6am ... number two!

I awoke at 5am, and it was pretty dark.  Getting close to 6am it wasn't much better.  The weather has certainly changed as it's quite breezy and wet now.  Nevertheless, a 6am shot is required!  I'd decided to take a shot looking over Manukau City with the moody clouds and lights, but it was rather wet for me on my bike.  I'd decided to avoid waking the more sane members of the family who remained tucked up in bed.  Trying to open the garage door quietly was a mission and I reckon I made more noise avoiding the automatic garage opener than I would have done if I had.

Cycling to my intended lookout the rain started to come on a bit stronger.  A shot was required now before I got soaked.  Up a nearby street was a lamp post against which I could rest my trusty steed and get a shot.  6am, Hill Park, Manurewa.  One shot in the bag, but not what I wanted.

Back on the treadly and off to some local bush for a moody shot.  Still drizzling, and rather dark, so Plan B was canned in favour of a local historic building.  Sadly this really looked pretty grim as the light was so grey.  Off to the Botanical Gardens ... always a safe bet!

On the way I spotted an old water tower, so decided to take some shots of this.  It was pretty dark where I'd stopped ... mainly to avoid getting wet, but the tower had a mysterious look about it.  A quick shot at a high ISO first of all (I was happy to get a bit of noise as I felt this would add to the atmosphere of the shot and the camera doesn't do too badly at ISO 3200).

Did I mention it was damp, dark and I was in some bush?  You guessed it, home to hundreds of mosquitoes!  I was getting eaten alive by these little beasts.  Nine shots on the tripod so I could attempt an HDR shot at home, then I was off.  The rain was coming along a little stronger now as I raced home to sort out the bites and avoid getting too wet.  I have to say the bike makes quite a nice noise at speed with offroad tyres on tarmac!

So there you have it.  6am shot number two and I really did expend blood getting this one!