The Range

The What?

Sometimes I take photos which I'm sure have reason at the time, but seven months later I'm left wondering exactly which series-in-progress this was meant for, if indeed it was meant for any.

But that's just an aside really, cos I've been whoring myself out to other blogs. It's the story of this post.

The Palaeontologist

Joan Wiffen died on Tuesday.

If you don't know her story, you should check it out.

By chance, only twelve days ago I was photographing her.

Well not her in person, but the area where she found proof of the existence of dinosaurs in New Zealand.

The stream they explored and the huts Joan and her team have worked from for decades.

Joan had a hut to herself.

I was planning on popping in on her next time I was up that way. Have a cup of tea or two and take some photos.

Guess I won't be doing that now.

Photography constantly reminds me of the passage of time, that this world is in a constant state of flux, that one shouldn't assume that things will be the same in 6 months or even in 2 weeks. And yet I do often put off photographing something until the next time I'm up that way.

Sometimes we miss the chance.

Bye Joan, I'll catch you later.

The Serendipity

The other day I was up Taranaki way. I took this photo.

It is of the Maui gas platform as seen from the beach at Waitara at about 6.00pm. It's that little squiggle of light centre bottom (click on the image to blow it up).

By sheer coincidence it was taken 40 years to the day since the discovery of the field - thanks Morning Report.

It doesn't happen very often, but occasionally, through no fault of my own, I do turn up at places on significant days. These, for example, were taken on the 27th anniversary of the eviction.

If I had known, I would have turned up earlier and blagged my way in to the goings on.

The Observed

The Painted

I've long admired this building.

Well this sign anyway.

See if you can spot why.

The Godrays

I've been going through my Sub-Antarctic photos again, editing them down so I can finally give something to the client.

There are some really nice shots which, frankly, are of absolutely no use to me.

So they're ending up here.

Well three of them anyway.

Beautiful. Inspiring. Clichéd.

I think that was off the Auckland Islands, early one morning.

I'd love to be back there right now.

The Rail

It's surprising what you find, sometimes, when road tripping.

Like newly refurbed suburban railway stations in the middle of nowhere.

The Sellout

One nice thing about being back at school is that I can play with new/different gear.

And some of the gear is quite new.

See that camera? New. Nice.

Oh, okay, here's a better look.

A shot which isn't artfully over-exposed and vaguely rescued in Lightbox.

Nikon. D700. Nice.

Mind you almost anything would be nicer than my Canon EOS10D piece of crap.

Another nice thing about being back at school is that I can get loads of cool books out the library and never read them.

And another nice thing about being back at school is that I get holidays, like the one coming up, which means I don't have to do too much work for a few weeks and can maybe see all those people I've been neglecting.

The Marriner

Earlier this year I was in a show at Thermostat in Palmerston North.

Okay, many of you knew that but I'm setting the scene here.

Between getting photos of the show and the opening I had a couple of hours to fill.

So I filled it driving around the city, to places I hadn't been before.

And I found this.

So cool.

The Reminder

Aaahhhhhh, I remember the days when the peach tree blossomed and fruited ...

and you could hang the washing on the line ...

and it would dry.

Good times. Good times.

The Rest

Just cos I know you'd all be bitterly disappointed if you missed out, here's the rest of that bloody film.








Oh, and in other news, here's a review. And look who won the Best Feature Website at the recent Qantas Media Awards 2009. We are just like so awesome.

The Others

And, just to bore you stupid, some more shots of that flat from that roll of film.

Like just so awesome man.

The Inside

And some shots from inside that same flat.

Cos I've got better things to do than be original and erudite at this time of day.

And why is it people only comment on the shit and not on the good?

It's just not fair!!

Not fair I say.

The Backyard

I like backyards.

Here's one I prepared earlier.

It's a place on Terrace where I lived in 2000. Shot on APS.

The Inane

There are people who think taking witty photos like this is really clever.

Sometimes they even get them published in The Listener.

But where's the meat?

What will keep the viewer wanting to look at the photo?

There's nothing.

It's just skin and bones.

Though in this case, due to crapness of my phone, they'll probably spend time trying to decipher the exact wording.

It says "Low fare to school".

Isn't that just the funniest thing ever?!

The Telling

Its possibly quite telling when you go away for a few days in an effort to collect more photos relevant to your studies and while away and in the immediate aftermath you are most excited about shots taken which have no relevance to your studies whatsoever.

Oh well.

However, I am working on a way to make them relevant to my studies, but theory rather than practice.

Choice.