Road to the clouds

When leaving Dunedin, and traveling North, the road takes you up into the hills. These hills are known for the cloud formations that often surround them; in fact the area is sometimes referred to as a “cloud forest”.  Often as you travel along the road it does feel like it is a journey into the clouds, at least until you get to the top of the hill and see the North Otago coastline spread out below. You then realise it is time to leave the clouds and move down to the road that weaves its way along this coastline. There is no doubt that the road north is one of contrasts.

A clump of water

Yesterday I commented about photos of clumps of things. Well, this a a photo of a clump of water, if that is possible? Taken at the Blue Pools near Wanaka, I was fascinated by the intricate ripples on the water – that made it almost mosaic like. So, I just took a random shot of a section of the pool. It has no boundary so I guess it meets my definition of a clump.

Driftwood by the Lake

You may have noticed but I like taking photos of clumps of things: paths, walls, stones, grass – anything that has no natural boundary or can be defined as a “unitary” object. Every part of the picture is part of the picture. In this case it is a clump of driftwood on the shore of Lake Wanaka.  Around the world there are billions of options for taking photos of clumps of driftwood, but once the photo is taken the clump is unique as defined by the borders of the picture. There can never be another picture exactly the same. From the picture patterns emerge, in fact everyone who looks at the photo will see different forms and patterns. Clumps take their own form and change every time you look at them. For me clumps are one of the ways photography can get close to what the impressionist and post-modern painters were trying to achieve. A picture that is a picture in its own right, not a representation of something “out there”. And clumps make great wallpaper for computers.

At the blue pool

One of my favourite photos. It provides a feeling of being around for a long time yet the cairn suggests people have been here recently. Where does human interference impact on the natural course of events? The small piece of “person” tinkering is in focus in the foreground; nature trundles on in the slightly hazy background. It’s a hot lazy day as these two aspects of the world happily co-exist.

Family Home

The newly painted family home sparkles in the Dunedin summer. The special thing about this house is that it was designed and pre-fabricated in America in the mid 1800’s and then shipped to New Zealand where it was assembled on this property around 1863. The house has been added to and repaired at various times, but this front section is pretty much original. It would have been great to have a similar photo taken when the house was built to compare with this photo, but when the house was fabricated cameras were still quite rare, and certainly did not take colour shots.

Havelock North House

This photo is full of family history. It is taken in Havelock North, New Zealand. The house was built by my grandfather, Green Hall, and was the first home for my mother. It is now part of a camping ground, hence the sign. The apricot trees were planted by my grandfather as he attempted to start an orchard. Unfortunately the orchard was not successful and my grandfather sold the house and property and moved on to a new career as a Methodist minister. Standing in front of the property is Green’s great great grandson, Aiden.

Paris Bistros

The La Rotonde, a typical bistro in Paris. I found the Bistros to be amazing places. First, they had been around for a very long time. Second, they had been frequented by the artists, and other influential people of their time, who began to pave the way for our modern world. Inside the buildings photos of Picasso, Hemmingway, Matisse and so on show the vibrant community of “thinking” people who have lived in this part of Paris. To be able to go back and feel part of that world was very special and made me realise even more that each person is a thread that makes up the fabric of human progress. No where else have I experienced the past and present being so intertwined as in this part of Paris.