1. 3 May 2015 D800 iso 200 14mm f8.0 1/250sec
2. 30 May 2015 D800 iso200 14mm f/10 1/400sec
3. 31 May 2015 D800 iso 200 14mm f/14 1/200sec
4. 31 May 2015 D800 18mm f/10 1/320sec
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Author: rainbow
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The Visitors
The Duck Shooters
On my third visit to Boggy Pond I took Sally to show her the wonders of the bog! There is a loop track around the pond that I wanted to explore. It was quite scenic and provided many opportunities for photos like my Autumn colours images. The walk took a few hours and ended up having to cross farm land to reach the road. We were walking past Eric Kilmore lodge when Sally suggested we should have a look inside. I declined the offer as the place was occupied by the look of the number of vehicles parked outside. Also there were probably big men with guns inside… So we kept on walking. We heard some voices from behind but we thought it was people talking. After lots of distant yelling I turned around and there was this hunter asking us whether we would like to come in for coffee. I suppose they were bored and its not often you see a couple of asians carrying lots of camera gear walking along a deserted road. As we were getting tired I said why not? He introduced himself as Paul, and I put on a fake asian accent and asked him which way to Lake Wanaka? Actually I made that up but I did joke to Paul later if I heard Banjo s (Movie, ‘Deliverance’) we would have started running away!
Anyway the coffee and hospitality was great and we made some new friends. Apparently the Hut is booked by Duck Shooters in Winter and Bird watchers in Summer. Paul also gave me lots of information on access roads around the area and how Boggy Pond got that unique look with all the dead trees. Apparently the Willow trees were taking over the swamp so they were sprayed to allow a greated biodiversity to develop. Hence the presence of many cabbage trees. And I was rewarded with the classic image of the Hunter with his retreiver dog !
1. 23 May 2015 D3s iso 1600 29mm f/2.8 1/125sec
2. 23 May 2015 D800 iso200 15mm f/5.6 1/125sec
3. 23 May 2015 D800 iso400 150mm f/6.3 1/125sec
4. 23 May 2015 D3s iso 400 29mm f4.0 1/125sec
Guess the non Duck Shooter……..
5. 23 May 2015 D3s iso400 29mm f/4.8 1/125sec
24 May 2015
In January 2015 I knocked off another “must photograph” place on my list for China. The Lonely Planet rates the Yuanyang rice terraces as number 22 of the places to see in China from a list of 30.
We took a five day “Wing On” tour from Hong Kong. The company on the bus were all very nice people and all keen on photography-afterall the tour was advertised as a photographic tour. We all got on so well that a “Whats App” group was formed and even now its still going! The sights and scenery were very good although most of the rice terraces scenes were from viewing platforms and we were surrounded (literally) by hundreds of fellow photographers all shooting the same scene! It seemed that sunset and sunrise were the best times and we waited for hours just to watch the sun go down. Dynamic range (too much) was a big problem and it would have been great to have a 400mm lens.
I took hundreds of shots and there were very few “keepers”. My “Whats App” group have published no photostudies either.
So with the hundreds of photographers shooting the same scene in extreme lighting, or flat boring lighting, it may become a battle of the “Post Processers”- to squeeze something out of the files with Photoshop or similar software. Glad I was shooting Raw files from the start and using a tripod.
In future should I return, I would like to spend time in the town of YuanYang and maybe walkup to the terraces or have a private driver. Sunset scenes would be best from the sides of the terraces rather than looking down. Unique scenes can often occur on the way to the destination rather than at the end point. I also believe you can get “nice’ photos from a view point but not really exceptional or unique images.
So this is not the “Game of Thrones” but the game of the photoshoppers to win this crown!
1. 15 January 2015 Just some of the 100s of photographers
2. 14 January 2015 Nikon D3s iso 200 24mm f9.5 1/125sec
3. 14 January 2015 Nikon D750 iso 800 70mm f16 1/250sec 70-200f4
4. 15 January2015 Nikon D750 iso 200 200mm f5.6 1/180sec
5. 15 January 2015 Nikon D750 iso 200 200mm f5.6 1/90sec
6. 15 January 2015 Nikon D750 iso 200 200mm f5.6 1/250sec
7. 15 January 2015 Nikon D750 iso 200 145mm f4.8 1/180sec
8. The original capture