HELP!!!! HELP!!!! HELP!!!!

BLOGGING FRIENDS, I NEED HELP!

How do I get rid of spam?????? 


I keep getting this email:
(From)  Anonymous         (Subject)   [What Karen Sees] New comment on.........(then the name of a post)

The 'Address' line shows:
Anonymous   < no reply-comment@blogger.com >

The actual email message says:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post........(then the name of a post)
Below that are numerous links to other websites.  

The interesting thing, is there is no actual comment on my blog so I can't delete it there.


I read about how to block junk mail on my email program (I use Entourage on a MAC), and it instructs me to add the sender's email address to a blocked email list.  The problem is, it said that the domain (the part of the address after the @) would be blocked.  Since the part after the @ is @blogger.com, that would then block emails from all my friends that use blogger.


I have no idea how to solve this.  I'm getting more and more emails from Anonymous every day, now about 10 a day.  If anyone can help me get rid of this I'd be so grateful.  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!


And here is a Phun Phriday photo to give you a smile:

The Famous BOOT Fence

LARNACH CASTLE - Dunedin, New Zealand

The Otaga Pennisula

A beautiful setting for the Larnach Castle

 Larnach Castle
This is the only castle in New Zealand.  William Larnach was a successful banker, financier, merchant baron, landowner and minister of the Crown.  He built the castle for his beloved first wife.  The lives of the Larnach family were exciting, scandalous and tragic.  Two wives later, William ended his amazing career and life with a gunshot to the head as he sat alone in a committee room in Parliament.

We were not allowed to take photos inside, so I had to be satisfied with photographing the outside of the castle with various compositions.  Here they are:

Close Up from the Side

Framed From a Distance

Leading Lines and Far Away

Just a Glimpse

 

The First Church of Otago - Dunedin

The First Church of Otago

There are many wonderful old churches in the town of Dunedin, as well as other beautiful old buildings.  I second Diane's comment in my last post that I hope Dunedin never has devastating earthquakes like its neighbor to the north, Christchurch.

Dunedin Train Station

Dunedin Train Station

We were told this is the most photographed building in New Zealand.  Dunedin, a beautiful city on the south island, is graced with many stately old buildings and impressive old cathedrals. 

 Part of the challenge of photographing buildings in a city is to find a composition that doesn't include distractions like wires, street signs, cars, etc.  I had to stand in the middle of a busy intersection to get this shot without including a bunch of street signs which were just out of the frame on the right.  Since there was no way I could get the shot without including the stop signal, I placed it so it would blend in with the solid gray bricks to be less noticeable.

The Boat Shed

We often see colorful little boat sheds nestled near the shores of the many lakes, bays and harbors here in New Zealand.  This one caught my eye because it was so bright and looked like it had just received a brand new coat of paint.  I don't know if it was the time of day combined with the angle of light, but the colors were so vibrant SOOTC, that I actually desaturated when I edited, and it still looks unnaturally intense.

Owharoa Falls, New Zealand

Owharoa Falls, New Zealand

A few Saturdays ago we took our third drive along the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula (where I took the photos from the last post).  Toward the end of the day we wanted to find some waterfalls that several people had told us were very photogenic.  We searched and searched, and drove right past several times, but finally found them.  They were just a few yards off the road, but hidden by foliage.  By the time I was ready to take photos it was already twilight and quite dark.  As long as I have my tripod, this is my favorite time to photograph waterfalls.  There is still some soft light, but it's dark enough to set a slow shutter speed to create silky soft water.  I agree with the people who told me these falls are very photogenic.   What do you think?

Coromandel Ocean View

1 - 2 - 3  Versions of the same Scene....

I'm Back!

We have been so busy this past month with missionary work and travel, that I've been a very poor blogger.  We've had some amazing spiritual experiences and some fun experiences while our two sons and their wives were visiting.  This month we've been to Tahiti (on missionary work), and Queenstown three times, both for missionary work and pleasure.  I have so many photos to sort, edit, save, delete, post, that it will probably take me years!  We don't have any traveling scheduled for the next month so I'll try to catch up and post something daily.  Just to warn you, however, that my posts for the foreseeable future will be random and in no particular order of time, place, or subject.  I just want you to see some of the wonderful and interesting sights I have seen during the first part of this year, so my goal is to just get them up.  So here we go........ 

  Cheerful Colors, Sad Face

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, Jeff FINALLY found a car show.  (He really had fun talking cars when our sons were here as I'm less than adequate in that department.)  Anyway, while he walks around looking at cars, I usually observe the people and photograph those that interest me.

I've posted photos of the Maori people with their distinctive tattoos on body and face, but tattooing in general, is big time here in NZ.  I think I see almost as many women with tattoos as men, not just cute little flowers on the ankle, but elaborate body designs.  It is a bit sad to me.  I am always drawn to stare at these elaborate tattoos, especially on women, and it dawned on me that I rarely ever look at their faces.  When I do look, as an afterthought, they are often beautiful young women, but I usually never notice that because I'm so curious to discover what they feel is so important to them that they have chosen to spend the time, money, and pain to have it permanently embedded on their bodies.

