Recent photography trip to New Zealand results in two prize winning images

Late last fall, when his much anticipated trip to Italy fell through, Australian photographer Kah Kit Yoong needed a quick back-up destination to fill in the gap. "The short 3-hour flight from Melbourne to New Zealand's South Island fit the bill perfectly," he says. "The pristine wilderness of its mountainous regions and its untamed coastline have attracted landscape photographers from all corners of the globe for years.

"I decided to travel along a loop taking in the South Island's east and west coasts as well as the fjordlands. I was particularly eager to visit Moeraki on the Otago coast, home to arguably the most photogenic boulders in the world. Strewn along Koekohe Beach, these Moeraki Boulders are massive spherical forms that have been washed from the cliffs and then weathered over time by the sea. They can weigh up to several tons and measure up to 3 meters in diameter. Those with the most striking cracks and patterns seemed to be located furthest from the waterline. Fortunately high tide coincided with the sunrises and sunsets enabling me to capture water flowing around these two boulders (above).

"Two days had been dedicated to shooting in Moeraki. Naturally, the first evening was spent experimenting with various compositions and pre-visualizing the image I wanted to come home with -- a fiery sky over a cluster of boulders with dynamic wave motion, giving the impression of an alien sunrise over a distant planet. These conditions, however, never eventuated. Fortunately, on the morning of the final session, I sensed the potential for a powerful alternative interpretation. The sky was dark and overcast. A tiny split on the horizon permitted a sliver of warm light to appear from the sunrise behind the curtain of cloud.

"Most of the compositions I had worked on over the last two days had been in horizontal format so that is what I started off with. While the Moeraki boulders are undeniably photogenic, they are by no means easy to photograph. My images with these two boulders with clear separation between them from previous sessions were unbalanced compositionally. It seems that two is not a lucky number for photography. The solution was to treat the couple of boulders as a single subject, conjoined but with the barest amount of space in between to allow the water in between to show.

"One of my main concerns with exposure was preserving the warm light peeping through above the horizon, by far the brightest element of the scene. My approach is to capture in-camera the image closest to what I want to achieve at the end of post-capture workflow. On this occasion, I wanted to emphasize the drama in the sky and was happy to darken it a half to full stop more than what the eye perceived as natural. The 4-Stop Reverse Graduated ND filter seemed ideal for this and the histogram appeared to agree - no clipped highlights or shadows. With the tripod securely buried in the sand I was able to capture lines of water motion radiating from the couplet of boulders. (The resulting image “Moody Moeraki” was recognized in UK magazine Digital Camera with a commendation in their 2008 Photographer of the Year competition.)

"As part of my routine I also set out to make this vertical shot. Using a single boulder against the sky seemed to create a more powerful statement than my horizontal effort. The 4-stop Reverse Graduated ND filter which I held by hand directly against the lens, once again controlled the bright horizon, preserving the warmth of the rising sun against a relatively dark sky while allowing the boulder to be adequately exposed. Depending on the viewer, this image seems to create the illusion of either sucking in effect or giving the impression of the boulder being thrust out by the sea. (This image “Power of One” was Naturescapes.net landscape image of the year.)

"The 4-stop Reverse Graduated ND filter is probably not one that many people carry around. However I have found it very useful shooting into the direction of the sun during the golden hours, particularly for seascapes where the horizon is usually unobstructed by other elements. I often prefer it over a hard-edge 3 or 4-stop GND since they can overly darken the top of the sky or cause heavy vignetting when you most need exposure control at a bright horizon light.

"This same 4-stop Reverse Graduated ND filter proved useful again when visiting a remote beach on the South Island's wild west coast. It was covered with interesting driftwood washed up by the Tasman Sea. Conditions were extremely windy causing black sand to cover and stick to my lens. A beautiful sunset made it all worthwhile though. The 4-stop Reverse Graduated ND filter successfully met the challenge of shooting with the sun 'on-view' while correctly exposing the windswept sand in the foreground."

A doctor by profession, Kah Kit discovered his passion for photography in 2005 and has quickly developed his skills to a very high level, doing major commissioned projects as well as writing photo articles for Travel Photographers Network and Canon Asia-Pacific. Be sure to stop by his impressive newly rebuilt website for all the latest information.

You're never too young to learn how the Vari-ND can improve your images

When 18-year-old Alex Mody was just launching his career as a nature photographer, he decided to embark on a a 100-day photo/camping journey across the U.S. and briefly into Canada. So he traveled westward from his home in Northern Virginia, making frequent stops along the way to photograph the scenic wonders... West Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Wichita Mountains of Southeast Oklahoma, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Bosque del Apache, New Mexico, the Canyon Country of Arizona and Utah, Grand Teton/Yellowstone National Parks, and many other interesting places in between.

In mid-January, Alex successfully completed that 100-day journey. As he says, "I’m fairly new to photography, having only been shooting 'seriously' for the past year and a half. During the trip, I had the chance to photograph many different landscapes and types of wildlife and learn so many valuable lessons. For example, I used a variety of Singh-Ray filters which were very instrumental to my success. I hope to share some of what I saw and learned with readers by way of this blog. For starters, here are three images I’ve selected that share a common theme... they were all made with the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter.

"I made this first image early in the trip, in mid-October on an overcast day in the Potomac State Forest of western Maryland. When water levels are just right, this waterfall has a giant swirling eddy at its base. Upon arriving on the scene, I knew instantly that I’d want to frame the eddy below the falls and use a long exposure to blur the swirling leaves. Once I set up my gear and metered the scene, I found that at ISO 100 and f/16, the longest shutter speed I could muster was merely one second. I mounted my Vari-ND filter on my lens and dialed the density almost to the 'maximum,' which allowed me to use a shutter speed of 30 seconds, and ultimately, to make this image.

"About a week later, I captured this image along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I had actually finished shooting the sunset from a nearby overlook and was en route to my campsite when I discovered this scene. Realizing that I could blur the moving clouds by using a long enough shutter speed, I quickly set my gear up. Using my Vari-ND and a 4x6-inch Singh-Ray 2-stop hard-step ND Grad proved to be the right combination for this scene. It enabled me to achieve a sixty-second exposure in bulb mode, which made for an interesting effect on the blowing clouds.

"Just a few days before Christmas, I made this image from Grandview Point in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. I had previously photographed a rather clear and uneventful sunset that evening. Not being one to give up easily, I hung around for a few minutes and, almost as if they were on cue, a small group of fast-moving clouds moved in. Remembering what I had done in October on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I attached my Vari-ND filter to my lens and dialed it about halfway. This time, I used a 3-stop hard-step 4x6 ND Grad as well. I pulled off a 45-second exposure in bulb mode, which in my opinion, blurred the clouds just right. Overall, I’ve found the Vari-ND filter provides many creative options. It really helps achieve a dreamy feel to what might otherwise be considered “ordinary” scenes.

"I began taking photographs on trips to Shenandoah National Park with my Grandfather and on family vacations. That experience soon led to a very strong interest in the natural world and it wasn't long before I was really inspired to become a nature photographer. Now I'm trying to take advantage of every photographic opportunity that comes my way, hoping that I can eventually share my enthusiasm and perspectives with many others."

To enjoy more of Alex's photography, you can find his steadily growing website and blog here.