Nature’s Pic Images Blog

Please welcome our guest blogger Aliscia Young, who had a chance to join Rob on a helicopter photo shoot over the Marlborough Sounds.  Aliscia is a very talented New Zealand documentary photographer specialising in nature and fashion photography, and has a BDes Hons 2008 from Massey University.  Rob was interviewed by Aliscia during her study and has watched her work develop.  There was an opportunity for Aliscia to join Rob on a commerical aerial film shoot for Tourism New Zealand.   Here are Aliscia’s thoughts… 

Check out some of her work below. She has exhibited at 5 Stories High Gallery, Wellington and if you’d like to see more of Aliscia’s work or get in touch, please email: lightroom.exhibition@gmail.com. Thanks for the kind words Aliscia!

The other day Rob invited me to join him to photograph from a helicopter around the top of the South Island. The night before we set out Rob said, “forgot to ask if you’re okay with flying. Doors will be off and it’ll be up and down and all over the place…good fun.” Thank goodness I don’t experience flying sickness, I thought to myself… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

‘We’d like you to mentor a ‘Young Gun’ photographer’ was James Frankham’s request from New Zealand Geographic Magazine.  The ‘Young Gun’ was Spiderman Bryce – a keen young chap from Hamilton who has a penchant for bugs, especially big spiders. Bryce was super keen, and while spiders are not one of my fav critters, I’m always up for an interesting challenge, giving  back to a good cause and something different.

Cook Strait Giant Weta female climbing onto Bryce's hand (Deinacrida rugosa, Stenopelmatidae). Endemic endangered New Zealand insect. Wetapunga. Island gigantism

NZ Geo magazine have just started a programme where they pair promising photographers with seasoned pros (not sure what my seasoning is yet though). We chose to take Bryce to Mana Island, a Scientific Reserve that is an island sanctuary for some of New Zealand’s rarest animals and plants. Currently Mana is being restored to a pest free island status, which means that the lack of introduced predators gives the local fauna a chance to recover – especially the giant weta and lizards. Kindly supported by the Department of Conservation (DOC), we were collected in the DOC boat and whisked across to Mana Island from Paremata.

Party trick. A common Gecko licking its eyeball while hanging off branch hunting at night (Hoplodactylus maculatus, Gekkonidae)

We spent the day checking out Brown Teal, Kakarikiand other creatures (not to mention the volunteer creatures planting trees for DOC) on the before the rain arrived. Sue and Frank, the DOC Rangers on Mana, were very accommodating, pointing us in the right direction to find species and things of interest. Frank took us to a known spot to look for McGregor’s Skink, one of the rarest Skinks in the world. Our luck was in, finding several of these beautiful lizards as the rain set in proper….. MORE…
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