8715 Nelson gothic, by street light Photographer William Tyree’s pile, on Whitby Rd – but hardly Gothic. In uploading this I suddenly realised that a spectral figure was needed at the gate! How easily I could have stepped into the shot myself, halfway through the exposure, yet the thought never occurred to me. Now I […]

8075 Hauraki moonlit selfie, to tow truck soundtrack This is the last frame from a series I took from Achilles Point, a suburban vantage point at St Heliers, Auckland. The view is east, towards Brown’s Island (Motukorea), with Great Barrier Island on the far horizon. More a matter of record than any artistic statement, this […]

8254. Marahau moonlight, Nelson. 9.21pm, 13 July 2014 While the others snuggled down to watch rugby on TV, I ventured out into the cool evening and walked towards the Abel Tasman. I followed a shoreline lapped by tiny surf, and set my tripod in the sand every few minutes, only to discover that my lens […]

Rangitoto from Achilles Pt, Auckland. Two frames merged into one, so same ferry twice – each exposure is 30 seconds, by moonlight. The Point is at St Heliers; it’s a good lookout as long as you don’t get caught (as I did) by the local council’s draconian parking restrictions. Park well down the street!  

7707. Claire & co at Whatipu A discrete chair in the Whatipu wilderness puts you one step ahead in the relaxed model stakes – as does a warm coat – but the secret ingredient to portrait work seems to be having an accomplice, one who distracts the subject with lively conversation while the photographer pretends […]

7790. Signs and sacrifices A pause in readings from the Little Book of Sacrifices. A simple lateral flick-trick found online has brought out some unexpected imagery, while a slight re-framing avoids complete symmetry. A warm duotone was selected after conversion from the colour original. The hand-colouring is hardly brilliant, but this looks to be a […]

5957. Renee on the coast Sunset and twilight glows are great times to photograph people, as the light is warm and lateral, rather than cool and overhead. Long exposures are sometimes necessary, true, but using the tripod slows you down to give each frame full consideration. It was a full moon and Be Kind to […]

7780. Reading the Little Book of Calm Or something like it. Claire is distracted with readings from a good book. Light ent., relief and engagement shine through as the drizzle descends. Low angle with tripod; wide angle lens predictably highlights her fine hands; her hair is emphasised by post-pro desaturation and selective re-saturation. An important […]

7701. Claire and pal at Whatipu Whatipu is a vast expanse of beach and wetland on Auckland’s west coast. It’s a wild place and amazingly changed since my first visit over 40 years ago – wider and wetter, it is now also far more vegetated. On a winter’s afternoon we barely sampled the place – […]

6495.a Bush contrasts Monochrome is so often the first choice for nude studies, especially for outdoor venues such as the beach or the bush. These are big on texture but typically have only limited palettes. However when we start with colour, before converting to monochrome in post processing, we can see that the case for […]

6385b. Flax woman at the bay In post-processing this simple image transforms, giving two quite different versions. In the image above, I dialled back the saturation and increased the contrast (80% in each case), to mimic the current glossy style. In the monochrome below, each colour channel was separately modified in the conversion process, so […]

6361a Claire at Kaitarakihi Bay A change of tack now, as I pick up another theme from my early years of photography – the portrait. For people shots I’ve always liked simple set-ups by available light – and a timeless look. However there was no fooling Claire, who immediately nailed this as “Retro”. The location […]

5295 Moonlit squall over New Plymouth 5307 Mt Taranaki by moonlight 6642 New moon at Arrowtown 5899 From Breaker Bay, Nelson, high moon Copyright images in 16:9 wide screen ratio, posted for free download as background wallpaper on your desktop (a right-hand click of your mouse over any image will show this option). Downloads are for personal use […]

4478 Motunui rustic, Taranaki 4500 Onaero Beach, Taranaki 4613 Moturoa from Back Beach   3718 Twilight at Turakina Cemetery, Rangitikei Copyright images in 16:9 wide screen ratio, posted for free download as background wallpaper on your desktop (a right-hand click of your mouse over any image will show this option). Downloads are for personal use only.

 12.11/31. Moonlit sheep, Golden Bay   4391. Motunui twilight, Taranaki    3571. Kai Iwi Beach, Whanganui   3254. Crescent moonlight, Omata, Taranaki Evening images in the 16:9 wide screen ratio, posted for free download as background wallpaper on your desktop. Downloads are for personal use only.

0780 Spring grass by moonlight    3002 Last glow over Mt Taranaki   3512 Tank farm, Taranaki   3372 Outlook on Saddleback Evening images in the 16:9 wide screen ratio, posted for free download as background wallpaper on your desktop. Downloads are for personal use only.  

5091 Twilight Crossing, Cook Strait   3014 Last light from South Taranaki   2044 At Pukerimu, near Cambridge   3133 Moonlit mountain from Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth   Evening images in the 16:9 wide screen ratio, posted for free download as background wallpaper on your desktop. Downloads are for personal use only.

2481 Moturoa hilltop, New Plymouth           2408 Church camp, Eltham, Taranaki           2930 High tide at Mangawhai, Northland           2039 Angel at Pukerimu, Cambridge       Here begins a new series of recent images in the 16:9 wide screen ratio, posted for […]

Mt Moturoa, New Plymouth. 7.08 pm, 21 April 2013 Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  –  Ovid 28mm; ISO 2000. 30 seconds at f16. Incandescent light balance

The true art of memory is the art of attention.  –  Samuel Johnson 50mm; ISO 2000. 30 seconds at f11

To Barney’s pulpit rock I climb / Where the sea aisles burn cold / In fires of no return / And maned breakers praise / The death hour of the sun. James K. Baxter, In fires of no return 28mm; ISO 2000. 30 seconds at f11  

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow / Out of this stony rubbish?          Son of man, / You cannot say, or guess, for you know only / A heap of broken images    – T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land 85mm; ISO 500. 4 minutes at f16

  Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.  –  Napoleon Bonaparte 50mm; ISO 2500. 30 seconds at f22. Flash; sodium vapour light balance

 You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head.  –  Marge Simpson 50mm; ISO 2000. 2 seconds at f5.6. Sodium vapour light balance  

Made cool the dry rock and made firm the sand / In blue of larkspur,                            blue of Mary’s colour / Sovegna vos  –  T.S. Eliot, Ash Wednesday IV 85mm; ISO 2000. 4 seconds at f9. Sodium vapour light balance