Vertical Inspirations - Auckland

Phil Price Sculpture, Auckland Waterfront.

Yesterday, quite by chance, I banged into an artist friend in Merivale Mall. He was re-sizing some of his photographs to make cards and I was taken by how many similar images I had on my cellphone - Similar in subject matter at least.

We seem drawn to the same things.

That's not uncommon among photographers of course- nor in fact, among anyone of a creative bent, whether they be painters, writers, film-makers; we frequently visit and re-interpret the same material, always imbuing it with our own perspective, our own emotion and history.

New Lynn Shoppers

In light of that encounter, I decided to put together a selection of my 'visual rememberings' from my recent trip to Auckland - a sample of the diverse inspirations that caught my attention for reasons obvious and reasons unfathomable. It set me to wondering what my artist friend - who declared "I hope to be a photographer in my next life" - would have taken away from the same locations.

Church Door, Symonds Street

That concept of several photographers approaching the same subject is one that has always interested me. The way we all approach the world, the way we see - each of us influenced by our emotions, our passions, by what do and don't know. That split second that captures a moment of your experience and a moment perhaps in the life of someone else.

Street Poetry, Britomart

We may be captivated by a feeling, a shadow, a glimmer of light.

Our image may be a reflection of a thought.

It may be driven by some vague, niggling memory.

Household Goods & Artificial Flowers, New Lynn

I know that as I amble about a city, some things just 'speak' to me. I don't always know why but I know I can't leave them behind without somehow trying to capture the essence of that feeling in a lasting image. And often, after I'm home, sorting through hundreds of photographs, they fall into obvious groupings with no encouragement from me.

It's as if I have some intangible, pre-wired  selection process going on in my subconscious.

High Street Retail

I do also, quite consciously, photograph on a large number of ongoing themes - variations of a subject, collections of a series of moments, objects, people, places, colours.

Auckland Art Gallery

And for me, there are themes within themes. Take architecture for instance... I have different photographic collections for barns, old shops, museums, details, churches and so on. There seems to be something in my psyche that likes the order and the variation of that.

Grain Silo, Auckland Waterfront.

I like stairways. I photograph hundreds of cranes.

I like the mechanical detail, the rigid yet variant forms.

Crane Reflection, Hobson Street.

I can rarely walk past a good reflection - and when the crane *is* the reflection, so much the better - two birds with one stone and all that.

Leis & Brooms, New Lynn

There are images that tap into my personal history.

There are displays of colour and shape I cannot ignore.

Silo Stair, Auckland Waterfront

Stairs

Colours

Forms

Flower Chandelier, Choi Jeong Hwa, Auckland Art Gallery

Sometimes I record an image for the beauty of a form, or for the wider implications of the moment - who I was with, what we were doing, the things we shared - in that moment.

Auckland City Fire Station

And other times, it's like there's some mysterious rustling going on in my head.

Its purpose isn't always clear but I know I have to listen.

It is those moments - those unfathomable seconds - that often produce the images I love most, the short stories I am happiest with.

And sometimes at the end, I find the collection in its entirety is a collective snapshot of place.

This was my Auckland, on those ten days.

Next time it will be different.

City Scene - 24

Under theYellow Umbrella

Vulcan Lane, Auckland

2009 Ajr

City Scene - 21

Juice Truck

Ponsonby Road, Auckland

June 2009, Ajr

City Scene - 18

Loved this wall of posters on the side wall on a Grey Lynn Deli in Auckland.

In 50 years time, posters like these will probably be collectible - small windows into the social fabric and fashions of earlier times. Sirely I can't be the only person who feels compelled to record them?

City Scene - 15

Like most cities, Auckland is ever-changing. Many of its old buildings have been demolished to make way for the new. This is one old beauty that I always smile at - just off Karangahape Road.

City Scene - 13

I was very drawn to this Auckland shop window - for all sorts of reasons - the graphics, the retro furniture, the colours, the mix of forms and colours. I can't remember which suburb Zeitgeist was in - Grey Lynn I think - but if you're in Auckland and have an interest in retro furniture and household accessories, it's a must-visit.

StreetscapeNZ - 102

Wellesley Street, Auckland.

Looking toward the SKYTOWER.

June 2010. Ajr

City Scene - 7

I loved the forms, movement and colours in the Britomart Railway Station in Auckland and busily set about photographing them - until I was stopped by a security guard. I guess he thought I was a terrorist or something.

StreetscapeNZ - 100

Princes Wharf

Auckland Waterfront

June 2010. Ajr

City Scene - 5

I snapped this line full of Polynesian prints in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland - on the verandah of an old villa just a few feet form the footpath. It just seemed to encapsulate some very nostalgic memories of 1960s Auckland.

