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REUNION ISLAND, THE FRENCH JEWELRY
Let me show you how beautiful my Reunion Island is taken with XP 14mm.
Hi, my name is Zamir, I’m based in Reunion Island, and as a landscape photography lover, you can’t imagine how grateful I am to be living there.
I started photography during an internship in India in 2011, I bought my first camera in order to immortalize my trip and… I totally FELL in love with the possibilities offered by it and the way it satisfies my creative mind. I’m a Samyang ambassador since 2019 and through this post, I will show you how beautiful my island is.
You are probably wondering
where it is…
Well, Reunion Island is a French department in the Indian Ocean, it’s located near Madagascar and about 175km far from Mauritius. You may be imagining rural villages and dirt roads… well, not exactly, as we are currently run by the French government, you will find a well-maintained highway and the French culture (kind of).
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F1.8
1.6 sec
100
Manual
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XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F2.4
25 sec
6400
Manual
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You can’t find anything more magical
than observing the night sky with billions and billions of stars.
And guess what… the sky in Reunion Island is perfect for that, it’s well known for its purity.
You can spend countless hours observing the growing number of stars and galaxies and trying to imagine the immensity of the universe.
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F2.4
30 sec
2500
Manual
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XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F2.4
20 sec
6400
Manual
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XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F2.4
25 sec
6400
Manual
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-
-
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F2.4
20 sec
6400
Manual
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-
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F7.1
8 sec
500
Manual
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XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F2.4
20 sec
6400
Manual
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I usually take all my photos @16mm f/4, so when Samyang gave me the opportunity to pick a new XP lens this year,
I have naturally decided to try the 14mm XP F2.4, especially for night sky photography. This lens is in another league,
it offers a full stop gain over my older f/4 lens, allowing exposures to be half the length, or shooting at half the ISO speed for less noise.
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F10
1/80 sec
100
Manual
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Reunion Island is well known for its history of volcanoes,
yes, you read it right: volcanoes !
Quick history lesson: Reunion is a volcanic island composed of two massifs: one formed by an extinct volcano :
Piton des Neiges, and another one, by an active volcano : Piton de la Fournaise. It’s one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F1.8
1/80 sec
50
Manual
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XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F10
20 sec
100
Manual
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Here are two bonus photos of the volcanic area that I took with the incredible Samyang XP 10mm f3.5, one of them was shot during the eruption of 2019!
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F16
5 sec
100
Manual
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Welcome to Jurassic Park!
The Island is home to a number of endemic species, most of them can be found in its primary forests that cover more than 40% of the territory. Most of these forests have remained untouched, that is the reason why the island has been designated by UNESCO as a protected natural site.
The whole atmosphere intensifies even more when it starts raining!
Waterfalls start pouring down everywhere and the ones that already existed get even bigger. This is when the island unfolds its true beauty.
Ok so let’s summarize, Reunion Island has luxurious primary forests with extraordinary and unique vegetation, lunar-like landscapes of the second most active volcano in the world … but we are missing something essential for an Island right? Yes, we also have many beaches. The weather is idyllic all year-round (26°C average) so the water is warm, and sunsets are unbeatable.
XP 14mm F2.4
Canon 5D Mark IV
F18
1/10 sec
320
Manual
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Zamir Popat
I am a landscape photographer based on Reunion Island. I am fascinated by the beauty of the natural atmospheres that I try to reproduce as well as possible.
zamirpopat.com
