on a slow road going nowhere

silage 

I am in need of guidance.

My time here in New Zealand is 50% spent.

I am loving every minute but I should have worked out by now what photographic project I am currently working on. I thought is would make itself clear to me if I spent enough time here.

It hasn't.

So some guidance would be appreciated.

While I have been travelling around enjoying the scenery I have, of course, taken pictures along the way. All of which might be mini projects in their own right, but they are a jumble, diverse, random and of little merit individually.

They might be described as  a representation of my current state of mind……..…..confused.

Here are a few to make my point.



There are gravel roads in the Otago countryside

Mountains in the Remarkable range

 Fields of grass

And forests of green

Add caption

 Places to stay.

 Tourist attractions.

 People out and about

Queenstown beach on a lazy summer Sunday

tsunami hazard zone

and animals too

There are historic buildings and possibly the world's smallest library with almost certainly the shortest opening hours ( one hour on fridays)

Glenorchy library

and there are places named after Scotland in places that look like Scotland

Argyle St, Glenorchy

Glenorchy

There are red hot pokers marking letter boxes by the roadside, now dying , so too late for a project there.

And red hot skies over the mountains

I am a master of indecision.

It can only go forward from here.

possible titles to draw all these themes together on a postcard please.

Patience is a virtue I hear you say……

Ideas will come if I wait for long enough……..


It's a bit like waiting for penguins.

In Paradise with Thomas Struth

Paradise is a place far removed from the mundanities of suburban life. What can I say about the urban fox that kindly chopped our garden hose up into five separate pieces last night; did he think it was a useful thing to do? Was he seeking revenge under cover of darkness for the fact that dog loves to chase around the garden by day keeping unwelcome intruders out?

I will never know, but what I can say is that I was bowled over by the Paradise series of photographs as seen at the Whitechapel Gallery and created by Thomas Struth.When I walked into the room containing enormous views of forests around the world, I was mesmerised. They are so large that the viewer can immerse themselves within the forest. There is no focal point. It felt like a form of meditation to be gazing at them. They are calming and beautiful.

Paradise 09 by Struth

On Struth at the Whitechapel Gallery



 I was expecting large photographs; I knew of his work capturing the public enraptured by classical art in museums and galleries, and  was intrigued by his recent series of images from laboratories  displaying chaos amongst the order that is scientific research; they reminded me of my own desire to capture chaos in the natural world.

a fume cupboard by Thomas Struth

All of his works are on a  grand scale. The video in which he discusses his work is helpful; having watched it I would have gone round again to revisit the images with my new found knowledge had I had time. What looked like urban street views were heavy with metaphors that I had missed on first viewing. But for the Paradise series there is no need to read or understand; they are just there................. surely if you have to have work explained in great detail before getting the point, then the images are not speaking for themselves.



Paradise 15 by struth



What  I really liked about his description of the Paradise series was that he says

 " you don't have to interpret; its a way of being quiet. it's not about the vegetation, it's about the lack of focus and meaning.

 There is no "punctum" or point; they are about being in the moment, just seeing and looking, which is  what most of my photography is about. They have no point or deeper meaning, just a desire to convey a mood that nature creates.

leaves © Caroline Fraser

I leave you with some leaves floating in the water from Foots Cray meadow; they don't mean a thing...........................or do they?