NZPhotographer Issue 9, July 2018

ISSUE 9, July 2018 

INTERVIEW 

WITH KEN WRIGHT 

GETTING TO KNOW 

NIFTY FEW & FMC 

2 GAME-CHANGING 

LIGHTROOM TOOLS 

HOW TO CAPTURE: 

WINTER LANDSCAPES 

WITH RICHARD YOUNG 

FINDING ADVENTURE 

IN GREAT BOULDER 

by Brendon Gilchrist 

July 2018 

1

General Info: 

NZPhotographer Issue 9 


Cover Photo 

by Ken Wright 

lightwavegallery.co.nz 

Publisher: 

Excio Group 

Website: 

www.excio.io/nzphotographer 

Group Director: 

Ana Lyubich 

ana@excio.io 

Editor: 

Emily Goodwin 

Graphic Design: 

Maksim Topyrkin 

Advertising Enquiries: 

Phone 04 889 29 25 

or Email hello@excio.io 

About NZPhotographer 

Whether you’re an 

enthusiastic weekend 

snapper or a beginner 

who wants to learn more, 

NZ Photographer is the 

fun e-magazine for all Kiwi 

camera owners – 

and it’s free! 

© 2018 NZPhotographer 

Magazine 

All rights reserved. 

Reproduction of any 

material appearing in this 

magazine in any form is 

forbidden without prior 

consent of the publisher. 

Disclaimer: 

Opinions of contributing 

authors do not necessarily 

reflect the opinion of the 

magazine. 

2 NZPhotographer 

Dear Readers, 

WELCOME TO ISSUE 9 OF NZ PHOTOGRAPHER MAGAZINE 

I hope you’ve been taking lots of 

wonderful photos over the past 

month, if not, I’m sure this issue 

will get you inspired to get out 

there and snap some scenes - We 

announce our Winter Competition 

on page 39 so now is the time to 

get out there and show us what a 

New Zealand Winter looks like to 

you. 

In this issue, we find out about 

not one, but two NZ groups you 

might be interested in joining. 

NiftyFew is encouraging creatives 

to push the boundaries whilst FMC 

members (Federated Mountain 

Clubs) explore and protect New 

Zealand’s Backcountry. 

Meanwhile, Brendon takes us on an adventure to Boulder Lake, Richard 

gives some tips on capturing winter landscapes, James explains 2 gamechanging 

Lightroom tools, and we get to know Ken Wright of LightWave 

Photography. Last but never least, your photos grace the end pages 

with Readers Submissions – Enjoy! 

CONTRIBUTORS 

James Hickok 

James is an amateur 

photographer from 

the United States who 

recently moved to New 

Zealand for soccer. He has 

taken a keen interest in 

photography having lived 

in five countries over the 

past few years. 

Brendon Gilchrist 

Brendon is the man 

behind ESB Photography. 

He treks from sea to 

mountain, and back 

again, capturing the 

uniqueness of New 

Zealand’s unforgiving 

landscape. 

Emily Goodwin 

Editor NZ Photographer 

Richard Young 

Richard is an awardwinning 

landscape and 

wildlife photographer 

who teaches 

photography workshops 

and runs photography 

tours. He is the founder 

of New Zealand 

Photography Workshops. 

nzphotographer nzp_magazine nzp@excio.io 

4 

4 

INTERVIEW 

INTERVIEW WITH KEN WRIGHT 

WITH KEN WRIGHT 

20 

12 

NIFTY FEW - THE CREATIVES 

PUSHING BOUNDARIES 

20 

BEHIND THE SHOT WITH MARTIN MCCRAE 

22 

FINDING ADVENTURE IN GREAT BOULDER 


26 

2 GAME-CHANGING LIGHTROOM TOOLS 

by James Hickok 

30 

30 HOW TO CAPTURE: WINTER LANDSCAPES by Richard Young 

32 

FMC - JOIN THE VOICE OF 

NZ'S OUTDOORS PEOPLE 

39 

PORTFOLIO BEST READERS' 

SUBMISSIONS THIS MONTH 

BEHIND THE SHOT 

WITH MARTIN 

MCCRAE 

22 

FINDING 

ADVENTURE IN 

GREAT BOULDER 

HOW TO CAPTURE: 

WINTER LANDSCAPES

Interview with Ken Wright of 

LightWave Photography 

KAIKOURA WINTER SUNSTRIKE 

F16 ,0.4s, ISO100 

KEN, CAN YOU TELL OUR READERS 

ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR DESIGN + 

PHOTOGRAPHY BACKGROUND? 

I am originally from the UK. I lived in the City of Lincoln 

and went to Lincolnshire College of Art and Design 

from 1976-80. During my four years at Art College, I 

studied Graphics, Illustration, Exhibition Design, and 

Photography. I had not encountered photography 

before Art college and was instantly hooked. 

After a strange set of events in the UK, one of which 

was my mother passing at age 56, we made a 

monumental decision to leave our home and country 

and move to the other side of the world. It was one 

of those OMG moments, what if, someone told you 

that it’s all over at 56? What would you do? We left 

everything and everybody packed 5 suitcases, and 

with two boys (7 and 4) and my wife Karen pregnant 

with our third (and on the last week that she was 

allowed to fly!) we came to New Zealand to start a 

new life. That was 21 years ago, we are now citizens 

and love New Zealand. 

I have been very fortunate to have spent 35 years 

in the creative industry. During my time as a senior 

designer and creative director, I have art directed 

numerous excellent photographers both in the UK 

and NZ. Design wise, my claim to fame is being 

principle designer and team leader for the millennium 

banknote. After a health scare, I left the design 

industry in 2011 to focus purely on photography. 

WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING WITH? 

Currently, I am shooting on a Nikon D750 which is 

about a month old. This replaced a D610 which 

alongside me took a bath in the sea! Thank goodness 

for insurance. I have been with Nikon from the 

beginning and I guess it’s a bit like the Ford and 

Holden cliché. Out of preference I mainly shoot ultra 

wide angle with a 16-35 Nikkor lens. 

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 

STYLE? 

I would describe my work as “in your face”. I like my 

images to be close to the action. I want my viewer to 

feel that they can walk into the image. So most of the 

time I am shooting from right in front of the tripod to 

the horizon. I believe it’s what makes my seascapes 

more dynamic. I said at my first exhibition “If you are 

not wet, you are not close enough” however, as I 

found, there is a difference between being close and 

a drowned camera. Also, I would describe my work 

as “full spectrum colour”. We live in a world of intense 

colour and I like to bring that out in my images. 

YOU’VE SPENT 35 YEARS AS A GRAPHIC 

DESIGNER… HOW DID PHOTOGRAPHY 

BECOME YOUR CAREER? 

During my career, I have either art directed or taken 

images for brochures/adverts etc. In the early days, 

as a designer working remote, (and I don’t mean 

location - I mean before computers and internet) 

a designer was expected to cover all disciplines 

so there were many occasions when there was no 

‘photographer’ to hand and you just got on and did 

the shot your self. 

