Akaroa Morning.

An early morning shot of the girls on the deck taken with an SB800 at 1/16th power through a white umbrella at camera right (1/200sec f8 ISO200). The camera was set to manual mode and shutter and aperture adjusted to give the ambient light level. Flash was then adjusted to expose the girls as shown.

Akaroa Dawn.

On a recent vist to a friend's 'bach' (NZ term for a holiday house) in Akaroa I actually managed to get myself up and down to the beach to catch the early light. Given that this was July which is mid winter in New Zealand it wasn't exactly that early!

There was a fire burning on the other side of the harbour and the smoke added some extra atmosphere. This shot was taken from a tripod at 200mm, 1/20th sec, f8, ISO200, -1 2/3EV. I was using aperture priority which seems a bit silly when I ended up using so much exposure compensation to retain the mood. I should have just used manual.

The second shot is taken a little bit later after the sun has risen above the ridge behind Akaroa. (200mm, 1/250th sec, f8, ISO200, -1 2/3EV)

This lighthouse is becoming a major feature on this blog!

Mount Somers.

About every six months a few of us manage to get out for a couple of days in the backcountry. On this particular June day a NW wind was blowing in Canterbury. This is a foehn wind which results in warm temperatures on the lee side of the mountains. The often overcast conditions can lead to some nice light. This shot is taken looking west towards the Winterslow Range from above the Woolshed Creek hut (31mm, 1/50, f9, ISO200, -0.7EV).
The tramping hut system in New Zealand is very good and this particular hut is brand new. The following bit of fun is produced using multiple pops of flash with a 30 second exposure (30sec, f7.1, ISO 400).

Castle Hill.

Castle Hill is a really cool bouldering venue about an hours drive from Christchurch. Bouldering is a form of rock climbing where no ropes are required. Normally the 'problems' are technically difficult while remaining a safe jumping height from the ground. The reason I say 'normally' is that sometimes the tricky moves can be at a worrying height. Boulderers tend to use portable crash mats these days to avoid twisted ankles or other injuries. Bouldering was originally a form of training for real rock climbing on bigger cliffs requiring ropes and other equipment for successful ascents. These days it has evolved into a sport in its own right with comprehensive guide books for areas such as this.

This image was taken late in the afternoon in winter. An SB800 flash is used hand held by someone else about 2m to camera right (the tell tale shadow behind Iain's head shows this anyway). I adjusted the exposure without flash until I was happy with the background sky (f5.6, 1/640th, ISO200, -0.7EV, 200mm). The SB800 was set in remote mode and at manual 1/2 power.

Akaroa Lighthouse.

There is no off camera lighting in this image unless of course you count the setting sun at rear camera left.
Akaroa is located on the Banks Peninsula just 80kms from Christchurch. The Banks Peninsula was formed following the violent eruptions of two volcanoes. A crater nurses the picturesque harbour of Akaroa with many smaller bays indenting the spectacular coastline. First sighted by Captain Cook in 1770, the Peninsula was then inhabited by Maoris of the Ngai Tahu tribe.
In 1840, French settlers arrived at Akaroa, which had just been claimed under the Treaty of Waitangi by the English. To this day, Akaroa remains unique as the site of the only attempted settlement by the French in New Zealand. Many streets have French names, and there are descendants of the original French families still living in Akaroa.
The original Akaroa lighthouse started operation on the precipitous headland of Akaroa Heads on 1 January 1880. One hundred years later, it was moved down to Akaroa Township, after being replaced in 1977 by an automated light. You can read it's full story here.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=34194

Marae.

In New Zealand Māori society, the marae is a place where the culture can be celebrated, where the Māori language can be spoken, where intertribal obligations can be met, where customs can be explored and debated, where family occasions such as weddings and birthdays can be held, and where important ceremonies, such as welcoming visitors or farewelling the dead (tangihanga), can be performed. Like the related institutions of old Polynesia, the marae is a 'sacred place' which carries great cultural meaning.
In Māori usage, marae is technically the enclosed space in front of a wharenui or meeting house (literally "big house"). However, it is generally used to refer to the whole complex, including the buildings and the open space. The meeting house is the locale for important meetings, sleepovers, and craft and other cultural activities. The Marae can have special occasions such as weddings and funerals held in it, a Marae can also differ in size with some being a bit bigger than a double garage and some being as big a a town hall or bigger.
This image is taken inside the meeting house of the marae in New Zealand's national museum 'Te Papa' in Wellington. An SB800 speedlight was placed in the background left to light the rear. The on camera flash is used to trigger this speedlight as well as providing some fill to the mask in the foreground. This shot was taken at 1/60th second, f/7.1, ISO1600. having just checked those numbers I was surprised to see that it was ISO1600. This is a testament to the useability of ISO 1600 on a D80. It was really quite dark inside the meeting house and I think I scared the wits out of some Japanese tourists when the remote flash triggered.

Up A Tree

Strong sunlight was the order of the day in Wellington's Botanic Gardens. The sun is providing a backlight and Chris is being lit by a bare off camera SB800 to the camera left. Settings are ISO200, 1/60th second, f/8. The flash is being triggered by the on camera pop up in commander mode. The purpose of the trip to New Zealand's capital was to see David Beckham play football for the LA Galaxy against the Wellington Phoenix. Chris was fortunate to meet him at the airport and get a football autographed by Beckham.