Memories of New Zealand ( South Island )

[giantcanopy]

you have raincover for the tripod legs ?

Nope. like what my friend asked, my tripods go thru salt water, mud, sulfurous springs etc, the frosty morning lake water probably helped to cleaned it a little :bsmilie:

#40 is like the best quick snap then. super.

thanks emlee. and my wifey was asking when i took the snap when we were walking back.
kinda sad that even landscapes have to be taken like a hit and run on family trips erh ..

This is very nicely done Ryan... What time is it taken?

slightly later than 7am i think. One would have seen the sunrise earlier if on flat land, the mountains at the background kept the sunrise a little delayed. Any earlier and the whole place will be much more foggy.

#39 just shows how much sacrifice one has to make to get the shot. Never mind the undergrowth on the left, the mood and beauty of the scene makes up for everything. Great shot!

thanks KT. there issin much of sacrifice though, but i got an earful from my wife from waddling uncharted waters.

i promise i wun do that again,
i promise i wun do that again
i promise i wun do that again ..

actually u raised an interesting point that i was deliberating on. i used to nit on the plants and the speckled forground that was included ( mainly because also i could not get them out of view from my 35mm lens ) but after stitching it up, the bit of irregularities kind of broke the cliched symmetry of the reflection.

# 41

The bird assault shot didn quite work out as well as i thought, so here goes the other. The birds are a pest, and the shore side restaurants do not welcome guests feeding them from their table as they can get really aggressive, and a whole flock of them can pretty much disturb business.

 

[giantcanopy]

# 42

A shot taken from the helicopter ride, the tributary of victoria falls from the top, descending into Fox glacier below.

 

[giantcanopy]

# 43

What will become of me when i grow older ..

 

[Zichar]

A solitary tree in the middle of a field? Or a wooden fence post?
man you've got excellent shots here; how did you lean out for #42?

 

[giantcanopy]

A solitary tree in the middle of a field? Or a wooden fence post?
man you've got excellent shots here; how did you lean out for #42?

Thanks Zichar. A while before i took the shot i was telling my wife i wonder where they got the wood from to make those pickets :bsmilie:

I took #42 from the heli ride back from the glacier trip.



# 43

One of the several stop points along the Milford Drive ( which for the life of me, i cannot remember the name.. )

 

[2evans]

# 39

A panoramic stitch of 3 shots taken in the waters of Matheson before sunrise, at the "View of Views" area, but definitely not at the usual platform above, cause too much dangling branches from the top. A short walk from the upper viewing platform will bring u to the side of the lake. It seemed there was already a small bashed path down the waters. I walked knee deep enough to clear the front of those tall grasses before nabbing the shot. With swimming trunks and a taller tripod u might just be able to go past those weeds in the foreground :bsmilie: ( but of couse cannot tell how deep the water, also might kenna hypothermia )

A very nice shot! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

 

[giantcanopy]

A very nice shot! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

u r most welcomed 2evans.

# 44

A good and sunny walk in the drier Tasman Valley area, which is a short but uber dusty drive from Mt Cook ( or slightly longer from Tekapo depending on where u are coming from ) The trails ain't tough, and are much shorter than many of other walks. Walks start from the rock beaten carpark.

 

[Alpc]

Seeing your photos brings me back to last year when I had my trip.. You were lucky to be able to do the heli-hike! For my trip, I had rain on the day planned for this, so no heli-hike Because of the rain, did not even spend time at Lake Matheson, headed straight for Wanaka instead, as I had not planned a second day in that area. So, I will have to make another trip sometime just for that reason!

But good thing to learn that belt system does not work for the glacier. I presume the backpack would be better?

 

[binbeto]

Nice series... Thanks for showing us the beauty..

 

[emlee]

thanks emlee. and my wifey was asking when i took the snap when we were walking back.
kinda sad that even landscapes have to be taken like a hit and run on family trips erh ..

Ryan, at least you "hit", and then run. There are many instances in my recent trip when there was no "hit" but have to run liao. 1 such instance was a very rare lighting along a stream, lined with Sakura at 60-70% bloom. Such a waste. I notice your posting rate has dropped, so has many of us in CS. Anyway, still checking in now and then to look for inspiration.

 

[giantcanopy]

But good thing to learn that belt system does not work for the glacier. I presume the backpack would be better?

