Monday, April 30, 2012

Arabella

Photographing young children is always a challenge but Arabella was the perfect model!








Thursday, April 19, 2012

Burlesque

One of the things I would like to do more of is pin-up type photography. I love the vintage look of pin-up and I enjoy photographing burlesque beauties. I am lucky in that I have some gorgeous women willing to let me photograph them.


So I hired a hall for an all day shoot. The plan was set and everything came together beautifully - that was until we started shooting. The lights malfunctioned initially and I had some stressful moments trying to overcome the problem. I managed for do a macguyver fix while my husband headed off to the techie store for the real fix.


I had five beautiful models for the day and each had a couple of changes during the shoot. I now have about a thousand images to work through and process but I can tell you that it is almost as much fun doing the processing as it was doing the shooting. They were amazing to photograph and I loved every minute of it.




Saturday, April 7, 2012

Toutouwai - North Island Robin

Easter Saturday and the sun was shining brightly, so we took advantage of the weather and headed to Zealandia once more. I have a yearly pass so it makes it affordable and they are running a special at the moment letting members take guests for half price! So the ever suffering hubby came along to carry the gear for me.
Toutouwai - North Island Robin

I went to all my usual haunts and today came up empty, so it was time to go further afield. We ventured along the "Round the Lake" track which funnily enough, goes around the top lake above the dam. I am not sure it was a smart move with the state of my back and joints but I was determined to walk it at least once, just to see what I have been missing when I don't go there.
Toutouwai - North Island Robin

I got a glimpse of some Hihi (Stitchbacks) but never managed to get a shot of them. I saw lots of Saddlebacks but again didn't manage to capture an image I was happy with. I did get some but they are not great. The Saddlebacks are very quick and flit from branch to branch before you get a chance to focus on them.
Toutouwai - North Island Robin
There were Tui everywhere! I don't think I have ever seen so many Tui at Zealandia, a definite population explosion! But the highlight of my day today was the Toutouwai (North Island Robin). They are so trusting that you can get up close and personal with them. At times they were too close for the lens that I had on my camera and that too was frustrating.

Toutouwai - North Island Robin
Toutouwai are small birds, not much bigger than a sparrow but with very spindley legs, and are found in native and exotic forrests. The ones I came across today were right little posers, turning from side to side as the camera clicked. I had to use the flash due to the bad lighting in the bush but it didn't seem to bother them one little bit.
Toutouwai - North Island Robin
After getting around the track I was going to spend some time with the Kaka but they were hiding too, so I just headed back to the cafe - as you do - for a late lunch. We spotted some Tuatara on the way back - I will post some images of them later. It was a fun day!

Toutouwai - North Island Robin
Toutouwai - North Island Robin