Featured gif image: Rangihīroa, He Uru Tōtara, Pōrirua bridge turnoff to Kapiti Expressway, SH1, 20 January 2021
He mahi whēuaua ‘The Hard Bit’
22 February 2021
People ask me what sort of camera do you use? Over the forty years that I have been photographing I have used a wide variety of cameras. But currently I find I am quite often using my i-phone…It’s a very democratic medium now. Most people have got cameras…in their smart phones. And the fluency with which they can share their images, the speed at which things are happening with photography…it’s easy to take the images. It’s never been so easy…It’s editing the work; this is the hard bit.
Moe mai rā e te kai whaakaahua rongonui. Ngā whakawhetai ki a koe he tohunga o te māramatanga o te rā. Ko te mea nui kei roto i tou pikitia ko tou nui whakaharahara ki te whakaahuatia nga mea maori ki ngā mea ātanga.
I watched the above documentary on one of New Zealand’s leading photographers recently. Although I worked as a Curator with one of the larger collections of photography in Aotearoa and while I have collaborated with a number of photographers in my own exhibitions and more recently in several publications I regret never having met Peter Peryer. Our paths just didn’t cross and so it is strange having this person speak such sense from the screen but he himself has passed. I felt his comment about using i-phone affirming, hopeful and also wisely cautionary.
Most of my photography and my photography based design has been generated by an i phone 6 plus and more recently by the SE. I have found both, along with the Adobe suite, to be useful tools in constructing imagery for my Social Media platforms and for communicating ideas with my blogs and as extensions of my painting. There has always been a relationship or dialogue between painting and photography (dating back to the use of the camera obscura by Johannes Vermeer and later by landscape artists like Canaletto) in the arts. The conversation continues, we are all consciously or unconsciously affected by it.
My interest in landscape, the natural environment and ecology is partly practical. I grow New Zealand natives and I photograph their various properties, their provenance. I regularly ruminate over their cultural meaning as it relates to Aotearoa and our tribal histories but sometimes I look further afield to Asia Pacific. I have an ongoing interest in islands of natives and the way that indigenous plants and trees are coping in alien environments, particularly the urban, outside their natural point of origin. How might we consider the persona of Tāne today in these redefined collections of disparate bush and broken forest in our parks, highway plantings, suburban back yards and strips of ngahere? Whether native or exotic their personalities change with the seasons. Picked roses, hibiscus, gardenias, bananas, limes, avacados, birds of paradise flowers, succulents, ferns, gourds, freesias and so on…in various guises regularly feature.
I also use digital imagery to investigate te reo Māori ‘native NZ language’, wāhi tapū and wānanga. The work (sometimes photography or photo based art) is then deliberately explorative as it probes tribal history, indigenous values and semantics. Regarding Peryer’s caution about editing: this is not a curated range of images, there is no chronology or specific reason that I have picked out these images other than formal considerations. They seem partly representative of a range of work I’ve produced. Nā reira, ka huri au ki ngā kōrero a ngā tūpuna, he whakataukī: Nau te rourou, naaku te rourou, ka ki te kete.
See also my imagery on the following TWO Adobe Portfolio platforms (push on the link):
TE ROHE O TANGAROA (Adobe Portfolio platform I) dealing with our beautiful Aotearoa coastline
Ākautangi, ‘the crying of the seashore’ Moa Point Rd, Lyall Bay, near Wellington airport, Pōneke, January 2020
dealing with our beautiful Aotearoa forests in both their natural and their displaced contexts
rangihīroa, Kua motumotu a Tāne, mamaku & concrete, St Lukes carpark, Ōwairaka 4 April 2018
