plain colour

plain colour, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

The tree and the building seem to be almost the same colour. And somehow there is an inverted similarity of structure between them. It could be the branch like pillars around the windows. But at the time, it was just seeing a tree, a house, thinking same colour, I framed a photo, liked what I saw and moved on.

house & cars

house & cars, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

On seeing these houses, I wanted to photograph them, but there were cars here too, and often there is when trying to isolate a subject. The answer I think is to make the cars the subject too, and the reflections on the car roof. It also helped that they happened to be all the same colour.

brick wall

brick wall, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I was walking looking for some special light, and I found some in these reflections on the painted bricks. They were probably coming off the parked car. The square of fleeting light seemed to be just right in relation to the derogatory graffiti. It looked like a piece of well designed typography.

toy town

toy town, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

On this sunny morning with a nice big cloud in the sky, these council low cost flats have become a fantasy like village. Maybe I was thinking of a certain village from the 1967 television series 'The Prisoner' starring Patrick McGoohan. The series has attained a certain cult status, and i still remember it.

Rabbit

Rabbit, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I am attracted to images that give a “sense of place”, and especially the jumble of city streets. The more traffic lights, road markings, poles and street signs, the more the challenge to make a sense of order out of it. I like people to be almost incidental, and here a rabbit takes centre stage, watching over various pedestrians.

pedestrian crossing

pedestrian crossing, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I don't have a reason to photograph a car sale yard, except that they are a feature of our urban landscape. For some reason I like the look of pedestrian crossings and poles too. And thinking about it a pedestrian crossing is a nice counterpoint to our driving culture.

tasty value takeaways

tasty value takeaways, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I looked up at the red sign. I don't know how long this sign has been here. The building I'm sure is a Cuba Street remnant of the past. I don't have an opinion on what should go and what should stay. I just like photographing the look of a place, whether it is old or new. Though a mixture does make a more interesting look. As an aside, Cuba street is a great place to dine, especially, if like me, you are on a budget.

black cat

black cat, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I was about to capture the terracotta red against the blue sky, the bent brown sign with the cirrus clouds and the backdrop of Wellington villas. Then I noticed the black cat in the window. A hand came out from the curtain and scratched the cat. The sign seemed to be pointing at this small moment between cat and hand. This is a bonus I thought, I took my photo and moved on.

neighbourhood

neighbourhood, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I had just stepped outside and gone a few metres. Every once in a while there is a day like this, everything seemed so photogenic, even a pole and some branches. I started taking photos. It went on like this for a couple of hours. I went home feeling satisfied.

grey house

grey house, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

The fence is plain and only half painted. The house is finished in grey with a little red trim around the windows with white blinds. The tree is a sort of grey monochromatic colour and has an interesting twisted shape. The morning light is throwing a nice tree shadow against the house. To me it all looks just right, I hope they don't get around to finishing the fence.

branches

branches, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

Trees are wonderful, there are so many diverse shapes. I like to photograph them for a screen to make the subject more ambiguous. This photo though is more about the tree and the shape of the branches. The straight lines of the building give a counterpoint, so I guess the whole photo is about shapes. I must remember to go back and see what it looks like with leaves.

pedestrians

pedestrians, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I have not been into street photography as in “The decisive moment”. I'm always moving about rather than standing and watching. But while looking at this solid display of menswear, and wondering if there is a photograph here, I thought a pedestrian approaching from the left might help, and it was not long before someone obliged.

motorcycle

motorcycle, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I like motorcycles, cafés, bars, Charles Atlas, shops, cities, the colour blue, the colour red, and a place to sit out side. That is probably why I have taken this photo.

art deco

art deco, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

We had a small exploration of Patea. My wife has memories as a child of swimming in salt water pools at the Patea river. We went for a look, there were no pools, but there are some interesting houses. I especially like the arrangement of poles around this simple art deco home.

motels

motels, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

We were driving through Eltham, not looking for a place to stay, but I saw this motel sign. I dropped my wife off at the antique shop and drove back and parked. Standing below the sign I observed the blue letter box and the one with the striped post. This is good I thought, I lined my shadow up with the striped post and took the photograph.

parking building

parking building, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

These buildings are no frills. Their style is no style, just purpose built. But in their own way, with the odd coloured car in the right place, there can be a photo. You can also get a good view if you go a little way up. I actually like them, though I hardly ever use them. They are a sign of my generation.

building

building, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I looked through the wire mesh fence at the dirt and water. What was once a park is now a building site. There was nice morning light catching the Law Faculty opposite. Looking at this photo now and it has a compositional likeness to the classic grand manor with the lake in the foreground.

sale

sale, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

The man looks posed, he wasn't. I was focused on the vertical sale banner and only aware in my peripheral vision of figures coming and going up the street. When they seemed to be in the right place I pressed the shutter.