The gathering twilight above the Dunedin Law Courts
A hushed calm took over the evening sky. As the sun dropped below the city skyline, a hypnotic dance of colour came forth, turning nearby buildings into silhouettes. Across the street, only the gothic style, Scottish baronial architecture was visible in the fading light. As I walked, the evening traffic navigated their way through the city streets as day transitioned into night. In the absences of the city street lights that were yet to take hold, shadows took hold as the evening hues started to fade from sight, giving way to the imminent night.
There’s a moment in the early hours of the day, that is quite delightful. It’s before the sunrises and light floods the sky in the hour before dawn. As the darkness of night lifts and surrounding objects start to take shape, when the blue hour takes hold, a silent hush fills the new day. It’s quite a magical time in a nothing much is happening sort of way.
Street Art by @hugovandorsser and Screaming Rooster Studio
For something different I wanted to see if I could capture a long exposure image during the day time. I made my way down to Vogel Street here in Dunedin and set up my gear under the overbridge that runs through former Jetty Street. Under the bridge, a painting which is part of the Dunedin Street Art trail by @hugovandorsser and Screaming Rooster Studio made a good backdrop as I waited for slow moving cars to pass by.
The other week when we had all that rain, I went out in search of photos involving water. However, instead of walking the streets of South Dunedin and photographing houses that were flooding, I headed for some of the Dunedin bushwalks. One of those that I spent some time in was in and around Ross Creek from the Leith Valley entrance. In this area of the bush several small rivers run through the valley before connecting up with the Waters of Leith. I arrived to find the usually sedate stream had become inundated with water after nearly three days of heavy rain. It was while I was photographing one of the many bends and drops in the stream that I noticed a nearby spider web that was catching some of the rain drops that were falling through the canopy.
Corner of Tomahawk and Oakland Street (Out of the morning chaos comes bliss)
I emerged from my doorstep into the early morning light of a new day. Being spring, dawn was starting to break significantly earlier than it had a month ago yet, the mornings were still cold enough for heavy layers of dew to develop overnight. Having not been awake long enough to claim I was functioning to any high degree of cognitive skill, I headed off into the breaking dawn trying to work out what the heck I was doing up at such an hour, when I was actually on holiday. Then, I reminded myself. The light is always more interesting at this time of the morning. Exactly what I was looking for, I wasn’t too sure. So, I set up my tripod at a random intersection and waited for cars to drive past, creating a lovely long exposure effect. It was while I was waiting on one of these 25 second exposure shots that I decided I really was looking forward to a cup of coffee.
Aren’t stain-glass windows amazing? To think, we can thank both the Romans and Egyptians for becoming experts at creating objects made from coloured glass. While looking at this one in Dunedin at the Railway Station, I began to speculate about the person who had the idea of making a window out of it. I like to think their thought process went something like: ‘You know what, if we put that see-through coloured stuff in that empty space where the wind comes through, we might really have something.’ I wonder if they knew it would catch-on as much as it has!
I went for a drive on the Otago Peninsula, looking for boats. Dinghies to be exact. I had an idea for an image that involved an old dinghy gently drifting on the tide. However, I quickly came across two problems. Firstly, it was far too windy for anything to be simply ‘drifting’ and secondly, I couldn’t find a dingy. So, to overcome these problems I stopped in the peninsula settlement of Portobello and photographed the former post office and general store building instead. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely convinced it’s not a private residence, meaning I was photographing someone’s home! But, since the original building dates back to at least 1867, I’d like to think the owners would be lenient.
The next day the clouds had rolled in, the temperature had dropped and heavy rain had lashed the city from sometime the previous evening. I spent a lazy day hunkering inside where it was warm, however by mid afternoon I was ready for some fresh air. With the rain showing no sign of easing, I tucked myself into a jacket and headed out into the city streets looking for puddles. Upon arriving at Queens Gardens, I spotted the former “Railway Central Terminus Hotel” reflecting in a rather large puddle near a set of traffic lights on Cumberland Street. Built in 1880 and described at the time as a conspicuous object that was considered an important addition to the city’s hotel accommodation, it was recently redeveloped into New York style apartments. Now, the building is considered an important part of the city’s warehouse precinct.
The weather had turned! Gone was the previous few days of warmer temperatures and sunshine, only to be replaced with drizzly rain. It was the kind that brings in low lying apocalyptic mist and fog that makes everything apart from the two metres in front of your face disappear and you begin to wonder if something catastrophic is about to happen.
Not to be deterred and wanting to keep up the early evening adventours I’d started several days previously, I went in search of traffic. My idea was to find a spot in the city where everything seemed to disappear into the distance, leaving nothing but a blaze of light behind. After all, even brainsucking, apocalyptic fog can be very moody under the right circumstances and if something momentous was about to happen, I wanted to be there to capture it. Looking out the window as I gathered my gear together, I noticed the drizzle was getting harder through the haze. ‘I’m about to get very wet’ I thought to myself as I headed out the front door into the unknown.
The city streets had an unhurried feel about them in the early morning air. I made my way past buildings of various sizes, the smell of coffee and bacon drifting from an establishment across the road on the gentle morning breeze. As I got closer to the source of the alluring morning aroma, I could see a nearby cafe bustling with people. Clearly it had already been open for some time as it was filled with a varying degree of customers waiting for their morning fix. Moving on, the city itself was surprisingly warm for pre-7am in winter, the crisp morning air and the clear skies gaving an indication that the day was going to be what locals called a stunning winter’s day.
For this photo I seriously considered editing it to take out the large ANZ sign on the left. It’s rather ugly and when I first looked at the photo, it completely took away from the rest of the building. However, upon closer inspection I decided to hide it instead. After editing the photo in Lightroom and adding a preset I made called ‘lift off for AJ’, I opened it in photoshop. From there, I added a vignette to darken the surrounds and draw the eye into the centre of the photo. The fact that the building is made of Oamaru stone means it looks awesome with filters that highlight the texture, tones and colours of the bank which was built in 1870.
So, I was going to change direction today away from flowers however I got a message that changed my mind. I received an email from a viewer saying they didn’t like to leave comments on blogs, however she was loving the images of flowers. She then went on to ask if I had any more I could post. Well, I promised one more flower photo so today by special request here is a Belladonna Lily, a species of Amaryllis.
This is another image from my social media channels which you might not have seen. Once again, turning to my marvellous Picture This app I can tell you this plant is a Mediterranean Spurge and it symbolises purity, protection and wisdom. Why that is, I can’t say, however I do know that it is used in Mediterranean cooking such as with salads and cooked with vegetables. Interestingly, the plant is also toxic so working with it would be rather dangerous I’d imagine.
Oh, incidentally if you want to follow me on Facebook you can find me here (@fromasmallcity) or on Instagram right here (@fromasmallcity).
Just in case you need a little more purple in your life!
This is the image I shared on one of my social media channels yesterday however, since not everyone is not signed up to the various online communities, I’m sharing it here as well. If you’ve already seen it, you get the delight of seeing it again! I must say, I don’t really know plants and flowers, so identifying them is a bit of a mystery to me. Yet, I can tell you that it’s a Garden Mum, a species of Chrysanthemum. I know that thanks to my marvellous Picture This app on my phone.
Oh, incidentally if you want to follow me on Facebook you can find me here (@fromasmallcity) or on Instagram right here (@fromasmallcity).
The Dunedin street art scene kicked off in around 2014 when local and international artists were invited to add colour to some of the city walls. Since then, murals have appeared all over the city. It’s really not hard to come across street art in Dunedin. One of the earlier pieces was this one by Welsh-born Sheffield-based muralist and artist Phlegm that can be found on Vogel Street on the exterior wall of Vogel Street Kitchen.
The other day I was feeling a bit creatively uninspired. So, to spark my thinking I spent some time reading a bit of poetry by William Blake before going for a walk listening to Blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, BB King, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Blind Willie Johnson and Robert Johnson to name a few. At some point on my walk I passed the University School of Dentistry which I decided looked interesting in Black & White.
I found my way to the Otago University Library. Mainly because it was raining and I was wanting to wander around somewhere interesting. The rain had started while I was walking down Dunedin’s Castle Street and by the time I was approaching the Otago University, it was getting responsibly hard. Needing to find some shelter, I ducked into the Otago University Library where I figured I might as well see what creative angles I could find.
It’s fair to say that at the moment, here in Dunedin the mornings aren’t exactly tropical! In fact, they’re simply cold! Fortunately the rain passed through overnight, however the wind that has been present since Friday remains. On this occasion, for some silly reason I decided to go for a walk, I left my car near Sligo Terrace in the Town Belt and made my way in the wind along Scarba Street before turning on Leven and Ross Streets. From there and with the wind at my back, it was a short downhill canter before joining the walkway heading back up City Road to Sligo Terrace. Along the way I took several photos, one of which is featured today. Note to self, wear gloves next time!
There’s a strange time of morning at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter when it’s not quite light, yet not completely dark. It’s a curious time of day, the depths of morning. This is a time where shadows creep and the night lingers on paths that seem twisted with form. The wind whispers, dark corners betray our thoughts yet light seems to have a friendly, welcoming glow.
The trouble with modern museums is that they are beautifully presented with only selected exhibits on display that get rotated occasionally. Usually the exhibits are placed with a detailed information board with lots of space and around the item for the eye to take everything in. Personally, I prefer museums that are presented like a hall cupboard. Stuffed full of things that you have to spend hours sorting through before finding what you’re looking for. The fun part is generally on the way to the back of the cupboard you get a pleasant surprise by finding something you lost years ago. I wish museums took on this philosophy.
If we could bring Percival Clay Neill back to life, I’m sure he would be mighty impressed with how his stables now look in autumn. Having died in 1936 at the age of 94, he might wonder what happened to some of the buildings on his once extensive estate which included a homestead, stables, dairy, and coach house. However, I’m confident any disappointment over the loss of some of the buildings on his estate would be overshadowed by the lovely autumnal scenes that now encompass the grounds.
Feeling in a bit of a creative mood, I decided to have a little bit of fun with this photo I took of the sea wall at the St Clair Esplanade. Starting in Lightroom, I gave it an orange and teal feel before exporting it to photoshop. At that point I hit it with a kind of black and white-bleach effect that I washed over the top before finishing it with some old school scratches for a bit of texture. Of course, it took a lot longer to do than I’m making it sound but you get the idea. I hope!
I had Tunnel Beach all to myself the evening I took this which makes taking photos so much easier. It’s become a really popular spot so to get it all to myself was really something. I timed my trip so the tide would be out which meant I had lots of options and choices as the sun made silhouettes out of the rocks and bounced light off the sand.
To get this angle of the glass dome in the Meridian Mall in Dunedin I had to shoot while on the escalator. It took several attempts to get one I was happy with and by the third time I had been up and down the escalators the security guards were starting to show some interest in what I was doing. It was at that point that I decided it was best to leave. The thing I love about this angle is the way all the different shapes interplay with the circular domes; however to be under the dead centre you need to be in a certain spot on the escalator.
A few weeks ago I spent the afternoon at Blackhead Beach. While most of my time was taken up with stumbling over stones and splashing through rock pools, I did find time to admire the local Sea Lions that were playing close by. I also spent time photographing the scenery, which is when I felt the inspiration to take a black and white photo or two. So, channelling the great American landscape photographer Ansel Adams, I switched modes on my trusty camera to black and white and set to work attempting to control the contrast between highlights and shadows.
This is another of Dunedin’s wonderful historic buildings and like so many others there’s an interesting wee story to it. As a result of the Otago gold rush, the Bank of Otago was established in late 1863. The first chief executive of the bank was a 54-year old Scottish solicitor named John Bathgate who diligently set about his work with the bank in Otago and Southland upon arrival. That was until 1866 when a financial panic in London set in. Believing that banks might fail, and wanting to protect their funds, a large number of investors withdrew their money causing numerous banks to slump. One of which was the Bank of Otago. Needing a scapegoat for the failings of the bank, the London-based directors singled out John Bathgate who reluctantly agreed to resign.
Needing someone to take over the running of the bank, the directors turned to a person by the name of William Larnach. Who, at the time, was branch manager of the Bank of New South Wales in Geelong, Australia. Having moved his family to Dunedin from the Australia gold fields and needing somewhere to live, Larnach moved his family into the upstairs rooms of the bank where he worked. The Bank of Otago lasted under William Laranach until April 1873 when it was finally absorbed by the National Bank of New Zealand with the building becoming the main branch for the Bank. Originally only two stories, a new four story building was constructed on the site in 1911 and is the same one that graces Princes Street in Dunedin today. William Larnach eventually moved out of the banking business and among other things, went on to build a nice wee home on the Otago Peninsula and had a career in politics. As for John Bathgate, he too went on to become a politician, holding the position of Minister of Justice and was Commissioner of Stamps which I’m sure at the time was a very important position!
Here in this part of the world it’s that lovely time of year when all the colours of trees start to change. The sun is now a fraction lower in the sky, the mornings and evenings are becoming a tad colder with a definite autumnal feel to the start of each day. Around the city, the autumn colour palette of warm yellow undertones mixed with oranges, reds, ochre and olive colours is starting to appear. Before long the inner city will be covered in leaves.
You would never know that the Bridge of Remembrance was once damaged in an earthquake. Located over the Avon River in Christchurch, it stands as a memorial to both World War I & II, along with the conflicts in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, and Vietnam. Structurally damaged in the February earthquake of 2011, when it was repaired, an 8 tonne beam was used to reinforce the arch and 27 metre piles were built so in any future earthquakes it rocks rather than twists.
While I was in the seaside village of Moeraki I called past Fleur’s Place, a rustic style restaurant that specialises in fresh seafood. Unfortunately, it closed during the Covid 19 pandemic when the whole hospitality industry struggled to stay open. In fact, I don’t know if it ever reopened?
Fleur’s Place gained a great reputation for fantastic sea food and regularly received rave reviews by visitors from all over the world, including Britain’s own popular TV chef Rick Stein. In fact, when British newspaper the Daily Mail offered to fly him anywhere in the world to eat, he chose Fleur’s Place! That’s impressive.
… from a Small City. My daily musings from Ōtepoti to get you inspired. Read the blog, view the photos, embrace the creativity.
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The gathering twilight above the Dunedin Law Courts 
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The Meridian’s glass dome.
Fleur’s Place in Moeraki