rangihīroa, In 1896 the Crown divided our tribal maunga Whatitiri into 15 farms which were sold largely outside the hapū to colonial settlers, revised 22 February 2021rangihīroa, Ka tukia ano a Wairaka, she strikes again, Outside Pak n Save, Mt Albert, 14 October 2017. The Whakatāne ancestor Wairaka who lived atop our local maunga before returning to Bay of Plenty was known for her stamping the ground and water springing up rangihīroa, taki toru, rau kōwhai, 25 November 2017rangihīroa, kōwhai yellow, native flower, 20rangihīroa, Catholic emblems, cupboard top, inside ancestral house Maungārongo, Porotī, 2020rangihīroa, Singaporean orchid, Winter Gardens, Pukekāroa, 12 April 2018 rangihīroa, Cosmos, Ōwairaka fenceline, 15 April 2019rangihīroa, kina, Lake Ōhia, Muri Whenua, 3 September 2019rangihīroa, ditch, Tōtara North, 3 September 2019rangihīroa, kohukohu, St Lukes carpark, Ōwairaka, 4 August 2018rangihīroa, Tōtara, roundabout State Highway 1, Pōrirua, 21 January 2021rangihīroa, rau hue, bottle gourd ‘lagenaria siceraria’ leaf, 1 April 2019rangihīroa, te aka, te tupuranga, whānaua ki a tini, whānaua ki a mano ‘the vine, growing, giving birth to myriads, sprouting the beginnings of identity’ – bottle gourd tendrills, 3 April 2019rangihīroa, pink cyclamen shadow, Ōwairaka, 15 April 2019rangihīroa, pu’a, gardenia, first bloom this season, Ōwairaka, 27 January 2019rangihīroa, Ko te hīrere tāwhana ‘the arcing torrent’, early morning, Ōwairaka, 17 August 2020rangihīroa, wild purple leaf plum, e puawai ana ki te ahiahi nei’ ‘flowering this afternoon’, Ōwairaka, 28 August 2020rangihīroa, ngā hua, mountain pawpaw, papaya, Ōwairaka, 30 January 2021rangihīroa, More of my Tāne redefined in the urban areas of Aotearoa. A series of images of native fauna, rākau and wai found leading to and along the Pōneke waterfront. A beautiful day today in the capital, 22 January 2021rangihīroa, pōhutukawa, Ōwairaka, 26 November 2020rangihīroa, pōhutukawa, Cable Bay, Waiheke, 1 December, 2018 rangihīroa, ‘star fern’, whetu rauponga, Ōwairaka, 17 December 2018rangihīroa, today’s rose blooms, Ōwairaka, 6 January 2019 rangihīroa, lime , tino reka te kākara o te puawai nei , Ōwairaka, 17 November 2018rangihīroa, te ripeka, grass markings, Gribblehirst Park ‘Cabbage Tree Swamp’ park, Kingsland, 28 June 2018rangihīroa, tonal kōwhai, Ōwairaka, 1 June 2018 rangihīroa, e toru ngā āporo, 3, Ōwairaka, 12 May 2018rangihīroa, anthurium with tā moko design, Ōwairaka, 21 March 2017rangihīroa, cherry blossom falling, Ōwairaka, 23 March 2017rangihīroa, i whānau au i te hau kāinga o Anguganak, Papua Nūkini, this design involves a fuschia pattern within the hibiscus, both are native to this enormous South Pacific territory
Whakahemo atu ‘gone’, 2018rangihīroa, River, they are standing around…2016
rangihīroa, Whiria or Pākanae, overlooking the Hokianga harbour, was the pā of Kupe the orginal discoverer of Aotearoa. It was also the fortified settlement of Rāhiri the eponymous ancestor of Ngāpuhi which was said to have never been taken. The panorama shows descendants of Kupe and Rāhiri atop the tihi of Whiria as part of a Ngāpuhi wānangarangihīroa, He Tākupu o te tōtara me te pūroto kei te puna o Taumarumaru, 9 March 2018pare puarangi, 2017, picked hibiscusrangihīroa, droplets on Rarotongan banana leaf, 1 March 2018rangihīroa, freesia, 2 September 2017rangihīroa, rau kōhūhū, Ōwairaka, 2017rangihīroa, Huka te wairere, Waikato te awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa te iwi, 5 November 2020rangihīroa, Native assemblage, Ōwairaka, 16 March 2019 rangihīroa, ngutu kaka no Motu Kapiti, Ōwairaka, 2020rangihīroa, graffiti, uru bamboo, Governor Grey’s Mansion, Motu Kawau, 5 February 2017rangihīroa, aloe plicatilis against tanekaha derived bark, 25 April 2018rangihīroa, Tāmure, caught Pahi River, Kaipara Harbour, Waitangi weekend, e tāmure, te tama o Ikatere me Tangaroa hoki, ngā whakawhetai mō ngā kamenga momona e toru i hoatu mai e koe ki a tātou, te whānau nei, 12 February 2020rangihīroa, fern with no stem, 16 March 2019rangihīroa, mamaku fern ‘cyathea medullaris‘ silhouettes on cast concrete, shot while walking to the bank, St Lukes, 10 April 2019 rangihīroa, Hahau, …to fashion with an adze. This pou ‘post’ revealed itself on a South Kaipara Head property. It was a marker post and has the marks of a toki. I think the rākau rangatira is kauri, 29 September 2019rangihīroa, pare puawai, flowers gathered from Ōratia, kia ora Catherine Perich, 30 September 2017rangihīroa, Ruapekapeka, the conversation continues, 17 August 2020rangihīroa, New Years celebrations acknowledge cycles of time. Flowers are the most spectacular part of a plant’s life cycle. Here are nine images from a recent trip to the Auckland Botanical Gardens. Colour your new year 31 December 2020rangihīroa, ngā puawai, mountain pawpaw, papaya, Ōwairaka, 30 January 