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 Dingle Burn – Buy
This isn’t quite the Dingle Burn, but it’s pretty close to it. Access to this whole area starts at the Dingle Burn Peninsula Track and leads to the Turihuka Conservation Area, the Hāwea Conservation Park and the Hunter River Tracks. The whole area is very magnificent and has tracks that can take anything from several hours to several days to walk and enjoy.
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.
The Red Glenorchy Shed – Buy
Like most towns in Otago and the Lake’s District, Glenorchy was born out of the gold rush that occurred in the 1860’s. Once Glenorchy was settled and populated by prospectors, the only real access to it was via steamers that carried people and cargo up and down the lake from Queenstown. At Glenorchy, the goods and cargo going to and from steamers on the lake was stored and sorted in a goods shed that also operated as the local station.
As the steamers were owned by NZ Railways, Glenorchy was officially a railway station and the rails that ran from the end of the wharf to the shed were technically railway. Thus, at the time, the track that ran from the shed to the end of the wharf was the shortest piece of railway in the country.
Harrolds Bay from Acker’s cottage – Buy
This is the view from Lewis Acker’s stone cottage on Stewart Island looking out to Harrolds Bay. Acker lived quite an amazing life which started in New England, America, around 1815. He then went to sea which brought him to the shores of Aotearoa as a 16 year old. He returned several years later as part of the sealing and whaling industry before purchasing 600 acres of land on Stewart Island from local Maori. It was here in a small bay on Stewart Island that Acker built a remarkable stone, one room, two windowed house where he lived with his wife Mary Pi and eight children until they moved back to the mainland in 1856.
It seems that Acker was a particularly skilled person as not only did he spend time working in the sealing and whaling industry, but he built boats, ran a sawmill, was a river boat pilot and spent time running a farm. At the time of his death in 1885, aged around 70 he had been married twice and was father to 14 children, having outlived six of them.
Riverton Art Sculpture – Buy
My short walk through Riverton took me past the main shops, over the town bridge and to the wharf. After spending some time wondering if a strong wind would blow part of the wooden structure over, I retraced my steps over the bridge. It was then that I past a number of interesting art projects made from all sorts of recycled material.
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.
Stock on the Mniototo – Buy
I’d spent the day driving the dirt roads near Gimmerburn in the Maniototo looking for old structures. Actually, I wasn’t altogether sure what I was searching for, I just trusted that I’d know when I saw it. It was somewhere between Gimmerburn and Waipiata that I found an old water race that seemed a good subject for further investigation when I saw these sheep in a nearby paddock looking strangely curious.
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.
Tautuku Bay and Beach – Buy
There are many magnificent beaches in the South Island of New Zealand, and Tautuku Beach has to be right there with the best of them. It’s incredibly splendid, in an isolated sort of way.
Dawn in Hakataramea Valley – Buy
First light on the Kirkliston Range in the Hakataramea Valley on Homestead Road. Tucked away in the Waimate District, the Hakataramea Valley sits at the foot Kirkliston range in the South Island of New Zealand. This image brought to mind a poetic line when I was working on it. But then again, photography links very closely with poetry.
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.
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.
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.
Queenstown towards Coronet Peak – Buy
I spent some time wandering the various streets that make up the town’s centre, I walked along the lakefront and took in the splendid scenery that surrounds the town. When I was younger, I remember Queenstown being a place with spectacular scenery, full of wonder and excitement. As you approached there was always an air of eagerness in the backseat of the vehicle my Dad was driving. Firstly you’d drive through Frankton, then the housing developments would become less frequent and almost non-existent until we passed the bottle house which was a marvel in itself. The famed Bottle House was always a clear sign that the magical place of Queenstown wasn’t too far away, until we rounded a bend and caught sight of the gondolas making their way up through the trees to the Skyline Restaurant. This was always the cue to look in amazement out the car window at the most mysterious of towns. Although it always did seem to be packed with people, rather expensive (so my parents told me) and full of construction everywhere we went.
Pier at Days Bay – Buy
I ate a delightful lunch at a charming place called Chocolate Dayz Cafe before I headed off on foot along the Pencarrow Coast. Having no plan apart from walking as far as I could. I spent the afternoon strolling along the coastal streets through Eastbourne and along the beaches stopping to look at nothing in particular before heading back for my ferry.
Being a few minutes early I ventured across to an ice cream parlour to buy a drink where a young man was in the process of failing to balance two scoops of ice cream on a cone. This task he failed at twice more before the customer equally failed at using his debit card to pay for the items. All of this was completed moments before I could insist on making and paying for the bloody things myself to avoid dying of old age.
A short time later, clutching my well deserved drink and seated on the ferry the vessel set off once more across the 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 – 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 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 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 – 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 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.
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– 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.
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.
The Cardrona bra fence – Buy
The Cardrona bra fence began around 1999 when a few bras mysteriously appeared on a fence along the Cardrona Valley sometime around New Years. Since then, more bras were added to the fence until it grew into an attraction all of its own. There’s even a donation box there where you can make a contribution to the Breast Cancer Foundation.
Price Waterhouse Coopers Tower in Wellington – Buy
While wandering through Wellington I started looking at all the buildings from different angles. The more I strolled through the streets, the more I searched out different perspectives. It really was rather fun exploring a city via car parks, alleyways and stairwells. Along a street called ‘The Terrace’ which is located in the city centre near Lambton Quay, I came across the Price Waterhouse Coopers Tower building that I photographed from across the road and via a car park. It also had some neat colours against the bright blue sky.
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 – 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.
