NZPhotographer Issue 11, Sept 2018

ISSUE 11, September 2018 

INTERVIEW 

WITH MARK GEE 

WE ARE ONE 

NZP PHOTO COMPETITION 

ANNOUNCEMENT 

BEHIND THE SHOT 

WITH MIKE MACKINVEN 

HOW TO CAPTURE: 

COASTAL SUNRISES 

WITH RICHARD YOUNG 

PLAYING WITH FIRE 

WIRE WOOL SPINNING 

WITH RAY SALISBURY 

September 2018 

1

WELCOME TO ISSUE 11 OF 

NZ PHOTOGRAPHER MAGAZINE 

HELLO EVERYONE, 

You'll be seeing starts in this 

issue as we look up at the 

night sky for inspiration! 

We have interviewed worldrenowned 

photographer 

Mark Gee, he of Full Moon 

Silhouette fame. Local legend 

Ray Salisbury has been playing 

with fire and walks us through 

wire wool spinning step-bystep, 

and then, in Behind 

The Shot we head back to 

that famous NZ location to 

learn how Mike of Mack 

Photography captured the 

Milky Way over the Wanaka 

Tree. Leaving the stars behind 

and looking out to sea, 

Richard reminds us to always look behind when shooting coastal 

sunrises and sunsets and Brendon Gilchrist recounts his shipwreck 

adventure. 

This issue is also full of opportunity for you to get involved and win 

some outstanding prizes... We have teamed up with Wellington 

Botanical Garden as they celebrate 150 years with an exciting 

competition that runs for a year. Plus, NZP celebrates its 1 year 

relaunch next month and to celebrate, we're running a special 

competition that covers 4 categories with 4 prizes to be won, judged 

by local and international judges. Turn to page 35 to meet the 

judges and learn all about it. 

Emily Goodwin 

Editor NZ Photographer 

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS 

Brendon Gilchrist 

Brendon is the man behind ESB 

Photography. He treks from sea to 

mountain, and back again, capturing 

the uniqueness of New Zealand’s 

unforgiving landscape. 

Richard Young 

Richard is an award-winning 

landscape and wildlife photographer 

who teaches photography workshops 

and runs photography tours. He is the 

founder of New Zealand Photography 

Workshops. 

General Info: 

NZPhotographer Issue 11 


Cover Photo 

by Mark Gee 

www.theartofnight.com 

Night On The Ridge 

Publisher: 

Excio Group 

Website: 

www.excio.io/nzphotographer 

Group Director: 

Ana Lyubich 

ana@excio.io 

Editor: 

Emily Goodwin 

Graphic Design: 

Maksim Topyrkin 

Advertising Enquiries: 

Phone 04 889 29 25 

or Email hello@excio.io 

nzphotographer nzp_magazine nzp@excio.io 

© 2018 NZPhotographer Magazine 

All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material appearing in this magazine in 

any form is forbidden without prior consent of the publisher. 

Disclaimer: 

Opinions of contributing authors do not necessarily reflect the 

opinion of the magazine. 

2 NZPhotographer September 2018 3

CONTENTS 

6 

INTERVIEW 

WITH MARK GEE 

17 

6 

16 

INTERVIEW WITH MARK GEE 

OF THE ART OF NIGHT 

HOW TO CAPTURE: COASTAL SUNRISES & SUNSETS 

with Richard Young 

17 SHIPWRECKED 

by Brendon Gilchrist 

20 

22 

30 

34 

37 

WELLINGTON BOTANICAL 

GARDEN COMPETITION 

PLAYING WITH FIRE 

WIRE WOOL SPINNING TUTORIAL 

by Ray Salisbury 

BEHIND THE SHOT 

with Mike MacKinven 

WE ARE ONE COMPETITION 

BEST READERS' SUBMISSIONS 

THIS MONTH 

22 

SHIPWRECKED 

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER 

16 

MARK 

100 SENSOR 

HOW TO CAPTURE: COASTAL 

SUNRISES AND SUNSETS 

Playing with Fire 

WIRE WOOL SPINNING 

TUTORIAL 

The search for uncompromising photography and videography performance is over. The 

Nikon D850 sets remarkable standards of quality with an impressive 45.7 effective megapixels. 

Capture the most awe-inspiring images and produce phenomenal 8K UHD time-lapse movies. 

Create epic film masterpieces in full-frame 4K UHD with NIKKOR wide-angle lenses, or prolong 

exquisite moments with its 120p/100p Full HD slow-motion recording. 

Purchase from an Authorised Nikon New Zealand Retailer to receive an Extended Two Year Local Warranty. 

www.Nikon.co.nz 


5

Interview with 

Mark Gee of 

The Art of Night 

CAMPING UNDER THE STARS 

F2.8, 30s, ISO3200 

HI MARK, WOULD YOU CARE TO INTRODUCE 

YOURSELF TO OUR READERS? 

I’m Mark Gee (Gee pronounced as the letter G) and these 

days I class myself as a photographer and filmmaker. 

I’m currently based in Wellington, but New Zealand 

isn’t my country of origin. I was born and grew up 

on the east coast of Australia. I found my love of 

photography aged about 14. My uncle dabbled in 

photography and took me to an auction to buy my 

first camera, which was a Canon film camera. I did 

photography as a subject at school and even had my 

own darkroom set up at home. 

After leaving school, I studied graphic design and 

worked at various places, from an architectural office 

to a magazine publisher and even a signwriting shop. 

