The end ... or is it the beginning?

Wednesday this week was my last day working for my employer of the past 20 years!  A number of people have said it marked the end of an era.  Sure, some things will not be the same, but in many ways that's a good thing.  I think it's time for me to do something different with my time now, and hopefully this will mark the beginning of a new and exciting chapter of my life.  It may also mark the start of a new and exciting chapter for my previous employer ... I certainly hope so.

For many years, photography has been an interest, a passion and to some degree an obsession!  From early years I was always fascinated with the camera.  I can recall being bedazzled by the light sensors around the front lens element on my Dad's half frame Konica.  Here's an image of a similar camera to the one that started my enthusiasm so many years ago!  After this camera there was the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F, a brief spell with a Cosina CSR (the camera died an unpleasant death in Jordan in 1979) and then a very long and happy time with my Pentax MX.  I still have this camera and love it.  Gorgeous piece of equipment and beautifully made.

Now I'm using Nikon gear.  I tried the Pentax dSLR offerings, but they didn't feel right.  I tried Canon and that just didn't feel as comfortable in my hands as the Nikon.  All the buttons, knobs and dials just seemed to be where I wanted them with the Nikon.  In fact I have the same fondness for my Nikon as I had for my MX when that was my main camera.  Is it better or worse than Canon or Pentax?  I don't know and, to be honest, don't care.  I like it and am happy with it, just like other folks prefer other brands.

So here I am.  No job and time on my hands to do something I'd really like to do.  I get the chance to take photographs instead of snapshots.  I get the chance to wait and observe instead of being frustrated I have to be somewhere else and end up missing the shot.  I'll get the chance to spend time with people and listen to what they have to say ... have a laugh and deepen our friendships, but most of all, I'm really looking forward to having some fun with my family and friends.

Some of my friends lent me the new Nikon 85mm f1.8G lens to play with ... but only briefly.  I took the opportunity to shoot some of my musician friends at a bar in Auckland last night.  Often the light levels are quite low in the bars and I wanted to see how this new lens would perform wide open (to let in as much light as possible).  Take a squiz at the shots below and perhaps let me know what you think.

Mr Semi Leo on bass guitar.  85mm f1.8 and wide open.  1/100sec and ISO 2500

Semi again, lovely bokeh (blur) in the background.  I really like how the lights appear as circles.

One of my favourite shots from the evening.  Quite nice warm, "cosy" light.

Even wide open the lens isn't too bad; the bokeh lovely and smooth.

Wide open ... but with a bit of flash camera right.

Guinness is good for you ... hadn't you heard?

Aqstik Soul with the Nikkor 85mm f1.8G ...

Semi Leo

A chance to see Aqstik Soul at Newmarket's Cock 'n Bull was not to be missed.  Especially as I had a lovely new 85mm f1.8G lens from Nikon to try out.

I'd used the 85mm f1.4G some time ago and was quite delighted with it.  Very fast to focus and really quite sharp even when wide open.  Often, when shooting the bands and musicians in the bars, the light levels are somewhat subdued.  As such, an ability to get sharp images at wide apertures is something for which I was really looking.  The 85mm f1.4G didn't disappoint here and I can recall thinking this particular lens was a dream optic!  The reason for the dream was the price.  Rather an expensive piece of glass, so when the f1.8G became available at 1/3 the price I was seriously keen to try it out.  Perhaps I'd get similar quality shots without having to spend quite so much.

To be honest, it's a lovely lens.  A really lovely lens.  The bokeh (out of focus blur) is lovely and smooth, and the highlights are nice and round.  There's a fair bit of chromatic aberration, but perhaps that's to be expected when shooting wide open at f1.8.  The big problem I had was with focus.  Compared to the f1.4G this lens seemed more hesitant and more prone to hunting in low light when trying to focus.  I even reverted to manual focus on a number of occasions as I was becoming frustrated with the lens's inability to snap onto my subjects.  Perhaps I was expecting too much?  Perhaps I had unreasonable expectations after using the f1.4G?  Not really sure, but I finished the evening with mixed emotions.  I loved the bokeh, I loved the price and I was quite impressed with the overall image quality.  I was a little disappointed with the focus speed and chromatic aberrations.  Take a look here at one of my Google Plus albums for a few more shots taken with the 85mm f1.8G.  Perhaps let me know what you think?

Malcolm Lakatani

Semi Leo

Semi Leo

Erakah with the Levites ... and a couple of friends.

The lovely Erakah, just before the performance at AUT's Manukau Campus.

It was quite a different event to the one I went to a few years ago.  This was quite a low key affair, but the performances by the Levites and Erakah were wonderful.  Quite a small stage and only a few centimetres of the ground.  I was concerned that I was going to get wet, but the weather stayed fine and most of the audience fitted under the marquee.  Just a shame there wasn't a few more people to join in the fun!

