As much as I love summer weddings, I think I possibly enjoy winter weddings more. The feel is very different, and as a photographer, is a welcome change to play with low light, indoor locations, and usually different shoot styles.
This was certainly the case for Jessica and Ric, who were keen to go to ‘The Last Word’ for photos, as well the Dance’O’Mat. Given how cold it was, the dancing was perhaps a welcome alternative to whiskey in order to warm up!! It could have gone pear shaped if we weren’t careful, as the ceremony was still to come! After St Anne’s Church, guest were treated to the reception at The Tannery. Please enjoy photos here, especially folk overseas who couldn’t make it.
As some may know, I do enjoy night photography, and in particular the chance to capture the Aurora Australis. Here’s some photos from last night out at Lake Ellesmere.
What a co-oincidence, that on Sunday, TV One, they had just finished a segment on Mark Gee and his amazing astrophotography work. Immediately after such great TV exposure, we had one of the best aurora displays I have seen in recent years. Yet the main display was short lived, only about 1/4 hr between 8.30-45pm. It was almost a perfect storm, with no wind, no cloud, warm (well 8deg!), no moon, a decent hour, with dancing beams visible to naked eye, at Lake Ellesmere. Simply stunning. Nature at its best, that you just can’t predict, but when it comes you jump with joy!
Despite a cool tail end of summer, we did our best to keep the goosebumps away! OK, technically we are well and truly into Autumn, and it was quite fresh! But the warmth of friendship, connection with family, and the love of Sarah and Brad was clear. With a one stop wedding all at Trent’s Estate, in Prebbleton, we managed a lot of laughs with a large bridal party.The lads did their best to have their own Beerfest (officially in town the same day!).
We started at the Heritage Hotel, which is an absolute gem of a venue. It is a true asset to the city, and a photographer’s dream. Especially as there are few other places of such grandeur left in CHCH. The stairs are always such a striking location for any bride – Sarah with a beautiful dress, long veil, and extensive entourage made quite an impression.
Please enjoy some photos here. I have to say, there are some of my summer wide favourites in this slideshow. I’ll let you see if you can pick the ones!
PS – some shots have not made the public cut. Lads, you know the ones!!
It’s been a busy weekend! Themed ‘The Northern Lights’, after Greg’s unique proposal in the Arctic Circle, Omarino Wine Park in Harewood came to life for Amy and Greg on Saturday. Fortunately conditions weren’t as icy as up North, and all guests enjoyed the tailend of a cracker summer. Though to be fair, the boys did lend their coats a couple of times to the poor girls while out on location!
Please enjoy photos here (taken at the Groynes, and on site at Omarino).
Rebecca spent Easter Sunday celebrating the union of Bex and Gareth. I love the LOVE dance floor, and the cameo appearances by the pets!
” It was a pleasure to be part of Bex and Gareth’s wedding day. It was great day, full of fun, family, friends and sunshine, at Bex’s parents home, and at Langdales Vineyard. It was everything a wedding should be. Please enjoy a small selection of photos below – may they bring many smiles!”.
To see two cultures come together is a beautiful thing. Certainly that was the case for Vinesh and Janine on Friday at Clearwater. Janine made a special effort to embrace Fijian Indian customs, and Vinnie just looked that part in traditional dress. I did worry a bit about the back wash from the chopper, but Vinnie did alright and didn’t loose anything!! We stayed on site at Clearwater for photos, which in low autumn light was lovely and soft. Though at this time of year, can get a bit fresh for the girls, with more skin showing. We did hint at sharing jackets, but the lads weren’t quite up to speed there!! Perhaps they needed them for the speedy buggy rides!
The only sad thing was that it was the last wedding working with Emma, who is off from Clearwater as Wedding Co-ordinator, to Events Manager at Rangi Ruru. Best of luck Emma!
To say we had a colourful day with Olivia and Ken on Saturday is pretty much bang on! The lads jackets pretty much tell the whole story – a bunch of laughs, with good friends, bright and bubbly, and not a lot of posy formal stuff!
With the ceremony and reception held at St Mary’s Convent in Blenheim, there would be few other places as salubrious where I have worked. It was a stunning location, with beautiful grounds and grand old rooms. Hard to imagine it was once the austere heart of worship.
Better still, while CHCH baked at a whopping 34 degrees, we had a comfy temperature with light cloud. That was perfect for photography, before we headed off to Brayshaw Heritage Park. You can see we didn’t take things too seriously, and we just hung out a boot full of props. I do think the garter might have been Olivia’s favourite!!
Seventeen years of shooting weddings and this might just be a pinnacle! What a CRACKER weekend we’ve just had with Rowan and Carl. A STUNNING wedding amongst the West Coast bush, on family land in Granity.
Without any practical alternative in the event we were to have wet weather, I was quite worried before the day, just how things would turn out. On the Coast, it can be expected! Well, I needn’t have worried as it was low 30’s, without a breath of wind, and just a perfect summer’s day. Given we also had photos at the Denniston Incline (above Westport), we must have chanced one of the few days without mist, fog or rain in that area too (anyone who has read Denniston Rose by Jenny Pattrick will know exactly the bleak reality of this area).
Guests assembled from around the globe (Norway, Sweden, UK no less too), many of whom camped on site for the weekend. The land itself had a beautiful mix of native bush, creek, and lake, that like many parts of the Coast just ‘feels right’. The service was held in the creek bed running past the main house – and surprisingly I think all 160 people managed a view from somewhere in the bush, outcrops, creek and glade surrounding the bridal party. Fun was a BIG theme of the weekend, as with the celebration of nearest and dearest. The band (not used to unrestricted noise control) rocked out hard till the wee hours on Steve and Bunny’s amazing deck. By the end of the weekend, I think people might be ready for a holiday?!
Well done guys – a beautiful setting, with beautiful people, celebrating love. Thank you for having me there.
Returning from the West Coast at the weekend, I stopped off for a bit of a poke around Reefton. I hadn’t really had a good look around here before, and personally think it is one of NZ’s hidden gems. Full of character, nostalgia, plus it has one of the countries best skate parks (go figure!).
I took a slight detour out of town, and was drawn to a back yard of rusted cars hulks, strewn derelict about the grounds of a old weatherboard house. While some were encroached by thorns and scrub, others were lying neglected on a freshly mown lawn. None however would ever see the open road ever again I am sure. (Though many would be a vintage car restorers dream if they were ever to be salvaged).
It was here I met K.D.
“The problem is, you know, too many #-*-# are rooting!’.
Without knowing just how much truth there might have been from mystery, I got chatting, and think we solved many of the world’s problems. I did have many a good laugh, such as his rationale above why the world was in such a mess. KD was a quite a character. A real salt of the earth, working man. The language was colourful, and his views opinionated. Yet, this was refreshing given we normally live in a very PC world.
With a working life spent about the Reefton, in forestry and deer recovery, I stumbled upon a true Coaster here. I can’t be sure of his age. Before I know it I had a tour of the house (close to a hoarders house as I have ever seen!), got to handle his prized vice grips (“You can do anything with those bastards”), and his pride and joy, an old but trusted Land Rover (“You wouldn’t believe the —– places I took that —–“!). I even got to see his special the home made wasp extractor (“I’m going to get those bastards soon”, pointing an aged hoover vacuum cleaner with adapted funnel, to a wasp nest in the garage).
But the joy was when he started recalling pioneering days of deer recovery. Out came the deer net, custom made in the 1960’s from an old .303 rifle, firing blanks to shoot a net for live deer recovery. Then came his old rifle (“That —— has shot thousands of deer, that bastard”), complete with Araldite (“Well, it broke in a chopper accident, so I had to fix it a bit”), and adapted magazine (“The original only held 4 rounds, but that’s no —— use when you are up in a chopper surrounded by deer. I made this one instead”, pointing to the welded 10 shot mag he’d constructed).
“KD, can I send you some photos? Do you have an email”
“What the — would I have an email for? I don’t even have a computer. —- that!”.
Maybe, I’ll just have to go old school and make hard copies.
I have to say it was an absolute pleasure to have worked with Srey Leak and Sophen on Saturday. Having known their wider family for some years now, it is quite a privilege to again be asked to photograph a family wedding. It is a great feeling knowing many of the quests – though I can only hope my pronounciation was up to speed!
The wedding itself was at Broadfield Gardens in Selwyn. A beautiful private garden that is a true labour of love, and a joy to work in. Photos were taken there, as well as Lincoln University, and the the AA testing yard in Hornby. Luckily being a Saturday afternoon, we didnt have to queue in line! Madam Kwong took all guests in for a lovely meal, dancing and general celebrations. Actually, I think there would be few places in CHCH that could cope with 200+ guests. Well done.
I hope that 2016 may bring happiness to all, and a chance to manifest any unrealised dreams. Funny how New Year is a time for resolutions, when personally I think everyday should bear witness to the fulfilling goals and ambitions.
Something I didn’t get to blog about earlier, that was a highlight for me in 2015, was a visit to Government House in late Oct. Invited as part of a NZIPP delegation, the Governor General hosted a function in Wellington, in recognition of his nominated year of Nationhood. For every year in office, Their Excellencies The Governor-General, Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae and Lady Janine Mateparae (boy, that is a mouthful) have chosen a difference theme in order to recognise different achievements. With our work on the NZIPP-RSA WWII veteran project, we were invited to this function at Government House. Not something you get to do every day!
We did have a slight hiccup at the start, when for reasons unbeknown my name was omitted from the gate list. Fortunately, having decided I didn’t look like ‘one of those’, I was let in after some deliberations and several radio messages. I was glad indeed to find that my name was on the main door list. Phew!!
We had a most pleasant time, both with fellow photographers, other guests, and with Sir Jerry and Lady Janine themselves. If anyone gets an opportunity to visit Government House, I would suggest you take up the offer. Seeing one of NZ’s most historic residences for one, but a chance to talk with household staff and the GG itself was fascinating. There are a treasure trove of photos, some magnificent paintings, and a multitude of regal gifts from various international visitations all on display.
Certainly a highlight for me in 2015. I wonder what 2016 will bring?! Maybe a chance to tuck my shirt in!!
A little bit of Aurora Australis action Monday night at Lake Ellesmere between 11-12pm, as levels rose sharply. Though being close to the summer solstice, and with a bright moon, it was a bit more challenging to pick it up in all its glory (and a challenge to stay awake long enough to be out all night to capture it!). Nevertheless, it’s there!
It is always good to experience the glory of the Aurora at this latitude. It is a game of chance, and a lot comes done to the conditions quite literally all aligning. I actually think the cloud cover was quite funky, especially too with the reflections changing quite a bit as the moon came and went from behind cloud cover.
To say things have been a bit flat out, is quite an understatement. But so far, so good, as we are still all above water and going forward – Phew!
I had an interesting side journey yesterday – quite literally actually. I was photographer for the Canterbury A&P Show, and as part of duties for organsiers, I get to document this from the air for them. But with passengers on board paying to see the city views, we took off over the central city for a brief tour.
Seen from above, CHCH looks quite different, especially when compared from similar views over the last 5 years.The post quake landscape is forever changing, albeit slowly.
I thought the residential red zone though was perhaps the most interesting. Especially after my earlier posts, you can actually appreciate the scale a bit more here from above.
New Southern Motorway.
Can you spot the McKenzie & Willis facade on High St?!
The Residential Red Zone area, with Avonside Dr and Dallington Loop right in the centre of these photos, looking North East towards the coast.
I had a job postpone this morning, so thought it could be a timely opportunity to revisit a part of Christchurch that I had photographed quite a bit after the 2011 quakes. Shot largely about Dallington and Avonside, this area has been under CERA management for most of that time. Most occupants have now settling with either their insurance company, and / or The Crown / CERA. As a result, most houses have now been removed. Fortunately vegetation of any substance has largely been retained. Subsequently, pockets of trees and shrubs serve as sentinels of obsolete boundaries divisions.
Yet substantial vegetation has been left, and the empty spaces resown in grass. The resulting park like space is huge, and now has an eerie peace. There is blossom out, birds are singing, while white baiters relax beside their nets resting on the banks of the Avon. That seems an eternity from the violent destruction that followed from 22nd Feb 2011. Yet the signs are all still there – broken roads, empty signs, derelict fencelines, leaning power poles, and even the odd container and port-a-loo remain tucked away. There are playgrounds without kids. Bus stops without passengers. Driveways without cars. These all provide a sly glimpse of the turbulence thrust upon this suburban void, and the subsequent human and geological upheaval that resulted.
