Final Series

I chose this photo as the first in my series as its taken from a low angle to make the track look really steep and like its taken from the bottom of the hill.  The climb always seems steeper at the start of a tramp when you know you've got a long way to go.  I also really liked how the sun glistens on the water so I wanted to capture this up close.

I chose this photo as I like how you can see the track from up close and can follow it into into the distance.  I think the colours in this photo are really effective.  The green grass, blue sky, brown track, yellow in the bushes and the red dot on the fence really go well together and show all the colours of nature.  The gate also adds a nice effect, as if you're stepping through it into the beauties of nature.

This photo I took from my first shoot.  I really liked the four wheel drive tracks in the dirt and it photographed really well.  With the sun beaming down on it, not a cloud in the sky, and hills as far as you can see.  It really shows how you're away from the city and roads and has a really warm, happy feeling to it.

I've always liked the look of these farmland fences.  They aren't like you would see in the city.  They're so basic, and uneven and covered in rust and chips.  It goes really well with nature, as nature is never perfectly constructed or predictable.  I wanted to capture this in a photo, with the fence leading into the distance towards the city.  It shows how far away you are from society.  It makes it look peaceful.

I chose this photo to finish off the series as it shows the final stage of the tramp.  Reaching the trig at the summit and being able to relax, enjoy the view, feeling that sense of achievement that you've made it.  I really liked this particular photo of the summit as the colours and having the sun in the corner makes it almost look heavenly, like you're on top of the world.

I chose to have the first four photos in portrait and the final in landscape.  This was to show the journey to the trig as a steep, uphill climb making the track look steeper.  The final photo I took in landscape as the summit is all about the landscape and looking at the view.  So it wouldn't make sense to have it in potrait.

Shoot 3 contact sheets

This shoot turned out one of the best as it was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for showing my concept.  I tried to recapture a few of the photos from shoot 2 as today had much better light but I found that in a few of them there was too much light and shadow and it distracted you from the space.

Proposal

I'm quite happy with my second shoot.  I think I got a good sequence which shows the concept how I wanted it to.  I still want to do a third shoot though, just to see if I can recreate some of the photos from shoot 2 in a better light.  I need to make sure I do keep the lighting consistant though.

Mini World

Favourites from shoot 2

I think this is a good photo to start off the series, as its taken from a low angle making the hill look really steep and like there's a long way to go.  Which is exactly how you feel when you begin a tramp.  I think it looks really effective with the water glistening in the dirt and with the tramper in the middle of the screen in the distance.  It shows how long the walk actually is.

I really like the colours in this photo.  The blue sky, green grass, slight yellow in the bushes and the red dot on the fence really go well together.  I also like it how you can see the path go right off into the distance.  What I don't like is the darkness of this photo though.  It would be a lot more effective with more sunlight.

I really like the angle and perspective of the fence in this photo which is almost pointing towards the view in the background as if thats where you're supposed to look.

This view from the summit I found was the most interesting.  You can see the hills leading right out to the sea and you can even see Kapiti island.  I really like the colours and layout of the rocks so I wanted to capture these two things in one photo.  I think it looks really effective with the rocks in the foreground, taking up a third of the photo.

This photo is quite repetitive from my first shoot as it does just show the trig and the view but I really liked it.  The light of the sun taking over the right corner almost gives the impression that you're really high up in the clouds, almost in heaven.  I also think that the way the sun makes the colour of the grass a really yellowy green looks quite surreal and heavenly.  Which is exactly the feeling I want my photos to have. 

Shoot two contact sheets

Some of the photos of the summit turned out really surreal.  The lighting that the early morning gave was really effective.

On the way up I added a person carrying a tramping pack into the distance in some of the photos.  I think this looked quite effective.  It shows that real isolation from society and the freedom you feel when you're not surrounded by lots of people.

I tried to get some photos from a really low angle, almost right on the ground, to try and show the uphill climb and the real struggle you go through when you're exhausted and you can see you still have a long way to go.

