Sunday, 31 January 2010
Pikarere Photos on Flickr
Pikarere photos were uploaded earlier on Saturday, and I've just now completed the finishing to the set and update of the photos page. I have mixed feelings about the set. Although the day was comfortably cool, the major challenge was again low light, but this time compounded by fog and at times a very light drizzle (fog with lumps, you might say).
So, on the one hand I'm disappointed that the number of shots is well down, and I've had to compromise the standard yet again, while on the other hand pleased that I got as many as I did in spite of the conditions. So, mostly grainy and fuzzy shots, but a fair indication of the conditions.
I missed some of the later starters, sorry - in the hope that conditions might be better at sea level (they were not) I got to the beach, but then had to make my way back to base via the long intermediate trail, so if you hadn't made it to Liz's checkpoint by 10:40-ish, it was too late.
Anyway, as of today it's beginning to look like we might get a summer - let's hope it holds until Bright's Farm next Sunday. We're still waiting on final details for this event, but it shouldn't be long now.
So, on the one hand I'm disappointed that the number of shots is well down, and I've had to compromise the standard yet again, while on the other hand pleased that I got as many as I did in spite of the conditions. So, mostly grainy and fuzzy shots, but a fair indication of the conditions.
I missed some of the later starters, sorry - in the hope that conditions might be better at sea level (they were not) I got to the beach, but then had to make my way back to base via the long intermediate trail, so if you hadn't made it to Liz's checkpoint by 10:40-ish, it was too late.
Anyway, as of today it's beginning to look like we might get a summer - let's hope it holds until Bright's Farm next Sunday. We're still waiting on final details for this event, but it shouldn't be long now.
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Photos from Manakau Farm available on Flickr
Well, it all happened a bit faster than I'd expected (you have 2 days of liquid "sunshine" to thank for that) but after a delayed start I managed to complete the selection and get the Manakau selection uploaded last night. The set is now available to view on Flickr as usual.
Yet again, the conditions were a challenge with the overcast conditions dictating higher ISO, wider aperture, and slower shutter speeds. Consequently some images are again a little grainy and soft at the edges, or the depth of field may be quite shallow and the "in focus" area won't cover the whole subject, so if you're contemplating prints, do look closely at the "original" sized image and decide whether it will give you the results you want. While most look OK at normal screen resolution, enlarging to A4 might not always work out so well. It seems to be the story of the season.
The field was quite large, so with the main loop being extended and the number of loops reduced compared with last season, along with a tighter timeframe for me to get back to base for strapping, I chose an out-and-back strategy to maximise the likelihood of catching everyone at least once. An unfortunate injury for one of our competitors interrupted my return, and I think I definitely missed some folk at that point, but I was able to catch most of those at the end after our vetting was complete. If I did miss you, very sorry - luck of the draw.
We were very lucky with the weather - a few shots show some speckling from the light drizzel that fell around 10:30, but otherwise the rain gods smiled kindly on us for the day. At least the conditions were good for keeping the horses cool.
Looking forward to Pikarere, always a favourite venue not least because of its proximity to Wellington for many of us. It seems unlikely that the trail will be as dry and hard packed as it sometimes has been, but I'm guessing there may be a lot of long grass in some of the back paddocks, so that may slow folk down a bit on some of those untracked farm sections.
Hope to see you all out on the trail then.
Yet again, the conditions were a challenge with the overcast conditions dictating higher ISO, wider aperture, and slower shutter speeds. Consequently some images are again a little grainy and soft at the edges, or the depth of field may be quite shallow and the "in focus" area won't cover the whole subject, so if you're contemplating prints, do look closely at the "original" sized image and decide whether it will give you the results you want. While most look OK at normal screen resolution, enlarging to A4 might not always work out so well. It seems to be the story of the season.
The field was quite large, so with the main loop being extended and the number of loops reduced compared with last season, along with a tighter timeframe for me to get back to base for strapping, I chose an out-and-back strategy to maximise the likelihood of catching everyone at least once. An unfortunate injury for one of our competitors interrupted my return, and I think I definitely missed some folk at that point, but I was able to catch most of those at the end after our vetting was complete. If I did miss you, very sorry - luck of the draw.
We were very lucky with the weather - a few shots show some speckling from the light drizzel that fell around 10:30, but otherwise the rain gods smiled kindly on us for the day. At least the conditions were good for keeping the horses cool.
Looking forward to Pikarere, always a favourite venue not least because of its proximity to Wellington for many of us. It seems unlikely that the trail will be as dry and hard packed as it sometimes has been, but I'm guessing there may be a lot of long grass in some of the back paddocks, so that may slow folk down a bit on some of those untracked farm sections.
Hope to see you all out on the trail then.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Newsletter 129 posted
The latest newsletter has details of the Pikarere ride coming up on 24 January. This is a lovely venue and handily placed for Wellington riders. It is quite a testing trail with a long tough climb towards the end of the main loop. The long Intermediate is spared a 2nd climb of this hill, which rises from near sea level to about 200 meters, by doing a one-and-a-half loop trail.
There has been a venue change for 7 March - now Turakina, a new venue introduced at the end of the last season. This replaces Bulls, and while it may be a little further to travel, it's reputedly well worth the trip. The Calendar has been updated.
I've delayed posting the results from Manakau to the website - a minor formatting glitch has turned what could probably be 4 pages sheet into 8, with the placings disconnected from their results - a waste of trees if you intend to print. As soon as I have a reformatted version I'll upload it.
