2023 Award

Admina August 27, 2023

I’m extremely honoured and proud to have been recognised by International Elite 100’s and awarded Luxury Photography Tour Operator of The Year – New Zealand.

What’s more humbling is that these awards honour leading business people and companies across the globe.

Spring / Summer 2023 award recipients have demonstrated the utmost dedication and innovation in ways that have adapted and responded to the COVID-19 storm over the past 3 years, ensuring the survival of our business.

You can read more here …. https://issuu.com/ie100/docs/ie100_spring_summer_2023.

Different types of filters & their use

Admina April 29, 2023

This is a quick guide on when to use UV, ND and CPO filters

  • UV filter – reduces ultra-violet light, great for bright days, snow and water
  • ND filter – acts like a pair of sunglasses and great for creating long exposure images
  • CPL filter – Circular Polarising Filter captures the real intensity of the colour, while acting to reduce glare.

Regardless of which filter you use, a filter protects the glass on your lens against scratching so is a valuable piece of insurance.

An excellent travel charging pack

Admina April 23, 2023

If you regularly travel, check out my go-to travel charging pack which comes with 2 cables (1 x USBC & 1 x USBA) all stored in a handy travel case with room for additional cables.

You can charge 4 devices at once – 3 x USBC and 1 x USBA

The mophie speedport 120 4-port wall charger delivers a maximum shared output of up to 120W of fast charging power, including able to charge a large device like a MacBook Pro.

Available in NZ from Apple or PB Tech.

Can I take this item on a plane?

Admina April 16, 2023

I’m regularly asked about what are the rules around batteries when travelling. Make sure your batteries make it through check-in. Basically, if you are flying with spare batteries, they need to be carried on. Don’t lose your expensive batteries! You can bring spare lithium batteries in your carry-on bag, but not in your checked-in luggage.

BUT, if the battery is in an electronic device, the device can be checked in as long as it’s turned off, although never put your camera and lenses in your checked in luggage as it most likely will be damaged UNLESS you’ve got a speciality camera equipment case, and make sure you put it through the fragile bag drop.

What are the restrictions?

  • Spare or loose batteries must be carried in carry-on, they are prohibited from checked luggage.
  • You do not need approval of the airline for lithium batteries that do not exceed 100 Watt hours [Wh] or 2 grams [g] of lithium.
  • You can take a maximum of two spare lithium-ion batteries [or power banks], that exceed 100Wh but not 160Wh [or for lithium metal batteries 2g lithium but not 8g] but only with your airline’s approval.
  • Batteries that power any device can go in checked luggage if they are in the device and the device is turned off.
  • Each person is allowed a total of 20 spare batteries [including power banks] unless an airline has approved the carriage of more batteries. The 20 spare batteries can all be lithium batteries or a combination of lithium, dry-cell, nickel-metal hydride and non-spillable batteries.
  • Each spare battery, must be individually protected by being in retail package, individual bag, a protective pouch, or with tape placed over exposed terminals. Check out what I use.

Read the full aviation security article here

My Personal ICM Journey

Admina January 14, 2023

Exploring the world of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) under the tutorage of Stephanie Johnson global ICM leader and mentor as well as being the founder of ICM Photography Magazine has been a very personal journey for me and pushing me to “unlearn” traditional photographic techniques.

A Different Kind of Photography

In the simplest terms, ICM can be defined as photographically capturing an image while intentionally moving the camera during the exposure.

ICM is a fascinating and beautiful world where the camera and the photographer’s movements combine to become a mechanical paintbrush, transforming photographic captures into something completely unique and otherwise invisible to the naked eye.

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Why I want you to learn how to capture an image “correctly” in-camera

Admina December 28, 2022

If you’ve been on any of my workshops, you’ll recall me working with you, coaching you to take time to get the image “right” in-camera, let me explain why:  

Apart from choosing which lens to use, then there are your settings – ISO, shutter speed and aperture to capture the image to your liking, what I’m also wanting you to look at are:

  • The flow of the image – leading lines & framing your subject
  • Horizon – is it straight? 
  • Distracting objects in your image – what’s to the left or right of the centre of your image?

When we come to the important part of processing your images, I’m not wanting you to crop your image to correct leading lines and not to remove a distracting object from the side (rather user Photoshop), nor levelling the horizon.  

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Photographing Fireworks

Admina December 23, 2022

Take your tripod 

You’ll need to keep your camera perfectly still so it’s best to use a tripod and make sure that you set up your tripod on stable ground, and shield it from any wind. You can of course put your camera on a table.

What lens? 

That really depends on what you are thinking your image should look like.

  • Telephoto – 70-200mm will get you detailed shots of the fireworks but you’ll need to keep your camera trained on the right part of the sky at the right time, and it can be easy to miss.
  • Wide angle – 24-70mm will capture the entire skyline but won’t offer a lot of detail in the image. 

What aperture? 

If you have no foreground subjects you can get away with pretty much any aperture, from wide options like f/2.8 to narrow options like f/16.

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Tips for overcoming fears of capturing street photography images

Admina December 22, 2022

When you’re out on the street with your camera, many people are looking at you wondering what you are photographing.  Here’s are just a few of my tips to help you reduce your nerves so you don’t freeze so you can create beautiful street shots. 

Good street photography can look deceptively easy and if you’ve been on one of my street photography workshops you will have practiced these tips. 

Fear stops many would-be street photographers, but with the right approach, overcoming your nervousness is possible.

I’ve been leading street photography workshops across New Zealand & Australia and photographing on the streets for years and I’m sharing my techniques to work past your street photography fears allowing you to enjoy taking great street images without feeling paralysed by anxiety. 

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What is HDR photography & how to create it an HDR image

Admina December 11, 2022

For photography, HDR describes a type of photo that captures a dynamic range that can’t be achieved in a single photograph. HDR stands for “high dynamic range” and it’s a clever way to work around difficult lighting situations. 

It’s quite rare to have perfect lighting when shooting landscapes. Often, the sun is shining bright creating contrasting dark shadows and bright highlights. 

Cameras these days often have very good dynamic range (meaning they can capture darker darks and lighter lights in a single photo) but sometimes this isn’t quite enough, especially when you can easily create your own HDR image.

This is a manual way to increase your dynamic range by taking multiple photos at different exposures and then merging them together. The simplest method is to take one photo exposed for highlights, one photo exposed for mid-tones and a third photo exposed for shadows. 

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Everything you need to know about street photography

Admina December 11, 2022

Here’s my latest article on everything you could ever want to know about street photography.

Street photography is about candidly photographing life and human nature. It is a way for us to show our surroundings and how as photographers we relate to it through various images. Within street photography there any many sub-genres: candid, reflections, panning and intentional camera movement (ICM), just to name a few. 

Intentional camera Movement (ICM) at Pitt Street Mall in Sydney
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