It’s that time already - calendars for 2011 are starting to appear in shops. It seems earlier and earlier each year.
Every year we work with many publishers, designers, companies and printers to create a large range of quality calendars. Retail calendar have just started hitting shops, and samples are arriving (it seems to get early each year). Here are a few just in, with one that we particularly like below:
2011 calendars by Rob Suisted, a selection so far
We particularly like the NZ Panorama title. It was developed with John Sands based on the large collection of quality New Zealand panorama stock photos that Rob has created over the last few years. It’s a large calendar, and with metallic embossing on the front it looks great.
Have a closer look. These should be appearing in stores mid August.
For your info, we have a massive collection of images perfect for NZ calendar production. The calendars above are publically available in stores, but we also create numerous specific in house titles directly with companies, such as banks, insurance companies, supermarkets, consultancies etc. Please contact us if you have a calendar project in mind; they are a great full year promotional tool.
New Zealand Geographic featured a nice article about Rob’s TankCam, otherwise known as RoboCam (nice touch guys!). If you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look of the Fairy terns shoot please check out the article here and Rob’s video here.
Let us know what you think, it’s always great to hear your feedback!
I’m doing a lot of commercial helicopter photo work at the moment, mainly for Tourism New Zealand. I want to take you along behind the scenes in Fiordland New Zealand, on a job I just got home from. Spectacular! Things don’t go as forecast so it’s an interesting day with some interesting sights and some interesting blokes. You have to watch this:
The day started in a run of perfect weather, but mysteriously a thick layer of fog/cloud filled Fiordland making filming tough for myself (stills photog) and the HD Cineflex video helicopter team to operate. What happens next?
TANKCAM (’Rob-o-cam’). Tough assignment to film NZ’s rarest bird - the Fairy Tern for NZ Geographic Magazine. Less than 40 birds known, they nest in the open and human disturbance may stop breeding.
Solution was to build a remote control vehicle that I could very slowly inch towards the nest over an hour while we monitored the birds’ reaction and leave it set up to capture intimate scenes (very, as you’ll see below!). So that’s why I built TankCam. We’ve kept the highly successful assignment under wraps until now. This video tells the story and gives you an idea of three days worth of filming, behind the scenes. Please view and post your comments - it’s great to get your feedback:
This just out in the Sunday News newspaper. Cath Bennett was interested in what motivates me to craft the lifestyle I have. It’s makes it all sound pretty glam, but of course there’s a load (a truck load actually) of hardwork invovled, but that’s part of anything we love.
I’m really into motivating people to craft lifestyles that they love, so hopefully this article shows it’s possible, regardless of the path you choose. What do you think? Is it possible for most people? Cheers Rob
Teamed up with Editor of NZ Geographic Magazine, James Frankham, to do a feature on nocturnal Mana Island. Photography of wildlife can be tough, but doing it alone, in the dark, fitting between southerly cold fronts and short timeframes makes it all the sweeter for me when it comes off. I enjoyed this one, and working with James in a can-do style.
The story is contained in the 100th issue of NZ Geographic Magazine (a great milestone for James and the team). How about getting a copy as it’s a beaut read - in fact it’s so good I can’t think of a reason not to. Better still I think you should subscribe). Here are a few of the frames selected for publication and a bit of info behind them. I wanted to show rarely seen wildlife living on this special island, but contextually it’s so close to our capital city (hence I wanted the light pollution illuminating the skies beyond). The shot above was taken after sitting motionless in the dark for 2 hours in camouflage clothing waiting for the diving petrels to return to their burrows after dark. I was ready to leave when a lone bird landed nearby amongst the flowering native ice plant - what a stroke of luck. It sat there preening while I careffully took it’s portrait. Above is one of the island’s geckos. At night they all come out hunting insects and …. > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >
Two weeks ago I was on Mana Island (a special Island sanctuary for rare NZ creatures) on a wildlife photo shoot for New Zealand Geographic Magazine (here’s a small sneak preview) for their 100th issue (congratulations to James and the team!) and while out filming past midnight I spotted a very unusual weta species.
I got some good photos, realised it was different and contacted the weta experts. No one has seen anything like this. There’s a chance it’s a juvenile Cook Strait Giant Weta with odd markings, but then there’s also a chance it’s a whole new species. Very exciting…colouration and some body features are very different.
So today I’m heading back to Mana Island for the night with 4 weta experts. We want to see if we can catch the insect again so they can determine how significant the find is! Back Monday evening.
Update 26 Oct 2009: Well, we found the spot I originally spotted the unknown weta (shown above), but strong winds conspired to make the search tough. We’ve marked and will be monitoring it for future developments.
We did have a top night though, finding a couple of Gold-striped Geckos (Hoplodactylus chrysosireticus) and a beautiful pair of Cook Strait Giant Weta (Deinacrida rugosa), some of the heaviest insects in the world - real whoppers! I’ll post a few photos of these shortly. Also, we saw the first nests of the very endangered New Zealand Shore Plover (Thinornis novaeseelandiae) on the beach. In fact, this morning I was enjoying a cup of tea sitting in the sunshine on the beach and a pair of rare plover came over and bedded down not far from my feet - how lucky is that! So, not successful this trip in finding the unknown weta, but great to see all these rare creatures.
Update 29 Oct 2009: I’ve just added a video of the Giant Cook Strait Wetas as they make great video actors! Check this out:
Saw the new arrivals hall inside NZ Customs, at Auckland International Airport, when I got back. I’d supplied a special shot made of 10 high resolution digital files merged to make a very large photograph. To see a shot of mine welcoming us over the threshold onto NZ soil is a great feeling.
NZ Customs got a bit excited when they saw me taking photos in this area, but I’d already asked, and they joined me with a nice compliment. The shot represents ‘Aotearoa - the land of the long white cloud’. > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >
Nice work just in from Tanya and Norris at Mission Hall Creative here in Wellington, using our images to create a stunning range of 2 metre high ‘pull up’ branding banners for use by the NZ Department of Conservation. We reckon they’ve done a top job and would recommend their services if you’re after creative professionals.
Seeing my own work used to create quality output
We’ve another really nice cover with my photo to show off today.
New Zealand Sea lion F&B Calendar 2010 by Rob Suisted
New Zealand has the rarest Sea lion breeding on our shores. In my previous conservation career I was the national marine mammal advisor to the NZ government….. > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >
Well, printing is finished and we’re counting down until bookshop release date 9th November 2009. I couldn’t find a good reason not to share the cover with you. So here it is:
Update: Internal pages added to view below.
I’m really proud of this book - my seventh to date. This one is key - it’s my heartfelt work and showcases favourite places and images. Click for a large view. I’ll give you a sneek at some pages shortly if you want.
I have a hope, and tiny suspicion, that it’s going to make a few Kiwis teary eyed. Actually this arrived 2 minutes ago from Kara of Herkimer Coffee in Seattle when I showed her last week:
“Thanks so much for sharing your book with me. Ian and I were taking a look. This is a must, your pics are ah-mazing! We were about in tears, oh the beauty!..”
I’d love to hear your reaction if you’d care to leave a comment below… Thanks, Rob
Update 22 Jan 2010: We now have signed copies available for supporters. If you’d like to consider a copy, have a look here
Fresh in from Auckland today:
I did a range of shots of our rare New Zealand native Falcon recently that I’m really proud of. M&C Saatchi and St Matthew’s Church teamed up and used one of my shots to impress upon Guinea Pig owners (and other pet lovers) the importance of pet blessing. No Guinea Pigs were hurt in this design! The full technical story of this film shoot is recorded here. Other falcon photos can be seen here. But please check out this shot below - one of my favourites. A click will show it in full size glory.
Then it’s calendar release season, and you should see about 15 calendars this year of my work - many exclusive. Here are two that just arrived on my desk (one for the Tide Tables, and one a desk diary.