How I came to be doing what I am doing now is 

another story. About 11 years ago I had a run in with 

bowel cancer and this stopped me in my tracks. 

With several months recovering I had time to take 

stock of my life and what I wanted to do. It’s easy to 

get caught up in life’s perpetual treadmill of career, 

house, car, toys etc when life is really about living. 

OTARAWAIRERE SUNRISE 

F22, 1/6s, ISO50 



5

I changed my working week to give me Fridays 

off so that I could spend time on photography. 

This was more to do with doctors orders to find 

something less stressful than being Art Director 

and part owner of a Design Group. In 2009 my 

friends pushed me into having an exhibition which 

became the catalyst for change. The final push 

came when my wife Karen was diagnosed with 

breast cancer. We decided to pull the plug on 

life’s treadmill and step off the grid. So here I am 

in Papamoa running photography workshops and 

living a simple life with Karen (we’ve been married 

for 32 years) and boomerang kids (28,24,21), 2 

dogs and 4 cats!! 

HOT WATER FALLS 

F14, 2s, ISO50 

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO OUR 

READERS WHO ARE HOPING TO QUIT THEIR 

DAY JOB TO PURSUE THEIR PHOTOGRAPHY 

PASSION? 

If you are really passionate about doing something 

else, don’t wait for something nasty to force 

your hand or worse stop you. Life is for living and 

exploring it’s not a rehearsal. There is a lovely poem 

on a bronze plaque at the Blue Springs walk near 

Putaru which sums it up – Look up “Dust if you 

must”, and you’ll realise how much of your time 

is slipping away on things that are not important. 

Make it happen! 

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR 

WORK… AND THE WORST? 

The best thing is finding new locations or routes 

to places beyond where someone else would 

venture, meeting interesting people, and sharing 

knowledge and locations. I enjoy spending most of 

my time outdoors far away from my old office life. 

The worst thing is the mental torture of seeing a 

location with a fabulous shot and not being able to 

find a way to get there, it’s the stuff of nightmares! 

HOW DO YOU FIND LOCATIONS? 

Locations come from all kinds of sources. In the 

early days I had no process, now with Google 

maps, PhotoPills, LighTrac apps, tide times, weather 

etc all on my phone, it’s a lot simpler to plan a trip. 

When planning a road trip I will spend quite a 

while moving LighTrac around on Google maps 

so I can plan which beach to be at and what 

time for the best light etc. A recent location is a 

secret ‘hot water’ waterfall which I saw a picture 

of in a book at a motel. The author didn’t give the 

exact location but just enough to get me started - I 

managed to get within 15 meters without knowing 

I was right. So I bought the book and found that 

the author had included the GPS location in the 

footnote, game on! This waterfall is hidden in plain 

sight and it’s my fave spot to shoot right now. 



7

ANY FUNNY OR INTERESTING STORIES TO 

SHARE? 

I had this idea to purchase a GoPro to film some of 

the more remote locations that we visit. So GoPro 

purchased, I’m off on an adventure with my friend 

Steve Allan who tags along for the ride - He is not into 

photography but loves the outdoors and I take him for 

support in remote places, helping me to cross rivers, 

passing me gear in precariously balanced positions 

etc. So the idea was to have Steve film these events 

but then he pointed out that the moment Karen, my 

wife, were to see where I was going and what I was 

doing I wouldn’t be allowed out to play any more! So, 

I have the most unused GoPro in the business!! 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 

CLASSES… 

Originally I didn’t intend to do the classes at all. 

When we had the gallery (Lightwave Gallery), I kept 

getting asked for tuition and always avoided it. Once 

the gallery closed it seemed a natural progression. 

So now we have classes and workshops that cover 

the whole range of levels. We do one-day Novice, 

Intermediate, Lightroom, and Photoshop classes. 

(Interestingly enough, graphic designers were using 

Photoshop 10 years before we had digital cameras, 

I have been using Photoshop since version 3). There 

are also several one and two-day workshops, 2-day 

Kaimai Mamaku Forest Waterfalls and 2 days in the 

Bay, Seascapes and Waterfalls ~ dawn till dusk has 

been very popular. 

The best thing about the classes and workshops is 

seeing people “all fired up” to go and take better 

photographs. There are no secrets, I tell students 

exactly how I would do it and how I process the 

images. We have several students that have returned 

to do other workshops and as a result have become 

friends. 

WHAT WAS IT LIKE OWNING THE LIGHTWAVE 

GALLERY? 

The gallery was a pipe dream that we made happen. 

I wanted a space to exhibit my images. Initially, we 

exhibited at The Cargo Shed in Tauranga. This opened 

the door to a group of like-minded creatives that 

also needed a quality space to exhibit. We had the 

gallery for two years and it was a blast. We undertook 

projects that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to 

do otherwise. I created a large photographic piece 

of the Matapihi Rail Bridge (seven canvases bolted 

together) which is now part of the civic art collection 

and hangs in the ASB arena. 

Sadly, owning a gallery is not what it seems, the 

romantic version is very different from reality. 

The reality is two-fold, once you stop being a 

photographer and you become a shopkeeper, the 

other is a financial reality, in a seaside town you 

make money during the summer then use it to stay 

afloat during winter. In the time we have been in 

the Bay of Plenty we have seen numerous galleries 

close for similar reasons. Don’t get me wrong it was 

a great time in our lives and we wouldn’t trade that 

experience for anything. 

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT IN 

PHOTOGRAPHY TO DATE? 

This has to be being asked to be the guest speaker 

at the 2015 PSNZ National Convention which was 

held in Tauranga. It was an honour to be on stage 

with Christian Fletcher (Australia), Guy Edwards 

(UK), Juliane Kost (Adobe USA) and Kevin Clark 

(Christchurch). I must say I did feel slightly “the poor 

relation” but their work inspired me to create better 

images. I have also made lasting friendships with 

people at the Tauranga Photographic Society who 

often ask me to speak at club nights. 

‘PAINTING WITH LIGHT’ CERTAINLY SUMS 

UP YOUR WORK - WHAT TIPS CAN YOU 

OFFER OUR READERS FOR CAPTURING SUCH 

STUNNING SCENES? 

Firstly, can I say, I’m not in the business of selling 

‘photographs’, I’m in the business of selling Art, 

capturing the light is the starting point for my images 

which I call “painting with light”. 

Early on I got frustrated with not being able to capture 

all the information in one frame and that’s because 

in extremes of light the exposure difference between 

the sky and foreground can be numerous stops. Even 

with expensive filters you still get “blow out” around 

the sun so inevitably I would need multiple exposures 

to capture the whole dynamic range which then gets 

reassembled in Photoshop to give a higher dynamic 

range. 

Most cameras only capture about half the dynamic 

range that your eyes see. I have my own way of 

doing HDR using layers and multiple exposures which 

has now lead me onto image stacking using a series 

of short exposures to record the travel of a wave as 

it spills and crashes over the rocks. Layering all the 

images tells the story of what happens in that location. 

This is where a 5 second exposure would turn water to 

mist but 10 half second exposures or less layered up 

will show the dynamic movement of the water. 

