Back in August, I wrote a story about why I had deleted On1 Photo RAW from my computer.
Three months on from then I have done a 180-degree about-turn and now have reinstalled On1 and purchased a license for it.
The problems I was experiencing earlier in the year were not related to On1 Photo RAW at all!
The culprit was my 5G wireless internet connection. It was fast enough at 300MBs, but the ping time was 500-plus mSec which was far too long. You geeks out there will understand it – but I don’t.
A change from 5G wireless to fibre dropped the ping time to a super-satisfactory 13mSec – and voila On1 Photo RAW now runs flawlessly.
About now you might be thinking why I have called this story Snapshots From The Road.
It’s simple really – in my mind at least.
For some time I have been thinking about my personal photography style – whether I have developed one or not; whether I should create one or not. If I do have a style it is as a lazy photographer.
But seriously, I don’t have a style that I am conscious of, but I have a developed a preference for how I like my photographs to look.
For colour photographs, I have developed a liking for soft, subdued, almost pastel colors as opposed to in-your-face, heavily saturated verging on over-cooked HDR-style images that regularly pop up on social media. Note that I am using the US version of “colour” to prevent my spell-checker going nuts everytime I include a “u”.
And for black and white I tend to prefer gritty, noir-like finishes.
Not that every photograph I take suits either of these finishes of course. So where am I heading with this?
I’m heading into On1 Photo RAW 2025 and one of the fantastic new features to be found inside the Effects module.
That feature is the Match Color effect which allows you to match your image to the color and toning of a reference photograph. I guess it’s a bit like a LUT (of which there are many in On1 Photo RAW) but Match Color is more sophisticated.
On1 Photo RAW has half a dozen built-in reference images based on the color and toning of classic paintings such as da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and van Gogh’s Starry Starry Night.
But say you have a photographer whose style you really admire and you’d like to achieve a similar look and feel with your photos, well all you have to do is use a photo by that favourite photographer as your reference photo and enable the Match Color filter.
Download a photo with the color and tonings you like, and load it into On1 Photo RAW and you can use that as your reference photo. On1 will remember it for future use.
Remember though – emulate don’t replicate! In other words – don’t outright copy!
All of the snapshots in this story were taken on a recent 2-week motorhome road trip around the beautiful Otago and Maniototo regions of New Zealand’s South Island, and all were given the Match Color treatment in On1 photo RAW to achieve softer more subdued colors and tonings than the original.
And in case you’re wondering the reference photo I used to Match Color was one taken from Kyle McDougalls fabulous series An American Mile.
Naturally, I’m emulating – not replicating – and I have added some other On1 Effects to achieve my finished images.
Snapshots from the road #1 – Moeraki and The Boulders.
The first stop on our road trip was Moeraki, to see the world-famous boulders. They say the best time to see the boulders at their best is at sunrise and a low tide which exposes the boulders more. I couldn’t achieve either, having arrived there at neither low tide nor sunrise.
For all that, the Moeraki Boulders are well worth a visit. Science tells us that the boulders started forming about 60 million years ago, and “grew” as a result of a build-up of mud, sand, silt and clay, all cemented naturally by calcite.
The little coastal town of Moeraki (population around 100) was once world-famous in New Zealand for a very fine restaurant called Fleur’s Place. Unfortunately it is now closed.
One of the outer buildings at the old Fleur’s Place contains a collection of stored, apparently unused books. Was this once perhaps a little library, or a reading room? I guess we’ll never know.
Just over the hill from Moeraki – actually about a 5-kilometre drive – is the Katiki Point Lighthouse, itself a point of interest in its own right.
Starting from the lighthouse is a fantastic walk that takes you out onto the point to the sea lion colony, from which the above photo was taken. It is also possible to see fur seals, a wide range of seabirds, and possibly yellow-eyed penguins from time to time.
Snapshots from the road #2 – Hampden Stores.
It is rumoured that there are ghosts in the back room of Hampden Stores above. I’ve been inside a couple of times and never been bothered by them, let alone seen them.
The signage says “antiques and vintage collectables” but to me, it is more a rummage-around general second-hand store, that is well worth ducking in to if you are passing through Hamden.
Snapshots From The Road #3 – Bowker’s Bridge.
Bowker’s Bridge, above, dates from 1869 and is the last of the original stone arch bridges that can still be seen on the old coach road into Central Otago. This old bridge over McCormick’s Creek just outside Dunback , was in use up until 1962 when a new bridge was built about 50 metres downstream.
Snapshots From The Road #4 – Mcraes.
With a rich history based on mining and farming, Mcraes is but a shadow of its former self. Boasting a township with about 25 businesses supporting hundreds of miners in the 1860s, Mcraes population has dwinded to – well, very few.
Nearby Golden Point Reserve is well worth a visit. It is the site of the Golden Point mine which opened in 1889.
Calley’s Battery has been pretty well preserved with much of the old kerosene-fired machinery still in place inside.
There are several old miners’ cottages to wander around….
…and a good old fashioned out house with a bit of a lean on.
The Eggers Boot Maker building still stands intact opposite Stanley’s Hotel in Mcraes’ main street. Little is known of the history of the building, but the Eggers family was one of the original families in Mcraes settlement.
Snapshots From The Road #5 – Waipiata.
I am always happy to go back to Waipiata. Not only is it one of our favourite freedom camping sites, but it is also home to some of the best pies you will find anywhere in New Zealand.
Waipiata is a one-pub town that owes its existence to the building of the railway through the region in the 1930s, and now relies mostly on being a stop on the Otago Central Rail Trail.
Snapshots From The Road #6
Ranfurly is another popular stop-over point for cyclists enjoying the Otago Central Rail Trail.
Very much an art deco town, Ranfurly is the largest town in the Manototo region and serves as a local farming support hub.
Snapshots From The Road #7 – White Horse Hotel.
I didn’t realise until after we had left Becks, where we freedom camped at the “new” White Horse Hotel, that Becks lies on the 45th parallel placing it halfway between the equator and the South Pole.
The original White Horse Hotel, built in 1864, fell into a state of disrepair after it was closed after 60 years, but there has been some recent restoration work carried out and the old girl is still standing proudly alongside State Highway 85.
You can venture inside but be prepared to battle cobwebs, bird poo and bad smells.
Snapshots From The Road #8 – Omakau.
This is an iconic image of Omakau – the original railway goods shed that now serves as a shelter beside the Rail Trail.
It is very disappointing that the townships only hotel – the Omakau Commercial Tavern – ceased trading at the end of November 2023, leaving Blacks Hotel at Ophir a few kilometres away the only local pub.
Snapshots From The Road #9 Butchers Dam.
I can’t say I’ve saved my best snapshot from the road for last because Butchers Dam, just out of Alexandra really was the last stop we made on our 2 week motorhome roadtrip.
But of all the snapshots from the road, this is my favourite..
Butchers Dam is a wonderful freedom camping spot, marred during our three night stay only by the strong winds that whipped up a fair amount of dust – otherwise – idyllic!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my snapshots from the road. This whole story and the snapshots accompanying it were meant to be fun, fun, fun. And from my perspective, I have had fun using On1 Photo RAW 2025 now that it is running as expected on my computer.