I became interested in 3D animation and set my sights 

on a career in the film and television industry. I landed 

my first job in the industry working on a television series 

and also TV commercials and within a few years, I got 

the opportunity to come to New Zealand to work on 

Lord of the Rings at Weta Digital. 

This was certainly the start of something special, and 

15 years on, New Zealand is now home. Coming to 

New Zealand inspired me to explore my photography 

more, which now is a big part of my life. 

6 NZPhotographer 

I run a few workshops throughout the year. They range 

from The Art of Night Wellington meet up which around 

1000 people attended last year, to multi-day workshops 

for up to 10 people. I also do workshops overseas 

including the now legendary PhotoPills Camp on the 

island of Menorca in Spain. Most of the workshops focus 

on astrophotography, but I also do some workshops 

with other photographers which are multi-disciplined. 

HOW DID YOU GET INTO 

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY SPECIFICALLY? 

It wasn’t until I came to Wellington in 2003 and went 

and visited Castlepoint for the first time. It was one of 

those perfectly crisp and clear winter nights, I went 

outside to put the rubbish out and looked up. I had 

never seen so many stars in my life, and it was the first 

time I had ever seen the Milky Way with my own eyes. 

I ran back inside, grabbed my camera and tripod, 

and with no real knowledge of how to take a photo 

of the night sky, I pointed the camera up and took 

a shot. The photo itself was really disappointing, as 

I could see more stars with my own eyes than what 

was in the photo itself! But that was the night when my 

passion for astrophotography was ignited and things 

have only improved from there! 

GALACTIC FLOW 

F4, 30s, ISO6400

VALLEY OF STARS 

F2.8, 30s, ISO6400

HEAVENS ABOVE PALLISER 

F2.8, 30s, ISO6400 

YOU’VE WON TOO MANY PHOTOGRAPHY 

AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS FOR US TO 

NAME… WHICH HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST 

ACHIEVEMENT? 

My proudest achievement would have to be 

Astronomy Photographer of the Year in 2013. Not 

only did I win the People and Space and the Earth 

and Space categories, but I also won the Astronomy 

Photographer of the Year overall. And within the 

10 year history of the awards, that has never been 

done again. I never expected anything like that, so 

you can imagine my excitement when I did find out 

I had won! My only regret was I didn’t go to London 

for the awards, but I was well represented there by 

my sister. 

WHAT EQUIPMENT ARE YOU SHOOTING 

WITH? 

I’ve just recently switched from Canon to Nikon and 

am really loving the new gear. I’m currently shooting 

with a Nikon D850 and my favorite astro lens is the 

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR CAREER IN THE 

FILM INDUSTRY… 

I’ve been working in the visual effects side of the film 

industry for over 20 years now, and for 15 of those 

years, I’ve been at Weta Digital in Wellington. My 

current role is a Visual Effects Supervisor, so I work 

with the artists and other supervisors to deliver the 

director’s vision for the film. It can be demanding 

work, but also very rewarding once you get to see 

the final product on the big screen. 

WHERE’S YOUR FAVOURITE SPOT IN NZ? 

I’ve got a few favourite spots, especially on the 

South Island where the skies are dark and the 

landscape spectacular. But I would have to say 

the one place for me would have to be Cape 

Palliser in the Wairarapa. It is the first real dark sky 

location I shot at, and I love going there and finding 

new interesting compositions. The Cape Palliser 

Lighthouse is always great to shoot against the night 

sky too. 

GUIDING LIGHT TO THE STARS 

F4, 30s, ISO6400 

UNIVERSAL SCALE 

F4, 30s, ISO6400

WANUI NIGHTS 

F2.8, 25s, ISO6400

UNIVERSAL BONDING 

F3.2, 30s, ISO3200 

WHAT TIPS CAN YOU SHARE WITH OUR 

READERS FOR SHOOTING ASTRO? 

Always plan your astrophotography shots well 

in advance and do the location scouting in the 

daytime. Use planning apps so you know exactly 

where the Milky Way will be in the sky at the planned 

location - I personally use an app called Photopills 

which is like the swiss army knife of astrophotography 

planning. 

When you do get to your location at night, make sure 

you allow yourself plenty of time to set up and frame 

the shot. I usually arrive at least an hour before I plan 

to start shooting. 

Focusing is one of the hardest things to get right in 

astrophotography. I use the live view function on my 

camera and then find the brightest star in the night 

sky and try to get it towards the centre of your LCD 

screen. Once you’ve done that, make sure you are in 

manual focus. Magnify your live view screen as large 

as it goes (usually 10x) and rotate your focus ring until 

the star looks sharp. Take a photo and then zoom in 

on the image to check the sharpness. Hopefully your 

stars will be in focus and you are now good to go. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? 

I’m starting to work on a few personal projects which 

I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, so I’m 

cutting down on the workshops, public speaking and 

travelling so I can get back to doing my own thing. I 

enjoy doing all of those other things but want to get 

back to where it all started for me, and just go out 

and shoot for myself for the time being. 

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE? 

www.instagram.com/theartofnight 

www.facebook.com/theartofnight 

www.theartofnight.com 

DO YOU HAVE A SINGLE FAVOURITE IMAGE? 

My favourite changes all the time, but my all time 

sentimental favorite would be the one I shot of my son 

and I looking up at the Milky Way in Kaikoura three 

years ago. I called the image Universal Bonding. It was 

taken on the last night of a week long road trip my 

son and I did on the South Island – We try to go on an 

annual road trip each year to explore new locations 

and photo opportunities. I’d been trying for over a 

year to get him to pose and stand still with me long 

enough for the 30 second exposure, and on this night 

he finally did. It was the perfect moment for the end 

of an amazing trip. 

