RichardSidey.com Digital Media Blog

Lunar Eclipse - Dec 11th, 2011

2011-12-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

Photos from the Lunar Eclipse taken early this morning from my house in Wanaka. Beautiful, tho we missed the full extent when the clouds came over halfway through.

This photo montage has featured on the TVNZ website today

Inner

2011-11-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

Today I am proud to release my latest film, a musical film created with Miriama Young, titled Inner.

Inner is a music and film collaboration between filmmaker Richard Sidey and musician Miriama Young. Filming took place on the dynamic islands of Iceland and New Zealand in late 2011.

If possible, please listen through high-quality headphones.

Support the artists! Purchase Inner on the itunes store here

Credits:

Video : Richard Sidey
Composition, Vocals & Harmonium : Miriama Young
Percussion : Chuck Staab
Guitar : Mark Dancigers
Bass : Ken Pendergast

Recorded by Alex Kass
Mastered by Marlan Barry & Damon Whittemore at ValveTone Studios.

All material © 2011 Richard Sidey & Miriama Young. All rights reserved.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Miriama Young is a composer, vocalist, sound artist, and scholar.

She writes music for instrumental and vocal resources, and also works with live and fixed electronic media.

Miriama collaborates across disciplines with works for film, radio, and interactive electronic music for dance. She has a particular interest in composing for the voice, in works that range from pop song to opera, song cycle to spoken word.

Official Website | MiriamaYoung.com

Sneak Peek of "Inner"

2011-11-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

Scottish-based Kiwi musician Miriama Young and I are in the finishing stages of our recent collaboration, a music video / short film which we have agreed on the title "Inner" and hope to have it public in the next couple of weeks. For now here's a couple of screenshots...

Is anyone else getting excited about this?

2011-10-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

The next big thing in polar cinematography after numerous years in production. BBC's frozen planet is nearly here.

Free for all

2011-10-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Landscapes at the World's Ends finished playing in Europe last week, at the Ekofilm Festival in the Czech Republic. As that is probably the last festival the film will be entered into, musician Boreal Taiga and I thought it about time to make it free for all to watch and share online, so now everyone can appreciate the beauty of the polar regions in triptych form.

Of course, there are still a handful of limited edition DVD's left of the film, beautifully packaged in a recycled cardboard case. Visit my online shop to order one before they're all gone.

So please enjoy and share, thanks!

Positive Gnus

2011-10-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today, one of my music videos, Hana Fahy - Slide, was selected for the 2011 AllShorts Film Festival to be held in Golden Bay on October 29th. That's positive. Slide was made with over 800 hand drawn pictures and painting earlier this year which I will never do again. That process is depicted here.

In other positive news, I have now set up a Flickr account to try and get my nature photography out there a bit more, bigger images with a smaller watermark = more enjoyment from the photographs. Recent photos from Svalbard (ie including the one below) as well as a portfolio of my work can be seen by visiting My Photostream.

Young curious Walrus makes a bow wave as he checks out my lens. More on Flickr

And in even more news, new positive news, is that perhaps a few days time, I will be posting a brand new cinematic music video for a certain Scottish based Kiwi artist, which was filmed in Iceland and New Zealand recently. Just putting on the finishing touches...

Once again, thanks for following! Go the All Blacks.

Swimming with Humpbacks

2011-10-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a short holiday to the nearby Kingdom of Tonga, with the main reason for our visit to see if we could swim with some humpback whales. After a couple of days of trying to find the right situation to get in the water with them, we were finally successful and a totally unique and spiritual experience followed.

I wasn't there to photograph the whales, just purely on holiday (I don't usually take photos on holiday, it just seems like work to me), but I did record a bit of this experience on a tiny point-and-shoot GoPro camera, which while the picture quality is not amazing, it did pick up the sounds and songs of the giants better that I ever imagined.

Enjoy...

How to photograph the Aurora

2011-10-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Lots of questions came in the past few weeks after my last blog post with regards to how I am able to photograph the Northern lights. Besides finding the buttons in the dark and managing the cold, it's actually pretty simple. Here are a few tips...

1. Use a tripod

2. Set your ISO high - at least 1600 or maybe even higher

3. Switch everything on your camera to Manual - as well as manual focus, which should be set to infinity (in the dark it is hard to see focus, so focus on a light source at least 20 metres away).

4. Use a wide angle lens and open your aperture as wide as possible (f2.8 - f4)

5. Use a cable release so you don't need to touch your camera, or set a countdown timer to let the camera settle after you release the shutter.

6. Play with various exposure lengths, from 1 second to perhaps 10 seconds, and use the digital gift of instant playback to see how brightly exposed the lights are.

7. And for video - well just keep taking photos at regular intervals and put those images together later on to make a video, like the one below, which is 15 frames per second. Good luck!

Aurora Borealis - Camping in Iceland

2011-09-13T04:08:00.000-07:00

Apologies for a lag in the blog of late, the past two months have been spent in the high arctic around 80 degrees north, where internet signals are rare and expenses high. A fabulous experience however, and I will be soon to share some of the delights from this recent season in the Svalbard archipelago whilst I was working as Expedition Photographer on board the recently renamed M/V Silver Explorer.

I disembarked from the Silver Explorer ten days ago in Reykjavik, Iceland, met up with a Kiwi amigo and went on a low budget camping trip around the country in search of majestic waterfalls (powerful and dirty), free hot springs, a volcanic eruption and the northern lights. I am pleased to say we got 3 out of 4. As a bonus we also got snow and temperatures not that suitable for camping, and so we were sleeping (or trying to) in all the gear we had with us.

The past three nights, as the skies cleared for the first time since my arrival, Mother Nature put on her show. This was what I'd been hoping to see all along, but knowingly aware that I was perhaps a bit early in the season for this piece of sky cinema. Anyway, we got lucky. There is nothing better than being in the midst of nowhere, somewhere along a dirt track beyond the mountains, lying on your back in a dozen layers of clothes and watching the great gig in the sky, the Aurora Borealis, dancing across the heavens. Here are a few pics to share the magic...

New Landscapes DVDs arrive

2011-06-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

A new batch of Landscapes at the World's Ends DVDs just arrived so they are back up for sale at my online store.

Plus, here's a fancy pancy better and longer super-wide new DVD trailer for the film. Enjoy.

Hazel Boot - Home (a pinhole music video)

2011-06-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

I write today to present my latest music video, recorded last Sunday in Sydney and edited above the Tasman Sea after I collaborated with the beautiful New Zealand singer / songwriter Hazel Boot.
Hazel, originally from Canterbury, is currently based in Melbourne and wrote her song 'Home' in response to the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

"It's about feeling at home in your own skin and about feeling really grounded" Hazel explains. "It's about being in an unsettling experience but knowing that all is well."

We recorded the video on the Sydney coastline, looking across the Tasman sea to our home in Aotearoa / New Zealand. I edited the video the next day, while flying back to Christchurch in the true spirit of Hazel's song. The video is unique in the fact that it is entirely shot with a pinhole camera, and no digital special effects or image manipulation techniques have been applied. I believe it to be one of the very first pinhole videos ever made.

Shooting the pinhole video in Sydney. Here I am filtering light through my fingers
onto the lens in order to create and manipulate the various lens flares.
Photo | Aliscia Young Photography

Making a Pinhole Video

I hadn't made a pinhole camera since experimenting with them at Massey University in 2003. Back then it was a big effort to get a picture. You'd find an old Milo or Biscuit tin, put a pinhole in one end, go into a darkroom and install a piece of photo paper. Then you had to tape over the pinhole, carry the bulky biscuit-tin-camera to where your subject matter was, take the tape off the pinhole and GUESS the exposure - anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, then tape over the pinhole again, take it back to the darkroom and develop the image by hand - and chances were you got the exposure wrong and now half a day was gone.

A milo-tin pinhole self portrait I took in Wellington, 2003.

But when you got it right the results could be epic. The pinhole creates an infinite depth of field, meaning whatever distance from the lens, the focus was equal. Light would play with your image in ways digital effects can't quite grasp. If the pinhole wasn't perfectly circular or the focal length quite right, the results would expose beyond expectations time and time again.

Then digital cameras came out. Then later even better digital cameras came out with big sensors that were super sensitive to light. A distant cousin of mine told me last year that apparently you could turn a digital camera into a pinhole camera if you tried and I never forgot that conversation. A digital pinhole photo - one that you could see the results immediately and in colour. That I had to try!

After converting my expensive professional Canon camera into the most basic photography elements - with a drill, tinfoil and sellotape, I began experimenting with digital pinhole photos with mixed results. It then dawned on me that my camera recorded HD video… imagine a pinhole video… would it be possible? was there going to be enough light through a pin sized hole to keep up a video frame rate? My Canon 5D Mark II is known for its low light ability and by amping up the ISO, in bright sunlight, pinhole video finally became a reality.

