What an appropriate name for this wonderful beach here at Beachlands, Auckland, New Zealand. Such a lovely peaceful place to take a stroll or just sit and watch the waves. Surprisingly close to Auckland, yet it feels like a million miles away. The first image in this post looks in the general direction of Auckland City. In fact, around the headland to the left you will see Pine Harbour from where there’s a regular ferry service into the heart of Auckland.
Looking towards Auckland City from Sunkist Bay
But looking at the views (and did you notice how crowded the place is) it’s hard to believe you’re so close to New Zealand’s largest city! The second image shows the public boat ramp with Waiheke Island in the background.
Boat ramp at Sunkist Bay
Not got a large boat? No problem. Just bring your kayak and set sail from the beach. The owner of this kayak had been doing a spot of afternoon fishing from this yellow boat. Something nice for dinner? Hard to beat fresh snapper 😉
Fancy a bit of kayaking? Maybe a visit to Sunkist Bay is what you need!
Really busy yesterday and didn’t manage to finish work until after midnight … then up at 4am this morning to head out to a rather special place. A two hour drive from my home led me to this rather lovely part of the country with million dollar views. This particular shot is from my drone. Seven images stitched together in PTGui Pro and then sharpened etc. in Photoshop. The sun was VERY bright to the right of the image, and if you look carefully you might be able to pick out the moon in the upper top left corner of the image. Glorious day here in Godzone today … even when you don’t have much sleep! Seven images from my drone stitched in PTGui Pro
Well, not much chance to get out and take photos today. I must have picked up a bug or something ‘cos I’ve been sneezing all day. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow as I have heaps to do this week. With no new photos to play with I decided to look over a couple of shots taken over the past couple of days. Some of you may have heard that I recently made the move to Photoshop CC. I’ve been quite happy with CS5.1, but felt the time had come to get a little more current, so I “upgraded” earlier this week. I suspect, however, I’ll stick with CS5.1 for any pressing tasks as I’m still finding my way around the newer applications.
Playing with a couple of images in both Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC though has been interesting. I quite like the variety of crop overlays available now, and the Camera Raw options seem a little different to what I had before. Quite a bit to play with before I’m as happy with these new version as I was with the older release!
Below are two images that may amuse you. The first is of an old homestead close to Te Puru Park on the road between Beachlands and Maraetai. Quite a lovely old building and full of character. I’ve been meaning to get some photographs of the property before it falls down and only just managed a shot or two. This image was processed in Photoshop along with Nik’s Color Efex Pro plug-in. Hopefully you’ll like it.
Homestead close to Te Puru Park.
The next image was processed in Lightroom CC and Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2. I used to use Lightroom extensively a few years ago, but have to admit I’m feeling a little lost with the product now! I think with Lightroom, Bridge and Photoshop there’ll be a few changes to my workflow. Feeling rough though isn’t conducive to thinking about workflow changes however. The image is of a boat anchored just a little way off the coast close to Maraetai. I liked the horizontal lines and low contrast scene. Very bright sunlight and some pretty sparkling highlights on the water. Not altogether sure I’m that impressed with the image, but I’ll add it to the post and you can perhaps let me know what you think.
Back to Totara Park this morning. It’s been quite hot during the day, so an early morning walk is very pleasant. Especially when the sun is just coming up. There’s a lovely warm glow from the rising sun. Very special.
The first shot in this post has a significant sunburst effect in the image. I can recall years ago using sunburst filters to get starburst effects from highlights in the image. No filter used in this shot. The lens seems to do a nice job all by itself!
Rimu in Totara Park
I’ve always had a special fondness for Rimu trees. I can recall a friend telling me about them many years ago, ” … make excellent chopping boards …” Looking at them, however, I can’t imagine how anyone would want to convert them into chopping boards! You can’t see the whole tree in this shot, just a few of the leaves and branches. It’s the weeping effect of the branches and leaves and the way they catch the light that I like … hopefully you do too!
Flare … but is it ok?
Last shot for today. Shooting straight into the sun and despite all the clever coatings on the lens I still get flare. Does it matter, or does it add to the shot?
What a pleasant job today. Out shooting a property in Glenbrook that was the home to a flock of Alpacas. Mindful of Tintin’s experience of spitting alpacas (or were they llamas) I didn’t want to get too close! Just a few photos of these lovely creatures. Hopefully their expressions will make you smile.
One thing I learnt today was they go to the toilet in the same place each time. Is that right? Anyway, looking under the alpaca in the last image certainly suggests he’s been here before! Alpaca #3
It was during a stroll out at Conifer Grove that we decided on an early start this morning. The plan to walk through Totara Park and enjoy the sun rising whilst in amongst the trees. I have to admit that the hills seem much longer and steeper since I was here last! Obviously more exercise is required. Early morning sunlight in Totara Park, Auckland, New Zealand
It was most pleasant! Peaceful, cool and most enjoyable. Needless to say, I think I’ll try to have less of a snooze in the morning and more of a walk.
Many years ago, when I was about 8 years old, and I started to use a camera, I was given many hints and tips by my uncle. Uncle Herbert was an enthusiastic and very capable photographer and was keen to pass on tips and tricks he’d learnt over the years. It’s strange, but even now, many years after he spoke to me about composition, I can still hear his voice and often imagine him standing next to me, helping me adjust the camera to get the “perfect” shot. One thing that he stressed was to avoid those stripy pictures. You’ve probably seem them, the land, sea, sky shots where each band is horizontal? Well, Uncle Herbert was no fan of those images I can tell you. So, early this morning, looking out towards Panmure from Mount Hobson Uncle Herbert was there again. Even though he passed away some time ago, we still had a bit of a chat about the shot you see in this post. Think he’d approve? I’d like to think he would.
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.
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.
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