Summer Time Fun

I know I've been a bit slack this month! 5 entries in November and nothing in December yet!! tut tut tut. Sorry about it. Work has been extra extra busy. But I've finally gotten around to get outdoors and take a few pictures. Doug took me out to the beach early in the morning on Christmas Eve and it was so cool. We cooked breakfast there and it was just great to be there early when noone was around yet. Not even the life guards had arrived on duty. The light was very nice and even in the morning and I was able to get a few good pictures of the beach:

(Bethells Beach - Te Henga)

Doug & Dryke

I took a few family pictures at our xmas gathering as well. I should have been a bit more prepared than I was. But I still got a few good shots. Definitely need to improve on my portrait photography. I find it quite challenging sometimes especially with people who feel so awkward in front of the camera. So I take my hat off to all those professional portrait photographers. I have many things to learn but hopefully I am improving. I might read that e-book I bought again but the thing is the more you shoot and practice in reality the more it will become second nature. Here are a few of the shots from Xmas Day:

My sister being a test subject lol

My sister, me and My Mum

Yeah, can't really take credit for the above picture as Doug took it, but anyhoo I like it. :-) I had no idea my uncle wanted me to take a pic of his family too! Haha. But hey I don't mind, free for all :-) They were surprisingly very co-operative and photogenic I think. Much easier than dealing with my cheeky sister hehe...still love her but she can't seem to sit still.

My uncle Len with his Wife, Son Herbie & Mother-in-Law

The weather has been fantastic these past few days. Starting to warm up nicely now. On Boxing day I was surprised with a visit from a friend who lives in Invercargill whom I hadn't seen in a long time. She turned up with no warning! She's leaving for Adelaide (for good) soon, so it was great to see her again. She's no stranger to the camera either which was pretty awesome. Just like the good old days when we used to hang out as teenagers, stay up late and do nothing but walk around and take pictures lol.

Portrait of my good friend Ada

My good friend from Invercargill (Caryll) - cute Caryll!

An artistic shot of a flower - Bastion Point

So after spending a bit of time at Bastion point we headed out to Piha. I've never been to fond of Piha only because its windy getting there and I always get car sick. So I always drive there now when we go. Its was so much more beautiful than I remember. I'm not sure why but it was particularly beautiful on boxing day.

We met up with some of the Ponsonby boys and just hung out which was pretty cool.

Hanging out

Here are some more pix of the beach...gorgeous gorgeous setting.

Rugged landscape

I love the haziness of this shot

Sunset :-) Always love a sunset

And my proud attempt at HDR (High Dynamic Range photography)

And I don't think its all that bad do you ;P you can probably see where I joined two photos but hey I think its not bad. I just took two photos (different exposures, one for the foreground and one for the sky) and blended them in photoshop elements (the only one I have at the moment) . Free copy from Tim cheers bro hehe.

Thats all for now. Hope it wasn't too long. kind of joined 3 posts into one! A Happy belated Xmas to you all and Happy New Year!