Blog • Lightforge Photography

Three Seasons Plus

Was it a gamble going on a winter tramp with three season gear? Kind of, but you have to start somewhere.

Over the years, my ambitions to spend more time on snow gradually faded. I do not mind solo tramping, but I prefer sharing the experience with other humans, and most of those humans seem pretty disinclined to be cold. Add to that the fact that snow in New Zealand is usually found only in areas better suited to mountaineering, and it becomes clear why I only ever accumulated enough winter kit for one person.

Mount Brown (Hut)

A new dawn, a new day. Mount Brown Hut, now insta-famous, still provides little spots of tranquility for those willing to roll out of their sleeping bags early.

Click here for the full photo story.

Wilson Knob

Some destinations are elusive. A photo story of dense bush, denser cloud and tarns not quite reached. Click here for the full photo story.

Sylvia Tops

With summer coming to an end, it was time to head out and catch some sunshine. Click here for the full photo story.

Buckland Peaks

Sometimes, you really need a timeout in the mountains. After building a house for the last half year, it was finally time for some fresh air. Click here for the full photo story.

Review: Fujifilm GF 30mm f5.6 T/S

Good things take a little longer:
An evening with Fujifilm’s GF 30mm f5.6 T/S Tilt Shift lens

The lens that the Fujifilm fan base, including myself, has been lobbying a perceived eternity for, has finally arrived: The new Fujifilm GF 30mm f5.6 T/S lens fills a hole in Fujifilm’s lens lineup, that has been bothering architectural photographers for a long time. It shifts, it tilts (if you’re into that kind of thing), and it finally allows us to use native glass to chase those perfectly parallel verticals.

Three Places

Data and Backup Management for Architectural Photographers

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: We did not become photographers to worry about mundane issues like data management, right?

It is an incredibly boring topic, and I should know. Before my career in photography, I was an IT systems engineer for 15 years. Keeping data safe was half my job. My years in the industry also gave me insight into what happens to businesses (yes, you too are a business) that lose their data. It’s not pretty.

Lightweight Tramping in New Zealand

Working for myself comes with benefits that I occasionally need to remind myself of. The other day I had to jog my memory when I noticed a weekend tramping trip wasn’t an option, but that a quick mid-week getaway was available to those of us with a flexible schedule. Yay!

As I gathered my gear, I mentally reviewed the changes I had made to my tramping kit over the past year. My goal was to reduce neck and back pain that had been plaguing me for many moons. I have been reviewing these changes over a few trips, going through various iterations of equipment that brought me ever closer to my dream setup.

Bald Range

Impressions from my recent one-night tramp to Bald Range. Click here for the full photo story.

Woolshed Hill

A man on a mission, a quick solo adventure to check out new gear and old bones. You can find the full slideshow here.

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Good things take a little longer: An evening with Fujifilm’s GF 30mm f5.6 T/S Tilt Shift lens

Data and Backup Management for Architectural Photographers

Good things take a little longer:
An evening with Fujifilm’s GF 30mm f5.6 T/S Tilt Shift lens