Category: Photo Locations

Ace Rental Auckland Airport, New Zealand Review

On By Mark DoddIn Auckland, General Blog Post, New Zealand, ReviewsLeave a comment

First I have to say this one is a little overdue as I thought I had already posted this, but had not. So forgive the lateness.

After extensive online searching for the best price on a rental vehicle on my trip to New Zealand last May, I settled on renting from Ace Rental, Airport branch.

We booked very early in that I booked the People mover (Van for those in the US) back in Oct when our trip wasn’t until the following May and got the best rate out of all the rental agencies I could find for Auckland.

Booking online we easy and convenient. The only confusion I had been when I got the confirmation it showed as “Tourism Enterprises Ltd trading as “Ace Rental Cars””.

When we arrived in Auckland we called the Airport branch from their courtesy phone at the airport and they arrived in their shuttle van with a trailer for our luggage within 10 mins.

At the branch, the staff were friendly and got us squared away with the paperwork rather quickly. We did opt for the full insurance which I think made the paperwork go much quicker.

Now here is where I had the only problems.

After getting the paperwork done, they walked us out to check out the vehicle and walked up to a car, this was not what we had reserved as we had reserved a People mover (Van for those in the US)

I showed them my booking receipt and they apologized and we walked back in while they got the People mover ready.  We went out and checked out the vehicle, put our luggage in and drove off.  This vehicle had a problem right from the start in that at about 50K it had a horrible engine noise and no acceleration and then the check engine light came on.  We immediately took it back and after waiting another 10-15 minutes they got us another People mover for us and we drove off into the city without issues this time.

We were very happy with this vehicle and had no issues with it while on our trip. At the time of our booking, they offered AA (AAA for those in the US) roadside assistance, if you needed it, but we did not, so I cannot speak to that. But most Auto Associations have very good service.

I would recommend getting the full insurance, as many roads outside of the city have loose stone and can easily chip the windshield, which did happened in our case. That and you do not have to deal with the large hold on you card (what they call Excess and Bond)

When we returned the People mover it only took a few minutes to check the vehicle in and the shuttle to take us to the departure terminal was already there, so we when right off to the terminal.

Despite the minor problems, I would still recommend this company due to the value for the service.  The next closest competitor was at least $300 more and that was a similar service to Ace.  If you went with the name brand agencies I would have spent over $1000 more.

Also, these are late-model vehicles with higher mileage than you would find at a name brand agency, but that is how they keep their costs down. Since they are late-model vehicles, the might get lower gas mileage/kilometers that a newer vehicle, but I in our case the gas consumption was about the same as a newer model and thus didn’t justify paying the higher rental fee. The vehicles all seemed well cleaned and in good shape as I checked out several of the cars while we were waiting for People mover to become ready.

I would take a copy of your rental confirmation with you and do one thing that I didn’t, call or email the branch you are renting from the day before just to confirm your reservation. This way they should have the right vehicle ready for you when you arrive.

A People Mover rented from the Auckland Airport Ace Rental
A People Mover rented from the Auckland Airport Ace Rental
Entrance to Ace Rental on Manu Tapu Drive
Entrance to Ace Rental on Manu Tapu Drive, just a few Kilometers from the Airport.

Got a photo critiqued by a Master of The Arcanum

On By Mark DoddIn American Kiwi Photo, Chattanooga, General Blog Post, Ruby Falls, Tennessee

One of my favorite photographers is starting up a new video show next week where masters of The Arcanum critique photos of their apprentices and others and was drumming up support for the show but asking his viewers/followers to post a photo of theirs to be critiqued.

So I submitted one of mine and they decided to do the critique of it in their “Live Critiques for the New Show Launch Day!” video

I’m the second photo in the video around the 3:27 min mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgeR2qhK8c8&feature=youtu.be

I’d be interested in your thoughts. Do you agree with Mason?

Here is the photo that I submitted and below that is the original un edited version

Colors of the Pool
Colors of the Pool Submitted for Critique
Color of the Pool Original
Color of the Pool Original

 

 

Wallops Island Rocket Launch a bust, but got to see the ISS

On By Mark DoddIn General Blog Post, Hampstead, Maryland

Came home early tonight to see the rocket launch from Wallops Island and to see if I could get a good photo of the arch in the sky as I was within viewing range this time.

