NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES - ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Our final night in Queenstown was definitely a special one. We took the Skylie Gondala to the top of the Ben Lomand Scenic Reserve and dined at the Skyline Buffet Restaurant. This is a must for anyone visiting Queenstown.
The gondala takes you high above the city to a variety of activities, including luge, mountain biking and I believe bungee jumping. Oh and of course the 5 star buffet dinner. The best we've had!

Godalas, Queenstown NZ © Rachel Pitt

This location also offers you same of the most breathtaking views in the world.
You can make your way up to the viewing platform at any time of the day until late at night. There were what looked to be a number of semi-pro photographers up there at the same time I was. I guess the $20 gondala ride is worth it though, even if you don't part take in any of the other activities.

I snuck a few quick frames in before dinner, as this was something to behold. A great end to great adventure. I will definitely be back there on day sooner rather than later.

The piece of land jutting out from the left of screen is actually Queenstown golf course. I could think of much worse places to swing a club.

Of the frames I captured, I liked this one the best. See what you think.

Catchya.
Josh :)

Atop Queenstown, NZ © Josh Pitt

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES - JET BOATING

Jet boating is very much a part of the extreme adventure cuture of Queenstown and on our way to check in to our hotel we spotted the jet boats carving up the Shotover River, which is located about 10 mintues from the centre of Queenstown. These boats take you on a ride through the Shotover River Canyons at up to 85km/h (51mi/h) in, at times, 10cm (4in) of water.

Shotover River Jet Boating © Rachel Pitt

Shotover Jet Boating © Rachel Pitt

 Whilst this was quite interesting to watch. I have to admit the whipering, turquiose coloured waters had originally caught my attention from atop the high river overpass. I knew I just had to get down there and shoot it.

Heading down to get the shot © Rachel Pitt

There were many layers to be had in this frame and I knew that I needed to watch out for oncoming jet boats whilst I was composing it.
Movement in the water was key, not to mention some other foreground subject to add some other interest. Plus I had the forest on other side of the stream demanding attention too. I snapped a number of exposures and I have included my favourite below. At only a 1.6 sec shutted speed, you can see just how quickly the water was moving. The finished image has a much more serene atmosphere than what was true when shooting the image. Especially when dodging the spray of drifting Jet boats.
I hope you like it.

Catchya
Josh :)

Shotover River, NZ © Josh Pitt

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES - CORONET PEAK

On the way back to Queenstown we took a detour to a tiny old style town called Arrowtown and had one of the best meals of our whole trip at a little pub called "Jonesy's", not to mention an awesome waffle ice cream. Whilst we were there we had a stroll around the shooping precinct.
Definitely a place we would frequent if we lived near there. So relaxing.

After our lunch we took another detour and went in seach of a well known location, especially if you are a skier/snowboarder - Coronet Peak.
We followed the signs until we came across the base of the road to take us to one of the most breathtaking views of Queenstown. We begun the 5  - 10 minute drive up the hill and were immediately in awe, we couldn't wait to get to the top!
Once there, we took a moment to take it all in and watch to group of paragliders entertaining us launching off the side of the mountain.

Paragliders, Coronet Peak NZ © Rachel Pitt

Dark clouds began to inhabit the sky, which created a better light to shoot.   
With alot of great areas to pull over and shoot, we settled down and I got out my camera to try and translate this amazing sight......
.....and this is what I saw.

Catchya
Josh

Coronet Peak, NZ © Josh Pitt

 

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES - MILFORD SOUND

Milford Sound, located on the west coast of New Zealands south island. Apparently our kiwi neighbours made a number of errors when naming this area.
Their first mistake was calling Milford Sound - Milford Sound. It is not actually a "Sound" at all. But rather a fjord. Which means it was formed by glacial activity rather than the ocean.
Now, to make amends for this oversight, our NZ friends decided to fix their error by calling to entire region Fiordland. There in lies their second error. "Fiord" is a Norwegian word, which is actually spelt "Fjord". Oops. Yep. Nevermind.

On this leg of our journey we stayed a couples of nights in a small town about 2-2.5 hours away from Milford Sound, called Te Anau. Which I believe is pronounced Tee-Are-Now. It is such a great small town, not to mention FREE WIFI!

Disappointingly, on this occasion, we couldn't go or stay for a sunrise or sunset. But instead do more the touristy thing and take in a cruise. Which was awesome! We were lucky enough to have a small pod of dolphins start swimming next to us, which apparently isn't too common around there. We also got to see some lazy male sea lions sunbaking on the rocks, learnt some history and interesting facts of the area. Not to mention saw some great scenery as we went. One of which was the Stirling Falls (pictured below), which deceivingly is approximately 155m (511ft) tall.
We were told that this is one of the few remaining waterfalls in Milford Sound, that is fed by melting glaciers. It won't be long until this majectic fall with have to rely on rainfall alone to operate.

It just goes to show that you should cease the day. As what's here today may not be tomorrow.

Stirling Falls, Milford Sound NZ

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES 4

So many places to shoot at Lake Tekapo. Even better if you can get a great sunrise with some clouds about which will keep the scene interesting for longer. This image was shot a little while after my last post "Morning Calm, Lake Tekapo NZ". And the water had already evolved from a deeper blue to the more well known turquiose colours that everyone loves.
This image is a great example of why you should always try to include some foreground interest. The rocks in this foreground are so detailed and sharp, especially when enlarged, that you could almost feel like you could touch them.

Catchya
Josh :)

Down by the lake, Lake Tekapo NZ

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES 3

On this morning I decided to try my luck with a sunrise. I wanted to head down to the lakes edge to see if I could get some the reflections that New Zealand is typically known for. Unfortunately the stillness was not to be, but as a consolation I had some beautiful colour in the sky.
I still cannot believe that water colours in some of the lake over there. On this occasion a deeper blue than usual and so clear that you can the rocks beneath. They almost look as though they have been painted in.
The other thing I like about this photo (which is a little hard to see when small) are the continuous mountains that go off into the distance through the clouds and also the trees down the right hand side.
My previous image "Fields of Gold" was shot over the other side of the orangey coloured hill, known as Mount John, to the left of frame.

I hope you enjoy this one!

Catchya
Josh :)

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES 2

Next on the itinerary was the small town of Lake Tekapo, located about 5 hours drive North of Queenstown halfway to Christchurch on State Highway 8.
Possibly best known for the large turquiose coloured lake that lies on the townships doorstep.
I had high hopes to venture up to the top of Mount John to shoot a sunset looking over the town and do some star gazing/shooting, as New Zealand is supposed to have some of the clearest skies in the world. However, as i was on my way their I was rudely interupted by a locked gate  stating that the observatory grounds were only open between 9am - 6pm. What?! But how am I meant to shoot my sunset?? Considering the sunset was due about 9pm. I left defeated. Vowing to return to shoot a daylight shot.
Excited to see the view, we went straight from breakfast. After driving all the way to the top of the mountain and setting up my equipment, I soon discovered that mother nature was not going to be kind to me today. I began to sneeze. My nose began to run. My eyes began to water. This was to be the worst hayfever day I have experienced. Determined not to let that ruin my day, we took the 5 minute drive back down the mountain and off to the chemist for some relief. At the base of the mountain while looking in my rear vision mirror, I spotted a beautiful old wooden gate with stunning rolling fields of gold in the background. I knew that this was a special sight. I stopped the car and reversed it just off the road. This was the shot that I'd been hunting for ever since taking up photography. I had to have it. I think it holds such character and could tell so many stories. Sniffing and crying the entire time I captured this frame and went on my way. Satisfied to know that I had accomplished a photographic goal of mine.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Let me know by leaving a comment here or on Facebook :)

Catchya
Josh

Fields of Gold, Lake Tekapo NZ

NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES

Recently I spent 10 days across the ditch in New Zealand. It was the first time I got to experience what this wonderful country had to offer.

We began our travels in Queenstown, which is located in the South island of New Zealand, in the Otago region about 500km (310mi) South-West of Christchurch. Sometimes more well-known for its adventure sports than its scenery, Queenstown has much to offer everyone!

The minute you land you know its going to be special. The vast mountain ranges you briefly got to know from the air, now majestically tower over you as you disembark. Greeted by friendly customs officers, you know that this has already begun to be different to the norm. Such a relaxed town it sits alongside Lake Wakatipu, which  is NZ's longest lake stretching for around 80km (50mi). I knew this was going to be the place I was going to do majority of shooting. On this particular day, however, my wife and I had spent most of the day travelling and were ready for bed. We did the watch the sun go down at no doubt a popular area to do so - on the tip of Queenstown gardens. A beautiful area that is only a leisurely 5-10mins walk from town along the lake to the awaiting park benches.
So whilst the shot below was taken in Queenstown it wasn't taken until later in my trip, when we returned for 3 nights to conclude our trip.
On this particular sunrise shoot I had noticed the multitudes of thick but parting clouds, that I thought were going to give me a spectacular sky. I turned this way and that to try and get the right angle for the sunrise. The clouds actually hindered more than helped, because they blocked the rising suns light from hitting the clouds correctly. I ended up shooting looking away from the sunrise, which can be the right thing to do in many cases (as long as you don't have your own shadow in it). This image was shot with a 15sec exposure, giving me a nice water calming effect and a dramatic cloudscape over the aptly named Remarkables Mountain Range watch over the city of Queenstown and are simply stunning. In shooting an exposure for that long I had to use a 3 stop graduated filter. Which is almost like sunglasses for your camera. Because the scene has two very different intensities of light - the foreground (lake/mountains) and the sky, I had to level the playing field by filtering how much light the camera was capturing in the sky. Otherwise once the 15 secs was up, one of two things would occur - the sky would be perfectly exposed, but the foreground would be silouetted (not always a bad thing) OR the foreground exposed correctly, but the sky would be heavily overexposed (just white and boring).