I thought this young woman was particularly interesting because despite her bright and colorful clothes, make up, (and tattoos), she seemed quite sad in her expression and demeanor.  I'm certainly not implying this was because of the tattoos, I just thought it was an interesting contrast.

 

 Sexy??????

I was sitting in the shade fairly close to this purple car with this license plate, and this woman walked past.  Do you think her tattoos make her more sexy looking???

New Zealand Beach Fun

Early morning walk on Tapakuna Beach

Just hanging around!

Huia overlook

Whatipu Reserve

WE HAVE VISITORS!

Tyler & Emily

Dalin & Emily

Two of our sons and their brides came today to visit us.  And no, I didn't make a mistake, they both married beautiful young women named Emily!  We are so excited to have them here and show them some of the beautiful places, local culture, and wonderful people here in New Zealand.  

(Photos are VERY posed engagement shots)

Baldwin Street - The Steepest Street in the World

Baldwin Street - Dunedin, New Zealand

According to Guinness World Records, this is the steepest street in the world, at least that's what the sign says at the bottom. 

Making a photo look like what one actually sees is sometimes a real challenge.  It is often hard, for example, to capture the grandeur and vastness of a mountain scene.  If you use a wide angle lens, you will get a wide shot, but the mountains look small.  If you use a telephoto, the mountains look big, but you can't get much of the scene in the frame.  (Of course one solution would be to do a pano in this situation.) Anyway, this was one of those times when I couldn't capture what I was seeing.  I took photos from the bottom looking up, and I took photos from the top looking down (after I stopped panting and gasping for air after the climb).  I tried different lens, and shot from standing up to laying on the road.  But the photos just don't do this street justice.  We parked our car at the bottom and walked to the top, taking several stops to rest.  It was steep!  Every year as part of a local festival they have races up and down.  It's called the 'Baldwin Street Gutbuster'.

Here are some side views:

Colorful Sand of New Zealand

New Zealand has........

white sand beaches..... (Omapere)

black sand beaches......(Whatapu)

.......and orange sand beaches (Little Kaiteriteri)

Punakaiki - Pancake Rocks

Another stop along the west coast of the south island is Pancake Rocks, an area of beautiful and unusually layered rock formations. 

Gannets of New Zealand - Part 2

The gannets of New Zealand live on the edge between land and sea where these cliffs provide a strong updraft for easy take off.

The home for this colony is Muriwai on the north island. 

About 15 weeks after birth, the chicks make a journey to Australia more than 2000km away.  There is no trial and error and no parents to show them the way.  They migrate on their own.  Those that survive the journey across the Tasmin will remain for several years.

Finally, instinct draws them back across the 'ditch' to New Zealand, never to return to Australia again.   Amazingly, those who make the return journey successfully, will come to the same nest they left behind years ago, to have chicks of their own.

Gannets of New Zealand

Love Birds

Tomorrow I'll post more about the gannets of New Zealand.  In the meantime, hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day and if you are able to spend it with those you love, you are lucky indeed.
(I couldn't decide which 'pose' I liked best so you get all three.)

Messages by the Tasman

The drive up the west coast is one rugged vista after another, each one seeming more beautiful than the rest.  Then we came upon an entirely different coast:

 A long, flat beach that was strewn with white stones.  Hundreds of tourists had written messages on these rocks and left them for those that follow to read.

There were all kinds of messages - love notes, funny sayings, names and dates, sage advice.  It was fun to spend a few minutes browsing through this seaside message board.

Franz Josef Glacier - New Zealand

Yes, we are still in New Zealand.  This is Franz Josef Glacier.

Brazen Parrots

New Zealand Parrot

These brazen guys can do serious damage to the tops and hoods of cars.  We saw several of them in a parking lot on our way to Milford Sound.  They are totally unafraid of humans.  One tourist was feeding them out of her hand (bad tourist!).
Update:  My BBs Diane and Robin (Blogging Buddies), commented that these destroyers of cars are called KEA, and they particularly enjoy ripping off rubber, like around windows, doors windshield wipers, etc. (bad kea!)

Phun Phriday

Just Having Phun!

Tranquility

Appreciating the beauty of the landscape is just not enough for some people.......

.......the original AJ Hackett Bungy Jump.  Hackett is the original inventor of the 'bungy jump'.

While others prefer a very fast ride on a jet boat coming within inches of the cliffs and doing 365 degree spins.  With almost every adrenalin producing adventure invented by man available, Queenstown, New Zealand claims to be the adventure capital of the world!
P.S.  For those who are wondering, no color saturation of the water.  It was this color even on a cloudy day!