RWC and Photography Tours

We are running special photographic tours while the Rugby World Cup is on. In Dunedin we are running one and two day photo tour’s and Wellington there with be one day photo tour’s around both area’s either side of game day.  These are a fun trip that will get you in front of some great photo opportunities, whether your shooting for yourself or as part of an assignment we’ll make it happen for you.

We can also do much more in depth tours if you have the time.  Please get in touch and we’ll see what we can put together to suit your needs.

Dunedin one day tours:

• We’ll start with sunrise at Moeraki Boulders which means being away from Dunedin by 0500, yep that does mean 5AM! at the latest. If your not to worried about getting this that’s fine, we can head up at a little more social time.  Then into the township for morning tea and a look around this lovely little fishing village.
• From there we’ll head over to Shag Point for a bit of wildlife spotting we’re we’ve got the chance of spotting Blue Penguin, Shag’s, Seals and Sea Lions.
• From there it’s onto Orokonui Ecosantary for native birds and a glimpse at some true native New Zealand bush.
• Then it’s back into Dunedin itself and a trip around some of the beautiful architecture that it’s known for.
• Sunset Looking down the Taieri Plain OR at Waihola depending on the weather.
• The cost:  $200 NZD per person which includes transport and lunch.

Overnight from Dunedin to Ranfurly:
Day 1:

• We’ll be up to Moeraki Boulders for sunrise, then into the Moeraki township for morning tea.
• From there it’s onto Oamaru and a look at some of the beautiful architecture the town is known for.
• Then it’s on and up to Dansey’s Pass, with it’s tussock landscapes and the lovely Coach Inn when we come out the far side into the Maniototo.
• Ranfurly for the night after getting photo’s of the sunset along the way. Plenty of places around here for a sunset shoot so we’ll just see what happens as we are light chasing.

Day two:

• Up early for sunrise which we’ll be shooting around the Blue Lake at Saint Bathans, a lovely little area that started life as a gold town.
• On our way back out of there we’ll stop in at the Hawkdun Range, a well know set of hills that gets some beautiful light.
• Falls Dam is next with it’s rather strange outlet from the lake.
• Ranfurly again but in daylight this time to get some shots of the art deco which this town is known for.
• From there we start making our way back to Dunedin, we will meet up with the Taieri Gorge train in Middlemarch which will take you back into Dunedin where we’ll meet the at the grand old Dunedin station, another great photography stop.
• The cost:  $650 NZD per person which includes transport, meals and accommodation (twin share).

Overnight from Dunedin to Catlins:
Day 1:

• We’ll get away by 0700 (7AM) and head down to Owaka which is where we’ll spend the night.
•  Then it’s around to Pounawea and a lovely little nature walk through some magnificent podiocarp forest.
•  After this we’ll head around the edge of Catlins Lake to get some coastal shots around from the mouth of the bay.
• Purakaunui Falls is situated in amongst some beautiful native podiocarp forest one of several waterfalls around the area we’ll be photographing along with Maclennan Falls.
• Sunset around Catlins lake.
• Back to Owaka for dinner, download and relax for the evening.

Day two:

• Up early and over to Nugget Point for sunrise
• Down to the beach at Roaring Bay and with a lot of luck penguin’s, both Yellow Eyed and Blue.  We have also seen Leopard Seals, but this is quite rare to see here.
• From there it’s over to Cannibal Bay for Sea Lion spotting and photo’s also shooting a beautiful old sheep shearing shed.
• After that we start winding our way back to Dunedin stopping along the way at any spots of interest.
• The cost:  $650 NZD per person which includes transport, meals and accommodation (twin share).

Wellington tour

One day:

• The day starts with a visit to the Karori bird Sanctuary, you’ll see just about every bush bird species in New Zealand, totally wild, free and up close.
• After a bite to eat we are off up the Kapiti Coast and out of town as far north as Waikanae stopping off at Nga Manu wildlife reserve and the Waikanae estuary, with a walk along the wide open sandy beaches you will get that salt air through your lungs and return to the city later that evening refreshed and reinvigorated and with full memory cards.
• Fish’n'chips a Kiwi classic for dinner eaten on the beach (expect them to go cold while your shooting) as the sun dips below the horizon out to sea and we will return to the city having had a great day of photography.
• The cost:  $200 per person which includes transport and lunch.

If there is something else you would prefer to go shoot on a one or two day tour then please get in touch, I’m sure we can come up with something you will love.