This is the result below. I like the result, because I think it teachers you that the shot is always there for the taking you just need to know how to capture it.

COLOURS OF NEW ZEALAND

Yesterday I wrote about how New Zealand's colours that seemed to be wrong. Whilst you will see it a little later in my finished images, I thought I'd include a very quick raw snap of one of the lakes we have seen on our journey. Don't worry it took a little while for our eyes to adjust.
According to our hotel information - "the turquoise blue of the lake is created by 'rock flour'. The glaciers in the headwaters of Tekapo grind rock into fine dust on their journey towards the lake. This 'rock flour' is suspended in th water and when combined with sunlight creates the unique water colour".

Tomorrow we will be travelling all day to get to the town of Te Anau in southern South Island. On the way we hope to stop in at Wanaka. Home of Lake Wanaka - known for its mirror reflections! Then onto Milford Sound and back to Queenstown to explore its surrounds a little more thoroughly.

Enjoy!
Catchya
Josh :)

NEW ZEALAND 1, 2, 3

Queenstown, New Zealand

Just relaxing at the foot of Mount Cook New Zealand, three days into a 10 day trip. There is not much to say but...WOW! From the moment you fly over, enroute to the airport, you know its going to be special.
I've had a few firsts on this trip - FREE airport luggage trolleys for one. Australia can learn a lot from the kiwis. I got stung by a bee driving while driving 100km/h down a NZ country road - it flogged! Not to mention the worst hayfever ever, I couldn't even go out in the fields - it was hideous. But I survived and have shot some imagery I am really happy with. Hopefully a few photos that are a little different to the norm. I have just included a quick sampler of one I snapped in Queenstown.

Our first night was spent in Queenstown, which we will revisit later in the trip. This allowed me to have a quick look around before we commenced our self drive holiday. First stop was the amazing Lake Tekapo, located about 5 hours north of Queenstown. This beautiful sleepy town has an array to amazing colours that will take your breathe away. In a way it almost seems like the colours are all wrong. The lakes are an extraordinary shade of turquoise, the mountains an stunning tone of greens and golds. These colours I have never seen before, it really was a awe-inspiring moment.
Lake Tekapo also has the beautiful Mount John, which we spent some time upon taking in the remarkable views of the township, lake and country fields. More of the images to come.    

Currently, I'm sitting here at our hotel room hoping the clouds will part from atop Mount Cook so I can get some shooting in tomorrow on one of the trails. Fingers crossed!

Just had a look at the al a carte menu and I love a good steak as much as the next person, but NZ$69 for a 250g rib eye is insane. This place is a little fancy. Though we are looking forward to our gourmet buffet though for $62 each, pretty insane in itself, but not too many options in Mt Cook. This better be good.

Keep an eye on my facebook for more updates and some finished images in the coming weeks.

Catch ya
Josh :)

WHAT'S IN MY BAG? EPISODE 5

Well....This one isn't exactly in my bag, purely because it doesn't fit!

It's my workstation at home. It's where I get to see my photos in all their glory! This is where all my editing is done, when I get home from shooting. It's my computer. It's my Apple iMac.
Now not to boast but my wife and I have the 27" screen which makes photo viewing awesome. In saying that, the 21.5" monitor is fine.
This piece of hardware has such a crisp display, large hard drive and good memory - which is important for any visual arts application, especially photography.
I switched from windows to mac a few years back and have never looked back. In my opinion macs have such a better layout and user friendly controls. However that wasn't always my view. Remembering when my wife and I first switched, we initially found it hard to adjust to the different, and sometimes - opposite, layout. After a few days we were converted forever.

Like always make sure you get what is right for you. If you've been looking at mac's, check to see if TopBuy's price helps you out here.

