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  • The Field of Onion Weed

    A quick stroll on the way home across the ‘river’ (not sure if it is natural or not) by the Lake House Art Centre I went to a while ago took me along a field near the motorway, and covered in onion weed. I had tried to get there on my last visit, but it was so boggy (as in more than what I often tackle) I had to wait for a drier day.

    It was still too wet to sit down, but the onion weed field really brought a nice sense of spring to the otherwise cloudy and windy afternoon. Getting down into the grass I snapped off a few shots on the Sony, and chose the above for today’s shot.

    In Gimp, I played a little with levels, contrast and cloned out a tall building from nearby Takapuna.

    I also managed to finish the film in my Ricoh TLS SLR camera and develop it tonight. A quick look before going into the drying cupboard suggest I should have a nice shot or two I can share, so watch this space!

  • Hiding from the Sun

    ‘Hiding from the Sun’ came from one of my bush walks over the last month – I think Smiths Bush. I always love how the light filters through the canopy and down to the floor of the forest. Often one does not even realise how dark it is in the bush until you hit a pocket where the sun has broken through to peer inside.

    Shot on the Ricoh, I resized for the net, but otherwise it is untouched.

    Looking ahead to my Fiji trip in a little over a week, I am toying with the idea of taking a cheap and nasty (/fun) film camera along with my Ricoh. I will likely shoot in digital most the time, and rather then my Rollei 35, I’ll use something for a bit more of the lomography experience. We will see…I’ll look through what I have, and what I am waiting for in the post (have ordered a plamodel kitset camera for some fun) and make a decision closer to the time.

  • MacGyver

    When I was young I remember being a massive fan of the TV series MacGyver. An action adventure mega star, Macgyver hated guns, carried a pocket knife, and could get out of almost any situation with a pocketful of junk and some household items. Danger followed him wherever he went, and he always won the day.

    I remember getting my first Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, a ‘Tinker’. I would make various things out of foam, cut bits and pieces, and unscrew all my toys. It was great fun. I think amongst a very hands on creative family, Macgyver was also somewhat of an influence as I grew up, always tinkering and fixing things. It great to be able to fix something on the go, with a limited set of tools.

    Missing the sun after work, and pulling my pocket knife out of my bag, looking for an image, I reflected on my practical side and composed today image.I really need to get some better portable lighting at home some time – I had to hold the knife and book up to the room light in one hand and take with the other. In post processing, I used Gimp to add a vignette and push up the saturation.

  • Dove

    Last Friday I visited the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens with work. About 40min north of Auckland in the Car, the gardens are a nice little stroll and visit for people into various forms of sculptural art work. Like photography, there are genres that one likes and dislikes. Some sculpture and art goes right over my head, and other pieces draw me in. For me, it was about a 50/50 around the walk. As well as sculpture, the gardens are well maintained, and this time of the year covered on wonderful blossoming fruit trees.

    ‘Dove’ is one of the art works I liked. Created by Jin Ling , the female form holding a dove is all about Ling’s desire and hope for a peaceful existence.

    Taken on the Fuji J15fd, I cropped, pushed up sharpening and lowered contrast – all in Gimp.

  • Planet Food

    We were stopping through the CBD today, so I took the opportunity to test out my Ricoh TLS after giving it a bit of a clean up. I also brought along my mobile and the fisheye lens as I wanted to capture something else to document for the day.

    Being in town there is always a wide range of images, especially with the likes of a fisheye. The first logical choice is to capture the tall skyscrapers towering over oneself and give the distorted image of them closing in on the viewer. Where I strolled through was quite contrasty, and the samsung struggled with the dynamic range to capture the details on the street as well as up in the sky.  I strolled by a lunch bar where the staff were getting in an early morning meal before opening and composed today’s image ‘Planet Food’ . About a foot out from the window, I like how the reflections outside are captured in the fisheye as we peer into the bowl/planet like image.

    In post processing, I converted the image to black and white and increased sharpness a little in Gimp.