We got up at 5:00, but, as expected, the weather was too rough for us to go out. So, I went back to sleep until 7:30. After morning ablutions, dressed and went outside. Cold! Very cold! I went back in and added a layer – the fifth layer – and put on gloves as well. Stiff wind, a “southerly” which means out of Antarctica to our south. To my surprise, since it had been so cloudy last night, there is a mountain range which we can see across the bay. Took some pix, of course.
About 8:30, we took our van into the center of town (around the bay). Had breakfast at the Why Not Café. Very nice place … had lunch there after 2:00, as well. Then we drove up into the Puhi Valley and the Jordan Stream. The mountains are all covered with snow. As with most, this river bed is very wide from alluvial flows … lots of small stones and just narrow bands of water. Spent the whole morning at one spot moving tripods from here to there, changing lenses, playing with speeds, focus, polarizing filter, HDR shots, etc. Took over 300 pix.
On our way back down to the city, we stopped at a nice cottage with an exquisite garden and asked the owner if we could walk around and take pix. In her Wellies and with a weed whacker in her hand, she readily agreed. Lovely place. Beautiful flowers.
Then back into town for late lunch. We returned to the motel for the rest of the afternoon. Took until we had to leave for dinner at 6:30 just to download the shots I took today and to do about 15 HDR shots. No time to really edit, pick the “good” ones, etc.
Dinner was in town where we all went where we wanted. Many of us ended up at a pub and had a reasonable meal. Then back to the motel. VERY early and long day tomorrow. Not only are we up at 5:00 to leave here at 5:30 for three or four hours on open ocean looking for Dusky Dolphins, but we then have to drive 4.5 hours all the way over the Alps to the west coast for a one-night stay at Punakaiki.
The Panorama Motel is just a tad better than “OK.” Barely a tad. And even though there is supposed to be WiFi, it comes and goes … mostly goes. So, except for a few minutes when I’ve been able to get my iPhone to connect, it’s been pretty much zero from the laptop. Frustrating.
So far, we’ve had two long shoots. First, there was the fur seals. Second, there was the Puhi Valley. And we’ve gotten to know each other along the way. My roommate, David, is very nice and it’s working out well for both of us, I think. So far, we’ve been in rooms that have two separate places to sleep. That also means two separate places to spread out luggage and cameras and computers and and and. We shall see if we are so lucky in the days to come.
The one drawback is all the time we spend on the van getting from here to there. And it’s the place where Stewart and Phillip like to give us talks, let us know what’s happening, etc. But sometimes that’s sitting by the side of the road rather than moving … and I get “cabin fever” and just want to get out onto the ground. Ah, well. That should be the worst of my problems.
About 8:30, we took our van into the center of town (around the bay). Had breakfast at the Why Not Café. Very nice place … had lunch there after 2:00, as well. Then we drove up into the Puhi Valley and the Jordan Stream. The mountains are all covered with snow. As with most, this river bed is very wide from alluvial flows … lots of small stones and just narrow bands of water. Spent the whole morning at one spot moving tripods from here to there, changing lenses, playing with speeds, focus, polarizing filter, HDR shots, etc. Took over 300 pix.
On our way back down to the city, we stopped at a nice cottage with an exquisite garden and asked the owner if we could walk around and take pix. In her Wellies and with a weed whacker in her hand, she readily agreed. Lovely place. Beautiful flowers.
Then back into town for late lunch. We returned to the motel for the rest of the afternoon. Took until we had to leave for dinner at 6:30 just to download the shots I took today and to do about 15 HDR shots. No time to really edit, pick the “good” ones, etc.
Dinner was in town where we all went where we wanted. Many of us ended up at a pub and had a reasonable meal. Then back to the motel. VERY early and long day tomorrow. Not only are we up at 5:00 to leave here at 5:30 for three or four hours on open ocean looking for Dusky Dolphins, but we then have to drive 4.5 hours all the way over the Alps to the west coast for a one-night stay at Punakaiki.
The Panorama Motel is just a tad better than “OK.” Barely a tad. And even though there is supposed to be WiFi, it comes and goes … mostly goes. So, except for a few minutes when I’ve been able to get my iPhone to connect, it’s been pretty much zero from the laptop. Frustrating.
So far, we’ve had two long shoots. First, there was the fur seals. Second, there was the Puhi Valley. And we’ve gotten to know each other along the way. My roommate, David, is very nice and it’s working out well for both of us, I think. So far, we’ve been in rooms that have two separate places to sleep. That also means two separate places to spread out luggage and cameras and computers and and and. We shall see if we are so lucky in the days to come.
The one drawback is all the time we spend on the van getting from here to there. And it’s the place where Stewart and Phillip like to give us talks, let us know what’s happening, etc. But sometimes that’s sitting by the side of the road rather than moving … and I get “cabin fever” and just want to get out onto the ground. Ah, well. That should be the worst of my problems.
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