Any questions? Let me know.
Catchya
Josh :)

WHAT'S IN MY BAG? EPISODE 4

Now that I have my camera body, lens and memory card, I can go out shooting. But one of the other things photographers need (in addition to the above) is a good tripod. Not because we are lazy but because the human body moves. Even when you try to be still, you still move. "Camera shake" is one of the most common reasons for blurry photographs. So before you blame your camera, maybe you should invest in a tripod?
But which tripod should you invest in? Well.. everybody is different. Not what you want to hear, right? It's OK there are a couple of rules of thumb to go by -

• Firstly, make sure your tripod head (the part that your camera sits on) is able to support your cameras weight.
• Secondly, and it might sound silly but, sometimes a heavier tripod is better than a lighter one. Especially when the wind picks up. Your tripod is next to useless if it can't stand up.
• Finally - how easy is it to set-up? Sometimes you will need to set up in a hurry, when the sun is setting or water is flowing and if you can't set-up, you'll miss the shot.

Currently I shoot with a Manfrotto 190xdb 804rc2 tripod kit (pictured left). Whilst it has served me extremely well over the years. It can sometimes be a bit slow to set up which is mainly due to the twist knobs which extends the leg intervals. Some of the other Manfrotto models feature quick release clips, as opposed to the knobs. Much easier! The head can also be a little tricky to level in a hurry, considering you need to level the 3 axis independent of each other. My next purchase will be a "ball head" (eg below). This gives you the ability to set-up and tighten much quicker than the former.

Whilst I cannot specifically recommend a model to get which includes all my wants as I have only experienced 1 tripod and 1 head. I can recommend Manfrotto as a brand, after having mine for a number of years. And believe when I tell you - I have given mine a thorough workout. It even spends a lot of time in my car boot, on the way to shoots, getting thrown around and it is in awesome shape.
Check out some of the Manfrotto tripods and find the one that suits you.
Questions? Let me know.
Catchya
Josh :)

WHAT'S IN MY BAG? - EPISODE 3

Now we have discussed my body and lens in previous posts. We now move onto the memory cards I use.
Possibly one of, if not, the most important piece of equipment a photographer has - it records the images you take. So I guess you'd want it to be reliable.
Ever since I started shooting I have used Sandisk memory cards. In particular a 16GB version, which holds roughly 550 images (when shooting with my Canon 5D mark 2). You can get larger capacity cards if 16GB isn't bigger enough. Sometimes this may be the case if you plan on shooting in locations where you are unlikely to be able to upload your images at regular intervals.
Another thing to keep in mind is the speed of the card ie how quickly the memory card records the photograph info, the camera has sent it. This is important is you plan on doing timelapse or long exposure photography, where you card is continually being written. In situations like this I would recommend purchasing a card from the Sandisk Extreme Pro range. These cards write at up to 90mb/s, giving you ample time for writing between shots. Because there is nothing worse than you camera telling you it is "busy".
With that said, if you are just getting into photography, I wouldn't go straight to an Extreme Pro memory card, as they can get a bit pricey, compared to the Extreme range.
Any questions let me know.
Catchya
Josh :) 

WHAT'S IN MY BAG EPISODE 2?

Part 2 in my series of what's in my bag, takes a look a my lens. Yes. That's singular. At present I only use one lens. But it's a versitile one.
To go with my Canon 5D mark 2 camera body, I don't go anywhere without my Canon 24-105mm f4.0L lens.
This is one of Canon's pro "L Series" lens. Don't worry though, you don't have to be a pro to buy one. But you could be after you do!
As you can tell from the short description - this is a a zoom lens. But don't let that fool. As a landscape photographer I like to have a reasonably wide angle lens to make sure I get as much of the scene in the frame as possible. Coupled with the full frame sensor of the camera, I can fit plenty into shot!
With the flexibility of having the zoom, this lens caters for many shooting situations. Plus it is resistant to moisture and dust, which gives you peace of mind that you can take it outdoors and it won't fail.
Living on the coastline I shoot mostly around water, sand and salt. I can tell you that during most shoots I get sprayed because I put myself in precarious positions and my lens has never missed a beat (touch wood).
I remember the first frame I took with the body/lens combo and it blew me away. I couldn't believe the 3 c's - colour, contrast and crispness. Funnily enough I was a family portrait (not a landscape) snap of my wife with her mum and sister.
If you are looking to take your photography a little more seriously, these days you can pick up a Canon 5D mark 2 with 24-105mm f4.0L combo at a bundle price and I thoroughly recommend you do.
If you have any question don't hesitate to ask.

