MikeHawkey.com

Construct Zone

January 29, 2013

I am generally one of those people who get a sense of relaxation and re-energizing from nature. Walking through the forest or bush, or along the beach the air feels cleaner, we have less (not none) forms of modern technology buzzing around us. Its a unloaded simpler feeling.

However, I also enjoy exploring ‘things in change’ – areas under construction (as well as areas returning to nature). Sundays walk took me to a new development area in Long Bay – the northern point of the North Shore. Here open fields and scrub has made way for carefully planned and measured sections for residential use. There is one road in/out with a monolith of a structure announcing you have entered this likely prestigious area. Today’s image was taken at the edge of this boundary, just before entering the area. For me, the title Construct Zone both signifies an area in change, literally being constructed, but also the mental symbolics of construct being the putting together of planning and theory to create a new suburb and the people within it.

Shot on the Sony Nex with the Sigma 30mm lens, I only slightly adjusted the levels before resizing to publish.

I’m also working my way through the 35mm film I took to the music festival yesterday. I initially thought I had a 24/27 shot film, but it must be a 36, so not too much longer until I can develop!
Bat For Lashes

January 28, 2013

A quick post for today as I return from the Laneway music festival. Bat For Lashes put on a great show, concluding my day in the sun.

Shot on the galaxy s2 and edited in afterfocus.
Rolled Hay

January 27, 2013

With another great day for the long weekend, I went for a stroll both in a small bush park I had not been to before, and to explore a recently developed area behind Long Bay Reserve. I am assuming, in some form of preparation for the land, Hay had been rolled out in the soon to be housing developments.

Not having much real life experience on farms and the like, I love the look of giant hay rolls, or stacks of bails as tall as a barn. There is something appealing about the simple raw product that has been gathered straight from the ground.

The rolls in today’s image were quite some way past a tall fenced off area, so I had to zoom right in with my 55-210mm lens to capture them as viewed above.

In post processing, using Gimp, I added a ‘lomo’ filter and adjusted the contrast a little.

Off to the music event Laneway tomorrow. All going to plan, I will be taking my Pentax MG to get some B&W 35mm shots, and likely my mobile, so we will see if I have some shots from there tomorrow, or later in the week. I did get some more shots today from my bush walk, so will look to share them on a day I don’t have much.
Monarch in the Sun

January 26, 2013

I think if people were ever inspired by the children’s book ‘The Ugly Duckling’, than the story of the Monarch butterfly must be awe inspiring! Here is a creature that starts life as a little caterpillar, eats and eats and eats until it is about to burst, makes a little sleeping bag to sleep in and then one day emerges with beautiful coloured wings and dances off into the sky!

Today’s image, from our back yard, features one such monarch that floated in to sample the local flowers. There was a bit of a breeze out, so watching it come in was a little like planes landing in Wellington on a windy day!

As with many creatures in nature, their colour serves to warn off would-be predators like birds, for whom they are poisonous. Surprisingly, reading a little more about them, the monarch butterfly is classed in the near- threatened grouping on a conservation level. We seem to get a good number of them around Auckland at least!

Shot on the Sony with 210mm lens (315mm 35mm equivalent) , I bumped up the contrast and sharpness to compensate for the fairly flat image that came out the camera.

Wind aside its been a great start to the long weekend, so I will get back to it!
Immature chilis

January 25, 2013

With another week passing, here is another garden shot. According to the label when I purchased the saplings, I am in the process of growing red chilli’s (or chili depending on your areas spelling). Covered by my tomato plant (I tend to pack as many saplings into a small area as I can, then wonder how they will have room to grow later), I was not sure if they were going to take, but in the last 3-4 weeks the plants have shot up and started to amass a number of hopefully soon to be red chilli.

Shot in the Sony Nex with 30mm Sigma lens, I chose the image today for its simple relaxing green feeling.

We have a long weekend here in Auckland, with Monday being Auckland Anniversary Day. Although the weekend it starting to look busy, with a little luck I will try to get out and about and do some shooting.