New Zealand | An Ongoing Pictorial

[::: :::]

why you're not pro with this yet is beyond me, fuzz

[supermodel159]

FUZZ-
Dude, sorry to hear about your camera body...that is brutal.

You always seems to be in cool places around water, you may consider an outex housing.

http://www.outex.com/

They are super cheap compared to an actual hard cased water housing. They are also great for travel because they roll up into a tiny bag.

I've used one and they are really great for what they are.

[Fuzz]

WOAH!

AWESOME

Thanks -- you guys should come visit!

why you're not pro with this yet is beyond me, fuzz

I know of at least two reasons. First, I suck at marketing and self-promotion. So I don't really know where/how to market my work. Photography is a tough business, especially landscape, travel, and the like. Who's going to buy them? Not many people want to spend a few hundred dollars to hang them on the wall (or at least not enough do). Businesses don't want to spend a lot of money on photography. And businesses that do want to spend money, require more time and dedication, which is my second reason -- with a young child and a full-time working wife, I don't have the luxury of going away for a week to do a shoot for a company or tourism agency. I'm sure if I weren't so lazy, I'd figure out a way to make it work, but I like shooting what and when I want.

FUZZ-
Dude, sorry to hear about your camera body...that is brutal.

You always seems to be in cool places around water, you may consider an outex housing.

http://www.outex.com/

They are super cheap compared to an actual hard cased water housing. They are also great for travel because they roll up into a tiny bag.

I've used one and they are really great for what they are.

Holy cow, that is awesome! I did indeed look at underwater housing for my DSLR, but they're so expensive. Outex looks way more convenient and a hell of a lot cheaper. This is definitely going on my list. I just bought a 6D as the replacement for my dead 5D2, so will have to save up for the Outex. Would be great to have it for the NZ summer in a couple of months. The $100 shipping to NZ is a bit steep, so I'll have to see if I can get someone in the US to ship it to me for cheaper.

[supermodel159]

^^I could ship from CA if it would help...

[Fuzz]

^^I could ship from CA if it would help...

Damn, that would be awesome! I'll have to scrounge up the money -- will PM you if I can make it work.

[Fuzz]

Realized I hadn't posted any updates for a while. Been shooting quite a bit recently.

My 5D2 was completely ruined and non-functional after the dunking by the waves. Ended up getting a 6D as a replacement.

281. The West Coast of Auckland has several great beaches. Quite wild and empty. Most of them have black sand (from volcanic activity). Made my first trip to one of them, Bethells Beach on a very windy day.

Lines in the sand by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

282. Quite a stormy day it was too.

Shelter from the storm by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

283. Unlike on the East Coast (where I live), the West Coast has no barrier islands, so the beaches are really wild. Huge waves.

Bethells Beach by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

284. Lots of surfers on these beaches.

Bethells surfer by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

285. Since they're on the west, places like Maori Bay are great for beautiful sunsets.

Washing over by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

286. The beaches are pretty gradual, which means the waves roll in a long way, making for stunning reflections.

Twilight calm by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

287. As the Milky Way's core was setting to the west, it made for a great place for some night photography as well. And I have to say, the Instagram community has been great in finding like-minded people who like to go out and shoot frequently.

In search of a shooting star by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

288. On warm sunny days, the West Coast beaches are awesome. Huge waves to play around in. On this day we didn't go too far out (the water's still a bit cool), but the waves were coming in over my head.

Fun at Muriwai by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

289. Cool marine life in the many nooks and crannies.

Are you sure we're safe here? by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

290. The waves are strong and unpredictable. They were ankle-deep here, and then suddenly it came over the waist. Ruined my phone.

Maori Bay mayhem by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

291. Back on the local east coast beaches, things are much calmer. Gentle and predictable waves. Stunning sunrises aplenty.

Golden dawn by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

292. I live on a peninsula, so there are about a dozen beaches within a 15-minute drive of home. Nice to have so much variation.

Matakatia sunrise by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

293. One thing I love about where we live is that I can see the whole of our bay. And that comes in handy when the Spirit of New Zealand comes in for the night (quite often). So I can plan to get out the next morning to shot it against sunrise.

Sunrise over Spirit by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

294. Been loving the stormy mornings at the local beaches as well. This beach is on the way back from my son's school, so depending on the weather, I often stop by after dropping him off to see if I can shoot anything.

Runner in the storm by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

295. It's a good time to capture many boarders as well.

Waiting for the waves by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

296. And when the weather's good, it is a gorgeous place.

Orewa sunshine by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

297. Brilliantly blue skies, almost like the ones in Colorado.

Orewa afternoon by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

298. Of course, it's not all beaches and waves. A walk in the bush and meadows is always a good time.

Storm on the horizon by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

299. The ferns are always fun to capture.

Shakespear walk by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

300. With sunset getting later and later, it's now a lot easier for me to shoot it over the city. Despite being relatively small, Auckland is quite photogenic.

Auckland twilight by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

301. Lucked out at Spaghetti Junction -- the streetlamp right over this location, which produces a ton of ugly flare, was out the night I was there.

Red line to the city by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

302. The city has some rolling terrain, allowing good views from some neighbourhoods.

City views by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

303. Sunrise on this morning didn't turn out as expected, but it was still nice. This was the day after the Paris attacks, so Sky Tower was lit up in the French colours.

Harbour View by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

304. Not that it's all pretty. Parts of NZ can be just as cookie-cutter as anywhere else. This is a new residential development near our town.

Millwater walkabout by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

305. Caught the full moonrise back near home. Confession -- this is partly a Photoshop job. The light from the streetlamp wasn't on yet, so I painted the light ray in.

Lighting up the moonrise by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

[crashtestdummy]

Stunning work.

[Ksyrium]

Killer stuff Fuzz. Sounds like you need all waterproof electronics.

[Fuzz]

Stunning work.

Thanks.

Killer stuff Fuzz. Sounds like you need all waterproof electronics.

Yes, looking at the Outex. Have some shots in mind but don't want to risk getting my gear wet again.

Photographically speaking, a big development has been my involvement in Instagram. Got started a few months ago, but have gotten to know several local Instagrammers in the area. Been getting together with many of them regularly to go out and shoot. It's been a blast shooting different things and learning from everyone.

306. Sunset over the city is always a good time. This is a 6-frame HDR composite -- first a 3-exposure HDR of the sky, cityscape, and sun, combined with another 3-exposure HDR of the city lights. The first set of frames was taken just at sunset, and the second set (the lights) was taken about 45 minutes after sunset.

Sunset glow by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

307. On the way back from school drop-off, noticed a bunch of kiteboarders out on the water, so stopped by to shoot them. Looking forward to shooting more watersports as summer approaches.

Kiteboarding Orewa by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

308. Haven't been doing much seascapes recently. Did go out to my local beach on morning to see if anything struck my fancy.

Stanmore storm by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

309. I do love our local beach. It's not as big or as popular as the more touristy one nearby, but there are so many more interesting rock features -- always something interesting, no matter the tide, waves, or weather.

Stanmore storm by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

310. Did make it out for sunrise in the city one day -- it's a 30-minute drive into the city for me, so I usually do sunrises close by. But glad I went out this time.

Blue magic by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

311. Met up with several other Instagrammers and went on a street outing. Lots of fun exploring many new areas.

Street by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

312. Found some parking garages for different vantage points.

Tattoo by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

313. Always like looking up in the city.

Urban nature by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

314. While exploring the new, very purple, cycleway, we came across a crew of longboarders. Had a blast shooting them as they were doing their runs back and forth.

