Style down to the ground

It's difficult to walk past a sleek sports car without checking out
the little details that make up the whole package. A Maserati in the
rain is still a Maserati...

What is it, doctor?

Well, I think you'll be okay, this is a glob from a lava lamp. I used
the old magnifying-glass-in-front-of-the-lens trick again.

Studio shoot

Another occasion where being able to swing the monitor around to
vertical proved to be really helpful. It makes viewing portrait-format
shots so much easier. Now my bro needs to create an application to
allow images to transfer straight from the camera to an iPhone.

Direct Line

To make a change from throwing old shoes over the power/telephone
lines, someone's thrown a phone over these lines near the Mt Vic tunnel.

At the bottom of the garden

This old oak tree usually has a fair number of cicada shells stuck to
it over summer. I shot these ones with a magnifying glass over the
camera lens, but am thinking that the Griffin Clarifi iPhone case
might be good idea, as it has a sliding close-up lens built in.

Getting a fix

Back to Havana for a 'usual' coffee order - a latté & a Forrest Black.
It's become quite well known around town for a certain customer - a short black (or preferably an extraction that's somewhere between a short & a long black), with some hot milk on the side.

Made me smile

I've been wanting to run a gallery of funny/smart/cool T-
shirts I spot on the street...so I'll keep my eyes open & post some faves here.

Old School Cool

I love the revival of scooters in the city - 'specially the classic
Italians. This stylish Vespa is a 1967 50cc. Very simple, very chic.

Summer as, bro'

This scene was outside our kitchen window at about 6pm. Luckily I was
able to get pretty close to the monarch 'cos the lens on the phone
isn't really suited to wildlife photography. I think it's equivalent
to about a 30mm lens, but I haven't tested it yet.

Old rockers never die...

...they just swap the rum & coke for a Church Road Chardonnay. A great
weekend in The Bay - cruised the shops, had some nice food & wine,
found a good place for coffee, loved the concert, and managed to enjoy
the hospitality of some old friends. Rock on.

Papparazzi

Hey, it's okay - the guy with the red hair said it was alright to take
photos! (no, not the best low-light concert camera in the world, but 
I've got a blog to fill...)
I think that he was just chuffed that so many senior citizens
remembered who he was. Still a very polished performer.

Deco Town

The art deco festivities aren't being held till next week but there
was a lot of obvious build up. Now I know which shops to go to for
some spats or a stylish '30's hat.
I spotted a couple of other people pecking at their iPhones around
town, and found some good spots with CafeNet to keep tabs on my
TradeMe auction.

Paper-free check-in

A quick trip to Hawkes Bay & a chance to use the PDF file sent out by
the airline & saved on the phone to help with check-in. Just zoom in
on the barcode image & hold the screen under the scanner... worked
like a charm.

Weather....or not

This isn't right! Maybe in mid-winter, but not mid-February.

....mmmm

Everybody loves cupcakes! Lexie is a bit of a baking maestro - well
deserving of the 'Polarize' effect. Seems a very popular theme all over
the webs - either real Polaroids, or just using the  digital effect.

Monday Morning

The long weekend's over, the golden weather departs (temporarily, I'm sure), the traffic snarls up & I'm multi-tasking at the wheel again.

Kai Moana

What a treat - not only did we get to stay with friends in the 'Naki while on a quick trip north, but we were loaded down with fish for our return journey (well, we didn't actually eat it on the way home).

Very handy to have a friend who's an internationally recognised free diving, spear fishing all-around good guy. Way to go, Patto.

Summer in the City

Classic summer/long weekend in Welly. Oriental Pde given the Lolo (Lomo) treatment with Camerabag.

Waitangi Day '09

A beautiful evening to dine al fresco - here's a shot of Lexie that's had the 'Camerabag' treatment.... Helga style (AKA Holga). Camerabag is my fave app for the iPhone - adds some cool variations to the photos taken - without even firing up Photoshop. Cheers

Hang it all

Lexie & friends set up an exhibition of their NCEA artworks in funky old Thistle Hall. Nice stuff. Ari, freshly returned from Argentina & Michael, looking elegant as usual. 

Stylish Derelict

Hmm...this'd make a pretty cool studio. On the new motorway access road.

Caffeine Cool

Lovin' the fit-out that Havana have done to a photo studio I used to hang out in - Upper Tory St. The latte's are superb, too.

Don't try this at home

Place iPhone carefully on concrete slab, allow metal garden fork to swing in a wide arc and fall against device. Yes, it will still work, but it won't look so nice & it'll slice up your fingers pretty good. ''Hello, is that the person in charge of insurance claims?"

(Happy ending - this shot taken with new iPhone)

Fab Foto Fun

Another photo app - this one adds blur to the image in post-production. Just select an image (thanks, Victoria) and shake or spin the phone - voila!

'tis the season...

....to drag out billboards that were shot a couple of years ago (I had shot the items on top of the car, which were then added to the overall image). I stopped the scooter at the edge of the airport roundabout to snap this one.

Space age

Gadzooks - voice activated search! Just speak whatever you're looking for and it'll get Googled up for you. It seems to prefer a 'North American Accent', but I had good results with my New Zild words. 

Studio Mascot

She (& the pinball machine behind her) been with me in various studios over the years. I'm often testing out lenses or lighting on her - this time it's the 'Cinema' effect on the iPhone.

Not a Japanese import

This wonderful old character has been gracefully ageing at the bottom of our driveway for months & months. We'd curse it for making our entrance & exits an awkward manoeuvre (had to do a spell-check on that word!) - but since this photo was taken the owner has removed it, and now I miss it.

Location, location

Coffee & fine photos - this way!

Gratuitous

Like the internet hasn't got enough shots of people's pets! The camera certainly suits higher contrast situations....just testing folks, move along now...

Come on, Wellington

We need to stop chucking junk in the harbour! This is a very un-clean, un-green Evans Bay, near the airport.

Lights, camera, action...

Dropped off Harrison for a 'walk thru' part in an ASB TVC - with the one & only Goldstein. I would normally have my larger cameras on a TV shoot...but this time it's just a quick grab shot with the iPhone.

Breakthrough in Physics

With a bit of tuition from a past champion, Victoria finally manages to skip some stones at Karaka Bay. Ahh, moments in history.

Born to be Mild

Harrison & I were once again testing the ability of the mighty Italian 50cc engine. Hills & headwinds cut us down to a walking pace accompanied by the sound of a choking chainsaw.

Must be springtime

Yep, the tulips are out in the Bot Gardens. The iPhone is tricky to use for self portraits, but there are apps available to make it easier. Either timers or to enable the whole screen as a shutter button.

Vital Search Function

A caffeine hunt around the studio GPS position - just to confirm I know where to run to if my machine breaks down. The directions function seems to work really well too.

Twilight

A good time for a scoot around the bays...it'd be great to have a few more controls on the phonecam... but I guess that's what the other cameras are for.

Out Scouting

Great morning for a location recce on the local golf course. I used another camera for the recce, but it's good to see how the iPhone handles tricky lighting.

Say hello to my little friend

I knew it was only a matter of time - carrying a cellphone, an iPod & a camera as separate items was getting sooo last century. Hey, throw in a GPS based map system, a web browser, usable email and a few dozen other very handy (& fun) apps.... and it was time to let another Apple device join the family.

(This image c/- MacBook Pro webcam)