It’s always exciting to travel somewhere new for photography. Last year I was lucky to fulfil a long term dream to photograph puffins (and other northern hemisphere seabirds) in the UK and Svalbard but there is something special about time spent locally. There is no stress or logistics to manage and cost is not an issue.

Rotorua is my home patch and I love it. I never cease to be amazed by the opportunities a 10 minute drive from home can offer. By way of illustration all these photos were from a single early morning visit lasting a little over an hour.

I would usually be happy with one decent photo from a trip but there are so many opportunities that the chance to practice and improve your skills that it is a very productive venue. Not to mention that it is arguably the best place in the country to photograph Weweia/New Zealand dabchick.

Dabchick are by no means the only subjects with large populations of shag and Papago/NZ Scaup too.

I really enjoy the challenge of photographing the Papago/NZ Scaup as they are pretty little ducks and fly fast.

Catching them in flight or landing is challenging but rewarding when it works

There have recently been a small group of Tētē-moroiti/Grey Teal which is a nice addition to the bird population.

The variety of subjects and conditions offers so many opportunities to practice bird photography. On this morning one of the dabchicks was at rest on calm water backlit by the rising sun. This gave a very low contrast image that I found challenging to process in a way that gave me a result I was happy with. Changing to a black and white version brought focus onto the feather texture and rim lit halo.

Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S