Posted on July 27, 2012 by Marcus

Nikon D800E

This is a user report of the Nikon D800E. It is not a full technical review per se: there are many of those to be found on the internet already and adding another will not increase the sum of man’s knowledge a great deal, I think!

However there is useful value in describing how the D800E fares in real life use rather than in the studio test environment used in many reviews. I am therefore setting out my thoughts for you here in the hope that you find them useful.

First up, I was loaned the D800E unit for a week by T A Macalister in Auckland, who are the Nikon distributors for the NZ market. There were no strings attached in terms of this review (not even sure I told them I was doing one!) and no discounts etc on products. My thanks to Greg at TA Macalister for the loan unit, which was entirely for me to assess the usefulness of the D800E in my own practice.

Initial Impressions

The D800E is a small unit when you are used to D3s series bodies such as those I usually use. It lacks the built in vertical grip (although an accessory grip is available, which I did not have) and to my hands seemed very small. I found that the little finger of my right hand was left with nothing to hold as the grip is shorter than my hand is wide.

It is around 200g lighter than a large pro D series body which is nice in terms of carrying but I felt that it did not balance heavy f2.8 lenses as well as the larger bodies do.

Control layouts show clear Nikon DNA, but have undergone some shifts from prior cameras. The major shifts are:

• Focus switch by lens mount has now only AF and M positions
• The AF function switch has been deleted from the back panel and replaced with a ‘press and hold, then turn command dial’ approach
• Some alteration to the angle of the shutter release
• A dedicated movie record button
• Simpler Live View controls

I showed the camera to a friend who shoots a D700 and he compared the two and pronounced them very similar, so I think we can say that alterations are at least cosmetically minimal.

Are The Alterations Good?

Ah. This is a tricky one.

If you are new to Nikon, of course there are no alterations – this is the first time you have used one, so it all seems to be where it should be and to work how it should be.

For those coming to the D800 from a Nikon platform, then here are my thoughts:

• AF controls: seemed odd to me but I could get used to them probably
• Movie button: of no use to me at all, as I do not want to shoot movies with my still camera. Useful if you do I expect
• Shutter button angle: may be better on a long shoot

Robustness

The Nikon D800 should be robust. It lacks the ‘hewn from rock’ feel that the D3 series (and no doubt the D4) have but it has a metal body underneath the paint and rubber and good dust sealing according to Nikon.

I do not like the pop up flash. It has uses – to control off-camera Nikon CLS units, if nothing else – but it feels weak and vulnerable and I doubt it would last in the field. I would probably tape it shut with gaffer tape to prevent annoying random activation and hope that the body took no significant knocks on top of the pentaprism as I think a decent one would crack the plastic flash arm.

The flash could have been better designed and built and is the weakest thing about the body in my view. In fact, since they have two models, perhaps offering the flash option on say the D800 and no flash on the D800E might have been possible.

Thom Hogan has blogged before about whether we are approaching the era of BTO (Build To Order) cameras whereby you can specify some options for your individual camera. Leica already do this with M cameras and I would think that Nikon could do it with the top models too. It would be interesting to see what people would choose to include and exclude!

In Use

Much like every Nikon DSLR recently, to be honest. Same metering modes although they seem to work better. I noticed a much better ability to expose faces against bright backgrounds: for example in front of a window. Even with no fill flash, this image looks reasonable:

D800E Test image - Ambient light only (click to enlarge)

Out in the field I found less evidence of blown highlights in JPEGs when the meter was left to it’s own devices. The need for intervention in the form of exposure compensation seemed less and anything that reduces the task load between “see image” and “press shutter” has to be a good thing when working with busy subjects as I tend to do.

Of course, static subjects such as landscapes and studio work etc all generally offer more time for tweaking exposure, sontrolling light and so on, and also you may well be using a meter to measure ambient rather than reflected light and so on.

AF seemed better as well than earlier iterations. Unfortunately I did not find a great many subjects to test this as much as I would have liked but my dog obliged once or twice and it coped with him running at the camera just fine.

I found the Viewfinder screen a bit busy at first until I found out I could turn off the composition grid – you may want to experiment with that. It added no value for me and was visually distracting. I cannot imagine the average targeted user of the D800 would need such a grid but at least you can turn it off.

The body does seem small in my hands. I am around 6ft and I could not quite shake off the feeling that I had a compact camera in my hands but I think that is just because I am used to shooting with the larger style of body.

