Nature’s Pic Images Blog by Rob Suisted, well known New Zealand natural stock photographer

Furthest South by ship – EVER

February 9th, 2017 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

Just returned from an amazing southern journey to the Ross Sea, Antarctica. This year had a twist though; we broke the furthest south a vessel has ever navigated on earth.

Futhest South by ship ever - MV The World, Bay of Whales, Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Furthest South by ship ever – MV The World, Bay of Whales, Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. 78°43•997´S, 28 Jan 2017. ©Rob Suisted /EYOS Expeditions / MV The World.

Capt Dag H. Saevik, Master of MV The World, concentrating on furthest south record

Capt Dag H. Saevik, Master of MV The World, and Rob McCallum, concentrating on furthest south record.

Rob Suisted did an interview with Radio New Zealand, via satellite from the Ross Sea. The full interview:

Other noteworthy experiences included seeing Ross Seals (the least seen seal on the planet, and the first seen by Rob in 18 trips south), and an abundance of Emperor Penguins on the pack ice this year.

: Rarely seen Ross Seal, Antarctica ©Rob Suisted

: Emperor Penguins ©Rob Suisted

Rob Suisted was assistant expedition leader onboard MV The World, the world’s largest private yacht, working with expedition leader Rob McCallum of EYOS Expeditions (who specialise in creating cutting edge expeditions around the world). You can see a few of Rob’s tweets relating to the voyage here. Or, have a look at Rob Suisted’s extensive Antarctica photo library.

Rob Suisted on ice. A smoko break from driving zodiacs amongst pack ice, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Smoko time. Rob Suisted enjoying a break from driving zodiacs amongst pack ice, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Country Calendar Book – a 50th Anniversary project finished

December 16th, 2016 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

NZ’s Country Calendar TV show is the 2nd oldest TV programme in the world after Coro Street.

It was an honour to be commissioned to photograph the official 50th anniversary book to commemorate the milestone for TVNZ. It’s been a full on 6 month photographic journey, twice around NZ, poking my nose into so many interesting stories, and meeting lots of passionate interesting people around NZ.

Firstly, if you haven’t got a copy of this iconic book, get yourself along to my publisher and order a copy – you won’t be disappointed. I’m very proud of the quality of the photos created to tell each of 15 stories, and Matt Philp’s writing style is brilliant at capturing the tales. Here are a few favourites from the many images

: Georgie & Scott Archibold drafting sheep while kids Annabelle and Harrison look on, French Pass, Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough (54249QF00)

: Georgie and Scott Archibold at French Pass. D’Urville Island behind, where Georgie grew up. A very special place for her, French Pass, Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough (54259QF00)

: Georgie and Scott Archibold preparing lamb carcasses. Four year old son Harrison is a keen helper, French Pass, Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough (54262QF00)

: James Murray (station manager) on autumn merino muster top beat (at 1800m) above the Shotover Valley headwaters. Lochnagar behind, Branches Station, Shotover Valley, Queenstown Lakes (54422QF00)

: Mustering team heading upriver to begin the autumn merino muster. Horses, musterer’s and dog team crossing the upper Shotover River. James Murray, station manager, at right, Branches Station, Shotover Valley, Queenstown Lakes (54411QF00)

: Stu Muir overlooking his family farm and beloved Waikato River, from the ‘eco-lodge’ they’ve built for others to enjoy, Aka Aka, Franklin (54042QF00)

: Stu Muir working with Tangata Whenua, and researchers to recover a 500 year old waka for restoration. Stu is fluent in Te Reo, and well respected. Numerous toanga are found by him, Aka Aka, Franklin (54052QF00)

: Stu Muir and Kim Jobson, netting pest Koi Carp fish from the Waikato River wetland, with kids Hazel and Sandy, Aka Aka, Franklin (54057QF00)

: Hunters looking out over Makapua Station at end of the day from the Hunter’s Camp. Colin and Marg Baynes at right, Wairoa, Wairoa (54074QF00)

: Hard Yakka. Colin and Marg Baynes taking a break from clearing scrub on Makapua Station, in the rain and mud, Wairoa, Wairoa (54083QF00)

: Marg Baynes & daughter Ingrid Smith (left) set a world shearing record together in 2009. Here tuning gear, with champion shearer and husband Rowland Smith behind, Wairoa, Wairoa (54095QF00)