The black and white image of Otarawairere Bay 

waves is a combination of 5 images. The morning 

that I took this workshop there was very little wave 

movement and a flat sky, I showed my students how 

to take a series of images like a time lapse. 

OTARAWAIRERE 5 WAVES 

F22, 1.3s, ISO50 



9

JAMES BOND PANO THAILAND 

F9, 1/100s, ISO200 

Each wave exploding or spilling with a view to 

blending all into one image. The sky was about 30˚ to 

the left so after the wave we rotated to capture that 

image, the sky was there it just wasn’t in line. This is an 

exercise in creating a piece of art in a location that’s 

not playing ball. Christian Fletcher summed this up 

with his sky replacement argument. If you have gone 

to Iceland and you’ve paid a fortune to get there and 

there is terrible weather or lack of a good sky at the 

waterfall you want to shoot, do you not bother or do 

you shoot it with intent to add sky later and save the 

image? With this in mind I managed to save an image 

from Thailand of James Bond Island, 10 days and 

no sunrise or sunset, just a milky grey sky. So using his 

technique I salvaged a handheld 5 image panorama 

with a new sky and a desaturated look to create a 

dynamic image. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? 

Through a strange twist of events and a random 

phone call to Richard Young at New Zealand 

Photography Workshops I will be joining forces with 

his team to help run workshops in Tongariro National 

Park and other locations. This is a development which 

I am really looking forward to and feel honoured to be 

asked to join the team. 

WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO SHARE? 

I think it is only right to acknowledge some people 

that have helped me significantly and supported me 

through my transit from designer to photographer. 

Firstly, Karen my wife who I have known for 38 years. 

She has supported me, has been a friend and soul 

mate through thick and thin. Lindsay Keats and Lance 

Lawson both professional photographers based in 

Wellington, thank you for your support and advice. 

Tony Gorham and Richard Brooker for helping with 

trial runs for workshop scoping. 

www.lightwavegallery.co.nz 

www.500px.com/kenwright 

www.facebook.com/lightwavegallery 

PAPAMOA GRASS STARS 

F22, 1.6s, ISO50 



11

THE CREATIVES 

PUSHING BOUNDARIES 

Founded by Stephen Duffin and Hannah Walton in 2017, Nifty Few was created to showcase 

New Zealand’s incredible creative talent whether they be photographers, videographers, or 

graphic designers, and to build a community of like minded individuals who inspire one another. 

Founder Stephen Duffin tells NZP how he was inspired and what the group are up to now. 

I 

noticed that New Zealand’s creative talent 

is prominent on social media (Instagram in 

particular), but that many of the talents were 

flying under the radar, and from what I believe, 

not receiving the recognition or exposure that they 

deserve. It was evident to me that these young 

creatives and myself included, are inspired by one 

another’s works, but how incredibly difficult it is to 

connect with this local talent amongst the large 

masses of people on social media channels, not to 

mention social media’s unfavourable algorithms. So, 

the NIFTY FEW group was born! 

When I was thinking of the name, I wanted it to tie it 

back into the scene. I was looking at Jargon/Slang 

names used in photography and the term ‘Nifty Fifty’ 

stood out to me. The term is used to describe a 50mm 

lens, one that is seen as being the best value piece 

of glass you can add to your kit, offering versatility 

and quality. Nifty Few was a play on this term. When 

looking at the definition of the word Nifty, I felt it 

embraced what the creative scene was - definition: 

particularly good, skillfull, effective and their work 

attractive and stylish. The word Few, was added to 

provide exclusivity – recognizing that not everyone 

can produce what they’re creating. 

Most recently the group held it’s first Instameet and 

Photo Walk in Auckland with a turn out of approx. 

100 people. The night was an opportunity for our 

community to link up with other local creatives and 

shoot at locations with models and props. 

www.facebook.com/niftyfew 

We collaborated with a number guest hosts (some of 

whose photos you can see on the following pages) 

and models with incredible portfolios who have a 

strong following within the community. This was a 

fantastic way for their followers to meet in person, be 

inspired and learn new techniques. 

We have a hashtag #NIFTYFEWMEET on Instagram 

where you can view events of the night. 

Anyone can follow or join NIFTY FEW, our events 

are open to everyone no matter age, skill, or use of 

device (camera, phone etc) so we hope to see you 

in the future! 

www.instagram.com/niftyfew 



13

JERO COLA 

www.instagram.com/colacowboy 

It was a beautiful clear night so Dylan and I decided to head out to the Muriwai gannet 

colony to shoot the night sky. After realising that where we were taking photos was directly 

South facing we thought it would be a perfect spot for a full circle star trail or Vortex as I like to 

call them. Using the Photopills app we figured out how long we had to leave our shutter open 

to give us the correct exposure. 

DANIEL ARMSTRONG 

www.instagram.com/boskarmstrong 

Scouting out locations is one of my favourite parts of photography. As I walk I am 

forced to really take in my surroundings with my focus specifically on contrast in colour 

and light, as well as an element that will provide depth to the image. Once I find a 

scene I want to shoot I usually set up my camera on a tripod, start an interval timer 

and place myself in the frame. 



15

PEEM ANAKAKUL 

www.instagram.com/peemguin 

This year I've set a goal to capture at least one sunrise a month. Here's 

the sunrise on top of Mt. Eden in May. Sunrise is probably my favourite 

time of the day to take photos because you never know what you're 

gonna get. The weather, the tone of light and colours, the cloud 

formations; anticipating all of these variables and seeing what you can 

do with the conditions is what makes it fun. 

LUKE ROONEY 

www.instagram.com/lukenichola.s 

This photo was taken one night while me and a friend wandered the 

backstreets of downtown Auckland after the rain had just settled 

in. As we passed an empty alley with neon lights it felt like I was in 

a scene from the movie Blade Runner. There's something about 

futuristic cityscapes which resonate with me. 



17

Wouldn't it be wonderful 

if people started their day with your photos? 

Don't wait for people to come to you, 

become an integral part of their life. 

BECOME A MEMBER 

www.excio.io/membership 

People all around the world will see your images 

every time they look at their phones. 

Tell your story the way you want it, 

take viewers on a journey. 

STEPHEN DUFFIN 

www.instagram.com/nz_classic 

There’s nothing like a stroll through the city on a moody winters day. 

Some like to shoot only on fine weather days, however, I find that the 

city can come alive in some of the worst conditions. 

Get hours of exposure. 

Increase traffic to your website or 

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Manage all your collections from 

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Enjoy real-time in-depth analytics 

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19

BEHIND THE SHOT 

WITH MARTIN MCCRAE 

MARTIN, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF 

AND YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY? 

I was born in Singapore in 1958 of a British Army family 

and New Zealand is one of many homes I have had in 

my sixty years. Having met my partner Pippa in London 

in the 80’s and creating Fox, we moved here in 1998 

for a couple of years to see how it went. Twenty years 

later…. still here! 

My dad took loads of photos; slides which I am still 

converting digitally, he set up a darkroom in his hall 

cupboard and I learned some basics from him. I did 

some photography including darkroom developing 

during my Fine Art degree in 1996. I used my dad’s 

pentaprism 35mm SLR camera, with a pop-up metal 

viewer that you looked down into to see what you 

were photographing, and then had a bog standard 

35mm SLR. 

I got my first digital camera in NZ. $500 was the most 

I could afford. A Samsung 3.2mp and a 5 x zoom, 

3cm screen and an 8gb SD card, point and shoot. 

Marvellous! I ditched the SLR. Next came my first real 

DSLR, an Olympus E-500 Evolt. 8mp four thirds and a 

2.5in monitor. It was ok but really, I wanted a Canon 

Eos. I’m probably like a lot of hobby photographers 


who are always slightly behind the eight ball in terms 

of the latest technology. 

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE? 

After having gone through a few Canon’s I’m now at 

the mirrorless stage with a Canon Eos M5. This came 

with a 15-45m kit lens which I don’t use but was cheaper 

to buy with than without. I already had a Tamron 18- 

270mm, all in one telephoto and a cheap Canon 50mm 

portrait lens, so I bought a Canon adaptor to fit them. I 

added an Eos M 11-22mm wide angle lens built for the 

Eos M5 and for those wide landscapes that I’d never 

really been able to get before. 

With its wide angle the Eos M5 is still pretty small, does 

everything I really want and probably best of all is the 

ability to zoom right into the picture for getting the focus 

sharp, an important factor for someone always pressing 

their glasses up to the screen or electronic viewfinder! 

TELL US ABOUT THIS PHOTO... 

“Makara rainbow” was taken in my back garden looking 

towards the hills that separate this coastal enclave from 

Wellington. I was pottering about in my barn (really a 

very big shed) in which I make my sculptures, going 

back and forth to the house when I saw the rainbow. 

It was quite arresting and dramatic, reaching across 

the far hill like a force field. Obvious things drew me to 

want to photograph this natural phenomenon. The 

light was stunning due to the stormy atmosphere which 

emphasised the drama and intensity of the display and 

like any kid at heart I loved being able to see it’s start and 

finish, the pot of gold just over the hill. So I rushed inside 

for my camera. I took a few pics and viewed them on the 

screen but they didn’t do the scene justice so I decided 

to try a panorama. I wanted to capture its brilliant colour, 

the complete rainbow from end to end, but I also wanted 

to play with my landscape lens and incorporate that total 

end to end look in a panorama. Not having a tripod and 

not wanting to miss the show, I hand held the camera 

and took something like eight overlapping images, 

trying to keep as level as possible and keeping the same 

exposure throughout the process. 

HOW MUCH POST PROCESSING DID YOU DO? 

I put the images through my Lightroom panorama 

merge process and used various degrees of 

tone curve, cropping, vignette, colour correction 

adjustments etc, etc. Lightroom enables me to play 

around with images and try out both pre-set styles 

(HDR, monochrome, duo-tone) and/or build an image 

around what I want the result to be from what initially 

drew me to take the photo in the first place. So, the 

image becomes hopefully a representation of what 

I felt about what I was looking at if that makes sense. 

Sometimes a photo can come out disappointingly 

because I haven’t captured what I feel I can see, but 

post-processing enables me to conjure a facsimile of 

those feelings I get when looking at the world. 

GIVEN THE CHANCE AGAIN, WHAT WOULD 

YOU WANT TO IMPROVE? 

I would have liked a bit more detail in the foreground 

where there is a paddock to give some scale and put 

the rainbow more in the landscape, but that was lost 

in the panorama cropping. I think the Macracarpas 

are too cut off and the flax at the bottom of the 

image would have stood out from the dark clouds. 

YOU’VE RECENTLY JOINED EXCIO, CAN YOU TELL 

OUR READERS ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE SO FAR? 

I was inspired a while ago to get my images online… 

I set up a Facebook page to let the world see. The 

trouble is, I don’t use or like Facebook, so my images 

are seen only by a few close people! I also have a 

sales account at mychillybin.co.nz which provides a 

platform and a few sales, but they want New Zealand 

focused images with barely an adjustment, vanilla if 

you like. 

Excio lets me show my images, how I like them, how I 

want them to be seen and is not restricted to just New 

Zealand. I don’t feel that I have to be a professional or 

produce the most technical material. I have freedom 

and while I know that in exhibiting my work I will have 

to continually improve because there is an audience 

to supply and I have standards to meet, I can be an 

amateur photographer, I can explore the craft and 

my interests and at the moment do it on my terms. It’s 

not exclusive or elitist or expensive and does the trick 

for me - I’m am glad I joined it. I have three collections 

on at the moment; Nature, Human, and Landscape - 

Just search my name and you’ll find me. 


21

FINDING ADVENTURE IN GREAT BOULDER 


F1.8, 25s, ISO10000 

F16, 1/100s, ISO200 

Life to me is about adventure, going to new places and pushing yourself to the limit in 

everyday life. It is those moments when you are breaking when you grow the most. 

My Dad and I have been going on adventures for many years now, some easy, and some 

a little more challenging like our hike in Great Boulder. The challenges come and go but 

the rewards stay with you forever. 

DAY 1 

We drove 474km from Christchurch to Takaka and 

stopped at a couple of places on the way for food 

and a beautiful short walk at Riwaka Resurgence 

where a stream flows out of the side of the mountain, 

an ingesting sight. That night we finished packing our 

bags and loaded the car ready for an early start and 

a long 8 hour walk. 

DAY 2 

As the sun rose on the first day of our hike, the weather 

looked great with not a cloud in the sky. We had 

breakfast, made our final preparations, and said our 

goodbyes to civilization for 5 days. As we drove towards 

the end of the road the golden morning sun rays were 

kissing the Wakamarama Range. 



23

F14, 1/125s, ISO320 

I was surprised that the track started earlier than 

noted on the map but with a huge sign saying 

‘Boulder Lake Track’ we knew we had arrived. We 

stopped the car, signed the intention book, put our 

boots on, locked the car and loaded our packs on 

our back... Heading off into the bush. 

We walked over what I thought was a newly cut 

track, It didn’t seem right but we kept going, 

walking for hours with a few breaks here and there 

for water and snacks. I had this vision that there 

might be more places to view the mountains but 

I was rather wrong about that. One section of the 

track is called The Castles but I had no idea why it 

was called that until we came across big gaps... 

It is a Karst landscape mostly of limestone, a little 

challenging to get across with 5 gaps in total, 

some big, some small. As the day went on and 

with only one clearing we decided to have lunch, 

a small view over onto another mountain range 

but nothing spectacular. As the day got on and 

the sun slowly lost its light we had no other choice 

but to stop and put the tent up, we were hours 

away from the hut and we needed shelter and 

rest. 

As the night went on I thought I saw flashes of light, 

I said to Dad “Is that lightning?” he said “I hope 

not!” next minute a big BOOM of thunder rumbled 

so loud you could hear the ground shake. It was 

a beautiful sound but I was so thankful to be in a 

really good tent. The storms passed as the night 

went on, impressive and powerful as they are, it 

was amazing how simple a tent becomes. 

