Pottering around Hehuanshan (合歡山)

At 3000m high, Huehuanshan offers some fantastic views, plenty of hiking opportunities and, with the winding roads clinging to the mountain slopes, one of the most scenic drive you can wish for. 

Scootering around Hehuanshan area is brilliant. The road is narrow and full of buses and cars stopping for a selfie. Scooter just keeps you moving and getting closer to the scenery. The bending road makes you hum 'Born to be Wild' - till you hit one of the steeper ascents and all of the sudden the power is gone. 125cm scooter, two people and 3000m up - it gets interesting at times. Every now and then we we looked more like a rowing crew on a training machine. To get up it took some coordinated moves like being on a swing: up we go, up we go, up we go....

Read about the trip here. For photo gallery only head here.

LESS = MORE

So many discussion threads on ‘which lens is sharper’. So much GAS. I was there. Owning more syndrome. Going through each and every review and going for the even sharper, newer or more praised lens. Sigmas and Tokinas were becoming obsolete and unloved. Nikkor. Nanocoating. Faster. Sharper. Then the Sigma ART series made a comeback...
More lenses found their way into the bag. In the meantime only a few found their way to eBay. And if they did - it always felt like they were replaced with two pieces of gear. The overall bulk seemed to be increasing, yet many of the pieces were mostly spending their time in the box under the bed.

Being a keen walker and travelling a fair bit, this was not sustainable. I could lug the lenses and the cameras for a day walk. Not a problem. Could, on a push, lug it for a couple of days of walking. Heck, even lugged the 70-200mm f2.8 up the Mueller’s Hut in knee-deep snow. Was it work it? Hell yes!

Although the backpack was bursting out, every time the justification for the effort was the same: maybe there will be something that needs a wide, or long or macro lens. Maybe a stream or waterfall. Or maybe some distant peak…The new lenses always seemed sharper or faster, even though bigger and heavier. Or better in some other way. A Rode mic in case of some video work. Maybe a flash - just in case... But most of the stuff in the box did not quite make its way out. A lot of it just stayed in.

Hoarding.

Salvation came with some common sense starting to filter in (continues here)...

In the land of the Hobbit

There is something mystical and magical about the place. It starts like many other tramps (as locals call walks or hikes:)) - inauspicious country road that takes you to the basic carpark surrounded by fields filled by cows and sandflies. Then the first couple of hours of the rather bleak walk.

creative juices not working...

  Sometimes either the mood or the situation does not allow for shooting action: be it a dinner with a friend, a work related travel that allows little free 'creative' time or just being totally wiped out. I felt like that for the last couple of days: uninspired as work and heat did not help to get the gear out. Fortunately, there was a relaxing option on hand to catch a dinner with a friend in Singapore. And although not a single shot was fired, the time perhaps was not all wasted...

>> continue reading here

Swiss-cheese itinerary

A brief visit by any standard. And most of the free time was spent on cruising between various camera shops. But even with a Swiss-cheese like itinerary full of tiny holes to fill in with the wonders of the gateway to China, some things are inevitable.

the making of... Essential Auckland

 The morning did not look very promising. Dragging the feet out of cosy bed early(ish) just to get scolded by gulping hot tea and scratched by the neighbour’s cat, who decided she wanted to come in when I was getting out. Not to mention the pretty good chance of getting a speeding ticket for trying to make it in time for the sunrise. Oh why could I not pick less stretching hobby – as there was anything wrong with chess, stamps or wine tasting clubs…. Wrapped in countless layers of merino, polar fleece and – just in case – a body-warmer I ended up gazing towards the majestic Rangitoto - hot tea in the hand and a lot of hot swears directed towards the big, fat cloud sitting exactly where the sun was supposed to be coming up in 56 seconds. Drizzle came next... 

Feet, heads and bellybuttons

      Is India the next photo-destination? Just a few hours of watching the Diwali festival in Auckland I think it is! The colourful Diwali festival are a feast for a shutter! Have a look yourself!

See the original gallery here

resisting the iPhone...getting harder and harder!

When it comes to taking photos new smartphones are a blessing: calculate the sunrise and sunset times in a minute, get that DOF and make some notes of locations. Real help! But...

Photo fashion

 I'm definitely not the fashionable one. Outdoor gear and bulky camera bag hardly comes as 'fashionable' in a city... Fashion becomes enslaved by practicality, protection and comfort. Instead I usually laugh at 'badly' coordinated fashion - or people who spent heaps on most ridiculous (i.e. uncomfortable and impractical) overpriced rugs - I mean top-brand fashion items.

Travel flash

 Traveling often means indoor photography or trying to take a portrait in a harsh daylight... One of the options is using a flash. We all know the limits of the build-in flashes - even on the most expensive cameras. And most of external flashes are intimidatingly big...