: Deep drainage lysimeter facility to research nitrogen leaching established by Taupo Beef and Landcare Research. Dr Malcolm McLeod and Mike Barton taking samples, Tihoi, Western Lake Taupo, Taupo (54102QF00)

: Clean water! Mike Barton of Taupo Beef enjoys trout fishing in Lake Taupo. Low nitrogen caps seek to protect water quality, vital to recreational activities on Lake Taupo, Waihaha, Lake Taupo, Taupo (54105RJ00)

: Matt Newton. Helicopter Pilot, Farmer. Landing on a wet, late night, mission, Urenui, New Plymouth (54128QF00)

: Matt Newton’s family after a successful hunt for Lillian’s goat curry. Lillian, Matt, Gabriel and Kinley, Urenui, New Plymouth (54157QF00)

: Hikoi Te Riaki at home with his wife Tamzyn, at home with children. Mt Ruapehu, or ‘Koro’ as his descendants call him, stands prominently in front of their home, Ohakune, Ruapehu (54184QF00)

: Atihau farm school cadet Kararaina Haami learning sheep drenching while tutor Whetu Mareikura looks on. Te Pa Station, Ohakune, Ruapehu (54195QF00)

: The Matthews Family of Waiorongomai Station. 170+ year connection. ‘Here to Stay’ – time passes while they stand. Josh, Charlie, Karla, Greta and William, Waiorongomai, South Wairarapa (54224QF00)

: Charlie Matthews with a Speckle Park bull, a breed Waiorongomai helped bring to NZ. Amongst cabbage trees, a feature of Waiorongomai, Waiorongomai, South Wairarapa (54230QF00)

: Doug Avery climbing dry drought parched hills in the lowest rainfall area in NZ, beside Lake Grassmere, the southern most evaporative saltworks in the world. Bonavaree Farm, Seddon, Lake Grassmere, Marlborough (54280QF00)

: Pitt Island wild sheep ram, farmed organically, on Banks Peninsula, by Roger Beattie, for their fleece, easy care and resilience, Akaroa, Banks Peninsula, Christchurch City (54321QF00)

: Roger Belton (founder of Southern Clams Ltd) checking Littleneck clams (Austrovenus stutchburyi) harvested from Blueskin Bay, on a pre-dawn start dictated by tides, Dunedin, Dunedin City (54334QF00)

: Lois Mills, matriarch/founder of Rippon (with husband Rolfe), feeds everyone during harvest from rammed earth home built by Rolfe. Grand daughter Harriet helping, Rippon, Wanaka, Queenstown Lakes (54367QF00)

: Stone fruit orchards and grape vines at Blackmans on an autumn morning with mist over the Clutha (Mata-Au) River and Clyde beyond. Hinton’s orchard in front. Aerial view, Earnscleugh, Alexandra, Central Otago (54382GH00)

: Tony Muollo, with father Carlo, brother Dion and nephew Josh, share a laugh while working on fishing equipment. All involved with the fishing industry, Wellington, Wellington City (54434QF00)

: Calvin Muollo throws grapple with pinpoint accuracy, to snare the cray pot floats in Cook Strait. Skipper Tony Muollo and Brad Perkins look on. Missing the throw can draw great ridicule, Cook Strait, Wellington City (54439QF00)

: Sam and Emily Welch, shearing on their home stand, under a rimu tree, Waikaretu Valley, Franklin (54448QF00)

: Emily and Sam Welch in their vegetable garden with kids, Addison, Johnny, Eric and Eli (oldest to youngest), Waikaretu Valley, Franklin (54474QF00)

The job wasn’t easy – turning up to live with complete strangers 24/7 for up to a week, while seeking their confidence to document their stories and poke a camera into their lives. It was stressful for them and me, but without exception everyone was incredibly hospitable and obliging which allowed me to tease out their stories and capture it within 8-10 frames.

