Lake Oahu

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I spent a weekend with Kiwi friends at Lake Oahu. It’s a glacial lake in New Zealand’s South Island. Our friends own a small bach right on the shore line and we spent a very relaxing two days and nights. I spent most of my time taking photos of the truly spectacular scenery. I even spotted the Kiwi version of Uluru.

The light was amazing and seemed to cast a pastel wash over the landscape. The sunrises and sunsets were pink-hued. And I’ve never seen so many stars in my life. We even spotted some nebula. Hubs brought along our iPad (he can’t leave technology behind) and consulted the star charts.

We spent each night doing something people don’t do much of these days – talking. Some heavy duty philosophical discussions cropped up and revolved around whether there is a “puppet master” (aka God). I don’t drink but, about once every ten years or so, I’ll have a tiny bit of wine, which I did just before the discussion on the puppet master. I’m afraid I had very little to contribute because the teensy weensy bit of wine basically knocked me out. I don’t think I disgraced myself by snoring but I do know it was very enjoyable not to be surrounded by TV and laptops. We powered up the lights using the car battery and enjoyed a fab BBQ, along with toast made on a contraption I’ve never seen before.

The Kiwi version of Uluru.

Inside the cosy bach.

Yummo! BBQ time.

View of the lake through the bach window.

Toast-making contraption. Made surprisingly great toast. You place the toast on the outside.

 

So much more to learn

Okay so you know I attended a 2-day photography course. And now I’ll tell you that is was with Richard Wood, an award-winning NZ photographer and finalist for NZ Photographer of the Year 2010. Check out his work to see how seriously good he is.

I hunted for a photographic course to attend but those I found cost heaps of money and full-time attendance at some college or institute. So I thought it would be smarter to find NZ photographers whose work I admire and see if they offer workshops or short courses. Bingo. Richard Wood was offering a Christchurch course in April.

The 2-day course was jam packed and what I liked about it most was that Richard freely admits he’s not a geeky, technical photographer but an artist and creative photographer. Someone who uses intuition to spot the unusual. I am self-taught on photography, having read dozens of books over the years on the technical side of things. But when it comes to taking photos, I’m drawn to light, patterns, textures, shapes. I don’t stop to consider “would this make a good technical photo?”.

I was also pleased to hear Richard say he is greatly influenced by Rembrandt. I studied his work during all the years I studied art (about 10 years of painting and learning to draw). I even tried to create a Rembrandt-mood in a couple of photos that I took in Rome during 2008.

UPDATE: Richard became NZ Photographer of the Year 2011, so I learnt from a Master!

I also discovered that my penchant for snapping red and green isn’t so bad – it creates a powerful image. Here’s another photo I took on my Rome trip.

And the best photos are minimalist and tell a story. Hopefully, these photos I took fall into this category.

The course made me realise that I have so much more to learn and that I have to do something I’ve been putting off. Learn Photoshop. I used to think that you should aim to take the best photo possible in-camera and not bother with post-production. But after attending this course and seeing Richard’s amazing new photos (really, it’s like digital art), I have to bite the bullet. Richard showed us tips and techniques in Photoshop, most of which went over my head as I haven’t used it. But I aim to master it now.

Because I enjoy shooting in B&W film with my plastic fantastic cameras, I’m thinking of hunting down an old film camera – maybe the Leica M6. Any photographers reading this – any suggestions? Here are some of my B&W shots taken with the Diana F+ camera.

 

Hare today; gone tomorrow

There are a number of hares on the property. They look really cute and fluffy but are obviously a pest. Largely, because they burrow huge holes in paddocks that the horses and Zeph can trip over or fall into. I’ve fallen over quite a few holes actually as one foot goes in and twists.

Whilst out walking around the property the other day, I spotted one of the culprit hares. He spotted me just as I spotted him. He froze; I whipped the camera out. Just as I snapped the photo, the hare took off and Zeph ran after him. Now that Zeph is five months old, his running speed is getting fast and he nearly caught up with the hare. The farmer who grazes on our property keeps threatening to shoot the hares (I don’t know if that’s legal in NZ but a lot of farmers talk about shooting things). So at least I’ve immortalised the hare in this shot in case he’s gone tomorrow.

 

New Zealand beauty

Travelling around the Canterbury area, you start to appreciate just how really beautiful this country is. When you see majestic oak trees and green wooded areas, you could be forgiven for thinking you might be in England. At other times, you think you could be in mid-West United States with large swathes of prairie land. Then there are Pure New Zealand scenes – huge lush ferns growing in the cool of a moist rainforest; harakeke/flax; Kauri pine; stunning Rata trees; stunning gorges like the one near me, Ashley Gorge.

And there are scenes like these that take your breathe away. The variety of colours and the wide-open spaces in New Zealand are a photographer’s dream really. Everywhere you look, there’s some stunning scene to snap.

 

You coming out?

A Kaimanawa was participating in the recent Polocrosse event but was quite happy staying in her float. Other horses were tied up to cars or the back of floats eating grass or psyching up for the Polocrosse. Not the Kaimanawa though. She wanted to stay inside her mobile horse palace until the last minute. One horse came over to see what was up.

Hey! Polocrosse starts pretty soon. Are you coming out or what?

