Oh, so many choices, too many choices! Sometimes being constrained by themes makes it easier to be creative. When there is open choice, it gives me freedom to explore but also I am overwhelmed either by too many ideas or none at all!
I am on the road quite a bit for my work, travelling over and through stunning New Zealand scenery. Often it is impossible or dangerous to stop when I see a view that I would love to capture, so I content myself with the pleasure if having just been there at the right time and seen it. Somebody reminded me recently about ‘being present’ in a moment, really experiencing it. I am often guilty of whipping my camera out to capture a shot when maybe I should take more time to simply enjoy the moment.
However, there are times when it is safe to pull over and take a quick photo. This was driving home from Piopio one evening after a school visit. I was struck by the colours of the newly cut fields and the dusky pinkness of the evening sky. The light was very flat, so had to do a we touch up after the fact.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in Christchurch, I have visited regularly since the earthquake and have watched the slow but steady rebuild. One place where there has been no progress is the cathedral. I chose to keep the link fence in the foreground of this photo, rather than get up close and eliminate it because it seems to me that it is trapped, not forgotten, not abandoned, but waiting. I tried to capture also the light on the lefthand side shining onto the windows of the gable.
Homelessness is a big issue in New Zealand at the moment but I have to say that this week was the first time I have seen people sleeping in doorways in Christchurch. Plenty in my hometown of Hamilton and in Auckland. Maybe, I just haven’t been there often enough or at the right times or the right places. New Regent Street is on the walk from my hotel to the office and I was saddened to see this sight. I though the juxtaposition of the sign above the boarded up shop and the people curled up in their sleeping bags was ironic.
Finally, this is a bar called the Wonder Horse in Hamilton. A great wee place and my favourite thing is to sit at the stools overlooking the bar and watch the barman making cocktails – what an art! On this particular evening the DJ was there too, so I wanted to capture the vibrancy of the place and the passion that both these people seem to bring to their work. I tried to get the barman actually shaking the cocktail but there was just too much movement to get anything that wasn’t just a blur given the lighting.
This photo taken in the same bar a few weeks ago may capture the movement better.
