Personal Journey and Adventures of Nina

Interloop Sculpture Installation - Taken with the Samsung S7 without additional lens Following on from my previous post on the Olixar Macro lens , another fun part of the Smartphone Lens Kit is a .36x Super Wide Angle Lens.  There is still nothing like setting up my Canon 5Ds with 16-35mm lens onto a tripod for spectacular city and landscape images but when I'm travelling around with just my phone, this lens kit is a perfect alternative. To test it out, I headed to downtown Sydney, firstly to the scultpure,  Interloop by Chris Fox  where it hangs in Wynyard Station. Upside - Get everything into your frame The above pic was taken straight up with the Samsung S7. Its nice and sharp and bright but we've lost the edges of the sculpture. Below, I've added the super wide lens and I now have everything in the photo. Downside - Loss of quality, light and some distortion. I've lost a little light. The photo isn't as sharp and the edges are qui

30 second exposure of Sydney Harbour Same scene without a filter . LONG EXPOSURES Oops...forgot my Tripod For fun I like to play around with longer exposures. The first image (above) is a 30 second exposure. You can do this on a bright sunny day by using a filter on your lens or at night without a filter. 10 Stop Solid ND Filter -  I used a BW 10 stop filter to get the top image. They are around $50-$100. Tripod - Ideally a tripod is recommended. I actually forgot my tripod so set my camera up on a nearby pylon and used my lens hood to keep the camera upright and steady. Focus First - once your camera is setup, focus the lens on the scene, then switch the lens to Manual Focus (MF). Then attach the filter. You cannot focus with the filter on because it is so dense you cannot see anything. EVEN EXPOSURES The light difference between the sky and the foreground can be greatly different. This means you will often get

I have not read or seen Lord of The Rings, yet I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I had read The Hobbit   and watched the film so I, had some idea and of course, know of the legendary director Peter Jackson . Still, I found the entire village fascinating, even magical. This was not only due to sets and scenery but the fabulous stories told by our host like how the location was discovered, how news of the location leaked, how trees were planted and leaves handsewn, what filming tricks were used and where certain scenes were actually filmed.  I just adored the Hobbit homes. Maybe because I'm actually hobbit sized myself.  I hesitate to show you so many pictures because I really think you should go and experience it for yourself but if you have no immediate plans to visit, feel free to look on.    This is the Party Tree where Bilbo's 111th and Frodo's 33rd (coming of age) birthday took place.  The Party Tree Almost at The Green Dr

A traditional telephone booth is now a Book Exchange After miles and miles of rolling deep green hills dotted with sheep and cattle, we arrive in  Cambridge . Much to our surprise and delight, it was not at all what we expected to find 135 kilometres (83.9 miles) from Auckland.   Cambridge is a quaint mix of colonial traditional and hipster all set amongst well maintained lush gardens and flagstone pavements.  And as we were to discover,  Cambridge  is not only home to dairy farmers and horse breeders but also elite athletes. National sport organisations like cycling, rowing, and triathlon are based here.  Enjoying the Autumn Sunshine at Cafe Rouge paddock cafe grow their own herbs.. Town Clock St Andrews Anglican Church Maungatautari Road Heading out of downtown Cambridge toward Sakura ( Health Spa & Retreat ), the tree lined streets surround Lake Karapiro. There is the purpose built Te Awa 8km walk/cycle way, (w