[manda] New Zealand

[Manda]

Just back from a fab holiday with all my family - we've been saving for 2 years to celebrate Xmas in NZ and we weren't disappointed.

These guys do workshops on the South Island if you have the time. I didn't use them as it was meant to be a family holiday.

Our itinerary was as follows:
1 day in Christchurch:
Hotel So

165 Cashel St
Christchurch,Canterbury 8140
New Zealand
Phone: 64 3 9685000
Fax: 64 3 9685001

2 days at Arthur's Pass.
Wilderness Lodge Arthur's Pass
PO Box 33, Arthur's Pass, Canterbury, New Zealand
Tel: ++64 3 318 9246
Fax: ++64 3 318 9245

1 day at Punakaiki
Hydrangea Cottages
PO Box 47, Punakaiki, West Coast
Ph: +64 3 731 1839
Fax: +64 3 731 1838

2 nights at Frans Josef
Punga Grove
Cron Street
PO Box 85
Franz Josef Glacier, South Westland, New Zealand Telephone: +64 3 752 0001
Facsimile: +64 3 752 0002
Freephone: 0800 4 FRANZ (0800 437 269) - within New Zealand only
Email: host@pungagrove.co.nz

2 nights at Wanaka
Te Wanaka Lodge
23 Brownston St
Wanaka, New Zealand
p: 64 3 443 9224
e: tewanakalodge@xtra.co.nz
i: www.tewanaka.co.nz

5 nights at Kinloch Lodge.
Kinloch Lodge
Kinloch
Glenorchy
Central Otago
New Zealand
Telephone: +64 3 442 4900
Fax: +64 3 442 9928
Email: reservations@kinlochlodge.co.nz

Siem Reap thread
Bali Thread
HK Thread

[Manda]

It rained a lot on the holiday and we were stuck in the lodges for quite a while. It was almost like a typical British holiday (I'm from the UK) so it didn't really bother us.

This is a very popular decoration in NZ.

[Manda]

The Wilderness Lodge was great as it had sheep shearing and farm handling as a free tour. The merino wool is famous for its quality.

[Manda]

I had a ND8 (hoya) filter for Xmas - just in time me thinks. I managed to get crap all over it and smear it to death early on in the holidays. I'm ready to buy a more professional filter next time.

This is the second photo I took at Kinloch Lake and seems to be the most popular in flickr. It is straight out of Lightroom. I shot it at 5-5.30 am with a 1 minute exposure.

[Manda]

Prepare to be bored to death with the same location over and over again. With 5 days in the same place, I flogged the scene to death. These are my first 2 attempts at panoramas, not quiet there yet.

In all honesty I don't think you can really see the detail at this size. C&C welcome on these ones or tips from the experts appreciated.

[giantcanopy]

Originally Posted by Manda

Ahhhh .. inner peace Love this shot !

Originally Posted by Manda

As for the panoramas, u might be able to do abit of processing to correct the apparent curvature of the horizon. Sometimes with stitching multiple shots , the distortions can be really tough to correct, and in certain instances becoming complex distortions. Sometimes I correct them in parts before a stitch again.

A larger picture will show the beauty of ur work :P. I am pretty certain the white specks on the foreground in the second pano is not due to noise. The lovely orangy clouds in the skies could be salvaged with a GND as well.

Keep the shots coming. We will be enjoying every bit.

Ryan

[night86mare]

hi amanda!

love that long exposure shot, very calm, with a gentle glow.

as for the panos, i think liquify tool will really help in correcting the curvatures. it's what i use.

[luffs]

Hi Manda, love this picture. Brings a sense of calmness all over.

Originally Posted by Manda I had a ND8 (hoya) filter for Xmas - just in time me thinks. I managed to get crap all over it and smear it to death early on in the holidays. I'm ready to buy a more professional filter next time. This is the second photo I took at Kinloch Lake and seems to be the most popular in flickr. It is straight out of Lightroom. I shot it at 5-5.30 am with a 1 minute exposure.

[velasco]

Mandy, thats a gorgeous scenery.

i demand more

[Manda]

Thanks to every one for commenting, especially Nightmare and GC. I've officially given up on panos for the moment - I think I underexposed them with my new filter and there isn't enough differentiation between the water and landscape.

The good news is that I have got photomatix working again, and now I can play with HDRi instead. This one is from 2 epxosures. I was exploring shutter speeds as I wanted to blur the grass.

Each photo is individual, but 1/6sec worked for me.

The fields and river beds are adorned with lupins. Lovely for the tourists; but the locals kept trying to explain that they are a pernicious weed as they choke up the river bed, pushing out the indigenous plants.

[Manda]

Last shot of the morning - I didn't actually go kayaking - the water was straight of the glacier and I didn't fancy getting wet.

[ArcticFox]

Fantastic shots!

[Manda]

Used Vincent Versace approach to photo editing which uses colour, blur and lightening effects to lead the eye across the picture.

Shame the wind kept blowing the ferns, I had a tough job getting any of them sharp, despite multiple shots.

[Manda]

[Manda]

[raghnall]

Very beautiful pictures..

[hope107fm]

Originally Posted by Manda I had a ND8 (hoya) filter for Xmas - just in time me thinks. I managed to get crap all over it and smear it to death early on in the holidays. I'm ready to buy a more professional filter next time. This is the second photo I took at Kinloch Lake and seems to be the most popular in flickr. It is straight out of Lightroom. I shot it at 5-5.30 am with a 1 minute exposure.

I love the beautiful pictures taken especially the above at Kinloch Lake. It gives me a sense of peace and tranquility and I feel I can sit and meditate the whole day

Maybe I should re-visit NZ again. It's been more than a decade since my last visit.

Thanks for sharing.

[Manda]

A rare BW photo, I tried very hard not to blow out the highlights during PP, although I've chosen to keep the burnt blacks on the rocks.

Pancake rocks - it was another wet day!

[zoossh]

i think i'm seeing another nightmare and jiven (the forumers we all know) in the making. u r progressing well. although i do not see portraits here (which can be more easily made unnatural by processing), the works here are all fabulous with nothing bad to nick pick on. every pic is a good one. and the texture is very well applied for the pink flowers.

q: for the merino wool picture, can i ask what are the out of focused pieces? are they dried flowers?

[Manda]

Zoosh - thanks for posting - I do appreciate it as you are another master!

Merino wool - I actually like this photo, but my hubby said no-one can tell what it is either. It's the sheep's wool recently shaven surrounding it's label. I used f1.4 (an aperture I've only discovered).

If you remember I'm stronger on portraits, but didn't take ONE this holiday. As a result I am quite frustrated by my piccies and my success ratio is lower than normal. Still it's all a learning curve and I will be a landscape photographer when I return to the uk as I will be surrounded by the Derbyshire Dales!

Hope you have a great 2009!