Malcolm's Blog
Close call for a hummingbird
It was great to get a call the other day from Adventure Travel to say that one of my entries for their annual travel photography competition had been placed second! I took the photo at the appropriately named "Hummingbird Cafe" at the entrance to Monteverde National Park in Costa Rica. The owner of the cafe has several bird feeders hanging from the roof of the porch outside the cafe and the hummingbirds are in constant attendance. They buzz in and out constantly like giant bumblebees on amphetamines, engaging in all sorts of aerial jousting to get at the feeders while they are full. Getting a decent photo is a challenge with the obvious fast wing speed and unpredictable movements making things a bit tricky. For this shot I pre-focussed on a point just back from the feeder and used a very short duration flash - 1/64 power and a shutter speed of around 1/125 and opened up the aperture to grab enough ambient light so as no to have a black background. Most of the time the birds would feed and then be gone in a flash, but on a couple of occasions this one backed out from the feeder and paused long enough for me to get a photograph. After about 300 exposures, I had a maybe half a dozen good ones - not something I'd try with film! The instant feedback that digital photography provides is pretty well essential for this kind of work. You find out what works and make changes as you go.
Return to the Tararuas
It has been a while since I had a full weekend in the Tararua Ranges - something like 18 years! That's not to say I've not ventured in there, it's just that my more recent (if two decades can be called 'recent') forays into the leatherwood have been day trips rather than overnight excursions. Old-time teaching colleague from Tawa College days Rex Bartholomew and I decided at his recent celebration of, as he puts it completing his 60th circumnavigation of the Sun, that it was time we headed back in to our old stamping ground. There being no time like the present, we scuttled off at the first available weekend to see if it is as cold, wet and muddy as we remember it. With a daunting weather forecast promising a foul Sunday, we headed into Otaki Forks on a frosty Friday night and settled in to Parawai Lodge. Road-end huts have a universal lack of charm, and Parawai is no exception. It is an interface between a mobile urban population and a wild place. You can basically drive there and play out macho roles against the background of the hills without actually climbing a hill. Parawai is then filthy, graffitied and a poor relation of its more remote counterparts, but it was home for the night,
Harbour City half marathon 25 years on
The twenty fifth running of the Harbour City Half Marathon has managed to sneak up on me somehow. In 1986, I ran the inaugural event in 1:21, coming 121st. Back then I ran most days. Now, 25 years on, I cycle daily and run about three times a month. That's no recipe for a personal best, but buoyed by my enjoyable half marathon experience in February and enticed by the siren of a special 25th anniversary finisher's medal, I signed up for the event on the back of a 75 minute test run around Northland and Wadestown and little else by way of preparation.
Spot the difference...
Apart from the camera angle, there is one easily spotted difference between these two photos...
It's Just Not Cricket (It's Cycling)
One of the reasons I spend most July evenings watching the Tour of France unfold is the appeal of watching fate play its cruel hand in the fortunes of seriously competitive men. The stakes are high and gambling on a breakaway that might or might not succeed is a bold move. So often, what seems like an unassailable leads get whittled down to nothing by a team effort from the peloton in the last couple of kilometers and those who have pedalled their brains out to stay away are consumed by the peloton and spat out the back, spent and sore. I feel for these men, for I have been there - in my own modest way. As recently as Saturday.
Matt and Keri's big day!
Some days are destined to be remembered and Saturday 20th was a huge day for the Gunn Clan as Matt and Keri were married at Tatum Park, just north of Otaki. It was a day to celebrate our Scottish heritage as Matt and his best man Jesse and groomsman Andrew all wore kilts, as did Ross (Keri's Dad) and I. We had a piper to lead the procession from the ceremony and Keri wore her new Gunn tartan sash that I presented to her during the ceremony. Everything about the day was just great. The ceremony was clearly the work of Matt and Keri, in a bush setting and with vows that spoke of their mutual love, respect and dedication. Four very proud parents and heaps of rellies and friends had a great time. Thanks Matt and Keri for a great day!!
