Rarotonga

[pearlyred]

Recently spent a week in Rarotonga. Haven't been to the Cook Islands before, so this was a delightful experience. Absolutely loved the place, will certainly go back at some point.

Here's a few snaps. Any feedback on how I could process these better would be kindly received.


Taken from Muri Beach where we were staying, on our first morning in Rarotonga.

Muri Sunrise by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

This is Black Rock, in the northwest part of the island. Lovely views from here and it's also a good snorkelling area.

Black Rock by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

A yacht returning to the harbour at Avarua. Was a beautiful day for sailing.

Yacht returns by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

A view from Avana, the original harbour on the east side of the island. A couple of fishing charters operate from here and the best cafe on the island is located here too.

Avana by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr



Taken from the Shipwreck Hut, a beach bar on the west coast known for it's jam-jar cocktails. Perfect spot to spend a sunny afternoon, drinking pina colada's and long island ice teas.

Cocktail jars by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

Nothing special about this one, just an awesome sunset from the plane above NZ.

Over the sunset by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

Just a view down the beach

Beach view by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

Some sort of sea bird that was frolicking around in the harbour at Avarua. Haven't been able to identify what it is yet, but even some of the local boaties seemed to be entertained by it.

Sea bird by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

A rock wall at Avarua harbour.

Avarua harbour by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

Flower head in the sand. Colours stood out well, looked very pretty as there were quite a few lying around.

Sand flower by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

Looking north up the beach on the west coast. The clouds seemed to roll in late in the day, killing any nice sunsets, but it was still warm.

West coast by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr

Looking out across Muri lagoon. My first attempt using a 10-stop ND filter.

Muri Lagoon by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr



This is as good as my very limited processing skills get me.

~ p

[Jos]

Beautiful, about as Pacific as it gets. The warm water at those places must be wonderful.

[pearlyred]

Still working on it.. have a massive cold though.. oh the joys of being back in NZ (and freezing!)

Added a couple more.

[pearlyred]

Added a bunch more. Any comments on how I might process any of these better would be welcome. My LR/PS skills are very limited, to say the least.

[Adam]

They look great (to me) as far as the processing goes.

[weap10]

Cool shots, makes me wish I was there.

The processing looks spot on except for the last one the white balance looks off.

[pearlyred]

Thanks for that.

Yeah I had no idea what I was doing with the last one, never used the 10stop ND before, so had to remove the blue tint. Probably didn't go far enough with the WB, though I kinda liked the blue dreamy look. I'm sure others would have sharpened up the rocks more and bought out some colour in them, but I have no idea how to do that

Wasn't the sharpest photo to begin with anyway, due to wind.

[pearlyred]

Trying a B&W attempt:


Muri Lagoon by Lee_Saunders, on Flickr