October 2018 social media round-up…

by admin | Nov 3, 2018 | Landscape, Landscape, Travel bites

Octobers postings for the month on Facebook and Instagram was a mixed bag of places with a bit of experimentation thrown in for good measure. Variety is supposed to be the spice of life isn’t it?

A lucky chance passing the Tauranga Bridge Marina when the light was just starting to show some awesome colour was the incentive to stop and look for some nice reflective imaging. When was about to press the shutter waited for this intrepid boat in the dingy to pass and got him in just the right spot with a tad of added blur to show the movement. He was actually well-chair bound so hats off to him…

This was a image that i published a few full moons ago but it was spotted to go up as a 8 meter wide wallpaper in a new Tauranga office. Awesome…

Nothing like watching the sun go down at the Tauranga Sulphur Point Marina…

Nothing like watching the sun go down and lights come on from atop the Mount.

Just for fun a disastrous attempt at star trails with a selfie…

The mettle road to Tokino ski field from the Desert Road is a interesting little sidetrack on a road trip…

Tawhai Falls or Gollums Pool as some know them from the LOTR movies. Such a difficult place to image until you get the right light and atmosphere.

September 2018 collection of images from social media…

by admin | Oct 12, 2018 | Landscape

Using a diary style of posting am thinking that a monthly roundup of images that are posted on my Facebook and instagram pages here with some back ground info may be of interest to a few followers. If so check back here when i give a link in the facebook page for new stuff and if you want to find out about prints and or how the images were made just drop me a line.

At low tide in the inner harbour at Pahoia Beach if you catch a evening with no breeze at all coupled with a great cloud display going on then whats not to like. You do tend to try and make the shot so that if you flipped it upside down you wouldn’t notice any difference.The problem with these shots is making sure your tripod legs don”t sink into the sand.

This image posted on Facebook on the 2nd of September.

With the change of seasons from winter to spring we can get what some call three seasons in one day- or maybe four. With this image was trying to convey the transition that you can get by the brooding dark cloud system with just a glimmer of brightness [ or hope ] showing thru to just light the way. A added bonus is the nice reflections going on. Seems that reflections is becoming a recurring theme…

Posted on the 6th September.

To get a image from the Kauri Point wharf does have a few challenges. In this panoramic aimed to provide a sense of standing on the sandy shore of which there isn”t much at high tide. Getting the wharf to provide some leading element is mandatory but with the clouds lighting up made a spur of the moment decision to just do a pano in portrait mode and blend them together but having decided that then that means that the tripod has to be as level as possible to make stitching the images together as seamless as possible…not always easy when you rush things on a sandy beach when the tripod legs sink in the sand. Hmmm…

Anyways practice proved a saving grace in the end and it worked out just as i envisaged. Yay.

Posted to Facebook 9th September.

The walking track around Mount Maunganui is well used by fitness bods to tourists to just people wanting a wander. But lots just rush around doing their thing without looking at their surroundings so when a seal was having some fun in the surf a few did stop to just take the time and watch. Must be one of the best de-stress things that we all can do…stop and smell the roses.

Posted on the 11th September.

Another with the theme of winter to spring. Using a long exposure technique which can be problematic in a windy spot wanted to blur out the waves over the rocks to have a ethereal feel but not blur the clouds which meant selecting the right filter , holding tripod and keeping exposure to around 2 seconds. Seems to have worked ok…

Posted on the 13th September.

Was doing my usual reflection thing at the beach at Tay Street at the Mount which is a surfing beach and on way back up spotted this contrasting scene with the palm trees which i thought was just neat. Had to get this shot as i find silhouettes with the right subject interesting.

Posted on 16th September.

When looking at these types of shots it is nice to have something leading your eye into the scene. Methought that the three runs of wash water provided just the setting although they are going the wrong way in a strict sense. But the sun reflection does the same job so went with that. Sometimes you just have to quickly get the shot and a sense of balance just appears for you.

Posted on the 20th September.

A bit of a mad dash to get to this spot in time for the light show and i wasn’t the only one with the same idea. Must admit thats the first time that have shared a sunset spot at all. Have been spoilt methinks or perhaps dont like crowds. A panoramic was called for to try for the leading lines of the old wharf pilings leading towards the setting sun but also the light show with clouds on the right as well. Kept the rocks in the foreground to give a sense of place and/or to get your bearings on dry land.