Not every day do you get to photograph a wedding at an abandoned wedding venue! After a beautiful mass at Christ the King Church, Rebecca was lucky enough to gain access to Antonio Hall with Sarah and Jacob last Saturday. They had a great time shooting in the old chapel (with lawful access I must add!). We would certainly not like to get into any hot water there with Sarah’s legal department! From there the bridal party headed to Langdale Winery, where Gaby & his team again worked their magic to complete the day. But not before the lads had a chance to play with the old tractor. It’s kind of obligatory!! Please enjoy.
Summer has rolled round again, & I started off with the wedding of Vicky & Marc. To be totally fair, I wasn’t too sure how summery the day actually felt, but that didn’t stop festivities one bit!!
The girls rugged up, toughed it out, and the show went on. At least it didn’t rain. Both the ceremony and reception were held at Omarino, one of the few urban vineyards I think.
We made a quick trip to the Groynes nearby, which was a perfect scenic backdrop for photos, before returning to Omarino. A brilliant start to the summer season, and a good crew to kick things off. Thank you – we had good fun, and a few laughs. Please enjoy these photos.
Well, the weekend before last I was most fortunate to spend a day with Dr Paul Alsop at Papamoa. While Paul works by day as a GP, his keen interest in photography and chemistry has taken him on a very unique journey. So unique, that medicene may soon take a side step so Paul’s photography can shine in it’s own right.
The fascinating part is, Paul specialises in Collodian Wet Plate photography. This process originates from the very inception of our craft, invented by Frederick Scott Archer in the 1850s. This is the sort of photography we see in cartoons, with the guy with a cape over his shoulder hunched over a bulky camera. It is the stuff of the Wild West, and American Civil War. It’s pretty cool!
From Wikipedia
“The collodion process produced a negative image on a transparent support (glass). This was an improvement over the calotype process, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot, which relied on paper negatives, and the earlier daguerreotype, which produced a one-of-a-kind positive image and could not be replicated. The collodion process, thus combined desirable qualities of the calotype process (enabling the photographer to make a theoretically unlimited number of prints from a single negative) and the daguerreotype (creating a sharpness and clarity that could not be achieved with paper negatives). Collodion printing was typically done on albumen paper.
The collodion process had other advantages, especially in comparison with the daguerreotype. It was a relatively inexpensive process. The polishing equipment and fuming equipment needed for the daguerreotype could be dispensed with entirely. The support for the images was glass, which was far less expensive than silver-plated copper, and was more durable than paper negatives. It was also fast for the time, requiring only seconds for exposure”.
In the fast moving era of digital, it is a reassuring sign to see that old techniques are not lost.
Paul is so dedicated, he has transformed a retro caravan into a makeshift darkroom. A very clever chap he is, as his DIY talents are also highly admirable.
The collodian process is a quite a special one, where glass (or tin) has a collodial chemical solution applied to one surface (a mix of volatile ether, alcohol and gun cotton), before being made light sensitive by dipping into a silver halide bath. Those plates have first been meticulously prepared by sizing, buffering the edges so not to be sharp, & cleaned perfectly. We also added a thin edge of egg albumen to assist the collodial solution to bond at the end of the development process. Dipping in silver halide is a darkroom process, and plates are then loaded wet into a large format camera back. In our case this was a 4×5 holder. This plate is then exposed in a large format bellows camera, and subsequently returned to the darkroom. It is then developed by another chemical solution, washed, and fixed (much as the same process as film in the more recent ‘olden days’!). The plates are then dried carefully, and later varnished to shield the brittle emulsion.
In all, the bulk of the process needs to be fairly quick, and occur within the confines of a darkroom. That is where Paul’s caravan gives him the perfect base to operate anywhere, anytime.
It is a funny thing – the rough edges of photos taken this way often look like they have succumbed to the ravages of time. The reality is, the artefacting and edging is as much part of the process, and has always been present from the time of processing. Similarly, the nature of the chemistry and its interaction with different wavelengths of light, renders blue eyes (like mine) quite ghostly. The large format camera also captures immense detail, yet with an incredibly narrow depth of field at wide apertures. Combined with the swing / shift of the front lens element, the depth of field effects and incredible detail are seldom replicated in modern dSLR cameras.
Incredibly, the effective ISO of the wet collodian emulsion is 0.5. That’s half an ISO!! The corresponding shutter speed in open shade outdoors was 4-5 seconds. Goodness, I was shooting a low light function last week at 6400 ISO!
You know when there are noticeable gaps in this blog, that things behind the scenes are a bit mad.
