Autumn leaves from the back yard.

Nature is amazing 

Muriwai in summer

The platform (centre top) is a very popular fishing spot - below.

Inside the Sky tower

Photo from inside the Sky Towers observation platform - children's entertainment just in case the views from far above the city are not  stimulating enough. The towers windows slope back and create odd refections of the inner walls as in this case.

Navy Dry dock

The Navy had an open day recently so we took the opportunity to see what's below an enormous crane which appears from time to time and easily seen from home, well pretty much from everywhere!!

Cuba Street Wellington

When I lived in Wellington (late 1960's - late 1970's) Cuba street was always the centre of the quirky off beat / student crowd.

While many of the other smaller streets have, over the passing decades, been swallowed up in a frenzy of street "improvements" Cuba Street has retained it character.

On my frequent work trips to Wellington between 1996 and 2016 I used to often wander from my hotel to Upper Cuba street and be transported back to my student days and time spent living in the inner city.

Recently they celebrated the Cuba Street Festival News piece

Photos below kindly supplied by Colin McLeod Morrison  (Sony RX1R - straight from the camera) 

"I like the couple photographing their burgers while opposite the woman is absorbed in her phone while her partner enjoys some street food and is watching me take the shot. " 

"A Dry-cleaners now a bar, very Cuba St.

Corner of Cuba and Able Smith Streets, opposite where real Groovy Records was until recently ... time and place move but the vibe remains ..." 

Auckland's Spaghetti junction at night

Auckland's famous "spaghetti" junction taken at night, this is only about half of this multi layered interchange.

The purple section is the new cycleway which utilises an old former right hand (from the fast lane) exit off State Highway One.

Auckland City at night

Auckland City from Stanley Bay 

Auckland downtown from the Sky tower. Stanley Bay top centre across the water.

Chinese Lantern Festival Auckland - Final night fireworks

Fireworks celebrating the final night of this years Chinese Lantern festival held once again in the Auckland Domain.

These fireworks viewed from across the Waitemata Harbour several km away.

(5-10 second exposures ) 

Auckland Art Gallery

Auckland Art Gallery - ever one of my favourite places for so many reasons

This is pretty interesting (below) 

Amazing detail 

Auckland Harbour Bridge

There has been a project running to light up the Auckland Harbour Bridge (Vector) in a more sustainable way than similar projects overseas.  This is via solar energy, batteries etc - although since the majority of our power is generated sustainably (- hydro, wind and geothermal) this feels more a PR exercise than something innovative and meaningful to the majority of Kiwis.

There is a (very) short "show" at 9pm each night which can be seen from vantage points around the city. The show includes a number of "chasing light" (moving) sequences which I wasn't able to photograph meaningfully.

The photos below were taken "hand held" from the Sky Tower and although the tower is an excellent view point it is less than ideal for photographs as it is "through glass". There are ways to mitigate this obstacle but from what I saw in the Tower there will be a lot of people getting home very disappointed with their pictures due to the internal reflections.

At twilight - a purple glow (above)

At the end of the "show" the bridge lighting rests in this red (below) - maybe not very day but at present it's the Chinese New Years so that may account for the colour.

 

Chinese New Year

It's all over bar the shouting and spending the contents of your "Red Envelope", and what better place than the Sky Tower Casino ......

Three faces of the Auckland CBD

Lovely public space near the Auckland Art Gallery - Lorne Street

 Vulcan Lane running between Queen Street and O'Connell Street - lots of interesting pubs and eating places 

........and this Fort Street in the prime tourist area a land value of $5mil and annual property taxes of $21,500

Obliterated - Exhibiting - Auckland Art Gallery

There is currently an exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery by Yaoi Kusama titled "The Obliteration room" Auckland Gallery - well worth a look but don't stay in too long you might get very disoriented!

Lots to see in the rest of the gallery and there is a cafe overlooking Kitchener Street if you need time to reconnect with reality.

Kodak Vest Pocket Camera

The Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic ( Historic camera ) was my Dads first camera acquired second hand just before WW2. He took it with him to Canada (pilot training) and then to the UK.

I'm not sure which year Dads was manufactured but it's somewhere between 1915 and 1926 - it has a serial number 845021.

Not especially large and easily fitting in ones pocket.

Everything is still in working order.

Rear "window" opened to show where the user could write on the film with the metal "pen" this is still attached in its holder. 

A couple of examples of photo's taken with this camera. They are contact prints, that is the same size as the negative. With only two shutter speeds available 1/25th and 1/50th there wasn't a hope of halting the motion of all individuals in the frame (above).

Muriwai - very gnarly after the storm

Multi Cultural New Zealand

New Zealand is a country of many cultures with the main ethic groups identified here  2013-census profile-and-summary-reports

I'm the (unpaid) official photographer for the Zhongshan Chinese community and as the Chinese New Year approaches they have been celebrating the year of the Dog.

Their web page is here Zhongshan.nz  and I've taken many of their (NZ) photos in the last six years.

Today a very big YumCha free to all members and held in a very large venue in Mt Wellington.

Three image panorama 

Those born in the various years of the Dog receive a "red envelope" (money).

Kylie Hewitt discusses the academic awards for 2018 - rewards for those succeeding in their studies 

President Prof Jilnaught Wong welcomes guests