Kiwi Kids

For those who don't know, I'm also one of the photographer in Light Feather Studios. We are based in Penang, Malaysia and specialise in wedding videography and photography. For more info about our works and portfolio, do feel free to visit www.lightfeatherstudios.com. Most of our clients are based in Malaysia, but occasionally, we do get to shoot in Australia, & New Zealand.

Besides wedding, we also covers events such as portraiture and products in commercial photography. One of our recent job were to shoot some New Zealander kids or more commonly known as Kiwi kids. The shoot was held in one of the private school in Picton, New Zealand and here are some of the cute little kids of New Zealand, or i prefer to call them Kiwi kids :)



Most of them are pretty talented and photogenic i should say.. as kids are sometimes tricky to photograph. Some took a few try to get the smiles and expression, but some are just great and instant! Here's few more photos..





Besides the websites, you can visit and like our Facebook page @ http://www.facebook.com/LightFeatherStudios for more of our works in Portraiture and Behind the scenes (BTS), Slideshows, and Same Day Edit (SDE) videos uploaded regularly as we go through each clients photo-shoot session.

Wither Hill revisited

Another day off and as usual, we all have no idea where to go! Hah! Then the idea of sunrise shooting came up by a friend, and so we plan ahead. Destination? Wither Hill Farm Park. Pretty near, plus, we need to get up pretty early.

We woke up around 5am in the morning, get some breakfast before heading there and start climbing around 5.30am. Man, it was freezing cold.. the wind was terribly strong and cold, to a point where my hand almost frozen! No way i could hold my tripod longer than 30 seconds.. it's just too cold!  Anyway, we managed to hike up against the elevation and coldness, reach the top of Mount Vernon to see the sun just about to rise. Set up my tripod, and shot a few photos.. here's my pick:

Using Cokin GND filter, and merge two photos to get the sky exposed to my liking.


Is this considered HDR? hmmmm...Anyway,
looking at the sky, we saw a dark patch of cloud from the south rising and getting nearer and nearer. We decided to get down the hill quickly. On the way down, i stumble across some nice background-foreground and lines. Hard to explain, so let the photo do the justice.


Do feel free to comment and give me some inputs! I deeply appreciated it and it motivates me a lot especially when i saw the post counts rising each day. Thank you so much to those who are supporting my blog.

Travel and Transportation in New Zealand

You'll be traveling by foot a lot in New Zealand! I've done the most walking ever in my life during my 3 months in New Zealand.. haha

Bus - Intercity - NakedBus

However, there's plenty of options! Public transport such as buses are very good and punctual. For those who wants to travel far, i suggest booking with Intercity NZ. They offers one of the most cheapest bus fare ever! Just book a day or two before and you'll get some amazing deals. Besides Intercity, you'll find NakedBus, Atomic Shuttles (south island) and few more companies i cant recall right now..

Oh ya, i travel by bus the most also in my life during the 3 months holiday.. 4 hours ride, 6 hours ride, 8 hours ride, 11 hours ride, u name it! This is what i do to save money.. bus is cheap! If you want cheaper, you can always try hitch hiking.. i heard it's quite easy to get (my sis does.. so do most girls.. just becareful and watch out for wary drivers.. ). Guys will be harder to hitch any rides, so... good luck!

Bicycle


This is a great mode of transportation.. although you must be fit seriously.. there's so many hilly roads at some places (almost died of exhaustion cycling up Queens Street in Auckland! hahaa.. sorry ler, my stamina is not that good... )

You can get a cheap one, probably under NZD100 or so..

Environmentally friendly, free, exercise and be fit.. highly recommended! It's safe to ride bicycle in NZ, drivers there are very wary and watch out for pedestrians and cyclist, and there's dedicated bicycle lanes in most places. It's not like in Malaysia where... drivers are crazy!

Motorbike

Some of us might think of getting motorcycles there.. i still dont have much information except that i heard there's some license to take.. i will update this part when im there.

Car


Car is dirt cheap in New Zealand! You can get car as cheap as NZD1000! The only thing is fuel, but it is good if you have few friends to share with.. car pooling.. if you have cars, you can travel far by yourself, dont need to worry about the weather (it can be 4 seasons in a day..) and it's heated so it'll be comfortable as well. The only thing is fuel... for those who are budget conscious!

