Sunrise over Lawyers Head – Buy
Sunrise over Dunedin’s Lawyers Head from St Kilda Beach on a clear, spring morning.
St Joseph’s Cathedral On A Spring Morning
St Joseph’s Cathedral on a spring morning – Buy
It’s that wonderful time of year when the morning sun is starting to have a tiny bit more heat in it as it rises over the Dunedin Hills along the Peninsula. With the changing of seasons from Winter to Spring, the early morning sun when accompanied by clear, cloudless mornings creates a lovely dawn glow as it strikes the front of the various buildings around the city centre.
The other morning I managed to catch the last of the early morning sun hitting St Joseph’s Cathedral before it disappeared behind a large bank of cloud.
Predawn On The Esplanade
Predawn on the Esplanade – Buy
Predawn on the Esplanade in St Clair giving those early risers a beautiful backdrop to start the day.
Seaweed On St Kilda Beach
Seaweed on St Kilda Beach – Buy
This was a late evening shot I took in summer. The swell on the shoreline and around the rockpools was one of those gentle tides that washes slowly between piles of seaweed that have been washed ashore.
Dunedin Coastline At Sunset
Dunedin Coastline At Dusk – Buy
Dunedin has some magical spots on the coast to catch the sunset. There’s an endless supply of locations to catch the suns last rays of the day. This spot is not far from my house where on a night like this you can see the sunset along the coast with the city lights in the distance.
Ravensbourne Overbridge
Ravensbourne Overbridge – Buy
The Ravensbourne overbridge is a wonderful piece of subject matter. I’ve seen it in many works of art. There’s a form and structure to it that makes it work artistically.
St Kilda Dusk
St Kilda Dusk – Buy
Here’s another image from the summer months. This time Kilda Beach, late in the evening as the sun sets beyond St Clair on the Otago coastline.
Portobello In Summer
Long grass in summer– Buy
Here in Aotearoa as we close in on the end of the winter months, the sunlight hours are getting slightly longer, and there’s a definite shift towards spring appearing around the city. Of course, with spring approaching, that means summer is only just around the corner!
The Pai Lou Archway
The Pai Lou archway – Buy
The intricate and elaborate Pai Lou archway that stands out front of the Lan Yuan Gardens in Dunedin is quite a beautiful thing. The other week, after having a very tranquil walk around the gardens, upon leaving I took a moment to view and appreciate the Pai Lou archway. From a distance, it looks quite impressive, however up close it’s absolutely magnificent. I left having a whole new appreciation for it.
Bethunes Gully In Dunedin
Bethunes Gully with texture – Buy
When Edinburgh butcher David Bethune came to Dunedin he went in search of land and eventually bought the area now known as Bethunes Gully in 1878. On the large property he set up a sawmill, brick kiln and slaughter yard where he lived and worked for a number of years, until he moved his family further into the city and was declared bankrupt in 1889. The gully then became overgrown and disused until one John Begg Thompson purchased it in 1916. Thompson then leased the property to the City Council until his death in 1955 when it became city property.
Esplanade at dusk
Esplanade at dusk – Buy
For reasons I don’t know and I can’t explain, it had been some time since I’d been to the Esplanade at St Clair. I used to stop off quite regularly however, recently I realised it had been a good month or two since my last visit. So, I decided to stop off on my way home last night. It was dusk, and the early Friday evening foot traffic was starting to populate the local bars and restaurants as dusk took hold.
Alleyway On Musselburgh Rise
Alleyway On Musselburgh – Buy
This is the last image in a series I completed based on a section of the Dunedin street, Musselburgh Rise. Recently, I’ve been thinking more about images in series. I like the idea of creating artwork in series as it allows me to explore a particular theme or subject matter in greater detail. In this case I wanted to focus on an ordinary, suburban street and photograph it at night for a different feel.
St Paul’s Cathedral
Dowling Street
Morning light on Dowling Street – Buy
My wander around Dunedin city brought me to Dowling Street. The bright sunlight was already making its presence felt, creating silhouettes of the buildings as the morning took hold.
Early Light At St Clair Beach
St Clair beach glow – Buy
With a bit of time on my hands, and since the sun was shining, I decided to spend the morning at the beach. It wasn’t particularly warm, but sometimes just being out in the sunshine is enough.
Mare Pacificum, The Peaceful Sea.
Sunset over The Pacific Ocean – Buy
It occurred to me the day that it had never occurred to me how the Pacific Ocean was named. In 1520, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set out on a little expedition to find the “Spice Islands” in eastern Indonesia. After making his way through some rather rough waters in Chile, he came upon the calm and peaceful waters of the Pacific Ocean. Mare Pacificum, meaning “peaceful sea.”
Toitū
Toitū, Otago Motors – Buy
The weather could best be described as awful. It could also be referred to as dire, atrocious or ghastly. The day had started out with rain, then the wind hit, the rain got harder, then it turned to hail and the temperature hadn’t reached more then five or six degrees. So, it seemed logical to go indoors and visit a local museum.
Dunedin’s Steamer Basin At Night
Night at the Steamer Basin – Buy
I found my way back to the Steamer Basin which is part of the wharfs on Otago Harbour. A short walk over the railway tracks, it’s relatively close to the nearby Queens Gardens, The Exchange and a range of eating establishments. Unfortunately, to get there from the city, you have to walk over an overbridge which you have to share with traffic that also wants to cross the railway lines. Why on earth previous city councils haven’t thought to build a pedestrian only walkway from the Queens Gardens to the Steamer Basin I really can’t say!
Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour with textures – Buy
Back in the summer months, I spent a day exploring near the area of Portobello on the Otago Peninsula. I timed my day with low tide, meaning I had loads of fun scrambling over the shoreline rocks near the aquarium, walking along tracks that went around the hillside and taking lots of photos from unique angles. I also spent some time sitting in the long grass enjoying the view looking back down Otago Harbour.
Corner Cumberland Street and Queens Gardens
Corner Cumberland Street and Queens Gardens – Buy
A long exposure shot of lights from passing cars, vans and trucks made an interesting overlay effect for this photograph of the entrance to Lan Yuan, the Dunedin Chinese Gardens and the sculpture directly in front of it..
Evening Over The Pacific Ocean
Evening on the East Coast – Buy
What a difference a day makes, just 24 little hours as the song goes. Yesterday, in Dunedin there were snow flurries all day. It rained, it hailed and the wind was blowing a gale. A real winter’s day with the temperature not more than 5 degrees. Today however, the snow, hail and wind was gone, patches of rain passed through the city and the temperature almost reached double figures. By early evening it was almost pleasant along the Coastline, relatively speaking.
Snow Flurries In Dunedin
Snow flurries on the Northern Motorway – Buy
Late yesterday afternoon I was in the Pine Hill area of Dunedin as the snow, wind, hail and rain was passing through the city. I ventured up to one of the bridges that crosses over the Northern Motorway with the simple idea of getting a wintery traffic image. Unfortunately, my timing was a little off as I must have stood on that bridge for nearly half an hour waiting for the next snow flurries to pass through.
Sunrise Over Dunedin’s Steamer Basin
Sunrise over Dunedin’s Steamer Basin – Buy
In the morning, my initial plan was to get a photo of the moon as it hung in the sky over the Dunedin suburb of St Clair. It was casting a lovely soft glow over the ocean, creating quite a surreal scene. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the right location and angle to get the shot I wanted. So, instead I headed towards the city when at the last minute I noticed the sunrise was creating all sorts of lovely colours over Dunedin’s streamer basin. Of course, by the time I reached the harbour I was starting to run short of time, meaning I only had time to rattle off a few shots before I had to head off again.
Dusk In Dunedin
Dusk in Dunedin from the Otago Peninsula – Buy
It almost seems impossible to believe the run of fine weather recently in Dunedin. There was a blip last Wednesday or Thursday when strong wind and heavy rain closed in around the city, however, since then it has pretty much been bright sunshine. The weekend from Friday onwards was warm and balmy and that stretched into yesterday. The conditions on Sunday were lovely for strolling to and from Dunedin Stadium to see the New Zealand Football Ferns and on Monday evening I went on a short tiki-tour along Otago Peninsula to see the sunset from the often photographed Otago Peninsula cabbage tree.
The Football Ferns Draw With Switzerland
Switzerland vs New Zealand at Dunedin Stadium – Buy
What a wonderful night it was last night at Dunedin Stadium for the Football Ferns Fifa World Cup pool match against Switzerland. Heading to the ground on what had been a lovely Dunedin day, it dawned on me that I didn’t really know much of the Ferns history. I couldn’t tell you how they qualified for the World Cup or who any of the players were. Yet, somehow it didn’t seem to matter. I wasn’t going along with expectations of performance from certain players. I was simply heading along for pure enjoyment.
So, for 90 minutes (plus injury time) we cheered, we yelled, we screamed, we roared, we clapped our hands and we stomped our feet. Willing the Ferns to find the back of the net. Yes, there was a lack of goals (0-0), but what the match lacked in goals it made up for with share enjoyment. Long may it continue.
Dunedin At Dawn II
Dunedin at dawn II– Buy
This is another Dunedin at dawn photo I took while searching the city streets in the early hours. This is a particularly busy corner as morning traffic travels down the hill from Roslyn and the other surrounding suburbs into the centre of the city. It’s a great place to take photos as it’s got a lovely old educational college on the corner along with a long, sweeping bend that captures the light trails made by the morning traffic going up and down the hill.
Dunedin At Dawn
Dawn over Dunedin city – Buy
The sunrises had been pretty decent in the preceding days. So, with that in mind and feeling the need to spend some time wandering the city streets in the early morning hours, I went in search of interesting views. My plan was simple: find locations that featured the city and the colourful early morning sky.
Flag Swamp Sunrise
Flag Swamp Sunrise – Buy
I grabbed this image while driving through East Otago one morning near the small settlement of Flag Swamp. There are lots of small roads that branch off the State Highway, and they have lots of interesting sights and there are even a few walkways that you can walk along. I used to detour down them a lot, just for the fun of it or if I knew a good location at sunrise.
Evansdale Glen Scenic Reserve
Evansdale Glen Scenic Reserve – Buy
Arriving, what I found was something altogether quite different. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I had to double check on Google Maps that I was in the right place. After parking my car beside a sign that said, ‘Evansdale Glen Scenic Reserve’ I was still sure there must be some mistake. Yet here I was. Standing, phone in hand, jaw well and truly dropped looking out beyond a hidden bush canopy. This must be what the New Zealand wilderness is like I thought.
Matanaka In Waikouaiti
Matanaka In Waikouaiti – Buy
Having some time to spare, and feeling like a wander, I called in to the old farm buildings at Matanaka. Dating from around 1840, the Matanaka Farm is Otago’s earliest farm and includes some of New Zealand’s oldest surviving farm buildings. When the buildings were first constructed, owner Johnny Jones had the reddish-brown timber buildings built in Australia before they were shipped to his farm and where they were completed. While there were once many more buildings in the area, now, the buildings consist of stables, granary, schoolhouse, and a three-seater privy.