And back!

We've been flat out getting ourselves setup back in New Zealand, hence the lack of recent posts. We now have two fledgling businesses, one based on environmental management and the other based around photography. A very very busy time developing products, buying lots of expensive gear and trying to decide where to base ourselves. Mike's also started organizing and cataloging something like 50,000 images taken over the past 5 years (he wants to get it down to half that number) and dealing with image requests. He has also (finally) finished processing all his St Helena photos and has started  to select those which will appear in the upcoming guide to St Helena. An exciting and nervous time, but in these initial stages both businesses are showing promising signs. We'll keep you posted!

Here are a few of the last St Helena photos:

Chefs prepare the starters for the evening meal on board the RMS St Helena. I only had 15 minutes in the very busy kitchen and in that time had to find the shots, compose and get people to look natural and relaxed. I went handheld, slow shutter (1/20th sec, to give some movement) with high ISO (800) using the overhead fluorescents as the only light source

Chief Officer Peter Melville on the bridge of the RMS St Helena. This photograph is a blend of two exposures one for the interior and the other for the outside
Golfers on St Helena's 9 hole golf course. Hitting a wandering goat allows the player a penalty shot, as does hitting a passing car
Inside The Standard bar on a Saturday afternoon. Always good for a laugh and a few TALL tales
The 699 steps of Jacobs Ladder connecting Jamestown and Half Tree Hollow. A 30 second exposure at f16. The trick is in getting the right time of day/night!
Inside Greg Cairns-Wicks' Queen Mary Supermarket in Jamestown. Everything from plastic vines to Maggi soup!
Every night over the breeding season rare Bulwer's petrels land at Gill Point to try and find nesting sites. And every night there are one or two cats waiting for them. The cats eat the birds in secluded caves and overhangs in the rocks, leaving large drifts of feathers. Photo info: two remote-controlled flashes camera right behind rock, one on-axis flash to add detail to foreground.
Part of the St Helena police force rest easy and exchange comments on which foot is their left foot before parading in welcome to the newly arrived Governor Capes