Hi Alpc, actually we were a little lucky in that respect. the weathers for critical activities were good. it is pretty hard to plan for a contingency heli ride on another day for a jam packed tour though.

i suspect the belt will work well for people with a slimmer waistline :bsmilie: I guess a little slingbag will be good. But u might not have much time to take lenses to change since one of ur hand will always be holding a walking stick with a spike to traverse the uneven glacier.

I think the heli-hike at Fox guiding was a better deal than my other heli-trip with snow landing.

Nice series... Thanks for showing us the beauty..

thanks binbeto!

Ryan, at least you "hit", and then run. There are many instances in my recent trip when there was no "hit" but have to run liao. 1 such instance was a very rare lighting along a stream, lined with Sakura at 60-70% bloom. Such a waste. I notice your posting rate has dropped, so has many of us in CS. Anyway, still checking in now and then to look for inspiration.

emlee. u took some enviable shots that i did not capture in my recent NZ trip as well. that was despite me having the hindsight of previewing what u took. ( well i guess i have to make a second trip :bsmilie: )

posting rate erh .. abit caught up with my current shift work, kind of tiring actually. hopefully i get a little more opportunity to shoot abit more nxt mth onwards.

# 45

A seafood platter at Kaikoura, the Green Dolphin restaurant. We ordered half a crayfish aka lobster, and a pork belly as well. All were delightful gastronomic treats. I heard they change their menu rather frequently as well. One of the slightly pricier places we visited, it was like a huge bungalow, with window seats within the restaurant that commands a beautiful sunset view of the beach atop.

Try to reserve a day or so beforehand so that u do not have to wait for long ( especially the ones next to the window seats which are really popular ) . We waited more than 40 mins for a candle light dinner outside the restaurant with ziltch view except other outdoor diners. Parking space is horribly short in the small carpark next to the restaurant, and we parked by the roadside along with some other vehicles. Remember not to dress too sloppily ( not that they impose a dress code ) somehow most of the diners there pay a little more attention to their attire than any other restaurants we visited.

** lobster/crayfish costs double the price compared to the roadside stalls. Service by the staff is nothing short of excellent.

 

[LiverpoolMadman]

All are great pictures .... maybe can you share with us ... what kind of lens you bring with you while you in NZ ?

 

[giantcanopy]

All are great pictures .... maybe can you share with us ... what kind of lens you bring with you while you in NZ ?

Thanks LiverpoolMadman. I brought along a sigma12-24, canon 24mm/85mm/135mm, and a 35mm for t/s.

ryan

 

[LiverpoolMadman]

Thanks LiverpoolMadman. I brought along a sigma12-24, canon 24mm/85mm/135mm, and a 35mm for t/s.

ryan

Hi ryan,

Thanks for the sharing ...

 

[kuantoh]

OMG! Mussels! I miss the seafood in oceania region. So fresh so juicy. Yummy!

 

[giantcanopy]

Hi ryan,

Thanks for the sharing ...

no prob.

OMG! Mussels! I miss the seafood in oceania region. So fresh so juicy. Yummy!

i suffered an overdose of seafood in NZ.. dun mind getting intoxicated again

 

[giantcanopy]

A short break from south island to Auckland where i transited on the way back. Only took less than a handful of snaps, figured i just bury them here in this thread. Visited sky tower with our short one hr walk about visit before rushing back to the airport.

# 46

Circle marks the target

# 47

For the jump!

 

[Numnumball]

# 47

For the jump!

I love this view bro :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[giantcanopy]

I love this view bro :thumbsup::thumbsup:

glad u liked it !

# 48

A panorama of trees in a forest, we took a short break on one of the smaller trails along Milford drive. Taken stitched with slightly longer exposure to get abit more motion blur of the swaying branches. retrospectively, would love to do it even longer, but time can be such a precious commodity sometimes..

 

[giantcanopy]

# 49

A shot taken from queenstown Marina Apartments. Spacious, and great facilities for a good price. We got a unit that looked much like a corner terrace locally. Kitchen Fisher and Paykel appliances were tastefully designed and placed, almost abit too luxurious for us. Unfortunately we only stayed in Queenstown for a day. Took a few shots hastily before our checkout in the morning. For the purists, nope i didn really take care of the lines :bsmilie:

Nice view of a lake and some moutains ( which unfortunately blocked the views of the Remarkables behind ) We had a brief breakfast by a small table outside the balcony. Hot tea with toasted bread i think ..