Behind the Images

Tongaporutu

Tongaporutu is a tiny settlement in North Taranaki, one of those typical blink and you miss it places in New Zealand - it has only about four roads. However, Tongaporutu Beach is one of the best places in the North Island to experience the rugged, wild display of Nature.

I would drive down mostly in the weekends from Auckland where I lived. After three and a half to four hours I would reach Tongaporutu, park at the reserve, wait for the tide to go down, and wade waist-deep along the side of the river to reach the beach. When you visit here, the best tip is to always know when the high and low tides are. Most of my accommodation was luxuriously spent sleeping in my Toyota Corrolla hatchback.

The photos displayed here were taken approximately 1999 - 2001. If you wish to go there today seeing the same formations, you will be sadly disappointed. Many features have been badly eroded. The Three Sisters is a shadow of its original state, Elephant Rock has collapsed and nearly gone. However it is still a spectacular stretch of coastline to visit.

For you older photographers out there, here are some details.

My camera was a medium-format film camera - Mamiya RZ67 Pro 2.

All exposures were taken with a Sekonic light meter

Film was Fuji Velvia 120 rvp 50 colour transparency film.

Tripod was a Manfrotto 055C.

The transparencies were then scanned on an Epson V700 scanner using VueScan software to get Adobe dng files, edited in Lightroom and Photoshop to achieve the end result you now see.

Tongariro National Park

I’ve spent many years trekking in this Park, humping the same medium-format film camera equipment around. These images are certainly not an exhaustive display of the Park, but are some of the better ones I have got.

Without doubt, on a good day, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is the best one day walk in New Zealand.

Auckland - Waitakere Ranges Regional Park

Having lived in Auckland for many years, the Waitakere Ranges and Auckland west coast is an easy visit, being just over an hours drive from the city. The images displayed do not cover the whole area, but are the ones that appealed to me most. The coastline from Whatipu to Karekare would have to be one of the most unique walks in the country.