Image Quality

Yes, this really is the strong point (although I have caveats to follow!). There is no doubt that the files out of this camera are very good indeed. Heaps of detail in both highlights and lowlights, plenty of scope for cropping without loosing resolution, great colours and pretty much just what you would expect.

NZ Fur Seal, Cape Palliser (click to enlarge)

My caveats are as follows:

1. Files are HUGE. Bigger memory cards, more storage on your Mac and so on are all going to become a requirement if you choose this path. Even a JPEG is 16Mb.
2. Technique must be perfect to get the best from the platform. This means camera support, top tier glass, perfect focus and care with aperture choices are all a necessity. At such high resolution, errors that would have gone unnoticed at 12Mp or even 16Mp are going to be right there front and centre.

So whilst it is VERY good, I am not sure everyone will be in a position to make the most use of it. Of course, Nikon have no full frame alternative at lower Megapixel count now other than the D3x and the D4 at 24Mp and 16Mp repectively.

I was surprised to learn from TA Macalister that the D3x is still current; like many, I had assumed it would die when the D800 appeared at 60% of the D3x price with 12 more Mp. However, I am told that the D3x sensor has better results in certain applications (mainly studio portrait type work I suspect) and may be kept on for a while as long as sensors and so on are available. The D3x does give those with existing D2 and D3 bodies in their kits a high resolution option that uses the same batteries, as well. Both the D800 series and the D4 use different batteries from their forebears which is inconvenient if you are running them side by side with older bodies.

The D800 series beats the D3x hands down at higher ISO settings however. The D3x is reaching the limits of good results by ISO 800 (and ideally less) whereas the D800 will happil run up to ISO1600 very well and to ISO 3200 with quite useable results.

I think the D800 is a tool for specific work and, whilst useable by everyone, will not actually deliver to everyone the full benefit of it’s potential. It is a shame that there is no equally priced (or cheaper) full frame offering from Nikon. A D800 body with the D4′s 16 Mp sensor in might well be a future winner for Nikon, as might a D4 with the 36 Mp sensor from the D800E!

My thoughts as to the areas most suited for the D800 series are:

• Landscapes
• Architecture
• Fine Art
• Wildlife

Not so good for:

• Portraits (so much resolution is very unkind to skin flaws etc)
• Action (not fast at 4 fps and buffer struggles with the huge files)

Other uses will depend on your style of shooting, subjects and so on. Some PJ’s and deocumentary shooters might like the resolution whereas for others the huge file storage requirements in the field will prove challenging and the robustness may not be up to it for some high stress environments.

One thing is for sure and that is that the D800 is a revolutionary series of cameras, putting a whole lot of bang for your money into your kit bag. Never before could you dream of this level of resolution for less than NZ$15,000, so to be able to get it for NZ$5,000 or so is simply amazing. Hats off to Nikon for achieving that.

Coming Soon – Nikon D800 Test

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Marcus

Thanks to the generous folk at TA Macalister in Auckland, the Nikon agents for NZ, I will soon have a D800 to put through it’s paces for a week.

Whilst I do not intend to do a full in depth review (there are already a plethora of those to read and digest!) I will certainly give it a work out and let you have my thoughts and some sample images.

I expect to have the camera in mid July, so look out for a post here by the end of the month.

I am debating whether to get the D800 or a pre-owned D3x so this will be a useful exercise to help in that decision making. The D3x wins out because (a) I prefer the larger, better built body and (b) it takes the same batteries as all my existing D series bodies (the D800 and D4 do not). The D800 wins points for being newer technology. There are also a few concerns I have over the size of the files and the additional work required to get the best from it which may make it better suited to studio and landscape etc: that is to say, in scenarios where there is time to spend setting up each shot.

We shall see and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you later this month!

Image Nation 2012

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Marcus

I have just returned from attending Image Nation 2012 in Auckland.

For those who do not know it, IN is the annual conference organised by the Advertising and Illustrative Photographer’s Association here in NZ. As a Full Member of the AIPA, I regard participation in IN as a core benefit of belonging and make the annual pilgrimage unless something absolutely immovable prevents me from doing so.

The format is a 9 to 10 hour day for Saturday and Sunday with a series of speakers each day who offer a window into their photography practice and a varied blend of guidance and suggestion depending on the nature of each speaker. Some lean heavily toward the artistic and creative side of photography and some more towards the business and money side of being a professional photographer. All parts of that spectrum are equally valid and useful things to hear about.

