BD – The Action Story of an 8 Year Old (part 2)

We left off yesterday with BD being knocked out and placed in the truck of the Mean Mob. Its just not BD’s day!

I wont keep you in suspense any longer. The conclusion –

The END!

Afterthoughts (as in decades later!)

1.Clearly as a child my spelling was worse than it is now. On the positive side, I can see that I produced the story all by myself, without any assistance from parents.
2.How typical an ending is that! – for flips sake, I didn’t even draw a final picture! I think a modern day adaptation might just have a little more content to it – you know, like the multiple endings Lord of the Rings had!
3.Did you notice BD had a mobile phone!?! – they weren’t overly mainstream when I wrote this – only big wigs and flashy car sales men had them at the time of writing this. No idea where I would have got the idea that BD would have one.
4.BD’s an unusual name. I suspect it was the initials of of of my friends turned around. Originality.

If nothing else, I hope thats given you a laugh, or wasted enough time before you needed to attend to something.
Back to actual Photos tomorrow!

February 7, 2014 2

Musical Memories

I love how photos bring back memories. They don’t have to be good photos – just simple images that spark that memory buried deep inside the mind. Todays shot was taken years ago at one of NZ’s biggest music days of the year ‘Big Day Out’. I cant rightly remember the year, but it was some years ago. I was equipped with a cheap plastic point and shoot throwaway camera. My friends, central in the image were walking in a line towards the stage as I held back, lifted the plastic camera to my eye, and ‘click’.

Of course now mobile phones have taken the place of the throwaway cameras in most (but not all) circumstances. They will generally give a better finish than todays shot also – but as I opened, thats not the important part. Its the memory it holds when sorting through old photos.

The other thing it reminds me of is how film makes you wait for the shot. IN that disposable I had 36 shots at best. More likely 27. 27 photos to sum up a whole day at a music concert. I’ve done it since with film, but know digital has both a huge advantage in this respect, and equally has made us a little more lazy. If your not 100% about the shot, you just shoot it again. Likely you ‘chimp’ as soon as shot to make sure. But then again, thats the technology available to us now, so why not!

Shot on a throwaway, scanned film, colour slightly corrected in Gimp.

September 14, 2013 0

JW7998 All Cleaned Up

To finish off yesterdays story, todays shot (a photo of a photo from my pre digital era) is of my finished rebuild of JW7998.

Its funny, and great how looking at old images re-accesses memories buried deep in ones head. Looking at my old Mini wheels, I now recall the effort I went to hand sanding and polishing them back, before adding the golden centre paint. Searching a local wreckers yard for months before I found the “just right” side mirrors (which were bonnet mirrors). Locating and fitting the mk1 grille. Ah memories!

Best I stop reflecting for now, or I’ll end up on our local buy/sell site looking for a new project!

August 24, 2013 0

The Young Painter

Lego. I don’t know about some of you out there, but lego was a massive part of my younger childhood. The endless creations, mixed with a child’s imagination makes lego a toy that can span for hours at a time, and for years.

Every now and then when I stroll through a toy store and see the lego section, I’m ever impressed with its ability to both remain lego at its core design, yet also fit into so many different themes and genre’s from ‘city life’ to ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Batman’.

I think its also one of those collections that stands the course of time and can be handed down through the generations. I don’t know where my large (from a kids memory) collection went. Perhaps it was passed onto another family, or is stored in a box somewhere back at the family home.

Todays image was shot on the GRD IV and slightly desaturated in Gimp.

July 18, 2013 0

The Corner Dairy

Growing up as a youngster, the corner dairy was a staple Kiwi classic. Before the growth of massive supermarkets, and petrol stations that stock all but the kitchen sink, the old corner dairy was the place to go for some supplies or milk (assuming you didn’t have the milk man deliver it to your door in glass bottles…why did the glass bottles ever stop!?).

Gradually over the years I have seen a massive reduction in these little stores. Culturally, at least in the big city of Auckland, its always been interested to look at ownership of these small businesses. When very young, they were generally western owned around my local area. As I passed through school, your typical Indian businessman/woman/family seemed to have brought up a good number of them. Now its often more the Chinese families. Living accommodation directly behind the counter, its always interested me in the fact that these businesses are simply a way of life. Open 7 days a week, long hours, often family owned and run…never a day off! – I admire their brute dedication.

