Making Better Photographs
In wildlife photography, we often only get a small window of opportunity in which to take photographs (bird flies past, dolphin jumps out of the water, etc). Sometimes though, we…
Sheet-web Spiders
If you don't like spiders or other invertebrates, consider giving this blog a miss - I don't want anyone having nightmares! In early January I had the fantastic opportunity to join…
Using Manual Mode – quick thoughts
I've talked a lot about how I started using Manual mode frequently last year. Why did I change from preferentially using Aperture priority? I'm all for using manual mode on…
Fire in the Fynbos
While in South Africa, I took quite a few landscape photos with the intent to make a series of black and white images. While muddling through them (slowly, considering the…
Bunnies in Black and White
Rabbits are adorable, but they're also a huge pest in New Zealand. They're all over Mount Maunganui, and every summer we see hundreds of little baby buns running around nibbling…
White Birds on White Backgrounds
People have noticed a few similarities between my two winning images from last year - they're (mostly) white birds on (mostly) white backgrounds! I've been asked why and how I…
Tree of Life
There's no shortage of photographic opportunities walking around the Base track of Mount Maunganui. While Dad and I were largely after birds, Mum pointed out this ominous tree with roots…
Deleting Detritus
UPDATE: I wouldn't advocate deleting like this normally. This was an exercise in pushing myself to take better photos. Most of the time I don't delete more than the seriously…
Why light makes all the difference
Below are four photos of the same species of duck - the Yellow-Billed Duck (the first three are even of the same individual!). What I wanted to highlight with these…
Bird Photography Tips – Cropping
Composition is important. It changes the way people read your images, and it can make or break a photograph. There are a number of rules to composition - the 'Rule…
Miranda
This poor post has been shunted back two weeks by the excitement of going to Tiri and Muriwai on the same day! It's not every day that my lectures finish…
Muriwai
It's always windy at Muriwai - it's why the Gannets nest there. There were serious gusts blowing when we spent the evening there after our day on Tiri, so much…
Tiritiri Matangi
Tiritiri Matangi is an open island sanctuary northeast of Auckland. After over a century of farming, it has been replanted with native vegetation and given over to providing a haven for…
Mount Maunganui – New Zealand Fur Seals
I was extremely jealous when Dad started sending me photographs of the family of New Zealand Fur Seals that he had spotted at Mount Maunganui (especially the adorable baby!) So when…
Bird Photography Tips – Proximity
Even with a long lens, bird photography still requires getting reasonably close to your subject. In some places, this can be as simple as parking your butt and waiting, or…