Your top 5 2017 edition
Discussion
Well we're into 2018 now so lets look back on 2017 and see what we achieved...
2017 an odd year, doing quite well with workshops etc commercially but lost a personal thread somewhere. Not felt too compelled to get out and shoot, lacking inspiration, but really enjoyed the times I managed to. Choosing a top 5 shouldnt be hard from such a limited list!
(previous "Your Top 5 From..." threads: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)
Canon sent me a 6d mk2 to play with, I stuffed up released raws and kicked up a fuss on the webs on how s
tty the sensor is. Somewhere in the middle of that I made some images that were quite pleasing. Its a good camera to use, I'm just at a loss as to why they didnt use the new process for the sensor. I swapped my 6d for a 5d mk4 later in the year :/
6d Mk2 seascape by Rob Dickinson, on Flickr
I got the 5dmk4 from canon nz when I went up to Auckland and run a few astro workshop events. Heaps of fun and stayed over at Piha. Gorgeous spot and I hope I can get back to shoot more. This one was from saturday morning. I'd stayed out until about 2am getting blasted by onshore winds and sand shooting the MW with canon, at 6am I felt hugely hung over, dried out, puffed up. I climbed out of bed, drove 2min to the beach, setup, got this (one bracket) shot (not even in great focus) , then got dumped on by heavy rain, went back to bed.... 5dmk4/16-35f4L
Lion Rock by Rob Dickinson, on Flickr
In October we ran our annual Mt cook 4 day landscape workshop, this one totally shot from weather we didnt get into hooker, luckily knowing the area well I had a bunch of other locations, meant more travelling but the group was cool and didnt need quite as much hand holding as some so more time on the road worked out.
We headed out to Lake ohau/Ben Ohau as its a spot Id really wanted to shoot in good conditions. We had some crazy lenticular clouds, string wind and tough shooting conditions but I used it as a good demo of how to work into a shot and get all the elements together.
Ohau I hunt by Rob Dickinson, on Flickr
On the way back from Ben Ohau the skies in the valley were clear so we stopped to have an impromptu astro workshop - usually not something we do given the schedule.. It was incredibly windy so the group took shelter off the side of the little road we'd drive down. Once they were up and running I jumped onto the road itself to grab a quick pano. We had some traffic (closed road, to a closed airfield!) and with the wind etc I had some frames messed up from blur/movement but didnt have a chance to reshoot, still overall I like the image shame it wont really print. 5dmk4/35L mk2
Stars over Sealy by Rob Dickinson, on Flickr
In April we got word of a large CME and likely big aurora, I (virtually) scouted some spots and aligned the MW up and decided to head out to Akaroa lighthouse. I'd never been here before and turned up in the dark. The lighthouse itself is somewhat unimpressive modern (the old one is in akaroa township and is quite attractive). It had a 4 way beam spinning continuously. I shot some panos which worked but couldnt capture the beams the way I wanted, so I constructed this, from 3 frames, one for the stars (500 rule) one shorter for the aurora to freeze the beams, and one ~100 second exposure for the lighthouse where I covered the lens for most of the exposure, uncovering when the beams swung past a certain point , for about 20 seconds overall exposure. Combine the 3 shots later. 6d/irix 15mm.
Akaroa Aurora by Rob Dickinson, on Flickr
2017 an odd year, doing quite well with workshops etc commercially but lost a personal thread somewhere. Not felt too compelled to get out and shoot, lacking inspiration, but really enjoyed the times I managed to. Choosing a top 5 shouldnt be hard from such a limited list!
(previous "Your Top 5 From..." threads: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)
Canon sent me a 6d mk2 to play with, I stuffed up released raws and kicked up a fuss on the webs on how s
tty the sensor is. Somewhere in the middle of that I made some images that were quite pleasing. Its a good camera to use, I'm just at a loss as to why they didnt use the new process for the sensor. I swapped my 6d for a 5d mk4 later in the year :/6d Mk2 seascape by Rob Dickinson, on FlickrI got the 5dmk4 from canon nz when I went up to Auckland and run a few astro workshop events. Heaps of fun and stayed over at Piha. Gorgeous spot and I hope I can get back to shoot more. This one was from saturday morning. I'd stayed out until about 2am getting blasted by onshore winds and sand shooting the MW with canon, at 6am I felt hugely hung over, dried out, puffed up. I climbed out of bed, drove 2min to the beach, setup, got this (one bracket) shot (not even in great focus) , then got dumped on by heavy rain, went back to bed.... 5dmk4/16-35f4L
Lion Rock by Rob Dickinson, on FlickrIn October we ran our annual Mt cook 4 day landscape workshop, this one totally shot from weather we didnt get into hooker, luckily knowing the area well I had a bunch of other locations, meant more travelling but the group was cool and didnt need quite as much hand holding as some so more time on the road worked out.
We headed out to Lake ohau/Ben Ohau as its a spot Id really wanted to shoot in good conditions. We had some crazy lenticular clouds, string wind and tough shooting conditions but I used it as a good demo of how to work into a shot and get all the elements together.
Ohau I hunt by Rob Dickinson, on FlickrOn the way back from Ben Ohau the skies in the valley were clear so we stopped to have an impromptu astro workshop - usually not something we do given the schedule.. It was incredibly windy so the group took shelter off the side of the little road we'd drive down. Once they were up and running I jumped onto the road itself to grab a quick pano. We had some traffic (closed road, to a closed airfield!) and with the wind etc I had some frames messed up from blur/movement but didnt have a chance to reshoot, still overall I like the image shame it wont really print. 5dmk4/35L mk2
Stars over Sealy by Rob Dickinson, on FlickrIn April we got word of a large CME and likely big aurora, I (virtually) scouted some spots and aligned the MW up and decided to head out to Akaroa lighthouse. I'd never been here before and turned up in the dark. The lighthouse itself is somewhat unimpressive modern (the old one is in akaroa township and is quite attractive). It had a 4 way beam spinning continuously. I shot some panos which worked but couldnt capture the beams the way I wanted, so I constructed this, from 3 frames, one for the stars (500 rule) one shorter for the aurora to freeze the beams, and one ~100 second exposure for the lighthouse where I covered the lens for most of the exposure, uncovering when the beams swung past a certain point , for about 20 seconds overall exposure. Combine the 3 shots later. 6d/irix 15mm.
Akaroa Aurora by Rob Dickinson, on FlickrGassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff