By Ken Wright

All too often on social media, I see the wrong exposure used in the wrong location, the rush to use a ten stop to create an effect at the expense of the beauty and dynamics of the location.

For me, a really long exposure is best used for landscapes that do not have a dynamic element, ie. calm seas, lakes, jetty and a slow moving sky with plenty of definition. Here we want to smooth out the sea, lake, remove the wind chopped ripples and get that lovely silky effect and movement in the sky.

My colleague and fellow tutor at New Zealand Photography Workshops, Richard Young is very adept at “Long Exposures” anything 2-8 minutes and he is in his element where as I tend to operate at the other end of the scale, still classed as long exposures because you can't handhold the camera.

That's not to say that I don’t do longer exposures like Richard, it's about having enough knowledge to deal with what nature throws at you - Presented with a sea with little or no water movement and I will be into a ten stop in a flash.

However, most of my favourite locations that I visit for seascape photography in the Bay of Plenty have dynamic water movement over rock ledges and small offshore islands etc. These environments suit the shorter more explosive exposure.

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By Shona Jaray

I studied to be a dietitian but eventually started up my own food business, opening a delicatessen and catering business in Karori. After 10 years of that I set up a private practice in Sports Nutrition at Wellington Sports Med Clinic and at the same time I joined my husband in the coffee business – we imported green coffee and roasted it for the hospitality industry, and imported coffee machinery.

I sold my nutrition practice in 2000 and concentrated on the coffee business until we sold that in 2003 essentially becoming “retired”. At this point we moved from Wellington to a lifestyle block in Reikorangi – a beautiful valley 10 km inland from Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast.
Once we moved, I would see people – clients from my nutrition practice and from the coffee business who would greet me and say “so, now you are not working, what do you do all day?”

On a 10 acre property, there is always plenty to do. We grow a lot of our own veggies, we have animals – little highland cattle – although my husband looks after them. We have regular house guests – friends to stay. I enjoy reading, good movies, and listening to classical music. I am also learning to speak Czech – it’s a challenge. I have an excellent teacher whom I meet up with once a week in Wellington.

I am currently the chairperson of the Judge Accreditation Panel for the Photographic Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) and along with Bruce Girdwood, run 3-4 training weekends throughout New Zealand per year. These aim to be an introduction to photographic assessment with an emphasis on respect for the photographer and the image they have made.

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By Peti Morgan

I’m a Wellington based photographer who uses the camera as a tool for creative expression. My work spans landscape, architecture, fine art, travel, and abstract - often focusing on the sea, and aspects of nature.

Some key moments in my photography journey include receiving my licentiate honours from the Photographic Society of New Zealand in 2014, winning a gold medal in the PSNZ Canon National Exhibition (NATEX) in 2015, and exhibiting at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in 2016.

It was during a PSNZ convention that I was able to join an architectural workshop with Jim Simmons, at Anvil House on Wakefield Street, Wellington. We toured up the stairwell, into one of the empty office spaces, and onto the roof.

Anvil House was built in the ‘50s, for Smith & Smiths. A little light research reveals that “Anvil” was actually their paint brand, and their emblem is still shown on the front of the building (the two blokes whacking an anvil). Their original building was burned to the ground, and Anvil House built in its place.

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