Whanganui

Whanganui View Point

 
 
On the north side of Whanganui, there is a high
point, with parking, built for in order to provide a view
of the city.
 
I was there last weekend and was attracted not by the view so much, but by a large structure
with the names of cities and landmarks from all over the world, and the distances
from that precise point to them, in miles.
 
Tokyo was the only Asian city shown.
 
I think that I particularly noticed New Plymouth’s name
because that is where I have a home.
 
 
 

Portraits



 
 
Here are some portraits from a portrait show
that I have on at present at McNamara Gallery
in Whanganui.
 
Many of the 29 photographs have not been exhibited before.

Whanganui River Mouth

 
 
On the weekend I was in Whanganui,
and as usual, I left some time to visit
the mouth of the river, where it
flows into the Tasman.
 
Here is what it looked like on Saturday afternoon.
 
I was in Whanganui because I have an exhibition of
portraits at McNamara Gallery.
 
It opened on Friday night and is on for a month.
 

Whanganui

 
Next Friday I’m having an opening in Whanganui
at McNamara Gallery Photography.
It’s an exhibition of portraits that I have dug out of my files.
Many of them have never been exhibited, and there are others
that I really wanted to show but still have not been able to find.
I applied two rules though. There were to be no portraits included
that were of Erika, and no portraits included that were of Peter.
In a way I am glad that there are others because
that means that there is another portrait show required.
Some of the portraits may only exist in negative form.
I hope so.
When I am in Whanganui I usually stay in this large house which,
in one direction, has this view.
The river is muddy in this photo, but extremely heavy
rain had contributed to this. Notice right in the middle of image there is an historic paddle steamer that has been restored and makes trips up the river, often chartered by private parties.

The Prosthetic

 
 
Here is a prosthetic leg that is on display at
the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui. The leg is
from the collection of the Whanganui Museum.

Playground



A post or so ago I showed a photo of a headless
turtle, in a children’s playground in Whanganui.

Here is another animal from the same site.

Turtle



There is an intriguing children’s playground
in Whanganui, with all sorts of animal sculptures, some,
like this one, have been well loved.

If you happen to be in
Whanganui you can’t miss the spot, it’s on the banks of the river,
on the inland side.

The first question that I have about the image, is of course, the
usual one. Should I just discard it or should I stay with it,
maybe make a print and have a look.

The next question is, should I Photoshop out some of the white marks, the toes
for example? Try tidying up the paintwork and see if I like it better, or not.

I especially like the sun flare on the body, and the solid disc of shadow
on the ground.

Happy New Year

 
 
I wanted to wish you a happy new year
two or three days ago,
but I couldn’t find a happy photo in my archives.
 
Have dug quite deep and found this one, taken
in 2005, in Whanganui.
 
I did print up an edition I remember, the image
being roughly the same size as you see on your
screen. The edition will be somewhere in the many drawers
that I have in this studio.