Cheers  Stephen

The Lindis Hotel

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Well its been over three months since I’ve reclined at home in my lazy boy, watching Blu-ray movies on my hi-def TV, but now my southern adventure has ended and I find myself back home,warmer and well rested. It’s time to do a few reports on my adventures and hopefully share useful information on some of the interesting places I visited and the experiences I’ve had.
One of my favourite subjects I love to photograph is old ruins. For some reason once man has finished with his dwellings and structures nature carry’s on decorating and refurbishing in its own masterly way which brings a new kind of beauty to the remains of man’s past glory. Inside, outside nature has a unique way of decorating an extinct dwelling, peeling back the paint and varnish to reveal mosaics of green, red and gold. A master piece of ageless style, consisting of graceful drooping roofs adorned with perfectly place bird nests and completed with pearl coloured bird droppings, fragile walls morph into skeletal ribcages, devoured of flesh allowing the sunlight to penetrate, grass and other invasive plants invade where they can, sheep move and possums convert the ceiling into communal flats and the wind and rain compose the music that fills the old lounge and bedrooms.

Shooting Rabbits and being based in Tekapo for most of this summer allowed Stephen and myself a few chances to explore some of the surrounding places of interest in day trips as opposed to longer and more costly road trips for a welcome change. The old Lindis Hotel site is one such location I had wanted to spend some time exploring.
Now off the beaten track since the 1950s when the Lindis Pass Road (state Highway 8), originally running right past its door was rerouted to the opposite side of the Lindis River, thus leaving the old Hotel stranded and forgotten. Many people don’t even know of its existence let alone visit the graceful old ruins, actually if it wasn’t for some beautiful charcoal sketches I stumbled upon at a gala in Tekapo this treasure of a place would have remained unknown to me as well.
The ruins rest in a quiet field on Nine Mile Station up Old Faithful Rd just heading south of the Lindis pass on the right, across the river. You will find it about 6 clicks down the pretty well maintained gravel road.
The building began life in the 1880s,originally it was a general store serving miners hell bent on become rich, participating in the Otago gold rush, however by 1873 it had become much more, a welcome stopover and refuge from the searing heat of the summer and freezing cold (esp during the harsh cold Otago winters) for weary travellers. During the winter many of those wanting to wear the magic, invisible, cloak of warmness worn only by those that had partaken of copious amounts of frothy beer and or imported whiskey spent their nights propping each other up at the bar or sitting around tables playing cards putting off the long cold journey home on horse or shanks pony ,no bridge across the freezing Lindis River in those days much to the demise of a few carless drunks.
Having served as a Hotel and Local watering hole it eventually ceased its service as the gold ran out and became a private dwelling into the 1950s before becoming Isolated and past its used by date, it fell into ill repair and even suffered the indignity of having its roof torn off to garnish a hay barn, such was the modern ignorance and lack of foresight so prevalent in those days. The roof remains absent and the weather elements now continually redecorate the exposed interior, however the Department of Conservation has started some restoration work, even allowing campers the chance to overnight at the spot. Hazing through the maze of the 7 small rooms that make up the remains of old building the imagination works over time. You can sense the busyness of the old place. I can smell the wood smoke, the welcome music of clattering pots and pans, the composition of a warm meal, outside I hear more music, old time favourites being played on acoustic instruments like the harmonica fiddles and stomping feet, jovial bantering among excited patrons enjoying their liquor perhaps flirting with a pretty young barmaid or perhaps squabbling’s over politics or religion, the mind is energized and exercised by such places and we leave enriched and fascinated by our past.
Being very sunny on our visit and the sun dominating the background we found it hard to catch moody more detailed shots so we HAVE to return one day when the snow puts in an appearance.

Autumn on it’s way and a moon

Well with the big moon of the 19th Of March (20th here) it was photos on our minds.  Crystal clear skies at sunset and I thought we were on!       Trying out a new spot that years ago wasn’t even here, but now the trees have matured it’s shaping into a real future hotspot.

It would have been nice to have some cloud around, but I’m still happy with this.

So it was back to Boney’s flat in Tekapo with a very early start in mind.  I wanted to be right where I shot this but on the opposite side to have the moon sliding behind the mountains  with the sun lighting it up with beautiful light and the reflection of it all in this here little lake and the stream running into it.

So at 02:30 out of bed I leap, ok crawl, billy on for a cuppa and outside to have a look at the sky.  Cloud from horizon to horizon, *^^%^%$$#%$# and some more *&%&*^.  But I thought, ‘what the hell’, I’m up and you just never know.  So off I go sitting at ‘the spot’ for four and a half hours, even got out of the wagon for a stretch and a walk a few times.   But it wasn’t to be, saw the moon for at least six seconds.    Oh well, photography is so easy they tell me. Roll eyes here.

Back to Boney’s house for a sleep for a bit then off again, this time at least it was daylight so we couldn’t help but get some shots.

Frustrating yet at times elating.  I love this lightchasing.

Till next time….

Ive just put a post up on my boney whitefoot blog, this post is about nature/wildlife and travel photography and as Lightchaser’s can do guided tours or workshops at this location , I feel a shortcut is needed just incase someone who visits here might be interested in some North Island action.

http://boneywhitefoot.wordpress.com/

LynEve and learning about the camera.

This weekend past, I had the pleasure of taking Lyn a fellow Hellophoto forum member out for a day of photographic tuition. We both had a lot of fun and hopefully Lyn learnt a lot along the way.