DAY 3 

As the sun rose, we got up and made a decision 

to leave the tent by the track as we knew no one 

else was coming and planned to be at the hut for 

the next 2 nights. 

We left some food and gas in the tent too 

which made our packs lighter. We headed off, 

still slowly walking uphill with no views in sight. It 

surprised me how hard that was mentally, not 

seeing any views of anything for hours on end, 

something I am not used to at all. We finally broke 

through the bush line at a place called Cow 

Saddle, but still, we could not see the lake we 

were aiming for. As we got higher in altitude the 

wind got stronger, there was one point when we 

were being blown uphill which was really helpful 

for a time! By this point, we could see the lake or 

part of it, and we could see the hut, still so small 

but we were getting closer with every step. 

Reaching the hut was an amazing feeling. A 

French guy was there and he said he had been 

worried about us the night before as he did not 

know we had a tent with us. He said the lightning 

over the lake was beautiful, I was a little jealous 

that he got to see it - OK maybe a lot! It would 

have looked amazing on camera. After checking 

out the old hut at the back and the cool little 

waterfall we started to settle in, unpack, get 

organized, and get some warm food into us. 

As night fell the weather was still looking pretty 

good for some night shots over the lake and at 

the waterfall. I managed to get a few good shots 

of the waterfall with the stars and some of the 

hut, but not much else. Later that night the rain 

started to fall and it did not stop for the next 30 

hours. There were a few spells when it stopped 

enough to go and photograph the waterfall but 

overall, it was hours and hours of rain. 

DAY 4 

The day came to leave. We only had a short walk 

to the tent but that morning was one of the best 

of the trip. Dad was up stoking the fire and he said 

“I can see it’s raining but I can’t hear it” he looked 

outside and said “Oh no, it’s been snowing all 

night!” That got me out of bed fast! I grabbed my 

camera, put my boots on, and went out to see 

what I could capture which, to be honest, was 

nothing so I got the cell phone out and took some 

videos of the snow falling around me. That does 

happen sometimes, you’re in remote places like 

this and there’s nothing to photograph as it’s dark 

gray clouds and not much else. 

I was lucky though, it cleared and the light was 

amazing. I managed to capture some cool shots 

of the grasses and the mountains behind with 

very cool looking clouds and nice light shining 

through. We couldn’t really mess around too 

much as I could see that the weather that was 

coming looked a bit nasty and we had a very 

exposed saddle to cross plus a lake to walk 

through and around. After packing up and 

tidying the hut we put the packs back on and 

headed out the door for the last time. 

Walking through the lake I have never in my life 

had such cold feet, my toes were numb and I 

could barely move them, not a situation anyone 

wants to be in no matter what your experience 

level. I ended up changing my socks in the snow 

to dry warmer one’s hoping that during the 

time we were walking higher, into deeper snow, 

that it would help warm my toes up. I still had 

shorts on but over the next few hours my toes 

warmed up a little, enough for me to feel them 

again! I stopped to take photos and capture the 

good weather we had and the view before we 

dropped back into the bush. 

When we got back to the tent all I wanted to do 

was get my feet warm so I got into my sleeping 

bag even though it was still early in the day and 

we ended up sleeping for most of the afternoon 

as there was not much else to do. 

DAY 5 

The last day was the hardest day. The tent was 

soaked making it heavier than before, the track 

was also soaked and very slippery, and The 

Castles, that we had to almost jump over, were 

slippery and dangerous but with caution, we 

passed them. The very last section of the track was 

a flowing stream and even more slippery than the 

rest of the track. We couldn’t get any pace as the 

track was just so wet, plus the rain did not stop at 

all. Once we got near the car big claps of thunder 

started and not long after we drove off, it started 

hailing. We were thankful by that point that we 

were in the car and on our way back to Takaka! 

3 TIPS FOR WILD PHOTOGRAPHY 

• With a large landscape, a person walking 

towards you or away from you adds a sense of 

scale and makes the viewer feel a part of the 

scene. 

• A grad filter helps to blend the sky and the 

foreground, making your exposure more 

balanced on camera (saving you postprocessing 

time later). 

• Have something in the foreground that is of 

interest whether that’s a rock, a dead piece of 

wood, some grasses, or your hiking buddies. 



25

2 GAME-CHANGING LIGHTROOM TOOLS 

YOU MUST MASTER TODAY 

by James Hickok 

In this issue, I want to dive head-first into fully understanding histograms as 

well as what photographers consider to be one of Lightroom’s most useful, yet 

sometimes heavily underutilized, tool: the graduated filter (linear or radial). 

HISTOGRAMS 

Before we begin, it must be made clear 

that there is a real difference between the 

Lightroom CC (cloud) and Lightroom Classic 

versions of the histogram. The CC version can 

only aid your image by having you look at 

the graph visually, while the Classic version of 

the histogram can tangibly aid and edit your 

image by way of “clipping”. Either way, having 

a complete understanding of how histograms 

work will undoubtedly be beneficial to you as 

a photographer. 

To put it simply, a histogram is a map of 

luminance, measuring the count of pixels at 

every given tone of gray on a scale of 0-255 (0 

being absolute black and 255 being absolute 

white). A higher frequency of instances (y-axis) 

at a certain intensity (x-axis) in the photo will 

cause that point to increase, creating the 

rising and falling “bar chart” that we are so 

accustomed to seeing in a histogram. 

The top of the histogram represents the limit 

of signal saturation, where the intensity is too 

great at the given tone to be visible, while 

the bottom of the histogram represents an 

absence of light at that tone altogether; the 

former of these two extremes is known as 

highlight and shadow clipping in Lightroom 

which we will return to later. 

Lightroom also provides a histogram line for 

each of the composite colors (red, green, 

and blue), which quite nicely indicates the 

distribution of colors in your photo as seen on 

the left. Horizontally, a histogram can generally 

be divided into five dynamic f-stop ranges that 

each contain a designated set of luminosities, 

with the middle range of tones being defined 

as the camera-standard 18% gray reference as 

seen below. This 18% gray reference is usually 

automatically set by the camera itself, but it 

can be adjusted. Each of the f-stops below 

represents a doubling or halving of the amount 

of light hitting the “film” in the eyes of your 

imaging chip, but our human eyes actually 

don’t perceive light linearly, so a doubling in 

intensity would not be seen as twice as bright 

to us. 

Now, should you be worried if your histogram 

has a high concentration to the left, to the 

right, or has lots of different spikes in it? 

Unfortunately, the best answer to that is: 

it depends! Histogram charts are not like 

scientific charts in the sense that they are not 

useful in being compared to one another; it’s 

hard to say that a histogram chart looking one 

way is better than another looking a different 

way. In other words, there is no such thing as 

a “bad” histogram, but rather, they just are as 

they are. 

