Driftwood

This is a test using an old Pentax 50mm on my new Sony AR7ii flash whizz bang digital camera.
Using this lens with a cheap adaptor, I was very very pleasantly surprised. I've been trying a few other old lenses I've got stashed in the cupboard. I even had almost acceptable results from an old Russian lens and a mold infested elderly Zeiss Tessar. As soon as time permits, Im going to go for a wander and give them a good go.

Old Cameras

A few of the cameras that were part of my earlier snapping days. Starting at the top with a Kodak Brownie 127, this was a Christmas or birthday gift from my parents in about 1971. Made from Bakelite it was a very basic machine, no focus or exposure control, just point, click and cross fingers.
The next one is an Asahiflex, it was the first SLR camera with an instant return mirror. The predecessor of the Pentax. I bought it from Nuttalls, a second hand shop in Manchester St, I think it was about $24. I had it on lay buy. The little viewfinder next to the rewind knob is a sports finder. This made it easier to follow a sporting event because the viewfinder that was actually used to focus reversed the image. You had to flip it open to look down into it.
The next is a Nikon F2, this made me feel like a real photographer. I used to feel like a real man with this slung casually over my shoulder. At about this time Paul Simon had a song out called Kodachrome and he mentioned he had a Nikon camera in the lyrics and he used Kodachrome. I was that man/boy.
The last one is a fine piece of German engineering, the Rolleiflex SL66. I fell in love with camera after seeing an advertisement for it an american photography magazine. I hungered for it for many years. It was top of the line in medium format cameras, the equal or better of Hasselblad. It had bellows that gave you movements to help control perspective and depth of field issues, Also you could whip off the lens and put it on back to front and you then had a macro lens. The lens was a Zeiss 80mm Planar, just the thought of it gave me goose bumps. I finally had the opportunity to get my hands on this one in the late 70's. Sadly I now regret I traded in my Rollieflex f2.8 twin lens reflex for it. The SL66 never left my side for about 20 years. It was never a very well camera. It had been badly treated by it's former owners. I was constantly taking it in for repairs. Sadly it hasn't worked for a very long time, the repairs were just getting too expensive.

Spaceship

Spaceships always make things better I feel. I grew up watching footage of rockets smashing through the ozone layer and circling the earth and then landing on the moon. The sheer bigness and raw power was enthralling. If my memory services me right, I saw a traveling show of Americian space artifacts at New Brighton Primary school. Included in there were space suits and a space capsule from either the Mercury or Gemini programme. We got to see the the blackened heat shield! The moon landings always left me with a feeling of great sadness, leaving all those gorgeous Hasselblad cameras up there made me weep. But I digress… most movies with spaceships in are worth watching and I'm sure there are many more films that would be greatly enhanced with a guest appearance from a spaceship.
The above playground is near the Rangitata river mouth in south Canterbury.

Window

  Sometimes on hot days I know exactly how this pot plant feels. The view through the great looking window shows glimpses of the continuing earthquake repair sites resplendent with road cones.

Shed

I started making this garden shed just over a year ago out of mostly recycled bits from round the house, friends houses etc. It's more a chill out shed for keeping out of the wind or having a coffee. 

One of the issues with recycled stuff is it takes forever to get it to a state that is acceptable both from a visual and practical point of view. The wood paneling in the top pic was scavenged from a sheet plastic importer. The wood is larch and smell devine. Because it was packing grade it need a lot of sanding. Hint; if using larch wear gloves. I was constantly lancing splinters from my hands and fingers

The door on the right hand side in the middle pic opens in two parts so the bottom part can stay shut and act as a bit of a counter to serve guests a beverage from.

The facade of the shed is some of the iron from when had our house roof replaced.

Hungry

Sometimes food looks so enticing. Then you get it back home and tuck in, only to regret it. There is only so much pink icing I can consume. I think there may of been a computer game character that looked like this bun?

Scout Den

Yo never know what might be hiding in the domains and sports grounds of small towns. This intriguing building is the local scout den in Leeston.  I pretty sure its meant to represent tents. Hopefully it wasn't a normal square box building that sank in one corner!

President

Mmmm.. just imagine if this was the order of power in the world of politics not world of Lawn Bowls?

