Cape Egmont Lighthouse

We've been away for a few days in Taranaki. Taranaki holds a special place in my heart and one of the places I really wanted to go while there was out to the Cape Egmont Lighthouse.

It's the only real lighthouse I've ever seen and the only one in New Zealand built under armed guard. Mossy stairs set into the hilly paddock lead up to the lighthouse and once up there the view is off the Tasman Sea. It was definately worth the trip 'off the beaten track' to go and see it.

And after 'just a few' filters and tweaks...

Sunflowers, John and Mick!

While in Taranaki I spotted this Sunflower field near Surf Highway 45. I couldn't stop the first day we saw them so I made a mental note to go back. How could I resist a field of Sunflowers?

I was tempted to jump the fence to get a closer look and do some covert sunflower photography... but trespassing is not really a good idea so I made do with 10 different compositions of the one field. These are my top 3.

  

I like the way the hill provides a slight visual divide between the field and the sky in this image, the field and the sky otherwise occupying the same amount of the photo. On a different Taranaki trip I stopped to photograph a sunflower field in a different town, which some of you will remember. John sampled it on the 22nd Jan 2008. Here is a link to other samplings also. Please take a click on over that way:..

And what was on the other side of the road?....rain clouds! Believe it or not that cloud is covering the most amazing Mountain! We decided to go up on to the slopes of Mt Taranaki for a picnic, half way up the cloud turned to heavy rain and we had to retreat. Bummer!

The photo below is for Mick because it reminds me of his Trinity series. Thank you Mick for helping me to see wireless fence posts as a complete set of 3! It was taken about 6 weeks ago on our McLaren's Falls camping trip.

I have been a terrible blog visitor lately, I got a little drowned in durseal, baking for lunch boxes and other back-to-school-mum-stuff. I'm sure I am not alone! Things should get back to 'normal' soon....

Inspired, Refreshed and Home Again!

We're home again after a lovely break in Taranaki. The wedding was great, catching up with family was awesome and the scenery inspiring. Taranaki holds a very special place in my heart. It's not hard to see why...

The sun had nearly set on the day when I made a last minute decision to race up to the lookout point and take a few photos. The light was soft and subtle as the sun faded so I took the opportunity to shoot a few black and white photos.

The remains of an old wharf at the look out. In all there were 3 built here, the last being Totara and sheathed in copper but the Tasman Ocean proved to be too tough of a match. The rocky outcrop is an attempt to build a breakwater to protect the area. I love to stand on these cliffs, knowing that these cliffs are the very edge of NZ. The feeling is one of being invincable and vulnerable all at the same time.

A different day on the Opunake beach. The tide was a long way out and the sky heavily overcast. The photo below was actually shot in colour. There's something about steering out into the vast skyscape over an equally vast ocean on a day like this that makes you feel decluttered, rejuvinated....alive. Perhaps this is what infinity looks like?

In all I took 214 photos while we were away, I discovered a new sunflower field, visited the Opunake lake, learnt a lot about my camera and received a lovely gift of 3 new lenses. I am ready to roll!