It's been a while - Mount Maunganui, Whakatane and the Hillary Trail - New Zealand

It's been a while since I  posted to this blog - I guess life has been busy, with the SLR not getting dusted off as often as I would like. Anyway, I recently went away for a holiday to Mount Maunganui in New Zealand. NZ is home for me now, having moved here permanently about six months ago.

I'm hoping the amazing landscape gives me plenty of good opportunities to get back into using my SLR. Here are some shots from my trip away, including shots at Mount Maunganui and some spots near Whakatane.

Despite the above, I am still a firm believer that the best camera, is the one you have on you. In this regard, I recently went on a hike on a track winding along the New Zealand coastline, just out of Auckland, called the Hillary Trail. Not wanting to take my bulky SLR, I simply took my phone and managed to get some great shots on it's 13MP sensor.

Mount Maunganui and Whakatane

View from the top of the Mount

The trail down the Mount (this one actually taken on my phone and HDR's in Snapseed)

View over Whakatane

Some sheep on the way up the Mount

View south from the top of the Mount

View North from the top of the Mount

View from the Mount

View from  a lookout above Whakatane

View of White Island (active volcano) off the coast of Whakatane

View to the coastline south of Whakatane

The Hillary Trail

The Hillary Trail - Looking North

The Hillary Trail - Looking North

The Hillary Trail - Looking South

The Hillary Trail - Looking North

You pass quite a few rolling grassy hills along the Hillary Trail

Hot air balloons

Every year Canberra has some what of a hot air balloon festival. This year I managed to get some great photos dying a cold bike ride around the lake.

More photos from my mobile phone

I am currently in New Zealand, coming to terms with and enjoying the birth of my first daughter.  In a few quieter moments I've managed to get out and take a few snaps on my phone.

New Zealand - One Tree Hill - 2014

Your SLR is not a superhero

The other day, I stumbled across a great article on "Digital Photography School" titled "Why your camera isn't a Superhero".

The article essentially runs through the feelings that I am sure are very common, of bringing a new SLR or lens home, running to the backyard and taking some photos, and quickly seeing they look no better than what you used to take on an old point and shoot, or even your camera phone!

Below is a great extract from the article, but I suggest anyone interested reads it in full:

The point? Well sometimes we focus too much on the gear – the latest bodies, lenses, accessories, but the reality is that often it doesn’t actually improve our photographs. Our camera isn’t a superhero – it is simply a box that records light.

It is us that determines what that light looks like and ultimately that is what makes great images. So next time you find yourself in a camera shop looking at new equipment ask yourself realistically ‘how specifically will this help me to create better images?’ If you can pragmatically answer then go ahead and knock yourself out, bu t if you can’t then perhaps it’s time to practice more with what you have instead of buying something new.Learn and practice the basic principles of photography because they will serve you well no matter what equipment you have. Remember many of the great photographers shot fantastic images with cameras most of us wouldn’t even look at today. Make yourself the superhero, not the camera.

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/why-your-camera-isnt-a-superhero#ixzz2PIqdySg8

Reading the above got me thinking about how recently, although I have an SLR, I have been taking a lot more pictures using my phone, and have been remarkably satisfied with the results. It is not that I do not prefer using my SLR, but it is that my phone is always with me so I have it with me at opportunities when sometimes an SLR is not possible. 

At the end of the day, a good camera will help, making it easier to capture fast moving object or low light scenes, but composition will always be the key to a great shot, and that can 100% be achieved by a camera phone. Chuck in handful of great apps for digital editing on the fly (my favourite being Snapseed) and you really have no reason not to be able to create great shots with or without your SLR.

A few recent example of my phone photography are below. The top photo is taken in Canberra, Australia with the remaining pics taken on a recent holiday to the USA.

Tilt Shift - Take 2

Almost 2 years ago, I decided I wanted to play around with a bit of tilt shift photography. Converting my pics with the right amount of blur and saturation was a lengthy process on Photoshop which I never bothered to repeat again. My original results can be seen here.

2 years later, whilst playing on my tablet I noticed one of the photo apps I use, Snapseed, included a tilt shift filter. I quickly pulled up a few pics I had saved on my tablet, and within seconds had converted 5 photos. It honestly took all of about 5 minutes, which using the original Photoshop method I tried 2 years ago, would have taken me an hour or so. 

This is of course not a suprise. I think almost every photo app these days, plus many digital cameras come built in with a tilt shift function. I guess in that regard, the 'magic' of the technique has disappeared to a degree (though, did it ever really exist?). In either case, I still enjoy the look and feel in the right instances, but know for a fact that I will not be resorting to sitting down on my PC if I need to achieve the look again in the future!

New Wide Angle Lens

On Tuesday night, Simone surprised me with an early Birthday present - a new wide angle lens for my SLR. She managed to do all the research herself, which impressed me, and the result was a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 USM lens.

 I took it out for a session in Canberra immediately, from dusk to complete darkness and managed to snap (what I thought) are a few decent shots. Am looking forward to getting out over the next few weeks and snapping a few other Canberra landmarks (there are plenty of them!).