Oamaru Buildings

The Otago town of Oamaru is justly proud of the magnificent limestone buildings that populate the town.  I tend to be drawn to the less visited ones that still have the fine workmanship and great proportions and tend to be off the beaten track. I spied these three on a recent trip there. The top one is just off the main road through town, the middle is down by the railroad. I've decided to pixelate the spray painted scribble on it because I don't want to give the 'genius' who did it any publicity. The bottom one is a wooden structure on the end of the wharf.

Ablutions

A recent trip to the West Coast exposed me to a few more bathrooms and toilets.
The colour difference in the reflection of the dryer in the top pic is interesting. The second pic is directly  opposite the dryer. The shower is an enclosed pod. I felt like a spaceman. The bottom sink is at a pub/cafe, Thanks to the miracle of high ISO I was able to snap this dark corner and make it look less gloomy than it really was.

Plug

I like staying run down motes most of the time, there is a humble/sad/innocent/quaint charm that endears them to me. Sometimes they are just a bit too far gone and the charm has worn off, along with a fair bit of paint, varnish, wall paper, carpet, upholstery etc. This grime rich plug was the best thing in the kitchen. I pride my self in not being too repulsed by most squeamish sights. I could not bring myself or let any member of my family take a shower for fear of getting dirtier or even catching some undescribed skin infection. According to the owner of this unit it was the last one waiting for a make over. Hopefully the team who were going to 'do it up' were issued with biohazard suits. If we hadn't been desperate to find accommodation in Picton we may never has discovered this gem.

Seawwed

Just liked the the colour of this seaweed, also on Ross beach.

Stones

A couple of stone collections. There's nothing like bringing a touch of the great untamed wild outdoors into the urban environment but only if its tamed and contained, moulded into acceptable submission. Or it may promote a sense of rock solid security and dependability? The bottom pic is an ever-changing gathering of free range rocks, stones and pebbles roaming the beach at Ross on the West Coast.

Lazy

I spotted these chairs lounging this bush one Saturday night. I went back the following Sunday morning and rattled off a few snaps then cruised off looking for more potential pics. I passed this same bush a mere 15 minutes later and the chairs had vacated the scene. I've seen these same sort of lazy fellows hanging around street corners before. Normally they outstay there welcome after a week or two. I have two theories as to there abrupt disappearance: they were reclaimed by their owners in a fit of guilt or remorse, or someone from the local council depot, that is situated directly behind them, spied me taking the pics and had them hauled off in case I was from the local tabloid about to expose them in some trivial cliched headline designed to outrage radio talkback listeners.

Step

Another small mountain in Timaru, checkout the step up to this fine tin building. The steepness of the this step would almost require crampons especially on a frosty morning. It could be a cunning ploy to deter pram wielding parents from entering the premises or maybe there was only a limited amount of tarmac available?

Splinters

This unnamed mountain is nestled in the bosom of Timaru's industrial hinterland.
Lurking on the other side from what I could glen from peering through the fence is a factory that seems to produce wooden posts…. a lot of wooden posts. I wonder if the power pole or the fence posts were made there, transported to far flung corners of the country only to return and stand in silence as more of their kind are peeled, chipped and heaped on to this splintery pyramid. Of course I could be wrong and it may just be some hoarder's obsessive collection.

Transport

A quick stroll around the back streets of Timaru one evening before Christmas.
Just a thought why don't we call submarines, Sinkers, and why is it a Horse Float?

Slug

This slippery customer was spotted one night ascending the back wall. It was a good size, about 10cm.
I think it's a Yellow Cellar Slug, a nocturnal European import. Not sure why it chose to slither up that wall, it's the same wall a stick insect was seen plodding and nodding up. This is a rare time I use flash. Under most circumstances I far prefer to use the available light. I don't even own a flash flash. The light that spews from them is deeply offense to me, it has no sympathy.

Blossom

This scene greets you as you enter the village of Cave in south Canterbury. I've always been intrigued by this road sign of the older female child dragging a younger male child behind her. It was designed back in the 50's or 60's by a British women. It would be interesting to know if the sign would still be in use if it had been an older male hauling a young female along?

Waves

These fierce looking waves are lapping around an aquarium near the new jetty in Kaikoura.
I assume they are waves not a closeup view of a circular saw blade. The table is an ex cable reel, that carries on the watery theme with a more realistic colour pallet. Sadly the aquarium was closed when we breezed past, I'm looking forward to returning to see what hardy aquatic life forms are out there braving those waves.