Give a lot of love

Here is something different for Christmas. Few years back we helped Ronald McDonald House in Wellington by branding their $9.5 million fundraising campaign "Give a lot of Love". The first floor of the new house is done, but they still need some money to reach the final target. Air New Zealand is running Kids at Christmas Charity Auction online at sella.co.nz and 100% of the money raised will go to two worthy charities – Kids Restore New Zealand and Ronald McDonald House in Wellington. New items will be added on all the time.

So with Christmas just around the corner, here's your chance to grab some truly original gifts and contribute back to these great organisations.

http://www.sella.co.nz/store/4mc6r1/kids-at-christmas-charity-auction-air-new-zealand/

Heavy, heavy rain!

Shooting in adverse weather conditions always presents a challenge but when the rain is so heavy that it is like looking through fog, then you know you have a bit on! And that is exactly what happened when shooting the Monsoon Cup yachting in Malaysia recently. They don't call it The Monsoon Cup for nothing! It was some of the heaviest rain I've ever experienced and with visibility down to few metres it was hard to know what I was photographing. In these conditions rain covers for the cameras are worth their weight in gold. With a few thousand dollars worth of camera and lens to protect, the rain covers need to be good so a big thumbs up to the Griffgear covers that somehow kept the kit dry. Here's a couple of shots - the first of the approaching rain and the second a few minutes later when it was really chucking it down.