Arrowtown – Page 4 – Stuck in Customs
14
Dec 2018 : Friday
filed under  Arrowtown, Autumn, New Zealand, Otago, Queenstown, Sony A7R 3

An Autumn Wander

Aurora HDR 2019

I used the new Aurora (that is available for PC and Mac) to make today’s image. If you haven’t picked it up yet, then be sure to pop on over to the store and make it happen!

Daily Photo – An Autumn Wander

Last Autumn, I took the time to have some random walks around the countryside here between Queenstown and Arrowtown. There are hundreds and hundreds of little scenes like this everywhere. Most are on private property, but it seems to kind of okay to wander around anyway. No one has ever stopped me. In fact, I’ve met a lot of nice people. They see me with a camera and are a little suspicious, but then they chill out after we talk for a while and see I am just one of their friendly neighbors!

An Autumn Wander

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-04-30 11:59:04
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/800
  • Aperture5
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
10
Dec 2018 : Monday
filed under  Arrowtown, Hasselblad X1D, Otago, Queenstown, Travel

Derek Sivers in a Field

Sam Harris Meditation App

I have many meditation apps… this is a new one from Sam Harris that I really like. I think it’s perfect for people just getting into it for the first time. I’ve been meditating for a while, but it’s still fun to “start over” with a new set of techniques. That Sam Harris, he’s a cool cat.

Daily Photo – Derek Sivers in a Field

I think I really nailed it with the title of this photo. It came to me instantly. I don’t know what force brings about these amazing photo titles, but I am very thankful for it.

Man, I miss this guy! We were gonna do a big road trip across New Zealand, but we were both too busy to make it happen. He’s in Portugal now. Maybe I should make a trip over thataway and we’ll do a road trip there!

Derek Sivers in a Field

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-03-21 04:50:19
  • CameraX1D-50c
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/2000
  • Aperture3.5
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length30.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
23
Nov 2018 : Friday
filed under  Arrowtown, Autumn, Mavic Pro, Mavic Pro 2, Seasons

Autumn in Arrowtown, New Zealand

New Mavic 2 Zoom

I chose to get the new Mavic 2 Zoom because I’m excited about many features, namely the zoom-panorama. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m going to try it on the scene below next Autumn. Apparently, you can put it into a special photo mode where it zooms into 48mm and then takes a series of shots and creates a high-resolution panorama. That sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun to try in these situations.

Daily Photo – Autumn in Arrowtown, New Zealand

The trees on the hillside behind Arrowtown in the Autumn are so beautiful. There’s a big autumn festival every year in downtown every year where all the families come out and have a good old fashioned parade. I don’t really like parades. I don’t know why. Other people really seem to enjoy them. I wonder if I am missing something or if I am simply numbed by over-stimulation. But I don’t think that’s true either because I’m a happy camper just to sit there and meditate with nothing happening. I should meditate more on my dislike of parades.

Autumn in Arrowtown, New Zealand

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-01 13:43:02
  • CameraFC6310
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/4000
  • Aperture6.3
  • ISO6400
  • Focal Length8.8 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
15
Aug 2018 : Wednesday
filed under  Arrowtown, New Zealand

Update on Workshops

New Goodies for Workshop attendees

For our upcoming Photography Workshops in New Zealand and Africa, I’ve decided to throw in a Peak Design Goodie Kit! It will include a Peak Design bag and lots of other goodies. I think you’ll have a great time on the workshop anyway, but even better if you’re sporting some flash new gear!

Daily Photo – Beautiful Arrowtown in the Autumn

And this is one of the things you’ll definitely see on the Autumn New Zealand workshop. We always spend at least a day here in Arrowtown to see the incredible colors while receiving photography instruction. One of my favorite parts after a long day of shooting and post-processing is ending up at one of my favorite restaurants for a group dinner. Everything is included with the price, and we always want to over-deliver, so I take you to the best places… the best foods, best wines, best photography… what else could you ask for!?!

Beautiful Arrowtown in the Autumn

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-01 13:43:02
  • CameraFC6310
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/4000
  • Aperture6.3
  • ISO6400
  • Focal Length8.8 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
12
Jul 2018 : Thursday
filed under  Arrowtown, New Zealand, Queenstown, Travel

My Two Girls, Horsin’ Around

Horse Riding Tours

If you like riding horses and are coming to New Zealand, you should definitely schedule a few horse rides through the countryside. They are offered in almost every area. I’d recommend doing one in Glenorchy or Paradise, which is just about an hour away from Queenstown. That is the beautiful area where they shot Lord of the Rings and a lot of other movies. You can see many of my Glenorchy photos here.