Posted on the 23rd of September.

A picture study of Omokoroa.

by admin | Jul 18, 2018 | Landscape, Sea-scape, sunrises and sunsets

Omokoroa in the Tauranga Harbour was a sleepy holiday destination then a few people decided that as well as holidays there why not make it a retirement home. With this general mix of people for awhile its now become a satellite style of new town with all the new development to contrast against the old batch style of community and everything in between. To the old timers its just not the same but is still good to see some of the original batches still taking centre stage on the waterfront.

Have been trying to catch some interesting imagery of the waterfront area recently but the good light has been elusive to say the least. So that brings out a bit of a creative thought process with this imagery with some good luck at being in the right place at the right time.

Lets chat about a image for your blank wall space delivered to your place ready to hang.

A focus on: The Wellington waterfront…

by admin | Jun 1, 2018 | Landscape, Travel bites

Recently had the good fortune to be in Wellington for a major family event. And the saying that you cant beat Wellington on a good day was so true as to my mind it rivals and sometimes surpass Tauranga as a harbour city. Auckland has its moments too but it takes so long to get around. Now i know that you may say that Wellington with its sometimes narrow and winding streets is a bit old fashioned but i think that that is what gives this city some of its charm. Theres plenty of history here and a vibrant arts culture as well as all the hot air around parliament.

When you drive down the motorway leading into Wellington from the north and you make that right hand turn and see the harbour and cityscape for the first time on a nice sunny day you cant beat it.

If you are driving into the city centre and like me not used to how to get where and which lane to take good old Google maps with lane directions is a good start. Parking at Te Papa is a breeze as it keeps you away from the carparks that the city workers use and which can cost a arm and a leg and some with 2 hour limits for shoppers. At Te Papa you can stay for 5 or 6 hours but just have to pay of course.

So this is a small collection of images from the waterfront near Te Papa. All of these have been listed on the Alamy stock photo site and are also available as a print if you so chose. Lets talk..

Lets chat...

Coromandels hidden gems…

by admin | Apr 28, 2018 | Landscape, Sea-scape, Tramping and exploring

Many of the well known and photographed spots in the Coromandel always have plenty of visitors coming and going, like the famous Cathedral Cove and the Hot Water Beach, among others. But there is much more to be seen, it just takes some looking and a bit of dumb luck to find your way to a spot outside of common local knowledge. This coastal route is one of those hidden gems, as a coastal reserve that does not have a DOC maintained access track. Consequently, some common sense is required when navigating the steep bluffs and natural tree root steps, with old rope used for steeper sections. All in all, it is a 3-4 hour round trip if you want to get to the long beach which passes two other bays that might make their own peaceful stopping points. The further you go the less evidence of humans you will find. The easiest way to travel to this spot seems to be by boat as there are fisherpeople usually taking advantage of the plentiful rock formations in the area, which attract a decent number of fish for them to attempt to catch.

All of the above are illustrative iPhone images from the track.

Track markers from the first bay on are just orange bits of cloth tied to branches so do not look for the usual DOC pointy orange arrows. Also parts of what we shall call a route run against some fencing, rusty barbed wire included as well as low hanging Pohutakawa tree branches as well as the odd flax bush that tries to trip you up.

The point that i am making is its a bit of a challenge if you don’t get off trail much but the rewards are just stupendous. Have some common sense and you will be fine. Just be aware of the tides and weather forecasts.

Named this Spanner Rock as it seemed like a upside down spanner. Its a man thing…

Had to include a selfie, as you do. This is the second bay on the track going south, after this the long beach can be reached by scrambling up through some bush and then following a small track down a small ridge line.

This is Tokakahakaha Island. This beach is the reward for your track navigations where hopefully there is no one around.

Images from a previous trip. Funny how you keep coming back but then again its usually different each time so plenty to photograph and always new corners to explore.

With all these images just mouse click on them to bring up a larger image for viewing…

Lets know if you would just love one for your wall space to brighten up your day.

Onemana coastal track...

This is the start point for the track. Don’t get lost…

Lets chat about your new wall image...