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  • No Family Portrait Today

    Family Photo

    Catching up with friends today in Devonport for Fish and Chips, it was decided the time was right for a family portrait…well, for all but the youngest member Emily. As soon as everyone lined up and cameras were at the ready, Emily heard the call of the sea-saw and rushed off.

    I captured today’s shot just before she fell out of frame. Shot on the Ricoh GRD IV, in bleach bi-pass mode, I loved the lighting effect and the almost street photography like quality of the image.

    In post processing using Gimp, I kept the focus on Emily and added some blur to different stages of the background. Other than the blur, its as is from the camera.

    One more day left for 2012. Prior to a celebration/welcoming of 2013 with friends, I plan to be out for some of the day on the bicycle. I’m not sure where we will be going as yet, but likely I will find something to shoot!

  • Still Before Sun

    Still before Sun

    Now I am on holiday, sleep has been avoiding me for some reason. Still Before Sun was shot yesterday morning ~5.30am whilst on an early morning stroll down by the water. Prior to the sun coming up everything was still – only the odd person was about, there was no wind and the ocean was equally silent. Several birds were diving into the sea to get their breakfast, and the air was yet to warm up.

    Shot on the Sony Nex and Sigma lens, I added some vignetting and noise/’film grain’ in Gimp 2.8.

    Although I didn’t use any today, I downloaded some additional packages for Gimp that I will try out some time. For those that stop by often, you will be aware that Gimp 2.8 is my photo editor of choice. In fact, its been so long since I regularly used Photoshop, my work flow is really affected when I do switch back on the odd occasion.

    The additional packages actually came about with a system change. For several years now, my main computer has been running Ubuntu – Linux. I also regularly use several versions of OSX and Windows, but have long been a fan of Linux and the community behind it. This morning I backed up and switched to Linux Mint (and hence re-assembled my Gimp setup). Its been getting rave reviews for some time, and so far, one day in, I am enjoying it.

    I have still been meaning to get a few write-ups about my cameras, or ‘what’s in my bag’…I will endeavour to start on that before my holidays end!

  • Beside the Bombay Hills

    Bombay

    At the southernmost point of Auckland is the Bombay Hills. For Aucklander’s they signal one is leaving ‘town’ and heading into the country. For non-Aucklander’s, it signals they are approaching the big city. Whilst mostly tongue and cheek, there is a bit of a division between Auckland and some other areas of the country. Its widely said not to say you are from Auckland – in reality I have never had a bad experience from it, just some friendly jesting from one Kiwi to another.

    A popular area for various crops, what I love about the Bombay Hills is the amazing view one can get when driving south. Different seasons give a completely different, but equally magnificent view. Today’s image was just to the left, along a small road.

    Shot on the Ricoh GRD IV(28mm) in bleach bi-pass mode, aside from resizing, I made no edits – its straight from the camera.

    Not many days left in 2012 now!

  • Huntly, the River and the Power Station

    Huntly

    On a trip to sell my car and visit some non-Auckland second hand shops, we passed through Huntly today. One of those ‘in between’ places, I have fond memories of Huntly from childhood as it was a common morning tea stop when we went away on family holidays.

    Huntly is also home of the Huntly Power Station – a gas/coal station. Commissioned  in 1983, from what I understand, the power station is in its later phase of life with coal produced electricity not being the top choice for NZ. However, its likely we will still see it running for some time yet.

    In the forefront of the photo is the Waikato river – New Zealand’s longest river at 425km in length – running down a good length of the North Island. The Waikato (a loose Maori translation Flowing Water) is also a supplier of about 8% of Auckland’s daily water needs.

    Shot on my Ricoh GRD IV in bleach bi-pass mode, I only resized for the net.

     

  • Calf in the Store

    image

    A lazy day at home for boxing day today. We considered heading out to the shops, but with boxing day madness and nothing specific in mind, we wisely decided against it.

    Todays shot, taken on the samsung galaxy and edited in afterfocus, was a small garden model I spotted in the shop a few days ago.

    Heading out of town for a few hours tomorrow so hopefully we get some nice weather!