TELL US ABOUT THE FAMOUS FULL MOON 

SILHOUETTES... 

I always like to try and come up with fresh ideas and 

the Full Moon Silhouettes (which you can see here) 

was one of those. It took me a year to capture the 

moonrise as I had envisaged it, but it was all worth the 

many frustrating failed attempts. 


The night I finally pulled it off was a perfect evening 

with not one breath of wind, which doesn’t happen 

often in Wellington! I was in a park 2.1km away from 

the people on the Mount Victoria Lookout and I didn’t 

know if I had lined up the shot correctly, but as I hit the 

record button on my camera and the moon began 

to rise, everything fell into place better than I ever 

expected. 

At that point, I knew I had captured something cool, 

but I had no idea of the impact it would eventually 

have on people... until it went viral. That was totally 

unexpected and quite overwhelming, I was getting 

hundreds of emails a day from people all over the 

world sharing their experience of watching the 

moonrise as well as media interview requests and 

even academics offering their expert opinions. 

That video gave me lots of opportunities - It got my 

name out there and my astrophotography noticed. 

I had the opportunity to travel and run workshops 

around the world, as well as doing various media and 

public speaking engagements, and of course, my 

TedX talk which was an amazing experience on its 

own! 

MOON SILHOUETTES 

F9, 1/125s, ISO400 


15

HOW TO CAPTURE: COASTAL SUNRISES AND SUNSETS 

Coastal photography tips with Richard Young 

SHIPWRECKED 

by Brendon Gilchrist 

Sunrise, Abel Tasman National Park 

FIND A SUBJECT: 

Coastal shots are often largely made up of sky 

and water, but they also need a focal point to 

help draw in the eye of the viewer. This could be 

some foreground detail like a rock in the sea or a 

landscape feature such as a distant headland. Make 

sure the subject fills your shot so you don’t leave the 

viewer lost and looking around for it. 

LOOK AROUND YOU: 

As the sun slips over the horizon, it casts a beautiful 

golden light across the beach. Whilst everyone else 

is busy looking at the sun and shooting that scene, 

take a moment to look around, the scene behind you 

might be gorgeous too. 

CAPTURE THE WAVES: 

Waves present a great opportunity to add a creative 

element. Experiment with different shutter speeds to 

either freeze or capture the movement of the waves. 

To freeze the waves and capture them as they break, 

use a fast shutter speed, ideally faster than 1/500sec. 

To blur the waves and capture their movement, use 

an exposure of 1 second or longer. 

ADD SOME SKY: 

F8, 30s, ISO 100, 24mm 

One advantage of being on the beach at sunset or 

sunrise is that the horizon out to sea gives you a lot of 

sky. If you have interesting clouds, use a wide-angle 

lens and place your horizon lower in the photograph 

to capture more of the sky. 

CAPTURE SOME OF THE COUNTRY'S BEST COASTAL LANDSCAPES ON A 4-DAY GOLDEN BAY PHOTO 

TOUR: 27TH - 30TH SEPTEMBER WITH NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS 

I 

always felt like I wanted to shoot a shipwreck. 

But with no shipwrecks nearby I pushed it to the 

back of my mind. A few months later one of 

the world’s oldest schooner’s beached itself not far 

from Christchurch. 

It is hard to describe what I felt when I was scrolling 

through my Facebook feed and saw that the MV 

Tuhoe had beached itself near the head of the 

Waimakariri River. I could not believe that it had 

happened! 

This 97 foot double masted auxiliary schooner, 

constructed of triple skin kauri, was built in 

Auckland in 1919 by George Nicol. Her Maori name 

meaning ‘the children of the mist’. 

I saw this as an opportunity not just for 

photography, but to document the resting place of 

a piece of history but I only had 1 night in which to 

do it. 

After a day of work followed by a basketball 

commitment at night, I drove to the nearest car 

park and walked the 40 min along the beach in the 

dark. It felt like forever, as if the beach would never 

end. Was I walking through portals and coming 

back to the same piece of driftwood? Maybe I 

was? Off in the distance, I could see a shape but 

it was still far away. I keep walking, enjoying the 

sound of the crashing waves, hoping I would not 

step on a sleeping seal. 

The further I walked the more the shape resembled 

a boat – I felt a sense of relief, I was nearly there. It 

was around 10.30pm by this time and I didn’t know 

when the moon was going to rise and also had 

no idea that it was a full moon at this point – Not 

conditions I would have chosen to shoot in if given 

a different option. 

As I continued walking I could see the glow getting 

stronger on the horizon and thought “oh no, you 

got to be kidding. I have only a few minutes before 

the moon rises.” If you have never sat and watched 

the moon rise you won’t realise how fast it moves. I 

quickly put my camera bag down, looked at what I 

had to work with and got my camera out and onto 

the tripod as fast as possible. It’s these moments 

when you need be creative in an instance – I 

needed to capture the emotions of this boat as fast 

as possible. 

I managed to get 3 great compositions before the 

moon got too high and bright. The reflections in 

the sand and the moon rising to the side, this its last 

night alive... I was privileged to stand there alone, 

shivering cold, capturing the moment. 

