Views from the Bay
from the centre of New Zealand: pictures and observations
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.
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- Tags: Cawthron, Nelson scenes
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: Dunedin, Otago, Otago Peninsula
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: Dunedin, Moeraki boulders, Otago
Shag Pt / 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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- Tags: Dunedin, Otago, Shag Point
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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Living legends
21 Oct 2011During the Rugby World Cup, the “Living Legends” project aims to plant 85,000 native trees around New Zealand. A neat and lasting way to provide some offset for the carbon footprint of the RWC. Each site has been selected by the Department of Conservation and will be named after one of New Zealand’s rugby greats. The site chosen for Nelson was the Wakapuaka Wildlife Reserve and our “living legend” is Todd Blackadder. (Excellent choice!)
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- Tags: Living Legends
I showed some pictures from a field trip to the Boulder Bank in my last post. That morning had some real highs and lows for me. I’ll explain. We went across in the Haulashore Island Ferry. We were landed around 100m from the Lighthouse. It was still very dark against the dawn sky, so I began by exploring the views to the south. Like this one:
Nelson’s Boulder Bank and Lighthouse
26 Sep 2011A couple of weeks ago the local Nelson Camera Club hosted visitors from other clubs from the West Coast to Marlborough. There was an early morning field trip, to Nelson’s Boulder Bank and the Lighthouse:
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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Various blogs & directories
- Graeme Robertson: I'm glad you like it, not everyone does. There is a good description of how to do it at http [...]
- Kelley Young: What was the technique used to create this in photoshop - I am familiar with the filter options for [...]
- Angela Nelson: It is always on in Jan - next one is Wed 2 Jan 2013 - there is an airport in Nelson but only takes r [...]
- ronnie: hi guys wer 5 lads from liverpool thinking about a trip to port nelson street races can any one tell [...]
- James Stokes: I hate to be arrogant, but what you said was a Hurricane is in fact a P-51D Mustang. Also the Tripla [...]
- A Victorian view of climate change and energy resources
- Another Wanaka dawn
- Warbirds over Wanaka Part 4 – the rest
- More ancient stuff from Reefton
- Warbirds over Wanaka Part 3 – aerobatics
- Mt Cook area: Mt Sefton and Kea Point
- Warbirds over Wanaka Part 2 – WWII aircraft
- Tasman Glacier terminal lake
- Warbirds over Wanaka part I – the oldies
- Worth more than gold