I went to a Nick Brandt exhibition in Fortitude Valley in late April.  It was put on by Source Photographica.  

To say it was inspiring is a huge understatement.  To see these extremely large prints exquisitely processed in a sepia tone of iconic African wildlife was a real privilege.  Nick Brandt sells very limited edition prints, much too rich for my blood however it was great that this exhibition found its way to Brisbane.  I did manage to find a few scheckels to purchase his latest book.

Once home I had to view our images of African Elephants again with a view to process a shot in a similar vein to Nicks.  Whilst I appreciate that it is not even close to the images that were on display, I am happy enough with the result.  

To view and study other peoples images and great works of art form an essential part of a photographers artistic journey.

Having taken delivery of the new Nikon D800E a week previous it was time to take it out of the house for a field trip.  Being a sunny pleasant day we decided that O’Reillys in the Lamington National Park was as good a location as any.

Like all hiking/walking photography excursions, what gear to take verses how much do I want to carry is always a compromise.  In this instance as the majority of the images would be rainforest and macro with perhaps some birds just a couple of lenses plus the flash and tripod seemed sufficient.  At the end of the day my body was telling me that any more would have been a major mistake.

The D800E has a 36mpx sensor and there has been much discussion, including technical notes from Nikon, that excellent camera technique needs to be applied to extract the maximum image quality.  As such any handholding needs to have a shutter speed much faster than the 1 / focal length heuristic previously employed.  Fortunately the high ISO capabilities of the camera meant that that quality should not be overly compromised, and I did have my tripod and flash.

This was taken with the Nikon 105mm Macro and the 36mm Kenko extension tube.  Pop-up flash fired, 1/250s, F16, ISO800, handheld.  This is a smallish crop as the subject was only about 5cm across.  The detail that this camera is able to extract is incredible.  It handles very similar to my previous camera the Nikon D700.

The camera performed very well throughout the day and for a full frame DSLR was not too heavy to lug around.  I am not overly familiar with live view although it is something that I need to practice as it is especially suited to macro and landscape.  The Nikon implementation has the lens stopped down to the shooting aperture when using live view.  In the gloom of the rainforest this made both composition and focusing extremely difficult.  It is an area that I will have to explore to arrive at a workable technique.

 Overall I am extremely happy with the camera and certainly have no buyers remorse.  The final image is a crop from the above image.  It represents 18% of the original frame and I can still print it at 240dpi (my default for my Epson 3800 printer) for a 14×8 inch print.  Astounding!!

From Nelson we travelled southwest.  Again the beauty of New Zealand was on show.   Mountains, forests and the all too regular one-way bridge.  Usually you can only see at the last minute if there is oncoming traffic on the bridge although it is evident who has to give way if you arrive at the same time.  Once it was not only cars that shared but trains as well.  I know who would win that argument.

We visited the pancake rocks and blowhole at Punakaiki.  From the makeshift parking bay and freedom to climb over the rocks of 34 years ago to the regulated pathway, barriers and viewing platforms of today.  I suppose all for the best to preserve the site.  They are still amazing structures although the low tide meant the blowhole didn’t.

From here we continued to head south to the town of Franz Josef.  We had stayed here in 2003 and remembered a lovely, warm and inviting pub.  As luck would have it, it, the Alice May, was still there and still much the same.

We had gone to bed early so that we could be at Lake Matheson at sunrise.  It doesn’t get light until about 0730 at this time of the year so we headed out on the trail about 0700.  The much photographed lake was much photographed by us.  It has stunning reflections of the snow capped mountain range.  There is also a plethora of opportunities for the Macro Photographer.  Rosemary marched to the beat of her own drum on this hike.  There was also some bird life, mainly ducks.  The early peace of the morning was broken by the sound of quacking ducks as they flew across the sky closely followed by gunfire.  Apparently Duck Season was upon us.  It took us 3 1/2 hours to walk the 1 1/2 hour track.  We could have stayed all day if we had not pre-booked our accommodation some 250km further down the winding, mountainous road.

The drive from Kaikaoura to Picton was mostly done in the rain.  There were snippets of interest and beauty.  The seal pups swimming at the base of a waterfall in Ohau, the yellow of the vineyards near Blenheim or the ubiquitous mountainscapes.

We decided to stay two nights in Picton hoping that the rain would clear and a shortish hike viewing the Queen Charlotte Sound would be in order.  No such luck.  THe scenic drive to Havelock though was done in dry weather, although there was still significant cloud cover.  There are many pretty little communities through here, mostly offering hiking, kayaking, fishing and horse riding. In Havelock I got to see the youth hostel I stayed at 34 years ago.  It is famous as the school where Ernest Rutherford attended.

It was then on to Nelson where some retail therapy was in order.  Whilst shopping, when people saw our name they mentioned that a local restaurant had the same name.  We were told to book at Hopgood’s if we wanted to eat there.  We did so, although when we arrived the booking was only under the name Mark.  I guess the staff thought I was having a lend of them.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and a bit bizarre seeing our name plastered over menus etc.

After leaving Akaroa we headed north to Kaikoura,  The trip was not too arduous and New Zealand has many pretty spots along the way to keep interest levels high.  The weather turned a little on us and most of the drive we had low cloud and drizzle.

Kaikoura is a holiday destination on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island about 2 hours north of Christchurch.  We arrived in the late afternoon and scoped out what best to do the following day.  The Albatross Encounter seemed like the best option and when we fronted in the morning we were in luck as they would take just the two of us out straight away.

Gary was our skipper and off we set on an overcast morning.  The sea was not too rough and before long we were being followed by several birds, mainly the Sooty Shearwater.  THe first stop they threw out some burly and the birds came from far and wide.  There were Black-browed, Wandering and Royal Albatross.  All squabbling over food although the majority of Albatross were somewhat aloof.  They are such regal looking birds.The Northern Giant-petrel was particularly aggressive.  Their eyes are so intense.

After exhausting my first 32GB memory card it was off to find a fishing boat.  It was easy to spot from some distance by the birds circling above.  Again it was another great encounter with a wide variety of seabirds.  However it was the next stop that was the highlight of the trip.  Although the dolphin tour is a separate entity we were briefly in the area before heading back towards shore.  The word tsunami is tinged with fear and sadness in recent times, however, it is the best descriptor for the wall of mainly Dusky Dolphins that swarmed towards us.  Rosemary and I had never seen so many dolphins in one spot before.  THere must have been over 200.  All moving together on mass as they passed us on their way to somewhere else.  The encounter only lasted 10 minutes but it was incredible.

We headed back to shore where also saw a few Fur Seals on the rocks just off the coast and a real treat were a couple of Hector Dolphins that were also close to shore.  They are very shy and the smallest dolphin in the world.

As we headed back to shore the cloud was lifting a little and we saw some of the magnificent mountains that surround Kaikoura.  It was a great trip and we certainly intend to return, hopefully without as much cloud cover to get the full visual spectacle.

Well here is the first post of the NZ trip.  Although the flight way delayed we were picked up in Christchurch just after midnight in a stretched limo.  We finally hit the sack around 0100 when the earth moved for Rosemary, compliments of an earthquake aftershock.  I was fast asleep in La La land.

The next morning after leisurely start to the day we headed off for the picturesque village of Akaroa.  It was founded by French settlers in 1840 although the original inhabitants were from the Ngai Tahu tribe.  It still boasts French street names and many of the original cottages.  The drive in, seeing the turquoise water and beautiful harbour as we defended the mountain range was spectacular.  After a brief look around we decided to stay the night.  Accommodation was eventually found at Acapella Lodge.  This is a lovely B&B run by Linda and Ray.  They were extremely friendly and helpful.

Just after midday we took a drive along the Summit Road, a scenic route through the mountains that guard Akaroa.  The views were just stunning.  The road is a little narrow but is kept in good condition.  It was stop after stop, the bane of the photographer.  A little later in the afternoon the mist and fog started to roll in making for some interesting images.  We took the short drive down to Okains Bay to see the sea.  Eventually we made our way back to Akaroa were Rosemary had the best Carrot Cake ever at the Hilltop Hotel.

At their request we joined Linda and Ray for an evening glass of red before a gentle stroll into the wharf area for dinner.  We settled on Bully Hayes and the Groper and Monkfish were superb.  A great way to finish an excellent start to our trip.

For Rosemary and I, photography is inextricably linked with travel or visa versa.  Another of our penchants is to see and experience locations that cannot be reached by vehicle, in short, hiking.

The Colca Canyon in Peru is touted as the world’s deepest canyon and more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.  We decided on the usual 3D/2N hike and found a tour operator in the main plaza in Arequipa.  Many travellers have stories about being careful about selecting a reputable company for this hike and I can only reiterate these, be very careful.

Our adventure started at 3:30am with a pickup from our hostel.  Travel was by way of air conditioned coach.  We made a stop at the Mirador Cruz del Condor, or condor crossing.  There were the usual road side merchants, a magnificent view of the canyon, alas, no condors.  We continued on to the rustic town of Cabanaconde (3280m) where we had lunch in preparation for the beginning of the hike.  It was here we learnt that our exclusive hike via the clockwise route was in fact, not exclusive, via the normal anticlockwise route and no accommodation would be provided should we wish to strike out on our own.  Unfortunately this information took some time to illicit as our English speaking guide knew marginally more English than my Spanish.  We went with the flow, embraced our new companions and off we went.