Well, certainly that has indeed been the case in recent weeks. In no small part due to the annual NZIPP-Epson Iris Professional Photography Awards (what a mouthful!!).
This year judging was held in Queenstown last month, with well over 1000 entries. As usual, the standard was exceptional, and something that as a small country we should be very proud of.
Here are some of my entries, entered across Documentary, Wedding Classic, Landscape and Portrait Classic categories. While I missed the elusive golds this year, I did manage 6 out of 7 medal placings in bronze and silver.
Personally, the actual tally isn’t the key indicator. It’s the challenge of competing, receiving judging feedback, and the chance to remain valid in a busy market. Add to that, a perfect opportunity to catch up with photographers from all around Australasia, many of whom are now close friends.
It was great to be able to head into Manchester St this weekend, and view the NZ Geographic Photographer of the Year finalists. The containerised units are a great space filler, that draw people into the empty quake zone on the Bedford Row / Manchester St corner.
There were some stunning photos, including finalists for the new timelapse section running on HD screens.
Best of all though, you needn’t visit in person. You can vote here:
Just a few extra snaps of the week in reterospect. Including a very rare ‘photographer at work’ pic thanks to my assistant Rebecca. Cold winter starts, in biting wind, are character building – really!
The rest are down at Timaru Port, taken as side shots while on a client shoot.
Locals call the new Holcim cement dome, their very own Minion!
One of my workhorse cameras has just died – and I feel lucky!
I did a shutter count and see it has failed at just short of 400,000 frames. I was curious to see how that compares, and what parameters Canon designed the camera to ‘live’ to. Reading up, actual data differs. But it seems between 150,000 & 225,000 is about standard.
That makes 400,000 a pretty good innings I reckon!
Was a bit of a media scrum yesterday, with the Prime Minister announcing post-CERA structures and new central city housing plans, while visiting the Wigram Air Force Museum. It is always a bit of a bun fight, with radio, TV and print media all jostling for comment, with never enough time!
In making up for a lack of recent posts, here are a few photos from the last week while out and about. More observations while taking a break while on other jobs. Hopefully something interesting!
W100 knitted flower memorial wall, Wigram Airforce Museum
Central CHCH rebuild. Actually to be fair, there’s not a huge amount of rebuild that you can see here! As you can see, there’s still a bit of demolition / inactivity about Cathedral Square.
Some more observant followers of my webpage may have noted a recent lack of activity. For this I apologise, for I have been kept busy with quite a few other things in recent times.
While I won’t post much here from everyday work, I do have a couple of shots taken last night that I thought could be nice to share. I was keeping an eye on aurora levels, and thought it might be worth heading out. It does take an extra effort to head out in winter, when temperatures are sub zero!
As it turns out, aurora activity wasn’t to be (well, not when I was out at least – it did light up later. Well done Mr Murphy, you strike again!). But I did play about with some astrophotography and light painting at Coes Ford. Please enjoy these.
It is not everyday you work so close to home, for people who are virtually neighbours! That was the case on Saturday for Tania and Kevin, who had a spectacular day getting married at a beautiful indoor courtyard in Barrington, followed by a right shin dig at White House Black, in Halswell. With the union of two families, children were a very special part of their day. Wee Carly I think was giving Mum a run for her money for ‘Best Dressed!’. Please enjoy here.
I had a shoot last week, that was quite a new experience. I had never seen palm kernel before, and I wasn’t really sure what it looked like, other than it is used a dried stock supplement imported from Asia. I was surprised how fine it was, and of it’s rich, heavy smell. Much like dark roasted coffee, or burnt malt. Slightly sweet, but very acrid. Nice at first, but then it becomes all encompassing – very heavy and dense.
The bulk store where the kernel is brought in, has a mammoth pile that is handled by dozers. It is literally like a huge sandpit, that is smelly, dusty, dark and dirty. My hat goes off to the drivers, and storemen, who work there as this has to be a tough job. The photos below were taken at 3200 ISO, AFTER the worst of the dust had cleared from earlier activity.
Last week was a great chance to see just what Mother Nature is capable of (April 16th 2015). Looking at some of the scientific data, it seemed that we might be in luck to see the Aurora Australis. So I headed up to the Summit Road on the Port Hills here in Christchurch.
It was actually quite a special combination of factors to see such clear activity at this latitude – low intensity moon, cloudless sky, clear weather, active space weather and sun activity, plus being a decent time of night. I was home by 10.30pm. Thank goodness for daylight saving.
Self portrait of me ‘at work’!
Here is a time lapse taken in conjunction. Sorry, it’s a bit rough, as I had to keep cleaning fog / dew from the lens, and I think that bumped my camera a couple of times! But you get the picture. How lucky we are to witness such a natural phenomena huh?! This can be a bit addictive.
I was gutted that I ignored the space weather indicators on St Patricks Day, that yielded one of the biggest solar storms in a decade. Accounts from this event from those who got out to experience it (everyone it seems but me!), was that it was spectacular. You know when people can see it in Palmerston / Gisborne, it has to be strong. So since then, I have been hyper-vigilent vowing not to miss another opportunity like that!
So last night I was battling with my desire to chill out at home and watch a movie, and looking at what was happening on some of the space weather guages. (I have a phone app that sends alerts). So somewhat belatedly as the movie went about a 1/2 more than I expected, I thought, right, just do it! So off I went about 10.30pm for a nosy.
Lake Ellesmere is a great vantage point close to CHCH, as it is both unobscured & south facing, and has some natural foreground interest. Fortunately, I managed to sneak in on the tail end of a sub-storm, and this is what you see here.
This is an stitched panorama, made from 11 vertical frames, each 30sec long at 2000 ISO at f4.
You can see the moon about to rise over the hills, just under the left arch of stars. The bright lights and trails along the base of the hill, is traffic on the Akaroa highway. Spanning over 180 degrees, the glow on the far right will be the night lights of Tai Tapu / CHCH. The bright lights on the right side of the lake I suspect is from outlying rural settlements – I suspect Southbridge / Leeston. Maybe even Timaru in the distance further on the left?
But starring centre stage of course is the elusive Aurora Australis, with its colourful glow and fingerlings of vertical light. I’m just kicking myself I watched the whole movie and didn’t get the whole light show from Mother Nature!
Here is a recent video clip that we did for Steel and Tube, as part of a sponsorship event they ran with the Canterbury Crusaders. The kids all had a blast, and I think the Crusader crew did too.
You have to love the innocence of kids at question time huh?!
It brings a lot of pleasure seeing my work in its final form, especially when such a collaborative assignment such as this one. The local runanga at Port Levy, under the guidance of Peter Ramsden, initiated a project to promote the history and language of the Port Levy area.
Part of this is a three part Po installation, and associated signage, to promote traditional place names and landmarks of the surrounding area. This secluded part of Banks Peninsula has had continuous occupation for over 1000 years, and has immense significance for local Maori. That is certainly a lot of history for such a young country that is New Zealand.
I have to say there are not many weddings where there have been so many well considered trimmings, all hand made and lovingly produced, to personalise a wedding. Full credit to Kelly & Mark (as well as their friends and family) who helped make for a very stylish day. Everything from the table runners, tea set and china, cake stand, bridal arch, lawn games, miniature jam gifts…. well done!!
From a photo perspective, I thought it was very brave of the girls to clamber on the large dirt pile we found out on location. That was very good of you all in high heels and fancy dresses! Yet is hopefully well rewarded when you see the photos here. Thank you.
Here you are – Becky and Andrew looking sharp! As the girls were getting all dolled up, Andrew and the boys were a bit more casual, choosing inside to take a dip next door! But everything came together with precision, and everyone made it to Cashmere Hills church on time. Well done!
We had a great day together, as everything went to plan, with near perfect conditions. With a carefully selected spot in Tai Tapu, we took a 4WD track for spectacular views across Lake Ellesmere and the surrounding district. From there we headed down to the Vineyard at Rossendale, where Graham and his staff again excelled, and put on a magic evening.
Over the past few years, I have been quite intrigued by Aurora. Subsequently I have taken some time to try and understand space weather, and the conditions that will cause a display of night lights.
Yet the more I have tried, the harder it seems to be! With an eye on various monitoring forums, there seems a be a whole myriad of factors that will determine the success of any attempt. Yet like many things, patience is a virtue. In the long run when you do get to see an Aurora in Canterbury, the wonder is truly to behold.
Anyway, here’s a 13 sec timelapse of the Aurora Australis taken last night out at Birdlings Flat, captured from ~10pm to midnight. The peak was around 11pm (or 6sec on this clip), but was sadly washed out by such strong moonlight. Otherwise it would have been quite a dramatic display for such a high latitude.
