Coromandel Sunset

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive.  We were on our way home and made one last stop to enjoy this lovely golden sunset.  I was trying to find a photo op in this scene when a family walked into my view.  At the same time the sunbeams found a break in the clouds and streamed directly down on them.  I snapped my picture.

Quite a View

FROM OUR HOTEL

This is the view from our hotel in Wellington.  We were on the 25th floor in a city that unlike Christchurch, is familiar with earthquakes. 

WELLINGTON New Zealand SEASCAPE

Wellington's Rugged Coastline

We are back in Wellington on another assignment for several days.  It has been windy and pouring down rain for most of the time we've been here.  Yesterday we finished our assignments around 1pm and decided to have lunch on the wharf with our fellow travelers.  The sky cleared, and it was beautiful and we had a delightful time.   I had some great fish and chips, (or as we often hear, fush and chups).  We then dropped our companions off at the airport, (we don't fly out until tomorrow).  After that we drove to our favorite little TipTop Dairy (tiny little corner market), each bought a double scoop of ice cream (hokey pokey and gold rush are our favorites), then spent late afternoon watching scenes like this one!  Lest you think our mission is one big photography vacation, we've been in Wellington this time for three and a half days and have been busy with our Public Affairs assignments for all that time, with the exception of these few hours of rest and the only time I had to take photos for pleasure.

We Interrupt Everything Else You May Be Doing.........

...........to go wild and crazy for the next 6 weeks as New Zealand hosts the Rugby World Cup.  There are flags, banners and crazy people with painted faces, and tons of partying and drinking to celebrate this event that seems to be everyone's priority here......  except for the one guy who put up this billboard:

In our missionary blog I mentioned that we covered several rugby games a few weeks ago,  (another new experience......being a sports photographer.  See story & photos HERE).  Of course, we could not figure out what the rules are, but came away thinking that American football players are wimps when we saw the beating these guys take without wearing protective equipment.  Anyway, we watched the World Cup opening ceremonies on TV, which were outstanding, and then saw the fireworks from the balcony of our flat.    

As I have said before, photography is art, and a photo is the artist's interpretation of what he sees or doesn't see, just as a painting is an interpretation of what the painter sees....how to compose, what to leave in or out of the scene, the coloring, the mood, etc. etc.  I don't think photographers are required to say or justify what they do to produce their work,  but I'm going to with this photo because I've altered this scene so much.  The fireworks are real, but the reflections are added.  The black part is actually the top of an office building that is in front of our balcony, but we still can see the Auckland skyline over the top.   

Phun Phriday

While in Christchurch we took a drive to a little village by the ocean and decided to eat lunch at a cute cafe right on the beach.  We got a kick out of the seagulls picking up every last crumb off of unattended tables.

Inside we saw this sign tacked on the front counter.  Evidently not everyone is amused by the hungry seagulls!

Akaroa, New Zealand

Beautiful Late Afternoon Light in Akaroa

Shocking Reminders!

In our recent visit to Christchurch, there is still devastation every where we looked.  It will take decades for this city to recover.  When I glanced up and saw this I was horrified.  I wondered if anyone was killed in this house, or someone who might have been below it.  What a sobering sight.

Early Spring Landscapes

While in Christchurch on assignment we took a day off and took a drive to enjoy the first signs of Spring. 

Almost Spring in New Zealand (Part 2)

Beautiful Camellias

I've never seen so many varieties of camellias.  They have been stunning bloomers all winter and are still blooming strong.  

Almost Spring in New Zealand!

We've been down in Christchurch on assignment again.  One day we had some time off so we went to the botanical gardens.  Christchurch is known as the 'Garden City' because so much land is dedicated to  green space and gardens.  After seeing the devastation of crumbled buildings and rubble everywhere you look from the earthquakes, it will be so nice to see spring bringing some beauty back to this city.  I'll post some 'it's almost spring' photos for the next few days.

The magnolia blooms are beautiful and prolific and come in many different sizes, shapes and colors.

Kute Kiwi

I had to add a new post quickly after the previous one, and this is about as opposite as I could find.  We were watching this darling little girl play on the beach while we were enjoying an afternoon in Mission Bay a couple of weeks ago.  The sun was bright, the sand was light, she had beautiful porcelain skin, all perfect for a vintage wash look.

An Early Halloween! Look If You Dare!

While we were in Wellington we took a short drive to a nearby suburb to visit the home of Weta Productions.  This is a world famous creative design production company.  They are responsible for producing the props, sets, and creatures for such movies as Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Chronicles of Narnia and Avatar.  This is only one of the creative 'arms' of this company.  They have a small 'showroom' for tourists where they have some of their creations on display.  I took a few photos.  Look at them if you dare...........

Another Wellington Skyscape

Another beautiful 'skyscape' from our Wellington trip. 

Wellington Sunset

WELLINGTON SUNSET

We have spent the past four days in Wellington, the capitol of New Zealand, and a beautiful town at the south end of the north island.  It reminds me a bit of San Francisco and is nestled among rolling hills, lush vegetation and surrounded on all sides by water.  (Flying in, if you 'under shoot' or 'over shoot' the runway in either direction, you are in the water!  The roads are narrow and curvy, and transport you through tunnels, around beautiful coastal drives and on top of knolls with breathtaking vistas.  This evening, after a drive along at the edge of the water around beautiful bays and craggy rock beaches, we watched the ferry boat coming from the south island, the airplanes landing with only yards between water and runway, surfers catching the last waves of the day, and finally this sunset..... all while eating our Tip Top ice cream cones.  (Have I mentioned the ice cream in NZ????)  Isn't missionary work great!! Seriously, visit my missionary blog to read about our assignment in Wellington.

City of Sails

Auckland - City of Sails

Auckland is called the city of sails and this photo shows why.  Even in the winter, the harbor and bays are dotted with brightly colored sails.  It will be fun to see how many sailboats we see in the summer.  This past Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent the afternoon in a lovely little town called Mission Bay.  We ate lunch at a little Mexican restaurant, (one of very few we have found), and then sat on a bench watching the sailboats glide by. 

Devonport

This is a beach in the town of Devenport, which is the neighboring town to Takapuna.  Are you getting tired of beautiful beaches yet?  Me neither!!!!!  If this looks 'different' it's because I took this with a fisheye lens. 

New Zealand - Kiwi Kountry

(As most of you know, I have been trying to post most of our 'official' missionary photos and experiences on our missionary blog Kiwi Krossings, and keep this blog more for my photography, but sometimes I can't decide where to post.  Here are some photos I also posted on the other blog.)

THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF KIWIS IN NEW ZEALAND:

The Fruit

The Bird

The People

New Zealanders call themselves Kiwis.  (Isn't this about the cutest kiwi you have ever seen???)

Winter in Auckland

This post is for those of you who are feeling sorry for us because we happened to end up in Auckland during one of the coldest winters in 50 years, with more snow in New Zealand than they've had in 50 years.  I thought I'd show you a couple of winter photos I took last Saturday:

As you can see, it's been a rough winter for us.  We had to laugh at the news the day of a big storm last week.  There was a big debate over whether they could officially say it snowed in Auckland.  They couldn't decide if it was a few flakes of snow, or just a bit of sleet, or hail.  Whatever it was, it melted before it hit the ground.   I have to say, however, that there was considerable snow in the southern part of the north island, as well as the south island, and since there are no provisions to remove snow because it is so rare, it did cause problems for a while.

Three of My Favorite Things!

When I am outside, here are three of my favorite things to look at and photograph:

Beautiful Trees

There is such a wide variety of interesting trees here.  I've posted a photo of the kauri tree that can live for thousands of years.  Another great tree is the pohutukawa tree.  The trunks and limbs of the old trees are massive.  I can't wait until Christmastime when they are covered with red blooms.  In addition, there are many varieties of fern trees and palm trees, pine trees, furs, as well as common fruit and shade trees. 

Beautiful Clouds
Our office has big windows where most days we can watch the most fascinating 'cloud parade'.  The clouds hang very low and have great dimension, and sometimes they move across the sky so quickly it looks like a time lapse video.  One minute they are dark and menacing, and three minutes later they are light and fluffy.

Beautiful Seashells

I love to walk along the beautiful beaches and see what treasures I find.  I already have a tray filled with shells on our coffee table and we've only been here a few months.  I've missed doing some creative edits, so I took a few minutes and had fun with this one.

A Special Dinner!

We've been down to Christchurch on assignment, and our special friends invited us for Sunday dinner.   We were told that crawfish is a special delicacy.  This was caught by a friend, but if purchased it would cost around $200.  I thought it might taste like lobster, but it didn't!