One benefit of my shift work is I get days off mid-week (while on the other hand I am working two weekends of every four). When the weather is good I like to get out and see more of Wellington and on Thursday I took the opportunity to go for a walk down past Eastbourne. The Pencarrow Coast Road travels along the coast from Burdans Gate on the south side of Eastbourne and ends at the old Pencarrow lighthouse.
I drove from home to the carpark at Burdans Gate and then set off, camera bag fully loaded and holding my tripod. I like that I don’t see many people on these mid-week walks, I probably saw no more than 10 other people, most of them on bikes. The road is wide and gravel covered and pretty much flat so the walking is easy. I stopped to take a few shots at interesting rocks on the shoreline and also sat and photographed some oystercatchers feeding next to the small breaking waves (subsequent research identifies these as variable oystercatcher, quite rare apparently). The water was pretty much flat with no appreciable breeze, it was warm verging on hot in the strong sunlight.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
Rocks on the shoreline
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
A variable oystercatcher
Further on I took shots of a passing tanker and also one of the interislandser ferries coming into the harbour. There were three old piles which also caught my eye, remainder of some old structure leading into the water. I turned back before reaching the lighthouse, I didn’t really want to be out after dark and the sandflies were beginning to bite every time I stopped.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
The remaining piles
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
The incoming ferry
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
A fishing boat comes in, mountains of the South Island in the distance
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
A trig station on the Pencarrow Coast Road
By the time I got back to the car it was nearly time for sunset. The light was looking interesting so I decided to head to the Petone wharf to see if I could get any interesting evening photos. This was also partly inspired by an online magazine I had read earlier in the day. NZ Photographer is a new online only (and free) photography magazine and their second issue came out today. They had a article on low light photography and a companion competition so I thought that this might be a good opportunity to get a photo to enter.
It was quickly turning into rush hour traffic as I pulled into the carpark by the wharf, I was glad to leave the procession of vehicles. There were a few people walking their dogs along the beach and the odd runner ducking under the wharf as they ran along the sandy shore. I took photos from the tussock beside the wharf and then walked the wharf itself which had only a few people either walking the length or sitting and doing their own thing. The sunset was quite impressive, bold oranges and pinks in the sky. The sun set over the Johnsonville hills rather than over Wellington city so to include the wharf I missed out on much of the colour. Still, it was a nice evening to be out (no sandflies here!) and I got some nice shots. We’ll see how I go in the competition.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
The sunset reflected in the clouds above Petone wharf
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
The sunset fades from the skies above Wellington
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
My entry for the low light competition
Speaking of competitions I entered the NZ Herald travel photo competition last week. Apparently my main mistake was to enter a portrait orientation photo, all the finalists were landscape. I entered the same competition last year and again didn’t get shortlisted, I’ll have to be smarter next year (and enter a landscape orientation photo for starters).
