Blog | Christopher John Photography

July 12, 2013July 19, 2013

Matariki celebrations at the Town Hall

Che Fu on stage at Auckland's TownHall — Che Fu on stage at Auckland’s TownHall

Great night out at Auckland’s Town Hall to celebrate Matariki. The event, organised by Evitan, was excellent. We were treated to several of New Zealand’s premier Reggae bands and performers. Lomez Brown, 1814, Three Houses Down and, of course, Che Fu and the Krates.

My good friend Malcolm Lakatani was there with Che Fu as part of the band even though his proteges were performing in the Smokefree Pacifica Beats competition at the same time. Great news for Malcolm is that his band, Revived Rhythm – as it says on the T-shirt, came in first place in the heats!!

The lighting was good, but even so I was using quite high ISOs to keep the shutter speed up at a reasonable speed. Great effects from the lighting crew – almost making Malcolm look somewhat angelic! There’s more photos from the night on my Facebook page. Maybe take a look and perhaps like the page? That way you’ll get to see any new images I add as I shoot the bands etc. Just a reminder that you can always contact me to come and shoot your band if you need promotional images or performance shots.

I’ll finish this post with a few more images from the night. Perhaps leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Albert Cook with the band Three Houses Down

The very special Thabani Gapara on stage with Three Houses Down

Charlie Pome'e, lead singer with Three Houses Down, on drums for a change! — Charlie Pome’e, lead singer with Three Houses Down, on drums for a change!

July 6, 2013July 9, 2013

Matariki at the Corban’s Estate

What a wonderful evening. Cat Tunks from Black Sand Diva helped organise a great group of musicians out at the Corban’s Estate. Outside somewhat wet and dreary, but inside … wonderfully warm with a great atmosphere.

The evening started with Huia Hamon singing a lovely Waiata. Really very special to have Huia explain the meaning behind the words so we could better appreciate what was being sung. Very special and quite lovely. Sadly, Huia wasnlt on stage very long, but I did manage a few photos of her. Please take a look here and let me know what you think. Want to know more about Huia? Click here to go to her offcial Blog/Website.

Next to perform were the students from Avondale College. Escorted to the site by the one and only Malcolm Lakatani, these students were superb! A real credit to their tutors and the school itself. Oozing talent … there’s some future music stars in these students that’s for sure!

Following the students we were treated to Black Sand Diva and then Mihirangi Mihi – The Queen of the Loops. I’ve posted a couple of albums of images of Black Sand Diva and Mihirangi Mihi if you’d like to see some more shots. All in all quite a special evening!

July 3, 2013July 9, 2013

Bridging the Divides …

Tuesday the 2nd and Wednesday the 3rd July were the days for the Bridging the Divides Conference in Auckland. The conference was organised by the Manukau Institute of Technology Centre for Studies in Multiple Pathways in association with Ako Aotearoa, the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Education, Cognition Education and Cyclone Computers. Judging by the reaction from the 260+ attendees there was a lot to discuss and consider as learners transition from one level of education to another as well as into productive and purposeful employment.

Check out Stuart’s blog for more Talk on Education in NZ. If you’re involved with education then this blog is well worth reading. There’s also a brief synopsis of the event here … in case you missed it 😉

June 30, 2013July 9, 2013

Trash to Fashion 2013 Semi-Finals

Wow! There is some staggeringly creative young people out there! Imagination, creative and high levels of ability in costume design from children of all ages.

The semi-finals were held over two days during which time we saw over 400 children. Quite how the judges will decide who is in the final, or more to the point, who will win, I can’t imagine. Lot’s of work to do still for the organisers as they plan the finals. Perhaps head over to the Trash to Fashion Facebook page and keep in touch.

The finals, going off last year’s event, should be well worth attending. Here’s a video of highlights of last year’s event, and, if you want to know more, here’s the School’s Trash to Fashion Official website.

Maybe a little late to enter this year, but there’s always next year!!

June 27, 2013June 28, 2013

Commodore VF Launch

What a gorgeous car! Such a privilege to be present at the launch of such a special Commodore. This car has so many tricks up its sleeve to keep you safe and refinement usually reserved for the top of the line European marques. Great event hosted by Davie Motors in Manukau who will, judging by customer feedback last night, be selling quite a few of these lovely vehicles!

Want to find out more? Maybe contact Davie Motors’ website or check them out on Facebook.