Well that was a bust due to the launch being scrubbed thanks to a sailboat being in a restricted area.

But I got a bonus as the ISS (International Space Station) was also flying overhead at around the same time.  And was able to capture part of its path across the sky.

Just in case you are wondering, the orange glow in the bottom left was a neighbors outdoor fire, the orange glow on the horizon is Baltimore City lights and the thin white line in the middle is the ISS streaking across the sky.

ISS

While I was waiting for the rocket launch was able to capture a nice sunset with the moon in 1st quarter.

Moon over Sunset

The Calendar Arrived Today and….

On By Mark DoddIn Baltimore, General Blog Post, Maryland, Published Works

I was pleasantly surprised to find the 2015 Johns Hopkins Credit Union Calendar in my mailbox today and I’ve finally found out which of my images they selected.

And the winner is.

Ships in Harbor at Night

You find it on the month of September.

Again, I am humbled that they selected one of my photos for the calendar and hope folks enjoy it and the many other excellent photos in the calendar this year.

 

Had a busy time at the Star Spangled Spectacular Event in Baltimore

On By Mark DoddIn Baltimore, General Blog Post, Home Page Slider Images, Maryland

This week has been busy here in Baltimore.  From September 10-16, Baltimore has hosted the Star Spangled Spectacular Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of our National Anthem.

Part of the event included visiting Naval ships along with various Tall ships from around the work.  Along with the Navy’s Blue Angels.

I’d say my highlight of the weekend was the Blue Angels show, it was awesome seeing them fly over Baltimore, the inner harbor area, and over Fort McHenry.

Below is a small sampling of some of the pictures I got over the weekend. Check out Americankiwiphoto.com for my favorites when I’m done processing them.

An alternative to Hotels/Motels when you travel

On By Mark DoddIn General Blog Post, New ZealandLeave a comment

As I’ve posted before, I recently took a trip to New Zealand. Although this is where I’m from originally and still have several relatives that are living there, on this trip, I had to find lodgings in places where I no longer have relatives that I could stay with.

I wanted other options to standard Hotel/Motel, so I started my internet search. I ended up using a site called Holiday Houses New Zealand (https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/). Through this site I was able to find either an entire home or a home with a guest apartment. Staying in these lodgings gave you the feeling that you were living in a house instead of just a room somewhere. It even ended up being less expensive than staying at a local Hotel/Motel.

There seems someone is renting out their house or apartment for almost any place you want to go to in New Zealand. Some areas have more offerings that others, so check the area you are looking to visit and book early.

On this trip, I ended up in 3 such homes.

In Rotorua we stayed at a home with a separate apartment on the first floor for the guests called Matipo Haven. This house was relatively new and had all the amenities you could ask for in your stay. The home is owned by a retired couple who were very inviting and helpful to us while we were staying with them. It is just outside Rotorua on the south side, but is convent to all the local tourist attractions.

Early morning before as we were getting ready to head out for our activities that day
Early morning before as we were getting ready to head out for our activities that day

 

In Te Aroha we stayed at an old farm-house that had been renovated called Aroha View. They even had a hot tub, which we were not able to take advantage of due to our late arrival. This place is in the Central Waikato region halfway between Hamilton and the Coromandel Peninsula. It is not to far from Hobbiton (about 45mins) if that is one of your places on your list to visit.

We arrived pretty late the night we stayed, so we did not have a chance to meet the owners of this house. Despite that, they made sure we were able to get in and were very helpful over the phone even with our spotty cell coverage at the time.

Aroha View
Getting ready to head out in the morning as the fog was lifting at Aroha View

 

In Dargaville we stayed at a home with a guest apartment attached called Leslie Lodge. The house is located just out-of-town on the north side of town on Rt 12. It is just 5 min to the center of Dargaville and is convent to many of the areas attractions and beaches. The owners are a wonderful retired couple who know the area well.