Anyway, besides Erakah and the Levites we were treated to Stan Walker and Sam Cowley.  Three talented vocalists on stage supported by the Levites.  It was a real treat.

I'll close this post with a few more shots from today ...

Erakah in full flight on stage at AUT's Manukau Campus.

The lovely Erakah Nansen.

The Levite's Jacob Nansen on keys

Junior Nansen on bass guitar.

Ross Nansen on drums.

Ross on drums again ... but this time in colour :-)

Stan Walker just before going on stage at AUT's Manukau Campus.

Stan Walker, Sam Cowley and Erakah just before the performance.

Sam Cowley backstage before the performance.

Sam Cowley.

Sam Cowley on stage at AUT's Manukau Campus.

Stan Walker singing on stage with Erakah and the Levites (Christmas Ropati in the background)

Tribal Conexions

Hemi Pirihi on drums.

Tewhetu Pirihi on Bass Guitar .. and vocals.

Day one of the 2012 Manukau Institute of Techology Orientation saw Tribal Conexionz performing on stage.  A three piece Reggae Band and rather good too!

Seeing the three guys on stage I must admit to not having very high expectations of their performance.  First impressions were wrong.  These guys were really quite good!  The Rod Stewart song was a bit of a surprise to hear from a Reggae Band, but it was sweet.  The boys worked well together and produced some good Reggae sounds.  Sadly I couldn't stay too long, just long enough to get a few snaps of the boys on stage.

Good band, great atmosphere and lots of fun had by everyone who was there.  Quite looking forward to seeing them again and snapping a few more shots.

Tewhetu Pirihi at Manukau Institute of Technology's 2012 Student Orientation

Antony Pirihi on lead guitar and vocals.

Changes afoot ...

Lone fisherman, late evening, Maraetai New Zealand.

After twenty years with my current employer the time has come for a change.  I have just less than two weeks before I leave work and consider doing things other than IT.

Am I concerned, anxious or worried in any way about the future?  Surprisingly not!  I must admit to being quite excited about the idea!  Really excited for what the future may hold.

One thing I'll do is have a rest.  A long rest I think.  Go and look at the beautiful scenery here in New Zealand and take my time to look, listen and chat to people (check this out).  Who knows ... I might even try my hand at fishing like the gent in the first image in this post!

I've often had the desire to spend more time outdoors, so that's one thing I'll be adding to my list.  I'll be taking more landscape shots ... something I've always really enjoyed but never had the time to develop.  I always seemed to be in a rush and just ended up taking snapshots rather than photographs.

The bands?  Can't resist the bands!  I've met so many lovely talented people working in the music industry here in NZ and am seriously keen to spend more time with them.  Performances are often late at night which has been awkward due to early starts at work ... but now I have a chance to spend more time with the bands.

So, please tag along with me on this blog as I update you with images from my travels, gigs and whatever else crops up.  I'm hoping to have a heap of fun with plenty left over to share with you.  Remember you can also find me on Google+ and Facebook.  

Depressed?  Not a bit of it!  The future looks sunny and bright ... just like the flower below :-)

Sunflower bloom

Waitangi Day at the Barry Curtis Regional Park ... a few more shots

Here's a few more shots of Ardijah's performance on Waitangi Day at the Barry Curtis Park.  Wonderful atmosphere and great performances by all the bands that were on stage on Monday.  Great fun.  Hopefully the shots below will bring back happy memories of the day for you ...

The hugely talented Rico Tali

Rico on sax.  Very skillful on sax.  Gorgeous sounds.

Rico Tali on ukelele ... and vocals.

Ryan Monga Jr. on bass guitar

Ryan Monga Jr.

The lovely Betty-Anne.

Betty-Anne and the crowd.  Having fun?  You bet!!

Yup ... quite a few folks in the audience ... totally enthralled by Betty-Anne and Ardijah.

The lovely Betty-Anne.

Waitangi Day at the Barry Curtis Regional Park

Just a few of the folks enjoying a wonderful performance by Ardijah.

Busy?  Haha!  Just a little!!!  Heaps of people at the Barry Curtis Park enjoying a glorious day with some of New Zealand's top musical talent putting on a free show.  A real family affair and I think everyone had a wonderful time.  Shame it's not Waitangi Day more often!

Sadly I didn't get there until later in the day.  The blackbirds and thrushes have discovered my blueberry bushes so I spent a good part of the morning setting up netting.  I didn't get to the park until close to 3pm when Ardijah came on stage.  These guys have talent.  Big favourites of the crowd too.  Betty Anne on lead vocals and ukelele is a star performer.  I'll add a couple of shots at the end of this post for you to look at.

Really looking forward to seeing and hearing Ardijah again in the very near future.

Betty Anne in fine voice at the Waitangi Day celebrations.

Betty Anne and just look at the crowd!

The band ... Ardijah.  (L-R: Ryan Monga, Betty-Anne Monga, Rico Tali, Karl Benton and Ryan Monga Jr.)