Elephants are awesome

Today I photographed a march from Civic Square to Parliament seeking an end to the ivory trade.  When asked to be the official photographer for this event I jumped at the chance.  It was a 'peaceful' but noisy march through the streets of Wellington during the Friday lunch period.  At the end of the march the Hon. Dr Nick Smith heard the pleas of group and received a collage from pre-school children with a simple message 'don't let elephants only exist in our imagination'. Elephants are being killed at the rate of 1 every 15 minutes for their ivory... at this rate there will be none in the wild by 2025.

Here's a link to the information and an opportunity to sign the petition. http://www.iworry.org/

Seascape

I had an early start yesterday and took a few photos where the North Island meets Cook Strait.  There didn't seem to be a particularly large swell but still managed to get a few shots of breaking waves.

The top image is near the airport and the one on the left is at the Wahine Memorial Park.  The rocks are really jagged... not the sort of place to try and get ashore during a storm!

Grab and go?

OK - so don't judge me by the photo... it was taken in the office using my iPhone.  However, there has been quite a bit of talk around the Department of Internal Affairs about grab and go bags (yes, that's the job that pays the bills).  Grab and go bags... what to have, what about shoes, will there be a big quake etc.  So, here is what I have (FYI, I'm the Manager Development at the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management).

This stuff is mostly under my desk (some of the food is in my cupboard and is part of the lunch supply - which I keep topped up now and this helps with rotation too).  The only thing missing from the shot is my hard hat but as you can see, comfortable shoes, shorts, socks, jocks (hidden under the t-shirt), overalls, wet weather gear, gloves, torch, radio, panadol, first aid, dust mask, ear plugs, dehydrated towels, water (both the sipper and water container are full), toilet paper, nut bars (yum), light stick, protective glasses, whistle, chocolate (even yummier), big bag and back pack plus other useful bits and bobs.

I don't hump this stuff around with me (that would be paranoia to the extreme).  We have an emergency plan and we know what we're going to do.  It certainly helps if you've thought about it beforehand and you'll feel happier too knowing that you and your family are prepared.  Now that we've had a reminder, there are no excuses.

If we have a shake, make sure you're safe... drop, cover, hold!

Life on the street

It's been a while since my last post however I've been out and about taking photos in Wellington for the last assignment in my paper (finished this paper now).  The images needed to be connected in some way, so I chose street performers.  We have a few regulars in Wellington which is great.  I was lucky that the Jazz Festival coincided with this assignment.  We had to submit 10 images so here are a couple of examples.

I love the reflections in this shot... it was a happy accident but made me try for it with some of the other images I captured.

This is a Wellington Train Station regular... makes a living selling his CDs and playing on the street.

One of the things images can't bring to life are the sounds.  This guy was great... and nice to catch a mum teaching her child about giving.

Often we try and avoid a cluttered shot, but I liked this one.  Really busy even though there's only one guy in the shot.  Cuba Mall was really really busy so it was a miracle that I managed to get this one.

Not all flies buzz

This week we had to get a close-up shot of a fly... are you kidding me... at this time of year.

I hunted for flies while we were cleaning up in Palmy.  Found one that was completely desiccated (and really ugly).  To be honest it wasn't a pretty shot.  I did the housework yesterday partly in the hope of finding something lurking... nothing.

Plan B - a fishing fly.  I could picture the nice colours reflecting in the sun against a black background.  We were going to visit a few open homes in Lower Hutt today so thought I'd go to Hunting and Fishing.  Got their address off the website and was good to go.  Nope, building demolished and a block of flats going up.

Plan C - the fly of my new jeans.  Fortunately I'd prepared this one on Saturday (contingency planning - who knew it would come in handy?)

Think the black and white gives it a bit of grittiness.  Anyway, job done and now on to the next assignment.  This time using film... wow!

A sense of place...

This weeks assignment was to take some shots that provide a sense of place without taking a big wide angle... it needed to be in the detail.


 These two shots were take at Chaffers Marina, near the boat lift.  I think they portray the dreary weather and the marine environment well enough and black and white just adds to that.










Quite like the poetry in the walkway too... a real reflection of Wellington.  I think I'm going to enjoy photography in the capital.

Painting with light

Things are starting to settle down here in the capital and we've had a few more changes than anticipated... a flash new laptop (yippee) and we've traded in the Aurion for something that can squeeze through the Wellington traffic a little easier.  We opted for a VW Jetta - quite zippy!