Catchya
Josh :)

What's in my bag?

Every now and then people ask what equipment I am using so I have decided empty out my kit bag a do a series of blogposts on the gear that is in there. And NO, the bag on the left isn't mine.

Firstly I will start by saying that my kit is probably pretty empty compared to some other photographers.
In my opinion having every lens that is on the market doesn't make you a better photographer (necessarily). Of course, if you are a portrait photographer you are not going to spend $1,000's on a fisheye lens. Likewise, if you are a landscape photographer - you will not sink all your hard earned into a specific portrait lens.
So whilst (at present) my kit is modest, it works for me in what I want to do - landscapes. I say "at present" because my interest will no doubt change down the track. Mainly because I have a my first child on the way and the kit will probably see an introduction of a more portrait based lens. Fingers crossed.
If you follow my work you would hear me talk about my camera quite often. I'm a Canon boy. But don't hold that against me! My first camera was a Canon. A Canon 20D. It served me well and I still have it.
But nowadays (and for a few years now) I use a Canon 5D mark 2, which I guess - if you use Canon and you are interested in photography and you are wanting to take your photographic options to the next level then................you should upgrade to one of these.
Don't get me wrong - just because you have a great camera doesn't mean that you will have great photo's. Right? Weeeeeellllllll...........(in my opinion) This bad boy does a pretty good job at improving your photography straight away. I still remember the first shot I took with this rig (as a reasonable novice) below. I was in awe of what I was looking at on the screen. Such good contrast and colour and this was shot with a very cheap lens.

First RAW frame of my Canon 5D mark 2 © Josh Pitt

  As a landscape photographer for one - it has a full frame sensor, enabling you to fit more in your shot. What does that mean you ask? Well maybe not all of you. But for the ones that did - have a look at this article. Learn something new? Great!

Earlier I mentioned taking your photographic options to the next level. Next level. Next level. Next level. It's two of those buzz words that gets thrown around a lot these days in photographic circles and sometimes I think maybe a little too much. But for lack of a better term I will use it today because I guess it is appropriate to what I am saying. Which brings me to my second major reason I love the Canon 5D mark 2 . It has 21.1 megapixels to play with. This enables the photographer to have the ability to produce reasonably large print sizes. Particularly important if you are looking to sell your work! Believe me I know by experience. Having worked for over 6 years in fine art photographic sales and everyone want BIG prints, but sometimes BIG never seems to BIIIIG enough. But this camera will allow you to service the majority of client print size needs. And do it well.

Understandably not everyone has a budget for a semi-pro/pro camera, thats cool. The most important thing is to find the right camera for you and a lot of the time your budget dictates what you get. With that said, I would urge you to get a DSLR (digital single lens reflect) camera of some description. I guarantee it will open up the world of photography to you. And of course try out some of the manual settings. 

Find the right camera for you here, at cheaper than normal prices.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Keep an eye out for more of my kit shortly.
Catchya
Josh :)

Where do I shop for camera stuff?

From time to time people ask me where I get my camera equipment from? Well...... I actually get it from a variety of different places, but definitely online most of the time. (Sorry retailers, but as photographers, we need to save as much money as possible to spend on travel or more equipment!).
Sometimes a lot of photographic products are limited to only a few distrubutors worldwide, which has its pros and cons.
Whilst having only a few distributors definitely guarantees that you are buying brand new, genuine products, it has the obvious downside of "less competition" meaning - often pricing is set buy the manufacturer and there is no room to move, for the distributor.
As mentioned earlier - photographers need the best of both worlds - cheapest prices but still know they are getting genuine products.
Recently I have revisited a website that I used waaaay back when I purchased my Canon 5DMk2. I had looked all over the internet and in store before I actually stumbled across a company called TopBuy.com.au. Even nowadays my Canon 5DMk2 retails for $2,808.95 at Camera House , whereas TopBuy.com.au currently has it listed for $2,144.75 including delivery, you can even save an extra $20 if you pay direct deposit and not use a credit card. Don't worry you can get warranty's and (touch wood) my 5D is still going strong after a few years.
There are also many of the pro lenses, memory cards, bag, batteries and heaps of other camera stuff.
I'll be honest, it's not where I go for all my camera equipment, because they don't have everything, but I definitely visit here first before checking anywhere else. 
They do refer to themselves as an Online Department Store, sooooo they do have a wide variety of other things too.
But I hope this gives you a bit of a leg up to getting the camera or accessory that you have been wanting, but haven't seen it at an affordable price.
Catchya
Josh