Tattoo Convention

Over the last weekend New Plymouth was host

to a Tattoo Convention.

Guest tattooists, many from other countries,

set themselves up in a local

stadium and visitors wandered through,

looking at their work,

chatting to this person and that.

It was an extremely friendly event.

Some visitors offered their

skin to the tattooists.

The photo below shows a Japanese

at work, using traditional methods.

He always had a large crowd of

observers around him.

And just in case you were wondering,

I don't have any tattoos.

Dogwood

In this hemisphere of the planet

this is the time for Dogwood

to be flourishing.

As an Aucklander

I wasn't aware of Dogwood

until I began to

spend more time in

cooler parts of New Zealand.

I've photographed Dogwood

three or four times in the last

couple of years and the photo

above is my most recent attempt.

This particular image was taken

with my new iPhone, in Pukekura Park

here in New Plymouth.

Eltham Church

Eltham is a small South Taranaki town.

It's well know for it's cheese and recently

Ronald Hugh Morrieson's novel Predicament

was filmed there. Hawera, his home town is about

20 minutes car ride south.

Not far away is a Fonterra factory.

Fonterra is the biggest company in New

Zealand.

This miniature church is in a garden

open to the public. Anyone in Eltham

would tell you how to find it.

Every Camera

Every camera has a different personality.

Each one has different capabilities.

I have bought a new camera,

a Leica, and now I'm experimenting.

This is the first photo

taken with it.

One characteristic of this camera

is that it has an excellent macro lens

enabling me to come close to subjects

in a way superior to cameras that I have

owned before.

Rhododendron

In Taranaki, this is the time for

Rhododendrons to be in flower.

The climate here suits them.

I've not managed to take any

photos of them when they are

flowering but this image

has some appeal for me.

This particular variety has

extra large leaves and flowers

which is what attracted me to the

tree in the first place.

The Light

Last weekend I went to visit a friend

who has an eclectic collection of

toys, motor scooters, shop signs,

glassware, furniture, and so on.

I'd never been there before so it was

quite a sight, yet of all the possible

subjects there for a photographer,

one would have thought, the only

object that really caught my eye

was this lamp.

I'd like to revisit and rephotograph

the lamp, straightening and sharpening

it up.