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  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Hi from South island, New Zealand

I am based in Dunedin and live on the Peninsula on the slopes of an extinct (we all hope) volcano, Harbour Cone. Usually an opportunistic photographer, the light is so fleeting but beautiful. Landscapes, dawn/dusk, birds and nature, and Maine Coon cats.

Have just retired from my previous life as a physician, which used to interfere dreadfully with photography. My wife has treated me to an Epson 9800, and I am developing printing on canvas with matte black - quite a voyage of discovery, with lots of new development techniques to learn, as well as varnishes and stretching.

I am looking forward to contributing and learning from this forum, which already feels good.
 
Welcome to OPF! I am a partially retired physician, with a passion for photography. And in January of last year, I spent almost 3 weeks traveling around the South Island of NZ with my wife. I was extremely impressed, and would love to go back. We had an awesome time. Our last day or so was in Dunedin, and we did an afternoon tour on the Otaga Peninsula with Elm Wildlife Tours - despite dense fog, we had a great time.

If you're interested, I have some images from this trip on my website:

http://www.dlcphoto.com/NZ1/NZ1.htm

http://www.dlcphoto.com/NZ2/NZ2.htm

http://www.dlcphoto.com/NZ3/NZ3.htm


I look forward to your posts here.

Best regards,
 

Daniel Harrison

pro member
Ahh, a Kiwi!!! Weclome :) You live in the most beautiful island I think there is! I lived in NZ for almost 2 years and just went back for a holiday and to take pics. I really like the south island when it is cold with some snow, but I am sure that living in Dunedin - you disagree!
Great to have you here.

and yes I am an aussie :)
 
Thanks for the welcome.

Lovely images - how many shots did you take before catching the dolphin in the air ?

Mist and fog can be a problem on the coast, but can also create amazing effects. Driving home from work usually took 30 minutes, but could take over 90 on a "good" evening. The mist often lies low, and there is a high road down the Peninsula which can often be above the mist and gives good photo opportunities.

Regards.
 

Daniel Harrison

pro member
wow, sea level! I think the most beautiful scenes I remember in NZ was along the west coast with it's blue lakes green trees and snow capped mountains. Just talking about it makes me want to get on the next flight!

BTW, just out of interest i noticed that alot of people used coal to heat their homes, What about you?
 
Tudor Caradoc-Davies said:
Lovely images - how many shots did you take before catching the dolphin in the air ?

One that that worked in my favor is that there were what seemed to be hundreds of dusky dolphins all around, performing incredible aqua-aero-batic maneuvers. The main challenge was trying to get one in my viewfinder, and lock focus, since they weren't in the air too long.

Mist and fog can be a problem on the coast, but can also create amazing effects. Driving home from work usually took 30 minutes, but could take over 90 on a "good" evening. The mist often lies low, and there is a high road down the Peninsula which can often be above the mist and gives good photo opportunities.

I have no doubt about that, and would love the opportunity to shoot landscapes under those conditions. My main problem is that I was primarily interested in shooting the Yellow-eyed Penguins, and with a fairly thick fog between me and them, contrast in my shots was extremely limited. It took fairly aggressive work in Photoshop to "bring them out of the fog!"

Best,
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Tudor,

Let me throw my hat into the ring to welcome you too. I wish you well on your refocus to the world around you.

It is, in a way harder than medicine where you are trained when (and when not) to intervene. Photographing nature is wonderful, but often one does not understand the issues and we have few answers.

Still, being a witness is in itself a great reward and then perhaps having exhibitions say in a local library or school, can keep our appreciations alive in the new generations.

Good luck on your photography. We look forward to sharing your experience. Pick 1-2 prints to illustrate an issue or explain something in one of the specialist fora, for example, Landscape.

Or you might share one picture at a time for help in the esthetics and problems or different ways to print the image.

Print covers a lot that is in RAW workflow perhaps.

However, we think of printing as the special thoughts that come into play when you make decison to print an image: cropping, sharpening, tone, contrast to match what paper and so many fine details.

So if you wish, share with us and you will get responses. For Landscape it would be...I found this approach useful or how does one solve the issue of........

For Printing, however, I have a xxx file and I wish to make a 30x60 print on xxxxxxx to be viewed at 6" by an obsessional curator in a museum. The subject is Landscape. The picture came from a Velvia film and scanned on an Epson..... at xxxxxdpi in 16 BIT.....how do I...........

I am taking this effort because you have the motivation, the files and the printer to go from "Intent to Print" and that's why we are here.

No teaching, (although independant of OPF), some of the other guys here, members and "The Team", have seminars, retreats, tapes, DVD's available.

Again welcome. Enjoy this new home.

Asher
 
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