This morning I dropped friends to the airport at some ungodly hour and had decided to do my 'painting with light' assignment after that.  I'd already planned out in my head what to do so it was reasonably straightforward.  I think you can tell from the shot what painting with light is all about.  I reckon it's pretty cool how I don't show up in the shot even though I was waving the torch around and turning it off and on at the appropriate times.

For those of you who are a into this stuff, I used my 50mm prime on bulb setting for a 34s exposure at f/22, ISO 100.  I must admit it took a few attempts for my brain to get the 'e' round the right way.

It's an honour

You know, even I can recognise that it's a privilege and an honour to be asked to photograph someones wedding.  It's such an important milestone in life.  A while back Craig Grant and Sharon Pointon (now Grant) asked me if I'd be willing to capture their wedding day.  We were all workmates at Horizons and I was really pleased they asked.

The day started with Craig making a special delivery by 'airmail', a red rose with a diamante in it... Craig is such a smooth dude.




The sky was a tad grey first thing, but it turned out to be a warm and sunny day.  Not ideal for photography but we still had fun and got a few nice shots along the way.







Then off to see the boys getting ready with some poses in the paddock next door and then back to get shots of the girls.  We ran out of time for some girls together shots as guests started to arrive - so we got them later on.









One of the trickiest shots was to get Craig and Sharon to hold the handles on the front door of Hiwinui Country Estate without actually seeing each other before the ceremony.  I hadn't really spotted the skylight earlier in the day and with the weather as stunning as it was, the lighting was really harsh.  I had to close curtains, make sure that the big mirror wasn't going to give Craig a sneak preview and the side windows were covered.  They talked to each other but didn't see each other... mission accomplished.

Thirteen in a wedding party is somewhat of a challenge... getting everyone with their eyes open and generally looking in the right direction was quite an achievement I think.  I quite liked this shot taken on the wood pile.  I did a shot with me standing on the pile and almost had a little mishap - fortunately no harm done.






Whilst I'm really tempted to show some of the shots that had me laughing while I was processing the shots... I think I'll leave it to Sharon to publish them.  This final shot is taken from their friend Jo's house, looking over the fence at the house Craig and Sharon are building to live in.  I think this is really symbolic of their new life together.

Earlier this week, I delivered several hundred photos to Craig and Sharon.  They've told me that every night since has been a very late night.  They've been having fun designing their wedding books.  The hours and hours of processing are all worth it when you have friends and clients that love your work.

Thanks guys for trusting me to capture your special day.

The shoe fetish?

My facilitator was extremely kind to me last week and gave me the next few assignments... but only because we're moving.  One of the assignments was 'foot'.  I'm not going to share the details but we could also shoot our own shoes.

Well... as it happens I'm developing a bit of a thing for cool (and slightly outrageous shoes).  Natalie and Megan saw these in town and Nat told Megan not to tell me about them because I'd want them.  Megan couldn't help herself!

When I realised that the shoe shop I discovered in Christchurch between the quakes was now open in Palmy I was stoked.  Kicked myself several times for not buying the shoes I spotted in Christchurch.  Nat calls these my Noddy bowling shoes but they energise me and make me smile.

Maher Shoes  have some cool stuff if you're into that sort of thing!

Doing my own thing

So, it's been a while since I did any blogging.  Even then, the blog was work related and whilst it was fun... when I stopped after a year there wasn't a single question or comment.  Go figure.

This time round, it's my own thing.  Some of you will know that for a few years now I've been trying to figure out how to use my camera.  I think at last I'm getting there.  I'm just starting my second year of study at SIT doing a Diploma in Digital Photography.  Each week we get a photo assignment to do but typically we only get to send one or two in for comment.  I thought I'd share a few via a blog and see how that goes...

So here's this weeks effort.  After dropping Nat off at work at 7:00, I went up the Saddle Road.  The cloud was spilling in from the Tararua side and the wind farm was in the clouds.  The theme for this week was landscape.

I took shots from a whole bunch of angles but found that this general area was best.  Believe it or not I actually got wet!!!  No rain for weeks (and still none in Palmy) so this was a real treat.

The noise of the big turbines was like being on a ship.  Obvious background wooshing.

Up on the lookout car park the turbines would occasionally make a big twanging noise, like steel cables being plucked inside the column.  Made me think twice about where I parked!


 Quite like the monochrome look too... makes it a bit moodier I think.

 Saw these guys working flat out on the way home.  They had a pretty good rhythm going.  I just shot from the main road but as I left gave them a wave... a wave back is a good sign.  It's such a little thing to do but I felt pleased that I'd acknowledged them.  Thanks guys.