road side garage

road side garage, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I have noticed a change in small garage and service stations. They seem to have been abandoned. I have taken a photo of one and now I seem to see disused gas stations everywhere. The trucks still remain, and there are more of them. Photo taken south of Carterton.

road side apples

road side apples, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

Some things are still here, and they still look much the same. Road side fruit and vegetable sellers have such "no nonsense" signs and I like them. You would imagine the apples are very crisp, and just off the tree. This photo was taken somewhere between Greytown and Carterton.

intersection with deer

intersection with deer, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I located "this animal on the roof" in New Plymouth. The building is a Hotel called the “White Hart”. It was, and maybe still is, a favourite drinking spot for the local Motorcycle club. Opposite is the Govett Brewster Art Gallery. I think one of the best in New Zealand. Their exhibitions have been very strong on contemporary photography, On this visit there was an exhibition of South Korean Art.

main street and cow

main street and cow, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

Small towns have big open streets, not many people, and often an animal on a roof. I found this one in Carterton. I think the theme may be farming. The building across the street has a green door that goes nowhere but open air. I think this would be something to do with farming too.

pub #2

pub #2, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

This example is also in Carterton. It may not be a pub now as it has a sign saying Belverdere House Accommodation Private Functions. But once it was a pub I'm sure and it would have closed at 6.00pm six days a week and everybody went home for dinner, that was in the 1960's.

pub #1

pub #1, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

We have been in Wellington for over a year and decided it was time for a break in routine. We went on holiday, just me and my wife. We took a few road trips and noticed that some things are changing and others are just the same, I took some photos. In most small towns there is at least one “Pub”. The remnants of what was our rugby racing and beer culture. They all have large car parks, which is odd as it is illegal to drink and drive, but that is the way it was. This example is just south of Carterton in the Wairarapa.

lamp on Midland Park

lamp on Midland Park, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

Midland Park is a place to sit and rest when out shopping, usually a tiring activity. I have often gone here to see if there is a photo, I like the idea of rest and relaxation. Have always come away empty handed but this time putting a lamp in the middle seems to have helped.

afternoon car park

afternoon car park, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I get most of my photos on a Saturday morning following the early light. The days are getting longer now. It is harder to get up, dawn is around 6.00am, and getting earlier. Also my wife needs a cup tea before I depart. Now the photos tend to come from the other end of the day, it's easier that way. This one I found around 5.45pm.

woman & lizard

woman & lizard, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I needed the help of my wife to take this photo and of course an unknown artist has provided the lizard graphic.

aeroplane

aeroplane, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I was looking at the graphic on this sign against the dark clouds,and wondering if I might see a plane in the sky. I liked that it was an aeroplane on a road sign. One could have waited for an aircraft overhead. The flight path for Wellington airport is beyond this sign. Possibly would have appeared too small in the sky as I use wide angle lenses, and I wanted to move on. And it is probably better to keep it simple.

circa theatre

circa theatre, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

Near the water front, and close to Te Papa museum, there is a theatre called 'Circa'. What I liked here is the way the tree casts a shadow against the side of the building thus making an image of two trees, this seems to be more noticeable as a photograph, and the shadow becomes just as important as the tree. It reminds me how an enlarger works with a negative. In an image the shapes and spaces are as important as the object depicted as they give a structure to the composition.

graphic

graphic, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

There was a shaft of light reflecting from the neighbouring building. It was a rather organic shaped rectangle. There is also a dissecting line just were the plaster and brickwork meet. In the bottom half there is a small stencil like cartoon face. Framing it in the viewfinder and it is possibly a piece of found/collaborative art. For me that is what photography can be.

self portrait

self portrait, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

It was late afternoon when I saw my shadow on the 'church street' steps, I generally take photos in the morning, I like the early light, long shadows, softer light. Life always seems more optimistic in the morning. The afternoon light has the same long shadows but it seems different somehow, but I'm not sure how, but I think this photo reflects this.

unwanted gas station

unwanted gas station, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I take photographs because I have in my head what a photograph may look like. A lot of these ideas would be from photographs in books and magazines which I have seen recently and also back in the 1970's when I first became interested in photographs. I'm sure I have seen lots of photos of petrol stations, Ed Ruscha comes to mind. This photograph is no longer a place to refuel the car, it is just a place to park a car, and soon maybe it will be something else.

Trekkers

Trekkers, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

This photo is about Trekkers Hotel. It is now not called Trekkers, it is called 'Comfort Hotel', though the old name is still there set in concrete. My wife, daughters and I often used to visit Wellington. We would stay at Trekkers, which was a backpackers, very cheap, just bunks to sleep on with plastic covers. Now the Hotel is more upmarket, with upmarket prices, we don't stay here now because we are Wellington residents. I like this side of town, and I think my photos reflect this.

cuba

cuba, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

Sometimes I want to take a photo because the area has some significance, to get a photo I sometimes just look up, and see a collection of shapes, and instinctively take a photo. Looking at the photo now and I see that if one draws imaginary intersecting lines joining objects up, they all seem to be in place and connected, and holding the composition together. I don't consciously do this when framing a photo. The satisfying photos for me seem to have this design about them.

Trompe-l'œil #2

Trompe-l'œil #2, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

The weekend light was bright and sharp and the building seemed old and tired, life seemed harsher so I included the sign as well.

Trompe-l'œil #1

Trompe-l'œil #1, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

This day was cold and overcast and I liked the way the colour of this building seemed so deep and rich, even the people in Wellington walking past seemed to fit this Venetian scene, I took my photo and went to work too.

commercial

commercial, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

The cars are like sheep herded into a pen, possibly a contemporary take on New Zealand today. This area appears to be a commercial/industrial zone of Central Wellington, and not something I would normally photograph, but something about this collection of shapes compels me to post this.

re-growth

re-growth, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

To just cut the top off trees seems brutal to me. Better maybe to cut them down completely and plant a smaller tree. But the re-growth caught my eye, the way they stood out in the sky. And the chimney stacks in the background, it seemed I imagine to be the look of East European.

tree line & pedestrian sign

tree line & pedestrian sign, originally uploaded by Lester Ralph Blair.

I don't know what these trees are. They look Australian. I like their shape, and the way they catch the morning light. And the way they look against the corrugated house. I have photographed and posted an earlier close up photo. But I do like to show the city in it's context, and try to compose the lot in a descriptive whole.