Each image had to earn it’s spot, and often illustrate at least 2 concepts. Such as the photo below, it needed to be a portrait, talk of wetland restoration and Stu’s Kaitiaki role and his love of whitebaiting. It took some doing: Stu Muir runs a dairy farm, but is passionate about wetland restoration in the Waikato River Delta. This is what I came up with:And here’s how it was done – 2 days of planning/executing, screening water flow, and a lot of time coaxing shy whitebait within 50mm of my wide angle lens (the little guys take fright at their reflections and the tiniest vibration), while trying to hold a punt in the current (with 10mm free board), and keep the good natured Stu Muir from getting too bored. It was a success and a frame I’m proud of.

Large murals – Quality NZ Natural Imagery for the relaxation effect

September 13th, 2016 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

Research shows natural images, especially nature landscapes, reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure and increase feelings of well being in people.

Our need to connect with nature is inherent in us (Rob gave a talk about this recently at the Environmental Defence Society’s annual summit – video linked below).

Our health industry clients recognise this, and we’ve worked with them to bring NZ nature scenes to people who need the benefit of nature in their facilities.

The Auckland DHB have just used around 30 of our natural landscape images to produce super graphics for wards and treatment rooms, the feedback has been great:

New Auckland Hospital murals, by Rob Suisted

The Waikato DHB have also recognised the healing value of nature photography, and several of Rob’s images are now in use in their radiation treatment rooms, link below

Waikato Hospital murals by Rob Suisted

We specialise in professionally stitched panoramas for large graphic reproduction, which maintain integrity and quality when reproduced as large murals. We invest in quality equipment that provides better quality files than you’ll get from most places, for large reproductions. Drop us a line if you’re planning a stunning big mural. See some more of our murals here.

You can take that from us, or take it from the Waikato DHB newsroom…..

“On the wall in front of you is a huge photo of a New Zealand forest, with majestic tall-trunked trees so real you feel your mind can go for a walk among them. The feature wall photographs are a beautiful forest scene by Rob Suisted, award winning New Zealand photographer”.

And here’s Rob’s opening address to the EDS Wild Places conference, talking about wilderness, the importance to the human condition, and some great NZ images. Grab a coffee and take a look:

Rob Suisted, Photographer from Environmental Defence Society on Vimeo.

National Radio Interview – Rob Suisted & NZ bank notes

July 8th, 2016 § 4 comments - add yours

Had an enjoyable interview last night with Brian Crump on Radio New Zealand. He was keen to talk about my photographs on the new New Zealand bank notes (shown below). Listen to the interview here. We’ve had lots of nice feedback about it, thanks.

NZ bank notes, showing some of the photos by Rob Suisted

Click to listen to Rob Suisted's Radio New Zealand interview

There were some photos we talked about during the interview shown below… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

I shot Gareth Morgan for you

June 15th, 2016 § 3 comments - add yours

Plenty of folks would get in line to shoot Gareth Morgan I’m sure, but it’s not that easy – I can attest.

Gareth Morgan is a man of many interests, passions and opinions, whose strong desire to get good things done can certainly polarise - take his cat control views (which have gone global) for instance.

Gareth Morgan and 'Plan B' - face mask and snorkel. There is no Plan B with climate change. On melting ice, Antarctica. ©Rob Suisted, for NZ Geographic

So I was certainly keen when NZ Geographic Magazine commissioned me shoot Gareth for a portrait profile piece. Serendipity intervened again, as I discovered that we were to be on the same ship in Antarctica the following month.

Gareth Morgan is a strong climate change campaigner and author of a book on the subject, so a bit of creative dreaming arrived at a strong metaphorical image to capture the man’s character and one of his important messages.

This was my 17th trip to Antarctica. I drive boats and lecture, as a break from professional photography. So, we took a boat on Xmas day, out into flat water behind Plenneau Island, borrowed a face mask and snorkel, and dropped Gareth off on the best piece of ice we could find to represent the melting ice of climate change. The casual holding of the face mask and snorkel in normal business attire was designed to represent the foolish notion that many people carry, vis, that we have a ‘plan B’ somewhere for climate change. Plan B isn’t an option – just as a facemask isn’t here.