My Two Girls, Horsin’ Around

My girls absolutely love horses. Below are two photos of them at their horse-riding school. It’s not just horse-riding, but all the stuff around it too. They do everything from brush and clean the horses to pick up the horse poop. They appear to love all aspects of this horse-care bit, which boggles my mind. They have been trying to talk me into buying a horse and keeping it here on our property. I have told them this is a preposterous idea and I will never do such a thing.

Comments
14
Jun 2018 : Thursday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, DJI Phantom, New Zealand, Quadcopters

High above Lake Hayes

Don’t miss my new Drone Tutorial!

You’re gonna love this thing! Seeing today’s photo reminds me of how much fun it was to create the series of lessons. You can buy it here in our store or Join Passport and have it included for free!

Daily Photo – High above Lake Hayes

How pretty is this idyllic lake? It’s only about ten minutes from my home and I don’t know why I don’t visit more often. I do like to go on runs around the outside… it’s about 8 km around the whole thing. It’s only glassy-still like this about 10% of the time. Most of those times, I don’t even have my camera, which is a major bummer. This is actually a quadcopter shot made from three different photos.

High above Lake Hayes

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-02 14:53:56
  • CameraFC6310
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/500
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length8.8 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
13
Jun 2018 : Wednesday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, New Zealand, Passport, Sony A7R 3

Speaking of Sculptures…

Editing Photos from Glenorchy

Here’s a long editing session where you see me working on a few photos from an outing. There’s a lot of stream-of-consciousness in here, so it’s not quite as “tight” as some of my other videos, but maybe a bit more “real”! Anyway, enjoy!

Daily Photo – Speaking of Sculptures…

Here’s a new sculpture up at The Hills by the British artist, Sean Henry. I kind of like this photo, but I think I can do better. The thing that is missing is the scale of the image. It’s absolutely massive… so I think I need to add another element in to give it scale. I may put a human in here, but I’m not sure what I would have them doing. I don’t do a lot of “setup shots” like you see on Instagram with solitary figures standing in a vast landscape. I find those photos a bit droll for some reason. Anyway, maybe I’ll get a little kid and let him crawl around on the creepy guys’ lap or something. That’s not a bad idea… kind of a strange idea. I’m obviously brainstorming now.

Speaking of Sculptures…

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-03 16:28:05
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/800
  • Aperture4
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias+2

Comments
12
Jun 2018 : Tuesday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, New Zealand, Sony A7R 3

Another Max Patte Work

Daily Photo – Another Max Patte Work

This guy is one of my favorite sculptors! I believe the original one of these is in Wellington on the bay there. Some good news for me is that he’s moving down to Queenstown and will practically be neighbors with me! I look forward to hanging out with him more, and maybe we can even collaborate on a project or three! You can see more of his work at http://maxpatte.com/.

Another Max Patte Work

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-03 16:34:56
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/400
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
10
Jun 2018 : Sunday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, New Zealand, Sony A7R 3

Another Project!

The Alchemist Preview

This is one of my favorite books! I have it over in my Book List on Kit.com. Well, even though it’s great to read, it might EVEN BE BETTER to listen to it with the dulcet tones of Jeremy Irons vibrating in your skull. Here’s a preview of the first five minutes.

Daily Photo – Another Project!

Man, I’ve got too many projects going on… but they are all fun! I got excited about a little idea that is turning into a year-long project. It’s going to be a book about this place, The Hills Golf Course in Arrowtown where I’ve been a member since I moved here six years ago. I’m good friends with Sir Michael Hill (he’s one of my awesome art collectors and has works from www.TreyRatcliff.com!). Anyway, I have so many cool photos from over the years and I think I could put together a pretty compelling book. Well, a book is a lot of work, so I’ll probably work on it over the next 12 months to see what comes out of it. It’s not really going to be a “money” project… just sort of a fun passion project.

Another Project!

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-03 16:19:19
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/3200
  • Aperture4
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length35.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
8
Jun 2018 : Friday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, New Zealand, Queenstown, Sony A7R 3

Walking to my Studio

Quadcopter Panorama

On my way to the fjords last year, I stopped to make a 360 video about creating a panorama out of quadcopter photos. In this video, I talk a bit about how I hope to achieve that!

Note this video is a bit bouncy. I’m happy to say now I have some new firmware that does much better stabilization!

Daily Photo – Walking to my Studio

How lucky am I to get to walk to work every day from home? I don’t take any of these niceties for granted, I promise. And there’s Blueberry, our awesome dog, standing on the little stone steps, hoping I will throw her a tennis ball. I swear, these Labradoodles are a bit OCD with the fetching situation. It’s literally all she does other than cuddling and eating.

Anyway, the path doesn’t always look like this… this is a bit of an autumn view when the trees are changing color.

Walking to my Studio

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-04-30 11:06:13
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/800
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments