Max Patte is a very interesting artist from here in New Zealand. Any of you that have been to Wellington may have seen this same sculpture on the harbor. If you’re at The Hills, you’ll see the same piece in a slightly different setting. It’s amazing how much a setting can change the way you read a sculpture.

Max Patte Art at the Hills

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-03-21 05:04:16
• CameraX1D-50c
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1/2000
• Aperture3.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

We had a wonderful time strolling around The Hills during our photo workshop. I really enjoy seeing how excited people are when they see the unique art and sculptures spread around the course. Here, you can see one of my new besties out with these incredible horses that were designed and built by Max Patte.

Max Patte’s Horses at The Hills

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-04-23 16:14:44
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture4
• ISO50
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I should spend more time taking photos at The Hills! It’s such a great place and perfect tableau for creating art. There are all sorts of cool sculptures all over the place, and this one is Michael Hill’s son, Mark. He has his studio very close by. Whenever I wander around, I stop by his studio to have a look at his latest creations. He’s a very inspiring guy, like his dad!

Tree at The Hills

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-14 22:32:09
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/2000
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-2

Here’s my friend David Maxwell from last week at the New Zealand Autumn Workshop. We visited The Hills golf club in Arrowtown to see all the sculptures there… this is the newest one, with a Maxwell for scale.

David Maxwell for Scale

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-04-23 16:45:56
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture4
• ISO50
• Focal Length105.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

There are about a dozen perfect little ponds around The Hills golf course. Most of the time, they have perfect reflections as well. Michael Hill has been trying to talk me into making a full set of photos for the golf course, but I’ve been pretty busy lately. Maybe I’ll get around to it… it’s not a terrible idea!

The Hills

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-05-03 16:35:46
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture7.1
• ISO250
• Focal Length32.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This is one of the newest sculptures at The Hills. This is kind of a decent photo, but it really fails to capture the scale of the piece. It’s huge! I think I’m gonna go back and take my daughter Scarlett for scale. I’ll have her sit on the shoe or something. Maybe I’ll have her hold a purse… I’m not sure. My mom said it looked like my friend Dave Gent; I didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Yes, they are both old men, but this guy looks a bit more grizzled than the smooth Arrowtown Silver Fox. Maybe I’ll have Dave Gent sit on the foot and hold a purse.

Dave Gent in a Field

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2019-01-03 20:56:27
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time5
• Aperture10
• ISO125
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Here’s a shot of the new par 3 golf course at The Hills here in Arrowtown, New Zealand. I don’t think it’s officially open yet, but I do have some friends that have played it to test it out. I gotta get back out there… work on my golf game and work on my photo game!

The Par 3 Course at The Hills

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-01-12 09:29:33
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture7.1
• ISO160
• Focal Length32.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.3

This is a road near my home that I often run down to during my semi-regular jogging sessions. Obviously, this is in the middle of the Autumn, and this island is known for its rather majestic poplar trees. I notice that all poplar trees seem to be over 100 feet tall! I’ve never seen a short poplar tree… surely they exist, or maybe I just don’t notice them.

Speargrass Flats Road (near Arrowtown, New Zealand)

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-04-30 11:48:10
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture9
• ISO100
• Focal Length105.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Here’s a fun little vertirama of The Wolves at The Hills here in Arrowtown, New Zealand. I believe this was taken with two vertically stacked shots with the quadcopter. I think it’s nice how just getting 10 meters off the ground gives a slightly different perspective. The top-down is not nearly as good as I thought it would be, because you can’t tell that these are wolves vortexing in on a samurai.

Attack of the Wolves at the Hills

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-02-23 10:14:51
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/2500
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-1

There is a beautiful road that connects Wanaka and Queenstown that is locally known as the Crown Range. It’s the highest highway in all of New Zealand as it crosses the Southern Alps. There are plenty of places to pull off the side of the road and get a view of the valley down below. I live down in there somewhere… kinda over on the right side of the photo.

Crossing the Range

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-10-31 07:19:47
• CameraNEX-7
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time0.3
• Aperture16
• ISO100
• Focal Length10.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1