Check in here every now and again for updates on my comings and goings.
Well we made it to the UK in one piece. After a mammoth journey, including 26 hours on a plane, we arrived safe and sound in a very chilly London - one of my favourite cities. Such an amazing place, especially at this time of year; Christmas lights and trees everywhere, packed shops, and lots of mulled wine and other awesome alcoholic treats - brilliant! Anyways, here a quick selection of some of the sights we came across on our walk around the streets of the capital. Enjoy ;)
...well, almost. It's the silly season and everyone is getting in the mood for festive eating, drinking and chillin' in the hot, hot sun. Apart from me that is - I'll be in the freezing cold winter in Europe, taking lots of (hopefully) wintery photos. Not often you go on holiday and pack gloves, thermals and lots of layers but this time I am! Hopefully it won't be too bad.
Anyways, here's a couple of shots of the MASSIVE tree here in Hamilton's Garden Place.
Have a great Christmas, everyone! See you all in 2017...
Well, this post has very little to do with photography apart from the geeky shot of my shoes, but I'll post it anyways. Just been to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at my local cinema and I'm still in geek overload. What. A. Movie.
Go see it. NOW.
Yes, I did wear these to the movies. They only come out for Star Wars films - limited editions.
I'm a big fan of great architecture. All those lines converging and complimenting each other is a thing of beauty. Well, to me at least. Always makes for good photography too which is why I headed out on my lunch break today armed with the 5D Mk III and my trusty Samyang 14mm prime lens - perfect for this kinda photography. The new law building at the University of Waikato is fantastic, both inside and out. Some say it's a bit stark, all that concrete, but to me it's perfect. So lucky to have it where I work! Anyways, here's a few shots I managed to grab in the short time I had. I'll head back again at some stage and spend a bit more time there.
With Christmas only 3 weeks away(!) I decided to splash out and buy myself an early present. It's a new and long overdue addition to my kit: a brand new softbox. Basically (for those who don't know) a softbox goes in front of a flash/Speedlite or strobe to diffuse the light coming out and onto your subject so that you get softer shadows, especially helpful when taking portraits. Anyhoos, this one is a 120cm octagonal softbox with two diffusers and a honeycomb/egg crate grid. Can't wait to put it to the test - I just need to find a willing guinea pig/volunteer...
Well, summer is almost here, although I'll be missing a big chunk of it when I head overseas in a couple of weeks - more about that later. Anyways, a friend of mine recently asked me to take some shots of a new business she has started called Little Troopers. As you can guess from the images it's all about those waterslides (and bouncy castles), just what kids love in the summer. To be honest, I wouldn't mind a go myself but apparently I'm 'too big' - not fair. So if you want to hire one of these beauties then head over to their website and keep those kids entertained this summer - you can find them at http://www.littletroopers.co.nz
Here's a sample shot taken from a series I did at Claudelands Arena a few weeks ago. Stoked to be considered for this kinda stuff by the guys there - such an amazing venue!
Click on the image for a full res version.
Well, I was hoping to get a glimpse of tonight's awesome super-moon - best in many years, apparently - but lots of low cloud and drizzle has squashed that particular dream. Damn that spring weather! So instead I'm gonna cheat and post a shot of the last super-moon from a couple of years back.
Best I've got unfortunately :(
Click on the image for a bigger version!
The Man in the Moon!
What do you do when you have a spare Scream costume laying around, a camera with wide angle lens, some lights and A LOT of spare time your hands? You come up with this, obviously.
For anyone that's interested, this is a composite shot (me x 2) with a 14mm Samyang ultra wide angle lens about 14 inches from my face with a strobe camera right through blue gel then a second light camera right with red gel. Shot with a Canon5D Mark III and edited in PS CC.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
I think he's gone...
