Friday, July 30, 2010

Random Images

I was looking back through some old images this afternoon and came across some that I took at the PSNZ Central Regional Convention last October. I didn't have a lot of time to do much in the way of photography at the convention itself as I was the convenor of the organising committee and was pretty busy at the time. I did make the time to attend one workshop and one field trip. These images are just a few of those I took at those two events.
Railway Museum Fieldtrip

The workshop was a 'trash the dress' workshop where we had a group of models dress up as brides and get into places and positions that a normal bride would avoid on their wedding day because it might damage the dress - hence the title. Our brides ranged from pretty young fairy brides to dark goth brides and all of them did a fantastic job of modeling for the large group of photographers that turned up at the convention.
Trash the dress workshop

The field that that I attended was at the Silverstream Railways Museum. Unfortunately things didn't go quite to plan there so there wasn't a train in steam for us to photograph but the old station and carriages made for some wonderful images. We were also lucky to have some beautiful vintage cars at the convention for members to photograph. This one came complete with a family dressed in costume! In the setting next to the old war time buildings it all looked rather spiffy!
1938 Studebaker owned by the Bixley Family
I do enjoy the whole convention thing, the feeling of being a part of a community of like minded folk. The ability to learn from others more experienced and the opportunity to share your own knowlege with those with less experience. The after dinner inpromtu parties are always fun too!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wild and wintery Wellington



 These photos are from a wedding we did last February. The bride is an old work mate of mine and I was really stoked when she asked me to photograph her wedding. The bridal party was made up of family members, most of whom I had met before. It made for a very relaxing and fun photoshoot around parliament buildings.



Another week has passed and its still wet and cold. Winter is sooo not my favourite time of the year. Two and a bit weeks now before I head off to Tiritiri Matangi with P, and I am hoping that the weather in Auckland is more conducive to photography that it currently is in Wellington. I am still training for the trip - the treadmill and I are great friends now and soon I will be adding the backpack as well as the steeper grade. If nothing else I am going to be getting fit!

  The architecture of the buildings was what attracted them use parliament as a venue for their photos. They didn't want the usual garden or flower type formal photos, so we made full use of what was available to us and ended up with a lovely lot of images that both bride and groom were happy with. I have yet to visit them again to see what they have done with the photos, last I heard there was an album purchased that was still empty!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Looking forward to Spring time



Things have been pretty wet again so it has been a while since I have gotten out with the camera. I photographed a wedding a couple of weeks ago, it rained and we all got wet but the venue for the reception was warm and welcoming. The rain certainly made for some interesting photographs and umbrellas make awesome props!

Even at a wedding I am always looking around for that 'different' image. The one that tells the story of the day without actually showing anything of what is really happening around it.These are a few that I took that I like. Specifically playing with depth of field and shifting the focus to where I want it to be and not where the camera thinks it should be.


Friday, July 16, 2010

Mel's place

Today I visited Mel on my way home from work. I had my camera in the car and the sun was shining so I was hoping there would be some tuis in the trees at the back of her house. She teases me constantly about the birds that are flying about her while I am at work and unable to photograph them.

She lives way up high on the side of a bush covered hill. Her deck overlooks the canopy of the bush with a berry covered tree almost touching it. Daily she looks out over at tuis, waxeyes and kereru. As someone who loves to photograph native birdlife I am very envious of her. That said I am not a hill type of gal and probably wouldn't be able to live on the edge of the hill like Mel does.

I was totally stoked when I looked at my photos this evening, I didn't think I had anything worth keeping but it was quite the opposite. I managed to capture some really cool shots of the birds. I am so definitely going back.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

My backpack

Every time I head out with the intention of taking photos, I usually pack my camera bag with everything I might possibly need in it and something that I will never need - like the kitchen sink! I have been lucky in that I haven't had to carry that bag myself, my long suffering husband carries it for me. Now I find myself planning a photographic trip to an island where I will be walking long distances and will have no one to carry my gear for me, so I am starting to think about what I really need on one of these trips.

Usually I find myself only using one lens and never taking anything out of the bag at all - so why have it? Fact is, I might want to change my lens, so I *do* need to carry the second one with me. I will need to have room for my lunch and sufficient drinks for the day as well. With my back still being so fragile I am thinking I might need to train myself to be able to carry the load prior to going on the trip.

The other thing I am likely to need is my tripod. The one I currently use is very heavy and solid. There is no way I am going to be able to carry that around the island. I am going to need one that is light and small enough to strap to my pack, yet strong enough to take the camera and big lens. Some research is required.

The next thing we need is good weather - there's a joke :) We will be flying to Auckland before getting a ferry to the island so I am hoping that we manage to get reasonable weather. But even if the weather turns to custard we will make the trip fun and I am sure we can find a Plan B somewhere :)

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Pukeko at Heretaunga Park

Just down the road from where we live is Heretaunga Park. I have only recently started exploring this small park and so far I am enjoying the birdlife living there. There are ducks everywhere you look but I think that is mainly because of the amount of people who feed them there. There are also a large number of pukeko living there.

I followed the pukeko along the riverbank trying to get a clear shot of them and they were very clever at putting themselves between obstacles and me. Clearly they have learned to keep a healthy distance between themselves and anyone or anything else.

One of the houses that backed onto the park had put up a bird feeding station. We saw waxeyes, sparrows and even tui flying to and from the feeding station. There were also fantails flitting about teasing me as they do and I still don't have a good shot of them - all the more reason to go back again.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

New Beginings

I photographed Haidee and Mark's wedding a few years back so when the opportunity came about to do some pregnancy photography with them I jumped at it. They are a fun couple to work with and I enjoyed the morning we spent together.


This is only the second preggy shoot that I have done so I did some research on the web prior to them arriving. I find the internet a fantastic place to get ideas from and while we might copy some of the ideas we find, we do put our own spin on them. After looking at the images I found, Haidee bought along the appropriate props to achieve the look we wanted.



Hopefully in a month or so I will get to photograph their wee baby boy. It's an awesome thing to be able to photograph the different milestones of their lives together - I feel very privilaged.