Hazel and I checked the results as we went, as with pinhole photography you never quite know what will happen. You can see the tinfoil taped to the front of my 'digital pinhole camera'.
Photo | Aliscia Young Photography

For Hazel's video, I wanted to make it entirely with this pinhole camera of mine. I've used a mix of time-lapse pinhole exposures and pinhole video. For some of the shots I have experimented with more than one pinhole, up to five on one shot. Not only does this let more light in, but it created super cool layering and sun-flare effects that I could never achieve through digital means. While shooting Hazel and I would check out the footage and the results just kept surprising us in true pinhole photography style.

And so this video is entirely recorded through a pinhole camera. Aside basic editing, absolutely no special effects, color grading or image manipulation has taken place digitally. The result… well you can judge for yourself.

West Africa Voyage Video

2011-06-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

The pupils of Room 6, Kilbirnie School in Wellington have asked me what my African voyage was like during Easter this year. The easiest way to describe the three week voyage, which sailed from Cape Town, South Africa to Dakar, Senegal in three weeks up the west coast of Africa, is to show the promotional video I put together from my footage for the company Silversea Expeditions at the completion of the cruise.

Robotic Sumo Elephant Seals

2011-06-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Some readers here will remember some footage I recorded on South Georgia a couple of years ago featuring two huge Elephant Seals scrapping it out for ownership of a section of surf beach.

After posting that footage on YouTube last year, a Japanese producer later discovered it and purchased it for two national Japanese television shows. Here is one of those, presented in true iconic Japanese style, with sound effect and graphics one can only admire. Nature docos at their finest. Enjoy...

The constant search for Original Perspectives

2011-06-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Like many camerapeople out there, I am always in search of a new exciting, original camera angle to capture something as our eye doesn't quite see it.

It's nothing new of course. In 1929 Dziga Vertov dug a hole between train tracks and placed a enormous film camera in it to capture the underbelly of a steam train at full speed while filming for my all-time favorite film "Man With a Movie Camera."

And in the same year, Captain Irving Johnson, while sailing around Cape Horn 'the wrong way', filmed a magnificent storm throwing his ship around from the perspective of the crows nest and the top of the main mast, while getting thrown all over the place.

Last month I purchased a GoPro HD Hero, a tiny wide angled high definition video camera usually used to capture extreme sports from first person perspective. I got it to get new angles, and because it's fully waterproof. Already I've attached it to my dog (quite unusual to see yourself throwing a ball to the dog from the dog's perspective), my bike handlebars and mounted it all over the place, car bonnets, aeroplane windows, and at the top of the shipping container as we filled it with bikes last week, to record a time lapse (see previous post). Can't wait to try it our with a leopard seal this summer. Fingers crossed.

But the reason I wrote this post is because I just saw a video online showing the BBC's new attempt at filming Polar Bears in the Arctic - through a remote control camera on skis. Fascinating (and good fun). What next?

Bikes for Africa - Promo Video & Website

2011-05-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's been an intensive week of interviews, bike mechanics, container packing and couch surfing in Melbourne and the creative bubble that is crammed inside Hap and Mandy's shoebox apartment is being mighty productive.

The big news today is that the Bikes for Africa documentary website has been launched, as well as the first promo for the film (below).

Please 'share' the video and website online if you have the time.

Hap and I are off for a two day bike ride today in the rain, to test out the bikes a bit fully loaded with panniers. Also looking forward to Sunday, when any of you in the Melbourne area should ride along on an old bike to Beer, Bikes and Bands, donate the bike, and enjoy a fundraising gig to support Hap and Mandy's expedition which starts next week.

Thanks,

Rich / Sich

Bikes for Africa - shooting underway

2011-05-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

Last week was the Reel Earth Film Festival where Landscapes at the World's Ends picked up Best NZ Cinematography in Palmerston North. Stoaked with that, and with making the trip up there as it was such an inspirational group of volunteers, film makers and organisers to network with. Below I'm walking the environmentally friendly 'green' carpet to the Awards Gala with the beautiful and creative soul Lisa Chappell.

The Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival's green carpet.

This week I'm over in Melbourne, staying with my mates Hap and Mandy on their couch in their shoebox apartment, who are about to embark on a 5000km cycling adventure across Southern Africa to help implement a shipping container full over donated second hand bikes into a small Namibian community.

I am making a doco on some of this, both of their adventure and the great work Bicycles for Humanity are doing and their African partner BEN (Bicycle Empowerment Network) Namibia. Hap is taking a camcorder with him to Africa to film the events over there. More about his mission can be found on Hap's regularly updated blog.

This week it's all about the prep, pre-interviews, getting bikes ready and packing that impressive shipping container. We even now have a name for the doco! - Bikes for Africa. Nice double meaning.

On Friday Hap and Mandy's bikes were put together in a Melbourne backyard shed. A wee timelapse of that session is below. You can see myself interviewing Hap in the process.

Time lapse of Hap assembling his touring bike

Today was spent with Bicycles for Humanity packing the container with over 400 bikes and 500 helmets, it's amazing what can fit in one of these. This gear will make its way to Namibia using the funds (over $10,000 Australian) these two have raised with the donations of their friends and family. More on what Bicycles for Humanity here. If you would still like to donate - it's not too late - just visit this link.

I recorded some super interviews today the the B4H team and all the volunteers that turned up to help. It'll make a great start to the doco.

Here's a picture after several hours of hard work with the container ready to go. Cheers.

Container all packed up! 400 + bikes and 500 + helmets off to Africa.

Freakishly Stunning Time Lapse film

2011-05-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

I just discovered this time lapse film on Vimeo by TSO Photography. It's filmed on El Teide, the highest peak in Spain, which is located in the Canary Islands (I actually climbed this mountain with a couple of mates last year). Anyway, this time lapse photography is simply breathtaking. Enjoy.

Hana Fahy - Slide (music video)

2011-05-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

I'm proud to post on this ever evolving blog my latest music video for my pseudo sister-in-law Hana Fahy's track Slide of her 2010 EP, World Still Turns.

Hana Fahy - photographed by Callander Girl Photography

As it is so closely related to time lapse, stop motion has always been a hobby and slowly this idea for Hana evolved. After some funding rejection from NZ on air, Hana and I decided just to make it anyway and so began four months of part time evening drawing and some serious OOS or RSI or whatever it's acronym'd these days.

Some of my 'picture film rolls' consisting of hundreds of frame-by-frame drawings.

And so this 3-minute video consists of around 800 small paintings, each painfully photographed with a still camera and arranged at six-frames-per-second in order to simulate film. Luckily I had some help, and gifted fine arts photographer Aliscia Young lended her painting skills on several occasions.

Hana Fahy is based in Dunedin, New Zealand and puts out some superb work and live performances. Be sure to visit her myspace page and if you like her artistry you can buy it online here.

And so I present my first animated music video: Hana Fahy - Slide

Updated Website - New Nature Photography Gallery

2011-05-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Flying Fish - African Tropics

A wet autumn day signals the time for a website update at RichardSidey.com and the introduction of a new nature photography gallery, with a small selection of my best and favorite nature images. View it here.

Bottlenose Dolphins in Namibia

2011-04-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

A special encounter with a couple of Bottlenose Dolphins off the coast of Namibia. These two interacted with my camera for around 15 minutes as we left the port of Lüderitz. Magic!

Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival - Screening Date

2011-04-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have screening information for this coming weeks Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Landscapes at the World's Ends will screen at 8pm on Friday the 13th at Downtown Cinemas.

Lucky or unlucky?

The film has also has jury nominations in the following two categories

A wee bit of magic in Namibia

2011-03-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Three weeks on an Expedition Vessel exploring the West Coast of Africa? I find it near impossible to say no to an offer like that. Alas here I am back at sea as the Expedition Photographer for Silversea Expeditions on the M/V Prince Albert II.

We sailed from Cape Town, South Africa just as the Black Caps squeezed past the South Africans to the World Cup semis, with the first destination - 3 days in Namibia.

And so I present a few photographs from the stunninly arid Namib desert and some local marine life. To witness and capture a thunderstorm in the second driest desert in the world at night was something I'll always struggle to describe as words deem not to be appropriate. The light, silence and scale assulted my senses, and for the first time in my life I managed to decently photograph lightning. More to come, but for now, I share with you the following few images.

Next stop, Angola!

Cheers, Rich.

Landscapes at the World's Ends Reviews

2011-03-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Just in, a couple of short reviews of 'Landscapes' from the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival & Documentary Edge.

Landscapes at the World’s Ends
It's not often we get to sit back and enjoy traveling through the polar regions with just music and a compelling set of images. But that's just what filmmaker Richard Sidey allows us to do with a work that encompasses both still photography and video in an unusual set-up... a constantly changing triptych exploring life and beauty of the coldest places on Earth. The non-verbal film is filled with music and scenes that carry you through an experience that is part adventure, part meditation.

The triptych form really is an interesting and beautiful way to portray the scenes we so often see in documentaries. I loved how the three sections were used to set each other off, or blend into a continuous image.

- Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco - Read the Full Review

Landscapes at the World’s Ends
NZ 2010 pro/dir/ed Richard Sidey music Boreal Taiga. 30 minutes

Landscapes at the World’s Ends was originally an exhibition piece, designed to project onto three 4×3 screens. For the festival version, which is beautifully accompanied by Boreal Taiga’s evocative ambient score, all three screens are incorporated in a single 16×9 frame, producing a triptych montage of video and stills. In half an hour of sheer viewing pleasure the viewer, becoming a virtual polar tourist, is taken on a breathtaking visual journey to the Earth’s Polar regions.

Nature photographer and filmmaker Richard Sidey’s time as an artist-in-residence and participation inTheme Media’s Polar Arts Program, Silversea Expeditionsand Quark Expeditions gave him the ideal platform from which to share his experiences of the beauty and rhythms of Antarctica and the Arctic Circle.

With three screens and two formats (still and moving) to play with, Sidey has carefully constructed an aesthetic and enlightening montage where sea birds, whales, penguins, walruses and the mighty landscape itself go about their unassuming business. Like a fat old man, a massive sea lion reaches to scratch its back; a polar bear rolls happily in the snow; the Aurora Borealis dances its ghostly dance of light. Superb.

- Helen Martin, Documentary Edge Festival - Read the Full Review

Own 'Landscapes at the World's Ends' on DVD

2011-03-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

I have just a limited number of beautifully printed 'Landscapes at the World's Ends' DVDs made!

The 30 minute DVD comes in a recycled cardboard case with a 4-page photo booklet and a few postcards, unique to each pack. The DVD also had some special features, including a couple of slideshows and extra videos.

If you would like to own or gift a copy, you can order on my website for NZ$30 each at this link. This is a limited short run so once they are gone, that is all.

Thanks for your support,

Rich

PS - On another note I was interviewed on TVNZ Good Morning this morning about this film and the Documentary Edge Festival. You can watch the short interview here.

Reel Earth Film Festival - Official Selection

2011-02-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

Landscapes at the World's Ends has been selected to screen at a second New Zealand film festival - The 2011 Reel Earth Film Festival, running from the 6th - 18th of May in Palmerston North.

- - -

"Our 7th season brings with it a seven year itch on a global scale. The world is rapidly changing; economically, climatically, creatively, innovatively and resourcefully, and it is time for the world’s humans to take notice.

Our 7th Festival Season will take on board the worlds “itches” and bring them to the eyes of the people in a myriad of creative, serious, intense, moving, light, sad, happy, hopeful, inspiring and fun ways. At Reel Earth the world takes the stage.

Australasia’s largest film festival with an environment and nature focus is held in Palmerston North and is the Manawatu region’s unique film festival of the year.
Over the last six years Reel Earth has contributed to placing the New Zealand community on a positive path toward achieving sustainability and the seventh year will see yet another step up.

Mark these dates in your calendar - 6 to 18th May- as the time for taking in environmental films that are cutting edge, creative, inspiring, heartwarming, fun, challenging and informative. The evening of 14th May celebrates the best of the best at the awards event in the magnificent Regent Theatre. Hook up with us on social media for updates to the follow the season’s progress.

Looking forward to seeing you all this May in beautiful Palmerston North, host city home of the Reel Earth’s 7th Festival season."

Lynda Williamson, Director
Reel Earth Film Festival

Documentary Edge Festival Awards Gala

2011-02-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Last night, after the NZ premier of Landscapes at the World's Ends, the Documentary Edge Festival Awards Gala was held at The Studio in Auckland. Thanks to those whom came to the premier, it was awesome to see you there, especially those friends whom I hadn't seen for over six years!

Bit of a laugh - Listed at the cinema alongside the Oscar nominated True Grit and The King's Speech

Whilst my polar doco didn't scoop any awards, it did receive a 'special mention' from the festival director, Dan Shanan.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers and award recipients. The main New Zealand films awarded were:

I am the River - Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Editing

The tribes of Whanganui take their name, their spirit and their strength from the great river which flows from the mountains of the central North Island to the sea. For centuries, people have travelled the Whanganui River by canoe, caught eels in it, built villages on its banks, and fought over it. The people say, ‘Ko au te awa. Ko te awa ko au’ (I am the river. The river is me).

I Am the River traces the journey of the Partington collection of 19th century photographs of Whanganui Maori. The 2001 chance discovery of these previously unknown photographs in a garage in the Bay of Islands provides a rare visual insight into 19th century NZ history and forged a link between Maori in the present with Tupuna in the past. However, it provoked a cultural clash that pitted Maori and Pakeha views of ownership against each other. Directors McNeill and Cutore documented the events with its surprising resolution.

Paora Joseph won the Emerging Filmmaker award and Best Short Film for Hiding Behind the Green Screen.

This innovative, experimental and creative documentary seeks to bring awareness of the marijuana culture of New Zealand’s youth population.

4 indigenous youths are given the opportunity to be mentored by two accomplished Maori musicians. They embark on a journey to the courthouse where the Judge, musicians and young men meet for the first time. Parihaka, a Maori village famous for passive resistance, provides a spiritual platform to share the trauma of the past and transform painful memories into music.

New Zealand Premier - Landscapes at the World's Ends

2011-02-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

If you happen to be in Auckland this Thursday (Feb 24th), come along to Event Cinemas in Newmarket and see my polar film screened for the first time at 6pm. If you can't make it, additional NZ screenings are listed below. Hope to see you there! Cheers, Rich.

New Zealand screenings

Auckland

Thu 24th Feb - Event Cinemas (Newmarket) @ 6pm

Sat 26th Feb - Academy Cinemas (CBD) @ 7pm

Sun 6th Mar - Event Cinemas (Newmarket) @ 3:30pm

Wellington

Thu 17th Mar - Angelika at Reading Cinemas (Courtenay Place) @ 6pm

Sun 27th Mar - Angelika at Reading Cinemas (Courtenay Place) @ 3:30pm

Caught in the Act

2011-02-12T23:19:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was put on the other side of the camera for pretty much the first time, not sure I liked it that much, but an interesting experience none the less. A couple of months ago a South African production company that makes a Discovery Channel show called "Caught in the Act" saw one of my videos on youtube which features a couple of 5-tonne Elephant Seals slugging it out on a South Georgian beach and they contacted me to request the video for their show.

Recorded in November 2009 at St Andrew's Bay, South Georgia

So yesterday they got NHNZ to come up from Dunedin to Wellington, find a spot that looked remotely like South Georgia (we settled for Red Rocks), and interviewed me about the encounter that happened over a year ago. Will be fun to see what happens with the footage...

Byron Bay Film Festival - Official Selection

2011-02-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

More good news today as it is confirmed that Landscapes at the World's Ends will get an Australian premier at the Byron Bay Film Festival next month. Byron Bay is a stunning wee quiet bay in northern New South Wales filled with creativeness, marine life and good surf, an ideal setting to screen this film.

The festival runs from March 4th - 13th, 2011.

View the Byron Bay Film Festival website for film info & tickets.

San Francisco Ocean Film Festival - Official Selection

2011-02-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

Today, Landscapes at the World's Ends has been selected for its third festival, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival to be held in California from March 9th to 13th, 2011. This festival is in its 8th year and features a selection of ocean related films from around the globe.

Below is a trailer for the 2010 festival.

Nominated!

2011-01-30T23:52:00.000-08:00

Some choice news from the upcoming Documentary Edge Film Festival, which kicks off in Auckland in two weeks time, arrived today. Turns out my polar triptych 'Landscapes at the World's Ends' has has been nominated as a finalist for Best NZ Short. Stoaked. The 30-minute three-screen non-verbal experimental landscape and wildlife documentary will be screening in Auckland and Wellington five times from mid feb to late march, see previous posts for specific dates. An excerpt from the Documentary Edge newsletter is pasted below:

Documentary Edge Festival
2011 Awards Finalists

All the selected films in this year’s Festival are in competition. Each year, Documentary Edge Festival provides awards in various categories including: Best Short, Best Feature, Best Emerging NZ Filmmaker, Best Director, Best Editor and Best Cinematography. We also present a special award for Best Contribution to the NZ Documentary Industry.

We are pleased to announced this year’s NZ finalists in the Best Feature and Best Short categories:

BEST FEATURE

BEST SHORT

Africa Expedition in the press

2011-01-10T02:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all. 2011 is here and this is the year we take bikes to Africa! Here is a short article about Hap and the upcoming expedition taken from the Nelson Mail this week.

Note: For a easier reading text-web link of this article - click here.

Documentary Edge 2011 screening dates

2010-12-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho, merry christmas to you all. I have here the dates, screening times and locations for my polar film Landscapes at the World's Ends at the 2011 Documentary Edge Festival in New Zealand.

If you are able to make it to a screening, it would be awesome to see you there! If not there will be a dvd / Blu-Ray available about the same time (hopefully).

Auckland

Thu 24th Feb - Event Cinemas (Newmarket)

Sat 26th Feb - Academy Cinemas (CBD)

Sun 6th Mar - Event Cinemas (Newmarket)

Wellington

Thu 17th Mar - Angelika at Reading Cinemas (Courtenay Place)

Sun 27th Mar - Angelika at Reading Cinemas (Courtenay Place)

For more information about these screenings, including bookings, visit the Landscapes at the World's Ends page on the Documentary Edge website

Africa 2011 Charity Promo Video

2010-12-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today, fellow adventurer and Africa Expedition team member, 'Hap' has publicly launched the promo video for our 2011 cycling expedition. As the documentary maker on this mission, I put this promo together using my parents super 8mm footage of Africa in the 70's, combined with pictures supplied from our chosen charity Bicycles for Humanity.