Mayfly Lane is one of CHCH’s premier addresses, and we were very lucky that Tiffany’s cousin let us all clamber over his lawn! Followed by drinks and nibbles, we headed off for some photos at Redcliffs where we enjoyed a very quiet time with just seagulls for company. Then over to the Corporate Club for reception festivities. Don’t you love the dress? There’s a great wee story there, but that’s not mine to tell!
With pressure on the city with the ICC World Cup, various concerts and festivals, we weren’t too sure how this weekend would pan out round town. Yet Houng and Bros managed to avoid any hiccups, and everything went to plan. Just as we like it!!
Rebecca did an outstanding job, starting with preparation photos at home, then the ceremony at Cashmere Presbyterian Church, and reception at Madam Kwongs. (Umm, I wish I was there for that!!).
A truly lovely Cambodian family, that I have had the pleasure of knowing for some time. Thank you for having us involved in your special day.
Just behind the CHCH Casino, I caught a glimpse of this artist at work (‘Tilt’ from France).
WOW – this has to be the biggest canvas you can give an artist, surely? It looks more like a DB ad, but in fact is all part of the CHCH SPECTRUM Festival.
Well after all those earthquakes, we had to do something with so much bare concrete! Pretty cool having a street art festival huh?
But imagine this, you had to make a cup of tea. Probably not too hard really.
OK, try making a really good cup of leaf tea the proper way. Getting slightly tougher?
Now, try a really good cup of tea grown by the master himself, Merrill Fernando, the owner of Dilmah.
Umm, I think there might have been some very anxious staff here! Not that he would have minded, as Mr Fernando and his two sons were perfect gentlemen. They were out in Rangiora today visiting a client, as part of their tour to NZ that co-incided with the ICC World Cup.
After that, I went home a made a nice wee cup of tea myself (yes, only ever Dilmah!), and thought, I wonder if Mr Fernando would rate it?! Don’t boil twice, steep for no more than 2minutes, 1 spoon for the pot, swirl clockwise is it…. I think I got it right!
It isn’t everyday you get to walk to a wedding, at a secluded bay – where quite possibly, Alana and Peter could have been the first people to ever get married there. (It was tucked between Cass and Corsair Bay in Lyttelton Harbour). But that is what they both planned last Thursday, with level of precision that military planners would admire (except losing the car keys! But it wouldn’t be a wedding without something going astray!). It was genuinely one of the nicest weddings I have attended. There was even a rogue tidal surge that swept up to the bridal party, just as the celebrant announced them both to be a married couple.
Photos were taken pre-ceremony, and the reception was held up the CHCH Gondola. Please take a look here….
Personally, I think I can tell if any potential bride has ever been a dancer when I first meet them. I think it is a lifetime of poise and posture, that I suspect many do not even realise they have instilled in them. So when Andrew and Jania both said they were competitive dancers, I thought “You beauty, two people who can hold themselves well!’. I wasn’t to be proved wrong. We had a great day together, blended with the best this summer has had to offer, amongst the expansive grounds of Pemberton. Throw in classic cars, limo, great food, rocking DJ… and you get the picture. Thanks for having me along – please enjoy this peak here.
It just goes to show how careful you have to be. While we love our jobs, there are times where we all get quite absorbed in what we are doing. This certainly makes for a very serious ends to one’s passion, and why we should never get too complacent about safety. I don’t think this photographer was a working professional, but nevertheless, same lesson applies to us all.
CHCH Press, Jan 2015, after the release of the coroners report into the death.
There may be some readers of my blog who have spotted a bit of a theme, along the meandering journey that my blog has taken over the last five or so years. I think it is probably fair to say that photography is something I truly enjoy. That said, only a very small selection of my commercial and professional work ever gets displayed here. In part out of respect to my clients, their privacy and their sensitivities. In part, from being fairly busy and the time it takes to do so. But also, not everything can be shared, and probably nor should it. If too I am to be totally honest, like a lot of photographer’s work, there may not be a lot that is unusual or significantly different to share on a day to day basis.