I set up my time lapse after I had taken the stills 

and stepped aside to let the camera do all the 

work. Over the next hour and a half, I watched the 

moon rising and the stars rotating. These moments 

of waiting, of being cold, of being entirely alone, 

are also some of the most inspiring. I was witnessing 

the last night that this boat got to see on this earth, 


17

sailing no more, just resting upon the land where 

it was once built. Being alone and in awe in these 

times is challenging but rewarding, the solitude is 

great but company, someone to share the moment 

with, is better. I believe everything has beauty even 

if many do not see it. If you look past the tragedy 

that has happened you will see something new. It 

may even help you as a photographer to capture 

something that has an ending and will never be 

seen again. 

After my time lapse had finished I took a quick selfie 

beside the boat then, after packing up, struggling 

to put my gear in my bag as I was shivering so 

much, I headed off into the darkness, back along 

the beach on the 4km walk back to the carpark. It 

was well after midnight and I had work at 7am but 

my thoughts were this; I have photos that no one 

else has. I have captured something I wanted to 

shoot. I enjoyed my day. There is not much more I 

could have asked for. 

The next day I saw photos of The Tuhoe being 

pulled apart with a digger. There was nothing that 

could be done to save the boat as it was too far 

up the beach and there was no way to pull it back 

into the ocean, the stern having twisted from every 

wave and tidal change but it was so sad to see 

something so rich in history being destroyed. 

3 TIPS FOR SHOOTING A TRAGEDY 

• Respect the moment for what it is. 

• If you know the history of the subject you are 

shooting, this will help you to capture the emotions. 

• Don’t question ‘should I go out with the camera?’ 

Do it as soon as you can because time is of the 

essense – The opportunity could be gone before 

you know it. 


Celebrating 150 Years of 

Wellington Botanical Garden 

On 3rd September the formal establishment of the Wellington Botanic Garden 

turns 150 years old and NZP readers are invited to participate in the special photo 

competition that runs through the year. 

David Sole, the Manager of Wellington Garden tells us more about the history of 

the garden and the photo competition. 

FRESH SHOOTS 

PHOTO COMPETITION 

ENTER 

Wellington Botanic Garden is fondly regarded as ‘our 

garden’ by the residents of Wellington and enjoyed 

every year by tens of thousands of visitors to the city. 

The origins of the garden, and its inclusion on the 

Wellington Town Belt, dates from the planning for the 

city in the period 1839-44 but the formal process for the 

establishment of the garden did not begin until 1868. 

The legacy of Sir James Hector, the botanic garden’s 

first director, is today revisited as we establish 

education programmes in the newly developed 

Discovery Garden Te Kaapuia O Te Waouku. 

We are returning to science and beginning to 

carefully reconsider the role of our collections in 

supporting education, science, and conservation – 

how we contribute to the local regional, national, 

and international roles of botanic gardens in plant 

conservation in the face of climate change and 

the alarming worldwide loss of plant species due to 

human activity. 

The garden still continues to be a place of refuge 

and respite from the pressures of the city and ever 

increasing social pressures of urban intensification. 

People can find calm and tranquility and immerse 

themselves in a landscape that is safe, soothing, and 

satisfying. 

It is a place where individuals and families and friends 

can come together and enjoy the flowers, the events, 

and the diversity of seasons; where they can enjoy the 

wondrousness of plants and their contribution to our world. 

The ‘Fresh Shoots’ photo competition will provide 

inspiring opportunities for amateur and pro 

photographers to capture the garden, its people, the 

wildlife, its dramatic landscape and, fundamentally, 

the beauty of the plants. 

With four separate competitions taking place over 

the year, photographers are encouraged to capture 

seasonal aspects of life at the gardens. A panel 

of expert judges will select the winners from four 

categories; People, Nature, Events, and Creative with 

both senior and junior (photographers ages 14-18 

years) winners. 

We look forward to seeing your photos! 

We’re inviting photographers to highlight all the wonderful things that make the Wellington 

Botanic Garden much more than a garden, while encouraging photographers to focus on 

the garden season by season. 

For prizes and full Terms & Conditions see: www.excio.io/freshshoots 

The competition is split into four quarterly competitions based on each of the four seasons: 

Spring Summer Autumn Winter 

1 September - 

14 December 2018 

15 December - 

22 March 2019 

CATEGORIES 

23 March - 

21 June 2019 

22 June - 

20 September 2019 

NATURE PEOPLE CREATIVE EVENTS 

PARTNERS 



21

Playing with Fire 

WIRE WOOL SPINNING TUTORIAL 


LET THERE BE LIGHT 

Repeating the geometric shapes at Lake Rotoiti to create my own 

‘spin’ on light painting. 

by Ray Salisbury 

The literal definition of the Greek words photos 

and graphos mean to ‘paint with light’. So, by 

definition, if you practice photography, you are 

light painting; you are producing art. 

But how do you stand out from the proverbial crowd 

when every man and his DSLR is saturating social 

media with stunning images? One answer is to shoot 

at night time. Under the cover of darkness, you can 

put a different ‘spin’ on your shots! 

In this tutorial, I will show you how to spin wire wool to 

create arty, abstract photos that exude that elusive ‘wow 

factor’. 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: 

• A DSLR Camera with Manual Mode, and preferably, 

low-noise capability. However, many compact cameras 

will be suitable, providing they have manual focus and 

a long enough shutter speed. 

• A Cable Release or remote timing device so that you 

don’t accidentally bump the camera. Use the humble 

self-timer as a ‘poor man’s shutter release.’ 

• Fire Extinguisher 

• Safety Goggles 

• Gloves 

• Head-Torch with fresh batteries. Carrying a spare torch 

is a wise precaution! 