June 26, 2013June 28, 2013

Four Go Flatting

What a wonderful afternoon at the Vodafone Events Centre on Great South Road at the launch of the Four Go Flatting Book and DVD launch. The book is an invaluable resource for people looking into Individualised Funding. Individualised Funding is one of the most significant developments in recent years in relation to the rights of New Zealanders living with disabilities. It enables disabled people and their whanau to have real control over the daily supports and long term goals for their lives. It puts them in the centre of their own development, allowing them and theior whanau to make their own life choices.

For further information … or to request your own copy of the book and DVD … contact the Parent and Family Resource Centre. You might also like to check out a small gallery images from the event on the TeamSouth Website.

June 24, 2013

Bombay … and beyond!

Looking south from Nikau Road just south of Bombay

I headed a little further south than usual today to take some photos. I always enjoy the view looking south as yoiu head donw the southern side of the Bombay Hills towards Waikato and toda was no exception. The first shot in today’s post show State Highway 1 just south of Bombay and what appears to be a lot of the Waikato district in cloud, mist or fog.

First stop for me was Pokeno as I wanted to check out a new subdivision being built there. Not a lot to see to be honest, but some very pleasant views looking east. It was the mist lingering on the hillside that really caught my eye … oh, and the reflections in the water too.

Looking east from the new Pokeno subdivision

Heading back north again I stopped off at Bombay and headed up the hill for a view looking west towards Pukekohe. It really was a lovely morning today with some wonderful views across some lovely countryside. Still going through my images, but thought I’d share a few. Perhaps let me know what you think?

Looking west towards Pukekohe from Bombay

June 20, 2013

In the workshop

I thought I was just going to see hoists and cars being repaired, but then I heard the familiar noise of an angle grinder out at the back of the ‘shop so had to go see. I must admit to being more than slightly concerned that sparks may head my way, but all was good. Even though the sparks didn’t seem to be heading my way, I wasn’t going to change lenses with all these sparks flying about, so I stuck with the Nikkor 24-70mm lens. Both images you see in this post were processed in Nik’s Color Efex Pro. A product that continues to impress and frustrate! I’m impressed with the potential the software offers yet frustrated by my lack of ability to get the best of the shots with the various filters and recipes. I suspect a lot more practice is required!

Time to go back to enhancing my abilities with Color Efex Pro!

June 14, 2013June 15, 2013

In the studio …

Great fun today shooting in a recording studio. Lots of fancy gizmos with heaps of buttons, sliders, dials … and … of course … lights. Apparently, the devices I’d always associated with a recording studio, the multi-channel mixer, is less common than you may think. These days computers are replacing the sound desks and mixers. From a photographic point of view, I think the old sound desk is much more impressive than a computer screen and keyboard! Mind you, it’s not the looks we’re interested in but the sound quality and I’ve been led to believe the new process provides a better sound. I suppose the two photos in this post can be thought of as nostalgic! The first is an old Technics Turntable … oh I so wanted one of these when I was much younger … and the second a view across a multi-channel mixer. As I said at the start, great fun today.

Studio sound desk with multi-channel mixer

June 13, 2013

Ihumatao Stonefields

Back to landscape images. I’ve been out and about most of today, starting quite early with my usual Thursday morning BNI meeting in Manukau, and there seems to have been little time to capture any new scenes. Keen to get more images of South Auckland into my Landscapes galleries on here I’ve started a new section called Ihumatao Stonefields. Maori lived and worked the land at the Stonefields for centuries besides collecting shellfish and fish from the nearby Manukau Harbour. Ihumatao Stonefields is a very special and sacred place and offers some lovely walks and views. European settlers also worked the land here for over 100 years. Believe it or not, the reserve is also home to a rare and highly endangered plant called mawhai or the native cucumber, which has not been recorded growing elsewhere on the New Zealand mainland since 1866.

The shot in this post was taken with my D300 and the Nikkor 24-70mm lens. Often, under conditions where there’s such a range of light levels, I’d take several shots at different exposures and blend them together using either Photomatix Pro or HDR Efex Pro. However, this image is a single shot processed in Nik’s Color Efex Pro. I’m becoming increasingly impressed with Color Efex Pro. If you work with digital images consider downloading the free trial of the various Nik products as you may find they’re ideal tools for your workflow.