Yet from many a seminar and forum, & listening to those more seasoned than myself, I have learnt the value of exploration for challenging one’s creativity. Repeatedly speakers have recalled the benefit in establishing personal projects. (One of which I have shared last week with photos from Quail Is.) But it is more than that I guess. I have been increasingly drawn into a blend of photography & history. It has taken myself some time to actually realise that I must add, as it evolved without my conscious appreciation initially. It is not historical photos as such, as much photos with a historical context. Maybe it was the CHCH earthquakes, and the rich legacy we have been left by those with significant foresight to record the city in its ‘normality’. The likes of David Cook and Doc Ross. At the time, it may have just just seemed a bit mundane to bother.
Yet the value is not truly apparent till something is lost. Thinking of it, the same can also be said of family portraiture. Only after someone passes, do we perhaps realise what we always had, but now miss, and that perhaps never took the opportunity to record that when we should have. Sadly, as a photographer it is a common refrain we often hear.
But to be honest, the link between history and photography was happening well before the CHCH Quakes, so I can’t really attribute it to that. I visited the Seaview Mental Institution in Hokitika some years back and won Gold at the Professional Photography Awards the following year with an image. Maybe it was that!
Though the idea of old abandoned buildings, with an air of mystery has a certain fascination to me. An element of intrigue of who lived there, what went on, what life was like, & how these facilities were embedded in the fabric of a community. The idea of exploring ruined buildings and places of historical interest does intrigue me. Maybe it was international travel, having been to the likes of Auschwitz, Ypres, Masada, Lalibela … (The most spine tingling place I have to say was Terezin Concentration Camp & Old city in Czech). Maybe finding bones in the soil walking alone in the hills at Gallipolli. Perhaps having lived in France, in Scotland…..
1) Hanging out in Ethiopia with a destroyed tank
2) Me & German V2 Launch site only a couple of km from home in Normandy, France
3) Henry VIII Apartments, Hampton Court Palace, London
4&5) Loch an Eileen Castle, 1296 AD, again on a couple of km from where we lived in Aviemore, Scotland
Anyway, I digress!
This week, I had the good fortune to take a look inside Antonio Hall. Our equivalent of an abandoned ruin, in such a young country that is New Zealand. To many Cantabrians, this is the grand but derelict complex many drive past on Riccarton Rd between the Westfield Mall and Bush Inn. I won’t go into too much of a history lesson, as Friends of Antonio Hall have done a great job of that on their webpage. Though in summary, the oldest part of the complex is now 100 years old, and has been everything from stately home, seminary quarters, hostel, boarding house, & function centre.
I am most grateful to Robert Urquart for showing me about, and give him full credit credit for facilitating legitimate access. I think in the light of recent Urbex stories in the media, it was with much gratitude that Robert could arrange a tour . Though sadly, many it seems to have tried using their own means, and of course leave a trail of destruction and mess from their mis-intended use.
In essence the facility seems to have been beyond the budget and patience of any potential developer, and has been locked up in a pre-quake state by the overseas owners. I am guessing they will just play a waiting game, to see if the value of their investment is realised by capital gain of the land itself. Sadly, the building remains without too much input, maintained from serious decay by the loving input of a small group of local volunteers. Mixed users now include amateur film makers, civil defence trainers, defence & police forces, (& University orientation week stunts!).
I hope this provides some insight for people who drive past and are curious what lies within.
Exterior views from inside the perimeter fence looking in from Riccarton Rd.
Interior of the eastern boarding wing, once partly refurbished in the hope of meeting a growing overseas tour market. Sadly this was never realised.
Later some residents during the Boarding hostel era were not quite as complementary with their appreciation.
I cant claim this has been left by the last residing tenant, as all manner of users have adapted the facilities for the purpose of their visit. Yet it looks like, someone has only just left!
Some areas just fascinate me. This is one. An old lounge area – semi storage area, half derelict, open to the elements.
In a different area, an old piano lies abandoned. It seems every abandoned facility I have toured, has an old piano. Weird. I guess they are so heavy, people think bugger it, there’s no point moving it. I guess too given the age of any institutions, these were the mainstay of many communal social areas in a era pre-TV. That said, I can recall on two hands the number I have seen left about the Residental Red Zone in eastern CHCH.
There is even the old chapel that is in relatively good shape.
And kitchen, that could pass as a 70-80’s museum.
The bridal head table even.
(Posted with permission. Other than an orientation of the wooden chair and slight change of angle of the vacuum cleaner, to catch the prevailing natural light, everything seen was as I found it. Even the leaf on the organ!).