2021rangihīroa, native flowers, poroporo ‘solanum aviculare’ soft wooded NZ native nightshade with recognised anti-inflammatory properties = steriodal saponin solasonine see ‘the good poison’ blog.forestandbird.org.nz 17 November 2020rangihīroa, Taipa beach, te atatū ‘sunrise’, after the storm, 7 June 2019rangihīroa, Waipu cove, Te Tai Tokerau, 22 January 2019rangihīroa, kōwhai and harakeke silhouette on concrete, Ōwairaka, 6 January 2019 rangihīroa, Uncle Hekenukumai Busby’s navigational Star Compass, Te Aurere. This pou is the Hawaiian carved compass point embellished today with lei used in Thursday morning ritual 6 December 2018 acknowledging 1985 visit of te waka hourua Hōkūle‘a ki Waitangi, 10 December 2018rangihīroa, Tūroa, Maunga Ruapehu, Tongariro National Park, Aotearoa, 7 October 2018rangihīroa, MAORI AZZ – Tawa, Waiau, whanga Manukau, 18 June 2018rangihīroa, black ferns, ngā ata, Ōwairaka, 14 May 2018 rangihīroa, jacarandas in blue vase – reflection, Ōwairaka, 13 December 2017rangihīroa, rau karamu, Ōwairaka, 18 September 2017rangihīroa, cherimoya, first hand pollinated fruit, mid-summer, 31 March 2019rangihīroa, e toru ngā rēmana, ‘3 limes, Ōwairaka, 9April 2019
solar powered dashboard hula girl, Hekenukumai Busby’s hau kāinga, Te Aurere, 11 December 2018
rangihīroa, Kua motumotu a Tāne, mamaku & concrete, St Lukes carpark, Ōwairaka 4 April 2018rangihīroa, hue leaves and tendrills on wild plum branch and kentia palm, 9 April 2019rangihīroa, he puawai of te rākau ngaio, there are small, beautiful native flowers – white with purple orchid-like streaks. The leaves are also speckled with radiant light. They shine en masse in their native environs, Ōwairaka, 27 Septemberm 2020rangihīroa, pitau, fern, 20rangihīroa, Riverhead bridge, 12 November 2018rangihīroa, moenga, 2017rangihīroa, ngaru pae ‘transverse wave’ Abyssinian banana leaf, Ōwairaka, 1 March 2018, rangihīroa, St Lukes carpark nocturne, Ōwairaka, 12 May 2019 rangihīroa, chrysanthemum, Maungawhau, 25 August 2019rangihīroa, Hīrere, Te Aurere, 3 September 2019rangihīroa, Roadworks 6.00pm, Ōpononi, Whanga Hokianga, 28 July 2019rangihīroa, white hibiscus, 27 February 2019rangihīroa, Black Post in Ginkgo biloba leaf, Cabbage Swamp Tree Park, Ōwairaka, 24 July 2018rangihīroa, Āta haere ‘slowly, deliberately…’ Kaupapa Māori, 29 September 2019rangihīroa, Magnolia grandiflora, I climbed the tree to procure this bloom! Strong scent – native to southern United States, 27 December 2019rangihīroa, te oneoneroa o Ruakaka, te wahapū o Whāngārei, 1 August 2020rangihīroa, Te Waiheke o Huka. 15 metre cataract of whitewater emptying 220,000 litres per second over a 6 metre drop. Aroha for this river, so majestic and yet so abused. It straddles the aukati separating the tribal territories of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa. For excellent information on the health of this river see www.nzgeo.com/vr/waikato/ Outside Taupō nui a Tia, 5 November 2020rangihīroa, Ngauruhoe te maunga teitei, Ngāti Tūwharetoa te iwi. Horonuku Te Heuheu Tūkino IV te tāngata. Ko te ariki nei i hoatu ki te papa rēhia o Tongariro ki a tātou katoa, ki te iwi nei (1888) 30 January 2020rangihīroa, ngā hua, mountain pawpaw, papaya, half circle, Ōwairaka, 30 January 2021rangihīroa, Raumati ‘summer’ colour, nasturtiums bright tivaevae-like knock your socks off colour. They have gone wild taking over some magnolia grandiflora cuttings that I left last season, Ōwairaka, 22 November 2019rangihīroa, E kōtare, he aha i titiro ‘what did you see’, 26 January 2019rangihīroa, harakeke, phormium cookianum’ seed pods, Pak n Save, Ōwairaka, 30 December 2018rangihīroa, Vintage Rose, Ōwairaka, 5 December 2018rangihīroa, Whau, flowering and seed capsule phase, Ōwairaka Library, 16 November 2018rangihīroa, te ringa huka ‘snow hand’, Tongariro National Park, 12 October 2018rangihīroa, ko te ārai kōwhai ‘screen /obstruction’, Ōwairaka, 17 May 2018rangihīroa, Abyssinian Banana, Ōwairaka, 29 October 2018rangihīroa, rose accompanying William Blake poem from ‘Songs of Innocence and of Experience, 1794, Ōwairaka, 8 November 2017rangihīroa, Sir John Logan Campbell’s front door, Acacia Cottage. ‘The carvings of Titahi’ is a reference to the leader whose legacy is the earthworks on Maungakiekie. His facial ta moko ‘tattoo’ was chiseled. The topography of Maungakiekie speaks of that symbol of his mana rangatira, Te Tōtara i Āhua, 1 January 2018rangihīroa, rau rengarenga, Ōwairaka, 30 June 2018