The aim of this short promo video is to attract sponsors for our 5000km unsupported cycling expedition, and to help raise $12000 to send our container full of disused bikes to Africa. So please, after watching, share it with the world, share it on the book of faces and post it to anyone you might think would want to support us in our goal of bringing the most efficient machines on the planet to Africa.

Thanks for watching, now please - pass it on!

Also, to kindly donate directly to our charity - please click here

Two thumbs up,

Sich

Central Otago Time Lapses

2010-11-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

Cromwell based Steve Thomson uploaded this stunning montage of New Zealand's Central Otago today. Well worth a look as he has the art of time lapse down to a lowercase f.

AFRICA 2011

2010-11-20T00:07:00.000-08:00

It's about time I announced the master plan for next year, having kept quiet while plans have been sown over the past few months. It all goes back to around this time last year whilst working on an expedition cruise ship in Antarctic waters.

Through a friend of a friend I met a fellow Kiwi called Hap in Ushuaia, Argentina, which is basically the southern tip of the populated world. Hap was on one massive mission to get a job in Antarctica - he had been trying for three years with no success. Anyhow, after his wee meeting with myself, a couple of fortunate coincidences and a few words in the right ears, Hap joined me at sea a couple of weeks later working as a waiter on our six-star luxury expedition ship.

Hap & I on his first Antarctic landing - November 2009

As the only two Kiwis onboard in the far off corner of the globe, we shared a few beers and became good mates. Hap's ultimate mission was to work in every continent before turning 30, which happens on 11/11/11. He left home at 21 and, now with a big bold tick in the Antarctica box, had six down and one to go... Africa.

Time passed, I went home to NZ for a bit and Hap survived for a couple of months in a difficult environment which he shared with the world regularly on his well read blog. We caught up over summer in Wanaka and I was also introduced to his girlfriend Mandy.

Hap, myself & Mandy kayaking the Clutha river near Wanaka - March 2010

A plan was in motion at that stage for Hap and Mandy to undertake some sort of human powered expedition in Africa in 2012. Suggestions at that stage were pretty extreme - for example rafting the entire length if the Zambezi, but put these ideas to a few fullas with a serious travel bug and it got us talking pretty quickly.

By August this year Hap and Mandy had evolved the plan considerably. As they were now based in Melbourne, Australia, they got involved with the charity Bikes for Humanity. Their idea was to buy a shipping container and fill it with donated second-hand bikes and pay for it to get shipped to Africa. Whilst the container was in transit, they'd fly to a point in Africa and ride touring push-bikes several thousand kilometres to meet the container, where together with BEN Namibia they would transform the container into a bike workshop, train a few local hands to maintain the bikes and supply them to the people. Hence completing Hap's goal to work in every continent before turing 30.

A short animated promo for Bike for Humanity

After returning from a photography stint in the Arctic I got word of this plight and one night, struggling to sleep, I realised this was a story that needed to be documented. Not essentially the story of the Africa expedition or of Hap's global goal, but of the desire for adventure, to share the stories of those with itchy travel feet.

Filling a shipping container with used bikes

Putting this idea to the guys got a brilliant reaction and now it's all on. After a period of filming in Melbourne, the three of us will fly to Cape Town, South Africa with three bikes and cycle approximately 5000km's to meet the container. No support vehicles, all human powered. The destination will be set but the journey will tell the story.

Already fellow adventurers like Rob Thompson, the Kiwi who set the world record longest skateboard trip, and Robert Swan of 2041 have given their support to Hap's mission.

There's a massive amount of research and logistics to be sorted yet, but what we have to do as soon as possible is get together $12,500 to purchase the shipping container and get it to Africa. Hap has set up a fundraising site where even a dollar donation will help. As of the writing of this post the pot has passed $4500 - so if you can manage we'd appreciate every cent.

Currently all our fingers are crossed as Hap & Mandy's application for a slice of the Hillary Expedition Grant is processed. All we know at present is that it has made the shortlist.

We are also searching for sponsors - for bikes, travel, clothing, equipment, camera gear, telecommunications.... so if anyone out there has a lead, please let us know. We'd love to keep it as kiwi as possible, it's a big part of what we are doing.

Documentary wise things are just kicking off. My most recent film, Landscapes at the World's Ends, has been selected for the Documentary Edge Festival in New Zealand early next year which gives confidence to future screenings of this upcoming film. Also, the mutual friend, Hazel Boot, that put Hap and I in touch in Ushuaia just happens to be a fine musical artist as well, and she has already put up her hand to help out with the tunes for the doco. It's all coming together nicely.... watch this space.

Lots more to come.... it's still early days. I'll leave you with a couple of links to explore...

Please Donate! - Click here to go to the Final Continent Expedition fundraising site.

The plan in full - Hap's working the world blog

2010-11-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

Tidying up old footage, archiving, keywording, storing, backing up.... with thousands of HD videos now this takes a whole plethora of time and constantly raises the question of if you will ever see the shots again or if the files will hid away forgotten gathering dust for eternity.

Working through old footage today, I uncovered these three amusing wildlife clips from the past year.

A Shot in the Dark

2010-11-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

Good morning. Thought I'd post a trailer for a good friends and fellow design students new snowboarding film that's currently in post production. A shot in the dark. These guys (based in Norway) had a mighty rough time while in NZ a month or two ago, especially with one of their riders becoming paralysed. Very hard to comprehend how that would translate onto film and affect also the filmmakers.

Anyhow - the trailer is looking pretty damn epic...

New Trailer for Landscapes

2010-11-11T00:52:00.000-08:00

Today I have uploaded a slightly more refined trailer for Landscapes at the World's Ends. Please enjoy.

November Catchup

2010-11-10T01:18:00.000-08:00

A couple of months have passed since that big shake in Christchurch so time to update the blog a smidge...

First up, if you haven't watched this truly stunning short film that has been passed around the net for the past month, you'd better watch Dark Side of the Lens by surf photographer Mickey Smith - best short of the year by a long stretch in my opinion.

Part of the reason this update is long overdue is to be blamed geographically - A month long Mt Bike around Sichuan China with New Zealand based Escape Adventures was just what the doctor ordered after being shipbound for so long. This trip was all about big landscapes, food, people and Engrish.

And then came the move to back to Wellington after an absence of six years. Wellys is where I went to uni and was the subject of my 2004 experimental short time-lapse film Aeon.

Other news is that my new film 'Landscapes at the World's Ends' has been premiered at the American Conservation Film Festival a few days ago and will get its first showings in NZ at the Documentary Edge Festival in February and March next year in Auckland and Wellington.

More news soon - bring on the New Zealand summer

7.1

2010-09-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Awoke at 4.35am on Saturday morning to breaking glass, falling objects, a hundred car alarms and the deep menacing growl of mother nature as she unleashed her frustrations on little old Christchurch, New Zealand. Luckily our house was wooden so little damage resulted, though this was not the case for a lot of the city with a lot of houses wrecked, as well as a large amount of our historic buildings. Amazingly, due to the timing of the quake, not a single soul was lost, a real miracle!

A couple of snapshots taken with my G11 early on Saturday morning.

DefiningNZ

2010-09-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today I have a recent polar bear photo with a short report in from Svalbard published in the September issue of DefiningNZ magazine. It was a mission to get a satellite internet connection long enough up there to email this photo. Thanks Malcolm for getting in touch.

Landscapes at the World's Ends

2010-08-29T03:17:00.000-07:00

That's the decided title of my upcoming film. Thank you so much for all your suggestions, "Professor Sidey's Peculiar Photoplay of Frozen Frivolities" was a good effort, as was "Sichards Fantastical Icy Escapades" and I was perhaps too tempted by "Nipples of Steel".

Anyway, the editing progress is going well and the exciting news is that a trailer for this strange creation beast now exists!

I hope you enjoy... and please pass it on...

Go to the official website for "Landscapes at the World's Ends."

A New Project

2010-08-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

With my days at sea behind me it's time to do something with all that footage. There's a mountain of it. A colossal squids worth of gigabites filled with video files and raw photos. There are too many hard drives piled up like books on my desk and it would take an expert polar navigator to find what they're looking for.

But I'm a little bit excited because a new project is underway, which is part of something bigger but not to be mentioned yet. I am creating another non-verbal medium-length film, and trying a format I've never tried before. It will document both polar regions, more specifically anything north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Convergence. Will it work? Well that'll be interesting for all of us involved! But it's underway anyway. Long hours are ahead and the thought of it all scares me (like that movie Wolf Creek, or Morris dancers).

But so far some good news. A Norwegian Arctic based composer who goes under the name Boreal Taiga, whom supplied his arctic influenced tunes for this version of Grønlapse (below), has joined force and most super kindly supplied a large assortment of his latest works for use on the project. Big ups to you mate (and Wayfarer Records too)!