That’s not to say that histograms can’t be used 

to improve your image though, Lightroom 

Classic’s highlight and shadow clipping feature 

on its histogram is highly useful. As seen in 

the first image, Lightroom Classic's, Lightroom 

Classic’s histogram has two arrows on it – one 

in the top left corner and one in the top right 

corner – these represent shadow clipping 

and highlight clipping, respectively. Shadow 

clipping, or blocked shadows, are when an 

area of your image is too dark to be seen 

by the human eye and thus appears black. 

Highlight clipping, or blown highlights, are when 

an area on your image is too bright to be seen 

by the human eye and thus appears essentially 

white. Pretty simple right? Lightroom Classic 

can warn you of where these two areas exist 

in your image simply by pressing the “J” key on 

your computer or by actually clicking on one of 

the arrows in your histogram. After doing that 

you will see that the shadow clipping is colored 

in blue and the highlight clipping is colored in 

red – these are the affected areas that most 

likely need to be fixed! 

There are a few techniques that can be used 

to fix these issues, with it mostly coming down 

to personal preference or the degree to which 

these areas of clipping affect your image. The 

first, and easiest, way to fix clipping is to use 

the shadow or highlight sliders until the right 

balance is found. The only issue with this is 

that it affects all of the shadows or highlights 

in your image, which you might not want. If 

you’re only concerned about a small area of 

your image, adjusting the shadows/highlights 

sliders with the brush tool will allow you to brush 

over only the selected area that you want. 

Furthermore, I find that using the Tone Curve 

Panel to adjust highlights and shadows can be 

a lot more dynamic and creative rather than 

just the simple sliders. 

As seen in the image below, the shadow 

clipping (top left arrow in histogram) is colored 

in blue, while the highlight clipping (top right 

arrow in histogram) is colored in red. 



27

Other than the fact that the affected 

areas are shown to us by Lightroom, the 

histogram also tells us that there is clipping 

in the image because of how the chart 

spikes to the top at both the left and right 

ends. As we covered before, when the 

pixel count is too saturated at a given tone, 

it shoots through the top of the histogram 

and represents a blocked shadow or blown 

highlight. 

Unfortunately, this shadow/highlight 

clipping feature does not exist in Lightroom 

CC (the cloud version), which is why I felt 

it was important to review how histograms 

work in general so that you can be 

the judge for yourself where clipping is 

occurring in your image. 

GRADUATED (OR GRADIENT) 

FILTERS 

Graduated filters can be used in so 

many different ways across every type 

of photography, which is why whether 

the fact that you shoot landscapes, 

portraits, wildlife, or events doesn’t limit 

their usefulness. Lightroom (both Classic 

and CC) offers linear or radial graduated 

filters, with the linear filter allowing you to 

affect an area horizontally or vertically, 

and the radial filter allowing you to affect 

an area in a circular or oval shape. While 

graduated filters are probably most 

commonly used to adjust exposure, the limit 

of their capabilities is entirely up to you and 

what you wish to accomplish. Before I go 

into the best way to use these filters and 

how to get the most out of them, here are 

a few quick but important things to know: 

• Once your filter is selected by clicking on 

the blue dot, pressing “O” once, twice, or 

three times will toggle showing the areas 

that you have masked with the filter in red. 

The options are: “Hide Overlay,” “Show 

Overlay,” or “Show Overlay and Selected 

Mask” 

• Holding “Shift” will make a filter perfectly 

straight at 0 or 90 degrees 

• You can re-edit these filters by clicking 

on the blue dot on your image where you 

originally applied the filter 

• It is possible to stretch and change the 

shape of the radial filter away from a circle 

• Once a filter is applied, you can click 

“Invert Mask” to reverse the affected area 

(think of reversing a radial filter to only affect 

everything inside the radius you’ve created 

around a subject) 

• You can use the Brush Tool to erase areas 

that you didn’t want to be affected by 

graduated filters 

Opposite you will see you will see one of my 

own images where I have applied a linear 

gradient filter in Lightroom CC (this is shot at 

Hamner Springs!). I was looking to fix the sky 

and clouds without editing the rest of the 

image which I was fairly happy with. I chose 

to drag a linear gradient filter from the top 

down, which means the mask becomes 

less intense as it approaches the part of the 

image where the sky meets the mountains. 

Editing distinct skylines or foregrounds is one 

of the most popular uses of a graduated 

filter, most likely due to how significant the 

difference in composition and light can be 

between these areas. I chose to reduce the 

highlights further and increase the clarity and 

shadows in order to bring out more of the 

clouds and have them stand out among the 

bright blue sky. 

For the image on the right I used an inverted 

radial filter of oval shape in order to only 

affect the area that has my subject in 

it (thanks Annika!). I decided to reduce 

the highlights and whites while increasing 

the shadows and contrast. This image is 

also probably a candidate to use a linear 

graduated filter on the low-hanging clouds 

as well, but we’ll save the full image editing 

walk-through for another article! 

The applications for graduated filters are truly 

limitless, which is why I highly recommend that 

all photographers make greater use of them 

whenever they have the chance. 

Now, it’s time for you to open up Lightroom and give some of these techniques a 

shot yourself! I have certainly benefited and grown as a photographer by talking to 

the best photographers I know about these particular tools, so there’s no reason 

you can’t make use of them as well. 



29

HOW TO CAPTURE: WINTER LANDSCAPES 

Winter Photography Tips with Richard Young 

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER 

Frozen River, Tongariro National Park 

PICK YOUR SUBJECT: 

While grand snow-covered vistas work well, 

sometimes smaller more intimate scenes can make 

the best photographs. Pick an interesting subject, so 

you don't just have a field of white snow. Small frozen 

streams often make great photographs and snow in 

the forest is always a magical thing to capture. 

WATCH WHERE YOU STEP: 

F11, 1.3s, ISO 64, 18mm 

When you are walking about on the snow, trying to 

find the best angle, be careful that you do not walk 

through a scene, thus having footprints all over that 

virgin field of snow. Sometimes a well-placed set of 

footprints can add to the shot, leading the viewing 

into the photograph. 

EXPOSING THE SNOW: 

A snow-covered landscape will often confuse your 

camera’s light meter, snow will come out grey instead 

of white in your photographs. You need to increase 

your exposure by shooting in manual mode, or using 

the exposure compensation (‘+/-’ button) to make 

the snow a crisp white. 

GET UP EARLY: 

As soon as the sun gets up in the sky, snow can start 

to melt really quickly. If there has been snow or a hard 

frost overnight, head out early before it melts. It pays 

to be to staying in a hut or camping so that you are 

within walking distance of the location you want to 

shoot to get there without a drive in icy conditions. 

IMPROVE YOUR WINTER LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY ON A WORKSHOP AT TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK: 

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exquisite moments with its 120p/100p Full HD slow-motion recording. 

Purchase from an Authorised Nikon New Zealand Retailer to receive an Extended Two Year Local Warranty. 


www.Nikon.co.nz 


31

JOIN THE VOICE OF NEW 

ZEALAND’S OUTDOORS PEOPLE 

2017 WINNER OF BELOW BUSHLINE WITH NO HUMAN ELEMENT 

ROUTEBURN, PARADISE 

F8, 1/4s, ISO100 

Spencer Clubb 

Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC), founded in 1931, represents over 80 clubs, 20,000 members and 

300,000 people that regularly explore New Zealand’s Backcountry by foot, bike, canoe and kayak, 

seeking beauty, challenge and friendship. Reaching some of the most incredible corners of Aotearoa, 

many members love to capture the landscape, flora, fauna and action of their journeys on camera. 

