Man, New Zealand has about 100,000 of these perfect hills with nice reflections. It’s so overwhelming that sometimes you don’t know where to aim your camera. But that makes it kinda cool too… a challenge to find the best of the best.

The Rolling Hills of Gisborne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-24 07:42:38
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1600
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length46.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I was lucky enough to spend about two weeks out there taking photos for a commissioned work. I don’t do a lot of commissions, but this one was pretty epic. I took about 1,000 photos and whittled it down to my favorite 10 to present. This one, in particular, was my favorite one, but it’s not the one they chose. It’s very interesting how people have slightly different tastes, and that’s all good.

Along the coast in Gisborne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-21 16:15:10
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture4
• ISO250
• Focal Length76.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias+2

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

While we were out on the farm, every day we’d hike to a different spot to grab photos. I thought this mountaintop tarn (is it a tarn?) looked pretty incredible and I asked Monni to go stand over there to give it some scale. I don’t often add people to photos, but I think it works really well here.

Monni at the Pond

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-21 15:52:44
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/320
• Aperture5
• ISO250
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

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

Every morning we would head out to this beach along the coast of the north island of New Zealand to catch the sunrise. It was always calm and quiet, but the best sunrises seemed to come around after a cool morning rain shower.

Morning Sunrise in Gisborne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-24 07:20:16
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I went out around 1 AM one night to capture the Milky Way on a, particularly clear night. It was unbelievably beautiful. One of the key ideas I use when capturing space shots is to make sure there is something vaguely interesting in the foreground. Otherwise, it’s just kind of a shot of the stars… we’ve all seen those a million times, so I’ve grown to know it’s the context that makes it more interesting.

Milky Way over the Bungalow

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-23 08:35:10
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture
• ISO800
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

The first week I was in Gisborne, it was quite stormy. So, I didn’t get all the sunny shots I wanted, but I was cool with these moody days as well. It’s a wild rugged course, and after the rain, you can see some of the fresh dirt and mud that gets slowly eroded away.

The Blue Colors along the Gisborne Coast

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-21 16:45:23
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture4
• ISO250
• Focal Length91.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

One morning along the coast of Gisborne was incredibly serene. It was one of those nice long mornings where I just listened to music and walked alone, seeing the morning pastels softly moving from one palette to another.

A Minimalist Morning

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-24 17:14:27
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/80
• Aperture4
• ISO640
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias+2

While I was out on an amazing photo commission, I got a bug one night to go out and shoot. I had a good feeling that I would have an amazing time, even if I didn’t get a good shot… So, I grabbed a bottle of wine and my headphones, put on some amazing music, and roamed up and down the beach for hours until I got this shot. It’s too bad nobody was recording me dancing… it was quite a scene, I tell ya!

Walking on the Stars in Gisborne

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-23 10:22:14
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture
• ISO1600
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias