Daily Photo – Wandering in the early hours

An early morning exploration of some of Dunedin’s darkened walkways and alleyways.

Wonderful Audible

When I’m not listening to Spotify or Podcast, then I’m on audible listening to books. Audible is amazing and it really is mindboggling how many titles are on there!
You can find it here: https://www.audible.com/ep/audiobooks

Daily Photo – Afternoon wandering in Dunedin

The other week, I was wandering through central Dunedin late on a sunny winter’s afternoon. There was some crazy afternoon light hanging over the city, and not much traffic, which made a nice change, so I had plenty of time to line up the shots I wanted. In fact, to get a bit of elevation in this image, I had to stand on a narrow stone wall, which required a decent balancing act. If I’d fallen forwarded, I’d have toppled over a metal rail and spilled out all over the street. Fortunately, back in the day when the church was constructed, they made things pretty solid, and wide!

Put this on your podcast list!

Titanic – Ship of Dreams: This is currently my favourite podcast. Over 14 eposides you follow the ship’s journey from Belfast across the Atlantic, through to the tragic collision with the iceberg and after. Spoiler alert, the shipsinks! Not only do you hear amazing stories from victims and survivors, but you discover how the extraordinary conditions on the ocean that night only added to the confusion.
You can find it here: https://www.noiser.com/titanic-ship-of-dreams

Daily Photo – Dusk on a winters evening

So I’ve started another video project featuring Dunedin and lots of my images. It’s been rattling around inside my head for a while and it’s about time I did something about it. Some of the images are recent while others come from the last two to five years so it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Unfortunately, it’s not the type of project that’ll be finished quickly, but I can share with you an image that’s making the final cut – dusk in Dunedin on a winter eveing.

Otago’s Lens on the Wild World

The Tūhura Photography Exhibition is on again at Otago Musuem in Dunedin until the 12th October. It’s always a fantastic competition with stunning images featuring entries across four categories: Wildlife, Botanical, Landscape, and Natural Abstract. There’s video presentations, hands-on family activities, rare wildlife specimens, and you can even vote for your favourite in the People’s Choice Award. Best of all – it’s free!

Daily Photo – Venedin

There’s been a bit of rain around Dunedin lately – so much in fact, that a few of the areas around town started to look a bit like Venice, with large puddles spilling over across the streets. While the regular traffic flow around the city was disrupted, the upside was that puddles are great fun to splash around in. They also make great photo opportunities, particularly when coupled with a historic building or two!

Daily Photo – Kaimata Road

Once again we have the metaphor of lines dissolving into the horizon in my work. Only this time the road adds another element. Here, the fence line draws the eye through and intersects with an old gravel road, both threading into the brooding grey sky. In moments like this the land seems to pause, as though waiting. There’s a tension between what is visible and what remains just out of reach and beyond. The light was heavy, with only wire, grass, and sky, but that’s all that’s needed.

Daily Photo – Esplanade sea fog

Late in the evening, I stepped out onto the St Clair Esplanade, greeted by a thick sea fog that had rolled in silently over the last hour. I’d been tucked away just around the corner at a bar called Salt, enjoying the comforting heaviness of a burger, the sharpness of pickles and charred beef softened by a few leisurely pints. Inside was warm, bustling with catter and the clink of glasses; outside, the night was taking hold.

Streetlamps glowed like lanterns in the mist, casting soft, hazy light that stretched down the esplanade in a procession. I could hear the ocean breathing somewhere just beyond the railings. The fog had a way of absorbing sound and scattering light, wrapping everything in stillness. I wandered slowly, past the old signpost pointing to far-off places and the poem stencilled along the sea wall. For a moment, I had the coast to myself—just the hum of distant waves, the glow of lamps, and the heavy quiet of the fog.

Daily Photo – Your Latest Trick

Having parked on Dowling Street sometime around 5am, I stepped out into a city still half-asleep. All the late night bargains had long since been struck and at this early hour a light rain was falling, soft enough to hear and just enough to give the pavement that glassy, reflective sheen. I wandered slowly up Princes Street toward Moray Place, the streets almost entirely empty.

At that hour, traffic was rare, just the occasional car slipping past, leaving a quiet trail of red or white light behind it. The city felt like it was waiting. The wet road turned everything into a mirror. Streetlights flared, traffic signals shimmered, and colours stretched out in long lines across the ground. I set up briefly in the middle of the street, camera ready, letting long exposures pull light out of the darkness.

For a few minutes, it felt like the city to myself. Peaceful, quiet, and still. A moment between night and day.

