Small But Perfectly Formed

I just snapped this little cicada out on my deck. I think they're handsome little bugs. I got the shot with my latest bit of kit, the Canon G12 point-and-shoot. It just arrived today, so it's too soon to report on a thorough shakedown, but I'm impressed by its macro capability already. It'll shoot from 1cm away. I'm looking forward to using it for those times where it's just not practical to carry my DSLR's. The small size and flip-out screen will help me get angles I can't with my bigger cameras.

I have just about filled my kit bag with everything I want, apart from a few accessories like filters and such. The last bit on my wish list should be arriving soon and thank goodness, it's time to start contributing to the family coffers!

The Washout

Photography has all but replaced fly fishing for me.  I don't mind that much.  It's very similar in nature.  I was in Wanaka last week to do a little high country mustering shoot for a new client.  The weather maps made it look like there'd be a one-day fine spell before some nasty stuff came over, and the farmer I'd been dealing with had decided to move his sheep that day.

It was going to be a great experience:  I was to shoot a group of musterers moving a mob of merinos from the Timburn station valley floor, up and along the ridges to Mount Misery near the St Bathans range - spectacular and beautiful country.  But the night before I got a call I wasn't expecting: The move was cancelled. A contractor had decided to come and do some crutching that day. We'd be moving the mob the day after. 

 

No problem. I rose before dawn anyway and did some shooting around the property in the golden hour light before heading up the ridge line to get some wide shots of the valley below.

It was a magic day despite the lack of action and I was pumped to think that we'd be up on the tops tomorrow.  But as I got back to my hotel that afternoon, I could see clouds on the horizon.  That night the rain on the roof made it hard to sleep.

Or it could have been the huge plate of ribs I'd had for dinner.

The call came at 0600.  No good.  The tracks were too soft to move the stock, maybe next week.  So I took the long road home via the Lindis pass.  The streams were still rising but occasionally the sky cleared and I managed to get some shots for my library and other projects.

It's so like fishing.  Even the worst day taking pictures is better than most days not doing so.

Under House Arrest

Meet James Macandrew, one of Otago's early businessmen and Provincial Superintendents.  There's a great story about James that goes like this:

After a bitter feud with Johnny Jones, one of his business rivals, Macandrew's handling of the provincial finances came under investigation.  It looked like he'd been using local government funds to stave off bankruptcy.  James was promptly jailed by the local magistrate, but removing him from the office of Provincial Superintendent would take longer.  Meanwhile, canny James used his powers to declare his own house a prison, effectively making the magistrate's order one of home detention.  Eventually the matter was rectified and he was given less luxurious accommodations.  He bounced back from this setback though, and had an illustrious career in politics. A staunch Free Church Presbyterian, he dismissed the act of singing in church as a Papist extravagance, and was a fierce champion of Otago in the New Zealand Parliament.  That's why his bust sits outside the Otago settlers museum.

I can sympathise with James right now.  It feels like I've been under house arrest for months, working on a history of Otago Business.  I'm spending most of my time either at the library or my desk here at World Domination League HQ, researching stories like these.  Then I'll be moving on to archival picture research, which should be a little more interesting.  Dunedinites embraced photography early, and the town had some fine photogs at work in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Soon though I'll be getting stuck in to some of my own photography for the book, like the pictures of convicted fraudster Michael Swann's car collection in the last post - and some industrial shooting, which I really get a buzz from.

There is some short term relief on the horizon though.  This week I've got a landscape commission, which means heading into the Central Otago high country for a couple of days, shooting working life on a sheep station.  I can't wait.

Like that other notorious Scot (at least Mel Gibson's version) cried: Freeeeeedom!

Tire Kicking

I popped in to Turners Auctions today to take a look at some impounded vehicles going under the hammer this weekend. Twenty-four cars, motorcycles, boats, and trailers. Not that I'm in the market for a new set of wheels or anything.





The collection includes three Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a 1911 Cadillac, a 1928 Buick convertible, a 1969 Mercedes Benz, an E-type Jaguar, a 1924 BSA motorcycle, a pleasure cruiser and three inflatable boats. They were owned by convicted fraudster Michael Swann, who conned the Otago District Health Board out of about $18,000,000 in exchange for buggerall IT services. 18,000,000 is a lot of zeroes. It's also a lot of hip and cataract operations, cancer scans and dialysis machines, which is why Swann isn't too popular in these parts. I was told Turners have actually been getting busloads of folks from rest homes coming in to see these vehicles, spit, curse and burn Swann's effigy.

As with any good crime story, there is a constellation of supporting rumours.  Take the Honda motorcycle below.  Legend already has it that once the writing was on the wall, Mr Swann offered it to a local gang in return for a little protection in prison.  Smart move.  Except now that the authorities have the bike, the protection might not be so good.  Oh dear.





It's a nice collection though. I wish I'd had time to do these cars justice. The ideal would have been to hoist a white sail up above the cars and bounce light off it, giving nice big clean specular highlights bouncing off that gleaming metal. Oh well. Instead I went for a few flashes here and there to add a little juice and occasionally kill the ambient. My favourite actually turns out to be one taken with just ambient below. I like how the cone from the light above helps frame the shot a little.



I think I should have shot more ambient, gone for a documentary feel instead of motoring glamour. Lesson learned. I wanted a little glamour look to add to the story I want to tell later on - I'm featuring the Swann fraud story in a book I'm working on. More on that later.



Auction starts Saturday 5 March at 11. Could be a good chance to snag that Rolls you've always wanted. 

Proceeds to our local hospital!