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The Hairy Mussel Co is an innovative company of cool Guys who have worked out how to distribute fresh, live green-lip mussels to folk who enjoy fine food. I’ve done a bit of work for them and I love them! They are go-getters with the good old kiwi can do, never say die attitude, an inspiration to the rest of us.
Thing is, they’ve developed this mussel tank that will fit in retailers shops and it needs no power to run, has a small footprint. You just put the mussels in, fill up an ice box and you’re good to go. Too easy. Yeah…as long as you’re not a photographer! The Hairy Mussel Co need some promo images, this tank is as shiny as your retired father in law’s car and I was having nightmares about capturing images of it.
I thought of putting one of these tanks on the beach somewhere and using a 200mm lens to keep myself from being reflected off every sparkling piece of it. Turns out that wasn’t an option and we had to make photos at Cuddon Engineering in Blenheim, they are the clever people who turn dreams into tangible assets.
So, rethink on the photo shoot. Solution – huge light source by shooting a strobe through a diffuser panel, a little bit of fill with an umbrella and try to eliminate any bright ambient light with another diffuser. And used a blue background in case we decided to cut out the tank.
Result – beautiful! What a work of art this mussel tank is, almost as delectable as the product that’s going to be in it. I adore mussels!
The Hairy Mussel Co
the set up
The Hairy Mussel tank straight out of camera, no post process
Yup – that’s the Hairy Mussel attention to detail
Aug 08, 2009 | Categories:Blog | Tags: 200mm lens, ambient light, attitude, blenheim, blue background, cool guys, fine food, footprint, green lip mussels, images, innovative company, kiwi, light source, little bit, love, mussel, nightmares, photo, photo shoot, promo images, strobe, tangible assets, umbrella, work of art, yup | Comments Off
These dudes are turning into a Kaikoura tourist attraction of their own.
Each winter a load of seal pups from the Ohau Point seal colony use the Ohau stream and waterfall area as their nursery for the day. Seems like there are hundreds up there this winter, most days they are all the way up the creek and there will be a group playing in the pool at the falls. Apparently they head up there while the folks go out fishing for the day. Makes sense, it’s safe from sharks and orcas and there are plenty of humans to keep them entertained.
They have no fear of the people who head up the five minute walk to see them, some of the pups will come over and have a sniff then head off and put on a show in the pool.
I went up to the falls with a Bride and Groom a couple of weeks ago and there was people and seals everywhere. One kid had even taken a ball up for them to play with.
Going to be interesting when these seals are great big and not scared of humans!
Guess they are kind of cute
Don’t think they had seen a Bride with a bouquet before
Aug 06, 2009 | Categories:Blog | Tags: bouquet, bride and groom, dudes, fear, fishing, kaikoura, ohau point, ohau stream, orcas, pool, seal colony, seal pups, seals, sharks, tourist attraction, waterfall | 6 Comments »
Concorde – the great gas guzzling aeronautical icon that could cruise at 1300 mph, the body stretched up to 25cm in flight as it flew at an altitude of up to 18,000m. Pretty impressive for a piece of gear first made in the late 60s.
The French-Brit (Aérospatiale-BAC) partnership only made 20 and after its one crash in July 2000, world economic climate and other determining factors Concorde flew for the last time in Oct 2003.
I worked in Gloucestershire on a huge potato farm in the 80s and we were under the London to New York flight path of Concorde. The noise of the mighty aircraft climbing into space over the UK was sensational, only outdone in impressiveness by low flying jet fighters when I was working in Scotland.
So the point of this writing? I recently found some images I shot of the Concorde on one of it’s visits to Christchurch in the late 80s. Still in it’s heyday then, it was exciting times. I would have loved a ride but normal fare London to New York was $9,906 US. – Gulp!
wonder who that good looking couple are?
Kodak Gold 100 on God knows what camera.
Aug 04, 2009 | Categories:Blog | Tags: 60s, 80s, altitude, brit, christchurch, concorde, crash, cruise, economic climate, flight path, gloucestershire, gloustershire, good looking couple, heyday, images, jet fighters, kodak gold 100, last time, london, love, partnership, potato farm, working in scotland | Comments Off
the set up
The Hairy Mussel tank straight out of camera, no post process
Yup – that’s the Hairy Mussel attention to detail
