A Day in the Life of the Okarito Boat Shed

Every year, a group of men from my local anglican church in Cobden, go away to Okarito for a 'mens weekend'. This usually involves lots of fishing (for trout and whitebait), lots of walking (around the lagoon and up to the Okarito Trig Lookout) and lots of cards (500 seems to be the card game of choice).

I've only been once before, six years ago, so I thought it was high time I went away again. And of course, my focus (excuse the pun) was always going to be on one thing only - photography.

Okarito Boat Shed at pre Dawn. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon XC 16-50mm. F/11 @ 6 secs, ISO 200.

To get away for a whole weekend, no other pressures or concerns, to concentrate 100% on photography is practically unheard of - for me at least. And an amazing luxury. So I was determined to make the most of the opportunity. Unfortunately, the long-range forecast one week out didn't look promising. There was, in fact, Civil Defence rain warnings in place, especially for the Friday that we were travelling to Okarito (a two hour trip from Greymouth). As we drew closer to the end of the week, the forecast for Saturday began to look a little more promising. But I wasn't all that hopeful, and had a good supply of books with me along with the camera gear.

Okarito Boat Shed at Dawn. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon XC 16-50mm. F/11 @ 1/35th, ISO 200

Friday came, and there was indeed torrential rain all day! The drive down to Okarito was slower than usual, with heavy surface flooding in places, although fortunately never enough to close the roads. When we eventually got to the Okarito settlement, the rain was starting to ease (a little), although it was obvious that they had also had their fair share throughout the day. Yet as the evening turned to night, the rain continued to ease. And when we finally called it a night, I set my alarm for 5.30am with a sense of optimism for the following day.

Okarito Boat Shed at Sunrise. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon XC 16-50mm, F/11 @ 1/35th, ISO 200

As you can see from the images in this post, that optimism was well founded! Saturday dawned with a beautiful, calm, clear and still morning. Not a breath of wind or rain in sight. Just glorious! I was so ecstatic, and was treated to one of the most beautiful mornings I've ever had the pleasure to experience - let alone photograph. Last time I was in Okarito (six years earlier), the morning light was wonderful. This time, it was spectacular. May prayers were answered in a truly special way and I felt very blessed.

From a technical perspective I am, and continue to be, impressed with the Fujifilm X series cameras. I used the X-E2 exclusively over the weekend, although I had the X-E1 and 27mm pancake lens with me as a back-up. Just prior to leaving for the weekend, I purchased a new camera bag - a Vanguard 'Sydney' messenger-style bag. It's a small bag with top-loading access through a zip, or conventional access through a flap, and fits the X-E2 with 16-50mm, the X-E1 with 27mm, as well as spare batteries and memory cards. Just brilliant to wander around with all day, and was the ideal travel camera bag for the X-E's.

Boat Shed in Early Morning Light. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm. F/11 @ 1/60th, ISO 200

I arrived at the famous Okarito Lagoon Boat Shed pre-dawn, at around 5.30am. The sky was just beginning to brighten, even though sunrise wasn't for another hour. Since the boat shed looks east, the sun rises right behind it (as you stand at the waters edge), so most of the time the boat house will be in silhouette against the rising sun. All you can really do is expose for the sky and let the boat house go to dark shadow, especially as the sky brightens and the sun begins to climb.

Eventually, if it's a clear morning, the sun will be so bright that it's no longer feasible to shoot from behind the shed, and another vantage point will need to be found. Fortunately, it was also low tide, so access to other areas of the lagoon wasn't a problem. At high tide you can't really vary your viewpoint too much, as getting in front of the boathouse becomes difficult.

Morning has broken, Okarito Boat Shed. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm. F/8 @ 1/640th, ISO 200 

If you get a great day, then you can shoot at just about any time at the iconic boat shed wharf. It's such a fantastic structure, sitting out on its own in the lagoon. It looks great in almost any light - morning silhouette, daytime side-lighting or back-lit in the evening. I often used a 6 stop ND filter to slow down the water and give a stronger reflection, but using a faster shutter speed can also work to accentuate the ripples in the water.

Of course during the middle of the day the light is never the best for landscapes, so I went elsewhere. But I would often return to the lagoon, drawn to the boat shed, just to check up and see what the light was doing at any given time of the day. This is a luxury that only time can afford and as noted earlier, I was very lucky to have a day to spend just on photography.

Late evening long exposure, Okarito Boat Shed. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon XC 16-50mm. F/11 @ 14 secs, ISO 200

As the day progressed to evening, and the sun began to set in the west, the boat shed was now lit up at the back. This low, soft light was ideal for some long exposures with the 6-stop ND filter. And since the light was also quite muted, the tones worked perfectly in black and white.

That's another reason I love shooting with the Fujifilm X series cameras - the custom film simulations are superb. The above image is a straight-out-of-camera jpeg, shot using my own Acros film simulation recipe. The range-finder style Fuji X-E's just cry out to be shot with film simulations and they are super easy to access with the 'Q' Quick selector screen. Just tap the 'Q' button and flick the scroll wheel next to it to access up to 7 user-defined film simulation recipes. My two favourites are my 'Classic chrome' and 'Acros' simulations, which I shoot in 90% of the time. And, since I have the camera set to capture RAW + Jpeg, I always get the best of both worlds if I'm shooting black and white jpegs.

It was late in the evening... Okarito Lagoon Boat Shed. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm. F/11 @ 17 secs, ISO 200

It was a lot of fun, and a great visual exercise, capturing the Okarito Boat House throughout the course of one day. The light had its own unique qualities and feeling at each and every part of the day, and the one location yielded almost endless possibilities.

Okarito isn't a destination I can get to very often. The last time was six years ago. And there certainly aren't many locations that I have the luxury of being able to spend a whole day photographing. So I feel very lucky, and very blessed, to have had the opportunity to capture 'A day in the life of the Okarito Boat Shed'. I came away with a great portfolio of very different photos, and a richer understanding of light and its many facets. Not a bad way to spend a day if you ask me.