Rotorua Photo Walk

In my previous post, I talked all about the Raglan photo walk I went on with Up and Adam, in that post I also covered what a photo walk was and why I think you should do one.

In this post, I am going to talk about the Rotorua photo walk, and the awesome stuff we got up to after it, stuff that involved a mountain, darkness and 4 wheel drive buggies, and how you can experience that yourself.

Rotorua Photo Walk

Firstly, I am originally a Rotorua local so I didn’t have the rush of exploring somewhere new, which if you get the chance you should do.

I hate being late so I was there early and had a wander around, The 2 float planes run by Volcanic Air were getting moored for the night, initially, I wasn’t too sure what they were actually doing and thought they may have been taking off, I contemplated if I should take a photo or not, and luckily I did as they were turning away from me.  I managed to get this shot.

If in doubt, take the shot, you may not have another chance.  Something I need to remember.

Also, I really need to go for a ride in a floatplane someday.

The Photo Walk begins

Adam outlines what the plan is, explains the basics of photography and points us in the direction we need to head to.

We headed around the edge of the lake making our way to the Museum, and along the way, I helped out some people with their cameras and settings.  No matter if it’s giant pumpkins, something to do with technology or even Bullet Journalling (Nancy knows what I mean) I really like helping people understand something they didn’t know before.

Rotorua Museum

The museum in Rotorua is currently permanently closed due to suffering earthquake damage from the November 2016 earthquakes.  While that is a shame for visitors, it still makes for an awesome photo opportunity, especially at night with the ever changing lights shining on it, something that I didn’t realise it had.

The full moon and interesting clouds really did help make the photos stand out, and being able to easily move around on a bowling green really did help.  I didn’t do any of the writing with light this time as I really wanted to try and just play around with framing my images.

Then it was time to go up a mountain

After the actual photo walk, it was time to go on a mission.  Adam wanted to check out what Rotorua looks like from the top of Mount Ngongotaha at night so he can offer a very unique experience to others.

But first, you need a hot chocolate after a photo walk.  Once that was done, thanks to BP we were off to Adventure Playground.

If you don’t know what Adventure Playground is, make sure to check out their website, they offer Quad Biking, Horse Treks, Clay Bird Shooting and 4wd Buggy Tours.

I have to admit, there is something really awesome about being in a 4wd buggy driving around a mountain at night, it’s something completely different and something not many people get to experience, that coupled with the views and the chance to get some pretty cool photos really make it a memorable time.

These are really long exposure shots, and while they look quite light, they were actually taken very close to midnight.  The power of the long exposure gives you these awesome shots.

After being on the side of the mountain for a while we drove into the bush and came into this amazing clearing, not only is it super dark making it ideal for some playing around with astro photography it was also so quiet that it was almost deafening, something you don’t find a lot of these days and it made the whole area very calming.

The clouds didn’t help much, but as an experience, it really is very awesome, and the great thing is you too can experience it for yourself.

The Night Photography Experience

Adam is running a night photography experience, so you can find out what it’s like to be looking down on Rotorua from the side of a mountain at night.

For all the details, including pricing, what you need to bring and times etc, click here to go to the night photography experience page.