Practicing some more with ND & GND filters

Well went off to the local beach and practiced some more with ND & Graduated ND filters. It was fun. Ended up stranded out in the mud flats in the dark. Was so intent about getting those good shots couldn't pull myself away from getting back to the road. Had to wonder around trying to find my way back on dry ground. Life can be like that. We can focus so much on one thing to see the rest of it fly by. I don't know about you but it's very easy for me to get sidetracked or become addicted to doing something, that you forget the rest of your life. Like getting totally absorbed by work or sports or hobbies, to the expense of your family & friends. God is constantly challenging me on this, especially the amount of time I spend with Him. When I do spend quality time with him, he give me great insight into alot of things. God can speak to us all the time if we are listening. Heres some of the photos I took:

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Shots taken for assignments doing with the photographyinstitute

Well its been a fun couples of weeks trying to catch up in my correspondence course I'm doing. I had to do some natural lighting & artificial lighting shots for one assignment.
Came up with these shots. Had some good models to boss around.

Learn't heaps while doing them.

Also this week I have to replicate another well known photographers work. Found one guy, a new zealander, who has amazing photos. His name's Chris Gin. He seems to use ND filters for a lot of his shot's. So I was up early this morning at 5:30am and trotted off to Maraetai Beach to try to do something similar. Wasn't easy and i'll have to go back. Have to admit I was tested majorly this morning and failed badly. I was on my why out to the beach and cutting it fine with the sun rise. Noticed someone broken down by the side of the road. No I did actually stop and ask if everything was ok. They had an over heated radiator and needed some water. So what do I do instead of suggesting I'll go and fetch some. I tell them they should knock on the door of the house that's sitting 20 yards away. Problem was person in trouble didn't speak good english, but I reasoned he had to young boys with him that did. I drove off and it played on my mind the whole time I was taking photos. About an hour later I dropped into a gas station to get some water, just in case he was till there, on the way back home. The things we do to ease our conscience when we stuff up and are not kind to our fellow man.
We really need to consider others before ourselves and this brings me to a thing that we photographers need to watch out for. This happened to me twice recently. Your just about to take a shot, when another photographer barges his way in alongside you and completely disturbs the whole setup including those whom your photography. May I suggest to all those budding photographers out there that don't be so focused on taking the shot, that you are blind to whats going on around you. Try to be considerate to all, including those other photographers.

Here's some photos I took this morning.

 

Roaming Onehunga

Well went out last night with the boy's. Had a great time roaming around Onehunga. It's amazing what you can find if yiou look hard enough. It was a relief cause it was a nice break after a hard day at work. Great thing about photography is you not trying to solve other peoples problems. Bit like that with life, it's good to take time out and just relax. No matter how busy it is, itreally does help to have chill times just with yourself. Here's some HDR's I put together from last night. If you don't know what an HDR is it's basically taking multiple shots of the same thing at different exposures and then joining then together. Why do that, cause it extends the dynamic range of the end photo you get. Take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Our Holiday

Went away for 4 days and had me a good time with the family.
Found out that I'm not to bad at picking up snowboarding.
Must be the scandanavian blood in me. We got one good day in,
but then the weather the next day wasn't that good. So we headed off
to Rotorua for a spot of sightseeing. Went on the luge and as always
I had to try to see how fast I could go. Left the ground several times, lol.
Then it was off to the Wildlife park they have there.
I've put one photo up for now, but there's more to come.

More photos from studio shoot.

First Studio Photo Shoot.

On the Rails

Went out with the boys and had a great time capturing shots of the local railway lines. It was a bit of an adventure. Felt like I was a kid again, going for a wonder with the lads. Really enjoyed being part of the group. It's a bit like this in life isn't it. As we walk along the road called life (or railroad of life :-) ) we can either walk it alone or with others. I know I would far prefer to walk it with others. If you trip and fall then they're there to pick you up. If you trip and fall when your by yourself and do some damage, it's harder to get up and carry on. Being a christian is even better because your got God to pick you up and to walk with you as you travel the road.