So a space to watch anyway. Next time I see you, if my eyes look like they've been bleeding and there's even less hair on my head, please don't be mean. It will take a while too, because the project is being rudely interrupted by a month-long mountain biking adventure in China, so no one hold your breath.

But once again, to my twelve loyal blog followers, muchas gracious again for your attention and I can assure you I will do my best.

By the way - if anyone has a suggestion of a name for this film, please leave a comment!

I'm Home...

2010-08-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

...and there's no place like it - Lake Hawea, New Zealand

Day 100

2010-07-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up for the 100th day in a row onboard the M/V Prince Albert II. Life at sea offers endless travel, an opportunity to save money, the chance to visit unique and isolated locations and create close friendships with all nationalities. It also means no weekends or days off, little communication with friends and family back home, difficult relationships, shared cabins, average food and little or no fruit. There are much more pro's and con's of course, and I'm not going to dwell on the choice of the seafarer.

Since it's day 100, and I only have a few left onboard, here's a photo recap of my voyage which started back on the Canary Islands at Santa Cruz de Tenerife on April 17th, 2010...

Day 01 - Loading provisions in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands

Day 03 - Toured vineyards on the volcanic and windy island of Lanzarote. The vines here grow in the black lava 'soil' and are protected from the Atlantic winds with a circular wall of rocks.

Day 05 - High speed sliding down the steep streets of Funchal, Madeira, amongst traffic, on a frail wicker basket toboggan.

Day 09 - A market display in Tetouan, Morocco. One vender sells everything from taps to cassette tapes.

Day 09 - Flamenco performance in Seville, Spain.

Day 11 - Some serious provision loading in Lisbon, Portugal, with fruit and veges spilling out into the lobby. It's a pity the crew won't see much of the fresh produce.

Day 12 - Thousands of gulls descend of fish scraps in the port of Oporto, Portugal.

Day 14 - A small pod of Pilot Whales joined us for the evening.

Day 16 - Super lucky to have a look through the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Day 23 - Endless crosses at the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach, Normandy.

Day 24 - Crew waiting for new guests to arrive in Portsmouth, England.

Day 26 - I do believe this dog just peed on Chris Cutler on the Isles of Scilly, UK.

Day 30 - I met a friendly and talented group of musicians, She'koyokh, on the shores of Iona. They were touring the Scottish Isles and from London performing Ashkenazi Jewish, Eastern European, Balkan and Turkish folk music.

Day 31 - was a standout highlight spent on the remote Isle of Hirta, St Kilda in stunning weather. Here Stac Lee, one of St Kilda's islands, rises dramatically out of the Atlantic and is covered by the world's largest Gannet colony.

Day 33 - The Stromness Chip Shop in Orkney scores highly in my professional opinion.

Day 38 - Moody skies over Loch Ewe, Scotland.

Day 47 - A second visit to the utterly stunning Mont Saint Michel in France.

Day 50 - A Special moment sailing under Tower Bridge into central London.

Day 51 - A fleeting catchup with some fellow Kiwi's living in London.

Day 56 - A Red-Throated Diver on the Isle of Mousa in Shetland. A hardcore birder there told me it was 'illegal to photograph this bird as it is protected.' Fool.

By the way this was my desk on day 56. It looks much better than it does now.

And on day 57 a few of us had a mint night in one of Lerwick's pubs which filled with young local musicians as the night went on, many swapping instruments from one song to the next.

Day 60 - Heading north and crossing the Arctic circle in Norway. This globe marks latitude 66˚33.

Day 64 - Standing at Nordkapp, the most northern point of Europe.

Day 67 - Finally back in beautiful Svalbard and looking for Polar Bears.

Day 71 - Holmiabukta, near Sallyhamna - We found our first bears (or first 10 bears) after receiving word of the location where a Fin Whale carcass that died last year had washed up. With plenty of food nearby it appeared at least one Bear had built her den nearby. Here a mother and two second year cubs feed on the whale.

Day 72 was spent with the Walruses on Lågøya above 80˚ north. Or 'Walri' as I would call the plural.

Day 73 - Ships path in sea ice towards Monacobreen...

...which led to an amazing Polar Bear encounter (more pictures in earlier posts).

Day 77 - We then spent another ten magic and insanely long days in Svalbard. With continuous sunlight and mountains of editing to do each night after recording all day on expeditions in the field, my mind turned numb and my eyes stopped blinking. Plenty of pictures from these days already posted. Here is a road sign outside Longyearbyen.

Day 86 - Arriving back in Tromsø we passed another Silversea ship, Silver Cloud. At the captain's request I took shot of the two ships side by side as he maneuvered PAII alongside.

Day 86 - Midnight in Tromsø, Norway.

Day 87 - Expedition team.

A rare opportunity to use the outdoor spas was quickly taken as no guests onboard for a five day relocation to Scotland. Soon after this picture was taken, under the Norwegian midnight sun, in a hot pool with a cold beer, a dozen Killer Whales cruised past. Pretty magic.

Day 90 - Repainting the crew mess.

Day 97 - Royal County Down Golf Course, Northern Ireland.

Day 100 - Confused about the last image? The last two weeks we have been chartered by Kalos Golf and we are transporting guests from one golf course to the next around Scotland and Northern Ireland, so I have temporarily turned from Expedition Photographer into something more sedate. Four days to go...

And that concludes my recap. Cheers for your attention.

Rainbow vs Sunset

2010-07-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Having spent more than enough time at sea in the past few years I've witnessed hundreds of sunsets (though still not convinced about the ol' green flash), and dozens of rainbows - but I've never seen both at the same time.

Yesterday on the west coast of Scotland, near the Isle of Staffa, there was a brilliant full rainbow which was slowly erased by the sunset, but for a minute there both were in perfect harmony...

The initial rainbow, only just fitting in frame with a 17mm lens.

Golden light spread on the starboard side of Prince Albert II.

For a minute or two both rainbow and sunset in full glory.

And that's probably the only time you'll see a sunset on my blog. How romantic.

End of the Arctic

2010-07-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

and a few more for the road...

The arctic light is easy to fall for

Stunning views from Blomstrandhalvøya

Early morning scouting Bamsebu

Long-tailed Skua

Our most northern point of this season

Svalbard Poppy

The brief business of Arctic swimming

Nordkapp, northern most point of mainland Europe.

And lastly, leaving the Arctic we passed through BP's Magnus oil field.

This image a stark contrast to the previous month.

Arctic moments...

2010-07-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

My arctic season is over and I'm back in the UK with heavy rain and dark skies - two weeks left onboard so a bit of time to upload a few moments from the past fortnight...

The Midnight Sun over Tromsø, Norway

Crew of the Silver Cloud greet old friends on the PAII as we come alongside in Tromsø

Svalbard skies

Ice cruising Svalbard and the King of the Arctic

Beluga Whales

Bird cliffs of Alkefjellet

A rare King Eider spotting

Monacobreen

More Svalbard

2010-07-06T00:45:00.000-07:00

Very short arctic season this year, we already left the islands behind yesterday and we are now at sea southbound for the Norwegian mainland. Sad to see Svalbard leave the horizon, its subtle beauty is definately worth a visit. A few more photos here, with more to come over the next week or two.

Holmiabukta

Walrus on Lågøya

Long Tailed Skua, Blomstrandhalvøya

Big stretch for a first year cub at Holmiabukta

Nursing mother and cub

Arctic Skua harasing a Kittywake for his catch

Ivory Gull, Monacobreen

Search for the Polar Bear

2010-06-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

The internet signal is few and far between in the far north of Svalbard as we explore latitudes around 80 degrees north but I've just managed to get a weak connection to upload some bear encounters from last week. My best bear sighting by far and a pretty emotional experience. I won't write more because chances are this signal will disappear.

Please enjoy and share!

Cheers, Rich

Published in Latitude

2010-06-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

This month I have an interview published in Latitude Magazine with a few pictures written by a very good friend met at university ten years ago, Hannah Ritchie.

Trollfjorden

2010-06-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday whilst cruising on up past the Lofoten Islands the Captain put the ship into the magnificent Trollfjorden for half an hour. The Expedition Leader and I took the chance to get in a zodiac and take some photos as the ship entered the 2km long, 100m wide fjord with peaks rising to 1100m on each side.

Prince Albert II enters Trollfjorden (Troll Fjord)

Trollfjorden (Troll Fjord)

A bumpy ride to Norway

2010-06-13T03:57:00.000-07:00

Continuing north from Shetland to Norway we hit a spell of bad weather during the crossing. Not the worst we've seen by a long shot, but enough to be uncomfortable for 24 hours.

This video taken in full wet weather gear at 6am with underwater camera in one hand, the other wrapped around the ship's railing.

Thames River Time Lapse

2010-06-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

Shot around 10 days ago on our sail into London up the river Thames. Three time lapse shots here, the first composed of photographs taken at 7 second intervals, the second and third at 4 seconds. Interesting footage...

