A Photo a Week: Vintage Hastings

Good morning from 2016 here in Hastings, New Zealand.  So what is the weather look like for the start of the New Year – in one word – lousy.  It is wet and miserable and it is supposed to stay that way for a couple of days.  But then again the farmers need the rain. My Monochrome of the Day images were taken south of Hastings and the hills are just so brown and dry.  So hopefully it is a sign of a good year for us.

Anyway nancymerrill  from

photographynadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com

has asked for our vintage photos.  I loved the idea of vintage photography.  Last year I purchased the Nik Collection for my editing.  Right what I wanted to do.  So here is a collection of vintage photos from last year’s Art Deco Weekend.  I have made these into cards – I will take them into the Information Centre here in Hastings to see if I can sell them.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Then I have been going over old photos, taking photos of them and then editing them with Silver Efex Pro 2.

A baby photo of my twin sister and myself.

And then I edited my grandmothers photo.  I could have fixed the cracks up but they are part of the photo.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/a-photo-a-week-vintage/

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Soft

Good morning from a windy spring day in Hastings.

This week Nancy from nancy merrill photography has given us the prompt of soft photos.

Yesterday I went to this wonderful little oasis just down from Cornwall Park with my Social Snappers group.  This is a small rose garden with lots of different old fashioned roses and other plants.  I was in seventh heaven again, taking nearly 1000 photos. Then I had the challenge to find out what the names of some of the plants are.  These cinerarias were such a gorgeous lavender colour and the petals not in focus blended to make such a beautiful background to these bees.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/a-photo-a-week-challenge-soft/

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Sleeping Beauty

This is such a gorgeous photo of my daughter at her first Easter at 6 months old.  I had washed her hair the night before and she woke up with it sticking up.  My mother had crocheted her gorgeous outfit.

When my children were babies I used to just sit and watch them sleeping, unable to believe that I had children.  Now it is hard to believe that Ruth is now 20, and my son is nearly 19 and well over 6′ 2″.

This is post is for Nancy’s challenge:

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/a-photo-a-week-challenge-sleeping-beauty/

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Pretty in Pink

Good morning from a beautiful spring morning in Hastings.

Well New Zealand is still celebrating today after winning the Rugby World Cup yesterday morning.  Life is good for this rugby mad country.  But, to be honest I am relieved it is all over.  This last week has been rather tense.  It got to the stage that I refused to watch the news, or read online newspapers.  Everything was about a parrots predictions, about hoodoos, jinxes and bad luck etc to wind everyone up even further. It is only a game.

Last week Nancy with her A Photo a Week Challenge has asked us for our pretty in pink photos.  Well, where do I start.  I have lots of pink flowers starting with these snapdragons.  I know the colour is more of a cerise than a real pink.  Actually now that I have been painting I am becoming more aware of colour tones.  I have done some portraits (which I will post later on) and thought I have got the perfect shade for the shadows.  Yet when it got a bit darker in the late afternoon that colour turned to a nasty shade of green.  So next day I couldn’t wait to paint over it.

But these roses are a beautiful pink shade.

One day I headed out for a walk even though it was drizzling.  But a great day for some macro photography which I showed last Saturday.  Anyway there is a fence that is just covered in these gorgeous roses.  The smell is divine.  It was so hard to stop taking more photos.

Such a delicate pink colour. And I think everyone can tell that roses are my favourite flowers.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/a-photo-a-week-challenge-pretty-in-pink/

NATURALLY PINK

A Photo a Week Challenge: Pretty In Pink

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Fulling the Frame

This week Nancy from nancy merrill photography has asked us for photos that fill the frame.  So what else do I show, except daffodils.  It is now heading into spring – next Tuesday is officially the first day of spring.  So the gardens are now sprouting bright colours.  Such as this daffodil.

Yesterday was Daffodil Day – daffodils are used as a symbol for the Cancer Society as it represents hope.