I’m proud of the result – strong metaphorical frame that captures Gareth Morgan in a striking way – no trickery, no post production work – simple. BUT check out the pile of comments on Gareth Morgan’s facebook page. It’s galling when some people, from the comfort of their home, suggest a great photo must be ‘photo-shopped’. *Cough* – THAT photo is the combination of skills learnt over a long time as a professional photographer, planning, a good creative process, and qualifications and experience operating boats on over 20 polar expeditions! Everyone is a cynic, a critic, or blimin both…

Rob Suisted polar guiding and boat driving

Anyway, here’s the NZ Geographic Magazine article the image was used in: Out in the Cold. And Gareth was a bloody good sort, keenly signing up to the idea, and willingly being marooned on a small ice floe while we (I and his family) drifted off without him, in the frozen middle of nowhere. Shot with a Pentax 645Z and DFA25mm lens.

NZ National Fieldays – the Big Pictures

May 27th, 2016 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

NZ National Fieldays is the largest annual farming and agricultural trade show in New Zealand, and maybe the Southern Hemisphere.

Every year at Mystery Creek, Waikato, hosts over 1000 exhibitors and around 120,000 pairs of boots over a 4 day event (and presumably, the occasional dedicated pair of heels).

It has a rich history and tradition for over 45 years now (http://www.fieldays.co.nz/factandhistory ), and prizes are awarded to the best exhibitions. We have a strong connection supplying large high quality image files to exhibitors.

Word is getting around that we have a great selection of rural photography, especially since the release of Rob’s 17th book ,the official 50th Anniversary of Country Calendar and the award winning Molesworth Station book, and that we carry a huge collection of panorama files for murals.

Westpac Bank lined their marquee with 3 massive panoramas that were stitched together beautifully, totaling 41 metres of murals:

We worked with some notable stands in 2016, including a 25m x 2.4 metre single image for Husqvarna (a 6Gb image file!)… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

The most beautiful Kauri tree in the land

November 25th, 2015 § 5 comments - add yours

NZ Post commissioned me to shoot the covers of the NZ Stamp Collection (an annual book containing all the year’s new postage stamps) again this year. The theme is ‘Take a Closer Look’, and follows on from the previous 3 covers we’ve done together. This year Kauri Trees were our focus.

The most beautiful Kauri Tree (Agathis australis) in NZ

I was fortunate that last year I was taken to a very beautiful Kauri Tree, by a remarkable man called Kevin Prime. I was commissioned to shot his portrait for a book project, and wanted to photograph this humble man against the might of the majestic Kauri. Kevin knew just the tree and he introduced me to it. A minute after we arrived, in the peace of the calm forest, a quiet whirling sound started up, and got louder. What was it? Suddenly the tree’s seeds started landing on my head and shoulders. It’s had cast it’s seeds out onto us. The hair stood up on my arm as Kevin said how auspicious this was.

So when NZ Post wanted a kauri for their annual stamp collection book, I knew exactly which tree I wanted to showcase to the nation. Never before have I seen such a distinctive bark pattern on a Kauri Tree. The hammered texture of this one is very striking, and almost appears as an embossed surface on the book box set.

NZ Post's The NZ Collection, annual stamp book covers by Rob Suisted

If you’d like to see more of this beautful tree, or get a closer look at the distinctive bark patterning, have a look at our Kauri Tree photo collection.

Imacon Scanner and Firewire card hassles with Windows 10 upgrade: solved

August 29th, 2015 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

Imacon Scanners, Firewire PCI card and Windows 10 upgrade – what a hassle!

Just built a fast PC tailored for Lightroom and photoshop work, loaded with good things like Samsung 950 and Intel NVMe drives. BUT, came to install a firewire card to run my Imacon Scanner and Flexcolor software – and it won’t work.

After hours of searching for solutions and switching cards, I discovered the solution to getting Imacon scanners (343, 646, 848 etc) to work with Windows 10 (Win 10):

1) Install your PCI firewire 1394 card. Some suggest that some have had better luck with Texas Instruments chipset, but my old vanilla flavour card did fine…. > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

Tui Black photo success

July 9th, 2015 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

Congratulations to George Bettle and his family; their house was a finalist in Home Magazine’s Home of the Year competition. Clearly a lot of remarkably good design went into it, and we’re chuffed that they selected one our images (Tui Black) to grace the main living space.

Tui Black in Home of the Year finalist, 2015. Photo courtesy of Simon Devitt & Home Magazine

The photo was is a result of harsh side light and dark forest behind, and a bit of luck. It’s a stunning frame and has created a lot of interested, so clearly George Bettle is a trendsetter, finding it first.

