The Waikato Photographic Society (WPS) arranged a trip to Raglan and kindly invited the Manukau Photographic Society (MPS) to join them. I’d never been to Raglan before so I had no preconceptions: this was a good thing, because preconceptions tend to stifle creativity and make it harder to see photographic opportunities. When we’ve seen a place often we’re less likely to notice what is around us.
Practical tips: The photos are displayed here so in a small size so I can merge them with a story: click on any photo to enlarge it and you’ll get a nicer display of all the photos (once you’re there click on any photo to enlarge it further). Photo titles are in bold italics and appear above the relevant photo.
En route to Raglan a few of us stopped off at the St Albans church in Waingaro…
Built in 1907
Dead End ↓
I hope you enjoyed that cheery interlude. Now we’ll move on to photos taken in and around the Raglan township…
Three WPS members: Rose Kerin is in purple, with Barry & Cushla Mawston
Overwhelming Odds: Three Photographers, One Flower ↓
Beyond Barbecue ↓
After that we moved on to a lookout above Ngarunui Beach (red map marker)…
Southern view from the lookout
Northern view from the lookout, complete with WPS member. Entrance to Raglan Harbour on the right
The area of the beach guarded by surf lifesavers
One of the MPS members was drooling at the prospect of getting some photos of kite surfers so we went to the mouth of the Raglan Harbour (green map marker). I have never seen so many kite surfers in one place, and the first photo sets the scene for you by showing some of them:
Kite surfers setting up. An inflatable leading edge and ribs hold the canopy taut. There are two steering lines and a central 'power' line
Having three objects in a photo is often visually pleasing, so I tracked this group and fired when they formed a good composition. The composition was rapidly and constantly changing, I had to maintain focus, and there was no time to think - it was all about instinct. Getting anything useful was a bonus.
Beaches are bursting with photographic opportunities…
Santa Sack ↓
Heavy Artillery ↓
MPS members Garry and Linda
Flying In Formation ↓
I saw the way that this Border Collie jumped when crossing the sand pools on the beach, so I tracked him until I caught this shot. The tricky part was getting the dog and the stick in the frame
His Is Bigger Than Mine ↓
Moonshine ↓
Darth Vader and Friend ↓
A few of us went into the wop-wops south of Raglan and found this des res:
No, this is not a negative. I usually avoid special effects, but this one appeals
Whilst looking for a way to catch the sunset we wound up in Manu Bay (yellow map marker)…
Classic Combination ↓
Holden Kingswood and surfboard
And that was that for another day…
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