing and most interested in. This, in my opinion, is a better platform for networking. I do still have my Facebook page and enjoy the Zuckerberg-brainchild, but G+ is a really fun place for me to hang out online.


I started curating a daily photography theme with a friend, Johan Swanepoel (a magnificent photographer in his own right). The daily themes provide a great platform for photographers to upload images in a focused way and ensuring daily engagement with your posts. For a list of themes you can check out Eric Leslie's page HERE or the G+ Photo Pages Directory HERE.


Our theme is called AFRICAN TUESDAY and is an effort to place the focus of the Tuesday imagery on G+ on the continent of Africa. Currently anything goes...we want people to submit not only wildlife images or landscape photos, but also images covering street scenes, rural scenes, architecture, history, culture, travel, conservation and social justice issues.


Round 1 kicked off last week and was a huge success. The topic ended up trending on G+ as a discussion topic, peaking at #2 sometime during the day right below Lady Gaga and above Apple! Round 2 is coming online tomorrow (in 1 hour in the timezone where I live). Why not participate?


You can go directly to the official theme page HERE
...or just go to G+ and search for #africantuesday in the main feed.


We are hoping to see your quality African imagery on Google+!


PS: My personal G+ account can be accessed HERE - please do circle me if you are on G+ already...I will reciprocate...




Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: You scratch my back

Hey guys...I know I am WAAAY overdue for a proper blog post...bear with me and I should be able to squeeze one out sometime this week. 


I do have a few thoughts on the use of various wide-angle lenses for landscape photography after our recent stint in the Drakensberg mountains...so watch this space!


Meanwhile, here is one dug from the archives of a 2010 trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. A pride of lions were just waking up for the night, and this female was scratching the back of her sibling. The low angle was possible due to their relative position to ours on the dune they were lying on.

Take care now!


Morkel Erasmus

10 Must do’s for a successful remote photographic expedition

Renowned wildlife and culture photographer Piper Mackay has posted a very insightful post on her blog entitled:

10 Must do’s for a successful remote photographic expedition

You can check it out HERE


Cheers!


Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: He went that way!

I just love photographing the beautiful, shy and lightning-quick Malachite Kingfisher. This one was preening in gorgeous early morning light at the Marievale Bird Sanctuary in Nigel, South Africa.

(Nikon D3s, Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II)  f5.6  |  1/5000 SS  |  ISO-1600

Morkel Erasmus

Featured on Google+

Well, I jumped onto Google+ quite early, but it took me a while to really get the hang of it and start sharing content in a meaningful way.

I was honoured to be notified today that I am now a "verified" user and that Google South Africa has placed me on the "Featured User List" (or "Suggested User List") for South Africa.


You can check out my profile HERE.
You can also check out the featured "circle" HERE


If you are not yet part of Google+ and would like to check it out, drop me a message and I'll send you an invite! It's quite an interesting social network and very much geared towards us photographers.


Until later!


Morkel Erasmus

National Geographic Photo of the Day

Hi folks - a quick one!

Heck, this one happened a while ago on the NatGeo site, but I recently discovered a link to their unofficial Tumblr blog which features this image of mine - so I thought it would only be apt to link to it from my blog as well...

http://nationalgeographicmagazine.tumblr.com/post/17393112203 

Cheers for now!!

Morkel Erasmus