Professional photographers who work in advertising and illustration are helping their clients sell products. Today, with the advent of cheap, high quality digital cameras many potential clients have begun to re-allocate photography budgets elsewhere and simply purchased a cheap camera, assigned it to a staff member who “does a bit of photography” and assumed that they have now saved themselves a bit of money each year.

Whilst there may well be some scope for this in smaller internal image uses such as newsletters etc, I think that, as professionals, it is incumbent on us to educate our clients of the value of what we bring to their businesses. As one speaker at the conference eloquently put it, when a client says that they do not need a professional because they have a camera in the office, he asks if they have a frying pan at home; when they inevitably reply “Yes.” he then says “Does that make you a chef, then?” and said that they usually get the point after that!

There is of course much that a professional photographer brings to a job. They will agree the brief with the client and then sort out what equipment is needed on site, make sure it gets there on time, bring their creative input to the job and then ensure that the client gets the shots they need, properly produced and executed to sell their business or their product. If a client spends (say) $5,000 getting images for re-brand collateral that then brings in $200,000 of business, it was a pretty good spend. On the other hand, a poor image may turn off potential clients: research has shown that bad images can subconsciously switch readers off and they won’t be receptive to the message that they are being sent.

On top of getting the image, there is a wealth of other work a professioanl does: Post production, retouching, Digital Asset Management ensuring that the client can get copies of the images 5 years later when they have moved office and lost the original CD and so on.

Throughout the weekend, it was stressed that we as photographers must retain the copyright in our images. This may sound obvious to many readers; however, New Zealand copyright law relating to still images is still somewhat behind the times and in need of an overhaul. At present, if Person A asks Photographer B to shoot an image, unless Photographer B specifically has Terms & Conditions for his work that say otherwise, Person A will own the copyright as he/she “commissioned” the work. Thus, the AIPA has standard T&C’s for members to use when doing business and part of the purpose of those is to ensure members retain the copyright to their work.

Let me stress to anyone who is thinking of becoming a professional photographer the benefits of joining an organisation in whatever country you live in that is dedicated to looking after your needs. No one else will have your back when it comes to matters which arise inevitably in the course of life and you will garner support, advice and information. It’s a hard enough job to do as it is – sadly for most of us, it’s not all 2 week paid shooting vacations in Aruba with topless swimwear models and Pina Coladas all round – so give yourself a support network.

Also much in vogue throught the various presentations was the ubiquitous iPad. Australia-based British fashion shooter Jez Smith told us that he no longer has printed portfolio books: He bought 3 iPads, had them engraved with his name and contact details and then sends them out to prospective clients. The advantages are obvious – the retina display will show images to a far higher standard than any print method available, the images can quickly and easily be tailored to the client and there are no print costs. Nick Rains told us that he will be pubishing a variety of things on the iPad form factor, from interacative magazines to books to videos.

We saw subject matter that included bacteria, fungi, Tibetan Shamans, landscapes from NZ to Antarctica, Russia to China, Africa to France; wildlife from Emperor Penguins to hippos via albatross and falcon; portraits of NZ musicians both famous and below the line, snowboarders and fashion models from Vogue shoots, amazing houses and offices, huge construction sites and other commercial work. In short, we saw images from the wide range of subjects that are photographed throughout New Zealand and the world every day of the year.

As someone said, a man must be what a man must be. Some of us must be photographers.

Auckland Storm

The Amazing Scottevest And How It Helps Photographers Travel!

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Marcus

I was recently turned on to an amazing peice of clothing in a chance on-line conversation with excellent wildlife and underwater photographer Norbert Wu (see his site here).

We were discussing the difficulty of travelling internationally with camera gear and Norbert mentioned the Scottevest. Now, this is perhaps something any American readers will know of but it is not something that is widely publicised or known of in many other coutries.

What is a Scottevest, you ask? Well, dear reader, it is as the name suggests, a vest. Available in a wide variety of sizes and in several iterations for both men and women, they were created by Scott Jordan to enable him to fly without the need for a carry on bag at all.

I purchased the men’s Lightweight Vest so that I could wear it when I visit hot countries and wear it over warmer clothes here in NZ in winter. There is actually a fleece version of the vest that has zip off sleeves and I may get one of those as well soon. Pricing is very reasonable – my vest cost USD100.

Lightweight Scottevest

Now, the vest has no less than 22 pockets. Yes, 22! However, it does not particularly look like a fishing vest or anything as you cannot see most of them (see photo above!). One of them is even big enough to swallow an iPad or 11” netbook (my Macbook Air fits just nicely!). Here’s a summary of the pockets:

2 chest pockets
2 handwarmer pockets
2 change pockets
1 back pocket
2 Clear Touch pockets (see below)
1 Eyeglass pocket with attached cloth
1 Small digital camera pocket with memory card slot
1 Key holder
Water bottle loop in one pocket (holds small bottle upright)
Pad Pocket (for iPad etc)
USB/Bluetooth headset pocket
Cleartouch ID pocket
Travel Document Pocket
2 Pen pockets
Earbud pockets

Also a few small “pocket in pocket” type of things for small items.

The clear Touch Cellphone pockets allow you to have a phone in the pocket (they are internal at chest height) and see who is calling and control the phone, iPod or whatever you have in there. Great idea!

Clear Touch Cellphone Pocket

The PAN or Personal Area Network allows you to route cables between pockets and right up to the collar. I have a spare pair of earbuds for my iPhone and they are now semi-permanently installed in the vest with no trailing wires to snag r be unsightly. When waiting at the airport or wherever I am, I can simply plug them into my iPhone and enjoy music right there.

Some of the many secure pockets!

Now, Norbert brought this to my attention because he and I were discussing the issue of bag weight. Although not a photographer’s jacket per se, the pockets will happily swallow lenses and bodies if needed. Thus, if you need to lighten a bag in order to satisfy the Gate Police you can easily pop some gear into vest pockets and head on through, as there is no weight restriction on your clothes!

Even without this advantage, there is no need to carry a bag with books, pens and so on in – my Kindle, pens, snacks, earplugs, lip balm and all the other myriad of things needed on a long flight just slip easily into the various pockets, along with passports, tickets, boarding passes and so on. Pockets all have secure zip closures to keep out unwanted fingers and some also have secondary magnetic closures that make sure they stay shut even if the zip is undone.

A note to non-US buyers: the main zipper pull in US clothing is on the ‘wrong’ side, being on the right instead of the left. Not a big deal but it can be momentarily confusing when you forget!

In addition to the wide variety of vests and jackets featuring the pockets (including one designed to give access to concealed firearms for LEO’s etc!) the company makes trousers with many pockets, shorts and shirts and so on and so forth, all with more pockets than you would believe possible.

All the pockets are somehow achieved without looking as though they are there and feature a ‘no bulge design’ that really seems to smooth out at least moderate bulges from content. There is also a ‘Weight Management System’ in the design that helps distribute weight so that jackets do not hang lopsided and so on which again certainly seems to work.

Manufacturing quality is excellent, as is warranty and Customer Service are always available for advice and assistance. The website is a goldmine of information and amongst the best on-line shopping sites I have seen, given how hard it is to buy this sort of thing off the web in New Zealand sight unseen.

There is a huge range of clothing and accessories for the traveller available from Scottevest and we at Travelling Light Photography think they help us live up to our name!

Travellers and photographers will certainly be interested in Scottevest products and I highly recommend that you check them out here.

Kata Bags – Pro Light Collection

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Marcus

Today I thought I would write a gear review about something that you do not see many reviews of – Kata bags.

Kata is an Israeli company with origins in bullet proof vests and other military gear. They diversified into camera and video bags a while ago and were probably a little ‘out there’ at first, if I am honest. Their designs lacked mainstream appeal although quality and functionality were top notch.

Recently they have moved to a more modern and conservative look to their bags without sacrificing their unique approach. I own two of their bags and I have to say that they are excellent. Up front I will also say that I am in no way connected with them so any views herein are entirely my own.

Kata are streets ahead of Lowepro and Think Tank in one key area: Bag weight.

There is a really big problem flying internationally today on many airlines and that is the carry on weight limit. I have written of this before in this blog. Air New Zealand, for example, allow one bag of 7Kg. On internal NZ flights, there is no seperate allowance for laptop bags or cameras etc either!

7kg, for those still operating outside the metric system (I think that is only you nowadays, Uncle Sam!) is around 15lbs. Now, a Nikon pro DSLR is (and I’m going to stick with metric now!) around 1.2kg. A 70-200 2.8 is around 1.5kg. A 14-24 2.8 is 0.95lg. So that lot makes almost 4 kg with only one body, no battery charger, laptop/iPad and so on.