The gravel trail is very steep in places, dusty and slippery, however, the views were spectacular.  The weather was good, although hot and as we had spent time recently in Bolivia’s Altiplano the altitude did not affect us.  I knew my knees would give me a bit of grief during the 4 hour descent, unfortunately, other known and unknown health issues made the hike a little more challenging than expected for both of us.  It was with some relief that we arrived at the Colca River.  The canyon walls towered above us and we gained some perspective as to our importance in the world.  Across the bridge, up the other side and a further hour hike to the Hostel Gloria.  We were shown to our mud huts which were very comfortable.  We sat and rested our weary legs, washing down the dust with an ice cold beer and watched the setting sun through the canyon walls.  Magic.

After a hot shower and breakfast we headed off on the second leg.  Here the trail meandered up and down, through villages, past terraced fields, over bridges and through some stark, yet beautiful scenery.  We got to meet some of the local people and see their pottery, weaving and multi-coloured corn.  I have never seen anything like it before.  Like most photographers it took us much longer to cover the distance as we were constantly stopping to take that shot.  Its what I love about photography, that time to be quiet and contemplate your surroundings.

As we reached the end of the days hike we looked down upon the Oasis of Sangalle.  It was amazing to see the greenery and blue water amid the brown and grey of the rocky canyon.  When we arrived we were greeted with palm trees, a swimming pool and grass to stretch out on.  They empty the pool every night and fill it with the hot spring water the following day.  In complete contrast to the surrounds the accommodation is a little basic, thatched roof, adobe hut, dirt floor and no electricity.

Rosemary decided that the best way to tacked the near vertical hike to the top was via donkey.  This allowed me to put some of my gear in her pack to make my life easier.  Most of the hike out was in shade and quite pleasant.  Chatting with various people on the way up with the frequent stops to contemplate to vista, ……. or get one’s breath back.  As with any trail up a mountain that switches back and forth it is an amazing experience where you can feel you are within touching distance of the top only to walk for another couple of hours.  Although the trail has precipitous drops, the only time Rosemary saw the donkey guide was at the bottom and then at the top.  The freedom of Peru.

After I had a short, unplanned tour of the terraced fields on my way back to Cabanaconde, a couple of groups were taken via small bus to Chivay to rest our weary bodies in the hot spring swimming pools.  A very relaxing experience.  Our tour finished after being dropped off in the Plaza de Armas, Arequipa.

It is an experience that will live long in our memories.

As this is my very first post, I thought it best to start with a very valuable lesson that I have learnt in the last six years of digital photography.  Only under the most exceptional circumstances should you ever delete an image from your camera based on the, now 3 inch, screen on the back.  Even then, you should not do it.

The image that is displayed on the back is a jpeg processed by the camera. It uses the default settings or those that you have personally changed.  This is true even if you shoot in Raw capture mode.  This means that the final image can be changed substantially in an image editor.  Blown out highlights and blocked shadows can be rescued.  Blurred images may have artistic potential that can only be seen on a larger screen.

So why do people do it.

1.  You take the shot, look at the result “Rubbish” you say in disgust and immediately press delete.  Certainly no considered opinion there just an emotional response.

2.  No more shots available on the card and you want to take a few more.  Always have a backup card, they are quite cheap now or just use an older, low capacity card as the backup.  If you shoot Raw you can change to jpeg and that may give you a couple of extra shots until you can access another card.

3.  You have finished shooting and now you are quietly reviewing the images.  Some shots with a similar subject may look better than others so you delete the not so good ones.  It is extremely difficult to judge the merits including sharpness of an image on that little screen.  Better just to download them all and delete from a proper review process from the computer.

How many good shots have I deleted from my camera.  I don’t honestly know as I used to delete from the camera on a regular basis.  My change in attitude occurred when an image that I thought was rubbish won a photo competition run by Australian Photography Magazine.  I spent well over an hour standing on the back deck of an Icebreaker in the Arctic shooting birds that flew around the ship catching the updrafts as we cruised along.  It was my first DSLR and the first time I had shot wildlife or birds in flight.  In short, I sucked.  When I entered the warmth of the ship and started to review my efforts, depression descended as shot after shot was OOF or missing nearly all the bird or all the bird.  Lots of shots were deleted until I decided I couldn’t put myself through any more reviewing and left what was remaining for another time.

The shot you see here has not been adjusted, it is the jpeg straight from the camera.  The bird is soft and I have underexposed it massively.  When I looked at it on the computer I was also tempted to delete it and certainly would have on the camera, however, my wife liked it so it stayed.  She liked it so much that she insisted I enter it into a magazine competition rather than a pin sharp walrus image that was my favourite of the whole trip.  The magazine editor said that what I thought was fuzzy and dark had a “disorienting, ethereal background…with the bird adrift between sea and sky”. It won.

The moral of the story is you cannot tell what will be good until you see it large with the benefit of some image adjustment.  I’m not saying don’t delete any shots just don’t delete them from the camera.