The quest apartment is the section that the deck steps lead up to
The guest apartment is the section that the deck steps lead up to

 

All the places I stayed at on this trip offered everything we needed from tea/coffee, towels, and sheets, blankets, clothes washer, and more.  Not all places do, so make sure to read the description before you book. Not only did we get a “home” environment to stay in, the owners who lived on premises were able to give us many “local” insights and tips for the areas we visited. In our case, we got some great recommendations on where to eat and some free locations to visit that were just as good as the paid tourist sites. One of the other advantages of this type of lodging is that you can cook your own food if you wish as they do offer kitchen ware for cooking and eating. On this trip we just ate breakfast there and decided to take in the local food for lunch and dinner.

If you are looking for a different experience on your travels in New Zealand I would check out the Holiday Homes website (https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/) to find your home while away from home. If not traveling to New Zealand, I would see if there is a similar service offered for the area you are traveling to as I think it is well worth it.

 

Sold a greeting card of Farming the Field

On By Mark DoddIn General Blog Post, MarylandLeave a comment
Sold greeting card of Farming the Field
Sold greeting card of Farming the Field

Have been blessed with another sale today. This buyer selected the greeting card format of my Farming the Field print, which is one of the many formats you can purchase any of my photography prints in.

I’m assuming the person they are sending it to is a John Deer fan 🙂

Thanks to the buyer from Westerville, OH

Plans were a bust

On By Mark DoddIn General Blog Post, New ZealandLeave a comment

Well I had all the intentions in the world of making at least one post a day to this blog while on was on my trip in New Zealand. Well that turned out to be a total bust. Didn’t even get to one post let alone one a day.

The plans fell apart almost immediately after arriving in New Zealand.  I ended up spending the first 2 days spending time with relatives and figured time spent with them was much more important that writing a post here, especially since I have not seen some of them in, ahem, 20+ years.

During the rest of my trip I just didn’t seem to have the time, between driving from place to place, visiting the sights at each place, needing time to sleep, and sometimes, no internet or at least very slow internet.

The other part of my big plan was to have a picture a day posted along with a description of the area I was in or the activities and sites I had seen that day.  This became a bust as well as I was not always able to upload my photos from my memory card to computer everyday and when I did I had the brilliant idea of correcting the timestamps as I imported. This turned out to be a very bad idea. I plan on making another post related to this on what my problem was, how I fixed it after a few weeks, and what I would recommend on how to avoid the whole timestamp mix up in the first place. So keep an eye out for that.

So now that I’m back in home and have fixed my photo timestamp issues to the best of my ability, I plan on creating some of those posts that I had planned to.  Not sure if I’m going to back date them or not just yet.  My thoughts at the moment are that I will as I would like them to fall into the correct timeline for when the post should have been posted, but then again, is it better to just post on the day I actually create the post and mention the date the photo or content refers to?  Have some time to think about that until I actually create the posts, but if anyone out there has some thoughts, feel free to post a comment as I’m interested in knowing your thoughts. So let me know, Backdate or Not.

 

The calm after the storm

On By Mark DoddIn General Blog Post, MarylandLeave a comment

Well looks like most of the forecasts were a little off on the snow totals, which is fine by me. The lower snow amount meant less time spent cleaning up.

Not looking forward to the cold temps that are coming tonight though. Spring begins this month, but from the weather we have had lately I think it is going to be a bit late.

We did get a nice sunset over the fresh snow cover we got today.

Here is a shot from my cell phone.

The calm after the storm

Recent Sale – US Naval Academy Insignia, again :)

On By Mark DoddIn Annapolis, General Blog Post, Maryland, US Naval AcademyLeave a comment

US Naval Academy Insiginia

Been lucky again to have a sale. I do appreciate any purchase that has been made.

This is a picture of the US Naval Academy Insignia/Coat of Arms that is on the wall of the visitors center at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis Md.

I have it labeled as the insignia as not being in the military or associated with the Naval Academy, I had to look it up on the visitors website to see what it was called. I have since been told that it is actually the coat of arms.

My apologies to any Naval Academy personal or graduate if I offended by calling it the wrong thing.

I wish to thank the local buyer from Leroy, NY for purchasing one of my photos.

I’m sure it will look nice on your wall