As you can see, you will be at 5 − 6 Kg very fast. Most wheeled bags these days are between 3.5kg and 5kg EMPTY! This is of little help to the photographer who needs to fly internationally and does not (wisely!) wish to check his gear in. This is where Kata come into their own.

Kata Flyby-74

The Flyby-74 (FB-74 hereafter!) is a carry-on size (L46xW36.5xH23cm) bag with no built in wheels. Instead, it comes with Kata’s Insertrolley: a seperate wheeled trolley which the FB-74 (and a number of other Kata bags) slides on to with a special sleeve.

Kata FB-74

Kata also give you maximum and minimum bag weights – max being the weight with all the accessories/dividers etc and minimum being the bag only. In this case the max weight (including the trolley) is 4.08kg and the minimum weight a measely 1.92kg.

The trolley is probably at least half the max weight, but here’s the thing: it’s removeable. So you could choose to leave it at home. Or you could wheel to check in, hand over your clothes bag, remove the trolley and check it in, attach the shoulder strap and simply carry the FB-74 to the gate on your shoulder. Then at the other end, collect the clothes bag and trolley, slide your FB-74 onto the trolley and wheel away.

FB-74 with Insertrolley removed

This option is entirely missing from every other wheeled bag I know of. Most of them have no shoulder strap option either, whereas Kata’s Gecko Strap is strong, comfortable and light.

The bag is made from lightweight materials such as ripstop nylon and thermo-formed panels. It is far more rigid than the Think Tank Airport International it replaced – I have seen people stand on these bags without deforming them at all and I have used mine as a seat. The bag also features Spine Guard – a Kata feature which encases a spring steel spine in soft material providing flexible stiffening and impact protection in the lid.

The inside of the lid is a neoprene laptop compartment that will easily take a 15” laptop and would probably take a 17” one. The main bag is lined in yellow – easy to see things you are looking for – and is all covered with material that the dividers will stick to, so you can put them anywhere. It will take 1-2 bodies and 6-8 lenses and will hold up to a 400mm. It also has external tripod straps, 2 carry handles and a shoulder strap (removable). An external pocket for travel documents and nick-nacks is a helpful addition.

Inside Kata FB-74

Report IT-20

This matching shoulder bag takes 2 pro size DSLR bodies and 3-4 lenses up to a 70-200attached. There is a padded compartment that will accomodate up to a 12” laptop (my 11” Macbook Air fits nicely) or an iPad.

Nikon D3s and Nikkor 70-200 VR II in Kata Report IT-20 (will also fit vertically)

Lined in the same yellow as the larger case, small items are easily spotted in the bag. The lid (unpadded) is closed with two QR buckles and/or velcro. The velcro can be silenced if you are working in a quiet environment where the noise would be obtrusive. There is a zip in the lid which allows access into the bag without opening it fully – useful for a quick grap shot and helps keep the contents secure. The bag also features Spine Guard protection like the FB-74 above.

Maximum weight for this one is 1.17kg and minimum weight is 0.80kg – so very light indeed on your shoulder. I recently sold a Domke F7 because the empty weight was double what this bag weighs and I was just never using it. Much of the padding is removeable if you want a lighter back or for packing in a suitcase for use when you arrive on location.

On the rear of the bag is a mounting for an Insertrolley or other roller bag handle so this bag can hitch a ride through the airport or I can give it wheels to itself, which makes getting around town to locations and so on a breeze and saves my back too! A rear zipped pocket is great for tickets, boarding passes etc as well. Inside there is a front pocket that has space for pens and bits, but it is quite flat so there is not a lot of front to back depth for bulky items (and I would have liked Kata to put some gusseting in to allow a bit of expansion here). The base has feet (called Toblerones by Kata) whic help absorb impact when the bag is placed on the ground and also keep the bag off surface moisture.

Kata Report IT-20 on Insertrolley with Fly-By 74

There are no external pockets for gear, although numerous webbing mounting points are sewn outside which suggests that Kata might have something in the works for optional pouches etc. I tried my Think Tank belt gear but the TT tabs are too wide to fit. The Lowepro ones may fit but I do not have any to try.