FMC advocates for the interests of outdoor 

recreationalists and patrols the blurred line between 

conservation and development. They have achieved 

increased protection of NZ’s natural landscapes 

through National Parks, Conservation Parks and 

Wilderness Areas and have celebrated and 

enhanced the recreational opportunities in those 

special places. 

They continue to defend the precious legacy of 

the Backcountry hut and track network, seeking 

further public access to public conservation land 

and contributes to farsighted conservation planning 

processes and have proven that they’ll fight against 

unwise projects, like the Haast Hollyford Highway and 

Fiordland Monorail. 

FMC are a democratic organisation, with thinking that 

is clear, transparent and open to debate. Freedom 

of the hills, stewardship of the land and a belief in 

egalitarianism in the mountains are principles that 

shape the leadership they provide and the actions 

they undertake. Their strength comes from active 

participation in outdoor recreation, an enduring 

connection with the land, a wide membership and 

the commitment of their volunteers. 

Each year they run a photo competition with 6 

categories: Above Bushline (With and Without a 

Human Element), Below Bushline (With and without a 

Human Element), Historic, and Native Flora & Fauna 

which NZP readers are welcome to submit to. Nonmember 

photos are judged separately from members 

photos before the top shots are into the main 

competition. 

In 2017, a total of 428 entries were received, you can 

see 4 of the winning shots on the following pages. 

The stunning images from these special locations are 

used by FMC inspiration and evidence; illustrating 

the priceless value of these places, for when they are 

fighting those who wish to exploit, diminish or over-use 

them. 

www.fmc.org.nz 

www.facebook.com/FMCNZ 



33

2017 GRAND PRIZE WINNER 

COSY MOUNTAIN RESCUE, MT SOMMERS 

F2.8, 20s, ISO6400 

Kane Hartill 



35

2017 WINNER OF BELOW BUSHLINE WITH HUMAN ELEMENT 

HOPE-KIWI TRACK, LAKE SUMNER, NORTH CANTERBURY 

F8, 1/400s, ISO100 

Tony Gazley 



37

2017 WINNER OF ABOVE BUSHLINE WITH NO NUMAN ELEMENT 

OLD GHOST ROAD, LYELL 

F4, 1/500s, ISO100 

Kay Bayley 

www.excio.io/winter 

With Winter now in full-swing in New Zealand, we want to see your best Winter photos and discover 

what winter means to you. Is it all about exploring snowy landscapes? Marvelling at the patterns the 

frost makes? Experimenting with reflections in puddles? Capturing the grey skies or curling up indoors 

enjoying a good book? Whatever it is, we want to see your best winter photos. 

1 - 20 July 2018 

1st place will win a timer remote 

See full T&Cs on 

www.excio.io/winter 



39

PORTFOLIO 

BEST READERS' SUBMISSIONS THIS MONTH 



41

LEAF BEETLE 

Ankan Das 



43

AUTUMN IN MCLAREN FALLS 

F3.2, 1s, ISO50 

McLaren Falls reserve showing off its spectacular Autumn colours. 

Annemarie Clinton 



45

KIRSTENBOSCH YELLOW 

F11, 1/80s, ISO800 

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, set on the Eastern slopes 

of Table Mountain, South Africa is ranked as one of the best 

gardens in the world. 

Annemarie Clinton 



47

LIMITED SHELF LIFE 

MAIRANGI BAY 

F18, 1s, ISO200 

Here’s a shot I’ve been wanting to get for a while. I’ve had a few attempts but each time there’s 

been an obstacle; grey skies, slightly off on the tide or no swell at all for a few waves. When this 

happens all you can do is put it on the shelf and wait for the right conditions to try again. It’s pretty 

satisfying when you finally get something close to what you had in mind! 

Antony Eley 



49

PAINTED DESERT 

ARIZONA, USA 

F8, 1/350s 

I always think of the forces that occurred to 

produce these geological scenes. 

Chick Piper 



51

DESERT ROAD 

F16, 25s, ISO100 

Mount Ngauruhoe captured from just off the 

Desert Road summit. 

Dominic Scott 



53

MOUNT RUAPEHU 

F11, 1/80s, ISO100 

A hastily captured image of Ruapehu as the summit appeared briefly 

in the low foggy cloud enveloping the mountain. 

Dominic Scott 



55

LAKE PEARSON MIST 

F11, 1/100s 

We went up to Lake Pearson hoping to find some hoar frost, but the 

temperature was a little too high. The lake was shrouded in mist... 

Dominic Stove 



57

DELL 

SOPHIA 

F7.1, 1/200s, ISO100 

Close up of a Protea, this flower left me pretty 

homesick, Proteas are so common in South Africa. 

Marina de Wit 


This is Dell, one of the Tui's at Nga 

Manu Nature Reserve. Dell was found 

injured and raised by hand and is now 

a permanent resident of Nga Manu. My 

photos try and capture the vivid colours, 

and shapes of the residents of Nga Manu. 

My images are donated to Nga Manu 

Nature reserve for use in advertising and 

merchandise so that they do not have 

to spend money on photographers to 

showcase the reserve. 

Fairlie Atkinson 


59

LADY IN BLACK 

F11, 1/125s, ISO400 

I saw this image awhile ago, and waited 

until I was doing a low key photoshoot to 

do this with my own touch, by adding a 

mask to the model. 

Gary Reid 


THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING 

TARANAKI 

Probably one of the hardest shots in terms of driving around finding the perfect angle. I 

wanted a road leading towards Mount Taranaki to give the mood of 'the mountains are 

calling'. It required some planning on Google maps trying to find the best strip of road. 

Eventually we came across this spot and and decided to make the most of golden hour by 

capturing some unique angles from this location. The planning was worthwhile and this is 

hands down one of my favourite roadside captures. 

Jinal Govind 


61

GRAHAM'S BAZAAR 

CARTERTON 

F1.4, 1/640s, ISO1000 

Greg Arnold 



63

SOUTH ISLAND KAKA 

Whilst on retreat on Stewart Island, this awesome friendly native NZ South 

Island Kaka came to visit us each morning. It was a joy to interact with this 

Kaka each time he/she landed on our balcony, and to be able to get up 

close for some very special pictures. 

Greg Hughson 



65

HOAR FROST 

F10, 1/125s, ISO400 

This image of Butchers Dam is known for the hoar frost. At the end of the 

dam I was pleased to see the reflection, and the mist. 

Jacqui Scott 



67

WINTER MAGIC 

F7, ISO400 

Taken at Conroy's dam on a very chilly misty morning. This was shot in Raw 

and converted into B/W. 

