I enjoy painting. I don't get a whole lot of time to indulge in it, but my aim one day is to spend more time putting colours onto canvas in a more tactile way. I will be happy however- for now, with this digital version. 

Tonight, I found myself up in Waihi Town with two hours to kill. My second son and I enjoyed ourselves immensely doing some night shots around town. This by far, is my favourite. I was actually sitting inside the car so this is through the front windscreen and I was very happy to have my settings dialled in when these two cars got to where I wanted them. Actually we had to wait for ages for cars to come up and down as it wasn't busy at all. This was taken at 7:23 pm. Taken on a D700; 50mm; f/5.6; 1/8 sec; ISO 200.

New Zealand is an amazing place for a photographer to be. Maybe not a wildlife photographer as your options would be limited, but the most amazingly diverse landscapes and natural phenomena abound in this little country. Take the city of Rotorua for example. It takes about an hour and a half to drive there from my place, yet it is excitingly different to my beachside town. You know you have arrived in Rotorua when you start thinking your travel partner really should be stopping for a loo break. But the assault on your olfatics is simply the hydrogen sulphide emissions that ooze from the earth. As you drive down the streets you will see steam coming from backyards, road culverts and drains. It's everywhere! 

We stayed two days, and tried

I am spending some time at a friends place while they are away. They have a bountiful orchard plus paddocks with creatures and a great outlook with water views. A great place for reviving the soul. this shot is my favourite for the day. I am testing out the combination of the 70-200 on the D700 where it 'better belongs'. I am really loving the..

As I was driving home last night, I watched the full yellow moon creeping up from the ocean over Waihi Beach. It was one of those times when I wished I was down at the beach capturing it. However, I try to live fully present in each moment so I fought those thoughts. Besides, when I did get down, it was still amazing. I tried different techniques last night including..

After the last beautifully serene night shot, we have been preparing to welcome Cyclone Lusi to our shores. Nowadays there seems to be so much hype over incoming weather of all varieties. In part I guess, due to such great technology, able to inform us of every inch of movement the storm takes. It dominated the news and there seems little time to think of anything else. Even if one does not watch the news, there is no escape, thanks to technology. Plenty of good can come of this, we can all be prepared and usually it seems to turn out that it isn't as bad as it may have been- which is a good, positive outlook. 
This shot is taken ..

Well I finally did it! I had a birthday and turned 40! Well actually, I haven't had my actual birthday yet at all. It sure felt like it this morning when my lovely husband presented me with a D700 as an early birthday present. Well, I have been dying to try it out all day, but being the usual busy day, I waited until this evening and decided that that was actually most appropriate seeing as...

I think it is about time that my treasured second son, Ben features here. He certainly features in much of my photography and I feel truly blessed to have such photogenic children. I'm sure every mum feels the same though. 

I had a lot of fun with this image, using harsh back lighting (a speed light placed behind his head) and working in a confined space. The processing consisted of Topaz B & W effects and a texture layer to compliment the cement wall behind him. I have 

“If I be waspish, best beware my sting.” 
― William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

I haven't been stung by one yet that I know about, plenty of bees but no wasps yet. I'm sure my time will come but as I sat on the bank of the inner harbour estuary on Sunday, a particularly delightfully foggy/misty/rainy day, I couldn't help but be drawn to these little guys. When I glanced up at the kayaker and the paddle boarder, I knew what they were doing, but the wasps? I didn't know whether they were hunting or looking for nest sites or just paying a visit to the flax bushes that flank the waters edge. So here is a shot of their activity. They certainly weren't collecting pollen as they are not known to be pollinators. What was their devious business that day, and why should I care? Well..