River deep, mountain high

Another couple of high mileage weeks thanks to the good folks at Telecom NZ. Cambridge, Matamata, Rotorua, Taupo, Gisborne, Masterton, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Johnsonville, Paraparaumu and finally Wellington! Phew! This project has certainly allowed me to fill my boots with New Zealand scenery. A shame I can't say the same for the weather!

While I managed to complete my scheduled shots, It was criminal that for the best part of the first 750km, rain stopped play as far as getting landscape shots enroute. Oh well I have a few more locations to add to the 'list'. You often have to wait years to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right light. It's good to have a little black book full of locations and ideas which you can pull out each time you are heading out on the road.

I did manage to squeeze in this shot of the approach to Huka Falls between the showers. All the rain meant plenty of water flowing. It's hard to get your head around how much force there is. Even more unbelievable is that I have seen kayakers ride the falls! Sadly none on this occasion though... that would be because I had all my gear with me!.

The other shot included above is of Te Mata Peak just outside of Havelock North on the east coast of the North Island. A truly impressive slab of rock with outstanding views out to Cape Kidnappers and a rather interesting road up to the peak, which naturally I grabbed a few shots of too.

Had a rather bizarre end to my trip while in Wellington, when typically blustery weather whipped a strap into my eye. It was such a random injury, but after being in pain for 24 hours a trip to A&E confirmed a cut on the lens of my left eye. Honestly it was like having a razor blade run across my eye every time I blinked! not a happy camper! Luckily it's meant to heal itself over the next week and the pain killers sem to be working well. On the bright side my daughter is delighted that I look like a pirate!

Bring the noise

I was given the opportunity to get involved with a great project this week, thanks to my good friend Dag Young at Platform29. It was a series of shots for a Sony NZ campaign showcasing new audio products. Can't show you too much at this point, but can tell you we put noise control to the test and nearly gave a model hypothermia! Changing the season to summer had it's challenges, but despite some very wintery temperatures and changeable weather we came out with some great shots.

It was a lively couple of days across four locations, made all the more interesting with video footage being captured at the same time. Despite both Guy from Vertigomotion and myself having to get our footage from the same viewpoints, we helped, rather than hindered each other. It worked really well as far as sharing lenses and assisting each other with reflectors and lights, not to mention making things very cost effective. 

A very happy client and a great experience for all of us... except maybe the frozen model and now-hearing impaired neighbours!