“Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Marmite Returns
On February 22nd 2011 tragedy hit New Zealand with the earthquake that struck Christchurch. During the earthquake, part of the Sanitarium factory was damaged and production of Marmite ceased. Roll forward to March 2012 and the company announced their own stocks of Marmite had all but run out. Marmageddon was declared. Online auction site TradeMe featured numerous jars, both new and used selling for many many times the retail price as Kiwi’s hunted high and low to store supplies of their much loved spread. Also made overseas (UK), the taste was different, and not what we knew. The largest competitor, Australian produced Vegemite became the only viable option for many,
News and whispers spread across the land that the factory was being rebuilt. Delays occurred, but then finally, earlier this week, it was announced that Marmite would be back for sale in the stores on Thursday 20th March 2013. An initial batch of 500,000 Jars was released to the public, with the reassurance the factory was sound, and request not to stock up – so all New Zealanders would have the opportunity to sample the loved, lost, and reborn spread. Marmageddon was over!
Whilst some buyers flocked to supermarkets at midnight, I waited until morning (hurriedly on my way to work). I have to admit, I am a fan, and was quite pleased to see its return!
Groves on the Seashore
I was drawn to the patterns made by the sand and water as the tide was out for todays shot. The mangroves must be some of the few smaller plants around the area that have no problem in the drought type weather.
Shot on the Nex with 210mm lens. In post processing using Gimp I cropped aspect, slightly adjusted contrast, saturation and sharpness.
The Wasteland
“A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
― T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
Shot on the Sony Nex 5n with Jupiter-8 Lens.
Rain and Earthquakes
After what seemed like (and can’t be far off) all of 2013 to date being sun, and then drought, Auckland finally got its first reasonable drop of rain today. Unfortunately for the Volunteers at the Devonport Fire Station, it occurred on our open day – but all went well all the same.
Some of our other big cities in the country have a total outdoor water ban at the moment, so planning ahead, and doing my bit to conserve water, I laid out buckets in the ‘common drip areas’ around the property to collect the rainfall to use later in the week.
Just after the rain calmed, we were hit by a relatively rare, for Auckland, earthquake! a 4.0 on the scale and 5km deep, it was felt widely around the area, with mixed reactions from those I listened to calling in on the radio. One lady thought the washing machine was on, another thought the building was going to fall over…just image somewhere in the middle, lower it a bit, and you are about right.
Image wise for today – shot on the Nex with 210mm lens. Using Gimp I added contrast and resized.
Tail Light
Another quick post today after a very busy Saturday. A successful tail light modification on the CB200, giving it a more (more than its 1975 age) retro look. Slowly its geting a simple cafe racer look to it.
Shot on the Samsung Galaxy and edited in afterfocus.
Clouds in the Sky
Off out for dinner tonight, so slotting a quick post in. Although perhaps not for all, but a refreshing view from my work window today – clouds! – ones that suggest the possibility of rain!
As I have mentioned prior, a lot of New Zealand is in a drought. Great for the wine makers and beach goers, bad for the farmers and tank water homes. Sunday is forecast for rain, so we will see how it goes.
Image wise, shot on the Galaxy S2 and edited in Afterfocus.
The Still Lakeside
Silence is a source of great strength.
Lao Tzu
Overgrown Quarry
I revisited an old quarry on the way home this evening. I’m sure I have featured an image of it before, but for the life of me (well, for a fairly quick image search) I can’t find it.
Closed a bit over a year ago I think, the quarry has sat unused and fenced off. Gradually the gravel paths have become overgrown with weeds, and areas perhaps once maintained have started to flourish in relative lack of human day to day activity. At the bottom of the quarry is a small lake. It was almost totally calm, and I snapped a few shots of the far bank with the reflection in the water.
Shot on the Sony Nex with a legacy Jupiter-8 lens. Whilst it looked quite nice in colour, I think it also lends itself nice in black and white. Converted in Gimp with a faint colour tint, otherwise as from camera.
Molly the Cat
For a few days at the house we have a special guest, Molly the Cat. Molly is staying with us in preparation for a big move to Hamilton in the weekend.
Being another hot day, I felt a bit like Molly when I arrived home – hot, tired and not really up to heading out to take any shots…so out came the mobile and there was my model.
Shot using the factory camera app and edited in Afterfocus, I then opened it with Gimp and quickly covered some of the contact details on Molly’s tag.
Its meant to cool down a little tomorrow evening, so I will aim to head out then!
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