New Zealand – Page 54 – Stuck in Customs
30
May 2017 : Tuesday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Climbing the Remarkables

Selfies

I don’t do a lot of them… in fact, almost none. I know it’s very popular and I see it a lot on Instagram (people putting figures in landscapes). I think it’s nice to look at, but I wonder if it’s a trendy thing. Anyway, just a little artistic note here that just because almost everyone seems to be doing it on Instagram, it doesn’t mean I’m going to start doing it too. No judgment or anything… just not gonna do it.

Daily Photo – Climbing the Remarkables

Here’s a photo of me in my Spies Like Us coat atop The Remarkables in Queenstown. I didn’t actually hike all the way up here… who has time for that? I took a snowmobile most of the way… then spent about 20 minutes on a final climb, which was more than exhausting! Anyway, I was up there with my friend Curtis… I figured out a shot, framed it, then asked Curtis to take the photo… then came back and processed it after my fingers unfroze!

Climbing the Remarkables

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-06-14 11:07:53
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/8000
  • Aperture4
  • ISO1250
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-2

Comments
29
May 2017 : Monday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Swirling Vortex over Lake Wakatipu

Myers-Briggs Test

I have in my profile that I’m an “INTJ” – but I notice that confuses people sometimes. It’s based on this Myers-Briggs personality test that is generally quite accurate. I can’t say I disagree with the little analysis at the end. Here’s a 12-minute test you can take to test your own designation. People are often quite impressed with the little analysis at the end! Remember to answer honestly, even if you don’t like the answer (no one will see!) 🙂

Daily Photo – Swirling Vortex over Lake Wakatipu

One day I was driving out towards Glenorchy with my friend Mark, and we saw these unusual cloud pattern forming, so we pulled off the side of the road to grab a quick photo. The road from Queenstown to Glenorchy is great, but there are only about 6 good places to pull off. Great views are everywhere, but often blocked by bushes and trees. This is a big reason I recommend getting a quadcopter. You don’t have to take the thing miles away, just 20 feet up in the air can do a tremendous amount of difference!

Swirling Vortex over Lake Wakatipu

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-06-14 10:11:34
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/640
  • Aperture6.3
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length37.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

Comments
28
May 2017 : Sunday
filed under  New Zealand, Wellington, Wharekauhau

Flying over Wharekauhau

Thinking Retro-Present in Paris

Paris was stop 4 on our tour of Europe and we chose just about the craziest evening for a walk… election night when the streets were filled with thousands of police and everything was on high alert!

Find out more about the tour here: 80stays.treyratcliff.com

Daily Photo – Flying over Wharekauhau

Yeah, what was that word again? It’s a Maori word and it’s pronounced “Furry Ko Ho” or something like this. Anyway, it’s a beautiful resort just north of Wellington. We had an absolute blast staying here for sure. Be sure to check out other shots from this category above.

Flying over Wharekauhau

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-05-19 17:23:32
  • CameraFC330
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/25
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO547
  • Focal Length
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
25
May 2017 : Thursday
filed under  Glenorchy, New Zealand

The Wetlands

Laird Superfood

Be sure to check out some of my favorite things on my Kit page, including some non-photography stuff. I’ve really gotten into this Laird Superfood Creamer that I add to my coffee… it’s super-tasty and is effectively that bulletproof formula. I crave it every morning! (Note that Laird did not pay me to say that or anything… I paid full price!) 🙂

Daily Photo – The Wetlands

Another pretty day in New Zealand means another pretty day to test out the new Hasselblad X1D. Man I love this machine… it’s fun getting a new toy and it gives me a reason to go re-visit some of my favorite haunts. It was one of those mornings that started out a little cloudy and dreary, but then opens up around noon to really show some amazing colors. Not long after this, the sun came out and really lit up all those yellow bits. It was almost TOO colorful, so that’s why I came back to this one which is a bit more understated in its vibrancy.

The Wetlands

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-03-21 22:02:47
  • CameraX1D-50c
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/1000
  • Aperture3.5
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length30.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
23
May 2017 : Tuesday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Evening Sun on the Remarkables

More of The Remarkables

You’ll see these mountains make a few cameo appearances inside this timelapse I made in Queenstown! 🙂

Daily Photo – Evening Sun on the Remarkables

Every sunset here is different! This was taken about five minutes from my home… and I get to see these mountains every night at sunset. Each one is completely different, and this is one of my favorite situations where the sun finally slips between a few clouds to illuminate the side of the mountain here. How beautiful!

