City Scene - 17

Reflections, shadows, lighting, shop windows, graphics, colour - they all come together here to provide a small inner city snapshot of life in the capital city - Wellington. I was standing outside one of the city's popular bars, Hummingbird, on Courtenay Place, watching the people and traffic just as the night lights were coming on - that lovely 'in-between time' when you often get photographic surprises.

In Shadow

Mall Fire Escape

Christchurch

Morning Shadows.

2009 Ajr

Shadows & Reflections

On a recent tour of Otago Museum in Dunedin, I was stopped in my tracks by this wonderful - almost Zen-like - interplay of shadow and reflection.

A lovely upstairs space in an excellent museum.

Small Moments of Beauty

One Light

A Myriad of Reflections

A Wavering of Shadows

Playing with Shadows

No trip to Christchurch Arts Centre is complete without a batch of photographs and no batch of photographs is complete without me playing about with at least one of them. I took these black and white shots last weekend, my attention caught by the interplay of shadows and architeture. I started playing around with colour additions and although I don't normally favour bright orange, I quite like the graduated drama it creates here.

Chasing Shadows

Perfect Shadows

High Street, Christchurch.

I often find the shadow of an object more enticing (photographically) than the subject itself. This is a perfect example - snapped last weekend as I wandered around Christchurch on a sunny mid-morning.

Chasing Shadows

Not sure why exactly but I was quite pleased with this photo I took at the Arts Centre here in Christchurch yesterday. I think it's about the shadows, the shapes and the textures for me. None are especially astounding but somehow it resonates for me. It's the sort of photograph that leads me into thinking about writing short stories again....... the power of suggestion is indeed a powerful thing.

Architecture in Shadow

Another set of photos from Christchurch Art Gallery - looking up from Alchemy (the cafe) to the towering rooflines to capture shadows and reflections. There have been occasions when I have found the actual gallery structure more enticing than the works on show within the galleries. I get endless visual pleasure from chasing reflections around the glass facade. Perhaps I ought to find something more productive to do with my time? www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz

A Small Church Moment

I am so pleased with this photograph!

I took it when I was out walking last weekend with a friend. We wove our way in and out of the back streets of Addington, here in Christchurch and that's where we came upon St Mary's Anglican Church. But rather than taking the conventional shot of church door, stained glass windows, a steeple perhaps, I was completely captivated by this startling late afternoon tree shadow creeping up the rear wall of the church, arching over the park seat. To me, there's almost an animate quality about it. I took several photos of it but I like this one the best.

Architecture - The Old and the New

I’ve lived in Christchurch for the last twenty years (almost) and in that time, I’ve never found it to be a particularly progressive city when it comes to contemporary architecture – especially in the commercial arena. Perhaps it is too hung-up on its clichéd ‘English’ image. That said, it does boast some of the finest Victorian Gothic architecture in the country; and some of the finest large Edwardian and Victorian homes. Many of its best commercial buildings are also from the Victorian and Edwardian period, although some would say that the 1960s and 70s also produced a reasonable tally of excellent Modernist buildings. I’m not arguing.

I have a habit of roaming about the city with my camera and I’m always photographing buildings and architectural details – little slithers of buildings, a column here, a set of windows there, a façade over there, a roofline beyond. I love the negative spaces between buildings and the way one high-rise might reflect against another. I love the shadows some structures cast; and the way others ‘interact’ with surrounding trees. The two images I’ve featured here are two examples that I snapped last weekend – a modern building in central city that I photographed from a distance, capturing just the upper section of it poking above a host of other buildings (not shown) in the foreground; and the wonderful brick building on Oxford Terrace that is now home to Otautahi-Our Place. I was particularly drawn to the way it rose up proudly amid a tangle of shadows cast by the neighbouring trees.

Arts Signs

Christchurch Arts Centre. July 2009. Ajr Another in my series of art gallery signs. This is a view I keep revisiting at different times of the day and year. I love the heft of the Victorian Gothic architecture, the strident shadows and the simplicity of the SOFA (School of Fine Arts) Gallery sign.

The Return of the Light

Auckland. April 2009. Ajr "Coral/Floral" by internationally regarded New Zealand designer, David Trubridge makes yet another appearance in Blogsville! My favourite light fitting - from a photographic point of view at least. I love it for the glorious shadows it casts. You can see a number of variations on this theme by clicking on David Trubridge in the label line below this post. www.davidtrubridge.com

A Place to Rest Your Head

Queenstown. May 2009. Ajr

I loved this view of Browns Boutique Hotel in Queenstown - late morning, with the sun just clipping across the north face of the building, sending ballustrade shadows across the architecture. There are hints of Switzerland about the place too - appropriate for an alpine resort. Another little gem in an unending and confusing sea of accommodation choices in Queenstown. www.brownshotel.co.nz

Shadowlands

Arrowtown. May 2009. Ajr

Love those shadows!

I waited for nearly two hours to get this photo - anticipating the shadow that the bedroom chandelier would cast as the day drew to a close at Arrowtown House, in Arrowtown, near Queenstown. I think it was worth the wait. Arrowtown House is also worth the wait if you're thinking of heading south. Rooms here are terrific and owners, Steve and Jeanette Brough are both terrific hosts and terrific cooks as well. Sometimes it feels like all your Christmases have come at once doesn't it! To see meet Steve and Jeanette and see more pictures of this delicious stay, click on Arrowtown House in the label line below this post. www.arrowtownhouse.co.nz

The Trubridge Returns

Auckland. April 2009. Ajr Anyone following this blog will be familiar with my rather odd obsession with David Trubridge's lighting designs, especially 'Coral/Floral' and this one ('a similar sister') above, photographed in an Auckland design store recently. While the light itself is nice enough (I'm almost over it), it's the reflections and shadows it casts that interest me more. That's not quite so evident in this shot. Here it was more a case of lovely forms and colours clustered together to make a pleasing chance composition. To see others in this series, click on Trubridge in the label line below this post. www.davidtrubridge.com

Shadow Play

Auckland. May 2009. Ajr A slightly different take on my love of photographing staircases. I was captivated by the shadows cast by this small sculpture in a friend's home in Auckland. I couldn't resist more photos than I can now justify.

Gallery Architecture

Christchurch Art Gallery. 2008 Ajr

How nice to be back in Christchurch and to be able to find five minutes for a quick wander around Christchurch Art Gallery this afternoon. I stopped by specifically to look at Fiona Jack's painted wall on the gallery car park bunker, but couldn't resist a shot of interior shadows and reflections as well. www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz

Small Moments of Beauty

A Tracery

Of

Pattern and Shadow

In Glass

Hand Me My Bag.......

Merivale, Christchurch. Jan. 2009. Ajr

I couldn't resist

the feminine loveliness

of this little rosebud-covered purse

(not to mention the shadows springing away from it)

Salt and Pepper

New Brighton Pier, Christchurch. Sept. 2008. Ajr

It was a case of right place right time a week or so ago, when I caught these shadows in SALT restaurant on New Brighton Pier........slanting nicely across the salt and pepper shakers. A small amusement I know but I'm easily pleased.