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April 2022 : Sunday
Apr 2022 : Sunday
Lupin Glow
Daily Photo – Lupin Glow
It’s amazing to think that a lot of people in New Zealand hate these flowers and think of them as weeds… I love them!
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November 2014 : Friday
Nov 2014 : Friday
filed under Akaroa, Arrowtown, Auckland, Christchurch, Cromwell, Dunedin, Franz Josef, Glenorchy, Lake Tekapo, Lindis Pass, Matamata, Milford Sound, Moeraki, Mount Cook, Nelson, New Zealand, Paradise, Queenstown, Rotorua, Saint Bathans, Te Anau, Wanaka
The Beauty of New Zealand
A New Video!
A New Photo-Video for you – All New Zealand awesomeness…
I have a Landscape Photography Tutorial based here in New Zealand available over at https://stuckincustoms.com/landscape-and-travel-photography-tutorial-new-zealand/
Animation/Slideshow – more info at https://stuckincustoms.com/links/animoto — or see my review at https://stuckincustoms.com/animoto-review/
Amaze-maze music by the New Zealand band, Arma Del Amor – see more at https://www.facebook.com/ArmaDelAmorNZ
The Worst Thing About Mike’s Bar
More Stu in St. Bathans
I thought I might share a photo of Stu right before we went over to Mike’s Bar.
Daily Photo – The Worst Thing About Mike’s Bar
is Mike.
I mean, beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is a great place to eat and get drinks in St. Bathans. Wait let me qualify that. It’s the only place. There is a very small town, and Mike has absolutely cornered the market in these two areas, but he has yet to corner the market in grace and civility. He’s got a hard edge, that Mike. I went here with Stu and ordered some drinks. This process had all the charm and trappings of trench warfare with mustard gas.
Actually, we did quite like Mike. His unwavering negativity and general disregard for any basic human empathetic standard was worthy of a grisly respect.
Flying the Toy Chopper
More Quadcopter Stories
So we had a party at our house. Curtis took control of our quadcopter and took it up about 500 feet in the air and then we lost control of it! There was a short in it because we tried to solder together some wires (well, actually Eden did — not blaming him just telling the story). The lights started blinking like crazy, then it started heading off at 80km per hour straight at Sam Neill’s house! We were quite worried that we might have accidentally decapitated one of New Zealand’s greatest actors! We went on a Search & Rescue mission however, and there were no decaps…
Daily Photo – Flying the Toy Chopper
We had a lot of fun making mistakes with this helicopter. Those of you that know anything about remote control helicopters may see a vital flaw in the photo. This is embarrassing to say, but I’ll go ahead and point it out. See that thing hanging down under the chopper? We thought that was the battery, and we were so confused why it just dangles below. There didn’t appear to be any slot whatsoever, and it would just kind of shake around underneath while it was flying! So crazy. Only several days later did I figure out that the battery is inside, and that thing is just simply something you plug into it as a gateway so you can charge it!
Stu and Hugsman Bob
Off to Morocco Soon!
I’m just finishing packing for a nice long trip to Morocco — I am so excited to see that country. I’ve never been before, so my excitement is all the way up to 11! 🙂
The Leica Lenses on the Sony A7r
I’ve been mentioning attaching other lenses to the Sony A7r for some time now, and here is a little video I made in case you missed it! 🙂
Daily Photo – Stu and Hugsman Bob
I’m really enjoying the effect you get from this 24mm at f/1.4! I haven’t done a lot of shooting with it yet, but if you get some separation of your subjects from the background in terms of distance, then everything falls away with a nice bokeh. Hey that kind of rhymes. This was the Leica f/1.4 lens attached to the Sony A7r body.
And as for this photo? This is the Stu I mentioned yesterday with Bob, a local there in Saint Bathans where you can stop any time for a hug and a bit of homespun wisdom! 🙂
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February 2014 : Sunday
Feb 2014 : Sunday
Coombes Cottage
Staying in the cottage
This is where Stu and I stayed on our little adventure to Saint Bathans, New Zealand. You can see more on their website at Coombes Cottage website. The couple that runs it is very nice, and they also have another property there in Saint Bathans that we may return to some day!
