Hi from Auckland New Zealand

Hi,
My name is Sean Shadbolt and I work in Auckland as a full time professional photographer and Lecture part time at the Manakau institute of Technology in photography and using Photoshop - mostly to beginnners , so I don't claim to be any sort of Guru here.
I use a veritable arsenal of equipment from a 4"x5" view camera and Linhof panorama to a Canon 1ds2 and Imacon 132c back on a V series Hasselblad. I also scan film on an Epson 4990 which I find does a very cost effective quality scan for the price of the scanner - particularly off larger formats.

I cover quite a range of stuff - food and still life /product work ,industrial, portrait and corporate work, I also use a lot of different styles as my clients require.

I have been following this site for some time and look forward to excanging information here. I subscribe to a couple of other forums but I like the liveliness of discussion here . I used to frequent the Rob Galbraith site an dlearned a huge amount there - especially as the new digital technology came on stream a few years back . It wasn't quite a case of which end do I look through of a Kodak DCS760 - but almost! The debate really helped me get up to speed with things like colour management and dealing with printers when the weren't optimum - still an issue sometimes.

Hi Sean,

Thanks so much for joining us and even more for posting! It's good each time someone migrates from lurker to participants. We are only as good as those who actually sit round the table and share!

This week we even got a bit testy!

I'm happy to say that we are continually improving the level of discussion. We plan to nurture those who are skilled and are ambitious to do more or just get opinions and feedback. We also want to lend a hand to those entering. All we ask for is that people are serious in wanting the extra something in the picture. That is what we are concerned about, going from good to great.

I do look forward to exhanging experience with you. Please post your images with us!

Asher

Thanks Asher , its great to feel welcome. I always try to give advice where I can . I have benefitted so much from others over the years. I 'm never too proud to learn something new and have learned from working with beginners sometimes the answer is so simple its too obvious for those more experienced so its great all levels feel welcome to post here.
I always enjoy looking at others work - I have never been much good at posting my own though but I dohave a website at www.seanshadbolt.co.nz for anyone who might be interested.

Hi Sean,

We would be happy with any posts from you with a fraction of the quality on your website!

I love the outdoor fireplace shot so much I was even thinking of building something similar!

I was struck by this picture



Could you tell us about it?

Again, welcome to another Aussie from "downunder"!

Asher

Can you add your location in your profile so people know what a special area you live in!

Asher Kelman said:

Hi Sean,

We would be happy with any posts from you with a fraction of the quality on your website!

I love the outdoor fireplace shot so much I was even thinking of building something similar!

I was struck by this picture

Could you tell us about it?

Again, welcome to another Aussie from "downunder"!

Asher

Can you add your location in your profile so people know what a special area you live in!

Click to expand...

Hi Asher ,
Thanks for the compliments about my website - if i have been a bit slow to reply its because it has been a very busy week or two .
This is in the North island of NZ In the Hokianga area. It is one of the local Marae ( meeting ground ) areas there . The area has a long history of settlement by Maori and I belive the Cannon are gifts by whaling ships in the early part of the 19th century. The stone I seem to remember is a memorial to Kupe , one of the early Polynesian explorers and navigators. I try to spend a lot of time in the Hokianga as its a great place to go to chill out - and the fishing isn't too bad either.
I took this image about ten years ago on a Hasselblad and 80mm lens with Agfa 25 asa film , a real favourite of mine until it went out of production . Much of the dramatic cloud was the result of careful burning in - the Agfa film captured heaps of highlight detail and contrast along with inky blacks which made it ideal for this.