The one thing I’ve found with trying to help people take better photos is helping them to understand how important aperture is (depth of field or DOF), once they can come to grips with this one thing then they make a massive leap forward with their photography.

To show why DOF is so important I’ve put these three images up. Note the very different looks to such a simple subject and where your eye is drawn too.

Now in my opinion (I know, we all have one) for a photographer this one thing is the most important aspect of a photo.  You can spend a huge amount of time composing, getting everything just so,  not worry about DOF.  Then wonder why it just doesn’t look right, or more to the point, how you imagined it looking.

To separate you subject from a scene a shallow depth of field is generally required, where as to make your subject a part of the environment then a larger DOF is used.

It seems crazy to not flick the dial and really get that aperture working for you. Go experiment with it and see what the results are like for yourself.

Of course there are times when depth of field doesn’t matter, like when the subject is to far away from the camera for it to have any effect.  Then it’s just dial in F:8 and shoot!!

Now Lyn has put some of the photo’s she got up at Picasa from our day of the camera.  Believe me they are well worth a look, and Lyn is worth following as she is really starting to get into the groove when it comes to landscapes, floral, (and portraits when she’ll post them).  So please go and enjoy Lyn’s work.

Cheers Stephen

PS:  I’ve left a note on the image I think this is my favourite from this shoot of Lyn’s, but then I can’t really decide.  :D

Cheers Stephen

Rugby World Cup

The organizing in New Zealand is well under way for the 2011 RWC.  There are stadiums going up, politicians talking it up and hopefully players getting their groove on, the countdown is on for the 9 September till 23 October!        But wait……what about a photo tour while your here??

Have you thought about what you’ll be doing between games or after all that rugby?  Well step into our office.  I know that we can get you in front of some magnificent photographic opportunities. Whether you end up with a few days spare, or a week or two let us get you sorted for those free photo days and put you in some of many great locations, or tell us what you want to do and we’ll make it happen.

Cheers Stephen and Tony

The Wild Catlins

The Catlins makes up the most southern coastal area of the South Island, the major highlights being the incredible wildlife and wild rugged coast line .
Being close to the Sub-Antarctic feeding grounds its home to some of the the world’s rarest marine animals including (including the Hoiho, the Yellow-Eyed Penguin thought to be one of the worlds most rarest Penguin
The New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri ) formerly known as the Hooker’s sea lion) and is also considered by many to be the rarest sea lion in the world today. Hector’s Dolphins, Elephant Seals, as well as New Zealand Fur Seals can be encountered on the wild windswept open beaches.
There’s always something to photograph, be it an old abandoned cemetery or long forgotten farm stead.
The Nugget point lighthouse and the corresponding nuggets (a series picturesque of rocks jutting out of the sea stretching southwards) are always a popular place to spend an hour or so just soaking up the wildness.

The Otago Peninsula

The Otago Peninsula and the Otago Harbour is the home to an abundance of magnificent wildlife.  Daybreak sees the fishing boats heading out to sea during the summer months  with The Royal Albatross nests out on Taiaroa Heads.

We now offer….

…photography based workshops.  After a considerable amount of humming and harrring we have finally worked out a good plan we are both happy about.  These workshops are aimed to educate and inspire.  To see more about these then please read the top of this page under ‘Workshops’.

We’ll also be sponsoring one up and coming, or just wants to give it a crack, young photographer or maybe a ‘new’ photographer of any age, on every second workshop. We both feel that photography is just as much about what we can do to help the art form, than just trying to help ourselves. We hope to have it all in place when we have a schedule sorted out for the workshops themselves by mid February.

Stephen

And here is a few shots from the area the workshops are held (just to get your taste buds wet)….

Glenorchy

Now this is a place, well past Queenstown, up a bugger of a road, but not close to the worst I’ve seen here. Slow and winding, but then there is some stops to be made on the way with the camera….

There is the road past here to a place called ‘Paradise’, no really, that is what it’s called. About a 15-20 minute drive (without photo stops).
Native bush on one side and horses on the other, Tony spent some time there trying to get a shot (with the camera) of those dam horses for a friend of his. It was so funny, Tony gives up and the horses come running, he turns and tries to shoot, their gone! I was near rolling in the grass with laughter as it happened time after time. It still has me smiling. But I’m like that

Anyway, a photo of those horses, they came wandering over for a look when I was up there for sunrise the next morning, probably thinking “this fool is back here AGAIN (better go see if he has a carrot)”

Tony's friend's

After all the enjoyment (for me) of the horses at the end of the day we got a sunset right at Glenorchy, the local wharf where the Ernslaw (an old coal fired steam ship) ties up when she is around.

Glenorchy is a well out of the way spot for me, at around a six hour drive from my home, and that is so long as I don’t have to many photo stops, I don’t go there much. I just wish I had a lot more time for this place. But I did find a beautiful small lake reflecting the mountains, and a gorgeous little waterfall all of a foot or two high……