Mallard Duck (as opposed to Drake) fanning it’s wings on Manawatu waters

Nikon D90, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

Hand held, VR (image stablisation) off, ISO 200, 200 mm, f/3.5, 1/1000 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus,

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 4, layered in Photoshop for background/vignette effect.

Te Apiti wind farm on top of the southern tip of the Ruahine Ranges.

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

ISO 200, 48 mm, f/16, 1/4 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus,

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3, layered in Photoshop for control of highlights and shadows.

Bare Island “spotlighted” from Waimarama Beach at sunset.

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

ISO 200, 40mm, f/16, 2.0  seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus,

RAW conversion, import sharpened, light and colour adjusted , layered for colour control, and lighting details Capture One Pro 8, with final detail editing in Photoshop.

Tangimoana Beach at sundown. Tide is on the way out.  No fish caught this evening but this sunset made the trip.  The thing with landscape photography is you never really know until you get there how the lighting is, what the sunset will be like, or the moon rise, maybe there are no clouds or total cloud cover.  Often it takes several trips to yield a nice result.

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

ISO 100, 52mm, f/22, 1/30 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus, cable shutter release

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 4.  Layered 3 versions of the same image in Photoshop for control of highlight and shadow details.

The Pohanghina River exits the Ruahine Ranges winding through rocky outcrops under sunset hue. Camera was set to f/22 to capture nice smooth water flow.

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, 70 mm, f/22, 5 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus, cable shutter release

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3 and Topaz Labs PhotoFX

Mount Ruapehu viewed from one of the highest altitude dairy farms in New Zealand. Bordering between the pasture and forestry plantation is (not quite visible in this shot) the Whangaehu river. The wind was howling, so trying to keep camera and tripod steady was a mission – sheilding as best I could holding my rain coat wide with cable release in hand biting cold into my fingers even through the glove.

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, 32mm, f/16, 1/10 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, live view manual focus,

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3 and Topaz Labs PhotoFx …

One of the 70+ species of Weta found in New Zealand, this tree Weta is a Pohangina Valley resident.

Nikon D90, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, hand held, on-camera commander flash mode with Nikon D600 flash held to the side

ISO 320, 70 mm, f/10, 1/60 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus,

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3.6

Cannot find the name of this estuary, but it is located to the west of Thalang and opens to the Malacca Strait NW of Phuket. Above the water surface, are a number of crudely built dwellings, boat sheds and other structures.

Nikon D90, Nikkon 70-200 VR  f/2.8 lens

ISO 200, 75 mm, f/2.8, 1/4000 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus, hand held from a canoe, VR off

Lightroom 3 import sharpen, Capture NX2 colour and light adjustments

Female Mallard Duck

Nikon D90, Nikkon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

ISO 200, 200mm, f/3.2, 1/800 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus, single focus point selection

Imported into Lightroom 3.6, first pass sharpen and colour adjustment. Further adjustment layer in PS CS5

Sunset from the sand dunes of Raumati beach with Kapiti Island in the distance. Positioned to capture the sun burst in the tops of the flax stems.

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

ISO200, 24mm, f/16, 1/8 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus, cable shutter release

Import sharpened and colour balance in Lightroom 3.6.  Layered in CS5 for selective dodging and burning. Colour control points for cloud detail in Capture NX2.