Dropping anchor

Being a photographer is such a great opportunity to meet new people and see new places. Dropping in on other peoples lives, even briefly, is something I never cease to enjoy. I recently got to do a shoot at Bayswater marina on the north shore of Auckland. It is a great location with some stunning views across to the city and out to the Hauraki gulf. I had visited there many years ago to do some night photography of the city skyline, but not been back since. 

The good folks at Telecom NZ wanted me to get shots of their technology in action in this marine environment. Stunning sunny day, beautiful boats and a day out amongst it all, where do I sign up! Add to that the fact that the marina manager Ed, turned out to be just about the most helpful man I have ever met. I swear he would of rustled us up a submarine if we had asked for one!

We had previously done a site visit to work out where we could best catch staff in their day to day duties to get our shots with minimum interruption to their schedule. To say it was bright would be an understatement, so liberal use of the trusty polarizer, ND filter and a good dose of fill flash to open out the shadows was required. We could of done with a liberal dose of sunblock, that's for sure, mental note to put a new tube in the gear bag! The environment was so cool that we were spoilt for shot opportunities, my personal favorite being a mega yacht that Ed took us onboard, just stunning.

There were a few scary moments on the edges of some of the pontoons I must say. Caught up in the moment catching the shot, I nearly took my gear for a swim on several occasions!  In the end I enlisted the help of someone hanging on to the back of my belt to save me. I tell you It's a very fine line between being saved and getting a wedgy!