Longboarding Auckland by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

315. They even posed for us at the end. We left off with the possibility of doing future shoots.

Longboard crew by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

316. Lots of festivals and performances as summer approaches. Caught some of them on a Sunday evening at the park.

Looking into the crystal ball by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

317. One of the main sights from Auckland is Rangitoto, a volcanic island just off the coast. I planned to shoot the sun coming up right above the peak using The Photographer's Ephemeris. While the weather wasn't completely clear, it was still a good sunrise.

Blaze of glory by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

318. One of the features of a Kiwi spring are the pohutukawa trees blooming. Large trees thick with very vibrant red flowers. Also called the Kiwi Christmas Tree.

Little Manly Beach by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

319. The red really goes well with the blue water and skies.

Little Manly Beach by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

320. And finally, went out to this church I'd seen in pictures. It was a wild outing. When I left with an Instagram friend, the weather looked quite stormy. We drove through heavy downpour and arrived to driving rain and howling winds at the site. We had to retreat to the car several times, but managed to get a good 20-minute window when the light was just surreal.

Timeless by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

[huckbucket]

Really like the last one. Either perfectly timed the way the light radiates or you applied some creative post-processing. Either way, looks great.

[Fuzz]

Really like the last one. Either perfectly timed the way the light radiates or you applied some creative post-processing. Either way, looks great.

Timing. We arrived to driving rain and howling winds. We were in and out of the car a couple of times as the rain came and went. Then for a 20-minute period, it cleared up slightly in the west, allowing the sunset to shine through. In fact, that dark cloud (just above the bright area) brought rain and drove us back to the car right a minute after this shot.

[supermodel159]

You guys on Instagram should follow Fuzz. Get a daily dose of this images.

Fuzz - Your astronomy work continues to blow my mind...keep it up.

[Fuzz]

So summer's been here and gone since I last posted...

321. Christmas in shorts and sandals feels weird. But nice -- I still remember the stinging sideways icicles during our trip to Chicago a few Christmases ago!

Christmas tower by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

322. Spent lots of time at the beaches. I have to say, after a summer here, I can get used to living by the beach.

Summer fun by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

323. The sunrises are just amazing. Not sure if I never noticed them before (i.e. got up early enough), but stunning mornings are a frequent occurrence. This was the last sunrise of 2015 from one of our local beaches.

Last sunrise of 2015 by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

324. We then went on a roadtrip to the southern tip of the North Island to the capital of Wellington. It rained a lot on the way. Like real, tropical, beating down with loud noise rain.

Hard rain by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

325. Wellington is a really cool little city. Quite small and compact, but quite arty and "alternative".

Wellington by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

326. The weather can turn in an instant though. It went from hot and sunny to freezing and windy in a matter of minutes.

Wellington by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

327. It sits right on the southern coast of the North Island -- unlike Auckland, the coast there is quite rocky, but with quite expansive views.

Wellington by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

328. No trip to Wellington would be complete for us without a visit to the Weta Cave, for a tour of Weta Workshops. Super tour, and we got to see and handle a lot of cool props.

Weta Cave by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

329. We then drop north to the Central Plateau, to Tongariro National Park, the site of several volcanoes and ski fields. The area is also known for frequent lenticular clouds, like these over Mt. Ruapehu.

Lenticular clouds over Ruapehu by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

330. We took the chairlift up Ruapehu. The views were impressive!

Walk to Skyline by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

331. Once we got to the top and started our hike though, it cleared up a bit.

Walk to Skyline by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

332. Not for long though. As soon as we hit the summit ridge, the clouds came back in. Coming down the steep slope of loose volcanic rocks was interesting!

Walk to Skyline by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

333. We did several walks down below -- there are many kilometers of tracks around the whole place, with the most famous being the day-long Tongariro Crossing. We did part of it.

Northern Tongariro Circuit by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

334. There were tons of waterfalls in the park. This is one of the many that we enjoyed.

Tawhai Falls by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

335. Since the park is far from any major city, the night skies are fantastic. So I had to get out one evening. Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was the model for Mt. Doom the Lord of the Rings movies, was always shrouded in clouds, but they parted at sunset that one evening.

