Porirua Harbour with Mana Island off the coast, viewed from Plimmerton. Murky waters from recent heavy rains discolour the normally pristine waters of the harbour bay.

Nikon D90, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 740 carbon fibre tripod, Velbon PHD-61Q tilt/pan head

ISO 100, 24mm, f/8, 1/250 seconds exposures, aperture priority mode, manual focus, tripod mounted, cable shutter release

4 images stitched together in Photoshop Elements 6, shadow, light and colour adjustments in Capture NX2.

Sunrise looking almost directly east over southern Hawkes Bay from the top of the Ruahine mountain range

Nikon D90, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 740 carbon fibre tripod, Velbon PHD-61Q tilt/pan head

ISO 200, 24mm, f/11, 2-13 seconds exposures, aperture priority mode, manual focus, tripod mounted, cable shutter release

2 Images blended in Photomatix Pro for each half of the panorama for highlight and shadow enhancement – four images in total. Each blended image sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Capture NX2, 2 images stitched together in Photoshop Elements 6.

Mount Ruapehu shrouded in storm clouds in the Tongariro national park, viewed from the Desert Road

Nikon D90, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens

ISO 200, 70mm, f/11, 3.0 seconds exposure in Aperture Priority Mode. Manually focussed using live view, tripod mounted, using release cable

Images stitched in Photoshop Elements 6, sharpening, light and colour adjustments in Capture NX2.

View looking east across the lush summer greens of the Mangatarere Valley, west of Masterton, as the Mangatarere Stream meanders to the coast.

Nikon D90

ISO 320, 24mm, f/11, 1/100 seconds exposure in Aperture Priority Mode. Manually focussed using live view, tripod mounted, timer shutter release.

Two images stitched in Photoshop with final sharpening, colour and light adjustments in Lightroom 3.

Approaching storm clouds roll over Mounts Ruapehu (right of the centre) and Ngauruhoe (distant left) and Tongariro (far left) in Tongariro National Park. Typically flaxen hills and tussock plains roll out to native timbered hills on this volcanic plateau. Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island and is recognised internationally as a natural World Heritage Site, and the fourth national park established in the world. The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro are located in the centre of the park.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 lens

ISO 100, 50mm, f/9.0, 1/160secs, Aperture Priority. I was setting the tripod up when heavy rain passed over, so having manually focussed using live view, I plucked the camera off the tripod and grabbed the shots hand held. With the view finder grid active I aligned the images as best I could by eye for level height and overlap, taking 10 images.

Import sharpen into Lightroom 3, 10 RAW images stitched in Photoshop CS5. Two exposure adjusted conversions of the PSD composite panorama blended in Photomatix Pro to balance sky and foreground detail. Final light and colour adjusted in Lighroom 3 and an adjustment layer in CS5.