Te Toto gorge New Zealand . [updated pics]

[Desmond]

This afternoon the rain and clouds cleared away after a week or two of bad weather so I headed for the te Toto gorge to see what it was like .
The road there showed some promise .

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so I parked my ''photovan'' and went for a walk .

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first to the lookout .

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maybe I should go back in better light .

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anyway I walked in the wrong direction for half an hour since there are no signs but it was worth the scenery .

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no prizes for guessing which way the wind blows here .

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[Desmond]

I'll have to plan a full day of exploring next time because the scenery is "acceptable"

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The sea was very frothy from all the bad weather .

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a couple of "wrong way" dead-ends .

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a cabbage tree ...

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Then I went through some trees and got blocked by some thorns and had to pull out "junior" [ There was no place in my pack for "senior" the machete ]

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and a quick self-timer shot through the grass

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all that to find out I was supposed to go in this direction to get all the way down to the sea - maybe next time ...

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[spalding12]

a very nice series
#s 3 and 6 are my favorites
thanks for sharing

 

[Desmond]

a very nice series
#s 3 and 6 are my favorites
thanks for sharing

It's interesting that I put those two in just for information rather than their appeal to me and you like them the most :smile:
I noticed that in one of my tours someone found the detail shot of the inside of my van more fascinating than the scenery - maybe we should start a thread on "detail shots for interest"

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[spalding12]

maybe we should start a thread on "detail shots for interest"

LOL
you just might have something there.... :smile:

 

[JDann24]

Very beautiful set. Thanks for posting.

 

[Desmond]

Very beautiful set. Thanks for posting.

Thanks , I intend going back , it is 17km from the centre of town and the road is reasonable , it does start getting a bit dodgy at times though .

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[Desmond]

Today I went back since the weather was looking good . I had a look from the platform .

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Looked across to me left .

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.

And decided to walk to the bottom . It took 5 minutes to get to the first flat area but after that it was long curled up grass , thigh deep in places .

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This time I concentrated on ''detail shots'' as an addition to the normal landscape shots .

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[Candidcameraman]

An excellent series Desmond

An excellent continuing series Desmond - I really like the first image of the second thread.

 

[Desmond]

An excellent continuing series Desmond - I really like the first image of the second thread.

Thanks , today I shot with my new D70S again to compare the metering .
My D80 would have blown out a lot of highlights in comparison . I like the D70S so much I may have to trade in my D80 on another one so I have two cameras the same and don't have to worry so much about the D80's awful matrix metering all the time .

 

[Candidcameraman]

Thanks , today I shot with my new D70S again to compare the metering .
My D80 would have blown out a lot of highlights in comparison . I like the D70S so much I may have to trade in my D80 on another one so I have two cameras the same and don't have to worry so much about the D80's awful matrix metering all the time .

Desmond,

Can't you use exposure compensation with the D80 to compensate in bright sunlight? The D70s is a great camera it was my first DSLR - I used to have the exposure compensation at -.03 all the time at first and then used a Circular Polarized Filter on the 18-70 lens a lot of the time in bright sunlight.

Before giving up the D80 try a few things but yes, the metering on the D70 is terrific and was better than the D2Hs however when I started using EV comp on the D2Hs that's when I got as good and even better results with the D2hs when at first I though the D70s did a much better job... It was just that I was used to one camera and only got to know the D2Hs later.

Check all your settings on both and try different things - EV comp will surely make a difference - and will handle differently on both cameras.

 

[Desmond]

Desmond,

Can't you use exposure compensation with the D80 to compensate in bright sunlight? The D70s is a great camera it was my first DSLR - I used to have the exposure compensation at -.03 all the time at first and then used a Circular Polarized Filter on the 18-70 lens a lot of the time in bright sunlight.

Before giving up the D80 try a few things but yes, the metering on the D70 is terrific and was better than the D2Hs however when I started using EV comp on the D2Hs that's when I got as good and even better results with the D2hs when at first I though the D70s did a much better job... It was just that I was used to one camera and only got to know the D2Hs later.

Check all your settings on both and try different things - EV comp will surely make a difference - and will handle differently on both cameras.

It's not only bright sunlight , it's just about any situation where matrix metering should be the most competent choice . The D80 matrix metering exposes for shadows and blows highlights , it changes its mind if the focus point changes , VERY different from the D70S and most other cameras .
I have resorted to centre weighted with the D80 because it behaves the most like the D200 and D70S with their 1005 segment meters . I'll just have to live with it for now . I don't have the best of memories and it would be nice if they all behaved the same way . With the D80 it's endless compensation adjustments .

 

[Mike Buckley]

Desmond, I just love seeing your pics of NZ because they remind me of one of my favorite vacations, which was in your fabulous country.

I encourage you to revisit the tree in image #6 to capitalize on different light, angles, perspectives, etc. That tree has real possbilities. Try positioning yourself so the sky and/or water are background for the tree, rather than the land.

I'm not going to try to convince you about the D80's matrix metering system, but I disagree that it exposes for the shadows and blows highlights. My gut reaction is that when it exposes improperly, it's because I didn't accurately assess the luminosity.

The most informative discussion of the topic I've ever seen is the following from Thom Hogan's review of the D80, which you've probably seen: "...the D80 is even more prone to changing exposure due to middle subject tonal value. If you're not following me, try the following: cut a diamond shape (like the AF sensor pattern) out of white paper, middle gray paper, and black paper. (I'm having you use a diamond shape so that you'll frame them the same.) Now place each of those against a middle gray background, carefully framing so that the diamond exactly fits the AF sensor pattern. Voila: the gray background is underexposed with the white diamond in the center, properly exposed with the gray diamond in the center, and overexposed with the black diamond in the center. It's that last one that's problematic, in my mind. Overexposure means blown highlights that can't be recovered, and the D80 is going to be prone to do just that with the matrix metering system any time you've got darker-than-middle-gray subjects in the center of the frame. Photo of the bride only? A little underexposed but easily savable. Photo of the groom only? Overexposed and not savable. Oops.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln liked the play. The center-weighted and spot meters are their usual excellent selves, and the matrix meter, while a bit different than those that came before it, is predictable once you know what it's doing."

Regardless of the cameras you use, I'll always hope you enjoy making your pictures at least half as much as I enjoy seeing them.

 

[Desmond]

Desmond, I just love seeing your pics of NZ because they remind me of one of my favorite vacations, which was in your fabulous country.

I encourage you to revisit the tree in image #6 to capitalize on different light, angles, perspectives, etc. That tree has real possbilities. Try positioning yourself so the sky and/or water are background for the tree, rather than the land.


Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln liked the play. The center-weighted and spot meters are their usual excellent selves, and the matrix meter, while a bit different than those that came before it, is predictable once you know what it's doing."

Regardless of the cameras you use, I'll always hope you enjoy making your pictures at least half as much as I enjoy seeing them.

If I had three D80s I would be able to live with the metering system , since I have other cameras that work "normally" it's a pain [ at a wedding especially ] when you grab another camera with a different lens on it and have to re-program your brain for the change - something my weak memory doesn't go well with .
With regard to that tree , I suppose I should have used flash , or a cloudy day maybe because in the afternoons when I visit the place the sun is in a harsh position . Anyway it's close to the top and the lookout platform so I think I am going to be seeing more of it in the future :smile:

 

[Desmond]

I called this formation ''the eagle'' because it looks a bit like one from the side . In this case the sun popped through the clouds at the right time to highlight it . The lookout platform is a tiny speck on the top left of the picture .

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some more trees with potential ... maybe I should go back at night - in summer of course .

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