You Will Close Your Eyes, In Order To See

Haast Pass, Mount Aspiring National Park – Otago  – Buy 

Historical Note: Driving over the summit of the Haast Pass from Makarora to Haast, I was greeted with heavy rain. Returning back to Makarora three hours later the whole area was covered in thick, heavy mountain snow. What’s more, there were lots of tourists in the area with cars sliding all over the place.

Photographic Note: I was standing in the middle of road when I took this. Meaning, I hand to work quickly. Not having the time to set up a tripod, I got 8 photos taken before I had to move. The first two were blurry due to movement in the trees. In third and fouth shots the composition was all wrong, resulting in four in usable images to choose from.

And What We Do Not Know.

Clarks Mill, Maheno, Ōamaru – Buy 

Historical Note: I took this photograph all the way to the point of publication, despite feeling there was something about it, that didn’t seem right. Then, I realised what it was. I didn’t like the image at all. I’d done a terrible job in processing it and the finished product looked nothing like what I had imagined. So, I scrapped the entire image and started over. Now you get to see a much better photography, and one I’m actually pleased with.

Photographic Note: The milling of wheat and flour was a key component of the early North Otago economy and Clarks Mill near Oamaru was an important part of that production. Opened in 1867 for the New Zealand and Australia Land Company, Clarks Mill was originally equipped with grinding stones powered by a water wheel. Since the mill was in a rather awkward location beside a bend of the Kakanui River, it required the construction of a long water race to power it.