Evening Sun on the Remarkables

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-03-21 07:45:50
  • CameraX1D-50c
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture11
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length30.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
21
May 2017 : Sunday
filed under  Arrowtown, Hasselblad X1D, New Zealand

The Wolf Attack

Medium Format Depth of Field

I’m still getting to know this X1D. This one was shot at F/5.6 with the focus on the wolf’s mouth. You can see the tail is a bit out of focus, as is the warrior in the distance. I think I should have pumped it up to F/3.5 (as low as that 30mm can go), or gone all the way to F/16 to get everything in focus. I’m not upset with the photo… but I am kind of in the middle of that DOF range here.

Daily Photo – The Wolf Attack

Yes, yes, I’ve posted about 10 photos of this sculpture! But every time I go back here, I just can’t help but take more and more… I always try to mix it up just a little bit too. This is one of those shots that’s really hard to get without using HDR because this near wolf was almost entirely in shadow.

The Wolf Attack

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-03-21 05:41:47
  • CameraX1D-50c
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/1000
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length30.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
11
May 2017 : Thursday
filed under  New Zealand, Otago

Driving to Dunedin

Hasselblad Phocus Testing

I’ve been playing a lot with “Phocus,” which is Hasselblad’s own first-party software for processing their photos. I thought for a while it was going to be better than Lightroom, but I just don’t see that yet. Look, I post-process a LOT (shocker), and I’m very familiar with many different tools. I don’t see anything I can do in Phocus that I can’t in Lightroom. But I’m still playing around… one thing for sure, Phocus is FASTER than Lightroom, but so is going to the moon…

Daily Photo – Driving to Dunedin

Sometimes on long drives across the south Island of New Zealand, you can come across many kinds of weather. This was one of those sunny days in one area where you are driving towards a bit of a gloomy, possibly stormy area. I hopped out of my car about ten times to get different photos, and this was one of my favorite compositions.

Driving to Dunedin

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-04-06 05:30:43
  • CameraH5D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/100
  • Aperture16
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length35.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
10
May 2017 : Wednesday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Another View over Queenstown

Looking at a new PC

Some of you may have seen my Switching to Windows guide where I got a 17″ MSI. Now I think it is just toooooo big, so I’m thinking of switching to the 15″ UHD Razer. But that is up in the air…pretty busy with this European Tour, but this is a subject on my hardware mind! Anyway, I’ll let you know when I make a decision… That Razer is so pretty and fast… I’m a sucker for that! 🙂

Daily Photo – Another View over Queenstown

Queenstown is a small town with only about 25,000 people. See that group of buildings to the left? That’s the main part of downtown… the photo I shared yesterday was one of about four neighborhoods around town. When I first moved out here, we rented an AirBnB in three different neighborhoods to see what it was actually like to live in a foreign country. The great news was that all of them were amazing, and you just can’t make a bad choice around here!

Another View over Queenstown

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-04-25 21:10:55
  • CameraH5D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/90
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length65.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
9
May 2017 : Tuesday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Soaring over Queenstown

Tip for shooting out of airplane windows

I usually set my f-stop as low as it will go so that I don’t see all the muck and water-spots on the window. If you’re focused on infinity, which surely you will be, everything really close to the lens will not even be visible… a fun little optics trick there! 🙂

Daily Photo – Soaring over Queenstown

This is the Kelvin Heights area of Queenstown. Pretty eh? This is one of those places you fly over as you are coming into or out of Queenstown Airport (depending on the wind). Be sure you grab a window seat if you ever fly in here… some of the best views in the world. Oh, and have your camera ready to go!

Soaring over Queenstown

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-04-25 22:11:36
  • CameraH5D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/500
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length35.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
8
May 2017 : Monday
filed under  #80Stays, New Zealand, Queenstown, Ritz-Carlton

Having a Night Ski at Coronet Peak

Following along in Europe

Try out the #80stays hashtag on Instagram to follow along and see some of the photos people are taking while joining me on the European Photo Walk Tour!

Daily Photo – Having a Night Ski at Coronet Peak

This is kind of a crazy photo, eh? In a lot of ways, I think it is kind of a crappy photo, but in another way, it’s sort of an abstract. I was going back and forth between how to process this photo, and I finally decided on this other-worldly look. The whole thing reminds me of something sci-fi in a way… the idea of skiing at night is pretty awesome. I can see this lit-up ski field atop Coronet peak from my home down at the bottom of the mountain.

Having a Night Ski at Coronet Peak

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-08-13 18:46:24
  • CameraFC330
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time0.5
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO649
  • Focal Length3.6 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramUnknown (8176)
  • Exposure Bias+0.7

Comments