Cash liquidation

As anyone who earns a living as a photographer knows, work always comes in waves. This week that was literally the case! I had an assignment to photograph some kite boarders for an editorial piece. Luckily for me the wind was very obliging... in fact, downright over-enthusiastic! So perfect conditions for the shots, unfortunately also perfect for sand/salt blasting all my gear. About now I was wishing I had purchased a marine housing for the camera. Still, photography is all about problem solving.

I always carry several zip lock bags and elastic bands, so a bit of a McGuyver session had me ready to go in no time. Now obviously, the kite and kiteboarder are a considerable distance from each other. So the options were to shoot from a distance or get in close and go wide angle. So in I went, up to my knees and got the guys to come as close as possible. At some point I found myself rather deeper than my knees and realised I still had my wallet in my pocket! Ooops.

A good mix of shots were achieved in a relatively short space of time. I liked this shot because although it was another 'border's kite, it gave the image a nice triangle of elements, with the windsurfer coming into the frame on the right.

Next time I will have the marine housing and get in amongst it more, I have a cunning plan! Who knows, my wallet might even be dry enough to purchase one!

Hanging on the telephone

This week has been all about chrome, buttons and shiny bits. Mobile devices to be precise. How hard could it be I hear you say? Plenty hard would be my reply! Whilst not looking like the most challenging subject, they are a technical exercise in lighting...and patience!

Because you are dealing with chrome, shiny and matt plastic all at the same time with a multitude of colours and bizarre shapes, things can get interesting! Some people throw small devices like this in a light tent. I personally don't think this is the way to go, as you have so little control over the shape of your reflections, the detail doesn't look as crisp and edges look soft. So for me it's all about multiple lights and moving pieces of black or white card all over the place. Somehow you have to squeeze a camera in there too...which of course is bound to show up in the reflections. Hello Photoshop! Quite often the key to lighting these devices can be in lighting what they reflect and not actually the device itself. All in all the clock ticks by fairly rapidly on these shoots.

No matter how much time, effort, patience you bestow on a device, ultimately you will end up in Photoshop. I use canned air, anti static cloths, brushes and much swearing, but there is always dust and dirt to contend with on the final capture! Bearing in mind these images can be used up to 2 metres tall in shopping malls, they need to look pretty perfect.

So that was my week, kept in the dark talking to Mr softbox... I think I need to get out more!

It's behind you...

Phew another week bites the dust! Was a busy one this week with a mix of corporate, product and lifestyle assignments and a fair bit of running around. No complaints though, long may it last!

One of the stock images I sold this week was quite a surprise as it was one I nearly didn't take. As I said in an earlier post I often take scenic road shots for a client. Quite a few times I have turned round and looked in completely the opposite direction and spotted fantastic opportunities. I make it a habit now, it is just too easy to be so focused on the image you have in your mind, that you miss what's going on around you. The image above is a classic example of one of those times. Yes the s bend road snaking away in the opposite direction was a great shot, but this panorama behind me was just begging to be photographed, so I did!

So my advice is to take a look over your shoulder once in a while, the good stuff might be behind you. (like my youth!)

Canon v Nikon latest and greatest?

This week I'm afraid I am going to be camera geek... I just can't help myself it goes with the territory!

Already this year we've seen the latest offerings from Nikon and Canon. The new Nikon D4 takes the flagship position for them, as does the Canon 1DX for Canon users, at a hefty cost I might add! But it is in the next level down that the real battle is on.

The Nikon D800 took everyone by surprise with an amazing 36 mp sensor! Unbelievably people instantly started moaning about it, what is it with people! Sure it's not going to suit everyone, but how amazing to be able to buy a 35mm camera that steps into the medium format realm, for a fraction of the price. And yes, I know it will never be true medium format quality, but I for one can't wait to see some landscape sample shots. Almost makes me wish I wasn't a Canon man...almost! 

So it was with great anticipation that I awaited the Canon 5d MkIII release, which was long overdue. Rumors galore of a 40+ megapixel monster which would have basically been 2 Canon 7D sensors combined to make up a full frame sensor, it all made sense. Sadly, like so many rumors, they were completely unfounded. Apparently there were 1 million posts online within an hour of the 5d MkIII launch, many expressing mixed feelings. Canon has addressed focus issues, expanded the ISO, increased the frame rate and gave us ONE WHOLE EXTRA MEGAPIXEL! The video guys get a whole load of new features to play with too. All quite nice, but just not enough to make me run screaming to the shops with wads of cash, well not yet anyway.

There are some features from the new Canon 1DX in the new 5d MkIII so that has to be good. Though of course that could end up undermining sales of the 1DX with its price tag. I guess the new 5d MkIII, is evolution rather than revolution and just hasn't dazzled us the way the 5d MkII did. And how I would have loved to see a 40 something megapixel version! Canon rumours had even suggested two new versions of the 5d Mk III, one a faster leaner machine for things like sports, wedding and event photography. The other with loadsa megapixels for landscapes, studio work and those scenarios. Again that made sense to me, but it looks like it's not to be.

I guess I will have to put up with the Nikon gang having bragging rights for a while. Mind you, even Nokia have put out a 41 megapixel camera in a phone! Come on Canon... pretty please... with bells on!

Love to hear your thoughts?

New Glimpse Website

This week has been all about my website. I've had the same one kicking around for a couple of years and it was due for a bit of a revamp. In fact far more than that, it needed to be made into something functional rather than just pretty pictures. This was music to my wife's ears, as she is involved with the dark arts of SEO and has been telling me this for years! But when you are so focused on everyday work, it's hard to think about opening a new can of worms.

This week, said worms were released with vigour! I wanted way more control over this site, with the ability to update it and include a stock library. Lately I have had a lot of requests for stock images to be used on brochure covers, ads, posters etc. Happily I usually have something that fits the bill, particularly as I can't pass up a great landscape when I see one!

So after much planning, the first batch of content has gone live with more following hot on it's heels! The URL remains the same www.glimpse.co.nz so come and have a look round.

I'm very excited that from here on in, It will be an ever growing, evolving entity that will show you something new every time you visit... no pressure!

Sandwiches and surprises

I've had a pretty good look around New Zealand in the last 15 years since I settled here, but it never fails to amaze me how many incredible new places there are to discover, even in areas you think you already know really well. 

On this occasion it was the Karangahake Gorge, near Waihi. I've driven through it many many times and even cycled the trail that runs along the river and through the old mining tunnels. So when a friend wanted to do some walks in the gorge for her birthday I thought why not, a nice day out, but I didn't really expect any surprises. Oh how wrong I was! So we had a few enjoyable hours wandering the trails, tripping over in the old mining tunnels (note to self, bring torch that works next time) and bouncing the swing bridge making certain people rather nervous! Time for lunch and Owharoa Falls was decided on as our picnic destination. 

I have no idea why I would not have visited them before, they were stunning. Not massively tall or wide, just a perfect fan shape. So I happened to have, ahem, a bit of photography gear with me... just the one camera body and one or two, ok maybe three lenses and a couple of flashes... and a tripod and a few filters! You know travelling light (excuse the pun). All justified I feel by the image I managed to capture, shown above. A long exposure made possible with a few filters and a bit of flash to open up the shadows.

So the moral of the story is to keep an open mind as there is always something new to discover, no matter how well you think you know somewhere. That and pack light and let the missus carry your sandwhiches! Cucumber sandwich anyone?

Getting personal

No travels around the country this week... sadly. I had some electronic gadgets to shoot which required a fair amount of retouching due to being in less than pristine condition! Sometimes I wish my lenses weren't quite so sharp! Another shoot with some young lawyers who were very friendly and agreeable, which helped no amount as it was a rather fast paced experience, lots of thinking on my feet! A couple of small shoots in retail environments rounded the week out for me.

Unfortunately as with so many shoots, I can't post images until the clients have themselves used them. I will endeavour to try and take a few more behind the scenes pics when the pace allows. The clients wouldn't be too impressed with sneak previews on my blog methinks!

I do however have a sneak preview of the first stage of an image I took for a personal project. One of the things you hear from successful photographers time and time again is the importance of personal work to nourish your portfolio. Sound advice indeed! Believe it or not it's not all super models and exotic locations in a working week (see above), well not in my world anyway! So I am determined this year to make time and put some ideas into action, further procrastination will not be tolerated! First off the bat involves a wonderful retired couple Glyn and David and their classic car. The image will be a composite and I am currently scouting out a suitable location to be the background of the image, oh and I need to wait for the next full moon... because I need a werewolf! Just kidding, it's the moon I'm after, although now I come to think of it a werewolf would be cool!

I will post updates as the image takes shape, now where's that silver bullet...

Pass me a weatherman

Last week's trip to the wind farm left me wanting more of that 'freedom of the road' feeling, so once the week's regular workload was cleared, the maps came out! New Plymouth was quickly decided upon as the destination that would give us a route along the road less traveled. A look at the Metservice (NZ weather) site told us that we were in for great sunny weather for the next five days -  happy days!

So my wife and daughter decided to come along for the ride and we were going to camp to add to the fun. Much packing ensued and once the kitchen sink was finally loaded, it was off to bed for a 6am start!

We awoke to rain... hmmm this wasn't meant to happen. A quick check of the weather site revealed that it was only going to be showers for a day and where we were headed was going to be fine

.....they lied!