Tui Black ©Rob Suisted - www.naturespic.com

Thanks to George Bettle, Simon Devitt and Home Magazine for the opportunity to showcase some of the large mural work we do. Due to the interest, we’ve now made it available as a high quality artwork that can be ordered here: http://www.robsuistedoncanvas.co.nz/new_zealand/canvas_print.asp?id=7441

Pentax 645z – 9 months of 51MP big pixel goodness in NZ

June 18th, 2015 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

About nine months back in invested in a Ricoh Pentax 645z camera body, and purchased nearly every medium format lens available (from super wide 25mm (approx 19mm in 35mm equiv.) to 400mm tele) for this wonderful new camera. I thought it was time to talk about the joy I’m getting from the amazing output quality I’m seeing.

I used to shoot medium format film cameras up to 6 x 9 colour transparencies. Shooting 35mm full frame digital is great, but when Ricoh Pentax brought out this camera I felt it was time to jump up. Sure, Canon has recently unveiled 50MP 35mm camera bodies, but to be honest, they won’t come close to the performance of this. The file sizes might be comparable, but the pixel size with the Canon is so small now, that the quality of output will be miserable in comparison. Check out the photo below for a large copy (which is 1/10th the size of the original by the way) – click on it and make sure you’re viewing at 100%. As you see, there’s no shadow detail. Infact, I’m finding I can shoot the Pentax 645z at 3200 ISO and the files are better than the best Canon 400 ISO files I’ve seen. It’s just luscious to shoot with and I still marvel at the results every day.

Incredible image quality - click for full screen view - make sure you have 100% viewing

It’s been a big investment in equipment, but as we specialise in very large reproductions (especially doing a lot of giant murals for clients) and have always aimed for the best quality output. It’s why we also maintain a top of the line Hasselblad Imacon Scanner for sucking the best out of our back collection of quality transparencies. The feedbck we’ve had from clients is very rewarding.

Pentax 645z in action. Rob Suisted, Kaimanawa Forest Park

Canon Media Award success! Best Portrait 2015

June 3rd, 2015 § 1 comment - add yours

Travelled to Auckland for a great evening with New Zealand’s finest news media folk, at the 2015 Canon Media Awards, held at Sky City. I entered the best photographic portrait category,…and won.

Happy photographer! Best published portrait in media - 2015

Entry to awards is limited to published work in newspapers or magazines, and there was stiff competition amongst working professional photographers. The image (below) that won was commissioned and published by New Zealand Geographic Magazine. The back story to it’s creation has been written up. Thanks to Canon New Zealand for sponsoring this huge event.

Best Portrait winner - 2015 Canon Media Awards: Bryce Johnson portrait, NZ Fish and Game Council CEO. By Rob Suisted, for New Zealand Geographic Magazine

Snail Back Story to todays News Story

December 4th, 2014 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

Today’s news carried an article on my photography work on the NZ Stamp annual, NZ postage stamps, and the NZ bank notes just annouced. Full story here.

Wellington photographer Rob Suisted, whose work features on stamps and on the newly designed New Zealand banknotes.

The article by Dave Crampton mentioned I’ve done previous NZ Post annual stamp book covers, so here’s some of the back story to those covers.

NZ Post annual stamp book covers by Rob Suisted, urging us to take a closer look at our native fauna

I’ve worked with Nicky Dyer of Strategy Design in Wellington on these for several years now. The 2012 cover used one of my favourite images, and the last couple of covers have been very interesting. 2013 cover involved filming rare NZ native geckos on a black background which involved an afternoon wrangling this cute little joker. 2014 proved to be much tougher.

Nicky called me and said they’d like to do a stunning cover focussing on our rare and little known giant carnivorous land snails, Powelliphanta. Jeepers I thought, it’s winter and they’re not going to be very mobile in the cold. Always up for a challenge I accepted.

The job involved setting up a makeshift macro studio in the back of my jeep, talking to snail experts, before heading across on the interisland ferry for a few days. Of course that night turned very cold, meaning that snails would not be active. Luckily I’d managed to get out at dusk and spend a few hours searching for snails. It took about an hour to find my first, and several others shortly after. I was fortunate as overnight a good dusting of snow meant searching become impossible.

Freezing cold, rare snail hunting

These unique snails require warmth to be active, and luckily with the sunny day, and black surfaces, it was enough to coax one out of it’s shell despite the cold air temperature. It did take about 4 hours though (mostly moving on the spot to warm my feet), and I got some stunning and unique portraits to do these giants proper justice. The textures, colours and form are beautiful and I enjoy looking at them.

New Zealand Hochstetter's giant landsnail (Powelliphanta hochstetteri). Threatened NZ native terrestrial mollusc

Have a look at more photos of these rare carnivorous giant landsnails (Powelliphanta sp.). For a closer look at the new New Zealand bank notes, check this out.

Very proud to have photos on all our bank notes!

November 20th, 2014 § 6 comments - add yours

The Reserve Bank announced new designs for the New Zealand bank notes today.

I’ve been keeping a big secret for months – my photographs appear on all of them. I’m very proud about it, as you can imagine, to have you carrying my work in your wallets and purses. Click on the image for a closer look:

New Zealand bank notes redesigned from Rob Suisted photos

UPDATE: News article about the use of my images on the new currency bank notes, and NZ post stamp annual book cover.

Runner up, Photographer of the Year 2014 awards

November 4th, 2014 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

Following on from the Major book award by our Molesworth Station Book, I’m very proud to say that Molesworth Station images taken while filming the Book have just won runner up in the NZ Geographic Magazine, NZ Photographer of the Year awards.

For a look at a large selection of Molesworth Station photos, go here. If you’re interested in purchasing any of these images on high quality canvas art prints, then check this out.

I’d like to thank New Zealand Geographic Magazine for running this great award, and to their sponsors for supporting it.

2015 Calendars already

September 17th, 2014 § 1 comment - add yours

First of our 2015 calendar creations have arrived. Here are 13 different titles we’ve done with John Sands New Zealand – part of a 17 year relationship we’ve had creating quality New Zealand calendars together. You’ll find them in most book shops, post offices, supermarkets throughout New Zealand. We never get tired of seeing them together, hot off the press.

Hospital ward designed with patient care in mind. The power of pure NZ imagery

September 15th, 2014 § 1 comment - add yours

Auckland City Hospital’s Motutapu Ward, the new Northern Region Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, is using over 20 of our large murals.

The stunning facility has been co-designed with patients and has a range of unique features which have set a new standard in patient centred care. Former leukaemia patient and fundraising ambassador, Molly Rowlandson, says the new ward has exceeded all her expectations. ADHB press release

Rob Suisted murals in Auckland Hospital Haemotology and Bone Marrow transplant ward, ADHB

Relaxing NZ flax wetland reflections ©Rob Suisted - www.naturespic.com

More research is showing that quality images of nature are important to our well being, and important in our lives. We enjoyed working with Klein (Architects of Specialised Environments) to get the best images – not only in subject, but in size and proportions to get the best quality reproduction.

Coromandel sunset ©Rob Suisted - www.naturespic.com

There are three aspects for quality large reproductions: 1) Orignal image size before interpolation – i.e. the more pixels from the camera the better!, 2) reproduction size, how big is your mural going to be, and 3) viewing distance – how far is the view from the print? Viewing distance is often much neglected in consideration. E.g. a phone photo will work for a billboard size reproduction if the viewing distance is 100 metres away, but on a wall at a close viewing distance it will fail badily. If the print is viewed from a few metres then there is no substitute for professional files

Rob Suisted mural in Auckland Hospital ADHB 1

Clarence River high country ©Rob Suisted - www.naturespic.com

We work really hard to provide image files that can go large, with close viewing distances. In fact, we’ve just invested in the new Pentax 645Z camera and full set of lenses, a camera of 51 megapixels per image. Professionally stitched image panoramas will make amongst the best image files for murals available anywhere.

Several other large mural projects we’re been involved with here.

2 new books released this week

September 4th, 2014 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

We’ve added 2 new titles to a successful seven book series with New Holland Publishers. The series has been well supported by book sellers and educational institutions and have been great fun to produce.

Early reviews are looking good so they should be great additions, given that the other books have already had multiple reprints. Dr Sven Schroeder wrote text for Historic Places of New Zealand book, and Alison Dench took care of the High Country in New Zealand title. Thank you to both of you, and to New Holland for creating the great new additions. Find them in all local bookshops.

Molesworth Station Book a winner! NZ Post Book Awards

August 29th, 2014 § 4 comments - add yours

Very happy! Harry Broad and my book ‘Molesworth – Stories from New Zealand’s largest high-country station’ has won the Booksellers Choice award at the prestiguous national NZ Post book awards.

Molesworth Book wins prestiguous award at NZ Post Book Awards 2014

Molesworth Book wins prestigous award, NZ Post Book Awards 2014 (photo: Mark Tantrum)

On stage to accept the award (on behalf of Harry Broad too), it struck me how wearing a suit and tie here was about as far away from a horseback on the Kaikoura Ranges in sleet and snow mustering cattle with the young stockmen; an irony that felt good.

I’d like to thank Nielsen Book Services and New Zealand Post for their support of the award. Department of Conservation and Landcorp for supporting the work Harry and I did. Jim and Tracey Ward, as managers of Molesworth, they gave us tremendous access and freedom to the Station – I’m sure letting a couple of ‘North Island townies’ loose on the property was a punt, so thank you. Also, the young stockmen that I worked alongside were great company and willing helpers to make things work – especially helping to coax a greenhorn horse rider into a horse rider of sorts – thank you. Robbie Burton worked passionately to make Molesworth a title to be proud of. Thank you Robbie, to you and your team at Craig Potton Publishing, I’ll be forever grateful for your work.

Thanks to readers and buyers. We’ve sold a tremendous number of books – in fact reprinting 3 times in a month, and that’s remarkable for New Zealand. Your support is fantastic and humbling. Clearly Molesworth connects deeply to the Kiwi pysche – and long may it I say.

Lastly, I’ve saved special thanks to all the booksellers that have stocked and supported our book. You are the ones that work at the interface with book buyers, and truly understand books and what people want. As a colleague in the industry said:

“What a marvellous achievement, congratulations! The Booksellers Choice Award is the best one to win as it is a reflection of consumer awareness, from the people who buy and sell books, not just the view of the judges for any one year.”

That is why the award means so much to me.

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (winner of the 2013 Man Booker prize) was in our category, so it was a tremendous surprise to win, and underlines what a tremendous job Robbie Burton (above right) and his team at Craig Potton Publishing did to create Harry’s and my work into something of weight and substance. That’s some competition to weather!

Of course, Eleanor was very gracious in defeat by Molesworth I should add. She has had a tremendous year, and collected awards on the night too. It was great to spend time celebrating with her – clearly she has been able to keep her feet on the ground despite her incredible win on the world stage.

Eleanor Catton, Elise Grange, Rob Suisted

If you’d like to experience more of Molesworth, then have a go with these:

– Behind the scenes youtube during book filming. Caution, it may or may not contain footage of young stockmen swimming in freezing alpine tarns!

– Story and images from the tough Robinson Saddle Muster

– My Molesworth Station photos

– Quality Molesworth Book images for sale

– Buy the book from cpp.co.nz

Nikon Monarch ATB Binocular Broken Eye Cup Replacement

August 15th, 2014 § 11 comments - add yours

Nikon make a tremendous set of binoculars in the Monarch ATB series. I was drawn to this model after Cornell Lab reviews that consistently place these binos in the same league as models many times their price.

I work and photograph in some pretty hostile environments – from the Arctic to the Antarctic, to remote parts of the New Zealand wilderness, and deliberately chose the lower priced model thinking I could wreck or lose several binoculars for the price of one Leica, Zeiss or Swaroski.

High Arctic Nanavut, NZ Sub Antarctic Islands, Antarctica - the Nikon Monarch's have had a good life so far

But alas, after a few years they’re still going strong after hardy service in salty coastal areas, mountains and near the Poles. But for one weakness, a broken eye cup ring (a common problem I believe because of the very thin plastic design and normal wear and tear) they have been excellent.

The thin plastic ring holding the eyecups eventually fails on Nikon Monarch Binos. A known weakness but easiy fixed though

I was initially drawn to Don Enright’s post about replacing the eyecups and would have used his post to make repairs, but have found there are… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

A Very Good Week – Finalist in 2 National Awards

August 11th, 2014 § 1 comment - add yours

Finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards, AND Finalist in the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year Awards in the same week. Very proud about that. Please give us a vote in the Public choice awards
NZ Post Book Awards UPDATE: We WON! Have a look

Vote for Molesworth BOOK and win $1000 book tokens (before 15th August 2014).
Vote for Molesworth Station Muster PHOTO, in NZ Geographic Photographer of the Year Awards.

Thank you.

Shooting a Clean River Advocate. A Tough Assignment.

July 28th, 2014 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

New Zealand Geographic Magazine had me do another editorial portrait; Bryce Johnson was the subject of their regular feature ‘Profile’.

UPDATE: 23 May 2015: WE DID IT! Photo won it’s category in the 2015 Canon Media Awards! We’re very proud about that! Big thanks to NZ Geographic Magazine, and Canon New Zealand.

UPDATE: May 2015: This photo is 1 of 3 FINALISTs in the prestigous Canon Media Awards for 2015. Cross your fingers!

My job was to communicate Bryce’s varied roles in one image. This was a formidable task as CEO of the NZ Fish and Game Council his is a complex and varied role. Primarily, Fish and Game is a statutory organisation concerned with the rights of anglers and hunters, and advocating for improving habitat.

The portrait needed to capture that variety. I wanted to focus on his advocacy for anglers and freshwater quality for all of us, but also how his day can stretch from political halls of the The Beehive, to the bank of a river. Here’s what I got:

The shot was fairly complex, it required a wide angle underwater photo to catch the habitat around Bryce and called for a balanced mix of underwater strobe, above water flash and ambient natural light. I used a slave trigger that fired the topside flash whenever the underwater camera strobe fired – one underwater strobe lighting Bryce’s legs, one flash pointing upward towards the softbox flash, and natural light toned down to give a sombre background to delineate Bryce’s from.

The biggest problems we had were a suitable…

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NZ Post Book Awards 2014 Finalists – Molesworth Station Book in!

July 23rd, 2014 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

We’re excited to say our Molesworth Station Book (created with author Harry Broad), has been selected as a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for 2014.

Please cross your fingers for us, we’re up against tough and worthy competition. The public can vote, and we hope you chose to vote for Molesworth (vote here now).

If you’re interested you can view behind the scenes story and video of photographing the Molesworth Station Book.

New Zealand Nothofagus beech forest no more

January 23rd, 2014 § 3 comments - add yours

Our New Zealand Nothofagus beech trees have vanished! Just before Xmas been, a major taxonomic revision of Southern Beech Trees quietly occured that sees Nothofagus vanish from our shores, to be replaced by Fuscospora and Lophozonia. Nothofagus is no more in New Zealand.

New Zealand Beech Tree leaf comparison, by Rob Suisted

New Zealand Beech Tree leaf side by side comparison, Red, Hard, Silver, Black & Mountain Beech

Red Beech was Nothofagus fusca, now: Fuscospora fusca, Hard Beech was Nothofagus truncata, now: Fuscospora truncata, Silver Beech was Nothofagus menzeseii, now: Lophozonia menziesii, Black Beech was Nothofagus solandri var. solandri, now: Fuscospora solandri, Mountain Beech was Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides, now: Fuscospora cliffortioides. It’s going to take a bit to get the new names rolling from the tongue.

While we’re on the subject of our beautiful Southern Beeches, I took a photo that shows just how colourful these trees get. This was taken near the top of the 4×4 Porika Road track in Nelson Lakes National Park and shows both new growth leaf colour and beech mast flowering:

Colourful New Zealand Red and Silver Beech Tree forest

Of interest is that this year is a ‘Mast’ year for our beech forest.

Black Beech tree flowers

Masting is a breeding strategy that sees a species breed only once every few years, and then all individuals breed in unison, when conditions are favourable. Our beech forests are into it now.

The forest will soon have an abundance of food for seed eaters, but this has a major unfortunate side effect… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

New photo murals just in

January 13th, 2014 § 0 comments, Add the 1st

We’ve been working with Kai Hawkins on some interesting projects lately. Firstly we completed the new Blenheim i-SITE visitor centre, and today we got photos of new bus shelters we’ve supplied some luscious large high quality images for great looking murals. Take a look: