Playing Favourites

Raindrops on roses

And whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

- R. Rodgers / O. Hammerstein

Nikon D810 + AF-S 16-35mm f/4G ED VR @ 16mm, f/8, 1/125, ISO 200     Photo: RGH

We signed a contract to come to New Zealand for 1 year. From the very beginning, our plan was to do as much travelling and exploring as our schedules would allow. We looked at this as a once in a lifetime trip and that we may never return, so we wanted to make the most of our short time here. The idea for this blog was to document our thoughts and observations not only for ourselves, but also for our friends and family on the other side of the globe. I also wanted to elevate my photography from simply shooting snapshots to actually planning and composing the scenes and feelings I am trying to capture.

We have been here 8 months and starting to plot our return trip to the U.S. In fact, we have already purchased our flights home! Our year is drawing to a close, and as winter sets in, we are travelling less. It's a natural time for reflection. Incidentally, my photographic library has become unwieldy, so I purchased additional cloud storage space. I am slowing sorting our photos into catalogs, culling the keepers, and deleting the duds. I created a file I called "Favourites". Some of these are chosen because of technique/mood, while others are less technically impressive but made it into the file because of the circumstances or what I learned from shooting them. Incidentally, none of these photos have been post-processed other than cropping and/or converting to monochrome, but not because I am opposed to processing. I am working on an iPad, stuck shooting in JPEG rather than RAW and limited in how much manipulation I can do. The pictures are also all shot hand-held since I don't have a tripod.


Owling

We had only been in New Zealand for a week and were already itching to get out and explore. I was scheduled for my first ED shift on 10 Oct, and Little H was starting school on the same day. It was grey and cold, and we were getting a little stir-crazy in our rental home. We made a mad dash to Wellington for a weekend away before our "real life" was set to begin (Link: Settling In). Little H doesn't like having her photo taken, so getting this (almost) candid shot with her smirk directed at the camera was a minor miracle. Before she could move or change her expression, I was able to focus and shoot. My use of bokeh to isolate her from the background was completely accidental.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 145mm, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 125     Photo: RGH

Take A Hike

In this photo, we were waiting for Kari and her brother Tony to join us on the observation deck at the Egmont National Park visitor centre. From there, we spent the day tramping around Taranaki, explored streams and waterfalls, and finished the day trying to catch the mountain at sunset (Link: Baches and Cribs).

Little H has the joyous laugh of a 10-11 yo and it lights up her face. Capturing it is next to impossible. She glares at the camera or makes silly, goofy faces. Candid photos like these are hard to come by. We had an early start that day, and as usual, Little H was in a foul mood. I had tried several times to get a picture of her with Taranaki in the background. She wasn't having it. I can't remember what I did or said to get her laughing, but it worked and I was able to capture it.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 55mm, f/4.5, 1/500, ISO 125     Photo: RGH

Taranaki

On that same trip to Egmont National Park, Taranaki was shrouded in clouds. We waited and waited for the clouds to part but all to no avail. That evening, as we headed out to dinner, I left the camera behind at the bach. We came around a curve in the road and there Taranaki stood, naked, with the setting sun glowing on its snow-capped slopes. I so wished for my camera at that moment, but dinner reservations beckoned, so on we went. As I sat there after ordering my food, I couldn't get the mountain out of my mind. I drove/flew to the bach and back (breaking some speed laws and possibly the sound barrier) to get the camera. We ate quickly then drove like maniacs to get to a good viewing site. The sun was setting and I feared we wouldn't make it to our destination, so I roared down a country road until we had a clear view. I took this photo standing on the back seat of our Suzuki Swift while hanging out the rear door. I learned to treat my camera like my American Express ... "Never leave home without it."

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 210mm, f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 250     Photo: RGH

Seal of Approval

I had been reading a little bit about portrait photography and how to isolate your subject from the background by using a narrow depth of field. Up to this point, I had managed to use the technique with only limited success. On a trip to the Otakou Peninsula (Link: Summertime, and The Livin' is Easy), we found this seal by the water's edge. Much to Kari's displeasure, and the seal's too, I crept up pretty close for this one. At the last instant I had an inspiration to try the portrait technique. I didn't have much hope of it working (wild animals just don't pose for the camera), so I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I love how the seal and surrounding rocks all angle up and to the left. The combination of bokeh and conversion to monochrome really separates the animal from its surroundings.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1250, ISO 1250     Photo: RGH

Birds Of a Feather

I continue to work on my birds in flight photos but have been failing miserably (there's a reason there are none in this post). Luckily, many of the birds in New Zealand are reasonably approachable on the ground. By sitting quietly, and moving slowly, I have managed to get surprisingly close. For these photos I used that same narrow depth of field and made sure that I got the bird's eye in sharp focus.