Isle of Noss underwater video

2010-06-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

On arrival in Trondheim, Norway I finally got a fast connection so will upload a couple of videos. Here's some underwater footage from Noss, filmed with someone holding my ankles while I leant over the edge of the zodiac.

Isle of Noss, Shetland

2010-06-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

After a musical night out with the locals in Lerwick we got the chance to zodiac cruise around the spectacular Isle of Noss in calm seas. Noss hosts some massive sea cliffs which are home to tens of thousands of seabirds, in particular gannets.

Using our zodiacs to explore inlets and passages in amongst the limestone.

Nesting gannet

A great skua pestering a gannet for it's food

Gannets fill the sky in which is truely an awesome sight. Never look up with your mouth open.

Fair Isle, Shetland

2010-06-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post from Sark. Since then we had a few days in London (good catchups with old friends (not physically old) and a mean curry). Then it's all north from there, up the east coast of England and Scotland towards Svalbard, our main destination for the northern summer.

Fair Isle, Shetland

Enroute we got a morning on Fair Isle, a remote wee island halfway between Orkney and Shetland mainland. A quiet place on a dull day but birdlife aplenty and excellent cake and tea.

Fulmar in flight

Puffin amongst wildflowers

The World Cup reaches the most remote places. By the look

of this sign it's suggestive of whom they support (or don't).

The Isle of Sark

2010-06-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

Landing at Sark's impressive harbour

The fine weather of the past few weeks continued and the captain was able to take the ship back to the Channel Islands, which lie a few miles off the west coast of France, for another visit. This time we landed on Guernsey and Sark, both beautiful islands but Sark's beauty was of another kind.

Over the past few years with my travels I have visited many communities void of cars or motor vehicles and all of them have had great appeal. From the tiny communities of Tortuguero in Costa Rica to hillside villages in Peru's Colca Canyon, all these places inherit a silence that is so often lost in the world these days.

So a landing on the Isle of Sark was another gem, we were presented with a small three mile long island, only half a mile wide and a host of stunning sea cliffs, healthy farmland and petite villages. This was not before landing at a stunning harbour built into the cliff face with tunnel access to the docks, probably the most impressive harbour entrance I have experienced.

A few photos from the day...

The Guernsey Ladies

Island transport

The bridge to 'Little Sark', built by German soldiers during their five year occupation in WWII.

An afternoon with royalty

2010-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

"Welcome to Tory Island"

Under clear sunny skies and light winds our zodiacs made it ashore at the remote gaelic speaking Tory Island which sits off the northern coastline of Donegal, Ireland.

We were greeted in true form on the docks by the King of Tory himself, Patsy Dan. A sure character whom no doubt kissed the Blaney stone in his day, the king entertained us throughout the afternoon as he showed off his precious island to us. Before inviting us to a round of the black gold, we were even treated to a musical performance by the good man on an acordian that has seen many a day.

Later on in beautiful light a few of us climbed to the top of the sea cliffs that grace the northern shores of Tory. We were rewarded with stunning views over the island, and of nesting fulmars, razorbills and puffins in the cliff faces.

A top spot and once again I longed to spend just a bit more time...

Musical performance by Patsy Dan, the King of Tory Island

Tory Island's northern coastline

Isles of Scotland

2010-05-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

Sad to see the Western Isles of Scotland disappear from the horizon for the last time this season, as the last couple of weeks has supplied stunning weather as we explored as many islands in as many days... A few photo highlights from the past couple of weeks - excluding St. Kilda.

Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

Entering Loch Ewe at dawn

Heron nesting, Loch Ewe

Jellyfish in Loch Ewe - first use of my underwater housing

Scottish Highlands

Approaching Lunga, Treshnish Isles

Early morning zodiac preparation, Dutchman's Cap, Treshnish Isles

Left: Cruising Lunga, Treshnish Isles - Right: Isle of Rum

Fingal's Cave, Staffa

Lobster Fisherman, Islay

Zodiac landing on Gigha

She'koyokh, a London based gypsy band plays on Iona

Duart Castle, Isle of Mull

Eriskay

Farewell Scotland - the islands disappear off the horizon as we sail to Ireland

St. Kilda in Colour

2010-05-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

A few more sots from that special place.... posted from Stromness, Orkney.

Gannet

The food and fuel stores of the St. Kildans

Fancy a Kiwi photographing sheep. Soay sheep that is.

Hirta panoramas, with the Prince Albert II and zodiacs on tour. As you can see, a perfect day.

And, of course, everyone's favorite. The Puffin.

Stunning Time-lapse footage from Iceland

2010-05-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

I was just imformed about this super time-laspe video that has been posted on the net by Sean Stiegemeier, of the unpronouncable Icelandic volcano doing its thing. Well worth a view...

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

St. Kilda, Scotland

2010-05-18T02:46:00.000-07:00

I was planning a couple of posts from the past few days documenting visits to the Scottish Islands of Gigha, Islay, Iona, Mull and Staffa, but after an epic visit of the remote islands of St. Kilda yesterday, all previous posts are eclipsed.

St. Kilda is a spectacular set of islands situated off the west coast of Scotland. On sighting the islands on the horizon yesterday morning, I actually gasped! An amazing dramatic skyline isolated in the midst of nowhere. With its location being so exposed, visits here are most often disrupted by weather, often making it impossible to land. Our Expedition Leader had visited nine times previously and never made it ashore. The day however, was perfect. Blue skies, a light swell and next to no wind. Talk about good luck.

The islands host the world's largest Gannet colony and the largest colony of Fulmars in Britain. Also there is over 2000 years of human history, with the last 36 residents evacuated to mainland Scotland at their request in 1930.

Needless to say, my camera's shutter was on fire most of the day. Here's a quick selection of shots from my first edit....

Gannet Colony on Stac Lee

Heading ashore in Village Bay via zodiac

The Isles of Scilly

2010-05-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

St Mary's awaits a heavy downpour

Earlier this week we landed by zodiac on two small Cornish islands in South-West England, St Mary's and Tresco. Four seasons in a few hours but two great spots. The tropicalness of Tresco was quite surreal for this area, with its bright white sand, turquoise water and palm trees.

The white beaches of Tresco

And a couple of bird shots from Tresco...

Heading north now to the Irish ports of Waterford & Dublin, then up to the Scottish Isles! Can't wait.

Mont St Michel

2010-05-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

A quick visit to Mont St Michel, an ancient town and clifftop abbey and place of pilgramage in North-East France. The tide here gets up to 16 metres or so, similar to Canada's Bay of Fundy, and the ocean surrounds the tiny island which hosts all the activity. I had a low tide visit so was able to get out on the eastuary for a couple of shots.

Guggenheim Bilbao

2010-05-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today I was super lucky and got to visit Frank Gehry's stunning Guggenheim museum in the nothern Spanish town of Bilbao. I was left with lasting impressions after visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim museum in New York three years ago, even though I only made it into the foyer, not being able to afford the entrance fee. Today however, was part of the tour I was documenting so as a Mr Partridge would say, 'Back of the Net.'

No photos allowed inside, so I can only give you a wee glimpse of an amazing postmodernist and deconstructivist masterpiece...

Ok so I did sneak one indoor shot

A gigantic floral puppy at the entrance. Postmodern?

Portugal

2010-05-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

A quick visit to pretty Portugal via the ports of Portimao, Lisbon and Oporto.

Postcard Oporto

Escaping the tourist resorts and getting into the foothills

brought the smell of spring and a silence that is always lost on a ship.

Morocco

2010-04-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

A whirlwind visit with two days in Morocco, coming alongside at a couple of ports. We whized around in busses through the cities of Casablanca and Tangier and hurtled through the labyrinths of Tetouan and Rabat. My first footprints on the African continent and a photogenic experience for sure. Another place on the list to go back to...

Seven snaphots for your upmost viewing pleasure...

Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

Markets of Tetouan

Dusk over Tangier

Exploring Lanzarote

2010-04-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, three days into my current contract, I visited the island of Lanzarote, another of Spain's Canary Islands. The island has very little vegetation with a large number of volcanoes domination the landscape, and strict building regulations to protect the integrity of the island and influenced by famous local architec, artist and designer Cesar Manrique.

A vineyard on Lanzarote's volcanic terrain in traditional method.

I was fortunate to visit Manrique's former home, designed by the artist and constructed in a giant lava tube, partially underground. I also visited a couple of his creations including a massive cactus garden with over 900 species, and the famous Jameos del Agua, a surreal centre of art and culture occupying a large section of the same lava tube which contains Manrique's house. The gallery is partially underground, constructed amongst the lava and is the cornerstone of the great man's work.

There's no way to explain the awesomeness of this master's work without showing you photos, so here are a few from the island.

Inside and around Cesar Manrique's inspirational home

One of Manrique's many lounges

Looking out on the volcanic lava landscape from inside Manrique's house.

Jameos del Agua's pool inside a lava tube

Underground theatre inside a lava tube at Jameos del Agua

The bathing pool at Cesar Manrique's Jameos del Agua

Climbing El Teide

2010-04-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

El Teide, the highest point in Spain at 3718m

After looking at the massive volcano in the centre of Tenerife for a couple of days, two shipboard friends and I decided to give it a go. The day was good, though very windy, but as the photo shows above, the peak was clear.

