David Brownlie: Blog

A new camera and a fresh start

Thu, 24 May 2018 06:43:41 GMT

Must remember to actually update the blog!

Managed to grab a couple of hours to get to the 1st XV game at Silverstream yesterday.

The start of club rugby and the first time at a super rugby game with the camera

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 00:23:16 GMT

Had fun trying to shoot 2 games at once at Maoribank Park on Saturday for the Premier Reserve comp and then the Premier comp. Rushed back to the stadium to catch the Hurricanes U20's against Argentina and then the Hurricanes against the Highlanders. A bit of experimenting with settings but got some decent results.

A new lens

Wed, 04 May 2016 22:43:34 GMT

Picked up a new lens today and had to try it out at Jerry Collins Stadium. Very happy with the results given it was the first time out. I actually got too much light in some shots. Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 which, while heavy, is going to be a lot of fun at those night games.

Saturday at Kapiti College

Wed, 04 May 2016 22:41:01 GMT

A sunny Saturday at Kapiti College. Caught the tail end of the U15 game between Kapiti College and Paraparaumu College and then the Rongotai 1st XV against Kapiti. Some decent shots but hard with the sun where it was.

Presbyterian Quad - Final Day

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 07:50:15 GMT

Mostly sunny for the two games. St Kents far too strong coming away with a big win in the final and Lindesfarne grabbing the win over St Andrews.

Night game at Jerry Collins Stadium

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 07:48:54 GMT

Ike and I took in the Wednesday night game between Poneke and Tawa at Jerry Collins Stadium (selected because it was the quickest to get to from home).

Really happy with the results. Best work so far under lights.

Opening day of the Presbyterian Quad at Scots

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 07:47:39 GMT

A good chance to see Isalei back from Christchurch. Unfortunately St Andrews came up against a very good St Kents side and went down. Only managed half of the second game as I had to head to the airport to pick up 2 of the kids. Scots ran out the winners.

Missed the post for the weekend. What a dust bowl!

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 07:45:34 GMT

Two games last weekend. Ories vs Poneke Colts which was a great to chance to see all the ex RC boys that I'd coached/been involved with playing. Ories got the win but only just. The premier match was another close game (I was at the game in 2015 when Ories 1 by a point). The big difference this time was the dust and the wind. Got some decent shots still.

Two very close games

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 20:50:19 GMT

Rongotai College vs Nelson College and Ories vs OBU were both decided in the final minutes.

Got a decent shot of the winning try in the Swindale Shield game.

Keep forgetting to update this bit ....

Sun, 06 Sep 2015 05:08:50 GMT

A really busy week. Ike's basketball on Monday. Rongotai U15 rugby on Tuesday and Thursday. Caught some of the Tu Toa vs Westlake clash next to the Rongotai Gisborne Boys High School game. Stayed for the final with Silverstream destroying Manukura. Drove to Masterton and got both the Wellington U16 and U16 Development games. Believe it or not the rain was easier to deal with than the sun in Masterton!

A busy week

Sun, 05 Jul 2015 05:57:08 GMT

Wow what a week. Quad at Wellington College on Monday with Wellington College, Nelson College, Christs College and Wanganui Collegiate playing. Rongotai vs Silverstream traditional on Wednesday and a Rongotai Selection against the Aztec Warriors from San Diego on Thursday. Saturday, Ike's game in the morning, and then to Wellington College again where I got to shoot Kapiti vs Wellington College 2nd XV and then Rongotai vs Wellington College.

Time for a rest.

Missed a few weeks

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 06:12:10 GMT

Busy at work, a new video camera for game analysis and a family funeral seem to have kept me distracted. I've still managed to get to some great games however. The most entertaining game of the last few weeks was the victory by Palmerston North Boys High who came back from 12-30 to win 33-30 at Silverstream. Lots of tries to shoot in a couple of big losses for HIBS against Rongotai College and then St Pats Town. A win in the mud for Rongotai over Tawa and then two great games today at Quad.

Another game under lights

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:18:47 GMT

The Wellington co-ed cup final between Bishop Viard and Tawa was played at Lyndhurst Park under lights. With the game starting at 6PM it was dark so finding the right spot given the inconsistent light was challenging. I went with the combination of the 7Dii and the 200mm F2.8 and the 650D and the 50mm F1.8. Most of the good shots came from the 7Dii, but I was happy with the results given the lighting challenges.

Overcast and blustery but a big aggregate score

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:16:00 GMT

Having worked a fair number of nights recently I took the afternoon off to go to the Silverstream vs Wellington College game. The strong winds meant I stayed at the northern end of the ground. Got some good shots and it was a great game.

A superb game to watch

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:13:06 GMT

Intensely physical, lots of hard running and big hits, and it went down to the wire. Some of the photo's weren't as I'd have liked as I got side tracked keeping an eye on Karl in the second half. He'd only been cleared for contact the previous evening and it was a physical game. The big thing for the game was that I got a photograph published in the Dom Post.

Final 1st XV grading games

Mon, 18 May 2015 03:16:33 GMT

Following the horrific weather last week I got to see the first half of the Fleurs Trophy games at Petone Rec getting a few images from all four games. A quick drive over to St Bernards and I caught the 12:30PM grading game that was won by Wairarapa College. Another quick drive and I was at Hutt International Boys School for their narrow victory over Porirua College.

For the Fleurs Trophy games I tried doubling up using the 650D with the 200mm F2 and the 7DII with the 150-500mm F5. I'm definitely going to try that again.

College grading games start

Sun, 03 May 2015 21:24:24 GMT

Junior rugby in the morning, Rongotai College U14's, Oriental Rongotai Colts and then the RC 1st XV. Some difficult lighting with the sun very low for the last game.

The plan for the weekend

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:29:05 GMT

Ok so it's just a plan but

Ike is playing at 9:30AM at Ian Galloway so some shots of U9 rugby.

I may be able to catch the end of the Rongotai College U55kg grading game at the College which starts at 10AM but probably not.

11:30AM I'll be wandering between the Rongotai College U15 teams playing on RC #1 and RC #2.

12:45PM to the Polo Ground for Ories Colts and then 2:30PM back at Rongotai for RC vs Taita in the first premier grading game.

I've been slack

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:26:42 GMT

I haven't managed to update this in ages. Time to make a concerted effort to update it weekly. Last weekend was full of rugby games which was fantastic from my point of view. I started at Kilbirnie Park with all the ex Rongotai boys playing for either Poneke or Ories in the U21 match. Luckily for me the Axemen were playing OBU (also in the U21 grade) on the field behind me so I parked up in between the two games and alternated.

The premier match followed with Ories just pipping Poneke 28-27. The only frustration of the day was that I somehow changed the exposure setting part way through the premier match over exposing a number of shots. That's the second time I've done that so I need to figure out which quick feature I'm using to change it and stop!

Monday was a day in the rain with Rongotai playing Tu Toa in Palmerston North. I always enjoy the shots I get in the rain.

Getting used to the 7D Mark II

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 04:14:53 GMT

Got a lot more good shots today at the Oceania Handball tournament at ASB. Some still out of focus but a lot more useable shots. Most shots were with the F2.8 200mm.

New CF Card ... and a great win in the rain

Sat, 02 Aug 2014 09:28:10 GMT

After having a data corruption last weekend at the Wellington College vs HIBS game I tried out the first of the new ones today. No issues :)

A wet and windy day so I had the all weather cover on and couldn't move around much as I was trying to keep the wind to my back so as to keep the rain out of the lens!

Rongotai won 36-10 so a great result. Got some shots I'm really happy with.

Corrupted CF card!!!!

Sat, 26 Jul 2014 08:56:47 GMT

Really frustrating afternoon. After getting some good shots of Cara's team this morning I went to shoot at the Wellington College vs HIBS Premier 1 game. Thought I had some great shots only to discover that it appears one of the final shots I took has corrupted most of the others. Still trying to figure out if I can recover some of them but VERY frustrated!

St Pats Town vs Silverstream 23 July

Wed, 23 Jul 2014 06:28:42 GMT

Overcast, rain and then sun at Evans Bay for the last round robin match of the Premier 1 season. Parked up at the Kilbirnie Park end of the ground and shot from there. Some good shots and a tight game.

Half Century Cup

Fri, 18 Jul 2014 19:14:50 GMT

Rongotai College vs Wairarapa College traditional. Mist, overcast, rain and freezing cold. Got a few good shots.

WRFU Williment Week

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 18:46:35 GMT

I was pretty busy coaching the Western Bays squad but got some time to get some shots of the week. Particularly when the WRFU CCO's went to work refining the boys skills. Another fantastic week put on by the WRFU for the regions emerging talent. I feel privileged to have been involved.