I've always been in a hurry, trying to corral Kari and Little H, keeping an eye on the time and our next destination. For both of these photos, I sat and waited. In the first, I had managed to get quite far ahead so had time and solitude to wait. In the second, I let Kari and LH move on ahead, allowing me time and the birds a little space. If there is one thing I've learned from this, it's to slow down a little and chill out.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 300mm, f/11, 1/320, ISO 320     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 300mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 1600     Photo: RGH

Unchained

New Zealand is a technologically modern country that seems caught in some kind of weird time-warp. In many ways, our life here is eerily similar to the Canada in which I grew up during the 1970's and 1980's ... but with modern communications and chip-enabled debit cards. We have all the modern conveniences, but internet speeds are not much better than dial-up and the shops all close at 5pm. One of the amazing things to see are old buildings still serving their original purpose. Travelling around Dunedin, we came across this old train station (Link: One Tonne of Chocolate). It was ornate and beautiful ... and still in use for passenger trains. It's location and the ambient light made great photos difficult to obtain. I finally found this pedestrian bridge over the tracks but the fence kept getting in my way. In the end, I decided that if I couldn't beat it, I would use it. I didn't expect much from the outcome, but I really like how it turned out.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 36mm, f/25, 1/200, ISO 1600     Photo: RGH

Anchors Aweigh

In Oamaru, steampunk art, sculpture, and culture are ubiquitous. Home of Steampunk HQ (Link: Steampunk'd), Oamaru is peppered with a strange mix of Victorian and Industrial Revolution aesthetics. Before moving to New Zealand, Oamaru was on my must-do list of places to visit, both for Steampunk HQ and Blue Penguin sightings. I took dozens of pics in this town, and many of them could have ended up in the "Favourite" file, but this giant anchor and buoy stands alone among them.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 36mm, f/4, 1/200, ISO 400     Photo: RGH

Barbaric Yawp!

New Zealand's dramatic landscapes and vast stretches of emptiness are ideal locations for filming movies. Here, we visited Elephant Rocks, site of Aslan's Camp from The Chronicles of Narnia. Little H climbed and explored. She played hide-and-seek amongst the rocks, leapt into the great beyond, and let her wild side run free. She initially hated this first picture, and almost convinced me to delete it. It now sits proudly framed for all to see in our den. Some judicious cropping makes her leap in the second photo appear far more dramatic than it really was.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/1250, ISO 720     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 50mm, f/22, 1/1600, ISO 2500     Photo: RGH

Catch a Wave

I have written before about the amazing people we have come to know and call friends here in New Zealand. We were fortunate to get to spend the Christmas holidays with some of them (Link: What Do You Call). Watching Ryan teach Little H to surf was a Proud Papa moment for me. She progressed from not knowing how to put on a wetsuit to standing and riding in just a few attempts. Ryan's obvious joy in her each little success reaffirmed to me that we have surrounded ourselves with the right people. Now I'm hoping that he can teach me as easily ...

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 180mm, f/13, 1/500, ISO 800     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 210mm, f/13, 1/1000, ISO 800     Photo: RGH

Footie

We had hoped that by moving overseas Little H would be exposed to a higher level of soccer infrastructure than what she has been used to in the U.S. Unfortunately, while soccer is "the most popular sport in the world" everywhere else, rugby reigns supreme in NZ. The level of training and experience she has been through at Coast F.A. (her home club in South Carolina) has been far and above what she has experienced here.

