Commercial and Editorial Photographer » Destination

Bodyboarding at Socials Surf Break, Rarotonga Cook Islands

Thomas Pickard — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:40:57 +0000

When I arrived at Socials surf break on Saturday morning, the sun was shining and the swell was looking pretty good. Only problems was the tide. It was too full and needed to drop a bit, so I drove the 100-metres to my friend’s place, which looks directly over the surf break. An Atomic-made coffee later (thanks JT) and the tide was beginning to do its thing, so I grabbed my camera and swam out to the break for a glorious South Pacific surf session.

A couple that made the editing cut.

Underwater view of a bodyboarder, Socials, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Barrel time, Socials, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Wave of the day goes by, Socials, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

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Surfers Surfacing, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Thomas Pickard — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:01:59 +0000

Despite the overcast skies, I was back in the ocean yesterday, photographing some visiting bodyboarders and surfers out at Socials, off the end of the airport runway here on Rarotonga Island.

You never really know what you are going to get on a surf shoot. Sure, I can see the image on the back of the camera through my water housing, but the images are difficult to see in bright conditions and sometimes you just don’t have the time to look.

The two below made the editing cut. Hundreds didn’t.

Duck diving a wave, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

In the Field: Surf Photography

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Published on The Travel Channel

Thomas Pickard — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:15:20 +0000

The Travel Channel recently ran one of my Maldives resort photos in The Daily Escape section of the site. It’s the first time I’ve seen the site and I love the motto for The Daily Escape – A Vacation for your Brain.

The image was licensed via my stock agent, Aurora Photos.

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On Photographing Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Thomas Pickard — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:52:28 +0000

A couple of months back, I was chatting with a woman I had just met through a friend of a friend, when the woman in question asked me: “don’t you ever get bored of photographing beaches in the Cook Islands?”

My reply was “Are you serious?”

To which she responded “Yes”

Her question and response really threw me, for the simple fact that when I walk out the door and go anywhere in Rarotonga, I see so much more than just beaches to photograph.

Case in point – below are 10 photographs from a selection of hundreds taken in the last couple of days. Take the time and you’ll find plenty of things to photograph in a place like Rarotonga.

Po-Po, daughter & dog, Rutaki Passage, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Two day old piglets, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Afternoon light on mountain ridges, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Surfer, slotted. He made it. Avana Passage, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Fisherman searching for fish, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

New channel marker, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Beach, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Lone fisherman, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

South Pacific power. Avana Passage, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Portrait of a spear fisherman, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

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From the Archive: Polar Ships

Thomas Pickard — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:40:34 +0000

Bridge of the Clipper Adventurer, South Georgia. © www.thomaspickard.com

This photo was taken on one of the many Antarctic voyages I did in November / December 2008 on board the ice breaker, the Clipper Adventurer.

The Clipper Adventurer is a small ship, with a total carrying capacity of around 175 people (that includes all crew). Like all ships, the Bridge is the command centre. It is here, jammed between radars, charts (maps are called charts on ships), radios, satellite phones and consoles with more buttons and dials than I would know what to do with, that the decisions are made.

For Expedition Leader Laurie Dexter (in the blue coat centre), it is a place where he would spend a lot of his time, liaising with the First Mate (second in command) and Captain about the ship’s course, estimated time to the next landing and countless other things that go into running a successful voyage.

Of all the ships I’ve worked on – The Aurora Australis, the Akademik Sergey Vavilov, the Akademik Ioffe and the Clipper Adventurer – they all have one thing in common: the ship’s Bridge is a very quiet place. Sure, the crew talk at a normal conversational volume, but here is the thing: there is more watching and listening on a Bridge than conversation.

That makes the Bridge a very peaceful place, especially when you are travelling through a place as a majestic as Antarctica.

View more polar ship photography at this gallery – TRANSPORT | Polar Ships

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Close Encounter with a Giant Trevally in the Cook Islands.

Thomas Pickard — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:48:48 +0000

Though I had already spent a day photographing a spear fisherman up on Aitutaki Island, I have been keen to get out in the water’s off Rarotonga Island and continue my spear fishing photo work. Through a chance meeting with a local man simply called ‘Bobo’, I managed to arrange another spear fishing session this week.

We went out at Rutaki Passage on the southern edge of Rarotonga. The passage is one of three that drains the lagoon on the southern edge of the island. Though it is called a passage, underwater it is more akin to a canyon. It has steep walls and drops a good 20-metres or so. For spear fishing it is a great spot as the fish tend to congregate along the walls. And because the passage opens to the ocean, larger fish often cruise into the passage looking for some fishy snacks.

One of those larger fish just happened to turn up while we were out there – a beautiful Giant Trevally or GT, as they are commonly known. Having spoken to people that dive at the mouth of the passage, this guy is a bit of a regular in the passage. Either way, it was really amazing to turn around and suddenly be faced with this monster fish. This GT is about 5-feet long.

At first I was really excited to see the GT and to have the chance to take some photos. About 5-minutes into the encounter though, the GT swam right up to me, clearly checking me out. It was at about this time, I realised that this was actually a really big fish. For a brief moment I even asked myself “do GT’s bite humans?”.

A Giant Trevally (Caranx ignoblis), Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

The GT turned up as Bobo had speared a number of fish and they were on a rope, attached to a plastic bottle. This keeps the fish fresh and allows Bobo to keep hunting. Needless to say, the GT was after a free lunch. So much so, that not long after he first turned up, we ended up swimming back to shore and the GT followed us all the way into the shallows, eventually attacking the dead fish Bobo had on his rope. The only casualty was a dead Black Snapper, which had its tail bitten clean off.

In terms of photography, these two photos were taken with a wide angle lens and neither image was cropped. That right there should give you an indication of how close the GT was to me. In the photo below, I could easily reach out and touch the big guy as he followed Bobo and his dead fish back to shore.

A Giant Trevally or GT (Caranx ignoblis), Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

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From the Archive: Lonely Antarctica

Thomas Pickard — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:39:22 +0000

Antarctica…a remote and other worldly destination.

I hope you go one day and experience it for yourself – it will be etched in your mind forever.

Double click on the image to license it.

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Ask me anything you want about Antarctica on Facebook

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New Images Available: Snow & Ice Antarctica

Thomas Pickard — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:13:03 +0000

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Comment on Facebook

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From the Archive: Petronas Twin Towers Kuala Lumpur

Thomas Pickard — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:14:54 +0000

Now I am the first to admit, I am not exactly a big city guy. Give me the choice of an island in the Pacific and a mega-city like Bangkok, and I’ll take the island option hands down.

Having said that, cities do hold a particular fascination for me. Particularly cities with really amazing skyscrapers.

All of which brings me to the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When friends and colleagues found out I was going to KL, nearly everyone said ‘make sure you check out the Twin Towers’.

And sure enough, I did. Mind you, the Towers are pretty hard to avoid – you can see them from just about everywhere in KL. Standing beneath the Towers and looking straight up is an amazing sight.

To view and license photos of Kuala Lumpur, click on the following link:

Photographs of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at Thomas Pickard Photography.

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Lazy Days on Beautiful Aitutaki Island, Cook Islands.

Thomas Pickard — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:18:01 +0000

Question: What do you do when you begin to get island fever while living in Rarotonga Island?

Answer: You book a 50-minute flight to Aitutaki Island for a week of island exploring, snorkelling and deserted island hopping.

Now if you are wondering what ‘island fever’ is, it is just like cabin fever. Too much time in a small space, with the same scenery and the same people. It probably sounds weird to people that visit the Cook Islands for a holiday, but living in a popular holiday destination is akin to living anywhere else. After a while, you just need a change of scenery.

Aitutaki Island didn’t disappoint. Far from it. Apart from some rain on the first day, my wife and I were blessed with 6 days of glorious sunshine. And it was blissfully hot. It was the type of heat, where you go searching for some midday shade or can’t think of a better reason to rack out in the hammock with a book for a couple of hours’.

Despite the fact the Bank of Cook Islands was robbed while we were staying on the island (I have a rock solid alibi!), Aitutaki Island is very laid back. Even more so than Rarotonga, which I wouldn’t have thought physically possible.

The jewel of Aitutaki is the lagoon. During my day with Campbell Cecil photographing him spear fishing in the lagoon, Campbell asked me did I really think the lagoon was as good as people say. I responded “absolutely”. And here is why:

1. The lagoon is just the right size. You can easily zip around the entire lagoon in a day on a moderate sized speed boat.

2. The lagoon has some fantastic snorkelling, complete with giant clams introduced from Australia and healthy coral reefs.

3. The lagoon has some stunning deserted motus (islands) surrounded in the most incredibly coloured water I have ever seen. Big claim I know, but hand-on-my-heart, I was blown away by the colour of the water running through the channel just off the beach of One Foot Island (the last photo below is One Foot Island).

4. The lagoon has some great sandbars and I’m a huge fan of them. There is nothing like walking on a sandbar surrounded by water in every direction. If I hadn’t gotten married on the grass roof top at Kandalama Hotel in Sri Lanka back in 2007, it would have been a sandbar for sure.

Did I mention the non-existent traffic? The uber friendly locals? The long lazy days feeling miles from anywhere?

Yep, Aitutaki Island was a great week away from Rarotonga. I encourage all visitors to the Cook Islands to pencil some Aitutaki Island time into your agenda. You won’t regret it.

Links:

Cook Islands | Aitutaki Island Images

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Questions about what to do on Aitutaki Island? Then ask me on Facebook.

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