Christchurch

It's been a struggle over the last few

days, finding something to write

a post about.

It seems that perhaps the events

in Christchurch are

preoccupying me.

Last Tuesday at 12.51 p.m.

I was nowhere near a television

that was on, or a radio that was playing

or near another human being who could tell

me the news.

I may have been the

last person in New Zealand

to know about the tragedy unfolding.

Templates

In a previous post I mentioned how art auctions

often bring out little known works of mine.

This photo of a lizard, which I think is a

Monitor, is an example.

It has appeared in the latest Webb's

catalogue.

The image is probably about 30 years old

and I doubt if there are more than

one or two prints in existence.

However the reason that I have

included it in this post is

that recently I took a photo

of a sea lion and when I look

at the two photos together

they are almost totally congruent.

It is almost as if I have templates

somewhere in my brain

and that it is subjects

that fit these templates

that I am looking for.

An Early Work

One benefit of my work showing up in auctions

as it often does is that I sometimes see images that

are quite rare, and not often seen.

In the latest Webbs catalogue I

have seven prints for sale.

I have no idea where they

have been all these years.

Amongst the seven there is this portrait

which is one of my favourites out of all the

photographs that I have ever taken.

I don't know how many prints of this

image are in existence but it is probably

only 3 or 4.

I'm not sure of the exact date that I took

this photo but it was probably about

1980.

In 1981 Sheridan Keith wrote an essay on my work, entitled Frontierland,

which was published in London Magazine,

illustrated below. It is a powerful piece of writing.

Erika Parkinson, to whom I was married at the time,

said to me one day that she had met a woman with

a very interesting face and perhaps

she would be a good subject for a portrait.

Upon meeting her I agreed, and Donna Yuzwalk very kindly

volunteered to sit for me, although sit seems a

rather strange word to use in this case.

So here Donna is, standing in front of a river

in Kaukapakapa. Why a river? Well, for some

reason I was going through a phase where

I was hoping to take photos to illustrate

some of the poems that I had learnt by

heart as a schoolboy. In this case you are

looking at The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Pukeko

Recently I was able to get quite close

to some Pukekos.

I was keen to see if I could make

a portrait of one.

This is the closest

that I got,

but as a portrait

it is not quite there yet.

Unfortunately, the bird

was moving quite

quickly and the subject

is slightly blurry.

I like the way that it

is standing on a rock

and I like the way that

it appears in profile.

Fire

A scene this morning

near where I live.

I think that this is the

first time that I have

seen a car so well and truly

on fire. In many ways

it was quite thrilling,

not for the owner

of course.

Wasps

Here at my home it is

Invasion of the Wasps

time.

While, this year, people who are

growing Swan Plants in order

to encourage Monarch butterflies,

are noticing how the caterpillars

are being killed by wasps,

here I have been troubled by swarms of wasps

drinking from the dish of sugar

water that I put out for tuis.

Some of the

wasps did drown but many were

able to land on the water, drink,

and fly away.

The key has been to put some

dishwasher detergent in

the water. This lowers the

surface tension and as a result

the wasps land and quickly drown.

I have killed about 100 since this time

yesterday.

One problem is that the tuis

don't like the taste of the detergent

but another day or two

and this wasp community

might be severely decimated,

hopefully exterminated.

They certainly appear to

be reduced in number.

There are ways to make

wasp traps including simple

ones made from large plastic drink bottles.

The internet has many suggestions.

Tickets

This morning I went for a walk

in Pukekura Park, a large area of land

a few minutes walk from where

I live.

This ticket box, if that is the word,

has always appealed to me.

In a slight state of disrepair

I would like to see it preserved

especially as it is one of my favourite

buildings in New Plymouth.

Rotorua

Here is a photograph, 1928 we think.

The man on the right is my father who

after injuring his neck when a car rolled

was sent from Auckland to Rotorua

for treatment.

I don't know what the

treatment consisted of, or for how long

it took place, but I value how

Rotorua still has the feeling of the

Sanitorium.

Milton, my father was never able

to turn his head very far to the right

for the rest of his life.

As a boy

I found it a little creepy that he

slept on the flat of his back,

arms by his sides,

eyes staring steadfastedly

at the ceiling

parade ground like.

Directly over

my parents double

bed in their bedroom at

Brown's Bay there we

two searingly vivid white fluorescent lights.

They added to the Stephen King effect.

Under my father's left arm

he holds a folding camera in

a leather case. Our family

is thankful to him for the

photographic legacy that he left

us.

The name of the guide I do not know

at present. It may be that someone

does know her identity, if so please

let me know, she may have family

who would find comfort in her image.

Rotorua

I have been visiting Rotorua

since I was a child.

In winters my parents

took us on trips to see it's

wonders. I can still smell

the mix of sulphur and

the leather seats of the

Jaguar.

A month or so ago I was there,

and as usual, captivated by

the personality of the city.

There is nowhere else like it in

New Zealand.

I photographed this fence 3 times,

it's taken me a while

but I've whittled my choice

down to this one.

I am very careful not to be disrespectful

when I photograph

which is why I chose this

particular fence. It has been

built for tourists to photograph.

But of course, somehow the photograph

is not about anything ethnic at all.

It is about the visual vibrations that the

patterns set up. The push and pull on the eyeball.

Pukeiti

Much of New Plymouth is built on land

only a few metres above the original beach

sea level.

From the CBD the slope gains steepness,

exponentially as the road comes closer to the summit of

Mt Taranaki which even now, in the height

of summer I can see from my home still has patches

of snow. It's cold up there.

One advantage of this climate is that as I leave my driveway,

turn right and point my car towards the mountain's summit,

the altitude rises and the vegetation changes

accordingly.

It amuses my friends to see addresses such as mine

which says Lower Vogeltown. There are many

Upper and Lower roads and streets here in Taranaki,

It makes sense because of the pointy nature of this Province.

What Taranaki offers plants is a slight nip in the air,

reminiscent of the Himalaya's for some flora of which

Rhododendrons, Azaleas are two, both in the photo above.