Driving in New Zealand is pretty safe too, everyone follow law. Speed limit and speed traps are everywhere, so dont break the law. There's no bribery there..no duit kopi anymore..

You can use our Malaysian driving license there, as long as you get it translated to English by JPJ. It only cost RM10. Cheap. Just get it done, whether you going to drive there or not. You'll never know..

New Zealand Working Holiday Scheme 2012

Oh yes, i've finally received the confirmation of the approval of New Zealand Working Holiday Scheme for year 2012! Cant wait to go there again soon!

To all the successful applicant, congratulations! It's time to prepare, physically and mentally before you head to NZ! I do have some guides and experience to share during my 3 months stay in New Zealand as a backpacker.

What to bring and wear?

• Make sure you have at least a set or two, Long Johns for the cold weather
• Hats, sweaters, wool shirts, although i do fine without those.. what i wore during the winter is just Long john, 2 t-shirt, and a jacket  (make sure it's insulating and wind-breaker as well.. NZ is very windy!) and of course, jeans. However, wool attire are always better choices, especially when wet.
• Good socks and very comfortable shoes (i suffer from bad walking/hiking shoes.. every step hurts, so it's better to buy a pair of good shoe now, test it few weeks before you go) Spend over RM250 on a waterproof hiking shoe and end up, pain, smelly feet sometimes, cant walk on icy roads.. gonna buy new pair soon :P

You don't need to bring a lot of clothings.. you don't sweat as much as in Malaysia anyway :P and washing machines are available at the backpackers (and of course, rental house) Pack lightly so you can travel happily and enjoy..

And that, i got a problem too, because i have to bring 2 backpacks, one for clothings and stuff, the other for laptops/cameras/gadgets... phewww.. thinking to get a rollerbag too! Imagine hiking and walking uphill with 10kg gadget bag and 20-30kg backpack. A bag with roller will be a great help! NZ roads are pretty hilly sometimes...

What to buy there first?

• It's gonna be cold, so, get an electric blanket (from Warehouse, only NZD19 for single size) and sleeping bags (I bought at Warehouse too, NZD25) I suffer the first night at rental room, freezing cold, without pillow/blanket/heater/sleeping bag/electric blanket.. unforgettable night! SO better be prepare!
• BBH card
• Telephone card - i bought Zero Degree NZD5 for sim card and NZD20 for top-ups to call home and friends

For your first week or two, you can stay in backpackers while looking for room to rent. It cost about NZD18-25 per night, and usually it's pretty clean, safe and fun! So don't worry so much, make friends, open your mouth and talk, and you'll feel like home pretty soon :P

Will continue updating with some informations soon...

Information about Transportation HERE
Travel and Transportation in New Zealand

Wellington's All Black Victory Parade

It's here, the team is here in Wellington! Although i'm not really a fan of rugby before, it does feels good welcoming the All Blacks team together with all the peoples in Wellington. They are here to parade on their victory in the finals of World Rugby Cup 2011, where they won 8-7 against a tough and great competitor, France!!





The whole streets are literally filled with crowds dressing in All Blacks shirts, carrying NZ and All Blacks flags, drawing on the face and stuff. People of all ages come to welcome and support the All Blacks team here in Wellington, starting from the Civic Square at noon today.. Honestly, i dont even know they are coming until the receptionist in my backpackers told me! HA! So i hurried to the Civic Centre two hours earlier to get a nice spot and well, it's filled with peoples already! Cant get a nice spot but it was ok, since i can still reach them with 24-105 F/4 lenses borrowed from Mr. Chan! (THANK YOU!!)

Volunteers


I think those kids are avid supporters of All Blacks!




Look at the crowds! And it was raining!


Skipper Richie McCaw with the winning cup!


Piri Weepu and his lovely baby joining the parade


The All Blacks squad




Welcoming speech


Getting on the parade car




Richie McCaw and Piri Weepu doing interviews on the parade car, honestly, i only remember 2 of them, one because he is a captain, and one because he always miss the penalty shots! Lol.. just kidding..


Uuhh.. cant believe i won the world cup.. :'(


Errrr... your ball too small ler...


Hey YOU!


Yes YOU! Peace! We won the World Cup!


The Parades starts, from Civic Centre to the Parliament


everyone running, chasing the parade..


