Taranaki Landscape

Driving down, last Friday, the beautiful coast road from

Awakino to New Plymouth, as I often do, I saw,

and noticed, probably for the seventh or eighth time

this uptorn root system.

On this occasion, although I was very anxious to get

home and had already driven past it, I

stopped the car, turned around and went

back. It took some willpower, but I'm glad

otherwise I wouldn't be writing this post.

Notice the remains of a pa site on the hill in the background.

Time is softening the look of these sites.

Fillet

This photo could now be

2 years old.

I have a large print pinned to one of my walls

and I often glance at it

as I walk past and think, wow,

that has the juice. Excoriation

is a word that comes to mind.

One day I will print up an edition

but of course that is costly

so in the meantime it remains here

for my personal delectation.

When I took the photo below in Eltham

a couple of weeks ago

and I was reminded of Fillet again.

Moses in Auckland

Recently I went for a walk in Myers Park

in Central Auckland,

I was amazed to see a copy of Michelangelo's Moses

sitting there, looking a long way from home.

I didn't realise at first that it was a Michelangelo

copy which only added to the impact.

A Portrait

I have a portrait exhibition on at McNamara Gallery

at present, 29 photos but all of them black and white.

Recently I was interviewed by Nicole Stock,

the editor of Urbis magazine, and she asked

me if I would take her portrait.

Surprisingly I decided to photograph

her in colour. That's a good sign in

my photographic development

I think.

By the way, I don't usually say yes when

someone asks

me to take their photo.

The Butcher in Eltham

Eltham is a small town in South Taranaki

mainly known for its cheese.

However, it is also a very intact town

and there is an awareness that

what they have, in terms of intact

buildings, is extremely important.

There is a movement to save these

treasures, in many cases empty shops.

In this case, I took this Francis Baconish

photo through the window of a butcher's shop.

While no longer in use as such,

the window of the premises has relics in it such

as knives and other instruments

used in the ancient craft of preparing meat.

You might be relieved to know that this carcass

is not real.

Auckland CBD

Over my life I have spent quite a bit of time

in the Auckland CBD

but recently I've been having a closer look

at the buildings and the changes

that this area is going through.

Above is a photo of Queen St.

Auckland CBD

Lately I have been walking around the

Auckland CBD quite a bit.

I hadn't realised how many apartment

blocks there were. This is a very

densely populated part of New Zealand.

I think that I was attracted to this building

because of its colours.

Hamish McKay Gallery

Here is another view of the exhibition that opened

last night in Wellington.

This photograph I believe was taken with an iPhone.

Tonight in Wellington

Tonight in Wellington six of my photographs

are in an exhibition opening at Hamish McKay

Gallery.

This is one of my favourites. It's called

Holy Tomato. The foot I bought in Bali

and the Italian tomato I borrowed from

a friend.

Whilst it's my personal favourite it always

seems to evoke mixed feelings.

Still, I'm hanging in there.

Room With a View

Here is a wall of an Auckland apartment

that has lots of my photographs.

Luckily,

I stay in this apartment quite often

so I get to enjoy seeing the

work all nicely framed

and carefully hung.

The walls in my home and studio are covered with

my work but the look is different to this.

There are many unframed photos

just pinned up.

One reason is that, from time

to time, I have to sell my framed works

and I don't replace them.

Whale

Slightly uphill from New World in Freemans Bay,

Auckland there is a children's play ground.

It's modest but very appealing.

For some months I've noticed this whale

but today was different. I decided that today

I was going to take my camera and

begin work on it.

'Work' might mean 5 minutes or it could mean

taking a first version and then, if necessary, but

hopefully not, returning, in different light

perhaps.

In this case, I'm going to sleep on it.

Exhibition

Here is the invitation for an exhibition of 6 of my photos

being shown at Hamish McKay Gallery.

It opens on Tuesday.

To make the image above larger and more readable

remember to click on it.

Cockroaches

In my New Plymouth base I have a balcony

that hovers over a gully.

On a table on the balcony I have a dish with

two cups of sugar to one litre of water in it.

With that liquid I feed tui mainly.

But often I have Silvereyes as well.

And sometimes at night, cockroaches, in this case they may be native,

drown themselves in the syrup.

Out of Africa

In recent months I've been collecting

ebony elephants, so many that

they seem to be wandering around my studio.

(which is also where I live.)

In the background here, is a photo of a house

that my mother lived in when she was a little girl,

the oldest child of a large family.

Several of that family, not only my mother, but her mother

as well are just to the left of the elephant, out of frame, but I guess that's no

help to you just now.

My grandfather worked for the railways. I think that this photo was taken

near Taihape, below Taupo, in the centre of the North Island.

Whanganui View Point

On the north side of Whanganui, there is a high

point, with parking, built for in order to provide a view

of the city.

I was there last weekend and was attracted not by the view so much, but by a large structure

with the names of cities and landmarks from all over the world, and the distances

from that precise point to them, in miles.

Tokyo was the only Asian city shown.

I think that I particularly noticed New Plymouth's name

because that is where I have a home.

Portraits

Here are some portraits from a portrait show

that I have on at present at McNamara Gallery

in Whanganui.

Many of the 29 photographs have not been exhibited before.

Whanganui River Mouth

On the weekend I was in Whanganui,

and as usual, I left some time to visit

the mouth of the river, where it

flows into the Tasman.

Here is what it looked like on Saturday afternoon.

I was in Whanganui because I have an exhibition of

portraits at McNamara Gallery.

It opened on Friday night and is on for a month.

John Reynolds at Highlands Intermediate.

On Sunday I was at Highlands Intermediate, here in New Plymouth.

I was there because an orchid show was on in their hall.

As I walked down a corridor I came across this work,

obviously inspired by visit to the Govett-Brewster, where

John Reynolds had some similar work.

Some of my favourites

are:

Locked Door

Insanity Required.

Hello my name is...

Toothpick Eiffel Tower.

&

I See You

There are others too.

Death is Ugly

is pretty good.

Three Horns

While at Ivan Anthony's gallery in Karangahape Rd,

Auckland I noticed, in an office, these coat hooks, if that is

what one should call them. I don't know what animals

were the source of these horns.

I have a small collection of cow horns here

in my studio. I particularly like the ones that are

white but have black tips.

Visually, I find it a pity that modern dairy cows don't have horns, either by breeding, or

by removal at some early stage of their lives.

Spending the first few years of my life on a dairy farm made a big

impression on me. Seeing my father remove adult cows' horns

with a saw, I think it was, was a seminal experience of my life.

Red blood spurted out of the stump, and cows bellowed with pain.

There was no anaesthetic.

It's been on my mind for quite a while to get in touch with a vet, who may be able to

find me some more horns. Taranaki is one of the most intense dairy

areas of New Zealand so I'm a bit hopeful.