City Treescapes - Auckland

I love a city stripped bare by winter.

That time when trees 'come to life' in a new 'semi-dormant' way that alludes to a shadowy 'other presence.' I have an active imagination at the best of times and trees seem almost human to me - imbued with a dignity and a beauty

Admirable somehow. Lively and interactive.

Most especially, I love the way winter trees interact with city architecture. For me it's an intriguing coming together of Nature and the manmade - as if one is striving to outdo the other. I took a whole series of photos when I was in Auckland this last winter - strolling along Symonds Street at dusk, observing the contortion of limbs writhing toward the sky, up and across the face of surrounding architecture. One tree skeleton after another seemed to come to life in a new way, with their silhouettes reflected in nearby glass towers.

Mirror images, a tangle of shadows.

Stretched limbs, reaching, scratching against glass and concrete.

There's a purity in all those 'unclad' forms - a severe natural beauty

That comes to life in the afternoon slant of winter light.

Underwater World

I don't know what it is, but there is just something about penguins that makes them universally appealing, no matter what age you are. I re-discovered that fact when I visited Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Underworld in Auckland again on my recent Frommer's New Zealand travel guide update.

Here, in sub-tropical Auckland, they have the only underground self sustaining population of king and gentoo penguins in the world. The making of over three tonnes of snow a day helps mimic the Antarctic weather conditions and with their 'home' temperature set at minus 1-deg Celsius, the colony of over 80 penguins seems more than happy - evidenced by the fact that they continue to feed and breed quite readily.

Always a huge hit with kids, the Snow Cat rides into the colony are well worth doing. You can't use your camera flash but if you're quick enough and your camera has the capacity, you can get some good shots (the two centre shots of penguins shown here were, incidentally, supplied by Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Centre). And as there are seven Snowcats operating, offering rides every thirty seconds, you can go around more than once. This gives you an even better chance to see the penguins going about their daily business. And all this aside from all the other underwater attractions - the sting rays, the colourful tropical fish, the kids' activities, the replica of Scott's Antarctic hut and numerous interactive activities that will keep kids amused for hours. www.kellytarltons.co.nz

StreetscapeNZ - 93

Queen Street

Auckland.

May 2010. Ajr

Langham Luxury

Auckland's Langham Hotel is one of my favourites.

There's an extravagance about the place that suits my self-indulgent nature.

Rooms are intimate and richly decorated. Barolo Italian Restaurant is a culinary heaven. A Langham afternoon tea pays homage to tradition Chuan Spa is a roof-top shrine to pampering And service throughout is impeccable http://www.langhamhotels.com/

StreetscapeNZ - 92

Darby Sreet

Auckland

May 2010. Ajr

Billboard of the Week

Words on Walls

Horizontals and Verticals

Auckland

May 2010, Ajr

From the Collection

On a recent visit to Auckland, I had plenty of time to discover more of the sometimes hard-to-find public art that no body seems to promote in any real, cohesive way - say in a small booklet the way Wellington does - but every so often, I came upon things unexpectedly. The works shown here are not actually public works, they're from the Price Waterhouse Coopers Collection and are displayed in the $171,000,000, 33-storey tower block designed by Stephenson & Turner Architects at 188 Quay Street.

The building has the largest floor plates of any in New Zealand and was opened in 2002 by Prime Minister, Helen Clark. The blue work above is 'OKO' by Gregor Kregar, whose works, strangely, I kept encountering right throughout New Zealand on my recent road trip. The yellow sculpture is 'Yellow Construction 2002' (no surprises there), by Graham Snowden. The works was commissioned in fulfilment of the Works of Art Floor Area Bonus granted by Auckland City Council.

Revised Text: Thanks to a knowledgable reader, I can now expand upon the below uninformed waffle and state that the neon work above is by one of New Zealand's most celebrated artists, Bill Culbert (b.1935), who left New Zealand in 1957 to study at the Royal College of Art in London. Culbert, who lives in the South of France and London, returns to New Zealand regularly. Light has been a constant theme in his sculptural installations.

[This neon work however, remains a mystery. I'm thinking Paul Hartigan but perhaps I assume too much; he surely can't be the only artist using neon as a medium. Regardless, I like the way it circles whimsically through the solid entrance to the Price Waterhouse Coopers building. And naturally it looks much better at night when its form is more strongly outlined].

www.pwc.com

Auckland - Another Architectural Perspective

Two Views AUCKLAND

May 2010, Ajr