Juventus F.C. is the winningest professional football (soccer) team in Italian football. This past January, they hosted a youth development academy at the Massey University Sport and Rugby Institute. Run by the Juventus club coaches, her exposure during this camp was amazing. Few girls her age play soccer here, so she has been playing on boys' teams and truly holding her own. I wasn't able to attend any of the sessions, but Kari snuck in on the last day and caught these photos.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 230mm, f/7.1, 1/1000, ISO 800     Photo: KAH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 300mm, f/9, 1/1000, ISO 800     Photo: KAH

Top Of the World

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was another bucket list item. I was determined that at some point during our year here, I would make this walk. Fortunately, Kari and Little H were keen to join me. We tackled the crossing in February, toward the tail end of summer, and we were lucky to enjoy favorable weather (Link: In The Shadow of Mount Doom). I had studied the guide books and several photography blogs prior to making the trek, so I had an idea about the kind of images I wanted to capture. The crossing is typically very crowded, but during our tramp we enjoyed brief periods of relative solitude. All of the photography blogs said to get over having people in your photos and work with them instead. As we approached the Emerald Lakes, there was almost no-one around us. I set up on the lake edge as seen in this photo and waited for the few stragglers to clear away (if you look closely, you can see a few people across the lake). To get my focus and exposure just so, I took a few practice shots, including this one. Kari and Little H got tired of waiting for me and headed up the track. Still, I waited. Finally, there were no people in my field of view and I took three perfect photos.

Once I got home, I found these "perfect" photos to be perfectly boring. The "practice" shot, with my girls in the foreground, was far more interesting and dramatic. Rather than try to remove people completely from my images, I learned to use them to heighten the sense of grandeur. This photo is definitely in my personal top 5 not only for how it turned out but also for what it took to get there.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 28mm, f/14, 1/320, ISO 450     Photo: RGH

Taranaki II

While my brother and SIL were visiting, Kari took them to Egmont Nat'l Park for the day. They got around to a side of the park and a view of Taranaki that I hadn't seen before. Once again, luck shined down on them and Taranaki was exposed under an almost cloudless sky. When I uploaded Kari's pictures, I was instantly taken by this photo.

Training as a surgeon, I learned that sometimes perfect is the enemy of good ... i.e. if you muck around trying to make something perfect, you might just ruin a good thing. I've been trying to apply that lesson to my photography. I kept trying to work this photo to make it just a little better, but all it needed was a bit of cropping.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 122mm, f/13, 1/320, ISO 64     Photo Credit: KAH

Pictures of You

I've been looking so long at these pictures of you

That I almost believe that they're real

- Robert Smith / The Cure 

I find portrait photography particularly difficult. The challenge is to freeze a moment in time that captures a personality. For that, you have to get up close. I don't like getting up in someone's grill, and I definitely don't like people up in mine. I also feel like you really have to know someone to recognize the moment and be comfortable shooting it. I'm not so good with that. I've been working on it though, and feel like I'm making progress.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 92mm, f/14, 1/5, ISO 64     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 82mm, f/8, 1/50, ISO 800     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 170mm, f/6.3, 1/30, ISO 200     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 110     Photo: RGH

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/30, ISO 64     Photo: RGH

Picton Harbour at Sunrise

In March, my brother and sister in-law flew in from Canada for a visit. Our plan was to hike the Queen Charlotte Track (Link: The Long Walk). We took the overnight ferry across the Cook Strait from Wellington, arriving in Picton in the wee hours. It's not often that we are awake and wandering about during the golden hour, but I was lucky to be sitting on the shoreline, camera in hand, while the sun rose over the hills and water. The pastel colours, reflections, and lingering mist looked like a postcard. This photo came out exactly as I had hoped it would.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 52mm, f/16, 1/5, ISO 64     Photo: RGH

Cropped Weka

While hiking the QCT, we kept catching glimpses of these birds. From the corner of the eye, they look strikingly similar to the elusive Kiwi bird. I was desperate to capture on film a Kiwi in the wild. When I finally saw a Weka in plain view, I knew it wasn't a Kiwi but had no idea what it was. Not very timid, we ended up seeing several of these birds during our four day tramp. Despite all these encounters, I could never seem to get the perfect shot. This was the best I could get and it was rather disappointing. Its feet and legs were blurred by motion, and its tail end had no separation from the dark brush against which it was framed.

I had pretty much given up on these photos and deleted them. A few days later, I was scrolling through a friend's picture gallery from his hike of the QCT and I saw an almost identical picture. I recovered my original photo from the digital trash and reworked it with some creative cropping. I learned not to give up on a photo and to try to see the potential that a little bit of post-processing can produce.

Nikon D810 + AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 112mm, f/6.3, 1/200, ISO 220     Photo: RGH

In April we picked up a new/used wide-angle zoom lens. It opened up a whole 'notha way of photographing the world in which we live, and generated some more favourite photos. In the interest of brevity (too late!), I'll save those for a later post. As always, constructive (and destructive) criticism is welcomed.

Cellphone selfie.     KAH

Give us a kiss, my Precious ...