• BBQ Firelighter or cigarette lighter. A 9 volt battery will 

also work. 

• Fine Grade Steel Wool. The steel wool comes in 

several grades. The ‘super fine’ grade, labeled ‘0000,’ 

burns fast. The ‘very fine’ grade ‘00’ gives off more 

sparks, and burns longer, for about 25 seconds. 

• Spinning Device. A 25cm egg whisk can be purchased 

from a Two Dollar shop for $2.50. Get the steel 

version, not the plastic! Attach the kitchen whisk to a 

length of chain, a skipping rope, or a dog lead about 

one metre long, using a carabiner or similar bolt. 

• A Trusty Assistant for both practical and safety 

reasons. 

• Warm Clothing & Snacks especially if you’re set up in a 

remote location. 

PLANNING YOUR SHOT: 

1. Location. Find a suitable plot of ground, devoid 

of vegetation, vehicles or flammable material. Think 

concrete… netball courts, train tunnels, or under a bridge. 

Spinning steel wool will bounce off the walls of a closedin 

space, such as a tunnel, sending random sparks flying. 

While this is a neat effect, your surroundings should be 

damp, so that stray sparks don’t get you in trouble - Err on 

the side of caution. Alternatively, a calm pool of water will 

reflect the spinning orb of light. Sparks may bounce off the 

water – another cool effect. In this situation, gumboots are 

a godsend! 

2. Timing. If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. Just like 

comedy, timing is critical. Set up during the daylight, so you 

can scout for a decent composition. It’s best to set up your 

camera on a stable tripod well before dusk, and pre-focus 

on your subject before auto-focusing becomes impossible. 

The ideal time to shoot is during the Blue Hour – more 

specifically, half an hour after sundown, when the 

sky darkens to a deep blue – perfect for a contrasting 

backdrop. Indeed, blue is the complimentary colour of the 

burning orange orb you will be spinning. 

My rule of thumb is to start the shoot 20 minutes after 

sunset so that you can make several attempts during 

this 10-minute ‘window’. If you shoot after twilight, the 

background elements of the scene will disappear into 

darkness and the resulting photograph will lose context. 

3. Composition. Spinning wire wool creates a circle of fire. 

Ask yourself, ‘how can this geometric shape relate to the 

surrounding landscape?’ Also ask yourself: ‘Do I want to 

appear in the photograph?’ If not, wear black clothing, 

gloves and a balaclava. 


23

For my iconic image shot at Lake Rotoiti, I made a long 

exposure of the stars circling the Southern Celestial Pole, 

then mimicked these concentric circles by spinning the 

wire wool. 

4. Camera Settings. Once you have a composition planned, 

lock down the camera on a sturdy tripod. Hang a small LED 

light from it to make it visible. Focus on where the firespinner 

will stand, then switch to manual focus on the lens 

barrel. A wide-angle lens is preferable. 

Set the camera’s Mode Dial to Manual, with a shutter 

speed between 20 and 30 seconds. Apertures can vary 

from f/2 to f/11. Set the ISO. between 50 and 800. Any 

higher and digital noise may become an issue. For colour 

temperature, choose a ‘Daylight’ setting, or drop the Kelvin 

temperature down to about 3500K. 

WIRE WOOL SPINNING TECHNIQUE: 

• Pull apart a wire-wool pad length-wise to break up 

the density and allow oxygen inside. Unravelling 

the wool, then spinning it speeds up the chemical 

reaction. 

• Insert a wool pad into the whisk, ensuring it won’t 

fall out. 

• When igniting the wire wool, a BBQ butane lighter 

is preferable for a continuous flame, whereas a 

cigarette lighter is fiddly and hard to operate with 

cold hands. 

• The wire wool will not burst into flames, only 

simmer. Once the wire wool has caught alight, 

spin the whisk in consistent circles. Then get the 

photographer to begin the long exposure. 

• Keep your arm straight to create a perfect circle. 

Consistency is the key. Try not to move your body, or 

you will appear as a blur. 

Note: If you are the photographer, wait for your assistant 

to light the wire wool and begin spinning it in a circle, 

then fire the shutter. Both of you should switch off your 

headlamps, so they don’t interfere with the photo. To 

mitigate light leaking into the viewfinder, hang a baseball 

cap over the top of the camera. 

Being an experimental art-form, be prepared for 

lots of trial and error, especially the latter. As Ansel 

Adams remarked, “Landscape Photography is the 

supreme test of the photographer, and often the 

supreme disappointment.” This is a challenging genre 

of photography with many inherent difficulties to 

overcome, but the rewards are there for the patient 

photographer. 

My shots on the following pages are sure to inspire you to 

get out there and give it a try. If you need more help, tips, 

and inspiration, there are tons of tutorials on Youtube. 

There are numerous variations of this technique that you 

can try too, from orbs to spheres to halos to a vortex. 

RAY SALISBURY is a seasoned landscape 

photographer and art teacher based in Nelson. He 

sells his photos to magazines, calendars and image 

libraries. He also shares his knowledge through his free 

e-Books and affordable online courses allowing you to 

learn photography at your own pace through a series 

of video training modules that have been filmed in NZ. 

www.hotpixels.co.nz 

SPINNING WOOL 


Repetition of geometric shapes through use of reflections. 


25

SPIRAL AT SPOONERS 

Moving towards the camera while spinning steel 

wool creates a vortex. 