Decided not to join them as the weather is getting worst and i need to get back to the backpackers to had my lunch and head to the Railway Station for my next bus, the final and the longest one ever in New Zealand! It's gonna take me 11 hours from Wellington to Auckland, via Intercity @ 25NZD only! Hehe.. good deal right? :P

Wellington Waterfront

Didnt get a good sunset shots for the whole week i'm here, and i'm leaving tomorrow. So i've decided to have a walk along the waterfront again, expecting some sunset. However, the weather is not good for the whole day already, been cloudy and extremely windy! Cant barely walk against the wind sometimes.

So, while chilling around the jetty.. i saw these dark clouds coming! Decided to shoot another HDR, which is my favourite type of shoots. This one were made by 9 shots as usual.



By the way, the photo is taken on Clyde Quay Wharf, just 5-10min walk from Te Papa Museum

Wellington, part 3

It's time to visit somewhere again, take some photos and enjoy the nature.. As of what i've planned, Zealandia! After looking at the weather forecast, i've decided to visit Zealandia on Sunday morning.. However, i've no luck with the weather this round.. it was suppose to be sunny, not cloudy and rainy!! Ergghhh... Dont care, im going no matter what! So i've decided to walk to the i-Site located on Wakefield St earlier, just in case it does rain heavily later.. and yes, it did! Thank god! The free shuttle to Zealandia arrive alil late at i-Site, but it's ok.. it's free, nothing to complain about. We pick few peoples up before heading to Zealandia, roughly 15 min journey.

The entrance fee to the Sanctuary is NZD18.50 and if you decided to go to the exhibition too, it's another NZD10. So total, NZD28.50 combo! Nahh, i went straight into the sanctuary even though it looks cloudy and rains a little.. the place is beautiful! Very pristine condition with many tracks and trails to explore.

At the entrance, there were the elusive, rare, exotic, EXPENSIVE, green gecko from the genus Nautilus greeting us from two little enclosure. I think it's about 5-10 of them in each enclosure. What a magnificent creature that i really wish i could see them in the wild!
 



After a short walk along the lake side, two beautiful Takahe greet us happily.. they are not afraid of human, being one of the larger flightless bird in NZ, the size of a... young adult Turkey i presume. The female are a little skittish though.


Kinda reminds of of Dodo!




And there were these duck with many ducklings around the lake.. it is so cute! The little one taking shelter and warm on a cold morning.


I forgot the name of this bird.. some sort like a Stork..


Here's one of the most common bird in Zealandia, the Tui! Noisy and highly active.. it's like a crow, but more colorful and interesting. This one is still not fully awake yet after a cold rainy morning..haha


One visitor kindly direct me to a trail where i could see a very large pigeon called Kereru. It's a fruit eating pigeon, almost triple the size of the usual pigeon we can find almost everywhere!


And then this little black bird, another common one in NZ


Cute little North Island Robin


And finally, i saw it! The living fossil of NZ! The three eye Tuatara! What a sight! They are not afraid of human, just laying there basking sun.. I've waited for a little while to listen to a talk by Ann, the volunteer there. According to her, they breed once every 2 years with eggs incubation of up to 16 months! What's interesting was that the incubation can stop during cold season and resume when it's warm up! Sounds crazy! hahaa.. and of cos, as with some reptiles, different soil temperature will result in a diff ratio of male:female. Here's a female:


As i were talking to Ann, she mention she found an orchid in one of the trail and decided to show me! Cool! Here's the orchid:


And ferns of course,


One beautiful flowering shrubs,


Next, it was the old goldmine and Cave Weta. Didnt manage to see any in the wild as they were nocturnal, just like the Kiwi :( But i do see some in the cave,


and some glowworm too in the cave! Interesting creature..


i've found some outside too


Last but not least, the unique Kaka, an alpine parrots commonly found in NZ! A noisy one too!


So there you go, my full day visit to Zealandia which took me about 6 hours there! It's a great alternative to the wild where it's harder to see all these birds and reptiles due to the predators like Possum and Weasel. Here in Zealandia, it's protected by 2m fence that no predator can enter! Every birds and reptiles live happily ever after here XD

*all the shots were taken by D200 and Nikkor 24-105 F/4. Although it's not tele enough for birding, you guys should roughly know the range to be use here. Mine were shot at mostly 105mm.