Blog

Peter was a great believer in communicating about photography and got into blogging in its early days.

His blog ran, with some gaps, from 30 November 2006 to 2 September 2018.

You can visit the earliest entries via archived links on the right hand side of this page.

Americarna.

All week, here in New Plymouth, in perfect weather, there has been a gathering of around 250 American cars
and motorbikes under the banner of Americarna. Enthusiasts from all over the country have assembled and I’ve had several opportunities to have a close look at much of the machinery, and their doting owners. The city has embraced them, their presence has added texture to life here to this small town of 50,000 people, and of course the economic spin-off for local business has been healthy.
Generally speaking, and with notable exceptions such as the Studebaker, defunct since 1966, American car design such as Muscle Cars, and Hot Rods does not attract me too much, but all the same there were some extraordinary vehicles, for example, an immaculate, colossal, black hearse with the number plate DEAD, and a coffin in the back. Another favourite is a perfectly restored 1936 Chevrolet tow-truck. There was something extremely cute about it, and as it resides in New Plymouth I hope to see it again. There were so many admirers around it that I was not able to get a photo.

It has been an opportunity to have a close look at about 50 Harley-Davidsons and their owners, many of whom looked wonderfully like Willie Nelson. I admire the Harley-Davidson design ethic, it has a presence, even if I don’t like all the designs equally. Above however, is a snap of the bike that I liked the most. It’s from the V-Rod series. I don’t know what a new one in New Zealand would cost but here is a 2003 model for sale on Trade-me for $NZ23,000. Do click on the small photo to see just what an impressive machine this is, in appearance at least.

Here, to finish this posting is a photograph of my father on his Harley, with sidecar. I don’t know exactly when this was but he was born in 1904 and I would guess this to be taken in the 30’s. He died at the age of 91 and until the end of his life he carried gravel in his elbows and knees, as a result of coming off this bike on gravel roads, once as a result of on a dark night night, hitting a cow. (Again, as with any photo on this site, by clicking on the image, it can be enlarged.)

Hercules

It’s a lot of fun when friends send me their photos
because the images remind them of my style. It’s like a conversation.

Here is a photo taken by Tomislav Krpan,
a friend of mine from Auckland. Tomislav knows
that not only is the composition similar to what I use, but the subject matter is one that I am
interested in. I have even made a photo of a Hercules. The Hercules, or Lockheed C-130 to give them their full name, operate out of Whenuapai, where the RNZAF has 5.

When I lived at Herald Island, which is right off the end of the runway at Whenuapai, these planes were a constant source of pleasure for me.


Antony Rhodes, on his blog onemomentcaller, has posted his response to the news of the danger that the Regent Building is in. (See my posts below)

Artlife.

In the sidebar to the right, I have posted a link to Artlife, an Australian site, which although at times quite wordy, has excellent material on it. An example is this short film below made by Man Ray, in 1923, although the music has been added later.

The speckles in the first few frames are salt and pepper. One of the shapes that appears is an egg crate. The model is the famous Kiki de Montparnasse, muse to many.

Man Ray (Man is short for Emmanuel) was an artist who was an important part of my photographic education.

Len Lye Again.

Firstly I want to thank those kind people who have sent me messages of support for my campaign to save one of New Plymouth’s historic buildings from demolition. See my posting below, Monday 19th Feb.

I never met Len Lye but did wonder what his attitude towards the destruction of the Regent building would be, especially as the site is to be cleared in order to construct ‘A World Centre for Len Lye’.

Last night I consulted the Roger Horrocks biography of him and there on page 283 I think I found the answer. In 1960, Len and his wife, Ann, were active in a campaign against New York City’s plan to ‘redevelop’ the area by demolishing old houses, houses in which many artists had their studios. His wind wands were used in protest, and the Village Voice described the event under the headline, ‘Swaying Mobile Is Art’s Ode to West Village Battle‘.

The Crematorium

Recently the local crematorium had an open day, or to be more exact, an open evening.
Visitors such as myself, who had to register beforehand, were taken on a tour of the facilities, and given information on legal issues, procedures, options, etc.

Of course there were no funerals or cremations under way, and I didn’t take any photos, not just because I didn’t see anything that I wanted to photograph, but because it wouldn’t have seemed very cool to pull out a camera!

I learnt a lot. What surprised me, for example, was that when the burning is completed, usually depending on the size of the body, after about one and a half hours, some of the large bones such as the femur are still intact. Usually they are put into a grinding machine (I saw theirs) and the resulting ashes all put into a container.

However, it is permissable for the family to request that some of these large bones be kept intact and handed back along with the ash. I suppose that the large bones are not in great shape but it did seem an interesting option, one which apparently some people have chosen. It has a certain appeal for me. I think that I would quite like the bones of some of my ancestors. It certainly seems like an option that I would consider, not that I am taking orders for any of my bones just yet, unless perhaps Te Papa made me good offer, money in advance.

I was also interested in what happens to metal that might be in the body. Mercury and gold vapourises and goes up the chimney, but titanium, such as I have in my skull, does not. It too can be requested by the family, so if you want your aunty’s artificial hip on your mantelpiece, that is an option. Usual practice though is that the crematorium disposes of the titanium left behind in the ovens.

Roughly 80% of New Zealanders are now cremated, although the rate is slightly lower in Taranaki, apparently attributable to the high number of Catholics in this province. Although Catholics are now permitted by their church to be cremated there is still a slight preference for burial. (Although I am an atheist, on my mother’s side I am Catholic Taranaki, and I enjoy going to cemeteries here and looking at the names of relations, going back many generations.)

Overall it was a worthwhile experience though a sobering one to be looking into the two ovens that they have here, and thinking that if I am to die while living in New Plymouth, they are the very ovens that my body will be slid into for destruction.


Hamish McKay.
Last night, Hamish, who is one on New Zealand’s most successful art dealers, was staying with me, here, in New Plymouth. This is a self portrait taken in Venice.

Kereru 2006
140x 186 mm
silver gelatin print
$900 incl gst.
edition of 15

Of this edition there are two left for sale. Anyone interested in a possible purchase of one of these, or any other photos, either contact me directly, or please ring Hamish McKay on 0274 368368, or Paul McNamara on 027 2498059. Or if you prefer, use a dealer or agent of your choice.


Update: 8.35 am Tuesday 20th Feb.
One Kereru sold.
One now left.

‘A World Centre For Len Lye.’

Here in New Plymouth we have fervent group of people pushing to raise $10M to build a
centre to house and promote the collection of Len Lye material that has been gifted to this city.

In the last week they have been particularly active, although personally I’m not entirely convinced by their thinking. However, apart from not attending their rallies, I’ve been very silent because, surprisingly enough, I like to lead the quiet life, and just get on with my work.

But one thing I no longer want to be silent about is that they are intending to smash down the Regent building. It is one of the most special heritage buildings in this city and understandably
they have not publicised their intentions. Even though many New Plymouth residents are opposed to the Len Lye Foundations activities they don’t yet realise that this building is in grave danger. Most think that the Foundation is going to be established inside the the Regent. There has been nothing in the local press about the building’s demolition and I’ll predict that when the news does break there will be strong opposition.

The large photos in the window are mine. It was a drive-by show that I had a couple of years ago.
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