Sunset over Ngauruhoe by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

[Fuzz]

336. The stars came out nice a pretty.

Dusk over Ngauruhoe by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

337. The night sky was brilliant.

Milky Way over Ruapehu by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

338. From where I live it is hard to see the Magellanic Clouds, because they're in the south, right above the light pollution of Auckland. But at Tongariro, I had no such problems. This was with a regular lens (50mm) on a static tripod.

Large and Small Magellanic Clouds by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

339. After the trip we spent a lot of time in Auckland city. Lots of festivals and events going on throughout the summer.

Waitangi weekend by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

340. Still managed to get up for some sunrises. This is at my local beach, a part that is accessible only at low tide, so I could get to this only on certain days. Fortunately, that day turned out to be a good one.

New beginning by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

341. Also went out to the West Coast beaches quite a bit, like Muriwai. Lacking any barrier islands like the East Coast, these beaches are much wilder, with huge waves. Great for playing around, surfing, and all manners of watersports.

Day out at Muriwai by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

342. With the frequent strong winds, gliders are a common sight too.

Day out at Muriwai by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

343. Sunsets on the West Coast almost never fail to deliver. This evening it looked like it would be a bust, with thick banks of clouds on the horizon. But the light still shone through.

Day out at Muriwai by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

344. And the very flat beach makes for great reflections.

Day out at Muriwai by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

345. Spent some time shooting in the city with friends as well. These skateboarders were very obliging, even setting some runs specifically for our benefit.

Skaters by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

346. From where we live, we get a view of the ocean. This is great because we can get great sunrise views like this without leaving the house. On the other hand, it sometimes makes me too lazy to walk down to the beach for better views.

Sunrise fire by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

347. One sign that we live in a beach town -- our son's primary school had a surf day, where all the 5th grade students go to learn surfing at the local beach. They all had an absolute blast. My son managed to stand up several times. Now I've gotten into it -- tried it once without much success, but that'll be our new sport to try now.

Surf lessons by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

348. Fall is now here, although it doesn't feel like it. The trees are all green, with only a token tree here and there changing leaves. It's just too warm here.

Fall by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

349. Strolling around fields like this in shorts and sandals doesn't make it feel like autumn.

Autumn days by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

350. The sunrises are still just as spectacular. This is a 5-min walk from my house, last Sunday.

Return to the sun by Faisal Syed, on Flickr

[huckbucket]

This is going to sound strange, yet hopefully comes across in a flattering tone. Your photos make me sad that I haven't shown my growing daughters such an amazing part of the world. Not sure how else to put it. They're intrinsically beautiful though. Great stuff.

[Fuzz]

This is going to sound strange, yet hopefully comes across in a flattering tone. Your photos make me sad that I haven't shown my growing daughters such an amazing part of the world. Not sure how else to put it. They're intrinsically beautiful though. Great stuff.

I understand. I also never knew much about NZ, other than the Lord of the Rings scenery. There's a whole lot of beautiful scenery here and it seems even more because it's packed in so tightly.

[Doughnuts01]

Fuzz, you still shooting?

[Fuzz]

Fuzz, you still shooting?

Yeah, still shooting. Just haven't gotten around to posting here, so thanks for the reminder...

351. Went shooting the Milky Way, but too cloudy + moonlight.

Pierce the veil by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

352. Went to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Australia in April for holiday. Great views from the apartment we stayed at. Did some surfing too.

Gold Coast by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

353. Back home, the moon was still quite bright, so had some friends do some steel wool spinning at our local beach.

Spinning under the stars by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

354. Fall came soon enough. There's not much change in the color of the leaves here in Auckland, but you can find some every now and then.

Auckland autumn by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

355. Did manage to get a clear night with no moon. Drove down to Hunua Falls (about an hour and a half from my place) with a couple of friends for some superb dark skies.

Hunua Falls stars by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

356. Finally got a chance to shoot the Rho Ophiuchi Complex. This is a 77-frame stack shot with a 50mm lens on a static tripod. So wish I had kept my tracking mount!

Galactic core and Rho Ophiuchi Complex by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

357. While I do miss snow and skiing, it is nice to live in a place with such mild weather. On July 1, the Southern equivalent of January 1, I went for a walk in shorts and sandals around town.

Hibiscus Coast by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

358. Seeing the variety of greenery in the middle of winter is quite captivating.

Leaves in light by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

359. Shot some skateboarders at the local skate park. Have plans to set up a proper shoot later on.

Skater up! by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

360. Shot some more stars.

Flax under the #stars by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

361. Some more steel wool.

Steel on the beach by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

362. And played around with some "EL" wires -- basically electric/LED wires.

Blue ripples by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

363. Went to Australia again early July, this time to Hamilton Island.

Fleeting #shade by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

364. Got some great sunrises.

Blaze of glory by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

365. The snorkeling wasn't too bad either -- saw tons of amazing marine life, including a giant sea turtle.

Pacific blues by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

366. Back home in NZ, been having a lot of stormy weather. But still got out -- makes for some dramatic scenes. This is one of our local parks (about a 20-min drive), a sanctuary for local wildlife.

Stand tall by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

367. Also went to the beach. Love my local beach because there are always interesting rocks even at high tide.

In the corner by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

368. Went to the city for a sunrise shoot with a friend a few weekends ago. The colours weren't great, but still wasn't too bad.

Before the sun by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

369. We were not the only ones up early.

Serenity by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

370. Some nice early morning colours and shadows.

Dive in by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

371. Stopped by the fish market.

Auckland Fish Market by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

372. It was a really bright morning -- a rare clear day.

White hall by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

373. Got a rare clear night, but the full moon was out. So went to the beach with some friends and looked for something other than just the stars.

Far, far away by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

374. Played around some more with the EL wires (plus some Photoshop for the "spotlight").

Beam me up, Scotty! by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

375. Despite several days of rain straight, still went out a few evenings ago. No sunset colours, but at least found an interesting rock.

Last look by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

[Doughnuts01]

Thanks Fuzz. Loving the images!

Still shooting that 6d?

[summit]

WOAH!!!!

[Fuzz]

Still shooting that 6d?

Yup, still with the 6D. Can't afford anything more right now!

WOAH!!!!

Are you guys still thinking of coming down here in January?

[smmokan]

I have to say... as a big 6D fan, it's my favorite landscape/portrait camera ever. I just love the way it renders images- I can't see getting rid of it anytime soon.

People usually say they're jealous of the way I live... but damn, I'm jealous of what you're doing. Nice work, man.

[Fuzz]

I have to say... as a big 6D fan, it's my favorite landscape/portrait camera ever. I just love the way it renders images- I can't see getting rid of it anytime soon.

Yes, the 6D does get a bit of a bad rap, but I'm not sure why. With these high-end cameras, there's really not much difference -- it's the person behind the camera that's almost always the limiting factor, and rarely the gear. When I had to replace my 5D2, I was a bit wary of "downgrading" to the 6D, since it was supposed to be more of an "amateur" model (compared to the 5D series). But honestly, I've never ever thought "Oh, my 5D2 would have made this shot look better."

People usually say they're jealous of the way I live... but damn, I'm jealous of what you're doing. Nice work, man.

Thanks. Yes, I've been incredibly lucky to live like I do.

I've also become more interested in shooting people. Practicing on friends and family for now.

Selfie:

What can brown do for you? by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

A friend during an astro outing:

Grantis under the planets by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

The Mrs:

Walk in the park by Fuzz Photography, on Flickr

And a few NSFW:
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[Ksyrium]

Great stuff Fuzz.

[DeathVan]

Forever Enn Zed !

It's a beautiful life
Glad you live it too

Thank you for sharing