I ventured into hobbit country last week. While the Shire was a bit out of reach, we saw the locations mentioned here. Of course I didn’t realize this at the time because I was in New Zealand to ski, not chase hobbits and orcs.

I flew into Queenstown with a few friends from work. We picked up a little Ford sedan at the airport and drove over the mountain pass into Wanaka where we stayed for the week. The quaint mountain town lies next to a small beach on Lake Wanaka; the rest of the lake’s shoreline is totally uninhabited as far as I could tell. I heard a rumor before our trip that sheep outnumber people in New Zealand 10 to 1. After visiting I think that ratio should be 20 to 1.

Lake Wanaka at dusk.

We skied at Cardrona on our first day. Cardrona is an intermediate resort with a small vertical drop and a few fun off-piste runs. By midday, we were taking less than ten minutes to gun it from top to bottom. New Zealand is having one of it’s worst winters (i.e. least amount of snow) in ten years, so the off-piste terrain was limited at first. Luckily, it snowed on the second and third nights of the trip and we were able to enjoy some fresh powder. Rich, Leigh, Gary and myself met up with two friends from Sydney, Alex and Brendan, on our second Cardrona day. We had a full day of great runs, taking choice lines through the Arcadia chutes and bowls.

Untracked backcountry terrain… so very tempting.

We were fortunate to ski Cardrona during the 2010 Burton Snowboarding Open. We stopped by the half pipe during a qualifying round and tried to spot professional snowboarder, Shaun White. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The other professionals made up for his absence, dropping into this massive half pipe and looking stylish for the camera:

A Burton team rider launching way out of the pipe.

On the other three days we skied at Treble Cone (TC), my favorite of the two resorts. We were lucky to ski it with some fresh snow on our first day despite weather forecasts for rain. The expert mountain, Saddle Basin, was closed due to avalanche warnings, but we still had fun launching ourselves off cat tracks into fresh powder on the main run. We came back to TC two days later and the powder had melted and refrozen, rendering most off-piste unskiable. Of course, we skied the off-piste anyway! I even demoed a pair of brand new K2 all-mountain skis for the occasion. By afternoon the snow had softened up and we were able to ski decent snow all over the full mountain.

Dropping into garbage at Treble Cone with my K2 demo skis.

The main difference between resorts in the States and New Zealand is accessibility. While access roads to resorts in States are generally well maintained, the roads in New Zealand are usually a narrow strip of mud and ice that winds up hairpin switchbacks, sending careless drivers over cliffs to their doom. We were lucky to have decent weather during our trip because our little Ford 2WD would not have fared well in snow. Honestly, even a 4WD SUV would be sketchy on those roads.

One of the dryer sections on the access road to TC.

We spent one afternoon in Queenstown doing touristy things like riding the Skyline gondola and street luge course. The luge was pretty intense, actually:

That’s me on the street luge.

A lively town, at least compared to Wanaka, Queenstown is surrounded by stunning views of jagged mountain tops and the calm, blue water of Lake Wakatipu. We walked around the harbor, ate fish and chips in an Irish pub and explored the rest of the town, leaving just after sunset.

Queenstown from the Skyline gondola viewpoint.

While we didn’t see any kiwis, we spotted two kea at Treble Cone. Kea, the threatened mountain parrots of New Zealand, have narrow roman beaks and are covered with an abundance of olive green feathers.

My new favorite parrot, a New Zealand kea.

Can’t wait to go back again. For more pictures, click: here. Also check out my separate portfolio account on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/weberwithoneb.

Tags: cardrona, gondola, kea, luge, new zealand, ski, skiing, snow, Travel, treble cone, wanaka

I’ve discovered that my favorite photos are almost always highly geometrical. This post focuses on my attempts over the last week to photograph geometric subjects. I’ve mainly used a 50mm prime lens that Hayley gave me for our anniversary. (thanks H!)

The lighting, repetition and depth of this photo creates an interesting illusion. From one perspective, it looks like hundreds of cubicles inside an office building. Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that it’s actually the outside of a skyscraper.

I was born on the 23rd of May, so it has always been a special number to me.

Archimedean spirals always interest me. Their perfection is present on snails, cyclones and this rope on a Sydney ferry.

Depth of focus is a relatively elementary principal in photography, but I’m only just learning how to use it to my advantage, especially when shooting repeated objects. It’s always difficult to figure out which item in the set deserves the focus. I especially like this shot, because the focus brings your eyes directly to the last triangle in the series.

Expect to see much more repetition and geometry in my future photos.

Tags: Australia, geometry, mathematics, new south wales, photography, Sydney

Hayley gave me a prime lens for our anniversary. The lens has a larger aperture (f/1.8) than my other lenses, so I’ll be able to capture more crisp, low-light photos without a flash. I used it yesterday to photo-document my morning commute.

Sign by the local ferry wharf.

Rugged and repeated rope on a Ferry railing.

The obligatory Opera House photo.

A rare empty carriage on the City Circle CityRail line.

The Devonshire Street pedestrian tunnel.

Check out the rest: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mswebersd/sets/72157624418664943/

My transformation back to voracious American consumer started just after we stepped off the plane. Strip malls filled with small-business killers like Target and Best Buy littered the sides of the 405 freeway, enticing us with their gigantic iconic logos as we drove from LAX to San Diego. We miraculously arrived without spending a penny; many thanks to Hayley’s sister Lauren for picking us up and not stopping during our “oooooh”‘s and “ahhhhh”‘s when passing the aforementioned shops.

