Alpine Dreams
Here’s something I’ve been working on recently: a new website for a mountain guide based in Switzerland. You can check it out here: www.alpinedreams.ch The photographs, including all images in this post, were taken by Tim Robertson. Many were taken on his days off, capturing scenes near his home for the past few years. Some are simply beautiful, while others are just scary (for a non-climber like me): I do recommend a visit to Alpine Dreams, for more stunning shots of mountain climbing, ski touring and rock climbing in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps. If you drill down from this page to some of Tim’s comments on the various ascents, you’ll get a feel for what it’s like to scale some of these classic peaks. (Disclosure: I am no doubt biased, because I’m very proud of my son Tim)
More gymnastics shots
It’s been a while since I posted anything here, but I’ve been spurred on by some great images from the recent 3-day “Top of the South” gymnastics competition here in Nelson. You can find all of the images on my gallery website, www.nelson.photos under the menu heading ‘TOTS2017. Just to get your attention, here’s a nice (and quite anonymous) shot from the senior women’s floor exercise: The junior boys need some help to get up to the rings, which are very high indeed for these little guys. They know what to do, but at that age it’s a real strain. I captured quite a few rather thoughtful expressions up there. It’s supposed to look effortless, which is a big ask: I was using a different camera this year, a Nikon D3S. It’s autofocus was definitely an improvement over my beloved D700, as was its low light performance. That, along…
Nelson Trolley Derby
On Saturday we had the annual trolley derby, a chance for kids of all ages to have fun. Here’s a selection of photographs, starting with “The Charge of the Knees Brigade” (my name, not his). Yes, that was not a particularly flattering angle. This next one I love, it shows the determination necessary: and now for Nelson’s fastest supermarket trolley: The replicas, while not very fast, add a lot to the event. Finally, this guy was my first shot of the day: and I managed to catch him later coming down the hill: You can see these and more at my gallery site, here.
Metal art update
After quite a long pause I was back photographing the work of metal artist Bruce Derritt. Here are some more samples, to entice you to the Nelson market on a Saturday morning (where you’ll see a lot more of his work). This next one must be the ‘air spider’, which comes complete with pressure guage: while this spider has run out of fuel: The scorpions are altogether more substantial and deadly: and finally some dragonflies, large and small:
Boulder Bank mini-drama
We had some minor drama on Saturday morning when we woke to see a fishing boat aground on Nelson’s Boulder Bank. The skipper had missed the harbour entrance by about 200 metres. The pilot launch was attempting to pull it off, without much luck. A ship was leaving port at the time, accompanied by two tugs (including our newest one, the W.H. Farr). Eventually the tug was free to take over the pulling duties, leaving the pilot launch to race off (with the harbour pilot) to another ship waiting to enter port. It was obvious the tug had the power, but took its time. Eventually it came free: and towing duties were passed over to the pilot launch (which by now had dropped the pilot off and returned). It was clear that more than a repaint would be needed, the fishing boat didn’t tow very straight at all (and there…
Race Unity Day 2016
Each year Nelson celebrates the diversity created by our new residents. Race Unity Day is a great day out!
Rotoiti powerboats
No posts for more than a month – I’ve been busy! But here are some images from the annual powerboat racing held up at the Nelson Lakes. I went up on the Saturday, probably not the best day. The weather was quite gloomy with a threat of rain (welcome after a long hot spell, but not good for action photography). The 20+ year old “The Boss” was still looking good, but blew an engine shortly after these next photos were taken: Here’s another taken during yet another ‘hot lap’, with a replacement engine fitted. A couple of shots of the next GP boat, ‘with and without’: The next one (‘Lucas Oil’?)was looking good too, until it stopped very suddenly way out in the middle of the lake: Finally, the last of the big GP boats, ‘Annihilator’: These boats begin looking more like a submarine, frightening any small children in the…
Nelson Street Races 2016
Bit of a washout this year. We had rain forecast for the whole day and some did come, enough to make life difficult. I was very cautious about moving around the track, because last year we had to wait for more than an hour between track crossings. I wasn’t confident they’d be any better organised this year, so stuck to one spot on the outside of the track. The first shot I took, from a Formula 2 race, shows the conditions pretty well: Some were more adventurous than others while Shannon Mako from Christchurch obviously though the gardens needed weeding Local rider Jonny Lewis was looking good on his Aprilia until he came in a bit hot and watched the rest of that race from the stands: Josh Coppins was here again for the Super Motos Riding styles vary so much in this class, this next guy was a classic:…
NZ v Sri Lanka, Nelson
Images from my first ever cricket international
Nelson Masked Parade 2015
It used to mark the start of the famous World of Wearable Arts show (born in Nelson) but the annual Masked Parade has continued long after WoW has gone. It still shows a lot of the creativity and energy that is typical of Nelson. Here are some shots from the 2015 show: Dr Seuss was popular this year: as was Willie Wonka Not sure of the theme for these next ones, but I loved the colour and excitement of the kids: Then there were grown-ups having fun too: