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 :)

ROCK SOLDIERS...

Located on the NSW Central Coast - Killcare is quite a beautiful and secluded area which I had never shot there before.
On the morning of the shoot, I rose in the pitch darkness and could see a slight silvering of the clouds in the sky - I had high hopes for a dramatic image. When I arrived on location, clouds covered the entire sky and as I stepped onto the sands it began to rain! Not quite what I had in mind. Luckily, the rain soon eased and then stopped. As I wondered around towards the rocks, I noticed some beautiful green mossy rocks that had the rough ocean washing in, out and around them. I shot a number of different intervals for this composition and this was my favourite. I think I like the swirl of whitewash eye cuddling these resiliant rocks sitting on the beach is really quite interesting. It is almost as though this rock is being protected from the ocean by his rock soldiers spread in front of him. Although big, they are no much for the ocean that manages to squeeze through their guard and continue the erosion process.

Catchya
Josh

Morning Swirls, Killcare NSW © Josh Pitt

FUNNY STORY...

What trip to Katoomba would be complete, without a visit to the Echo Point lookout and "the three sisters" - a rock formation over-looking the Jamison Valley?
According to Aboriginal dreamtime legend there were three sisters (Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo') who lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe (the Nepean tribe), but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back. Story courtesy of wikipedia.

I had arrived for a sunset the night before this was shot and it just wasn't happening for me. For one, a rival photographer had parked himself in prime location, and secondly it was hard to take a photo for yourself with every other person asking you to take a picture of them ;P . My wife found it quite amusing, watching from the top viewing platform. In particular she had to laugh at the very rude "rival photographer" who flat out refused to take photos for anyone else. However, there was a very persistent tourist who wouldn't take no for an answer and kept buzzing around like a fly to poo. But as far as we know the rival kept his nerve and won the battle against the tourist. Poor tourist! (I actually took a photo for the guy earlier - he mustn't have been happy with mine haha).

Sunset wasn't the best to shoot on this particular day as there wasn't many clouds to diffuse the light an harsh shadows were appearing everywhere. Unfortunately, I had somewhere to be that night so I couldn't hang around for the after glow.

I returned in the morning to find the valley was covered in fog. I waited for about an hour for the fog to lift until finally I was ready to head back. I took one more look and noticed the fog was all heading away and revealing the rock formations and valley before me. By this time everyone had vanished and I was there on my lonesome. Yeeeewwww! I stayed for about another hour until everyone started turning up and this is one of the images I captured.

It's hard to get a unique shot of this location because there is only so many ways you can shoot it.You will notice the remnants of the fog out in the valley.

The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains NSW © Josh Pitt

THE RACE IS ON...

Recently, I returned to a local beach of which I haven't really explored too much before. Upon arriving there I wasn't really sure where or what I wanted to shoot. The one thing I did know was that I needed to keep an eye on the cloudy sky, because I had a feeling it was going to be good.
I wandered around testing some spots but wasn't happy with anything I was framing. I spotted some rocks on the shoreline that was being pumbled by the surf. The surf swell was quite big and rough, so I had to be careful when I ventured out on the rocks. They were so slippery!
I was trying to find a spot that created some nice lines to add some directionality to the composition, when all of a sudden off in the distance I could see a single beam of light bursting from the clouds. This is where my leisurely sunrise shoot turned into a frantic race against time to capture something different utilising the radiating sky. It was like someone fired the starters gun! The clock was ticking until the light was gone.
I spotted a gap in the rocks where the water was rushing in, but to get there I had to cross a slippery, flowing, little watercourse. Using my tripod as a three legged walking stick to balance me as I tip-toed through the stream, I got where I wanted to go. Albeit a bit wet.

By the time I had made it to this spot, the sun was higher in the sky and luckily for me, the clouds had parted enough to have created multiple fingers of light beaming through. I shot off a few frames, just so I had something to show for my effort (just incase the moment passed). Then I waited for the next lot of sets to come through, so I could have another element to my image - movement. It wasn't long until I had a nice whitewash in my foreground.
Again, a great level of satisfaction was achieved.
I hope you are enjoying my latest shots.

Catchya
Josh :)

Radiance, Wamberal NSW © Josh Pitt

CHANGING FACES....

Sometimes if pays to go back to locations you have already shot. Because they are always evolving or you may have missed something first time around.

I began this shoot with an idea where I wanted to go, but soon changed my mind because I didn't realise the amount of trees and things in the way. I started to really run late, with a fast rising sun. I made my way down to the surf club carpark at Terrigal, to try for plan B.

I got my power walk on (I really felt the buuurn) and quickly found myself around plan B - the lagoon! After some recent heavy surf it has developed a raging channel - you can see the clean cuts in the sand. It was even collapsing as I was shooting. You can see the big cracks! But what caught my attention was the water going in and out of the channel to go with the shine of the sun across the water.

Again there was a very clear sky, so other parts of the scene needed to capture people's attention in lieu of this. I hope I managed to do this.

Josh :)

Out to Sea, Terrigal NSW © Josh Pitt

A BEAUTIFUL MORNING....

This time I ventured to Toowoon Bay to shoot around a T-shape sandbar. I was excited to see a heavily cloud populated sky and even more excited to see a slight gap between the horizon and the bottom of the clouds. I know that this sky would pop! But a nice sky is only part of the image, I had to find some nice foreground to go with it. There were a lot of rocks behind me which were a definite candidate, but I decided upon something simpler. I loved the wash lines in the sand and the waves beginning to break.
It all came together as the sun popped it's nose above the horizon and added another element - a reflection.
 I had to keep an eye on the incoming swells, which could have soaked me!
A good place to experiment with some more.

Josh :)

Morning Wash, Toowoon Bay NSW © Josh Pitt

THE BATTLE OF BATEAU BAY...

The Battle, Bateau Bay NSW © Josh Pitt

My first shoot out at Bateau Bay NSW. I discovered this interesting counteracting section of water which had me mesmorised by its directionality. I shood there for quite a while trying to figure out how to shoot it best. Once I got home I ended up choosing one of my first captures. I think it was because I liked the longer exposure (compared to my other shoots) - 3.2sec.

The scene almosts resembles that of a battle scene in Lord of the Rings, with both sides rushing towards each other and occasionly the team running left to right would take the spoils when reinforcements would arrive from the surging ocean behind.

A LITTLE GEM AT PEARL...

First Light, Pearl Beach NSW © Josh Pitt

My first shoot at Pearl Beach was a an exciting experience. I was like a kid in a candy store when I got there, once it got lighter. I say that because I arrived quite early in the pitch black and ventured out onto the beach to set off to shoot the ocean bath I had heard about (luckily I had my trusty torch). There were so many subjects to shoot I didn't know where to start, there were - green rocks, red rocks, water rushing in, water rushing over and off the pool, a beautiful warm sandy beach. Plus the headland blocked the sun for a a good while after it had risen, allowing me to keep shooting for longer than normal, but also diffusing the light nicely enabling a nice even exposure.
I love the cute little row of houses in the distance catching the morning's rays (I say cute however some of the them are massive homes).
There were also some homes with big windows behind me which actually reflected the sunlight and lit up my scene nicely.
Definitely worth another visit.

Josh :)

EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT EXPOSURES...

Shallows, MacMasters Beach NSW © Josh Pitt

It has been a while between shoots at Macs. I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot on this occasion - the ocean bath at the southern end of the beach. It always remains calm and you can get some really nice reflections. On this shoot I noticed the lines in the sand under the water and wanted to be able to show the in my final shot. I was able to create a very interesting image with the sand lines because as the water got deeper and closer to the horizon the reflection gets more intense and the lines disappear.
Sometimes when you are out shooting, you might struggle to accurately portray the scene you see. At times like this you need to take a deep breathe and experiment with different exposures until you can see your plan coming good. Don't be afraid to shoot multiple exposures to compensate for different areas of the image and then post-processing those aspects together.

Josh :)

THIRD TIME LUCKY....

Silhouettes at Koolewong NSW © Josh Pitt

 Although this one is shot at a location close to my home, it's a place that I don't often shoot at. Maybe its because on the two occasions I went there for the sunrise it was really overcast and bleak and I didn't come away with a shot I liked. Third time lucky they say. This time around, there were hardly any clouds in the sky and this allowed me to get the beautiful warm feeling. The conditions were extremely calm which let me shoot with a 1/2 sec shutter speed and not have too much movement in the boats. It's a very simple capture, but I think that's what I like about it. I hope you do too.