Roy's Peak Pano

A few days ago two friends and I hiked Skyline Trail over Mt Alpha and Roy's Peak, to shoot 360 panos for the soon-to-launch 360Queenstown-Wanaka (and enjoy the half-decent views from the top of course).

Starting at 6am from the Cardrona Valley side, we hiked the 22kms and 1600-odd meters in about 10 hours; fairly slow and steady, but then I did shoot 6 panos along the way.

Here's 270 degrees of the average view from Roy's Peak...

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Along with a number of other one-day hikes in the Queenstown and Wanaka area, Skyline Trail will be featured on 360Queenstown-Wanaka from launch.

Filed under  //   360queenstown-wanaka   New Zealand   Photography  
Posted May 23, 2012
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New Twitter Theme

With all the 360 pano work I'm doing I thought it time for a new Twitter theme.

This was created with the transformation tool in Pano2VR (followed by a little p'shop), an outstanding piece of software primarily used for converting flat panoramic images into HTML5 or Flash. All the images were taken around the Wanaka area, with a Nikkor 10.5 Fisheye and D7000.

Twitter-background

Follow me on Twitter here.

Filed under  //   Photography   Twitter   Wanaka  
Posted May 19, 2012
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New Project: 360Queenstown-Wanaka

Launching in September 2012, this web project based around 360 degree panoramic photography (and a whole lot more) is going to blow up.

I can't reveal too much at this stage but it's going to involve all the ski resorts, mountain bike trails and other outdoor sports, along with hundreds of local businesses. For the time being there's just a holding page up at 360queenstown-wanaka.com, but bookmark us now and come back soon to check out a little taster of what's to come.

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We also have a position available for a Queenstown-based photographer to join our team. Read about it here.

Posted May 14, 2012
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My First 360 Pano

Learning new things is always fun, but virtual 360 panoramic photos are a little trickier than I thought they would be. Here's my first attempt, taken on lake front Wanaka - it's not perfect, but I'm satisfied with it being my first attempt. Be patient, it takes a while to load!

Watch this space for a new project soon to launch in the Queenstown and Wanaka region of NZ.

Filed under  //   360queenstown-wanaka   New Zealand   Photography   Wanaka  
Posted May 4, 2012
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Quick bit of P'Shop work

Fun little photoshop jobby for a 'Cheap Flights to Japan' blog post for Niseko Academy...

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Filed under  //   Niseko Academy   Photography  
Posted April 9, 2012
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5 days in Kyoto and Osaka

Leaving Niseko on yet another powder day, I flew down to Kyoto and Osaka for a short break and a good dose of history and culture before heading back to NZ. Here's an overview of my trip, through the viewfinder...

-- Temples, shrines and scenery in Kyoto; with Nikkor 50mm 1.8.

Read the rest of this post »

Filed under  //   Japan   Kyoto   Osaka   Photography  
Posted April 3, 2012
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Nikon D7000 Progression

With a now three month old Nikon D7000, I thought it time to post a few images illustrating my journey with this fun SLR camera.

Here's a selection of shots from Wanaka, NZ and Niseko, Japan that worked out pretty well...

With a new fish eye lens and flash on order, I'm off to Kyoto next week for a fun week of exploring and photo experimentation... Japanese temples and cherry blossom... epic!

Filed under  //   Japan   Photography   Wanaka  
Posted March 17, 2012
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A Trip to Sapporo Teine

Working with Niseko Academy in Japan this year has been a lot of fun. Here's a stop-motion video I put together of a trip with some of our trainees to one of my favourite Japanese ski resorts, Sapporo Teine.

Filed under  //   Japan   Niseko Academy   Video  
Posted February 17, 2012
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Another New Website in Niseko

To accompany our recent endevours of Powder Detours and the previously established Instructor Training Academy, we have started a small, exclussive private lesson ski and snowboard school in Niseko.

The school has been on ice for a while, waiting to launch properly; and now it's here.

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Check out the new site here.

Thanks again to Jesse Druxerman and Doug Somerville for their design and coding skills. I really enjoyed building this site!

Filed under  //   Japan   Niseko Academy   Web Design  
Posted November 10, 2011
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Closing Day at Cardrona

This year we decided to wrap up our season in Wanaka, NZ by filming the closing day at Cardrona. Such a fun day, riding with Roberto Marfia, Jesse Druxerman and others.

Here's the edit I put together, all filmed with a GoPro...

Filed under  //   Cardrona   New Zealand  
Posted October 17, 2011
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