Buller River
Last week I went out on a photo expedition, determined to get some good shots of a block of larch about 70km south of Nelson. They are looking great right now in their late autumn colours, but I’m running out of time to catch them. So I planned the day quite carefully, using the “Photographers’ Ephemeris” to check out the sunrise and sunlight angles at various times of the day. The larches look their best in late afternoon light, but there was a good chance of some early morning mists creating other opportunities. And so it proved, along the Buller River near Kawatiri:
Murchison excursion, “på svenska”
I’ve just spent a few days with some visitors from Sweden, a “Group Study Exchange” team sponsored by Rotary International. You can read about them in their blog here. For me was a great opportunity to brush up my Swedish language skills.
Two of the team were keen photographers so we left a few hours earlier than the rest of the team for the drive from Nelson to Murchison. We drove in a giant “S”, via Tapawera and St Arnauds. The weather had cleared up somewhat after heavy rain the day before, so the trip yielded some interesting images.
Pelorus Bridge
On Wednesday I had to drive over from Nelson to Pelorus Bridge, to pick up some Swedish visitors at noon. I decided that there was a chance of some good images, so travelled over early, arriving at dawn! Conditions were not what I was expecting: a thick mist shrouded everything so there was no early light to work with. I did get some rather atmospheric shots, though. The Pelorus River is an “incised river”, having carved its way down through the rocks (and a favourite amongst trout fishermen).
Westhaven Inlet Part 3
Westhaven Inlet is a remote part of New Zealand, with a wild, wind-swept coastline but tranquil scenes in the Inlet itself. Here are some examples of what you will find there in the inlet, followed by some images from the ocean coast:
Westhaven Inlet: Part I
We have just returned from five days in a very remote part of northwest Nelson: Westhaven Inlet. We were living in a very comfortable cottage at a place called Westhaven Retreat, with a magnificent outlook over farmland and rugged coastline.
Psychotherapists en masse
Our household has gradually come back to normal after a period of high stress: my wife was on the local organising committee for a national annual conference, for the NZ Association of Psychotherapists. My role was that of support person and unofficial photographer.
One of the highlights was a guest speaker by the name of Michael Leunig. He has been described as Australia’s best loved cartoonist and social commentator, a modern day renaissance man and one of Australia’s 200 “living treasures”. By pushing my camera through the throng of his fans, I managed to capture some nice moments. One of the conference delegates (a jeweller as well) had prepared a beautiful little brooch featuring a couple of his characters. Michael appeared touched by its presentation.
More images here, along with coverage of the official powhiri (welcome ceremony):
Race Unity Day 2010
March 21 is observed around the world as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It recalls killing of 69 black protestors at Sharpeville in South Africa in 1960. Here in Nelson our observance took the form of a celebration of our multicultural community, “Race Unity Day“.
You will find a large number of photos of the event on my PBase photo sharing site, click here.
The children were having a great time:
But not just the children. If you read on you’ll find a selection of images from the day:
Karamea – a side trip
An isolated, beautiful spot on the West Coast, Karamea has its own special microclimate. It’s located on the western edge of the Kahurangi National Park, near the beginning (or end) of the Heaphy Track (one of the great walks of New Zealand). A short walk up the nearby Oparara river takes you to a large limestone arch. The river is brown due to a high concentration of natural organic compounds in the water (tannins etc). Here are some pictures.
First a bush robin that came to see what I was up to:
More outdoor art
While on the subject of outdoor art, here’s a few objects from installations in Christchurch’s Hagley Park last year. As a keen sailor, I was very impressed with this steel dinghy dumped upside down on the grass:
Sand Artist
Peter Donnelly is an artist in Christchurch producing ephemeral works using rather basic equipment: stick, rake and broom. His canvas is the sand by the pier at New Brighton, Christchurch.
I think this image captures the exuberance and energy he puts into his work:
