Blog has moved!

To my loyal reader (there's a reason "reader" is in the singular)...I have moved my blog!

You can now find me at http://fallonphotography.wordpress.com/.

This is a new thing for me, a budding romance if you like, but I have a feeling it's going to work out well.

So anyway, if all goes according to plan WordPress and I are soon going to be going steady. If so I will be suspending my Blogger blog in the next couple of weeks. So I'll be at http://fallonphotography.wordpress.com/ if you need me!

Spring has sprung - it's time to ride bikes!

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and temperatures are warmer than they've been in ages.
And just to eliminate any lingering doubts my girl's broccoli seeds are sprouting like crazy - I think Spring is finally here!
I've just booked a mountain biking trip to Rotovegas with the crew in November and I'm looking forward to a great summer of mountain biking, shooting, barbeques and beer (not necessarily in that order!).
Enjoy the sun folks! I'm going to leave you with some extreme broccoli photography...

SNOWPARK WITH KEIJI OKAMOTO

I have hardly shot any skiing or snowboarding (at least, compared to a "normal" winter) this year...which is ironic considering this winter we experienced what experts were calling a "50 year storm" with super low temps and heavy snow. I guess I have just been too busy with other work.
However a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Transworld Japan to shoot with Japanese ripper Keiji Okamoto so it was time to dust the skis off and get out on the snow!
After a couple of false starts due to other work commitments and bad weather we eventually caught up with each other at Snowpark late August.
It was one of those truly stunning "I've lived here for years but I still can't believe how beautiful it is" Southern Lakes winter days - blue skies, good snow and not a breath of wind.
It was such a fun day shooting in the park with Keiji - he is a really nice guy and super talented on a snowboard. Thanks to Snowpark for having an awesome park and helping me out with a media pass. Here are a couple of pix from the day to whet your appetites...

Alt skis

(Photo above: Simon Bergeron of Alt Skis waiting for the sunrise, pre-dawn, Remarkables).

(Photo above: Eric Bergeron side-country wind-lip surfing, near Coronet Peak Ski Area, Queenstown)

A few photos from a shoot I did earlier this month with Alt Skis. (Alt Skis are a small skier-owned company based in Quebec who make amazing and amazingly light all mountain, park and touring skis).

Ironically when we did this shoot there was bugger all snow and we had to work hard to get good shots - looking out my window now there is more snow than we know what to do with!

Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos.

Snow snow snow!!

(Above: Icicles and a curtain of snow overhanging my office window - my heater is definitely on this morning!)


(Above: Icicles in the first light of morning, taken out my kitchen window whilst making a cup of coffee).

Thsi morning the top of my office window is obscured by an overhanging curtain of snow and icicles. The view that I can still see out there is beautiful - everything is covered in about a foot of beautiful white snow and the early morning sun is turning everything a warm golden colour.
I feel for the farmers and everybody who has to work outside in these conditions but at the same time as someone who grew up without seasons to speak of I absolutely love it. Here are a few photos of the views I'm enjoying this morning...I hope you are all safe and warm wherever you are. (And drive safe if you're travelling).

Things don't always go as planned...

Photo above: Guerillas in the mist?

Sometimes, despite the best of planning, mother nature can throw a bloody great spanner in the works and stuff things up well and truly...
A couple of nights ago local riders Reon Boe, Stu "Chucky" Greig, Jarna Mackenzie & I did what turned out to be quite possibly the stupidest mountain biking photo mission of all time.
At 730 last Tuesday we rendevouzed at the Coronet Peak Ski Area top car park, put our winter woolies and our night lights on and started pushing and riding our bikes to the top.
Now if it was just riding at night on snow and ice on a ski-field on a freezing night in the middle of winter I wouldn't rate it that highly on the stupidity scale.
Unfortunately, despite the skies being clear and the stars twinkling as we drove up Coronet Peak, by the time we got there the mountain had been swallowed by the fog. Thinking (rather optimistically as it turned out) that the cloud would lift we pushed on. Stu and Jarna rode up the Enduro track and didn't have too bad a time of it, but Reon had his DH bike and I had a 15kg camera pack and tripod on my back so we decided to push up the M1.
Even with our powerful night lights visibility was about two feet and it was only the fact that I have spent a fair bit of time pushing bikes up Coronet Peak that stopped us from getting totally and utterly lost.
Eventually we reached the top of the Enduro track and re-united with Stuey and Jarna. We shot a few photos - I kind of felt I had to after all the effort of getting up there - and then got the hell out of Dodge.
The ride down was full on. Hard-packed frozen snow made traction interesting in a couple of places at the top but all in all the grip was pretty good. The only problem was the fact that you couldn't see where you were going...
Anyway, we all got down safe and sound, albeit with frozen fingers and raging appetites!
Luckily I was able to offer the boys cheap red wine, lamb shanks appetizers and a big bowl of pasta to thank them for the effoirts!
In fact it went so well, all things considered, that I might do it again tonight! Here are a few foggy photos from our little adventure...
Big thanks to Reon, Stu and Jarna for freezing their arses off to shoot photos in zero visibility!

Photo above: Jarna rails a frozen Coronet corner...

Craigieburn and the Wharfedale Track

It's been a super busy summer and autumn this year, so when the opportunity came to get out of town for four days to shoot some mountain biking for an overseas mag I leapt at the chance!
Jada and I left Queenstown Sunday night and managed to ride and shoot Craigieburn on Monday and the Wharfedale track on Tuesday. Now it's time for a well-earned rest at my folk's place in Geraldine before we head back to beautiful Queenstown tomorrow.
We had an amazing drive north on Sunday night with a three quarters full moon watching over us, and yesterday as we drove back to Geraldine from the Wharfedale there was a huge Nor-west arch looming over us in a most threatening manner...