Daily Photo – Coombes Cottage
The sky was extra moody the evening we finally made it back to the little bed & breakfast. I took time to set up my camera along with the 24mm Leica f/1.4 to get this shot of where we stayed that night. It’s looks quite quaint and bed & breakfasty doesn’t it?!?! 🙂
The Beard and The Bob
Leica Lens Collection
My current collection is lame, and I mean to change this.
I need to find a vast store of Leica lenses so that I can make them part of my world. Running around and getting one lens here and one lens there is okay, I suppose, but I feel more like a woman visiting international cities to go high-end purse shopping. The shopping bit of it does not get me as much enjoyment and the purse-using bit of it. That’s where the analogy breaks down… so I have my eyes and ears open for a Vast Array of Leica Lenses that are in need of a Photographer to take care of them, all at once!
This photo below was taken with the Leica 24mm f/1.4. You can see how the background falls away into a wonderful Leica bokeh. 🙂
Daily Photo – The Beard and The Bob
This guy on the right, Bob, is some kind of a legend in Saint Bathans! Everyone seems to know him. In fact, everyone pretty much INSISTED that we go and see him. They said, oh, just drive down to the end of that road and there Bob will be. Be careful, he’ll hug you!
So there we were, and my friend Stu (on the left), went right on over to get that hug. And then they started walking towards me like this. And then I took the photo. And then Bob jammed me in the sternum with that stick!
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December 2013 : Friday
Dec 2013 : Friday
Leica Lenses on the Sony A7r
Leica and the Sony
What a great combo!
In this video below, you’ll see me testing a bunch of different Leica lenses on the Sony A7r (see the updated Sony A7r Review — many more Leica shots there). You’ll be able to see how they attach, how focus-peaking works, and more. You’ll also get to hear all about my friend Stu Robertson‘s Leica fascination along with his project Peace in 10,000 Hands!
Here’s a photo of Stu below with the Leica 24mm f/1.4.
Daily Photo – Walking on Water
With his Christmas-Jesus like beard, Stu attempts to walk on water in an usual scene upon the Blue Lake in Saint Bathans.
This was taken with the Leica 24mm f/1.4 lens. It’s such a tiny and fun lens to use! I’m not used to shooting wide-angle stuff with such a big aperture, but it is kinda cool how it throws the background out of focus if you’re focused on stuff close to you. I could get used to it!
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December 2013 : Monday
Dec 2013 : Monday
Say Hello to my Little Friend
Looking for Last-Minute Photo Goodies for the Holidays?
We put together a 30% off everything-at-the-store for a short time! Pop on over to The Stuck In Customs Store and you’ll see the secret code right there on the front page! 🙂
Daily Photo – Say Hello to my Little Friend
This is related to yesterday’s photo at Coomb’s Cottage! Right after I took the photo out the front, I walked up the hill in the back along the fenceline. The house pup bounded along and followed me all the way! He was very friendly. Maybe he was a bit worried about the upcoming storm…
Now this effect I got in this photo is a bit different! It’s pretty much straight out of the camera with the 24mm Leica f/1.4. And I shot it at f/1.4. You can see how the dog and the nearby stuff is in focus while the background and clouds are out of focus. I never really do landscape shots like this, but I kind of find it interesting…
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December 2013 : Sunday
Dec 2013 : Sunday
Relaxing in Saint Bathans
Funny Amazon Review
Here’s a ridiculously funny Amazon review of Kleenex by a mom.
Daily Photo – Relaxing in Saint Bathans
There was only one hotel in town and I think it only had two rooms. Either way, it was booked, so Stu and I were out of options almost immediately on what we assumed would be an overnight mantrip. So we went to the local giftshop and got into a strange LGBT conversation with the lady that worked there, and then she ended up recommending “Coomb’s Cottage” just down the road in the middle of this conversation. She raised her eyebrows as if this was an LGBT-friendly bed&breakfast. I raised my eyebrows with a slow nod to let her know I understood the nature of her recommendation. I did not want to let her know I was not in the family though, because I did not want to offend her hitherto sensitive sensibilities. Either way, we ended up a few kilometers away, here at this open-minded cottage with this open-landscaped view.