And to finish off, here’s a cover for a kids Maori language journal from the Ministry of Education on the Miro Tree.
With Whitebait season due to start in New Zealand on the 15th August, we thought we would share some of the wonderful photos in the collection that highlight the beauty of this popular local delicacy…..
It was a privilege to work with the rare and little know native New Zealand Falcon this month… New Zealand Geographic Magazine were running a feature on the rare NZ falcon, but didn’t yet have the wow shot to sell the story, so asked if I’d have a crack at it. Knowing that these birds are amongst the fastest on earth, very cryptic, and not particularly large meant that a challenge lay ahead. I love a tough assignment that pushes thinking beyond the norm; the satisfaction of success is very sweet. Here is part of the result:
New Zealand Geographic Magazine Cover this month
The other part includes the next photo as an internal double page spread. It blows me away and I just can’t stop looking at the result below…MORE…
Had a challenging, but fun, photo job last week in Rotorua with the rare native New Zealand Falcon (really exciting photos coming very soon! Sneak peek below). While there I managed to shoot down twice to a great spot on the Waikato River where I’d shot during summer, as I thought comparision photos would be very interesting. I couldn’t wait to prepare them alongside each other, and share them with you. So, here they are - a nice little study of interest I think. Nice when a simpy idea comes off like that:
Waikato River, Summer season
Waikato River, Winter season
The last shot below was taken in -3 degree celsius frost. While it’s hard to see here, there was a tremendous hoar frost forming on the trees from the freezing fog along the river. Not as epic as our Central Otago hoar frosts, but always stunning to see. I’ll have a few waikato hoar frost shots up in my library in a few weeks….MORE… > > > 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… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >
Just wanted to share with you a use of one of our images we’re proud of. For 46 years the United Nations Handbook has been printed as the only comprehensive guide to the United Nations system, and how it works. It summarises all UN Organisations and provides essential info on their aims, structures and memberships.
The Handbook is used by all those who operate in, or with, the UN. And currently they have a Rob Suisted photo on the cover! And one of our iconic images at that. We’re pretty stoked about the many thousands of copies globally, some of which are being thumbed by some pretty important folks!
Rob created some new shots featuring New Zealand made products for a project we’re doing for a well known overseas travel guidebook.
The photograph was put together in the studio and our purpose was to showcase a variety of natural goods grown in New Zealand such as Manuka Honey, quality olive oil, wine and cheeses, paua shell, merino and possum wool, greenstone/poumanu etc
Do you feel it? That sense of impending gloom as we say goodbye to autumn and plunge headfirst into winter. Are you longing for some small reminder of Summer to get you through?
Wow, we’re pleased with how Wilderness Magazine has reproduced a favourite image this week…….
Just arrived in the mail from the publisher. This image was taken on a particularly cold winter’s night on the flanks of Mount Ruapehu - apparently the coldest of the year. As conditions were so clear I spent most of the night working on this image. At 35+ minutes per photo (plus similar time for the noise reducing dark photo phase) you don’t get too many photos for your labours, but this one came out a cracker, and I’m proud of the quality of the final results. Thanks guys. > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >
Sitting having breakfast near the tent, high in remote Fiordland…..a surprise visitor made a magazine cover this week… Chomping on our muesli, getting ready for a day climbing over the range above camp, I looked up and saw movement in the distance. Discarding breakfast, we grabbed camera equipment and snuck up the ridge to intercept this wild young wapiti bull before he cut our scent.
We just love this photo of a cheeky little Kea investigating
What's for lunch?
a tramper’s pack, and are delighted that it has earned itself a place in postcard history. Craig Potton Postcards has added this image to its high quality range of postcards and we couldn’t be more pleased.
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a surprise visitor made a magazine cover this week… Chomping on our muesli, getting ready for a day climbing over the range above camp, I looked up and saw movement in the distance. Discarding breakfast, we grabbed camera equipment and snuck up the ridge to intercept this wild young wapiti bull before he cut our scent.
