It’s always a bit frightening to fly a quadcopter out over the ocean. I don’t know why. If it’s gonna fall out of the sky, it will be ruined anyway from this height. Anyway, whenever I am out over the ocean and shooting back towards the land, I’m on an even higher-alert.

The Lagoons in Gisborne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-23 21:59:12
• CameraFC2204
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.4 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias+0.3

Most of the days in Gisborne were quite moody and full of rain, so as soon as there was a clear morning, I got out the quadcopter to see the beauty from above. On this farm, they created this sanctuary for all sorts of waterfowl. It was quite magical to walk around and hear all the native New Zealand birds going about their business on a calm morning.

Morning in the Bird Lagoons of Gisborne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-23 21:59:12
• CameraFC2204
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.4 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias+0.3

Man, I just can’t remember the name of this place. It’s about an hour north of Gisborne and it seemed like the perfect time to get out the quad. There is this ridiculously long dock whose purpose I can’t quite discern. It’s not like there are cruise ships coming by… maybe they built it nice and long just for pedestrians.

Along the East Coast of the North Island

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-24 19:25:54
• CameraFC2204
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture2.9
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.8 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias+0.3

After I dropped off my son Ethan for Outward Bound in Picton, I drove the long way back to take some photos. I got the quad out to get this one of these cool boat houses. Obviously, it was low tide, so I don’t totally love the photo, as I think it would be incredible at high tide with still water to make a cool reflection shot. But, you gotta take what you can get.

Dry Dock Near Picton

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-05-01 23:06:37
• CameraFC2204
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture3.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.6 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-1

I don’t remember exactly where I heard this theory, but I kind of like it. I believe it had to do with street photography and capturing an interesting number of people. For some reason, an odd number looks more interesting than an even number. I don’t know why. I don’t even know if I believe it…but maybe. I try to do it with objects too… apart from here, where there are 6 cool trees…

The Odd Number Theory

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-01-17 10:21:33
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/850
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

When we stayed on Waiheke for a few days, we ended up heading over to try out a few different wineries. I don’t have a perfect memory, but I seem to remember this beach was the home to Man o’ War wineries. I didn’t know what was over on the other side of the dock, so I launched the quad to swing it around and get a sense of the whole coastline.

Morning Winery Tour on Waiheke Island

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-12-08 14:10:36
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture6.3
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Here is another photo from Gisborne that I took with the drone. It wasn’t until I got high above this estuary when I realized even more beautiful shapes. It reminds me that I should really get that drone up and out more to see all the cool patterns that are hidden at eye level.

Floating Over and Under the Farm

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-20 13:13:49
• CameraFC2204
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.4 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias+0.3

I probably should have photoshopped all the bird poop off that cool dock first… I don’t know why I didn’t. It would have taken me LESS time to write a few sentences about how I lament not doing it. This is yet another area of my life where I have regrets… If I could have just thought ahead, about how I would be spending 120 seconds writing this, rather than spending 60 seconds with content-aware patching. Oh, how I wish I could rewrite the past… Anyway, this is a 9-photo panorama.

Walking on the Dock

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2021-08-06 03:12:49
• Camera
• Camera Make
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture3.8
• ISO
• Focal Length8.6 mm
• Flash
• Exposure Program
• Exposure Bias+1.3

While I was in Gisborne, I got my quadcopter up and around to explore the hillside as much as possible. I hiked around these hills quite a bit, but that gets to be quite exhausting. So, instead, I decided just to relax a little and let my quad do the work for me. At one point, I got a little overzealous and the quadcopter ran out of batteries and got stranded on one of these hillsides… which means my whole plan failed as I had to hike up to the top to recover it.

Over the Farmland

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-20 13:18:23
• CameraFC2204
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture3.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.6 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias+1.3

I don’t usually put people in my photos, but this shot called for it. There’s this strange thing in landscapes (especially in New Zealand) where you can’t quite tell the scale of things. By putting a human in the shot, it gives the whole thing a sense of scale. My friend Monni spent a few weeks with me here and she was often wandering around with my second camera, and I happened to catch her right at the end of the pier in the middle of this estuary near Gisborne.

Monni on the Pier

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-11-27 16:26:04
• Camera
• Camera Make
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture3.8
• ISO
• Focal Length8.6 mm
• Flash
• Exposure Program
• Exposure Bias+1.3