We started walking at the edge of El Teide National Park, at around 2100m, the temperature had already dropped from the springlike mid 20's on the coast to 3 degrees. The scenery was simply spectacular, a vast array of volcanic bombs, lava flows and arid desert.

El Teide from the beginning of the hike

Massive lava bombs add to the arid landscape

The climb quickly steepened and as the air thinned out it became pretty tough and slow going. As we neared the summit the entire surface was covered in icicles, shaped and sculptured by the howling winds which were gusting up to 120km/h.

Tough climbing over endless lava fields

After 5 hours of solid climbing we reached the icy summit of 3718m, the highest point in Spain. The views were just awesome and we could glimpse most of the other islands, as well as all sides of Tenerife. With a freezing cold gale howling we didn't stick around for too long and began what was to be a monotonous and knee-breaking decent.

Standing at the summit of El Teide at 3718m

We had been advised to take a different route down - an easier one - which was quickly proved wrong as the trail entered what seemed like an endless lava field. It took hours to get through, as many of the rocks were unstable and covered in ice.

A long way down over endless lava

Despite the wobbly knees, blisters and wind burn, the scenery was still spectacular, with unique rock, sand, ice and colour formations in all directions. Just awesome.

On arrival at the car we were truly able to appreciate the scale of the mountain. An awesome way to stretch the legs one last time before going back to sea.

Looking back up at El Teide

Exploring Tenerife

2010-04-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

58 hours of flying, airport layovers and over-priced over-processed food later, I arrived in Tenerife, one of the several islands that make up the Canary Islands, belonging to Spain and situated off the coast of Morocco.

I had my last four days of holiday here before joining my ship, The Prince Albert II, in Santa Cruz.

Puerto de la Cruz, Isla de Tenerife

Tenerife has some beautiful black sand beaches, tho not the sort of holiday I was after. In the centre of the island is El Teide, a massive volcano rising to 3718m and visible from all corners of the island.

Playa Jardin, Puerto de la Cruz

The Canary Islands are known to have a climate of 'eternal spring', and in April the island bursts into flower. Some hiking on the western corner of the island ensured my visit was timed to perfection.

Tenerife in flower

Tramping near Masca on the western corner of Tenerife

The holidays are over...

2010-04-09T01:33:00.000-07:00

I'm in a familiar place - It's time to get in the mindset to spend the next several months at sea. This is both harder and easier after a magnificent Kiwi summer, in which I have roamed around my own backyard, revisiting favorite spots and discovering new ones.

Packing the night before

With the coming of a new contract it also means that I can afford to get some new gear. So after a few swipes of plastic I now own a compact Canon G11 camera which will double as a backup camera to my 5D Mark II, as well as giving me an underwater option as I also purchased the underwater housing. Can't wait to try this out! Plus its new, bigger memory cards and ever increasing hard drives to store tens of thousands of RAW images (over 25mb each) and hundreds of hours of high-def video.

The next step is you get your flights, usually at the last minute - a good two days in advance this time, and it appears I will get quite the tour. In fact, by flying through a large number of cities on several different airlines in a number of different directions and by watching as many movies as possible in 50+ hours, not only will I get a whirlwind sightseeing world trip but also get real value in saved cinema tickets. It's fair to say the cheapest way is not good for the body clock.

Below is my flight path from New Zealand to the Canary Islands... an ugly long series of flights and connections. According to Google Maps, if you dug a hole from Christchurch through the centre of the earth, you come out in Spain, so I really am going to the opposite side of the globe!

My flight path from Christchurch to Tenerife

So I'm planning to make a big effort with the blog this time around after it got a little slow and stagnant in the past. The big aim is to increase my 'followers' from the current six people to around double that by the year 2014.

Where am I off to and what do I do?

I'm the Expedition Photographer onboard Silversea's expedition cruise vessel the 'Prince Albert II.' I document our expeditions through nature photography and videography for our guests, in which we hold up to 132.

This contract will take me from the Canary Islands north to the Brittish Isles, then up through the Norwegian Fjords to Svalbard in the Arctic for summer. It's a real privilege to get to these remote and hard to access wonderlands so I see my responsibility is to share them with others through the use of my camera. I've never been to these parts before so excitement is at hand. I hope to share that with you over the next few months.

Time to pack now as time is short!

Hap on TVNZ Breakfast

2010-04-06T17:01:00.000-07:00

Related to my previous post about Hap Cameron - here is an short interview which screened on TVNZ this morning where he talks about how he got to work in Antarctica, through the help of a 'Kiwi friend.'

Hap on TVNZ Breakfast

Catching up with Hap

2010-03-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, late last year, I was contacted via email from a fellow Kiwi called Hap while working on the PAII cruise ship in South America. Hap had got in contact through a friend of a friend and said he was on a mission to work in all 7 continents before he turns 30. He was 5 down and Antarctica was proving to be the toughest.

Several weeks later I met up with Hap for a beer in Ushuaia, the Argentinian port where most tourist expedition cruises depart for Antarctica. Always happy to meet up with Kiwi's for a pint outside NZ, I was unfortunately unable to help Hap out for advice in getting work on the great white continent.

A couple of weeks after that however, when learning our dining room was short staffed while the PAII was enroute to Ushuaia, I dropped Hap's name into a converstation, which resulted in a frantic skype call to his hostel, and a last minute CV was on the way to our Hotel Manager. 10 days later Hap was working on his sixth continent as an assistant waiter.

You can read Hap's full story on his informative and inspirational blog - www.hapworkingtheworld.com

Above - An article from the Nelson Mail featuring my photo of Hap in Antarctica

During the last few days while residing in my family bach in Wanaka, New Zealand, I was visited by Hap having now finished his Antarctic work. A great catchup with a new friend and good times planning some new adventures on his 7th continent and of course collecting some firewood to get the bach through winter.

Hap & Roger collecting driftwood in West Wanaka

Aoraki Time Lapse

2010-03-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a short montage of time lapse shots from my weekend at Aoraki (Mt Cook) National Park. It appears my 'photo exhaustion' of my last contract at sea has finally worn off and I'm enthusiastic about picking up my camera again :)

Southern Skies

2010-03-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

It's less than a month till I'm back onboard so making the most of my time at home...

I thought I'd share a shot taken last night at 1800m in Mt Cook National Park, New Zealand. Here is DOC's Mueller Hut absorbing the distant light of the stars and milky-way. The head torch trails are trampers making their way through gale force winds to the outdoor dunny. The exposure is around 5 mins duration.

More Publications...

2010-02-22T21:41:00.000-08:00

A few of my older pictures were published in an Ecuadorian magazine 'Vanguardia' late last year, here are the scans...

Icy Grandeur

2010-02-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

My sisters article on her expedition cruise to Antarctica as published in The Christchurch Press last week...

In the News!

2010-02-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

On Monday the 15th of Feb an interview my talented sister Anna Sidey wrote appeared in The Christchurch Press, along with a feature story of her own voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Here's the interview...

Life at Sea / The Southern Ocean

2010-01-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica and is notorious for being big. Currents circulate the continent from east to west with no land to block their circumnavigation. Between South America's Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula is the shortest distance across, known as the Drake Passage. Swells here can dwarf any ship and it is a much respected body of water.

Every season there's always at least one storm that's going to intercept us. Departing passengers need to get their flights and new passengers need to start their cruise, so there is no freedom to move dates if a big storm is imminent. That's life on the Southern Ocean... deal with it!

Here is the bow of the Prince Albert II slamming into the next swell.

Battle for the Beach

2010-01-17T23:14:00.000-08:00

St Andrews Bay, South Georgia. A 5-ton bull elephant seal prepares to challenge the beach-master for territory. Here I was 10m away with video and still camera in hand! Just awesome!

Hear that camera snapping away in that video? Who's to say Kiwi males can't multi-task. Here's a couple of those shots...

Last 12 Weeks - Part VII: South Georgia

2010-01-17T22:38:00.000-08:00

Nothing compares to South Georgia, the paradise of the South Atlantic. My second visit was no less impacting than the first, this place really takes your breath away.

Landings on South Georgia are always a bit up in the air. The remote island is subject to large swells and adverse weather. No matter what you always need a bit of luck on your side. On this expedition we zodiac cruised Elsehul Bay and Drygalski Fjord and made landings at the ex-whaling bases of Stromness and Grytviken. We also had a stunning day onshore at Gold Harbour and St Andrews Bay, both crowded beaches packed to the ends with Elephant Seals and hundreds of thousands of King Penguins.

Such a privilege to return to this wildlife utopia - here are a few of my favorite shots...

First up - landings in swell, full appreciation goes out to the guys who hold the zodiacs. Remember this is the Antarctic Ocean. Here is Robin West and Chris Srigley having fun.

What you are presented with on the shores of South Georgia is nothing short of wow. Here's a panoramic of the stunning Gold Harbour and its beach packed with King Penguins and Elephant Seals.