Jacqui Scott 



69

TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK 

The mountains of New Zealand on the rare occasion like to spew out the universe. This was my first Astro shot 

of the year, and it’s by far one of my favourite shots ever captured. I used @photopills to plan the shot, which I 

recommend to anyone who’s into Astrophotography. I was slightly off with the position initially and had to wait 

patiently in sub zero conditions, but it worked out perfectly in the end! 

Jinal Govind 

AMISH WOMAN AND BABY 

F7.1, 1/160s, ISO640 

An Amish lady cradles her baby under 

cover of a tent on a rainy day at a 

central Pennsylvania auction. 

Todd Henry 



71

FIRST SUNRISE OF WINTER 

BUFFALO BEACH, WHITIANGA 

F22, 1/500s, ISO200 

Gulls playing in the foggy sunrise. 

Karen Moffatt McLeod 



73

WHITIANGA WHARF 

F16, 1/128s, ISO200 

Fog shrouds Whitianga wharf on the 1st day of winter. 

Karen Moffatt McLeod 



75

AS COLD AS ICE 

F7.1, 1.4s, ISO400 

With the first of the good frosts down here in Invercargill for winter, the last of my 

flowers were frozen in ice-ial beauty never to recover. 

Kelly Gladwin 



77


LOST IN THE LIBRARY 

A composite of many, many photographs... I started with quite a clear idea of what I wanted the final result to 

look like, so started with a portrait series, then many dozens of photographs of old books, individually & in stacks 

from different angles; added floor, added table, added window, added ambiance, found & photographed 

vines ~ cutting (masking) those out was a lot more work than anticipated! The end result, as always, evolved 

during its creation from my original vision into something quite different... 

Kim Falconer 


79

DECAY IN MOTION 

F6.3, 1/400s, ISO100 

I loved this Japanese Anemone, I was fascinated by 

the flowing petals and the early stages of decay. 

Marina de Wit 



81

OMAMARI BLUE 

F6.3, 1s, ISO100 

This was taken after sunset and before dark, the colours were a rich dark blue with 

some streaks of gold. I moved the camera from left to right as the shutter was open. 

Noel Herman 



83

A LIGHT FIESTA BY THE LAKE 

F11, 4s, ISO200 

Festival of Lights. 

Peter Kurdulija 


Follow Peter's collections on Excio 

July 2018 85

ALPHONSO 

F11, 1/60s, ISO200 

The storm was vicious. It pounded the mighty ranges with gusto, scraping muddy debris off the mountains 

into the pristine waters of Lake Rotoiti. It signed off its passing with a murky stain still visible on the edge of the 

image. The calamity rattled a few feathers, literally, including the ones belonging to a little mysterious visitor 

who made Nelson Lakes National Park its home. A rather curious aberration for a country with a stringent biosecurity 

system in place. The Mandarin duck, a native of East Asia, has been a resident for a while and turned 

into an attraction for tourists and locals alike. They affectionately named him Alphonso, I believe, as the most 

common Chinese name they could think of. 

Peter Kurdulija 


Follow Peter's collections on Excio 

July 2018 87

SPOILS OF THE HUNTER 

F8, 1/160s, ISO160 

This is Kaitlin, a local bodybuilder who I did a shoot 

with in March. Her husband is a hunter and this 

was her her spin on a special photo for himself. I 

was recently informed that this image has been 

awarded top prize "Photorama Trophy" (Best In Show) 

in a photography salon in Sweden (1st Photorama 

Digital Sweden 2018 - TRADITIONAL) The theme was 

traditional photography, no manipulation or adding 

or removal of elements, no special effects etc. 

Peter Morris 



89

LAKE TE ANAU 

F4.5, 1/200s, ISO200 

As we were walking along the shore of Lake Te Anau 

we spotted this bright red toadstool from quite a 

distance. It was a bright flash of red compared to the 

hues of blue and green in it's surroundings. No goblins 

or fairies were harmed whilst taking this photo! 

Pippa de Court 



91

REFLECTIONS ON RIVER CLYDE 

F4, 13s, ISO200 

The photo was taken during a short two day trip to Glasgow while on 

sabbatical at the University of Leicester in England. The image was taken 

from the SSE Hydro side of the River Clyde. The entire bank is picturesque 

with beautiful reflections of the architecture on both sides. 

Prashant Joshi 



93

STAG 

F5.6, 1/125s, ISO400 

The photo of this beautiful wild deer was taken at 

Bradgate Park. It was late Autumn / early Winter 

last year and the animal looked straight into my 

camera as if was posing for me. 


STAG 

F5.6, 1/125s, ISO400 

The photo of this beautiful wild deer was taken at Bradgate Park. It was 

late Autumn / early Winter last year and the animal looked straight into 

my camera as if was posing for me. 




95

MORNING GLOW 

F8, 1/160s, ISO200 

Early morning light at Glentanner 

holiday park near Mt Cook. 

Roger Mills 



97

SOUTH ISLAND ROBIN 

F4, 1/250s, ISO400 

The NZ South Island Robin / Toutouwai is endemic to the south island. Length 18cm, weight 35g. 

It feeds on insects including stick insects and wetas, grubs, spiders and earth worms. It may live 

up to 14 years where no predators exist. Pairs have territories of 1-5ha. They're very friendly and 

trusting, when you see them on the track they just stop and stay still. They will then come very 

close to you and may even sit on your shoes. 

Ron Enzler 



99

CRAFTY GANNET 

F2.8, 1/6400s, ISO400 

It's really hard to catch a Gannet in full flight, so I'm really happy I managed to! I wanted to 

capture a Gannet gathering sticks and things to build it's nest. I was very lucky to capture one 

with some grass in it's mouth and the black sand rocks as a back ground. 

Sean Drake 



101

AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN HER 

AGRA, INDIA 

F14, 1/250s, ISO100 

You would probably know this iconic monument in a second if this shot were stock standard, but 

from this angle can you guess her name? It's the Taj Mahal! 

Susan Blick 



103

MOTHER GANGA (GANGA MATA) 

RISHIKESH, INDIA 

F10, 1/200s, ISO12.800 

On a still late afternoon a soft sunset 

commences over the River Ganges. 

Susan Blick 



105

"PHOTOGRAPHY IS 

THE EASIEST ART, 

WHICH PERHAPS 

MAKES IT THE HARDEST." 

LISETTE MODEL 

Photographer: Richard Young 

FH100M2 Long Exposure Kit 

The FH100M2 Filter: It is designed to hold both square and circular filters, with the ability to freely 

rotate an attached 82mm CPL filter after installation. 

It will hold up to 3 square filters, and ultra-thin 82mm CPL simultaneously, without creating 

vignetting on lenses as wide as 16mm. 

Includes: FH100M2 holder (incl FR1010, FR1015, 77mm and 82mm adapters) 

FB100M2 case 

0.6 Hard Grad 

6-stop ND 

10-stop ND 

CPL Filter 

FR1010 Frame 

82-72mm Stepdown ring 

82-67mm Stepdown ring 

Progear 

www.progear.co.nz 

3 Railway St, Newmarket 

09 529 5055 



107

NZPhotographer Issue 9, July 2018

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