The daffodil is one of the first flowers of spring, whose bright yellow blooms remind us of the joys the new season will bring. It represents the hope there is for the 1 in 3 New Zealanders affected by cancer.

http://www.daffodilday.org.nz/

These were taken yesterday at Pakowhai Park.  There was a big patch of wild daffodils and they stood proud in the sun.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/a-photo-a-week-challenge-fill-the-frame/

A Photo a Week Challenge: Fill the Frame

A PHOTO A WEEK CHALLENGE: FILLING THE FRAME IN MACRO

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Chinese Light Festival at Cornwall Park

Nancy from nancy merrill photography has asked us for our lights and night photography.

These photos were taken back in March.  I know I have posted some photos from this night but for some reason they are the first real night shots I have done like this.

Every year the council put on this festival of lights.  But they also played Chinese music and birdsong.

I got there just as the sun was setting and there weren’t so many people around so I was able to take my time.

The colours were amazing.

The night was perfect.

No wind and the reflections were amazing.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/08/13/a-photo-a-week-challenge-light-the-night/

Thanks for visiting

A Photo a Week: Historical Buildings

Good evening from a cold and chilly Hastings day.  I was unable to do anything work online this morning as the frost had frozen my internet connection, which amuses my son.  He has never heard of such a thing happening.  But the connection just hangs off the eaves of the roof.  And is so exposed to the elements.  So when I get up early to go online it is iced over.  Once the sun comes up the connection thaws out and I can go online.  But by that time it was too late.  I had to go for my Social Snappers group.

I did have a couple of posts scheduled so it wasn’t too bad.  I have been thinking all day about Nancy’s challenge over at nancy merrill photography. Nancy had a lovely photo her mother with her siblings.  Photography is all about catching that moment in history.  Something that can never be repeated.

It made me think about historical buildings.  The above image is of the late Albert Hotel.  Just a week after taking this photo it was finally pulled down.  A bit spooky actually.  I wonder if I was the last person to take a photo of it.  It was over 100 years and falling down.  But it was heritage listed and took about 3 – 4 years before permission was finally given to pull it down.  A shame really, as now it is an empty lot.

Even spookier is this image.  Last week I was over at Napier walking around Pandora’s Pond.  Those photos are being featured on my Monochrome of the Day.  Anyway up on the hill just under and to the right of the flying seagull is a couple of large buildings.  They all form part of the old hospital which has been closed for years.  So a week after taking this photo, guess what is happening.  That’s right, it is now in the process of being demolished to make way for a new residential subdivision.

So I think I need to be careful what I am taking photos of in future.

 Actually I find old photos of our cities give us a fascinating insight into what life was like for our forefathers.  In Napier and Hastings they are an important part of our history as many of the older buildings were destroyed in the 1931 earthquake.  Due to the fires a lot of photographic records were destroyed.  So those that survived are treasured.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/a-photo-a-week-challenge-recording-history/

A PHOTO A WEEK CHALLENGE: RECORDING HISTORY

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Fresh Blackberries

My post for Nancy’s prompt this week.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/a-photo-a-week-challenge-fresh-fruit/

A Photo a Week Challenge: Wide Angles

This week Nancy from nancy merrill photography has asked us for our wide angled shots.

So here  is a wide angled shot looking up through some pine trees at Pakowahi Park.  Using the wide angle makes for dramatic images.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/a-photo-a-week-challenge-wide-angle/

I won’t be visiting your awesome blogs this morning.   I am holding my very first Social Snapper’s group at our Women’s Centre.  Thanks to Leanne from Leanne Cole PHOTOGRAPHY for giving me this idea. I will try and catch up with everyone this afternoon.  I am a bit nervous so will see how it goes.  The weather isn’t too great but our first day is mainly introductions and outlining the basic composition and lighting rules.  Then then we are just taking 100 steps and taking photos.  There are a lot of great statutes around the centre – there is our main art gallery next to the centre so it should be fun.

Thanks for visiting.

A Photo a Week: Artsy

This week Nancy at nancy merrill photography has asked us to unleash our inner artist and showcase our artsy photos.  This image was edited on my iPad with a sketch app.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/a-photo-a-week-challenge-artsy/