I've been wanting to get a shot of this place before it gets demolished in a couple of months. What I really wanted was to get a shot on a grey day, to give it a bit more drama. Instead I seem to have picked one of the sunniest mornings we've had recently. Oh well, still looks ok. It's a real shame though that they're gonna knock this building down as it is quite beautiful and unique. Very sad...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/83792481/Hamilton-Easts-Euphrasie-House-looks-to-be-gone-by-Christmas
So a couple of months ago I decided to start a photography project, something I'd been giving a bit of thought to for a while now - I just couldn't figure out what. Then I read about a Project 50, which is basically just take a shot every day for 50 days with a 50mm lens. That's it. Easy, or so I thought. So long as I obeyed that simple rule I was good; I did give myself a bit of freedom by allowing the use of Photoshop should I feel like it, but apart from that it was pretty basic. I never set out to take 50 amazing shots - that wasn't the point, nor was I ever gonna achieve that - but instead I treated it as a bit of a sketchbook, something where I could try different ideas and techniques and then maybe at a later date I'll expand them and make something better from the 'rough draft'. So for the last 50 days I've gone through the same process; home, dinner, find something to photograph (usually realising I had no idea what!) then quickly process and post it to my Flickr page. There were a couple of times when panic/frustration/despair hit, but then there were times when I surprised myself and got some good results. I used off camera flash (strobes) a fair bit which was a good learning curve and also tried to make the most of the 50mm's depth of field, using the focus to the best effect. On top of that I used text in a couple of images to give a bit of context, and I even used a bit of fake blood in one shot - great fun!
Anyways, here are what I consider the best of the bunch. The rest are either 'ok' or just not that good. Either way, it was worth it...
Had a bit of an amble/saunter/stroll (take yer pick) around town this weekend and, as always, took the camera along. Managed to get a few shots despite the pouring rain - Spring is definitely here - all with the little 50mm lens. Cracking little thing and well worth tiny amount I paid for it. Anyways, here's what I saw on my travels/traipse/wander...
Seems I missed #HobbitDay yesterday, so here's a shot of Hobbiton from earlier this year. Well worth a visit if you're in the area!
Happy Friday :)
Hobbiton
Such a cracking day in Hamilton yesterday so I took the little 50mm out to see what I could find. Turns out Spring is finally starting to take a hold! About time too :)
Canon 5D MkIII - EF50mm 1.8 @f/3.2 - ISO100 - 1/640sec - LRCC
First attempt at low key out in the back garden earlier this evening. Looking straight into flash through umbrella at full power. Ambient light was just before sunset, so still quite bright. Good fun messing about, that is until the batteries died on my flash.
Will keep at it...
Recently I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph a newborn baby - only 4 weeks old. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while as it's a challenge: to photograph something/someone that doesn't want to have its picture taken! Luckily he was very well behaved and very photogenic so it was all good in the end and I managed to get some shots I was happy with. Plus I learned a few things about this kind of photography which is what it was all about.
BIG thanks to Stacey and Phil for allowing me to take shots of one of the most treasured things in their lives right now. It was really appreciated ;)
Well, today was exhausting and rewarding in equal measures. We decided to do something we've been meaning to do for a while - head off to Rotorua to have a walk around the Redwoods. A *three hour* walk around the Redwoods. To say I've earned my Saturday beers is an understatement. Such a beautiful place out there, almost impossible to take a bad photo. Those trees are MASSIVE - these shots don't quite capture that majesty of them. Nature, eh? Gotta love her...
Click the image below for more ;)
One of the best lenses you can own, so they say, is a 50mm - a 'nifty-fifty'. You can get very cheap ones (even Canon branded at $150!) and they are fantastic - nice and light, small, and great results. That said, when shooting wide open at say f/1.8 you have to be bang on with focus or else it's all over the place. It can be very frustrating, trust me...
I took mine to work today to get to grips with it all over again; started easy, nothing fancy. Here's a selection of shots I managed in my lunch break. So lucky to work for the University of Waikato where there's lots of great things to capture - a wonderful environment to be in.
I've been looking through most of my shots taken over the last few years - and believe me, there's plenty of them - and realised that I wasn't actually achieving anything. Sure, I was getting a half decent body of work together and there are a few standout shots (for me at least) but overall there was no real sense of direction or purpose - I was just taking pictures. After a bit of a pause and rethink I've decided on an approach to photography that will work for me; more focus on style and quality, some 'concept' work, use of Photoshop more so but with a more professional aesthetic. Basically to 'have a point' with my photography. I've taken inspiration from numerous photographers online - Flickr is a great source for that - and decided on a path that I think will work for me and also make me a better photographer. I'll update the site with the stuff I have in mind and share the results with you all; hopefully you'll enjoy this journey as much as I'm expecting to. It's gonna be fun ;)
But for now, here's Leia. For no other reason than she sits next to my keyboard. Inspiration indeed...
"Who is she? She's beautiful..."
