From the Dark, Into the light

Taking a quick walk after work, onto an upper track from a walk I did almost year ago, I set the Ricoh to high contrast B&W – determined to get a few shots I liked using this setting. Its been very overcast these last few days, with bad weather around the country, & the night is beginning to draw in earlier as we approach winter.

Heading back to the car, exiting a particularly dark patch of the track, I caught todays image. Using Gimp I slightly upped the contrast a little more to reduce the grey, and resized for the net.

April 22, 2013 0

Waiting for the Storm

A short stroll after work at the Beach Haven waterfront. Light rain precedes what is forecast to be a potentially heavy storm and possible isolated tornadoes tonight.

Shooting again using the B&W High Contrast mode on the Ricoh GRD IV and post editing in Gimp – cropping aspect and adding a slight colour tone tint.

Friday!

April 19, 2013 0

Swift in the West

A quick archive shot for today. Work took me out of the office and down to Hamilton for my 12 hour day. Unfortunately, between doing what I was down there to do, and driving, I didn’t get the opportunity to take any shots. Hamilton has an excellent garden park, and I’m told a great Zoo, so I will need to head down for them again at some stage.

Todays image, shot back in summer when I took a trip to Piha on the West Coast. I recall the clouds still being low in the sky as I looked back to the car park, and up into the ranges.

Shot on the Sony Nex, converted to B&W in Gimp.

April 18, 2013 0

Keys to the House

In what must be record time (for us), our internet issues have been resolved and we are back online again. One tick in the ‘to do list’ for our new home. Next on the list is re-seating and sealing our laundry tap. Things built up in the last week of packing, and my clothing is starting to whittle down in the selection pool.

Todays image was the first I shot with the transfer of ownership and key’s collection. Using the GRD with high contrast B&W on Macro, I shot from the bench, towards the brick ‘theme wall’ in the lounge.

High contrast B&W is a popular option for many Ricoh GRD fans. I have not used it a whole lot, but think I’ll give it a bit more of a go for a while. Being very contrasty and [digital] grainy, one can bump up the iso, if required, with little affect to the image.

On the subject of Ricoh and it’s GRD range, I am excited to read the GR V is finally on its way – albeit not officially announced yet. Fitting a APS C sensor (like that used in the majority of DSLR’s) makes it an amazingly small package with a lot of promise for delivering amazing images, yet still fitting in your jeans pocket.

I dont think I will be shifting up any time yet when it is released (If Ricoh sent me one I would happily use it!). My GRD IV is still as good as the day it was released, creates great images, handles well…and just does what was designed to do. Its all too easy to jump on the need, want, must have band wagon without really assessing if one genuinely does need. Back in the film camera days you might own the same camera for several decades. In our current Technology age, one year is sold to us as being a lifetime (hello Samsung and Apple). There is no argument the latest models are [usually] a step up, but whether its a required step up is another question. When my Sony 5N was replaced with the latest 5# and the improved Nex6, both models gained function, but lost battery life – image quality was essentially identical also. I love playing with new toys, but have also started to reflect a lot on how much the ‘consumerism and marketing god’ pulls at our wallet strings. Branded is a fun movie I caught a while ago which creatively plays with this idea.

That will do for today. Its only Wednesday!

April 17, 2013 0

View to New Life

Todays image brings my One Tree Hill/Cornwall Park series to a close. The building in view is the local hospital, once known as National Womens. Many mothers when there back in the day to have their children. It was not always practice that the father/husband could come into the birthing area with the mum to be. With One Tree Hill just behind, some fathers to be may have taken a stroll up to this point, listening to the lambs and eagerly awaiting their own youngster!

As this post goes live, it also signals the end of my Easter break. All going well, I’ll be back tomorrow with some new images from where I went. Catch you then!

April 2, 2013 4

Once was One Tree Hill

So todays image is what One Tree Hill now looks like (minus the one tree!). There have been a number of illegal replantings of trees on the summit, removed by the local council. It is said that when Treaty claims are finalised, or when local council and Iwi (loosely the Maori group of the area) come to an agreement, we may once again see a tree on the summit.

For now however, we still have the tall obelisk where Sir Campbell is buried.

Although I didn’t grab any shots from the summit on this visit, the view is spectacular from the top. 360 degree all around Auckland!

Shot on the Sony Nex and edited in Gimp.

March 30, 2013 2

Gulls of Flight

“Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

March 21, 2013 0

Overgrown Quarry

I revisited an old quarry on the way home this evening. I’m sure I have featured an image of it before, but for the life of me (well, for a fairly quick image search) I can’t find it.

Closed a bit over a year ago I think, the quarry has sat unused and fenced off. Gradually the gravel paths have become overgrown with weeds, and areas perhaps once maintained have started to flourish in relative lack of human day to day activity. At the bottom of the quarry is a small lake. It was almost totally calm, and I snapped a few shots of the far bank with the reflection in the water.

Shot on the Sony Nex with a legacy Jupiter-8 lens. Whilst it looked quite nice in colour, I think it also lends itself nice in black and white. Converted in Gimp with a faint colour tint, otherwise as from camera.

March 13, 2013 0

Take Flight

‘Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding’.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Shot on Sony Nex 5n. Cropped and desaturated in Gimp.

March 11, 2013 2

Hong Kong Market

Momentarily when I arrived home, I was happy to see the internet had been fixed…then I sat down and it stopped again. Perhaps its some radio wave I emit when I enter the house!? Its working right now at least, so I will get on with todays post.

Shot back something like a decade now in Hong Kong on my Minolta Dynax, I captured this image from one of the local market streets. It had been raining, and I vaguely recall walking up behing the old lady with the brolly to frame her in the shot looking up the street.

Originally shot in colour film, after it being scanned in, I converted to B&W in gimp, and slightly cropped the aspect of the image.

I’d love to get the opportunity to stop over at Hong Kong again. Its a world apart from here in New Zealand, and perhaps its that difference that makes it so appealing. I love the contrast of buildings and people around. Following various bloggers and youtube channels, I like to see what is changing and what is the same. One day I’ll head back.

February 28, 2013 0