New Zealand

The Good Church

There seem to be two things that attract photographers to Tekapo in New Zealand—the incredible dark sky and the Church of the Good Shepherd. These can of course be combined, with some very famous images of each. The township and lake, and the church, are photogenic in themselves, and

Photography

Aoraki Azure

Driving from Wanaka to Tekapo in New Zealand we were quite suddenly greeted by an amazing view of Aoraki / Mt Cook across the stunning blue waters of Lake Pukaki. As I worked on this image, a few months later, I was challenged to remind myself that the lake and the

photo mindset

Lookout

This image was made in the same general area as my Wanaka Wandering image, and apart from demonstrating the value of getting to some unique, off-the-beaten-path locations, it also demonstrates another value of a photo tour. In this case the tour guide not only volunteered to be a model, but

photo mindset

Wanaka Wandering & the value of photo tours

Wanaka Wandering A photo tour in Wanaka, NZ, took us onto private property in the hills high above Lake Wanaka. It was a magical location, off the beaten track, that provided for some unique images that showed the scale of the lake and surrounding mountains and valleys. This image was

Mountains

The Broken Wharf

Meiklejohns Bay lies at about the halfway mark between the two namesake towns on the Queenstown to Glenorchy Road on New Zealand’s South Island, near a little hamlet called Paradise. The stunning Remarkables mountain range looms in the background of this beautiful mountain lake, while the cloud formations bring

Mountains

Frankton's Golden Arm

Where have I been? I’ve been posting a bit to my Micro Thoughts Micro.blog site, but have been a bit slack in processing photos. Therefore, nothing new has been posted here for a wee while. I still have a backlog of New Zealand images to post, and we

New Zealand

That Wanaka Willow

Commonly known as thatWanakaTree, the Wanaka Willow is a tree that grows out in the waters of New Zealand’s Lake Wanaka. Supposedly the most photographed tree in the world, the Wanaka Willow attracts dozens of photographers each sunrise and sunset to capture imagery of this rather unique vista. As

New Zealand

Wakatipu Reflections

A trio of images from the Queenstown area of New Zealand, featuring the stunning mountain ranges as a backdrop to the magic foreground of Lake Wakatipu. The scenery around Queenstown is simply breathtaking and would keep any landscape photographer happy for years. Wakatipu Reflections Magnificent reflections on Lake Wakatipu. Driving

New Zealand

A New Zealand Adventure Begins

Queenstown, on New Zealand’s South Island, is sometimes referred to as the ‘adventure capital of the world’, a title it has earned through the variety of outdoor and adventure activities that can be pursued in and around this alpine city. Even the flight into Queenstown is regarded as the

Photography

Diving PNG

I was surprised today to see blog post from DeeperBlue on Diving Papua New Guinea, featuring one of my images from a trip my wife and I made there in 2006. We love PNG, and have dived at Kavieng, Kimbe Bay (Walindi), Milne Bay (Tawali) and Tufi. These are all

Rome

Passage to the Castle

Castel Sant’Angelo must be one of the most photographed sites in Rome. Given that Rome is one of the world’s most photographed cites, that is really saying something. Having captured several of the classic vistas of Castel Sant’Angelo, I set about finding different angles. This street leading

Photography

Colourful Clarke Quay

Singapore is a colourful city. I didn’t tropical business-hub to be so vibrant and vivid, so as a photographer I was delighted to experience not just the modern architecture mixed with Asian heritage, but also the colourful expression of city’s colonial past. We explored the city mostly by

photo mindset

Pre-setting your camera for likely images

My photographic origins in the underwater world have taught me the importance of thinking through the photographic objectives for a shoot (dive), and pre-setting your camera. In underwater photography one key mantra is to get close – minimising the amount of water between subject and your camera1. For this reason, and

Singapore

Marina Bay Sands

I love spending time around the Downtown Core area of Singapore whenever I visit the exotic Asian city. The island nation has developed a unique combination of the old and the new, of Asian and western and of formal and casual. Photographically, the Downtown Core is a dream. There are

photo gear

My Mirrorless Experience

I made the switch from DSLR cameras to the Micro Four Thirds (m43) based interchangeable lens system in about 2014. My last dSLR was a Nikon D200, and I switched to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 that I am still using.1 The switch to m43 has been awesome. My personal

National Park

Wangi Falls

Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park is a spectacular place to visit for great photography opportunities. During the Top End’s dry season it is also a great place to swim and enjoy cool, clear water.1 Waterfalls provide an interesting range of shooting opportunities, with my preference being for

Rome

Crowds and Clouds

Late Autumn is a great time to visit Rome as the crowds are much smaller than they would be during the Summer months. This image was created from the Spanish Steps, with a perspective down Via dei Condotti, an upmarket shopping street in city’s centre. The presence of the

Rome

The Temple of Castor and Pollux

The Temple of Castor and Pollux is one of the ancient ruined buildings in the Roman Forum. Today the temple consists of three marble pillars, some foundational structure and little more. It can be seen from a variety of vantage points from around the Forum. I composed this image to

Travel

Boats on Sanur Beach

Sanur is considered the original upmarket tourist destination on the Indonesian island of Bali, and remains a photographically spectacular place today. The long beach looks over towards Nusa Penida island (which can be seen in the background of this image). I only had a couple of days in Bali on

photo gear

Apps for Photography

My iPhone, and to an extent my iPad, are really important parts of my seascape, landscape and urban photography. The iPhone itself makes for a good scouting camera, a good camera for a sneaky pano and a tool for making images of my image making. Its true power, however, lies

Rome

Trevi Fountain

Perhaps the world’s most famous fountain (and certainly the most famous in Rome), the Trevi Fountain is a spectacular baroque masterpiece not far from the Pantheon in the city’s centre. In my other Rome images I have discussed my preference for the pre-dawn blue hour as an opportunity

Rome

Stormy Forum

After shooting the Roman Forum one dawn, we visited the site, easily spending a good half day exploring the various Roman ruins. Spectacular. It was a brilliant Rome day, with beautiful weather, but some fairly ominous clouds came over the site, providing quite a spectacular sky. I found a composition

Night

Vatican Night

This is the third in a series of photos made of the Vatican, from Rome’s Ponte Umberto I, down the Tiber River and across the Ponte Sant’Angelo. After staking out a good vantage point , I stayed in place from golden hour, through the sunset and into the late

Rome

Castel and Bridge

Castel Sant’Angelo represents the uniqueness of old old Rome. Built originally as a mausoleum by Emperor Hadrian in around 123-139CE, the complex was later used as a Papal residence and fortress and then a prison. It is still in use today as a museum and tourist attraction. In researching

Rome

Pantheon Blue

Even with a fairly featureless sky, blue hour is the best time of day to shoot for the clear, balanced light, and for the lack of crowds. To get this image in frame required setting my tripod up on the fountain in the piazza in front of the Pantheon, using