Sitka is different. And yet it isn’t.

When I first arrived here, it appeared strange, foreign. And yet curiously familiar. Perhaps because I was a stranger in a foreign land, I was looking for anything that would link me back to my beloved Aotearoa. The mountains encircling the town seemed remarkably like Fordland, the sound (fiord) had the same feeling of remoteness and calm that I have experienced in places back home. And yet…and yet…

When I arrived, it was raining, and it  continued to rain. There is an old Scottish expression: if there is enough blue sky to patch the holes in your shirt, then it is going to be a good day. It had taken me a week to understand that. Blue sky never lasted more than a few hours, and then only on two occasions. When it came, I was almost taken aback by it. Heck, I was taken aback. I was stunned. For a time I really didn’t know how to cope with it. It had reached the point where I almost didn’t want to see it, because it was disturbing. Hard shadow, so much a characteristic of New Zealand light, seemed a stranger there, so out of place. I could live without it. (more…)

For the first time in a fortnight (or maybe it is the second), the sun comes out. As I glance down at the skunk cabbage at my feet, uncharacteristic black markings lie across the leaves. I look at it for a moment, somewhat stunned by the strangeness of what I am seeing. Then I realise what it is; shadows have grown on the leaf. The sun has made a rare appearance, teh second time in a fortnight. It augurs well for the day ahead.

Sitka lies in the back corner of a fjord on Baranof Island in southeast Alaska. There is a gap of around 12 miles from the town out to the edge, to the place where the land lies behind and only the ocean is before. The next stop from here is Vladivostok. From Sitka to the outer edge is a trip of around two to 2 1/2 hours in one of the local fishing boats or about a half hour in something faster. (more…)

Usually I am on a work for a long stretch, until a moment arrives
when the air of the arbitrary vanishes, and the paint falls into
positions that feel destined.
::: Philip Guston :::

I finally got to Sitka. We got to San Francisco airport and had to go through security screening. Compared to these guys, the ones at ChCh are a joke. Mind you the 40 extra minutes I spent with the Nice-Young-Men-from-Homeland-Security the day before, discussing whether or not I had the correct category of visa was more arduous. We had to remove our shoes, take off everything that might vaguely have an effect on the screening and pass through. I had 2 shots at it before they were convinced I was OK. They tell me that they have X-ray machines in Phoenix that can see through you. I really will have to put a few months in at the gym before I go there! Maybe a few years…

After I got to Seattle, which is unbelievably beautiful (not that I saw much, as I had only an hour between flights), I was summoned for my flight to Sitka. Looking around I realised there were only three women on the plane. The rest were all mature males. I decided I must be travelling with Air Prostate. It turns out that the bulk of them are blokes going for fishing holiday up here. Talk about male bonding. I was seated next to a retired fireman from Santa Barbara, who told me some of his life and times. He and his friend Sam were off to chase salmon and halibut ( whatever a halibut is….). (more…)

Kia ora tatou:

I have found that motels in San Francisco come with free wireless broadband, so I thought I would put up a few posts, noting my impressions of being in the US. While I can and when I can..

A long time ago, I studied American literature and history as part of my degree. Now, after 30 years, I am experiencing it in real time. So far, I have seen things that confirm my impressions and half-held preconceptions and things quite at odds with that… (more…)

Kia ora tatou:

1. This will be my last post for a few weeks. I fly out tomorrow afternoon for a fortnight to teach at the University of Alaska in Sitka ( No, the avatar is not a portrait of Garry Bull). Along the way I will catch up with one of my mentors in San Francisco (yes, we all need them). I will be back in New Zealand on July 22. I am not sure what will be available in the way of Internet. If in doubt, please email me via my gmail account.
2. Then, after a few days to recover, I will be driving down to the Maniototo for 2 weeks of workshops. The workshops will focus on seeing creatively and developing a personal style. And yes, participants can expect one of my (er, challenging) exercises every day. If you thought the telephone box exercise was tough… Only two places now remain on each of the workshops. I know I am going to be pushed by the calibre of those of you coming.
3. I am in the process of organising new workshops for the next few months, both on my own account and through UC. There will be a workshop in the North Island for those of you looking to submit for honours ( PSNZ and NPSNZ), along with a workshop on Lightroom and digital workflow. More about that later. I f you have any thoughts on what you would like to see, please let me know.
4. DXOptics Pro users can download the latest version (4.5). It now offers the option to plug in to PhotoShop CS2 & 3 as well as Lightroom. It is uncanny how it can overcome the optical defects in your lenses ( if supported.) While it is not cheap ($US299) and requires real computer horsepower, it has distinct benefits. I recommend it if you are looking to extract the maximum from your files. If you only make A4 prints, then it is a bit like putting a V8 in a Mini…

Kia ora tatou:
After having used 1.1 for a week or so, I have so far been really impressed. It is a substantial upgrade from 1.o, which was a major improvement on Beta 4.

Here are some impressions:

1. In an older post I knocked the Sharpening function in LR1.0 as being crude, akin to doing brain surgery with a chainsaw. Well they have sorted it and it is now a more subtle tool, still not in the same class as Photokit Sharpener, but good for 90% of what you will need.
2. The catalog now enables you to share between multiple computers, or to run several of them. Nice.
3. The Library now has more sophisticated filtering and something called the Painter. It looks very cool ( when I have the time to figure out what it does)
4. Keywords can be organised into sets.
5. The Develop module now has a greater range of presets,including sharpening presets. Sweet. The photo of Cassie in the next post was processed using the Selenium preset.
6. Clarity has been added to the Vibrance/Saturation submenu. This improves microcontrast and microsaturation and is very good for slightly flat images
7. Sharpening now has 4 sliders instead of just the one. You get Amount, Radius, Detail and Masking (aka Threshold).
8. Preferences ( always a first port of call when customising an Adobe product to the way you work) offers more options.
9. No change that I can see in the Slideshow module, and you still can’t export a pdf with sound. Thank goodness for ProShow.
10. The Print module has more presets, but otherwise the song remains the same. Why fix a thing when it ain’t broke?

I am not 100% sure of this, but it seems to run quicker on my PC ( Intel 6600 dual core, 2Gb Corsair 800 RAM). I don’t know whether it was me, but 1.0 was flaky at times and ran slowly. 1.1 has (so far) been faster and more stable. I would be interested to hear if any of you have similar issues…

All good reasons to make the upgrade.

Ka kite ano

 Kia ora tatou

I have been in training.

After a lifetime of being owned by cats, I am free now. I do not have to come at their beck and call. For all their larger-than-life personalities and unique character traits (Beastly was just that, a cunning tormenter of the local dogs, especially smaller ones ,and Lucky The Bionic Cat-he carried a lot of steel in his hind-quarters after going mano a mano with a car and losing- still kept his no-retreat, no-surrender attitude), cats have their own thoughts and clutch their secret lives close to their chests.

Dogs are different. (more…)