Road Trip

[Markvetnz]

I've just spent the last 5 days on a road trip around the upper half of the North Island. My brother was visiting from San Francisco. I had not seen him for 12 years, so it was a wonderful time for us all. My son tagged along for what he called "Fun, Farts and Fotography". I will slowly post a selection of images and a few links for anyone interested.

Here is a panorama of Cape Reinga and its famous light house. It is at the northern end of New Zealand where the turbulent Tasman Sea meets the calm Pacific Ocean. This can clearly be seen in the photo. The photo was made using 7 composite images. It was taken at about 6am. There is a ship on the eastern Pacific side- rhs (look carefully). The beach on the right of the light house is a sacred spot where the spirits of deceased Maori depart for the afterlife, according to legend.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Reinga



This second image is a single wide angle image of Cape Maria Van Diemen taken at 5.30am. It is a spit made up of sand dunes and a few islands that extends out into the Tasman Sea. It is visible to the left or western side of the light house.

[Donald]

That is an outstanding landscape image. I think you've nailed it all - composition, exposure ....

Just an excellent piece of work.

ps - Yes, I see the ship.

[RockNGoalStar]

I agree with Donald, that second image is awesome! The colours and the composition all work beautifully. I would be very pleased with myself if I'd taken this!

[Sahil]

If I were you, I would get it framed. Its a fantastic shot.

[FrankMi]

Those are so realistic I can feel the wind blowing across my face. Great vision!

[WJT]

I love a road trip, and now I would love a road trip to Cape Maria Van Diemen. Wonderful landscape Mark.

[Markvetnz]

Another few from our road trip.

here is one taken by my brother (lucky bugger) who just happened to be standing in the right spot when a shaft of sunlight lit up the field in front of him for about 30 seconds.



and a Caspian Tern and her chick on 90 mile beach.



and a better picture of the light house

[RockNGoalStar]

This is turning into of hell of a road trip! Three more wonderful images!

What settings did you use for the lighthouse shot?

[Markvetnz]

But wait there's more!

We took a 4x4 up Te Paki stream, a shallow streambed, for about 3k's to reach 90 mile beach where we timed the tide totally by fluke. Two hours either side of high tide and there goes your vehicle into the sea. Te Paki is famous for its massive sand dunes. It was pretty cool driving through reed beds and soft sand to get to the beach. This photo was taken on our return trip near where we entered the stream.



and perhaps the best shot of the lot - taken from the driver's seat. Only in New Zealand - behind a massive flock of sheep soiling the road with copious amounts of you know what.

[Markvetnz]

This is turning into of hell of a road trip! Three more wonderful images!

What settings did you use for the lighthouse shot?

Tommy

All shots taken at 5.10am
The light house shot is a blend of 3 images.

Image 1 16mm 56 secs f5.0 ISO 1600
Image 2 all the same but only 33 seconds
Image 3 12 secs at f2.8

Processed in CS5 using HDR Pro and some tweaking using layers.

[jambin]

I think I prefer your shot

[Shadowman]

Nice series and capture of your excursion, especially like the lighthouse, also the roadside shaft of light.

[Rob Douglas]

You have some remarkable images from this trip.