Blog | Christopher John Photography

May 3, 2015

Up to the Gardens …

Well, this time it’s Auckland’s Botanic Gardens. Since returning to NZ I’ve taken a fews strolls around the gardens and must say that they really are very good. Such a variety and so well presented. A real credit to the gardeners who work here. Anyway, on my strolls I’ve kept seeing this rather lovely tree … well, its flowers to be honest. Quite large blooms but ever so pretty. Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I’ve enjoyed looking at the tree!

I met a young photographer there with her Mum and Dad. Each member of the family out exploring the Gardens and shooting with their own camera. What a great way to spend time together as a family.

May 2, 2015May 2, 2015

A few more Singapore sights …

Whilst in Singapore I was fortunate to spend some time in the Botanic Gardens. Quite a lovely place with many gorgeous blooms to enjoy. Besides the blooms there was, of course, a number of enthusiastic photographers keen to capture the flowers “on film”. With a common interest it was lovely to compare notes and share ideas. In fact, as a result of an earlier conversation one photographer took me to one side to show me the lizard you can see in the first image on this post. A monitor lizard with what look like very sharp claws!

Besides spending time in the gardens (I’ll post a few images if the flowers later all being well) I also managed a bit of time to walk around the city. One of these walks led me near some of the temples which are very ornate and beautifully presented. The people seemed more than happy for me to take photographs which surprised me as I’ve usually been encouraged to put my camera away. Anyway, below are a few images of some temples you might enjoy.

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015

Shopping in Singapore …

No doubt about it, Singapore has some impressive shopping centres. Top brands offering their wares in air-conditioned facilities. With money to burn this is the place to visit! These malls will assist you to unload your excess wealth in an environment that is very comfortable with staff that are eager to assist you in your spending endeavours! But what about the less wealthy? If you get the chance, take a bit of time to walk around the town and see what other things are on offer. I must admit, that the $2 shop was not what I was expecting in Singapore at all … especially not with $1 specials!

The equivalent of our “Mr Minit” shoe repair seems to exist. Whilst not being indoors, this business did offer shade for the customers as well as a chair. Something our local establishments may like to consider.

This shop amused me as it was most definitely a different bakery to any of the other bakeries I’ve seen. I couldn’t decide if they’d just not changed the name from the previous store owner or if this was a new marketing strategy.

Not all shops are in malls and many “outdoor market” type streets are available where you can pick up some great bargains. Here’s a shot of one such street.

Same as back here in NZ. Shopping is a tiring business and thankfully there’s places to snooze outside many of the shops. The thing is, you felt safe here.

As I mentioned before. I really like Singapore. There’s so much to see and experience here. Hopefully the few photos above may put a smile on your face and show you something a little different to the usual Singapore photos.

April 28, 2015

A bit of a trip …

I was fortunate to spend a few days, and nights, in Singapore a few weeks ago. This is one very impressive place indeed. The architecture is a mix of classical old style Malaysian as well as hyper modern, innovative and exciting. Hard to believe that Singapore was a very poor adjunct to Malaysia less than a lifetime ago. Now it is vibrant, clean, efficient, safe, exciting and very wealthy.

Hot and humid for sure, but that was something you could get used to. I loved the place and could have stayed there for several more weeks!

Not the largest of countries, a mere 716 sq. km! Even so, there’s lots to see and enjoy in this city both by day and by night. Hopefully I’ll get to visit again before too long. I’ll attach a few more photos to this post that may illustrate a slightly different architecture to that in the first image taken at Marina Bay. Very colourful buildings, some quite ornate, but all featuring the modern Singapore in the background.

February 22, 2015

Cicadas

I recall hearing from the experts that this year the cicada numbers are quite low. Certainly that familiar cicada noise did seem absent for some time, but not now. We seem to have plenty of the wee creatures around in our garden … and on the washing I might add. Anyway, whilst out in the garden thinking how dry it is and how the leaves seem to be changing colour … hopefully because of the heat rather than the approach of winter … I couldn’t help but notice several of the cicada skins on my silver birch trees. It always amazes me how much detail of the creature remains and how little of the old skin is damaged as the creature emerges. Looking at the photos below you’ll see its claws, hairs etc. etc. Quite amazing. Oh, click on the i age to get an enlarged view 🙂

February 21, 2015February 21, 2015

Snoots and filters

20150221_123029 copy I’ve been working with my studio lights, reflectors and gobos to get a moody high contrast mood in some monochrome portrait shots. There’s a bit of work involved and truth be told I haven’t been finding it that easy with my studio lights. One of the issue has been the ambient light in the rooms. Unless the room is very dark the effect of the hard light from the strobes is not as harsh as you may want. With little ambient light it’s a tad awkward to see what you’re doing so all in all it’s been a challenge for me. A way to resolve this problem is to use a high flash sync’ speed. By using a fast shutter speed the effect of the ambient light is considerably reduced. Directing the flash to the area of interest and reducing the amount of light spill by use of a snoot further helps create a more dramatic shot. The monochrome shot in this post illustrates this to some extent. Always tricky to shoot yourself, but this may give you and idea of what I mean. This photo was taken at midday today on a pretty bright and sunny day in a well lit office. By using a high flash sync’ speed I could use a shutter speed of 1/8000 second. This in conjunction with an ISO of 100 helps to significantly darken the background. (Aperture was at f2.8 to reduce depth of field). This is great news for me as I need much less equipment to carry with me. Furthermore, the time of day when the shots are taken are less critical as is the location.

123931 copy The colour image was taken a few minutes later. Same settings as for the monochrome image but this time a second speedlight fitted with an orange gel was placed behind me. These are very quick and dirty shots taken a little earlier today really as a proof of concept. With careful positioning of speedlights I suspect some very lovely images can be captured. Oh, and a better looking model wouldn’t go amiss!

February 17, 2015

Just a bit lucky

I’d been intrigued by the cactus blooms at the Botanic Gardens. Gorgeous flowers, but so short lived; many of the blooms just lasting a single day. Setting up the camera to try some photos of this rather lovely flower I heard some buzzing to camera left. I hadn’t finished setting exposure or focus but when I saw where the bee was I thought I’d try a shot or two. The first image shows the bee coming in for a landing on what must be a feast of nectar and pollen. The second shot provides a view similar to that the bee must have as it approaches the flower. Look to the top left flower in the image and you’ll see yet another bee heading in for a feed. Quite a popular plant for the bees it would appear!

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February 15, 2015

Up close!

Don’t seem to have been on here in months. Thankfully I seem to have been kept busy with one thing and another. To be honest, of late it’s been more of one thing than another as I seem to have been taking more photos of properties for a number of South Auckland Realtors. Today, however, I experienced getting up close and personal with a praying mantis.

Always a challenge when you start to get close to things as focussing becomes quite awkward. Depth of field is virtually non-existent and this little creature wasn’t standing still. He was all over the place. Jumping from leaf to leaf and then doing his swaying and wobbling movements. Most of the images you see here were taken with a single diffused flash off camera pointed directly up to bounce the light off the white soffit just outside my front door. Looking through the camera viewfinder I could see the the praying mantis’s eyes looking straight back at me. Made me wonder if he could see himself in the lens and that was why he kept coming towards the camera! Below are a few more photos to amuse you. You’ll notice that as the size of the creature increases in the image so does the amount of the creature that is in focus. Quite a challenge to get focus. Obviously a lot more practice is required.

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January 10, 2014

A morning stroll to Maraetai

Yet another glorious day here in Auckland and a chance to take a walk along the coast at Martaetai. After parking the car at Te Puru Park we enjoyed a lovely walk along the headland then along the beach at Omana before arriving at Maraetai. The path has been upgraded and has a surface suitable for people of most walking abilities. Here’s a few photos of the scenes you can enjoy along the walk.

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Hard to believe, but 2014 is here already. I’d decided to get up early and head out towards Maraetai in the hope of capturing a pleasant first sunrise of the year. The alarm was set at a ridiculously early hour and a somewhat bleary eyed journey in the dark ensued as we headed to the beach. Part way there it suddenly dawned on me that we hadn’t checked the tide times and the tide could be well out! This wouldn’t be good and would spoil the shot across the sea look we were hoping for. Sunrise was scheduled for 6:05 am, but we thought we’d get there in plenty of time. Quite a few other folks arrived too and after a few Happy New Year pleasantries we all settled down to watch and capture the year’s first sunrise. Just in case you missed the sunrise I’ve attached a few images for you below.

All the very best for a safe and happy 2014.