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  • Oakura Beach

    Oakura BeachJust to the left of yesterdays image (about 15km down the road actually) lies the seaside surf escape of Oakura Beach. Easter weekend in New Plymouth happened to also have a VW club meet on, so it was quite cool to see a good handful of well kept and restored Kombi van’s parked up along the beach, as their owners surfed (or swam) the waves.

    Of interesting note, the township was hit by a tornado in 2007.

    Image wise, I desaturated the blue from the sky and slightly pushed contrast before cropping. All done in Gimp, and shot on the Ricoh.

     

  • Port Taranaki Power Station and Sugar Loaf Island

    View from Paritutu SummitOne of my favorite shots from last weeks holiday in New Plymouth is from Paritutu – a tall headland point to one side of the main township. Looking down, under a falling sun I captured this image of the old power station, and offshore island.

    The power station, a natural gas/fuel oil station was opened in 1974, and decommissioned in 2008. Asbestos discovery was noted as one of the reasons for the closure (NZ has widely banned any new use of asbestos for several years now, and its often very costly to deal with in old homes etc).

    Off shore was see Sugarloaf island. The remainder volcanic vent piece from an estimated 1.7 Million years ago. Now part of a protected Marine area.

    Shot on the GRD, resized in Gimp.

     

  • Te Henui Fallen

    Te Henui CemetaryDuring my stay in New Plymouth, one afternoon (~3 hours of it) was spent walking and exploring the Te Henui Walkway. Starting from the coast, it follows the river and weaves up through suburbia, a small bush covered belt.

    Half way along we hit the cemetery. I was surprised to see so many war veteran graves, mounted in beautiful symmetry over the wavy ground. As far as cemeteries go, it was a beautiful restful spot.

    At the edge, the track again dove into the bush and remet the river. I followed it up until suburbia took over, and I was back on the road.

    Shot on the GRD, resized in Gimp.

     

  • Brooklands Park

    Brooklands ParkAs shot from the camera, I loved the saturated colour I got during my visit to Brooklands Park in New Plymouth. The sun was hot and the grass dry in many places.

    Brooklands itself is a suburb in New Plymouth. With a large area covered in the forested park (and a zoo), the area is (like many places in NZ) named from the old Brooklands Farm established in 1842. Its also home to the only Lawn Bowl’s Museum – anywhere apparently  (I didn’t visit it 1. due to not knowing this until after, 2. It was easter, so unlikely it would have been open).

    Shot on the GRD, resized in Gimp.

    More New Plymouth area tomorrow.

     

  • NZ from the Sky

    NZ from the SkyReturning from our holiday in New Plymouth yesterday afternoon, it was a beautiful, mostly clear day right up the North Island (soon to be given the dual title Te Ika a Maui).

    As with all of my recent holidays, I went along with my Ricoh GRD IV. I almost took the Sony Nex this time, but keeping with tradition, at last moment, switched out for the Ricoh. Battery wise, the Ricoh is superior – plus I have two spares – enough to keep me going over a week at my usual holiday snap pace. As well as better battery life, its more compact, fitting into jeans pockets, or relatively light with an over the shoulder strap. Downside wise (depending on ones perspective), the Ricoh is a fixed lens, small sensor camera.

    In many ways (I’m sure I have written this before), one of the things I like about the Ricoh and its fixed lens is that is makes you think for the shot – you have to move and change position to attain the composition in your mind. This of course applies to all prime lenses. The other strength, is even though its a smaller sensor, the lens is designed specifically for it – getting the most from the package, and not having to sacrifice like all zooms do to one level or another. I think the final piece which has made this my return to for holidays shooter is the menu system. I’ve owned a good number of cameras in the past, and Ricoh are easily up there at the top level with their menu – both in ease of use and options.

    All that being said, todays image is not right up there in my favorites from the camera… but its not often I get to shoot NZ from a plane, so I wanted to share. Location wise, its somewhere on the west coast, around half way up (I think).

    Some more from the trip tomorrow.