 

Snap du jour

At the recent Polocrosse event, I crouched down to ground level so I could get some shots of the horses and riders as they were flying past. I was temporarily distracted by some wonderful geometry and soft colours in the grass. At least this time, it wasn’t trees or leaves

 

Polocrosse

I told you recently that yep, I’ve actually managed to get on a horse, stay on and even ride it around the arena. I’ve even bought a spiffy looking riding helmet  – must show you a photo. My “victim horse” is Rosie, a very placid 4 year-old. In fact, she’s so placid she nods off whilst I’m grooming her. To get her into first gear is a bit of a trial. My riding instructor says “give her a kick”. She doesn’t mean a brutal kick – just a nudge to remind her to get going. This doesn’t always work but so far I’m having a lot of fun learning to ride my Rosie (or Random Rosie as I now call her – because it’s a random event if she actually moves).

Last weekend, I went along to a local Polocrosse event, mainly to take some action shots. But I must say, it was all rather thrilling and I had visions of me and Rosie playing one day. I’m not sure that Rosie would be a good Polocrosse horse though – all the horses there looked quite lean and fine boned. Rosie is: well, shall we say chunky because she’s a quarter Shire. Mind you, it will take me AGES to figure out how to ride a horse so fast whilst at the same time juggling with a Polocrosse racquet thingo.

It was a hot day and many of the horses (and riders) were literally bathed in sweat. Despite the heat, you could really see how the horses enjoyed the sport.

 

Let there be light

And speaking of my obsession with trees and light, I took these photos last week, when the sun decided to pop out for a few days. These are with my iPhone but, this coming week, my beloved Nikon D40 and I will be practicing. I use a Sigma 18-2oomm f3.5-6.3 DC OS lens, which I think is an amazing piece of glass. I like Sigma lenses better than Nikkor lenses. The Nikon D40 has been discontinued but I love its flexibility and ease of use. It’s travelled all over the world with me and never let me down. It came with an 18-55mm kit lens but I declined to get that, preferring to go with the Sigma lens.

I also love to use lomography cameras and have quite a few: the Diana F+, Holga 120S, a Russian Smena 8M and the Superheadz Pink Dress. I haven’t shot much in film since arriving in New Zealand but, now that I’ve found a place in Rangiora where they can cross-process 120 and 135m film, I should get going.

You can check out more of my photos on my photography blog, ChinchillaBluePhotography. Or you can check out my Flickr stream. On Flickr, I’m known as Victoria Evans. No, I haven’t stolen someone’s identity – these are my two middle names. I have some lomo shots on my Flickr stream if you don’t know what lomography is.

Anyway. For today’s post – some shots with the iPhone.

 

Better get the Nikon out

I’ve been accepted into a photography course in April. I’m quite excited about this because it’s with one of New Zealand’s leading photographers. So I’m going to have to get my Nikon D40 out more. The iPhone is really convenient for taking those quick shots when you’re out and about in the garden or around the house. But if I’m not going to embarrass myself, I’d better get my Nikon out and take more photos with it.

Actually, I had it out last weekend. We took my Thoroughbred, Larry, to an A&P show. He won 1st Prize, Best Hack, and other ribbons in various classes. Here’s a few shots I took of him with my Nikon – I think you’ll agree he’s a handsome boy. Along the way though, I was sidetracked by my usual obsession – tree silhouettes and light.

I’m sure this will sound pretentious but I don’t like to process my photos. I prefer not to do any post-processing as I think you should aim to take the very best shot possible in-camera. But I’ve come around to the idea that Photoshop (and Aperture, which I have loaded onto my MacBook Pro) can really help you be more creative. So I’ll learn this sort of stuff in the course.

Next week, when it actually stops raining and the sun makes a welcome appearance, I’ll be getting out my Fujiyama macro lens and I’ll post some shots.

 

Future champion

Woot! My stallion is a champion in the making. I mentioned recently that we were off to our very first In-Hand show. This is when you take your horse out to an event and run around a ring looking pretty ridiculous, especially when you have to wear horsey attire.

We decided to take Muff out to the show, partly so he could collect ribbons and also to socialise with all types of horses. Because he’s a stallion, he had to wear a blue ribbon on his tail to denote “Beware Stallion” and we popped a red one on him too to denote “kicker, stay well back”. Muff doesn’t kick but better to be safe than sorry, especially when you have other horses following your horse around in the show ring.

We entered Muff in four classes: best novice; best pacer; best mannered; best young stock. And he won a ribbon in each class. Some classes had 7 or more horses. So for his very first show he did really well. He didn’t take out a #1 ribbon because in the classes was this rather stunning horse – turned out to be a grand champion horse.

But the assistant to the judge couldn’t take her eyes off Muff and the judge was also complimentary. Muff neighed a few times in the ring due to the presence of mares. But really, he was an angel. Easy to float and very well-behaved.

Naturally, I was like a proud mother and took over 500 photos. His next show is in mid-December and then more shows in January. The idea is to get him seen and hopefully he’ll win more ribbons. Karma is also going into a show in January and I am in training on how to handle and show her.

I suspect it will be more that she’ll be showing me than me showing her. She’s one feisty Welsh lass.

Red and blue ribbons in Muff's tail tell people he's a stallion and could kick. Here he is out in the ring with his handler.

Another class and more pacing around the ring.