I wasn't sure whether this shoot would bring out any good photos as in some of the them the clouds came over and there wasn't as much sunlight as I'd hoped.  But looking through them there a few really interesting ones.  I definatly think that having the series, showing the climb from the bottom to the summit was a good idea.  It eliminates the repetitiveness and adds more interest to the series.

Proposal

I've now realised after my first shoot that my photos are soon going to get quite repetitive so I've decided to change my space a little bit.  Instead of just photographing the summit of Belmont Trig I will photograph the journey from the start of the tramp all the way to the summit.  I want the photos of the uphill climb to show the exhaustion and struggle that you always feel on the way up and as you get closer to the summit the photos will become warmer and show more of the feeling of achievement and satisfaction.


My flickr account:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/65916144@N07/

Favourites from shoot 1

What I liked about this photo is that you can see the path go off into the distance and your eyes automatically follow it until it reaches the view right over the harbour with the perfect the blue sky.

This photo really shows how high you actually are with the hills and the ocean in the distance.  I like it how this photo captures the view as well as the trig and rocks.  It really shows all elements of the space.

I found these rocks really interesting and think they give a lot of character to the space.  The lighting on them also shows them off really well.  Down the left side in the distance you can see Lower Hutt, showing how removed you are from society, almost makes it peaceful.

This photo is quite repetitive with my second photo but I wanted to capture the trig and the rocks that surround it.

I liked this photo because it shows the trig in a different way, not just the whole thing.

This photo is probably my favourite from this shoot.  I think the dirt tracks make the place look really rough, especially since in the city you are used to seeing concrete roads.  It also shows no sign of the city and all you can see in the distance is hills.  It really shows how you are away from society.  I think I shot this at the perfect time of day.  The way the sun put light and shadow on the track makes it look quite amazing.  The only thing is, this is shot a little bit down from the summit which makes it not consistant with the previous photos.

First shoot contact sheets

I took some photo on the way down the trig but they all turned out too dull because the hills were hiding the sun.  They're also not consistant because my space is the summit.  I do think that in the right light they could be quite interesting though.

Looking through these contact sheets, I've just realised how many shots I actually got of the trig.  In my next shoot I need to think of a way to add some more variety.

Overall I think my first shoot turned out quite well.  Its the best feeling when you reach the summit and see the view on a perfect day like this one.  And I think my photos really showed this feeling well.  I need to work on getting more varitey as the photos did get quite repetitive though.

My place and concept

When deciding on my place, I wanted to include one of my hobbies.  I quite enjoy tramping so I thought the perfect place to photograph would be summits.  The reason I love tramping is because of that feeling of achievement you get when you reach a summit after a long, hard tramp, and being able to enjoy the view.  So I chose my place to be the summit of Belmont Trig.  It has a 360 degree view that is amazing on a beautiful day.  So in my photography I wanted to capture the feeling of achievement and the beauty of summits by photographing the summit on a gorgeous, cloudless day.

Precedent Images

I got a lot of influence for my choice of space from Sir Edmund Hilary.  He was a New Zealand mountaineer who was one of the first to reach the top of Mount Everest.  He became interested in mountaineering when in high school and after concurring Everest devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded.  He was a great man and found great acievement and satisfaction in reaching summits which is want I want to show through my photography.

The trig is found at the top of summits.  It looks really amazing in photography against a blue sky and are only found at peaks so clearly show where the photo is taken.  I want to capture the trig in my photography to show that idea of achievement.  With the views in the background and some of the nature that surrounds it which really shows the beauty of summits. 



Phillip Bartlett is an award-winning landscape photographer known for his beautifully-lit panoramic images of New Zealand.  I got huge inspiration from his work as he really makes scenery look surreal and photographs these places when they are at their most beautiful, which is what I want to do in my series.



Ben Crawford specialises in landscape, travel and lifestyle photos.  He photographs all over the world but the above photos are taken in New Zealand.  I got influence from the way he photographs the scenery and tracks to make them look beautiful and want to visit these places.

Exercise 1 - Panorama

I did my panorama on the roof of Rydges hotel which gave the amazing view of the harbour and surrounding buildings.