During our New Zealand trip, we left Queenstown on our way to Dunedin. This is a really pretty drive that took a few hours to complete — we stopped at several places. At one stop, I found an abandoned farm house, with an NZ flag painted on the wall
New Zealand Garage Door.
Later we stopped in the town of Lawrence, where a discovered a red bicycled stapled to the wall of a building in the main street.
Red Bicycle, Lawrence, New Zealand.
We arrived in Dunedin later that afternoon. The following day we made a trip to the Royal Albatross Center. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, a breeding research program was conducted to study the Royal Albatross. These magnificent birds have a wing span of 8-10 feet and spend much of their lives out at sea. During the NZ birds breed at the reserve during the NZ summer. They return to breed every 2 years. While visiting, several albatrosses made flight passes over the visitor center; I managed to capture one decent image.
Royal Albatross In Flight, Dunedin.
After visiting the center, we made our way around the Otago Bay, passing through Dunedin and heading to Port Chalmers. This is one of the ports serving NZ. During the afternoon, we saw one container ship leaving port. I explored the bay, finding several boat houses along the shore. I loved the rusty patina on the roof of this house.
Boat House, Port Chalmers.
There are several boat houses along the shore, rust included.
Red Boat House Wall And Ladder.
In the following image, I created a simple composition the blue and white wall, including the obligatory rusty patches.
Blue House Boat Wall, Port Chalmers.
I zoomed in to capture the roof detail of this house, with contrasting red, white and blue colors.
Red Roof, Port Chalmers.
We continued along the bay road until we reached the breakwater (or mole) at the entrance to the bay. Here we walked out for about a mile or so until we reached the end of the breakwater. I made some images of the ocean waves crashing onto the rocks.
Last week, after Aniela’s wedding, we made a side trip to New Zealand. After landing at Christchurch, we headed down to Queenstown. We made a reservation for a trip to Milford Sound. The coach trip to Milford Sound was 4 hours. We stopped at several points along the route. I made this image soon after sunrise, with the sun shining through the remains of low cloud in the valley
Sunrise, En Route To Milford Sound.
We boarded the boat and headed out into Milford Sound. After leaving the port, we passed one of the waterfalls that empty into the Sound.
Waterfalls In Milford Sound.
Milford Sound is actually a fjord. The trip through Milford Sound is spectacular, with the boat sailing along the southern shore of the fjord.
Milford Sound.
After a couple of hours we reached the entrance to the Sound at the Tasman Sea. At this point we turned around to head back. On the return trip, we headed back along the northern shore of the fjord. Here we stopped near to a waterfall that generates a lot of spray as the water tumbles down the fjord walls.
More Waterfalls In Milford Sound.
The pilot navigate the bow of the boat as close to the waterfalls so that the passengers could experience the water spray. Here is Angela appreciating the view from the stern of the boat. That waterfall can be seen in the background with another boat nosing into the waterfall spray!
Angela, Milford Sound.
One of the other boats made the way into bay on the north side. This boat is dwarfed by the height of the steep fjord walls.
Ship In Milford Sound.
Here is an panoramic image that I made near the stern of the boat.
Returning To Port, Milford Sound, No 2.
This is the final image that I made just before docking into the the port.
We visited family for a wedding in Tasmania. The event was located in Eaglehawk Neck close to Pirate’s Bay. Here is a panorama looking across the bay.
After all celebrations were over, we took a stroll down to the beach. The day of the wedding was overcast with low cloud hanging over the bay in the late afternoon.
The following day, clouds had moved off. I made this image of the Eucalyptus trees along the path to the beach.
This afternoon I stopped by Harlequin Plaza, just down the street from work. It was below freezing, with snow in the forecast for later in the day, so I worked quickly. The entrance to the plaza is lined with bollards, across a bridge over a pond.
Entrance To Harlequin Plaza.
The angular buildings make for some interesting reflections in the pond.
Harlequin Building Reflections.
In the plaza, are several theatrically themed statues — all black with brass accents. This one is a lute player, but looks very like an ice hockey player!
Statues In The Plaza.
Here is a lady with transparent hand mirror.
Lady With Transparent Hand Mirror.
Around the edges of the plaza are grasses planted in flower beds. The grasses have been pruned back for the winter months. While making some images, I found this line of five grasses. That fourth grass bunch really makes this image stand out!
Five Bunches Of Grass.
My fingers started to get painful in the cold weather, so it was off to return home.
After another weekend snowstorm, we decided to head out to the Denver Art Museum. There were two major exhibits; “Jordan Casteel: Returning the Gaze” and “Stampede: Animals in Art”. Jordan is a an artist, originally from Denver, now living in Harlem with amazing pictures of life in her neighborhoods. Animals in Art is an exhibition by a variety of different artists that explore how animals are a part of human life.
