Views from the Bay
from the centre of New Zealand: pictures and observations
New Zealand Pictures Online – a Companion site
In: Photographic
7 Nov 2009
The fish are jumping!
In: Nelson events
7 Jan 2012Tonight’s paper has a story of a fisherman who caught a big-eye tuna yesterday while fishing off the Boulder Bank here in Nelson. A magnificent fish and an extremely rare catch in these parts. People commented on all the action right now: lots of small fish, kahawai and even kingfish. I can quite believe it, because look at this action from this morning.
At around 9 am I was alerted by the sound of water splashing, like a washing machine. It was a shoal of small fish being attacked from above and below, directly below us. I watched for a while, fascinated, then remembered to get my camera. I think I must have been quite excited, because these are not as sharp as they should have been. Here’s what I saw:
Port Nelson Street Races 2012
4 Jan 2012This year was the 20th anniversary of this event. Spectator turnout seemed to be down a bit, probably due to all the recent wet weather. But it was a good day for racing. I got a lot of good pictures, far too many to post here. I’ll put them up on my pBase site over the coming week. (Yep. Here they are now)
The meeting was dominated by Dennis Charlett of Christchurch on his superfast Suzuki GSXR600.
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- Tags: motorcycle racing
Christmas Greetings!
In: Photographic
25 Dec 2011Christmas Eve in Nelson this year was warm and sunny, a welcome change from the floods and landslides a week ago. Our Pohutukawa tree is in flower, in spite of the insults it received earlier in the year.
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- Tags: Pohutukawa
Wakapuaka Cemetary
In: Photographic
6 Dec 2011Our camera club had a ‘low light’ session last week. The location chosen was the Wakapuaka cemetary, a place full of potential. I think this cemetary gives its residents some of the best views one could hope for, high on a hillside overlooking Nelson Haven. Trouble is after 16,000 people have been buried here, all the best spots are taken!
The challenge was to find some images that were a bit different. The beautiful little Garin Chapel was my first target.
Samuel Rose Garden
In: Photographic
2 Dec 2011Yesterday morning I was up early, meeting a friend at the Samuel Rose Garden. He’s a talented young photographer and had suggested that we get there at sunrise. He was right: the light was great at that time of day. The rose garden in located in the grounds of an historic home in Nelson, Broadgreen.
I got there first, before the sun was up. The light was still very cold, but was great for bringing out the detail. This rose was called “Clodagh McRedy”:
Wonderful Dunedin
In: Photographic
21 Nov 2011My reason for the trip south (which gave the images in the last two posts) was to attend a photographic convention in Dunedin. This was great. I have a low tolerance for lousy, long-winded speakers. But the three presentations at this meeting were a real treat. For me the highlight was an inspiring talk by Jane Trotter, on abstract photography. She explained how she produced her beautiful images, in camera and all of them taken indoors in her own home. You can find some of her images here, and here. I’ll come back to the other speakers later.
The main attraction for me was a field trip, where locals were to take us on a tour of the Otago Peninsular, showing off their favourite places. For example, this windy beach on the southern coast of the peninsular (here) :
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- Tags: Otago
Moeraki
In: Photographic
16 Nov 2011The Moeraki Boulders must be one of the most photographed features on the New Zealand coastline. My son, when he learned that we were heading that way, challenged me to produce an image that wasn’t a cliche. Not easy. I started early one morning with this attempt:
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- Tags: Moeraki boulders
Shag Point / Matakaea
11 Nov 2011On a trip to Dunedin we stopped over at Shag Point for a few days. Less than an hour north of Dunedin, this is a wonderful spot. Scenery, wildlife, history, geology – Shag Point has it all.
Each morning I managed to get out well before sunrise. The results were worth the effort:
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Soviet October Revolution Parade
In: Photographic
7 Nov 2011Today marks the anniversary of the socialist revolution in Russia, I guess it will be the 94th. 40 years ago, we were in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) at the time of the 54th anniversary. We were lucky enough to see the October Revolution Parade and, to our surprise, found ourselves in the middle of it. It was quite an experience.
We had signed up for a 10 day “cultural exchange visit” arranged through Skådebanan, an organisation I joined through my work social club (which seems to be still going strong), through which we could get tickets to cultural events in Sweden. Probably because we were living in Sweden at the time, getting a visa took only a couple of days, even though in 1971 the cold war was still in full swing. We found ourselves in a large 4 star hotel in the centre of town, the Oktiabrskaya Hotel. It was very close to the Moscow Station:
An afternoon in Christchurch
2 Nov 2011We’ve just returned from a trip south, spending a night in Christchurch on the way home. The city was so different from my last visit, a couple of weeks before the February earthquake. We left the car close to the apartment we lived in, in Park Terrace. That building seem to have survived quite well and was inhabited.
Latest news: my friend Terry has just sent me a link to a video taken along the route of the bus tours, with a very good commentary by Warwick Isaacs, Demolition MAnager for CERA (Chch Earthquake Recovery Authority). Long, but well worth watching.
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About this blog
This blog presents the images and observations of someone who has had a long and successful career, ranging from heavy engineering to environmental sciences, from paper machines to marine biology.
The digital revolution has enabled Graeme Robertson to devote much of his time to a rediscovered passion, photography. His images have won national competitions and been published in magazines and newspapers.
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- shaynee: this is awsome shot for the great pics etc (68 daughter) [...]
- Keryn: Just wanted to commend your staff on their exemplary service. The meal was fantastic and it really i [...]
- Mavis: I hadn't realised that you had pruned the tree again ! but it looks ok doesn't it , and the colour i [...]
- Albatross Encounter: Not sure why I hadn't stumbled upon this before! Love the images and thanks for sharing! It's been [...]
- Mavis: Gorgeous photos, Graeme, and gorgeous roses too. Thanks for putting their names to them. [...]