Back when I was little New Zealand still had 1 and 2 cent coins (10 cents is now the smallest). Before the concern of germs (well, not really before), dairy’s would have glass displays of 1 and 2 cent lollies. 20 cents in hand,kids would choose those 10 or 20 candy treats, the dairy owner picking them out with their fingers that had touched who knows what else all day long. Ice blocks and ice cream in summer. Milkshakes, chips and fizzy drinks like leed…oh the memories.

Whilst many corner stores are still open all over the country, it must be a hard life. Many buy their products from supermarkets and hence have to charge high prices in store. Competing with large supermarket chains, also in every suburb, must be tough. Still the best place to go for an ice cream in summer though!

July 17, 2013 2

Fiji Sunrise

With cold wind and bouts of heavy rain, it felt like a good day to dig into the photo archives, taking me back to a warmer climate. Shot early one morning during our stay in Fiji, I recall waking up just on sunrise. The resort area was dead quiet, with only a few staff busily walking around getting ready for when holiday stayers woke up for breakfast. One man, silhouetted in the foreground, was busy raking up the piles of weed that wash up daily into tidy little piles waiting for the crew on the tractor to pick up again later in the day. In the background we see the mountains, if memory serves, of the sleeping giant (I think his belly is just to the left of the closer pine trees). Temperature already warm compared to New Zealand…

back to my cosy winter fire.

July 14, 2013 0

Plans to follow Hibernation

Cutting firewood in my workshop, I glanced over at my poor bike. Sitting neglected, it dawned on me it must have been a season since I took it out on the road. I have a mate coming over from Australia in a week or so, so all going to plan I will get it out then.

Linked to this got me thinking about exercise and fitness. Between having several colds and now being mid winter, I must admit to practicing my bear like hibernation regime of doing very little fitness wise.

With tickets already purchased for this years Auckland Marathon, I know its only time till I need to push myself into gear…but for today, a film shot from the archives, and back to the warm fireplace!

Shot on the Pentax MG and scanned to digital.

June 25, 2013 4

Orko and childhood toys

This little character brought me back to my childhood. Orko. One of the characters from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Although not this particular copy, I recall having Orko alongside He-Man, Skeletor, Moss-man…I sure I had some more of the vast array of characters in the collection.

Orko was a Trollan, and one of the few who knew He-Mans identity. Although a little bit of a easily scared character, he always did the right thing and could be counted on when it counted. (in ones typical lesson learning childhood cartoons). Some countries knew him as Gorpo in the earlier series.

I think most of all (as far as ‘action figures’ go) I was into Transformers. I dont know where they all went – likely part of my take apart to see how it works stage, but I had a ton of them. Who else… GI Joe of course – their rubber band waist’s were hard to get back on when taken apart, I do remember that!

Reflecting on these toys of the 80’s, there were a ton of them. Many have since been re-released, with originals being worth a few dollars for the collectors. Like many, mine were handed down, given away, or boxed up and taken to charity.

Then there are the long standing toys – Lego!, Matchbox cars – unless you are a hot wheels or Corgi fan – I recall the hot wheels being faster, but suffering more axle bends. The Corgi’s were well made, but slow. Matchbox was the leader in my day. Meccano. I had some hand me down Meccano. It never seemed to be that big when I was a child, but I loved building with real metal and nuts and bolts etc etc.

Memory lane. TV shows are another. I’ll need to find an appropriate image to shoot for that post though!

Shot on the Ricoh GRD IV in very low light – hence the ‘grain’.

June 22, 2013 3

Golden Web

Golden Web – shot on the Sony Nex about a year ago with the Industar 61 Lens. I recall it being a beautiful golden morning (albeit cold).

April 26, 2013 0

Hong Kong Market

Momentarily when I arrived home, I was happy to see the internet had been fixed…then I sat down and it stopped again. Perhaps its some radio wave I emit when I enter the house!? Its working right now at least, so I will get on with todays post.

Shot back something like a decade now in Hong Kong on my Minolta Dynax, I captured this image from one of the local market streets. It had been raining, and I vaguely recall walking up behing the old lady with the brolly to frame her in the shot looking up the street.

Originally shot in colour film, after it being scanned in, I converted to B&W in gimp, and slightly cropped the aspect of the image.

I’d love to get the opportunity to stop over at Hong Kong again. Its a world apart from here in New Zealand, and perhaps its that difference that makes it so appealing. I love the contrast of buildings and people around. Following various bloggers and youtube channels, I like to see what is changing and what is the same. One day I’ll head back.

February 28, 2013 0