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..

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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…

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Burke Street old wharf…

by admin | Mar 20, 2018 | Landscape, Landscape

The old wharf piles at Burke Street in Thames in the Coromandel are a bit of a photographers magnet. Its a little bit like the Wanaka Tree in its ability to attract attention but it has no glorious mountain back-drop to fill in behind so its really the weather at the time yhat has to fill in that spot be it a stunning sunset or some moody clouds. A perfect cloudless sky doesn’t seem to cut it.

In this case the day was just bleh and had a monotone feel so what else is a photog to do but make a black and white image. Have included a colour shot made just afterwards for a comparison.

Both these images are available to purchase as a canvas print of fine art without the watermarks.

Drop me a line…

A canvas or fine art? And the size...?

Right place, right time…

by admin | Feb 11, 2018 | Landscape, Mount Maunganui, Panoramas, sunrises and sunsets

So true are these words when i was just doing a bit of “carry the heavy camera bag up and around the Mount” for some resistance training. Thats my excuse anyways. The first hint of a awesome sunset was when you look at the Kaimai Ranges and you can see a clear line of sight just above the ranges then cloud above. This means that when the sun dips below the cloud and above the ranges you get a burst of sunlight under the cloud layer…depending upon whats happening in the Waikato as so far as cloud layers are concerned which would block the light. On this evening there must have been nothing all the way to the west coast as the sky really lit up sending most photogs into a frenzy…online anyway.

But all this is a bit useless unless you have a half decent composition. The best i could find at that time was the main Mount beach which isn’t to shabby anyway.

These two panoramas are made up of 7 images taken from left to right with exposure, focus etc all locked down to keep the images the same so that they would stitch together with-out any tell tale lines between the shots.Was a bit frantic getting everything set properly before the light disappeared. Thankfully managed these shots which are really pleased with especially the shot looking back at the Mount. Kept the hill in shadow as that seemed to suit the image to highlight the rest of the scene. How well did i do? Lets know…submit a comment in the comments form below under the order form…

As usual these images are available as prints with-out the watermark…lets talk.

To view larger just click on the image and it will open in a lightbox viewer…

Lets chat about your new panorama...