I came across this Tui a while ago. Like the Fan-Tail I posted yesterday, this guy particularly wanted to have his picture taken. This was around Princess Bay, Wellington South Coast, and I was actually there for some waves-in-sunset. But this fella followed me literally from my car down the car-park, not 5 meters away from me. What should I do if he insists...?
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
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A mini series, about some birds I encountered on some of my walks. Those are free birds, not in any zoo or sanctuary. Part 1, Fan-Tail.
I encountered this little fella in Brooklyn, Wellington, the other day, close to the wind turbines.
The smaller the bird, the harder it is to get a decent photo, due to very fast moves. This was also difficult light, with lots of bright and dark patches.
But this guy seemed to insist on having his photo taken. This was close to a water filled pot on a cycle track, and this bird seemed to be pretty interested in me. He came very close, was less than half a meter away, and I was sort of waiting till he actually settled on my arm or so. Being so close was an issue though. I had a 70-200mm F2.8 lens on my camera, and needed more than a meter distance to a subject.
After half an hour of playing around with that guy, I moved further down the track to find other interesting subjects. On my way back, the little Fan-Tail was still there, starting to flap around me again and ready for more photos.
I didn't get the impression I disturbed him in any way. In fact he seemed quite used to people around the area - well, it's a cycle and pedestrian track after all.
Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
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... Though those images are about 10 days old. There wasn't much surf on the South Coast in recent days. In fact it was disappointingly quiet.
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
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Two more from my zoo visit a few weeks ago. A day as hot as today. This one didn't bother though, I guess she's used to much warmer temperatures. She seems to like photographers and knows she's photogenic - Well, I assume it's a "she"...
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

Photographs around Wellington Airport and location shots for their new website.
The motel is located on corner Broadway & Hobart St, Miramar, Wellington. Click on the image for more information.
If you are interested to use some of my photos on your website, then please get in touch:
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

Yesterday's post about the statue on Wellingtons Waterfront attracted quite a number of people. So, maybe this works twice.
Here some more of one of my favorite models - He's so easy to work with...
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

This is one piece of my earlier works. 
The first photo shows the digital image itself.
The second image shows a printed version, 1.8 meters wide, mounted on canvas, at a friend's place in Munich, Germany.
The print is illuminated from behind, which gives it a stunning effect. I have seen this effect on my photos before, when accidentally leaning one on a window frame.
I think I need to develop some framing to get rid of the middle support piece, which is a bit distracting.
Like this one, my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

When the weather decides it's NOT Summer...
​I do like those moods though.
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

Today I stumbled over some gems I didn't finalize yet. Some more images from ocean's raw power, taken on Wellington South Coast, near Owhiro Bay.
In weather like this, the area is of course not fit to swim. Alas, even on less windy days the bay isn't fit to swim due to pollution. Click the link Water Quality Crisis for more information. I believe more people should stand up to things like this. After all, we depend a lot on tourism.
I know this might put some people off, but hey, free speech means also to talk about proven issues, as much as some would prefer them to stay under wraps...
Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

From one of my recent walks, around sunset.
​Miramar, Wellington, NZ
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

I like still life photography, sometimes. It calms me down after a busy day...
Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
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I felt like playing with some stuff again, so decided to convert some of my latest storm images to monochrome.
Black and white is not just removing color. BW-film properties are totally different to color-film.
​Digital raw images always capture color as well as it's designed to store as much image info as possible. So converting into BW is actually some additional work, if the result is intended to represent a BW film image.
In the old days, for example, photographers used colored filters in their dark rooms to enhance contrast etc. Yes, colored filters considerably change lighting in BW photos, as well as contrast and so forth.
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

On social Media I saw so many people complaining about the wind and weather!
But, really, complaining about it won't change it. Besides, especially weather like this has its beauty, if one is willing to look...
Usually, for this type of photography, I use a very long telephoto lens (150-600mm). This time I used one only up to 200mm, which means, yes, I got wet feet, and yes, I got sprayed on...
Those images were taken between Island Bay and Owhiro Bay, on Feb 5th 2020, around 8 pm. The different colors are due to the different angles. Shooting towards the setting sun gives a very gold/sepia cast - hence the expression "golden hour".
The 2 blue cast images were shot due south, the sun coming from the right, hence there is just a touch of gold in them. The last one is an experiment, vintage B&W look.
Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

Miramar, Wellington, on a day a bit nicer than tonight - Though the rain keeps the country green...
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com

Also from yesterday, at Wellington Zoo!
This tall lady actually bit my camera at some point, but rather gentle.
For the Giraffe image also fits the same caption, look to the right hand side...
​Of course my images are available as prints, please contact me if you're interested
​photos@wernerkaffl.com