Daily Photo – Echoes in the empty seats and whispers in the wings

If there’s one truth about theatres, it’s that they’re riddled with secrets. Behind every heavy door, down each narrow stairwell, and beyond dimly lit corridors lie forgotten spaces and hidden corners that whisper stories of performances past. Just when you believe you’ve uncovered every inch, a shadowed hallway appears, one you swear wasn’t there before and leads you to a part of the theatre shrouded in mystery. And there’s nothing quite as haunting or spellbinding as standing alone in the silence of a grand, empty auditorium with 1600 vacant seats staring back at you. It’s a moment that stirs something deep in your bones.

Daily Photo – The early hours in suburbia

It was a quarter past five in the morning and it was cold. Somewhere in the warmth of my car a thermometer on the dashboard was reading 3°C (37.4°F) while standing outside, near The Terminus building I could not only see my breath, but feel the chilly morning air slapping me hard across the face. The few cars out this early left trails of mist, steam and fog. I was tired, hardly awake and questioning my sanity, choosing to stand near a closed group of shops waiting for cars to drive past.

The previous evening after a few beers, it’d been suggested to me that the corner of the former Terminus Building and Presbyterian Church would be a good photo location as cars pass by in predawn darkness. At eleven o’clock at night it had seemed a capital idea. But now, standing in the early morning chill, waiting for cars to drive past, I realised I could still be in a nice warm bed.

Daily Photo – Dunedin Sunset

Much to everyone’s surprise, I didn’t go out chasing the spectacular Aurora Australis show the other night. I simply enjoyed it from my front garden. I was tempted, however I’d already been out and about shooting over most of the weekend and by the time it was hitting, I was nicely settled in for the evening. Lazy I know. I did however capture the tail end of the sunset from Layers Head on the way home. Not quite as stunning as an Aurora, yet full of colour nonetheless.

Daily Photo – Dunedin Law Courts & Anzac Square Gardens

There’s something really rather peaceful about wandering a city with no real plan, especially on a quiet, chilly Dunedin afternoon. I found myself strolling near the Railway Station, with its imposing grandeur built from basalt and Oamaru stone, when I drifted toward the Law Courts. No destination in mind, just following the quiet.

As a building, I’ve always liked the Law Courts with its dark stone, turrets, and the gothic feel—it’s the kind of architecture that makes you pause. I wandered up to the entrance and read a bit of history from the board out front. Turns out, Dunedin’s first permanent Courthouse and Prison were built here back in 1859, right on a narrow strip of reclaimed land at the foot of Bell Hill. Back then, the harbour came right up to the base of the old jail.

These buildings were part of the first wave of public infrastructure as Dunedin grew from a struggling settlement into a proper town. The current Law Courts and the neighbouring Police Station were designed by Government Architect John Campbell and built between 1895 and 1902.

Funny how a slow walk can take you through history, without even trying. Just you and a cold afternoon breeze.

Daily Photo – Dunedin’s Chinese Garden

The idea to develop a traditional Chinese garden right in the city had been ruminating around the council officials for some time. Then, in the early 200o’s the idea swung back into life. It wasn’t just about creating a pretty space, it was a way to recognise the Chinese community that had been part of Otago since the gold rush in the 1860s and made a big impact on the region. 

The garden was designed in the style of a classic Chinese garden, and to keep it authentic, most of the materials were shipped straight from China, everything from tiles to timber. Then in 2007, around 40 skilled workers came over from Shanghai and built the whole thing by hand, using traditional Ming Dynasty techniques. A tribute to history, heritage, and the bond between cultures.

Cenotaph, Queens Gardens

The cenotaph was a quiet, somber place. The usual crowds were elsewhere, and those passing by didn’t linger. Not today—not with the wind whipping autumn leaves like a child’s toy and rain sweeping the city in steady waves. Nobody lingers on days like this. It’s a day to be indoors, somewhere sheltered, somewhere warm. On days like this, people don’t stop to read, to talk, or to ponder.

But on ANZAC Day, this is Dunedin’s gathering place—whatever the weather. Each year, at 6am on April 25th, the city gathers. It has for 110 years. The people come to remember, reflect, and honor the fallen. At 6am in 1915, the ANZACs landed on the shores of Gallipoli. And now, the city gathers before dawn, as darkness gives way to light.

The wreaths laid on ANZAC Day remind us and teach us. They remind us of sacrifice, identity, and unity. They teach us mateship, courage, and peace. And in the days that follow, they remain—a quiet, enduring reminder.