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Post by Kereru on Jan 3, 2009 18:43:23 GMT 12
Hi Hope you are all having a great time over the Christmas New Year break(those that are having a break). I thought I would try my hand at some sunset shots and the last day of 2008 was not so good so headed back to North Head on New Years day / evening. A few of my pics below: Now just a matter of being in the right place at the right time with camera and tripod close at hand for some more shots. Have a safe and happy break. Cheers, Colin
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 3, 2009 20:15:55 GMT 12
Very impressive photos Colin. The sunset a few minutes ago was very impressive too, one of those ones where it begins with the whole air around, the whole atmosphere beginning to tint yellow. Then this:
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 3, 2009 21:08:12 GMT 12
In my line of work, I often get to see really spectacular sunrises and sunsets (and the associated dawn and dusk colours) from out in the countryside and although the best way to photograph such scenes with their sometimes difficult lighting is with a tripod, I have become extremely adept at poking a camera out the side cab window of a locomotive travelling at speed and capturing what I am seeing. It took a long time to get good at photographing things like that from a hard-riding locomotive, but I've got it really sussed now and in fact a lot of people find it hard to believe that some of my sunrise and sunset shots weren't taken using a tripod.
However, one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed was back in September 1995 when a group of six of us were camped-out in a snow-cave on the summit plateau on Mount Ruapehu for a week while we ice-climbed many of the faces on the peaks at the top of the mountain. We were climbing Te Heu Heu one evening when sunset occured and on that particular day, the entire North Island as far as we could see in every direction was covered in cloud with only the tops of Ruapehu, Ngaurahoe and Taranaki sticking up above the clouds. As the sun set, all the clouds below us as well as the snow and ice on the three mountains and the six of us (three climbing pairs) turned a bright orange that was more brilliant than I can ever recall seeing before or since, then it gradually turned to a bright psychedelic pink before slowly fading away. It was the most awesome sight I have ever experienced and not one of us had a camera with us — all our cameras were back in the snowcave with the rest of our gear (apart from what we were using to climb Te Heu Heu). Way down below us through a narrow gap between the cloud and the side of the mountain, we could see the lights of Whakapapa Village with car headlights moving around and it was literally night-time down there and the people in the village wouldn't have had any inkling of what we were seeing & experiencing from up the top of the mountain. It was pure magic, and something I have never, ever forgotten....those awesome colours are indelibly ingrained into my memory.
As a footnote....during the week we were up there, there was a little bit of minor activity in the crater lake. There had been a warning out for a few weeks about a very slight possibility of some sort of volcanic activity, but nothing definite. We weren't particularly worried about it. By the Friday night, we were running a bit low on stove fuel and the following morning (the Saturday) we had a wee discussion about whether to pack-up and walk out, or whether to stretch the fuel out for another day. We decided to call it a day, so packed up and carried all our gear down the mountain to the skifield, then rode the chairlifts down to the Top of the Bruce and headed off home (back to Gisborne where I was living then) just after lunch. Later that afternoon, the mountain exploded in the spectacular erruption that dominated the TV news that evening and over the next few days. We later found out that our snowcave (which was less than a kilometre from the crater) was covered in debris, including lots of big boulders.
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Post by Kereru on Jan 5, 2009 19:51:10 GMT 12
That is a beauty Dave and I saw that sunset developing outside but alas camera was well packed away and other priorities were more pressing. We should get a few more good ones over summer.
Thanks for sharing those interesting experiences kiwithrottlejockey.
Cheers
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 5, 2009 20:11:48 GMT 12
Thanks Colin. That sky was like looking at backdraft flames, very impressive. Tonight's was nice too, thoguh not as dramatic, so I didn't take any photos.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Jan 6, 2009 9:56:13 GMT 12
Beautiful sunsets Colin.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 7, 2009 21:31:58 GMT 12
Here's a couple taken early one morning at Masterton while I was preparing trains for service....
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Jan 8, 2009 19:41:49 GMT 12
That third shot down is really stunning Colin. I saw quite an impressive sunset yesterday on the way home but didn't have my camera handy.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 9, 2009 1:16:28 GMT 12
Nice sunrise over the rails too!
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Post by stu on Jan 14, 2009 20:09:09 GMT 12
Snapped this a few minutes ago out to the east (spotted while chasing a certain white cat off the road AGAIN). I'm guessing that the top of the cumulus is still catching the sunset in the west while the rest is in the shadow of the ground. Whatever the correct reason, I liked the distinct colour band effect. Cheers, Stu. p.s. kudos to all for the spectacular shots on this thread.
