I travel around a large chunk of New Zealand a lot, I also regularly visit other parts of New Zealand than my local bit. I’m always on the lookout for something pleasing to Photograph as hopefully these pages will show. I trust you are enjoying the images so far.
However…On my travels, I see other stuff, the other New Zealand. The bits you don’t read about in the guide books, or don’t think of when you typically think of our country, or maybe you do but you take it for granted. I decided to document a bit of it. I set up a new Instagram account called @kiwiay for that purpose. Come and have a look, follow the account. I’ll be, or have been posting this sort of thing.
Rustic garden art or driftwood overloadDerelict dairy factory on the surf highway in Taranaki. In New Zealand we have many derelict buildings as monuments to our inability to pull derelict buildings down. So instead we often paint a cheery or quirky mural on one or more of the walls. This shows that as well as having a lack of efficient and effective reclamation facilities, we are also arty.It’s road works season in New Zealand. Because it’s the end of the financial year, all the councils are spending the last of their budgets on dubious road maintenance projects to ensure they can maintain their road maintenance funding next year. In NZ we don’t have modern phased mobile traffic lights at our roadworks, we still have the Stop/Go sign being held by a person. This is Paul, a Stop/Go guyEvery old warehouse wall should have black and white murals and a dragons head sticking out of the wallWe sometimes like to give amusing and trade or location associative names to our drinking establishments. Opunake on the ‘Surf Highway’ in Taranaki is known for its surfing opportunies as is the rest of the Taranaki Coast. This obviously was once simply the Opunake Hotel, but has been revitalised and rebranded the ‘Surf Inn’. I hope they didn’t pay anyone too much money to come up with that catchy title. Which reminds me I must go out to Scott’s Ferry in the Rangitikei againTime to start chucking some fertiliser on the paddocks ay? The good old top dressing Bi-plane putting ‘super’ on the farms of NZKiwis like going really fast any chance we get. We’re pretty awesome at motor sports of many kinds. This is Power Boat racing on the Manawatu river.Old wooden viaduct above our old farm in Southern Hawkes Bay. Notice all the excellent ‘health and safety’ and harm prevention measures in place. I don’t think this rail line gets used anymore5a is a bit farther along the track.An aircraft from our national airline Air New Zealand making its way into one of our provincial airports. flying around New Zealand can be a bit hairy sometimesIt’s nice that young people want to put their own flavour on the relics of the 2nd World War in New Zealand. Like in these old Harbour defence Artillery Emplacement tunnelsThe great New Zealand dairy. This is a fine example of this iconic establishment.Thats a nice memorial to Nana Jacques, obviously much loved, I bet she’d be very proud.Shutes, for when the shearing is completeNo day is complete in New Zealand without a rousing Maori haka, I think this was just a practice one though, or maybe these Wahine were saying hooray to the South Island.Kiwis drink more coffee than just about anyone. Often served by someone who looks and dresses like a gay lumberjackFooty is the lifeblood of New Zealand, some good mates enjoying the day.Wonder when the next race meeting is, I believe the last one was in 1980.Classic dairy, with updated paint job. Tip Top work. I’ve never been in that dairy.This is the New Zealand pig, the kunekune. This is a happy one because he isn’t being made into bacon.
This is where we live now. A small beach community in Manawatu, New Zealand. Himi as I call it has a wonderful eclectic variety of proper beach baches and more conventional homes, and the largest sand dune in the Southern Hemisphere apparently.
The phrase, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ is best applied here. Here is a collage of Himatangi Beach images. I love it here.
This is the road to my place, ok, it’s not the only road, but it is a road.
While I usually take photos of the great New Zealandness of New Zealand, or travel photos, or NZ Native birds, or sports. Lately I’ve been trying to see art in other things, trying to take photos you might describe as ‘Abstract’. I’m sure there is a definition somewhere. I looked up Abstract on the internet and hopefully most of these images fit that description. You tell me. Here I’m trying to see art in the everyday or the unusual. Sometimes you have to look twice, and in a different way, to see a potentially artistic photo where you might not have thought any sort of intriguing image was on offer.
Art?
Infrastructure AwaitingLadderTate Modern, The OutsideBlue Chair3 flatsContained.Out Of Service.The Other Side Of The Fence.Cruise Ship Inmates.Closed.Space Age.
Art, Abstract? I don’t mind what you call it, It’s good to step outside your comfort zone sometimes. I think I’ll do it more often.