27

SPOONERS WIRE WOOL SPIN 

Playing with Fire inside the retired train tunnel at Spooners, half an 

hour from Nelson. 



29

Behind The Shot 

with Mike MacKinven 



31

CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON 

YOURSELF AND YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY? 

I am Mike MacKinven of Mack Photography and 

Design Ltd. I am an Advertising Art Director, Designer, 

and Retoucher. My photography journey started 

in 2012 in Auckland – I’d always wanted to learn 

photography but never really got to the point of 

purchasing a camera until my beautiful wife bought 

me a Canon 600D for my 28 th birthday. As most 

enthusiasts know, it’s all downhill from there… 

I was mostly interested in cityscapes, until one 

night I noticed stars appearing in my photos. From 

there I researched Astrophotography and made 

it my mission to master that genre. I’m not quite 

a pro photographer, more a semi-pro amateur 

photographer once removed kind of thing, but now 

hold workshops teaching other photographers about 

the night sky and how to capture it. 

TELL US ABOUT THIS SHOT... 

32 images went into creating this shot. I hadn’t 

planned on shooting at this famous location but after 

a bit of encouragement from a few people I thought 

‘Ok, let’s do this’. However just going out and shooting 

it wasn’t going to work, a fair amount of planning was 

required as the Milky Way was going to be above 

the treeline looking back from the Wanaka Tree. This 

meant I’d need to get wet to capture our Galaxy 

above that tree! 

So I ended up wading out into the chilly lake to get 

the optimum composition, waist deep in leaky waders 

from midnight until 01:40am with the temperature 

hovering at about 1º, it being the middle of Winter. 

After a while, my body temp warmed up the trapped 

water but I had to be super careful as the stones on 

the ground were very slippery, and the waders don’t 

have grippy soles for these kinds of situations! My 

biggest concern was keeping the dew heater battery 

and camera dry but I managed to successfully 

capture 2 x 240º panoramas, a series of tilt-shift style 

images, and some timelapses. 

My tripod is actually kitted out with a nifty beer holder 

so, being in the South Island, it seemed rude not to 

have a bottle of Speights ready, especially as my wife 

was asleep on the shore in a green sleeping bag, 

looking rather like a slug in my images! 

WHAT WERE YOU SHOOTING WITH? 

I was using my Canon EOS 6D and the trusty Samyang 

24mm ƒ1.4 lens. I still use this setup today as it’s just 

so good but now being sponsored by Samyang Lens 

Global, I use this lens and the XP 14mm ƒ2.4 lens 

combo, a killer setup with two cameras. 

WHAT WAS YOUR POST-PROCESSING 

PROCEDURE FOR THIS IMAGE? 

I generally keep this as simple as I can. I do basic edits 

in LR (White balance, sharpness, lens profiles etc) then 

I export the files ready for stitching in either Hugin or 

Autopano Giga. Photoshop and Lightroom aren’t 

suited to multi-row panoramas where you need the 

freedom to adjust composition, horizon angles and 

projection settings. Once the panorama is stitched, 

I fine tune it in Photoshop (fixing stitching areas if 

any) and then global contrast is added (Brightness/ 

Contrast or Curves) and masked to mostly sit in the 

sky. Once I’m happy with how it looks I’ll import the 

panorama to LR so it’s added to the catalog, crop it, 

and then export it as a final file. 

WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW ABOUT THIS 

IMAGE? 

With most of my astro shots I strive to get away from 

light pollution, however, to shoot this tree you cannot 

get away from it, so I embraced it! Most of the lighting 

is pretty antique, well, a few billion years old but still 

shining bright! Other than natural starlight and the 

light pollution from nearby towns, no other lighting 

was used. I still get people confusing the floodlights as 

sunset light! 

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE? 

www.instagram.com/mack_photography_nz 

www.facebook.com/mackphotographynz 

www.mackphotography.co.nz 

www.zodimap.nz 



33

MEET THE JUDGES 

One Community, One Magazine, and One Year Old! 

Join us in celebrating our 1 year anniversary of the re-launched NZPhotographer 

magazine by participating in our biggest competition yet! 

Judged by local and international photographers, competition is now open for entries. For 

prizes, judges and full Terms & Conditions see: www.excio.io/one 

BLAIR QUAX is an experienced 

business owner, photographer, 

videographer and photographic 

educator based in Waiheke. He has 

successfully worked in digital imaging 

for close to two decades and has won 

multiple awards for his work. 

SERGE RAMELLI is an international 

landscape and urban photographer. 

He runs photography workshops 

around the world and has a YouTube 

channel of over 515,000 subscribers 

where he shares his photography 

and post-processing tutorials. 

ENTER NOW 

LANDSCAPE & 

NATURE 

DOCUMENTARY 

STREET 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

CREATIVE 

Win a Benro FH100 

M2 Filter Holder Kit 

& Hard Grad Filter 

Win a DSLR Video 

for Photographers 

course bundle 

Win an Everyday 

Sling 10L Charcoal 

Bag 

Win the Complete 

Photography 

Training course 

SPONSORED BY 

PARTNERS 

RICHARD YOUNG is a professional 

landscape, nature and wildlife 

photographer based in Wellington. 

He has been guiding groups of 

photographers around New Zealand 

since 2010 and founded New Zealand 

Photography Workshops in 2013. 

DARIUS (DARE) STEVENS is an LA 

based creative whose passion for 

photography launched a successful 

career in film. He recently completed 

editorial, VFX, directorial and 

production work for Netflix, Sony & MTV 

in addition to his first feature. 

