Time with family

Gosh do you know how hard it is to just take pictures like most people.... well most photographers I am sure will tell you that it's hard, because quite often you look at your images and say bugger got an extra something in it, or the lighting is not quite right, or missing half an arm.  Well I am one of those, I expect so much more of myself, so this year I decided that I would also take snap shots which is what I consider are photo's of my family and pets etc and that do not need editing, they are memory shots, so here are my first ones. 

My family and I spent time on xmas and new year with my brother and his family... Gisborne put on the sunshine.

The below pic just made me smile - it was really hot in Gizzie and here is my nephew trying to get warm by doing sand angels....how swt

Cute Hannah - What a Star

Hey hey,
I had the best photo shoot on the weekend, a lovely mum of one and one on the way.

Hannah is a right little star, she loved getting dressed in a number of out fits, and each one brought out a personality.

Big thanks to her grandma as well for helping out on the day.... you're awesome.

Mum and Dad are not sure what the sex of baby is at the moment, so we decided that 'baby' was a good start.... :)

Loving My Camera

Well good morning/afternoon to you all... its rather cold here in Wellington today, on my way into work this morning it was 2 degrees C.... burrrrrrr. But it is an awesome day the suns out and the sky is blue... purrrfect bar the coldness.

Anyway yesterday Sunday the 11th July, I got out of bed and thought ohhh lets look out the window and see what kind of day we have, as I have been biting at the bit to get back out with the camera, well mmmmmm I could not see 5 metres due to fog.

My partner thought it would be a good idea for me to get out... mmmm sure it was just so he could watch sports on the telly.

After getting dressed and braving the cold... lasted 2 mins outside and decided it was much nicer inside. Decided that I was not that much of a wuss, so in the car with Camera Backpack and Tripod I went.

Over the hill to a lovely place called Eastbourne, only 10 mins drive from my place. I found a nice posie to park the car and off to the beach I went. The sun and light was just lovely, early morning just glorious, but it was damn cold.

Out with the camera and I played with all my manual settings, M, AV and TV... I got this camera in May and I am loving it, the manual functions are also great, it has brought out my photography, although I have always said it is the person and not the camera and I still believe this, but to make that photo just the wee bit better figure out how to use your manual settings.

Missing Home

Morning, yeah as you can guess from the title of this blog, I am missing home, the funny thing is the place drives me crazy, its so small you can walk the main street in under 5 mins. But its one of those things that I miss. Its a little country town on the east coast of the north island in New Zealand.

My home town is a little under 7 hours drive away, and considering I work full time having to travel home almost makes it impossible unless you have a really long weekend, as you spend two days driving there and back.

Anyway its been over 2 yrs since I was last home and I was looking at some photos last night and I got the MISS HOME feeling, so I figured I would put some of pictures that I took two years ago up.

The series I have here for you is by no means the best or the worst, it is just a small selection, I still believe that Opotiki has some of the best beaches in New Zealand. It is also the home of some amazing hunting and fishing.

Opotiki has alot of diversity, ranging from beautiful coastal vistas, stunning beaches, secluded valleys and crystal clear mountain streams. Oh and dont forget the people, they are the best.

Wet Weekend

Well this weekend was not the best for getting out and about to take photos, but I braved the Wellington WIND and RAIN to watch my partner play soccer hoping I could get some great wet and muddy pics. It was that windy I could not hold the camera and umbrella straight… So pretty much got nothing.

Feeling a little robbed, myself and some friends went out to Maidestone Park in Upper Hutt to find some fungi and find we did. Only metres into the track we stumbled onto some great fungi. They where so tiny, but with the help of a macro lens I was able to get right close and personal. I prefer to take the underside of this little fella as it is a lot more appealing.



There were so many fungi around, we really where spoilt for choice.


A little further up the track it got a bit muddy and I decided I did not want to get wet shoes so looked around at what was on offer and found this cute little Koru. I had been looking for one for a while now and this one fit the bill perfectly. Nice curves and easy access from the track.

Any way after spending a couple of hours in the bush, we decided it was time for lunch but of course the park (outside of the bush) had many photo opportunities also. I saw this lovely grove of trees and thought mmmm in black and white it would look great, and for the final shot this wonderful autumn grove…