After a 400km drive in the rain without a single photo opportunity we arrived at a very soggy New Plymouth. Now call me soft, but I'm just not interested in putting up tents in the rain, it's not my idea of fun at all. Plan B was decided on and we got ourselves a room at the Devon Hotel which I can highly recommend, really friendly helpful staff and great rates. My daughter gave the beds a top bounce-ability rating, she cleared the gap between them with ease and good air time!

It was just as well the room was nice as it proceeded to rain for the next two days and we never even got a glimpse of the 2700m Mount Taranaki, let alone get a shot of it!  I have to say I am no big fan of the weatherman at the best of times but this just took the biscuit, each day they promised better weather but none came. 

So I would like to propose a national 'kick-a-weatherman' day! I cannot think of another profession where you can consistently get your job wrong with no fear of losing it! C'mon you know I'm right!

Finally we gave up and headed for home although not until we had a good stroll along the coastal walkway to the Te Rewa Rewa bridge (the shot above) which was very cool indeed... even in the rain! At least the rain subsided for the journey home and I managed to get a few road shots along the way.

On the highest point of Mt Messenger, I jumped out to get a shot of the road tunnel and bumped into an amazing guy from Taiwan called Pin ( please excuse my spelling if you read this). He had just spent the last 80 days or so cycling from the top to the bottom of New Zealand and was on his way back up to Auckland to fly out the following week. I was so engrossed with his tales of the experience, it completely slipped my mind to ask for a snap of him! I kicked myself all the way to the tunnel, until I woke up to the fact I was standing the wrong side of the armco barrier with a 300m drop just behind my heels! Not a big fan of heights I have to admit.

Oh well lesson learned, never miss an opportunity and seize the moment!

Te Uku Wind Farm

So what do you do when your client cancels your shoot at the very last minute... apart from gnash your teeth and jump up and down a bit? Why you go on a 350km round trip to see a wind farm of course! It all made perfect sense as the sun beat down on me and I scratched my head. Did I mention it was 1 oclock in the afternoon that this master plan occurred to me?

On my last few trips south from Auckland I had noticed some wind turbines sitting high on a ridge right on the horizon. So a quick bit of googling (is that even a word?) found that what I had seen was the Te Uku wind farm. Turns out it was only finished in 2011 and has the tallest turbines in the country, 130m high with 49m blades that can do up to 17 revolutions a minute! Imagine that, I'm surprised the hills don't take off! My wife is giving me the 'you are such a nerd look' for remembering all those useless facts, hey it's a boy thing!

It turns out opinions are quite divided on wind farms, but I think they are rather beautiful to look at, not to mention being a great renewable energy resource. And yes I would be quite happy to have them in my back yard, although i'm not sure where I would put my daughters trampoline! Since Te Uku is in an area that I don't often visit, it made it perfect for my plan. I have a client who I often shoot scenic road shots for and 'the road less travelled' usually provides the best photo opportunities as well as location diversity.

So down to the Waikato I drove, scouting out suitable locations along the way. Took a break in Raglan for a cuppa and to wait for the light to come right. As most Kiwis will tell you, the beaches around Raglan are pretty stunning in their own right and definitely subject matter for another trip. Unfortunately on this occasion there was a ripping onshore wind that was sand blasting everything in it's path. Great for exfoliating but absolutely not good for camera gear!

Heading back along SH23 to Te Uku around 7ish, I tried out a few of the vantage points I had seen and did my usual dodging cars dance. I can't resist a shot from low down in the middle of the road, but wouldn't recommend the health benefits of this! In the end I found I couldn't get as close to the wind farm as I would have liked, but did manage to get some images I was happy with at the end of the day. Mission accomplished. Finally rolled into my garage a little before midnight and the thought did cross my mind that next time I might just leave a little earlier... maybe!

Save a horse...ride a cowboy

...as the song goes. Finally thawed out from my 'cool store' experience and this week it was time to get hot and sweaty at the Whangarei Rodeo. If you've never been to one, you're missing out. They're dusty, gritty, sweaty, exciting and real! It's a cross section of New Zealanders that us townies don't often get to meet and a great opportunity for photography.

It's not until you get up close to bulls weighing nearly a ton that you appreciate how much guts these guys have, then there's leaping off horses at full gallop and wrestling steers to the ground! Not for the faint hearted and I do wish I could have some of what they had for breakfast. Having a zoom stuck through the fence, you sometimes forget that the large livestock/cowboy filling the frame and getting closer by the millisecond, isn't actually about to crush you... though the snigger of the people who have seen you leap backwards might!

Rather than a bull ride or bareback shot, I chose this photo because I love the way the steer and rider are like a mirror image of each other. I guess in this game, you gotta be at one with the animals. Check out some more of my rodeo images on my site.