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Post by stu on Jan 15, 2009 7:59:52 GMT 12
Very nice shots. I was outside tonight and I noticed lightning flashes to the north and east (it was clear where I am), so on a whim I went up Mount Eden to see if I could catch them with my camera. Also saw the lightning about an hour after taking my photo .... judging by the 22:15 weather radar image and location I believe it was associated with this ..... www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10551964Waterspout picks up launch, throws on sideNew 8:29AM Thursday Jan 15, 2009 Two Auckland boaties are counting their blessings and nursing a few minor bumps and scrapes after their launch was tipped over by a water spout in the Hauraki Gulf last night. The couple were enjoying a calm evening on their 9.4m launch in Smokehouse Bay, Great Barrier Island, when the water spout suddenly picked up the vessel and threw it down on its side. Auckland Coastguard duty officer Katherine Andrews said the couple suffered a few cuts and bruises but otherwise seemed okay after the incident. The boat escaped serious damage. She said other vessels in the bay had said there was no wind before the water spout arrived. "Then a screaming wall of wind came over the hill and everyone in the bay appeared to hunker down for safety. "This comes after an awe-inspiring lightning display over the Moehau Ranges at the northern end of the Coromandel Peninsula. The lightning show went on for well over an hour." - NZPA
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Post by philip on Jan 15, 2009 10:20:54 GMT 12
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 22, 2009 15:05:10 GMT 12
Here's some dawn colours taken at Masterton Railway Station between 5:40am and 5:45am on Monday 5th January 2009. I was just about to depart with the first of the early morning Wairarapa commuter trains heading for Wellington. I've been meaning to post them for awhile, but have only just got around to it.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 22, 2009 15:27:14 GMT 12
Amazing photos! Almost worth getting up that early for, eh!
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2009 16:30:39 GMT 12
Hi Awesome photos. Not a sunset but a sunrise... Crossing Cook Straight at dawn recently...
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 22, 2009 18:32:00 GMT 12
Amazing photos! Almost worth getting up that early for, eh! My alarm clock went off at 3:30am (as it always does when I'm on early shift), then I was at work just before the rostered start time of 4:30am and spent an hour starting locomotives, putting locomotives on the various trains, carrying out an inspection of the locomotives and brake-testing the trains, putting the first one to the platform at Masterton Station, sorting out all the paperwork, grabbing a cup of coffee and reading a couple of pages of the newspaper, then climbing aboard and driving the first train to Wellington (departing at 5:45am, arriving in Wellington at 7:26am). I took those shots just before departure, then grabbed an actual sunrise photo (not posted in this thread) as I was somewhere near Clareville between Solway and Carterton. After dropping the regular punters off at Wellington, I ran the first train of the day back to Wairarapa, did the turnaround ready for the train to head back to Wellington on a 10:25am service, then headed out the gate all finished for the day about the time the commuters on the first train were having their morning tea break at work.
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Post by Kereru on Jan 24, 2009 15:04:24 GMT 12
Some great photos there. You do lead an "executive style" of life kiwithrottlejockey(cups of coffee, reading newspaper). Well why not when the work is done! ;D I used to love the mornings when coming off shift at 7:00 am in summer when we watched the sun rise before going home. Finishing the week on a Friday morning and a long week end before going back to work at 3:00 pm on a Monday. Ah but then it was hard to sleep during the day when on night shift. I did get to see the family though and that was a blessing. My sunset shot from last night while waiting for the fireworks, taken looking across from Devonport. Colin
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Post by stu on Jan 24, 2009 21:25:32 GMT 12
There's also that period of twilight on a clear summer's night - such as tonight - once the sun has set that I absolutely love. Kind of a peaceful time to collect one's thoughts ... and the Auckland smog gives the cloudless sky a nice colour. Cheers, Stu.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 25, 2009 23:59:32 GMT 12
This isn't quite a sharp as it could be (the camera was hand-held), but here without a tripod being used is dusk in Masterton on Sunday evening (25 January) just after I had put a train away in the yard and was about to head out the gate for home....
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Jan 29, 2009 17:47:32 GMT 12
Looks like my lights were off that night Stu - my house is in the middle of the second photo somewhere.
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