Also included are a top handle and a Gecko Shoulder Strap, together with Kata’s Elements cover which is black waterproof on one side and reflective silver on the other to help keep contents cool – a nice touch for desert visits etc. The cover is not attached to the bag so can be removed for cleaning which I prefer. It also has a mesh bag to live in and that is sewn rather ingeniously into the cover so that you cannot loose it! There is a clip to attach the folded cover to the bag too.

Conclusions

Kata are a young company and have very progressive ideas in terms of materials and approach. I think they are bang on in putting bag weight at the top of their agenda – even if you are not concerned about the flying aspect, weight saved on your shoulder or on your back is always a Good Thing.

Sensible features, solid build quality and intelligent design are evident in both bags. I particularly like the yellow linings (you won’t know how good this is until you try it!) and the idea of removeable wheels and so on is just so obvious.

I recommend a closer look. A 5 year warranty (which is easily extended to a lifetime warranty for free simply by on line registration) is the icing on the cake.

Travelling Light Photography Featured In Singapore Airlines’ Priority Magazine “Top Photography Tours Around The Globe”

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Marcus

I am very pleased to report that TLP is featured in an article about top photography tours around the globe published in the current issue of Priority.

Priority is Singapore Airlines’ magazine for their top tier frequent fliers, those who qualify for PPS Club membership.

We were sharing the limelight with a number of outstanding photo tour operators around the world, such as:

Jim Cline/Karl Groble of Jim Cline Tours
John Paul Caponigro and Seth Resnick of Digital Photo Destinations
Ewen Bell and Wild China
National Geographic Expeditions

I was also very pleased that the publishers picked an image of mine to grace the opening double page spread of the article. The image was of Lake Matheson and is shown below.

Lake Matheson, New Zealand

It is always great to receive recognition for what we do; we work hard for our clients to ensure that they get the shots that they want from their time in New Zealand, so if you are thinking of coming, do please get in touch (see ‘Contact Us at the bottom of the page) and we will be very happy to work with you to plan your ideal trip. We have plenty of advice on where and when to go and how best to do things photographically here, so we can take your initial ideas and work with you to develop them into a unique trip.

Lens On The World – Brian Brake

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Marcus

Whilst in Rotorua, I was fortunate enough to go with my client to the exhibition ‘Lens On The World’ which is travelling around NZ after being at Te Papa museum in Wellington.

If you are in NZ and have the chance to see this exhibition, I can strongly recommend that you do so. Brian Brake’s work is simply amazing and really represents my fairy tale career, if I am honest. If I could wave a magic wand, I would be working as part of the Magnum photographer’s collective and having the freedom and support to roam the world seeking out stories and images in the same genre as Brake’s work.

He was fortunate enough to have lived in an easier time: he was unemployed in London when he met Henri Cartier-Bresson and was invited to join Magnum as an Associate. Today, Magnum has far more applicants than spaces I have no doubt and is a good deal more challenging to belong to – not, I am sure, that it was exactly easy when Brake managed it, but I am sure you know what I mean! He was also fortunate to work in a world where photography was essential for most people to see events around the world. There was little or no television and of course not even the merest hint of the world wide web, so printed media such as Life, Newsweek, Stern, National Geographic and so on were the windows on the world that most people saw. Access to events was easier, photographers were a rarer breed because very few people had access to the equipment unlike today and big corporate domination of event access by folks such as Getty and AP etc was not a reality.

His work captures so many events of the day in a way that the viewer is easily transported to the time, as if one were indeed looking through a lens that could see through time to frozen moments. It is easy to imagine yourself standing where he stood and seeing those things yourself, which I believe is a mark of true skill in a photojournalist. There is an authenticity and raw reality to the images that comes from being shot on film, I think – it is a physical connection to the events, as the film was actually physically there: we see an image made from film that Brake loaded into his own camera amid the dust and confusion of Egypt, or on the streets of Moscow or wherever. The actual light that he saw with his eyes is captured in the chemical emulsion of those films and I just do not think that digital imaging, for all it’s many clear advantages, has quite that sense of historicity and reality.

I also purchased the book Lens On The World, published by Te Papa Museum which, although not inexpensive, contains excellent prints of his work and a detailed retrospective of the career of this seminal photojournalist. Also highly recommended.

Rotorua

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Marcus

Just back from a trip to Rotorua with a client from Holland (hello, Koen!) and what a good trip it was.

The weather on the way up was appalling with very heavy rain and poor visibility and I was concerned that the trip might be badly affected. I need not have worried – we had glorious sunshine for the whole time we were there and the drive home yesterday was a great deal more pleasant than the drive up.

