Where is the year going

Well its into the New Year and lots of big changes for the year with Stuart Cairns Photography, trying to get to understand the blog and what the purpose is. I have always thought that having a blog was a bit of a bind and a bit of a once you start you must continue type of thing, but if one can get one's head around the real purpose, then let me know. I think I would like to talk about the interesting things I have found in photography in the last month. One of the most interesting has been my lens for my IPhone  which has been a bit of a hit, as long as I remember to take it to places where I may want it, but now I am keeping it in my car in case I have forgotten a camera.

I purchased a Cannon G12 at the end of last year as an upmarket point and shoot, deciding to stick with Cannon rather than going to my other choice which would have been the Sony Nex 5. While I was on holiday in Central Otago I carried the G12 with me most of the time and once I had taken the time to read the manual and get to understand more of the camera I was surprised at how clever it was. I am not really a technical buff but the features of the G12 for a point and shoot were magnificent and I am printing images off the G12 like this one which I like.

Lombardy Cottage

I also got into some HDR processing over the break and tried to do some work around the cottage. I must say the holiday at the cottage was one of the best - the weather was magnificent and the time with family and friends was like a Tuscan summer and one which will stay in the memory banks forever.

Merry Christmas

The bolgosphere continues, the yoke gets larger and more compelling, and no readers so one can be free and vocal. Its that time of the year when the retailers are supposed to make their profits, those ships from China arrive, only to return to China from the refuse station some months later, and so it goes - and the rush of people wanting to get their desks cleared, their shopping done, the food buying as though shops were not going to be open for another month but hey, this year the pressure is less, perhaps because of when the big day falls.

Looking forward to having the family here for Christmas and then heading away with hopefully some time behind the lens. Are few projects are developing and I am going to work on them some more over the next couple of days.

There are some interesting businesses on the west coast - how relevant is that?

Launching into the blogosphere

Is this a noose, or is it development of more keywords and text to improve googleability - lets say it is the latter and then its more about New Zealand landscape photography, in particular certain regions such as Central Otago where we will be spending a couple of weeks over Christmas - one of the favorite regions for photographers and artists because I think the vastness of it all shows me the insignificance of us as humans on this planet as individuals, it is only when we are able to function as a collective have we any significance.

The challenge for any photographer heading to Central to photograph, particularly at this time of the year, is the challenge to find those images which will stand out from the bunch, which will show it in the way that one sees it and not the recall from the countless other images one has seen from the region. I remember a Charlie Waite talk where he put the supposition that perhaps there were few originals, that many images could have evolved because they had been seen before - he gave some pretty good examples none of which I can remember specifics of, but perhaps its just a good image, using the best technical ability and behind the camera at the right time of the day. Always a challenge as its light from about 4.30 am until 11.30 evening.

Our good friend Graeme Sydney has shown more people the beauty of the landscapes of the region and spends much time now on working for preservation of the natural beauty of the area. I have to admire his tireless work in pursuit of conservation .... or is it preservation. I think there is a lot of conservation in all of us, but preservation, some of the most beautiful spots in the region would not be the same if the miners hadn't been, or the dams hadn't been built.

Falls Dam, Central Otago 

Anyway, the area is a great place "a world of difference" as the council's promotional literature rightly call it - pack all the gear and get ready