Where Have I Been?

If you may have noticed that I have been 'inactive' over the past month. Well, blame it on New Zealand! Yep, a full month overseas, starting in the remote reaches of northwest Tasmania for a few days followed by incredible weeks in the land of the 'long white cloud.' I tried posting to FB but the internet connections were beyond ridiculous. I finally 'let go' of staying connected and focused on 'seeing' differently to improve my landscape shots. I am pleased with the results!

I was traveling with Jaime Dormer, one of the best photographers in Australia. Jaime and I met in Iceland last year and we pretty much kept our super jeep in stitches so I knew we would hit it off. Jaime put together a great trip for us, including visits to a couple of renowned photographers in Tasmania and New Zealand. David Murphy, who owns and operates the Cow and Calf Gallery in Tasmania, had lots of helpful hints and locations for us and of course his work is exciting and wonderful. Andy Apse is often regarded as the Ansel Adams of New Zealand. A pure gentleman and wonderful soul, Andy was a joy to share a meal with and talk about all things photographic and not. One could not help but walk away from these two galleries without new ideas on composition.

Another unforgettable visit was the art gallery of Tim Wilson. Tim and I hit it off famously and I must tell you, very few painters cause me to pause and look. Tim's work stopped me dead in my tracks. When he raised and lowered the lights focused on a huge wall painting of Doubtful Sound, I gained new appreciation of working in layers. I highly recommend a visit with Tim if you find yourself in Queenstown, New Zealand, and I look forward to hosting Tim when he comes to Seattle.

During this trip, I mainly shot my Nikon D810 (see the FaceBook Post) and my Hasselblad H5D40 unless I was flying and then it was the trusty Nikon D4. However, as luck would have it, I broke my D810, so then it was all Hasselblad.  In an interesting turn, I started using my i-phone as an aid in composition before I would put the Hasselblad into final position. This worked out great and gave me a new perspective on composition. No doubt, working with Jaime and spending time with Tim, Andy, and Dave, greatly improved my landscape composition in a very short span of time.

I am already plotting a way to return to New Zealand. Put the South Island on your bucket list.

Hasselblad hard at work in New Zealand

I'm not going to tell you how much Tim's painting sells for, but if I could, I would have it on my wall at home. Love it.

Randy and Tim Wilson at his gallery in Queenstown, New Zealand.