April May not be finished...

It is strange, sometimes how events coalesce to create problems and sometimes produce unexpected solutions. As is the case this time around. This month's set topic of "Reflections" has been causing some anguish with finding an image that is just that little bit different. I spent the last couple of nights planning a parallel mirror shot - and I might still do that - but in sheer desperation more than anything I went trolling through the library and turned up a series of frames from last April.

The series was completely fortuitous. I took them during my lunch break about 100m from the factory gate and in a stinking mood after a bit of raruraru with the boss. So, this is to be submitted...








That leaves the Open entry and Brickell's Buddha wins hands down.


A word of explanation here,because it is richly deserved.

I have met Barry Brickell just once, many moons back about six months after he established his pottery at Driving Creek in Coromandel. We went there about two years ago - it was a bucket list item of mine - to trip up the hill on his private railway. The Driving Creek Railway is likely better known than his pottery these days but I have always had a strong regard for his sense of whimsy and fun.

The Driving Creek Railway runs from the original potting sheds, via two of the clay mines Brickell drew from, to the top of a hill and "The Eyeful Tower". The Buddha sits in a quiet corner, out of the way of most, and if you look him in the eye then turn 180 you will see that his gaze is directed down the valley to the Firth of Thames; I can appreciate the quiet smile of peace and humour at the series of puns included at every level...

Yes, the frame is shopped. The rest of it is a small part of a very large lump of driftwood pine that sat outside the Omapere Hotel for some months. It was taken in colour but monochromed before being used in this image.

UPDATE -

It is probably more correct to refer to Brickell's Buddha as Ho Tai; he is most commonly referred to as Laughing Buddha but Ho Tai is more correct at least in my mind.

Got May sorted...

Easter this year was summer, the best summer weather we have had since May last year. The one thing that was missing was the cicadas. They were around during February, but I suspect that 2019 and 2029 will be very poor years for them.

I have been having problems with getting images together for club for this and next month. Until last night.

I downloaded the SD card from the Easter break and it includes 5 frames taken on Saturday morning. SWMBO drew attention to a monarch butterfly in the bottlebrush alongside the carport. Out of that comes my "Flower" image.








I still do not have a "Reflections" for this month, so may have to resort to the car mirror or something like that. The old two mirror trick is another in my mind.










And I have the "Open" image for this or next month as well...

More of May...

Being Saturday, the probligo and SWMBO went to the library, shopping (fresh greens etc for the weekend and a bottle of wine) followed by lunch out (that is not ordinaire!) and a visit to Uxbridge. A word of explanation on the latter. Uxbridge is the local arts centre, based on one of the old church halls. Presbyterian, I think. Occasionally they have some really worthwhile things going and this was the reason for today's visit.

An ex-member of Howick Camera Club, one Derek Penlington, had a display of some of his more recent work. He has been working in long-exposure landscapes; movement of the camera; multiple exposure. Interesting but, I have to say, a rather limited range. There were perhaps four sequences of (similar) images; a seagull in long and multiple exposures; wave-break (surf); kaihikatea swamp; an autumn scene. Good images, nothing particularly amazing. I thought that there would be far greater impact if he had taken the same image in bright light, with bright colours, and used ND filters to lengthen the exposure. There - something to try.

Like this as an example -

Not as extreme as Penlington - nowhere near. But the idea of a passing autumn breeze is (I think) very well conveyed at 1/15 as against 1/250.

And so the year turns...

I wrote in my last post of having paid a couple of visits to Manukau Photographic Soc. meetings. The first image was grabbed as I was leaving that meeting. I was one of the first out, but a woman went past as I was getting things right in the camera and asked what I was doing. I gestured to the trees and she said "You know, I have never seen that!".

Yep, goes to show.








The second is one I need some help with. I took this at the Diwali Festival in November. I would love to show it, but the face of the kneeling girl needs to be removed as does an ear that sticks out on the left of the left-side girl's skirt. There is also a merge between the skirts of the girl on the left and the girl behind her. That is less noticeable (unless you realise that the gold is not right round the skirt).

I do not have Photoshop. I have got hold of a freebie processor that has a spray-over function which I can not get right. There is a combination of motion blur and fabric that I am having great difficulty with matching. I think it might be a combination of factors; like what kind of merge to use, fade factor on the spray, spray width... I am somewhat lost.

BTW the image was at 1/4, hand held. Not bad for an old bugger I reckon.



One thing I have realised, mainly as a result of using the Labels function on blogs that I run, is the need and ease of creating an index to my photo library. NO, I am not putting the whole lot onto the Net. I know there are several quite good library drivers there. I want this one "in house", for MY use.

Any suggestions out there?

On getting the opportunity...

There are times when I wish I had a camera that I could attach to the back of my eye, or perhaps to the side, which I could trigger automatically...

To give a f'rinstance, we were in Opononi this past weekend. A morning trip to Rawene and a good lunch and we were heading back to Opo.

On the 8km road between Rawene and SH12 there is a left bend followed by a right sweeper. On the left is a farmhouse with all of the usual things going on.

This time around there was a rather large goose in the long grass at the side of the road, its neck outstretched, guarding its nest in the grass. Hovering overhead was a harrier hawk with its wings thrashing to keep itself out of reach of the goose and its talons outstretched...

At 85-90 kph that little tableau lasted for perhap no more than half a second and it was past. There was no chance to stop and grab what would have been an amazing shot. A second earlier, a second later, and it would probably not have existed.

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I find it difficulty to get regular with the photohunt thing. I must keep trying.

Photohunter - miniature

Our bay tree is in flower. It is about 3mm across - a very miniature flower indeed!















NZ is a small country. Our big lndscapes are well known and mostly well photographed to the point where getting a new or better image is difficult. So I started to look for other landscapes. This was one of the first I found on a walk from ocean beach to carpark at Omapere. The canyon wall on the left is about 18" high. The smooth area in the middle is the front edge of a step in the track...















Miniature...

Photohunter - Natural...

The weather down these parts is about as natural as it comes in a maritime climate.

Wet.

Taken mid-August in a local park. Tech details not material as it has been processed from colour RAW file to B/W.

I like it.