I met up with my buddies Brandon and Owen at CPK on Friday. We discussed work, Australia, America and the usual, and it was great seeing them. Afterward, Owen and I carpooled downtown to see the Pads destroy the Orioles in an interleague matchup. After the game, we boarded the wrong Trolley line heading eastbound. Upon realizing our mistake, we got off the trolley somewhere east of San Diego. A pimped out Escalade rolled by and some hardcore Mexican guy asked us for change. Being two short and not-especially-strong white guys, we were happy when the trolley arrived and took us back to the city. Much to our delight, we arrived back at the stadium just in time for San Diego public service to shut down for the night. We hailed a cab on Fifth Avenue and had the driver take us past my old house to Owen’s car in Fashion Valley.

Our seats in Petco Park.

We met Sean, Amber and their new baby at the Pizza Port in Carlsbad the following day. We chit-chatted for a couple hours about this and that while feasting on the Pizza Carlsbad, a pesto, artichoke, feta and chicken masterpiece on wheat crust. Afterward, we shopped at the Carlsbad outlets, where I purchased a pair of comfortable Lucky jeans. At night, we had a nice family dinner with the Jacksons at C-Level lounge on the San Diego harbour. As usual the food was fantastic, as was the company.

I surfed in Pacific Beach on Sunday, taking advantage of the rare northern summer swell. My trusty old Santa Cruz epoxy was just as good as I remember, which temporarily rekindled my passion for (i.e. addiction to) the sport. The waves were clean and chest high, just what I needed. Unfortunately, I don’t have a car in Sydney and I work in the CBD so I valued every minute in the water, furiously paddling back out after catching waves.

On Monday, Hayley and Andy went skydiving near the Mexican border. I filmed as best I could from the ground (yes, I have no desire to go skydiving); check out the video below. Both Hayley and Andy loved it. Hayley said that she would go again if I went with her… which will not be happening anytime soon.

Hayley and Andy skydiving near the Mexican border.

After a week in sunny San Diego, we said our goodbyes to Andy and Jackie and departed for Santa Fe, New Mexico for my brother’s wedding. The streets of Santa Fe were flooded from a fast-moving freak storm that just passed through the town. We checked into our room at the Inn of the Governor’s and met up with the rest of my family. Santa Fe’s unique architecture is modeled after the surrounding Native American pueblos and no building- including the state capital building- is taller than a specific old church in town. The low skyline exposes an expansive view of the surrounding mountains from pretty much any point in the town. Old architecture is a rare sight in America, where old buildings are demolished by natural disasters, or to make way for Wal-Marts.

Is this a shed or a door? Either way, it looks pretty cool.

Most of our time in Santa Fe was spent site-seeing and eating local cuisine. On our first morning, we took a tour of the town and art galleries. The guide made claims such as “Santa Fe has the third largest art market in the world behind France and New York” and “no shops ever go out of business in Santa Fe, despite the bad economy.” Many stores sport permanent going-out-of-business signs in the windows, so I think she may have been subtly hinting at the scam. Either way, I have not verified these statements but I’m a bit skeptical.

We drove out to Taos one day and played frolf in the Ski Valley (reminder: it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere). The mountains and rock formations outside Santa Fe are stunning, including the expansive Rio Grande Gorge west of the freeway. Stretched for time, we only spent a few hours in Taos but it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

The following day, we attended my brother’s wedding at the Loretto Chapel. The chapel’s claim to fame is a legendary spiral staircase built by a Jesus-like “drifter carpenter,” who used no nails in the construction. Nobody seems to know how the staircase was built, and the drifter left shortly after it was built.

The mysterious spiral staircase at the Loretto chapel. Jesus may have visited Santa Fe at the turn of the century to build it, although the truth is unknown.

The wedding had an elegant southwestern style with talented mariachis, premium margaritas and hors d’oeuvre quesadillas. We danced and celebrated the newlyweds and caught up with family. We recovered the following day, then said our goodbyes on Monday. Next stop was the Bay Area, California where I grew up.

With only four full days in the bay, we tried to relax as much as possible. We shopped as usual, but I also watched baseball and hung around the house with my folks. A few notable events were watching my nephew Tommy’s all star game and hosting a BBQ with friends. Both events were fun in their own right, and it was great catching up with old friends at the latter.

Skip ahead a few days and I’m now on the plane, three hours outside of Auckland. I’m sitting in a middle seat in the center of the plane, my throat hurts from the lack of moisture (edit – actually, it turns out that I was getting sick), there’s a screaming child in front of me and I’m sick to death of lame movies. I suppose all good things must come to an end. No worries, mate! After a short flight from Auckland to Sydney, we’ll be back home and ready to resume our adventure down under.

Tags: bay area, california, new mexico, san diego, santa fe

Two months ago, Hayley and I snapped some night photos in Circular Quay. We cranked up the shutter speed and closed off the aperture to get the elegant, glowing effect.

The Sydney harbour bridge spanning over the iconic Sydney Opera House.

The Opera House on a bustling Friday evening.

Circular Quay, the Circular Quay train station and the surrounding hotels, shops and office buildings. On the far right is the Overseas Passenger Terminal for large cruise ships.

Go to my Flickr page to see more!

Note: I once again remodeled my website. The last two posts were lacking in photos, hence this post.

Tags: Australia, bridge, canon 450d, Circular Quay, dslr, harbour, harbour bridge, night, Opera House, photography, photos, Sydney