We had a morning workshop in which we looked at the basics of shooting in the digital world and then an afternoon trip out to some of the lakes around Rotorua. We also had a day at the amazing geothermal wonder that is Orakei Korako. I highly recommend that if you are in the area. The only way to reach the park is by a short boat ride and you are then free to wander through the park on a carefully laid out trail (some of the areas are quite hazardous because of high temperature water and mud etc so it is important to stick to the path!) for as long as you want.

I also introduced my client to the joys of shooting RAW and was able to clearly demonstrate for him the advantages of having the RAW files to work with back at home after a shoot. Regular readers will know that I advocate RAW as the best option in almost all circumstances (not quite all!) and at the very least recommend shooting RAW+JPEG pairs.

A few shots of the area below just to give you an idea!

Geothermal Vents

Client At Work

Metro Life

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Marcus

I am writing this post from my hotel in Auckland, where I am staying for a few days. For anyone not from around here, Auckland is the largest city in NZ with approximately 25% of the entire population living here.

Of course, this makes it a busy and very cosmopolitan sort of place, with people from many parts of the world living here. It is certainly more cosmopolitan than any other part of New Zealand and I am often left feeling that it is closer to being a Principality within a country in the same way as Monaco is within France, for example, than it is to being a part of an homogenous New Zealand.

There is just so much here that you see nowhere else in NZ – even the capital, Wellington, does not boast the depth of shopping and cuisine that Auckland has to offer. This is THE place in NZ for luxury brands, with shops from Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Swarovski, Mont Blanc and so on standing out as beacons for the hip and well-healed.

That said, we photographers are, on the whole, neither hip nor well-heeled! It is though a great chance for me to actually get into some camera shops and see in the flesh many of the things that I read about, to engage with shop staff and discuss the cameras and so on that are on the shelves. One thing that caught my eye was a Kata bag that is very unusual as a carry-on option in that the wheeled part of it is a stand-alone, entirely removable trolly. This makes the bag extremely light when compared with the more common method of building the wheels and handle into the bag. Kata’s innovative use of lightweight materials results in a bag strong enough to stand on (no – really. I tried!) yet less than half the weight of comparable offerings from Lowepro and Think Tank.

This means you can roll up to check in, give them your clothes bag and the trolley part, clip on the shoulder strap and away you go. If your clothes bag has wheels and a decent handle, the sleeve will even fit that so you can leave the trolley at home. The bag is the Kata Fly-By 74 and you will find details here.

As well as the shops in the city, there is city life. I live in a very quiet rural location so the noise and bustle of the city is always a shock to the system. I’ve seen a couple of clients and business contacts which was one of the reasons for coming up (well – the main reason really) but also some interesting photography and art exhibitions too.

I’ve enjoyed the buskers too and have developed a pleasing rapport with some of them on a photographic level. I figure that since they have chosen to stand in public place and share their talent in return for public appreciation, they obviously expect to get photographed.

Anyway – here are some shots of the city and the life within!

Coffee…

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Marcus

Today I decided to relocate my office to the local cafe for an hour or so.

I was writing some work documentation and decided that the change of scene would assist the thought process – as would the macchiato and the caramel slice.

I had a camera with me and took this to prove that inspiration strikes in funny ways! This shot is now the wallpaper on my Mac Pro in the office.

Next week on Thursday morning I am away up to Auckland for some networking and will be joined by my wife for the weekend up there at the end of the week. I like Auckland. It cops a lot of flack in NZ but let’s be honest: any city that has over 25% of the entire population of a country living in it is going to get a lot of resources and a lot of attention. I like it because it is one of the most diverse cities in NZ and that diversity is apparent in the number of excellent restaurants that offer cheap world cuisine. As a keen foodie and a keen traveller, therefore, Auckland visits are a bit like mini holidays!

I love Indian food, for example, and where I live we are not really blessed with much in the way of choice for that sort of food. Oriental noodle bars are a bit more common in Wellington and there are some Indian restaurants but I like the ones in Auckland as they seem a bit less erstwhile in their cooking. Kiwis do not, as a rule, have a very high tolerance of spicy food: I do – I like my curries and things eye wateringly hot if I am in the mood and in Auckland you can actually get that with flavour and taste as well as plain heat.

Have a good weekend and be careful out there!