• Todays image, ‘Toetoe in the Sky’, was shot on the same walkway from ‘Dark Mangroves’. Stretching up to the sky, Toetoe (often spelt/pronounced toitoi) are New Zealands Native version of the Cortaderia family – perhaps know to some overseas as pampas grass.

    Shot in color and converted to B&W in Gimp, I like the play between light and shadow on the toetoe, the shadowed under the clouds and the bright under the clear sky.

  • One from the archives today. Taken on my visit down to New Plymouth on the lower west coast of the North Island, I came across ‘The Wind Wand’ along the waterfront. Going by the massive coastal wave wall and the fairly strong breeze, the wand was really in its element bending and swaying to and fro. Designed by a New Zealand artist, Len Lye,  Weighing 900KG and standing 45 meters high – this thing can bend in the wind at least 20 meters!

    Again taken on a cellphone – a Samsung Galaxy 3, using the app vignette, it shows that one can get an interesting shot (in my opinion at least) no matter what photographic tool one uses. I really like the heavy vignette, following the walkway along to the wand as it bends back out into the strong swell of the Tasman Sea.

  • Another weekend stroll today took me on a different section of last Sundays path (Lazy Walk in the Park). Whilst picturesque in its own way, it didn’t have so much color, rather more low lying mangrove swamp. I snapped off a number of different shots, but chose this one for todays posting.

    Converting to B&W and boosting the contrast, I liked the dark mood of the scene ahead. Peering through the naked tree branch, one is not quite sure what to expect ahead.

  • Overall today was a stay at home day, but we did pop out to do some shopping. I took the opportunity to have a stroll around the village and take a few snaps. In this heavily contrasted image is Devonport Beach. Great in the summer time, but getting a little chilly to swim in now.

    Hope peoples weekends are going well!

  • As another Friday rolls up winter is dawning ever closer. We are still getting some stunning cool but clear and fresh weather – in between heavy rain showers. Coming back to the office from an appointment I spotted a hibiscus bush in full bloom. Found in many countries around the world, in various species this great little flower also has a number of health benefits when drunk in tea form.

    For today I just snapped its image.  I recently got a few bits put in the post for my old Rollei 35, so I’m craving some film taking in the near future. Due to this, post editing wise, I felt like giving it a bit of a lo-fi old color film look, so applied several filters/masks in Gimp. Its hard to believe from the photo that it was overcast, dark and wet an hour later!

    The weekend begins now.