An eclectic mix: musings, landscape photography, vineyards, life in Wanaka, history and my new iPhone
Last weekend was Wanaka Show weekend. For those of you non New Zealand readers a "Show Day" is a fair day held annually in the various provinces on different dates, and is a couple of days usually where town meets country. Livestock is judged, there are horse events [many go from show to show following them around the country], trade exhibits, pet parades [how I loved taking my son to these with the pet of the moment, puppies, guinea pigs etc], children's art shows, photography, baking, preserves, vegetables, all with modest prizes for all winners. It's pretty cool and the history is rich, but perhaps the most interesting thing is it's not rained on the Wanaka Show in about 50 years, and on schedule this year, bingo, the weather settled at last into chilly airs and stunning sunshine with no wind. And so the legend continues!
Dougal and Badger, the former looking pleased with his prize certificate, while Badger's attention is on the other dogs nearby! A copy from a photo that appeared in the local paper back in March 2004...
My good friend Roger was in town for the Sunday after doing a photo shoot in Fiordland, so we decided to have an evening out making photos in the Bendigo area in the Dunstan Mts., only 30 mins. drive from home, and rich with gold mining history.
On the lower slopes there are now many sunny slightly elevated areas planted in grapes, and the bird netting makes for some interesting variations on landscape photography...
Laying it out must be quite a job, and even more so rolling it up again...
But there is plenty of landscape left in it's more undeveloped state - looking north here from the site of the historic gold mining town of Welsh Town, up the lower Lindis valley...
Higher up is Logan Town, which is the more commonly visited and photographed area. I took this series of shots back in 2007...
And during the week I finally bought an iPhone. OK mainly for work, but the gadget kid in me is having a great time. I'll be posting about it for weeks in my work blog I think, and already I've found it's camera useful.
Lastly this week's blog recommendation is Robb Kloss's Musings from Aotearoa. Great writing illustrated with photos and a strong flavour of family and the Ruahine Range in the North Island, with attention to environmental issues. Thanks Robb
Dougal and Badger, the former looking pleased with his prize certificate, while Badger's attention is on the other dogs nearby! A copy from a photo that appeared in the local paper back in March 2004...
My good friend Roger was in town for the Sunday after doing a photo shoot in Fiordland, so we decided to have an evening out making photos in the Bendigo area in the Dunstan Mts., only 30 mins. drive from home, and rich with gold mining history.
On the lower slopes there are now many sunny slightly elevated areas planted in grapes, and the bird netting makes for some interesting variations on landscape photography...
Laying it out must be quite a job, and even more so rolling it up again...
But there is plenty of landscape left in it's more undeveloped state - looking north here from the site of the historic gold mining town of Welsh Town, up the lower Lindis valley...
Higher up is Logan Town, which is the more commonly visited and photographed area. I took this series of shots back in 2007...
And during the week I finally bought an iPhone. OK mainly for work, but the gadget kid in me is having a great time. I'll be posting about it for weeks in my work blog I think, and already I've found it's camera useful.
Lastly this week's blog recommendation is Robb Kloss's Musings from Aotearoa. Great writing illustrated with photos and a strong flavour of family and the Ruahine Range in the North Island, with attention to environmental issues. Thanks Robb
Labels: Aotearoa, Bendigo, Central Otago, Dunstan Mountains, environmental issues, gold mining, iPhone, Lindis, Logan Town, Musings from Aotearoa, New Zealand, New Zealand Landscape Photography, NZ Landscape Photography, Robb Kloss, Ruahine, vineyards, Wanaka, Wanaka Show, Welsh Town
posted by Donald at
3:38 PM
4 Comments:
those little old stone homes. I cant imagine life in such a small space and probably with more than a few people too. There must have been a tremendous affinity for the outdoors in those days and a real appreciation of every season of the year. Your photos are spectacular. Especially after a very cold and wet weekend here on the coast.
I do wonder that you don't get discouraged with this blog when so few comments are left by your visitors. Perhaps that is of no concern to you and if that's the case I truly admire that.
Kia ora Don,
Cheers for the plug! Your place, places have been a great find. You are certainly surrounded by a rich array of beauty and your connection to it is palpable. Thanks, Don.
Cheers,
Robb
Hi Marg
Yes, I too wonder at what life was like in this landscape and in the different seasons. I presume it would have been quite busy in spring, when snow melt would have furnished more water to sort the gold, but this area seems all about mining, and while there is evidence of processing on site, maybe folk did not live here for all seasons.
The lack of comments don't worry me. There are techniques to increase them I've read about, but I kind of like just sharing the photos, and about 40 people check in weekly. This was my first blog attempt and done out of curiosity and to learn [part of my job], but after a few posts family and friends were commenting privately, so that sort of made it a habit.
Cheers
Donald
Hi Robb
Thanks for dropping by. I also regard your posts as a great find. We're lucky to have wild and beautiful places nearby and mostly we can savour the gentle experiences which make them all the more precious.
Cheers
Donald
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