North Island Holiday - Part Two

In my last post I introduced some images from a holiday my wife and I took recently to the North Island. Our destination for the first four days of our trip was Matarawa, just north of Greytown, in the Wairarapa. We had been invited to stay by my wife's Uncle Bill in the family homestead, where Uncle Bill (88yrs young) lives on land that has been in the family for generations. It's an idyllic, peaceful spot and a great place to unwind and relax.

Matarawa Sunrise. Panasonic Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. F/8 @ 1/100th, ISO 800

The first morning of what felt like the 'real' start to our holiday started bright and early with a magnificent sunrise. My wife woke me around 6.00am and suggested we might like to get outside with our cameras - right now! It was a beautiful sunrise, and an amazing way to start the photography aspect of the holiday. 

What I love about using the Panasonic S5 is its incredible ibis (in-body-image-stabilisation) and its fantastic low-light capabilities. With the full frame 24MP sensor I will happily crank the ISO up to 6400 if I have to without incurring any noise issues. Hand-holding shots at sunrise gives perfectly sharp results. I'm also amazed at the IQ I get from the 20-60mm 'kit' lens. Some say that it isn't the sharpest lens around, and while this may be true, my copy is plenty sharp for me!

Matarawa Morning. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/400th, ISO 800

This is my favorite shot of that first morning. The light is just gorgeous! It was a beautiful location, with beautiful light, so we were spoilt for choice. Great images presented themselves wherever we looked. It really was a perfect way to start the holiday, and I was a bit worried that we had peaked before we'd even begun! (Spoiler alert, we hadn't).

Before going away my wife and I created an itinerary, so we could make the most of our time away and get to the places that interested us the most. With only two weeks away, and at a different place almost every day, we needed to be a bit targeted so we weren't spending time sitting around making decisions.

With this in mind, for our first day with Uncle Bill he had suggested taking us to Castle Point to see the lighthouse there. I'm a sucker for a good lighthouse, so was very keen. And even better, Uncle Bill insisted that he chauffer us so we could just sit back and relax. Sounded good to me.

Castle Point Lighthouse. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/1250th, ISO 400

To say that we had a perfect day at Castle Point would be an understatement. The weather was simply amazing - the clouds were incredible - and the lighthouse was stunning. It's a short (but somewhat steep) walk up to the lighthouse, and there are several caution signs along the way that warn of dangerous high winds. As exposed as the lighthouse is, I can imagine it could get pretty fierce up there. We, however, had nothing but the very gentlest of breezes. Amazing.

I loved pretty much all the photos I took at Castle Point, but the above photo captures the place perfectly. Standing at 52 meters above sea level, it is the North Island's tallest lighthouse, and one of only two in New Zealand that is still lit by the original rotating fresnel lens. It's a truly impressive sight, and is super easy to get to, and to photograph.

The Shop - Castlepoint Store. Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/1600th, ISO 400

After spending an amazing couple of hours exploring and photographing the lighthouse, we drove back into Castlepoint village to have lunch. I noticed this sign on the side of the Castlepoint dairy and couldn't resist taking a photo. It's such a typical image of 'kiwiana' it could have been taken 50 years ago in the 1970s.

I love taking 'retro' images of old stuff (cars, buildings etc), and this would become a reoccurring theme throughout our holiday. We had our itinerary sorted out, but had given ourselves plenty of time for random stops along the way for photographic opportunities. Something I was very keen to make the most of.

Old barn, Tinui. Panasonic Lumix S5 with S 20-60mm. f/8 @ 1/200th, ISO 200.

On the way back to Matarawa, we passed through the little town of Tinui. The name comes from the Maori words 'ti' (cabbage tree) and 'nui' (many). It also claims (apparently falsely) to be the first locality to have had an ANZAC ceremony.

What it did have, was this very old barn that I simply had to take a photo of. As I said, this is my kind of photo. I love the rustic feel of these photos - the colours, the history, the sense of time, and also something of the sadness of these buildings that speak of a bygone era. I also just think they look cool...

Over the last couple of years (maybe even longer) I've been struggling with my photography - or more precisely my photography motivation. I haven't really been that bothered to get out and make images, and I felt that maybe a large part of this was familiarity breeding contempt?

After only one day on holiday in the Wairarapa, I had been pulled out of this 'funk' and felt completely re-energised photographically. In the space of about 10 hours I'd taken maybe some of the best photos I think I've ever taken. Matarawa Morning in particular is right up there with my favorite photos of all time! And some of the Castlepoint Lighthouse aren't too far behind!

Yes, I was 'lucky' with the light and the weather conditions, but it was also about being out with the camera, exploring new locations, and getting inspired by these fresh subjects. And this was just day one in the North Island...