Photographs used in the top banner: Roxanne Crawford, Peter Kurdulija, Kane Hartill, Peter Maiden, Marina de Wit, Todd Henry, Yasen 

Georgiev, Glenda Rees, Alex Moore, Kelly Gladwin, Michael Sutton, Lance McCaughan. 



35

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LEARN MORE 


OUR TOWN 

F16, 1/200s, ISO200 

WELLINGTON HARBOUR 

I went out on a cold day looking for our whale, Matariki. Hung about out 

on the end of the wharf but no luck from there. Took this hand held from 

then end of the old OPT wharf. 2 or 3 photos merged into pano. 

Ann Kilpatrick 



39

MOTURIKI SUNRISE 

F8, 6s, ISO50 

LEISURE ISLAND, MOUNT MAUNGANUI 

A cold winter's morning. Went out hoping for 

a sunrise and wow did I get one! 

Annemarie Clinton 



41

WAVE ART 

F8, 1/500s, ISO400 

MOUNT MAUNGANUI 

I went out early to catch a sunrise which ended up rather 

disappointing. Walking back to my car I couldn't help but 

notice the perfect waves lit by the rising sun. 

Annemarie Clinton 



43

COMBLEUX CANAL 

F11, 1/160s, ISO100 

COMBLEUX, FRANCE 

This is the canal in Combleux, France. It meets the river 

Loire at Combleux. Shot taken late afternoon. 

Carole Garside 



45

POHUTUKAWA 

F20, 1/1250s, ISO320 

COROMANDEL 

The iconic pohutukawa. 

Carole Garside 



47


SMOKY MOUNTAINS STREAM 

F8, 30s, ISO100 

TENNESSEE, USA 

Fall in the Smoky Mountains is always special because of 

the bright and saturated colours. 

Chick Piper 


49

YOSEMITE VALLEY VIEW 

F4.5, 25s, ISO200 

CALIFORNIA, USA 

Winter in Yosemite, the place rocks! 

Chick Piper 



51

FIRE IN THE SKY 

F9, 1/41s, ISO200 

PARAPARAUMU BEACH 

Best sunset ever over Kapiti Island - my 4th night of 

waiting for something this grand, and I wasn't disappointed. 

Karen Moffatt McLeod 

GANNET 

F5.6, 1/250s, ISO160 

Close up of a Gannet nesting. 

Colin Prince 



53

LAKE DUNSTAN 

F3.5, 1/1000s 

ROAD FROM CROMWELL TO TARRAS 

Driving along from Cromwell, I liked the effect of 

the river terrace across the other side of the lake. 

Dominic Stove 



55

MOODY MILFORD 

F4, 1/3200s, ISO640 

Early evening - Last boat back from the nature cruise. 

Dominic Stove 



57

MELBOURNE CATHEDRAL 

Dwayne Woolliams 

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART 

F10, 1/500s, ISO200 

DOHA, QATTAR 

We visited the museum with our family in July - 

a wonderful location and really interesting architecture. 

Emily Willis 



59

AFRICAN HOOPOE 

F10, 1/160s, ISO800 

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK 

An African Hoopoe eating a millipede. 

Gary Reid 



61

SQUACCO HERON 

F10, 1/160s, ISO800 

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK 

Hunting for food on the river bank. 

Gary Reid 



63

FOGGY MORNINGS 

F6.1, 1/125s, ISO400 

LOBURN, NORTH CANTERBURY 

We live near a swamp, and under inversion conditions, really thick 

fog forms over the swamp. The fog allows shooting into the sunrise, 

silhouetting the plants and birds, with some really vibrant monolithic 

colours. 

George van Hout 



65

STAR WALK 

F2.8, 120s, ISO1600 

LAKE HAYES, QUEENSTOWN 

This photo shows my love for shooting the 

milky way and the sense of calm I get while 

alone at night with my camera. 

Gareth Davies 

SEA THAT KIWI 

F2, 25s, ISO2500 

WAIKUKU BEACH, CANTERBURY 

My astro adventures this time took me to Waikuku Beach, just north 

of Christchurch. I was driving there though some thick fog and 

cloud, just hoping that when I got to the beach it wouldn't be foggy 

or cloudy. I got out of my car, walked over the sand dunes and a 

perfectly still, cloudless, fogless sky awaited me. 

George van Hout 



67

FIRST LIGHT 

F5.6, 1/250s, ISO500 

FEATHERSTON, ROTOTAWAI 

Summer 2017-18, 6:00 am, Hind allows me close 

enough to get her first fawn's, first suckle! 

Greg Arnold 



69

DON'T FENCE ME IN 

F5.9, 1/180, ISO200 

RUAHINE ROAD, MANAWATU SCENIC ROUTE 

A colourful remote farm shed, deteriorating yet sitting proudly 

in its summit position protected by an iconic farm fence. 

John Kelly 



71

SWAN IN BLACK 

F16, 1/128, ISO200 

MOTUOAPA LAKE TAUPO 

I often stop at Motuoapa when travelling between Wellington & 

Whitianga for a break, eating some lunch and taking a few photos. 

I love this image in particular as it gives the sense of movement with 

the feathering of the water as the swam glides. A little post work in 

Lightroom for the monochrome. 

Karen Moffatt McLeod 



73

KAIMANAWA MUSTER 2018 

F6.3, 1/1600S, ISO1250 

WAIOURU MILITARY BASE - MUSTER YARDS 

A newly mustered Kaimanawa horse from this years 

June Muster waiting to go to its new home. 