Photos are still a little way off - I'm working through the selection but have had a few diversions to contend with. They should be out before the next ride at the latest.
There has been a venue change for 7 March - now Turakina, a new venue introduced at the end of the last season. This replaces Bulls, and while it may be a little further to travel, it's reputedly well worth the trip. The Calendar has been updated.
I've delayed posting the results from Manakau to the website - a minor formatting glitch has turned what could probably be 4 pages sheet into 8, with the placings disconnected from their results - a waste of trees if you intend to print. As soon as I have a reformatted version I'll upload it.
Photos are still a little way off - I'm working through the selection but have had a few diversions to contend with. They should be out before the next ride at the latest.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Funeral arrangements - Helen Bain
Published in Friday's Dominion Post, a celebration of Helen's life will be held in Cornwall Manor, corner of Knight's Road and Cornwall Street, Lower Hutt at 11:00 am on Monday January 4. The notice suggests that in lieu of flowers, donations to the Forest and Bird Society will be appreciated and can be posted to PO Box 631 Wellington or left at the service.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Helen - captured moments 2006 - 2009
Helen and My Daddy's Tuff, Bright's Farm, November 2006
Helen and My Daddy's Tuff, Waitarere, January 2007
Helen and My Daddy's Tuff, Waitohu, March 2007
Helen and Evo Supremo, Karapoti, November 2007
Helen and Evo Supremo, Waitarere Endurance, January 2008
Helen and Evo Supremo, Tinui, September 2008
Helen and Evo Supremo, National Endurance Championships, Whareama, April 2009
Helen and Evo Supremo, National Endurance Championships, Whareama, April 2009
Helen Bain
It is with great sadness and not a little shock that we learn today of the untimely death of Helen Bain. Helen drowned on December 29 while crossing the Ruamahanga River on horseback near Masterton. Despite the heroic efforts of companions to rescue her from the river, Helen could not be revived.
Tributes to her work as a journalist have been published online in Stuff, and for her role as Communications Manager for Forest and Bird.
In the worlds of CTR and Endurance, Helen was an active member of the Wairarapa Endurance and CTR Club, a past member of WATRC, and a stalwart in the organisation of Island and National Championships events. She has done much to promote both sports by contributing pieces to various horsey magazines, and was an active and respected participant in HorseTalk forums.
Our heartfelt sympathies go to her partner, Mark, her family and friends, work colleagues, and fellow club members and competitors. We all feel her loss dearly.
Helen and Evo, Karapoti, November 2007
Tributes to her work as a journalist have been published online in Stuff, and for her role as Communications Manager for Forest and Bird.
In the worlds of CTR and Endurance, Helen was an active member of the Wairarapa Endurance and CTR Club, a past member of WATRC, and a stalwart in the organisation of Island and National Championships events. She has done much to promote both sports by contributing pieces to various horsey magazines, and was an active and respected participant in HorseTalk forums.
Our heartfelt sympathies go to her partner, Mark, her family and friends, work colleagues, and fellow club members and competitors. We all feel her loss dearly.
Helen and Evo, Karapoti, November 2007
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Prize Winners from Battle Hill on Flickr
Of course some of you have already noticed the additional photos, but in case others were waiting on an announcement, this is it.
I've taken the opportunity to try something a little different with the photos page. When I look at other sites' photos pages, they generally have photos on them, and occasionally (rarely) I've included some in ours. It seemed to me that our page looked a little drab in comparison, so I've made a token effort to change the look.
The images are still hosted on Flickr, but presented on our pages. Each event will continue to have a text linked to the set, and now a "thumbnail" sized copy of the cover image for the set in its original format. The image will also link to the set in the same way as the text, so you can click either on the text or the image but the result should be the same - a new window or tab should open on the Flickr set.
For the Battle Hill prize winners spread (1st placed competitors) I've used Flickr's "small" image size, but in these cases the underlying link is to the image in its place in the photostream. You can navigate to the set within Flickr quite easily. It was the lift these images gave the page that made me think about doing something similar for the other events, but I'm conscious of the impact the increased data transfer may have on dial-up and rural users, so I won't take it much further than I have.
Anyway, photos-wise, that's a wrap for this calendar year. We're just waiting now to add the published results from Battle Hill to the site, and we can take a break for Xmas.
On that note, we wish you a safe and happy Xmas and New Year, and look forward to seeing you all back at Manukau Dairy Farm in January.
I've taken the opportunity to try something a little different with the photos page. When I look at other sites' photos pages, they generally have photos on them, and occasionally (rarely) I've included some in ours. It seemed to me that our page looked a little drab in comparison, so I've made a token effort to change the look.
The images are still hosted on Flickr, but presented on our pages. Each event will continue to have a text linked to the set, and now a "thumbnail" sized copy of the cover image for the set in its original format. The image will also link to the set in the same way as the text, so you can click either on the text or the image but the result should be the same - a new window or tab should open on the Flickr set.
For the Battle Hill prize winners spread (1st placed competitors) I've used Flickr's "small" image size, but in these cases the underlying link is to the image in its place in the photostream. You can navigate to the set within Flickr quite easily. It was the lift these images gave the page that made me think about doing something similar for the other events, but I'm conscious of the impact the increased data transfer may have on dial-up and rural users, so I won't take it much further than I have.
Anyway, photos-wise, that's a wrap for this calendar year. We're just waiting now to add the published results from Battle Hill to the site, and we can take a break for Xmas.
On that note, we wish you a safe and happy Xmas and New Year, and look forward to seeing you all back at Manukau Dairy Farm in January.
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