A busy week

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 11:49:06 GMT

A good week with the camera. Wednesday out at Silverstream in the rain and hail as Rongotai College 1st XV took on Silverstream. A friday night game for the 2nd XV left me free to shoot Saturday as well so the U8's and U10's games in the morning and then some shots of U15 and Premier 2 rugby while I waited for Rongotai College vs Wellington College at 2:30PM.

Finally got to spend some time with the camera again

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 00:29:01 GMT

The coaching has kept me away from the camera for most of the last month but this weekend was fun. I caught the end of the Wellington College vs St Bernards Premier 1 match on Saturday and then an U11 game on Sunday morning and the Whirlwind girls series with my daughter Cara on Sunday afternoon.

14 June

Sat, 14 Jun 2014 15:24:57 GMT

Wow. A busy few weeks with work and coaching so I haven't got as many chances with the camera as I'd like. Going to definitely fix that soon.

Got a few this weekend of the U15 game under lights at Wellington College on Friday night and the RC 1st XV game against HIBS on Saturday.

7 May at Porirua Park for a Night Game

Tue, 06 May 2014 21:39:48 GMT

Lots of light at Porirua Park tonight. Playing with settings on the 70D and used both the Sigma 150-500mm and the 200mm F2. The 2.8 was definitely clearer but it's hard not to go with the magnification of the 500mm.

Tawa ran out the winners 22-5 and I got some shots I'm happy with but a lot that were almost ...

Sunday 4 May 2014 - Sola Power Throwing Academy Junior Event

Sat, 03 May 2014 16:41:36 GMT

Overcast and occasionally drizzling at the Sola Power throwing event today. Juniors so I didn't have to worry too much about being hit by the discuss/shotput.

Action shots are using the Sigma 150-500 with presentation photos using the 50mm F1.8.

Saturday 3 May 2014

Sat, 03 May 2014 15:56:21 GMT

First chance to have a go with the Canon 200mm F2.8 on Saturday morning in the rain at Prince of Wales Park. Only a few shots from the first half as I was also coaching. The second half meant no photo's as I was the ref! After rushing around Saturday morning I was out to Silverstream to coach the 2nd XV against Silverstream. I then got a couple of photos in the second half of Karl's game with the Rongotai 1st XV.

Quiet weekend with the camera

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 09:02:36 GMT

Busy coaching instead of taking photos this week. My 2nd XV had a good win 40-12 over Kapiti College 1st XV. Mid week games starting next week so I'm hoping to get to some of those.

Also an equipment change coming up. I should be getting a Canon 200mm F2.8 lens tomorrow. To partially subsidize that I'm selling the 55-250mm F4 and the 18-55mm F3.5 lenses as I mostly use the 50mm F1.8 for anything close now.

College Premier rugby grading starts this weekend, as does Junior rugby so hopefully I get a chance to get the camera out.

Scots College beat Marlborough Boys 33-19

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 02:20:03 GMT

Another great day in Wellington. Over at Scots College to watch a couple of ex Rongotai boys play against each other. Nu'u played the 2nd half at hooker for Scots with TC starting at 10 for Marlborough.

Great to catch up with Ross Findlay, Adam Julian and Mike Lewis at the game.

I can go and look at Mike's photos and see how much I need to improve at this.

Johnsonville beat Ories at the Polo Ground

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 06:55:39 GMT

Another sunny Wellington afternoon. Parked up in the shade of the clubrooms with the 70D and the Sigma 150-500mm lens. Found it a bit difficult with some of the in goal shots at that end of the field!

Johnsonville vs HOBM on Easter Friday

Fri, 18 Apr 2014 05:19:09 GMT

A great afternoon at Helston Park watching Wellington Premier Club rugby. HOBM ran out winners 28-23. I parked up at the northern end of the ground with the sun at my back.

College Sport Senior Handball Finals 16 April 2014

Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:40:59 GMT

Taking photos at ASB tonight of the Senior Handball Finals. Rongotai College winning both the 3rd/4th playoff and the final over St Pats and Scots College respectively.

I'm still trying to get used to taking photos with the artificial light at ASB but starting to get some good shots.

It's a start

Tue, 15 Apr 2014 11:30:14 GMT

So I've just decided to give Zenfolio a go. I've been thinking about the best way to share my photo's for a while now.

Still a work in progress. Hopefully over the next week or so I'll upload the last 2 years worth of photos ... a big job.

Tuesday, 15 April 2014