Kimber Brown 



75


FLOWING WATERS 

F13, 30S, ISO100 

RUAPUKE BEACH 

The mountain waters flow towards the 

ocean becoming one as they meet. 

Matt Jenkins 


77

RUAPUKE BY BIRD 

F13, 30S, ISO100 

RUAPUKE BEACH 

The higher you get the different 

your perspective is. 

Matt Jenkins 



79

SUNSET AT THE THREE SISTERS 

F13, 1.6S, ISO50 

TONGAPORUTU 

Ensuring I went out in a receding tide, I still had to wade through hip 

high water to get to the beach for sunset. The slight inconvenience 

was worth it as I captured this image as sunset lit up the tree sisters 

and a peak through to Mt Taranaki. 

Peter Ambrose 

DEAD DRUNK 

F5.6, 1/160S, ISO200 

GOSFORD, NSW AUSTRALIA 

A staged model shoot captured at Central 

Coast Leagues Camera Club. 

Murray Lowe 



81

SUNRISE NORTH FORRESTERS 

F14, 10S, ISO320 

FORRESTERS BEACH, CENTRAL COAST, NSW, AUSTRALIA 

A cloudy sunrise captured at Nth. Forresters Beach with very little wind 

and a very low swell gently washing on to the beach. 

Murray Lowe 



83

BLOWING IN THE WIND 

F1.8, 1/800S, ISO100 

WEERT, THE NETHERLANDS 

A shot I took of a dandelion using artificial wind 

(blowing!) to capture the seeds flying. 

Nick van de Water 



85

LITTLE BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU 

F2.8, 1/200S, ISO400 

OLPE, GERMANY 

First week with a new sibling, cautious eye on the 

lovely big sister. A very sweet moment of my niece 

Jette and my nephew Paul. 

Nina Gastreich 



87

POUTO'S NEW RIVER 

F11, 1/400S, ISO500 

POUTO PENISULA, KAIPARA, NORTHLAND 

This new river was created by recent flooding 

of lakes behind the sand dunes, it was 

not there a month ago. 

Noel Herman 



89

SUMMIT SUNRISE 

TONGARIRO ALPINE CROSSING 

An early morning ascent of Tongariro from last December. We left at 2.30am and 

walked under the moonlight to reach Tongariro's summit for the sunrise. As the thin 

clouds cleared, the sun's rays crept over the horizon. 

Olga Macagon 



91

FIRST DUSTING 

F14, 1/80S 

WHAKAPAPA, MOUNT RUAPEHU 

The dramatic rocky face over the other side of the learners 

ski slope with new snow and cloud moving in. 

Paul Robertson 



93

WET TREASURE 

F14, 1/80S 

PALMERSTON NORTH 

Macro shot of a small wet toadstool on my front lawn. 

Paul Robertson 



95

WINTER IN CENTRAL OTAGO 


WEDDERBURN, NEW ZEALAND 

Peter Kurdulija 



97

GREY SKY 


ISLAND BAY, WELLINGTON 

A view over the south coast of Wellington to the Remutakas on a still 

overcast day. The photo hopefully captured the mood of the morning and 

to some extent was enhanced by the band of low cloud at the harbour 

entrance. Lovely view to have when sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee. 

Peter Maiden 



99

PULTENEY BRIDGE, BATH 

F16, 2.5S, ISO400 

BATH, ENGLAND 

Pulteney Bridge crosses the River Avon in Bath, England. It was completed 

in 1774 and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family. 

Prashant Joshi 


September 2018 101

ROMAN BATHS 

F8, 1/13S, ISO800 

BATH, ENGLAND 

The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city 

of Bath. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing. The 

Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. 

Prashant Joshi 



MAGNOLIA STELLATA 

F4.5, 1/30S, ISO200 

At home capturing Jenny's flower arrangement. 

Steve Harper 

WHISKY BUSINESS 

F8, 1/4S, ISO100 

WHISKY FALLS, LAKE ROTOITI 

After a damp tramp circumnavigating the melancholic 

shores of Lake Rotoiti, I was rewarded with a waterfall 

to myself. A bit of gardening was in order, before I 

scrambled up slippery rocks to attain this vantage. The 

day was so dark that my ND filters stayed in the kit bag. 

Ray Salisbury 



CUPHEA IGNEA 

F4, 1/60S 

Rhiannon Voice 



COMMON WASP 

F10, 1/160S, ISO200 

I love to go out looking for insects at night during the 

summer months. Once spotted they usually get their 

portrait taken and most oblige! 

Sandra Van Der Lubbe 


September 2018109

MAGNOLIA STELLATA 

F6.3, 1/400S, ISO500 

WHISKY FALLS, LAKE ROTOITI 

Star Fish on the rocks. 

Sea Stars 

110 NZPhotographer 

September 2018 111

FOLLOW THE RIVER 

F6.3, 1/400S, ISO500 

MT COOK 

A little photo op of Mt Cook on the return leg from Hooker 

Lake required a boulder hop in the Tasman River. 

Susan Blick 



MT COOK AND MORE! 

F5.6, 1/320S, ISO100 

The Hooker Lake with the odd iceberg, the Hooker 

Glacier and the majestic Mt Cook - perfect, except 

for the 100km winds! 

Susan Blick 



"COLOUR IS 

DESCRIPTIVE. 

BLACK AND WHITE 

IS INTERPRETIVE." 


ELLIOTT ERWITT

NZPhotographer Issue 11, Sept 2018

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