There's hardly room for our survival gear on the crowded beaches...

King Penguins make their way out of the dumping surf, totally fearless of humans

It's a nature photographer's paradise. Large memory cards are key.

And in the evening when the light gets low, I'm lost for words.

It's fair to say you don't need a mad telephoto lens down here. I have great pleasure in telling people that this is my office - well for a couple of days a year anyway...

And of course, besides the abundant wildlife South Georgia is engulfed in history, most notably with the heroic Antarctic explorer Sir Earnest Shackleton, whom is also buried at Grytviken.

We had a Dutch couple down here that loved it so much they got married at the old chapel in the Grytviken whaling base... in a blizzard.

I hope you enjoyed that. I can't wait to go back.

Whoa! A close call in Chile...

2010-01-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

In the Chilean Fiords, it is necessary to pass through several 'narrows' to get to hard to reach places, such as Puerto Natales, the entrance town to Torres del Paine National Park.

These narrows usually need to be passed at a slack tide, when there is minimal current.

On this crossing of the Kirke Narrows in Southern Chile, I was filming a time lapse out the stern of the ship when the Chilean pilots seemed to start overcorrecting and heading towards a large rock. Luckily, our well experienced Captain took control at the last second and saved the day, managing to steer clear of the rock by a mere metre or two!

Final 12 Weeks - Pt VI: Falkland Islands

2010-01-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

Out of the Chilean Fiords and into Ushuaia, Argentina, our home away from home. Nearly all antarctic cruise ships and expedition vessels use Ushuaia as their last port of call before heading to the great white continent.

We arrived in Ushuaia on Nov 12th, just over a month out from the summer solstice and already the nights were disappearing. On Dec 21st (the day I disembarked), Ushuaia celebrates 24hr daylight with music and all night(?) parties.

With our new group of passengers we made our way to the Falkland Islands, my second visit and both within a year on the same vessel. We made three landings - Westpoint Island, Carcass Island and Stanley, the capital.

Westpoint Island is a rugged small island to the north west of the mainland, it is a sheep farm, and lately more of a tourist farm, as it is a fantastic place to see visit a large Black-browed Albatross Colony.

Amongt the nesting Albatross are comical Rockhopper Penguins.

That afternoon we landed on the nearby Carcass Island. It always amazes me to see beautiful white sand beaches in the midst of the South Atlantic Ocean. The beach on which we landed was being visited by the curious Gentoo penguin.

Below a couple of curious locals come to check out the big blue alien of myself.

Thanks to Chris Srigley for this photo.

The next day was spent exploring Stanley, the capital city and home to the not so recent Falklands War.

Several minefields are still present on the island.

An Antarctic Tern about to deliver a fish to its mate on the town jetty.

...and hooray for whoever put up that Wellington sign. Chur.

High Speed Time Lapse of the Panama Canal

2010-01-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

Well I promised it ages ago, but when we transited the Panama Canal in September I time lapsed the whole thing with my Canon 5D MkII. Using the intervelometre I took a picture every 10 seconds, and then put these photos together to make a movie sequence, effectively making 8 hours or so go by in a couple of minutes. This gives a unique view of the locks in action as we go up and down a few dozen metres to pass over Central America. About half way through the video you will see dark storm clouds gather and an intense tropical downpour started, so I had to move the camera up to the bridge, inside. While rescuing the camera a bolt of lightning hit so near it knocked me to my knees. Intense! (like camping).

The Final 12 Weeks - Part V: CHILEAN FJORDS

2010-01-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

Fjords or Fiords? Subject of much debate onboard. I put fiords on the voyage DVD and raised a few eyebrows. Fair enough with a Kiwi photographer.

I had travelled the Chilean Fiords earlier in the year only northbound - this time we were heading south for a solid 6 days through the bulk of the maze and it quickly became evident that this year winter been colder than most. For most of our passage, the snow covered the trees down to sea level, making some spectacular scenery. At Garibaldi glacier there was so much ice we couldn't get close. Despite the area being known for some of the worst weather around, we had a pretty good run....

Zodiac cruising to the face of Pio XI glacier

This photo was kindly supplied by Edward Hodgson. Taken in the Garibaldi Fiord, you can see the masses of ice preventing us from approaching the glacier via zodiac. I'm up on the bow taking a few shots which is good for scale.

The Final 12 Weeks - Part IV: THE HUMBOLDT CURRENT

2010-01-17T01:58:00.000-08:00

As soon as we crossed the equator, temperatures plummeted... from a balmy mid 30's month in the tropics we were into the teens, dry air and a completely new landscape. The bone dry Atacama desert was to our portside for a couple of weeks and wildlife started to surround us as the Humboldt current, which brings cold rich waters up from the south of Chile, engulfed us. In Ecuador, Peru and Chile we were mainly visiting archeological sites, which were fantastic, but for this blog post I'm going to cover a small selection of the wildlife encountered....

Blue Footed Boobys in Ecuador

Marvelous Frigate Birds in Ecudaor

The Humboldt Penguin

South American Sea Lions kissing...

The awesome Inca Tern

More Sea Lions

And yep I know this isn't wildlife but this small twister 5000m up on the altiplano in Chile was pretty sweet...

The Final 12 Weeks - Part III: EQUATOR

2010-01-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

Having never crossed the Equator by sea before, I was known as a Slimy Pollywog and needed to be cleansed by King Neptune himself before becoming a Trusty Shellback and a resident of the seas. Good silly fun in the absolute middle of nowhere.

First up, I get a haircut with strawberry mouse as shampoo...

then it's being force fed spaghetti

...and after kissing King Neptune's manly wife's tomato sauce covered foot it's time to kiss Neptune's overgrown baby's stomach which is lathered in peanut butter...

...kiss the fish...

and swim across the equator and you're in....

Just hope you didn't piss anyone off in the past few weeks...

One of the better sea days for sure.

The Final 12 Weeks - Part II: COLOMBIA

2010-01-17T00:21:00.000-08:00

The last major highlight I had in the Northern Hemisphere was on Isla Gorgona off the coast of Colombia. A penal colony until 1984, Gorgona was a lush tropical island infested with snakes, lizards and monkeys which inhabited the spooky and overgrown prison. Despite having sweaty feet after wearing the necessary gumboots for snake protection, it was full of awesome photo opportunities.

Woooops! The Final 12 Weeks - Part I: PANAMA

2010-01-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

Yes sorry to you followers, my blog, as well as my diary stopped simultaneously for a number of reasons whilst onboard the Prince Albert II. My workload increased, satellite internet is expensive, and photographic exhaustion started to take its toll. In fact, by the time I disembarked the ship in late December, my five month old Canon had snapped over 45,000 pictures.

So my apologies, but this evening, in 30 degrees of hot Kiwi summer, I will try to sum up some highlights since leaving Costa Rica as we continued to Antarctica....

First up, we returned to the stunning Emberá village which I had previously written about after visiting two weeks earlier. A chance to build on relationships made with the locals went down a treat. I let out a massive smile as I arrived on the muddy banks of the Rio Morgue settlement to a group of children yelling "Hola Ricardo!"

Whilst in Costa Rica I had printed a bunch of photos taken at the village 2 weeks earlier and with my previous local friend Ida we went and handed them out to the children's delight.

After another fantastic day mingling with the Emberá we said our goodbyes and I promised to return in a year with more pictures. Both times whilst leaving this village I have been on an absolute high, simply from the warmth, humor and character of the Emberá. It's a place we could all learn a lot from and what a privilege it was to experience. Below is a picture with my friend Ida on departure.

Week 9 - Costa Rica (Pacific Coast)

2009-10-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

A nice week with some top shelf weather visiting a wide range of National Parks, notably Manuel Antonio National Park and the Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. Heaps of wildlife, hundreds of birds and super hot.

San Blas Islands, Panama

2009-10-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jumping back a bit here, before transiting the Panama Canal, we visited the beautiful San Blas Islands. Here are a few pictures of the Kuna people from the Island of Wachib Wala and its surrounding tropical paradise.

The Embera People

2009-10-02T12:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we visited a remote Embera village deep in the Darien Jungle. Travelling up river 11 miles in our zodiacs, we were often forced to pull the boats as the water level dropped.

The result was mesmorising, we arrived in a tranquill village full of beautiful people, almost untouched by the outside world and we were the first visitors in over a year. The warmth and humour I then experienced with these people over the next few hours will never be forgotten. Here a few photos of some of the amazing people I met. Ka Pai!

Week 8 - Panama

2009-10-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Quick update: So far a stunning time in Panama, first we visited a Kuna village, Wachib Wala, on the San Blas islands before transiting through the Panama Canal. I did time lapse the entire passage, and the result is awesome. We had a massive storm that came over halfway through and while running out to grab the camera before the torrential downpour started, a simultanious blot of lightning and clap of thunder threw me to my knees. Intense! I'll upload the time lapse (10 hours into 2 minutes) as soon as I get a fast connection.

Costa Rica - Slothtastic

2009-09-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited an amazing Sloth Sanctuary in Limon, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.