Seafarer

Wellington, NZ, yesterday: Last night I did something I haven’t done for years- go fishing! We went out on the Seafarer II, with owner/skipper Jono Delich at the helm, Bronwyn first mate, and 19 punters hoping to catch the big one. They weren’t biting, but the wind was- this is Wellington after all- “windy city”. We kept […]

No Military Parade

In remembrance to all the lives lost, in the many tragic and pointless wars that have raged over the past 100 years. In particular World War 1- (or the Great War)- which began a century ago this year. Yesterday also marks Remembrance Day, the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally […]

Chiller

Patea, Taranaki, NZ, early 2012. An early attempt at making a video- I think I’ve improved (ever so slightly) since. This was filmed at a favorite location in Taranaki, the Patea Coolstores. Just walking around the place gives me the creeps- hence the horror-esque soundtrack. Happy Halloween folks!

Road to Ruins

Israel/Jordan, Nov 2005: From Jerusalem to Petra via the rift valley, Amman and the desert highway- in five and a half minutes…

Inhospitable

Hawera, South Taranaki, NZ, 2011: The final days of the old Hawera Hospital (1925-2012). Demolition was already well underway with at least half the complex already gone. I rigged a compact digital camera onto the hot-shoe of my DSLR to capture on video the state the place and what I was taking photos of- plenty of […]

Border Country

Turkey/Syria, Nov 2005: Hatay– Turkey’s southernmost province- has changed dramatically since my visit to the area in late 2005. Near the border town of Reyhanli there is a huge refugee camp for the thousands of Syrian’s who have managed to escape over the nearby border to safety- and other camps scattered throughout the province. Locals […]

Qadisha

Lebanon, November 2005: Prior to traveling to the Middle East I had read William Dalrymple’s 1997 book “From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium. It was in these pages that I’d first heard about the Qadisha valley. The mystery of the place intrigued me, so I was determined to visit it […]

Desert Tracks

Mother Earth

At the fringe of this neglected community garden area, there was a strange new-age prayer circle thing. I didn’t find it peaceful, inspirational, meditative or any of those positive attributes- just plain weird, kitsch, humorous, tacky and kind of creepy. This “amphitheatre”, inspired by something called the Vortrovia Vision, is apparently called an Amphenium. Wow, […]