McDonalds
In Invercargill, I live right next door to a McDonalds, I can even hear drivers making their orders as they pull up at the microphone in the driveway.
This ice cream was on bus stop seat right outside and I imagine that it is one of theirs but I’m not an expert on what they supply because I’ve only been into one of their establishments twice. The first time was in NZ when they first opened and I was curious and the second time was in Darmstadt in Germany when it was as Sunday and it was the only place where I could get something to eat. On that occasion I enjoyed my Big Mac much more because I they also sold Mac Beers!
Thursday, Invercargill
Yesterday I visited a number of most interesting sites which I will blog about over the next few days.
This afternoon I am driving the two and a half hours to Dunedin, to among other things, go to an opening at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Back tomorrow.
Last night, in Queens Park, right next to where I live, the cherry blossom has come out and some Japanese had organised hanami, the traditional celebration held under the trees when they are in flower. I was interested in going because I have been to them in Tokyo and had a great time. Ideally one should drink sake and if a petal falls in your glass then it’s good luck. No cheating allowed.
Still having to spend a lot of time studying how to make the change from PC to Mac.
Suck on this.
I’ve photographed these feeders before. They are often found on dairy farms where they are used for feeding calves. This one caught my attention because of its colours, the ones that I have seen before are black.
I don’t think that I am ever going to manage to make a photograph that I would want to exhibit but there is a humour about these devices that attracts me.
Invercargill, Tuesday
Today I visited an extraordinary collection of net floats, put together over 15 years.The floats have been gathered from beaches on the Southland coast.
While I had seen this collection from the road, today I wanted a closer look but was hesitant about cold calling. I couldn’t have been made more welcome. I am beginning to believe that there is such a thing as Southern Hospitality. From the day I arrived here about 6 weeks ago, the kindness began. Gifts have included whitebait, flounder, pepperoni, flowers, books, furniture, lights, the list goes on and on. I will not forget this warmth of this community. If there is anyone from Southland reading this I say thank you. Come December it will be difficult for me to leave.
These are two photos that I took about 10 years ago. The top is the interior of a Russian submarine, clicking on the image makes it bigger. The sub is now safely tied up in Sydney although it was once based in Vladivostok part of a fleet of eighteen if my memory serves me correctly, designed for patrolling the Pacific, New Zealand included.
The bottom photo is a 2400 horse power Sabre engine, in an aviation museum just out of Christchurch.
Southland Museum
The Southland Museum has this display of local rocks, some not common, of course.
I am interested in the rocks themselves but the main reason why I took the photo is because of the manner in which they were dispersed. As always, the gaps are important to me.
I also like the rythm that the colours set up. Wouldn’t work in black & white.
At night, in Invercargill, I often walk past shop windows, many brightly lit. For the first time in my life I have a truly pocket sized camera, a Leica C-Lux 2 and I’ve been taking lots of snaps. I’ve even been taking photos of mannequins.
There is something about the design philosophy of the Leica that I like, in fact it’s spoiling me for other cameras. It’s like going from PC to Mac which I’ve also just done. Soon I’ll be completely insufferable!
Learning how to use a Mac and to write my blog posts anew, has I know resulted in my posts looking…well, almost simplistic in their construction. Still,I’m grateful to get back into the blogosphere.
Tiwai
A friend took me to see Tiwai Point, near Bluff and site of an aluminium smelter. The ore is shipped in from Australia I think, and the electricity, and lots of it, comes from Lake Manapouri.
Apparently it is possible to go on tours of the inside of the smelter although digital cameras are not recommended. Seems that the electrical field in there may interfere with their functioning.