Here is one of the pictures that is like a tapestry, but the media is various types of plastic. In this image, I purposely de-focused the artwork; this still shows the detail of the original.
Barking Dog!
While meandering through the exhibit, I was captivated by the shadow cast by one of the sculptures. It was pretty dark in this area of the gallery. I preferred the monochrome version of this image.
Shadow And The Sculpture.
There were several pieces from the Pacific North-West. I could not help but make this image of part of the totem pole. I just love those lips!
What Big Lips You Have.
The Hamilton wing of the museum has some really interesting ceilings, walls and windows as part of the architecture. I was drawn to the subdued light that streamed in through the tall windows below.
Tall Window, Denver Art Museum.
Making one’s way back down to the entrance, there are more interesting architectural lines.
Ceiling Lines, Denver Art Museum.
I made another image of one of the skylights above the stairways. I was fortunate to include a man working his way up the stairs to the floor above.
Museum Skylight.
Outside the museum are the “Denver Monoliths”. In this image, these monumental blocks framed the building across the street (the library).
Denver Monoliths And Blue Sky.
Two of these monoliths are separated by a narrow gap. Looking down the gap, there is one streetlight across the street that is perfectly centered between the two rock faces.
Once again, we had another big freeze in the weather forecast for this weekend. This afternoon, I headed up to Foxton to make some images of the ice that forms during the winter months. With all the big freeze weather that we have been getting this year, this makes it fun to photograph the ice that forms in the South Platte River.
Ice Canyon No 1, South Platte.
During a cold winter, ice bridges form across the whole river, with water flowing under the ice. In places, the water cuts through forming ice canyons. We even have a Horseshoe Bend!
Horseshoe Bend, Ice Canyon.
I explored a few locations along the river, looking for ice canyons.
Ice Canyon, No 2.
In the Desert South-West, we find many different canyon types, even a box canyon. The ice canyons are no different…
Box Canyon.
There are occasional ice caves to be found as well!
Ice Cave.
There are a variety of ice canyons to be found.
Ice Canyon, No 3.
Finally, a slot canyon to be found!
Slot Canyon.
Heading back home, I drove through a snow storm and below freezing temperatures.
During the last week, the fountains at Arapahoe Station were activated again. This would be great for making images with ice. The water had been emptied, perhaps for maintenance, during the late fall. This week we had another big freeze. So when I arrived at the station, I thought “I must be in Iceland again!”. For there in the fountain was a big block of ice that looked like an iceberg!
Iceberg In The Fountain, Arapahoe Station.
Walking down to work, I passed by the second fountain in Spectrum Plaza. The sun was reflecting from the windows of the adjacent building creating patterns in the water. I like the way the blue cables and hoses under the water manage to shine through (upper right).
Fountain Reflections, Spectrum Plaza.
The rest of the week remaining below or close to freezing, until yesterday. Making breakfast, I noticed “Water Condensation, In The Kitchen”! Sounds like a murder suspect the board game Clue (or Cluedo)!
Water Condensation, In The Kitchen!
I made several images of the water droplets. In this image, the lines formed by the garage siding formed stripes through the droplets.
Lines In The Water Droplets.
In this image the camera was angled up to include the blue sky, creating an abstract, almost pointillist image.
Water Droplets And The Blue Sky, In The Kitchen.
I like the coral pink and orange colors that created two warm patches of color in the image.
Last Sunday, we had a warm sunny day with almost clear skies. Early Monday morning a snow storm arrived. Later in the week, I made some images of the fountains near Arapahoe Station while making my way to work. At this time of year, the light from the rising sun is reflected off the Cobank building, backlighting the fountains. After making several images, I chose this one because of the spout of water near the left side was almost disconnected from the remaining water below.
Fountains With Cobank Center At Sunrise.
Here is another close-up image with the reflected sunlight streaming into the left side of the fountain.
Fountains, Stop Motion And Water Splashes.
A few weeks ago, I made some images of the building with the strip lights in the back. Moving around the fountain, I found that I could make an image of the water spouts, still backlit, and include some of the same building.
Water Spouts At Spectrum Building At Sunrise.
Several metal tables and chairs are located nearby. In this image, I was careful to include sunlight that reflected off the background building, as reflections in the table and chairs.
Sunrise Reflections On Empty Table And Chairs.
Later in the week, this image was made to show blue shadows cast by the trees in the snow. Because the sun was directly behind me, I was careful to hide behind one of the trees so that my shadow was not in the image.
Shadows In The Snow, Tuscany Plaza.
So, what about the snow-storm that allowed me to create these images. Well, on the morning of the storm, I made the following image while waiting for the train to arrive at DU station.
Snow Storm At DU Light Rail Station.
This shows how heavy the snow was. I noticed the gold spire of the University building was just visible in the background and felt to make some images.
