Raewyn Hillier on Latitude cover Winter 2010

Another cover on Latitude mag: over the last couple of months I’ve had fun photographing Raewyn Hillier.  She is a very interesting woman, recently seen with husband John on a  ‘Country Calendar’  episode featuring their high country hunting / guiding business.  I also photographed her working with Erewhon’s clydesdale horse team, riding her Harley and working at her day job as a flooring consultant in Christchurch.  It’s worth buying the mag just to read this article and see my photos of her!

Today Bruce Redmond proved he is the best ploughman in the world with a big win in the 2-day World Ploughing Competition held in Methven. It has been a huge event for Methven with competitors from all over the world converging here. Bruce thoroughly deserved the win. I spent the last hour of the competition fixed in a prime spot photographing only him and was surprised that maistream media were busy elsewhere – so I’m confident I have the best photographic record of New Zealand’s latest World Champion!

Bruce Redmond ploughing champion, Methven

The best ploughman in the world at work

Bruce Redmond, World Champion, with the trophy to prove it

Mt Hutt, late spring snow

Another find in my folder of ‘files to work on’ was an image I captured a few months ago.  It is from one of my nearby locations that I regularly visit to photograph.  It is always interesting to see how different the same composition can look under different light.  This day there was a combination of a late spring dump of snow, a setting moon, wonderful early light on soft clouds and content sheep grazing.  As I type this I have a 1 metre wide print on canvas emerging from my printer, it looks great.

Late light, Glenfalloch

I am still working through a backlog of photographs taken a while ago on a trip into the backcountry of the Rakaia river – this one caught some very special light one evening.  I have printed it along with some other new material to freshen up my collection at the Icehouse Gallery.

Frosty sunrise, Glenfalloch

In the Dec issue of Avenues magazine there is a feature on the best place I know of for a corporate retreat.  Glenfalloch Station is set in beautiful isolation and offers great hospitality, accommodation and conference facilities. It is also one of my favourite places to photograph.  The Avenues article only used a few (including this one as a double spread on the entry page) but if you look through my portfolio you will see Glenfalloch images popping up regularly.

Life imitates art, Methven Rodeo

Cowboys from all around descended on Methven today for the annual rodeo.  This bull earned my respect for the best impersonation of the graphic on the wall.

Chas watches a good throw

Dietlind from Glenfalloch phoned early yesterday to let me know they were shearing in case I wanted to head up and take some photos.  Of course I did.  It is one of my favourite areas and one of my personal projects is to keep building up images around shearing and woolsheds.  This was special with merinos being shorn; the super fine wool is beautiful to handle and great care is taken with the preparation and classing.  Apart from recording the process I really enjoy meeting the wonderful individuals involved, they are my kind of people.

Now I just need to sift through the dozens of great images and add the best to my woolsheds portfolio.

Seems like curves are everywhere. Yesterday I was photographing some equipment for a contractor and this arc jumped out at me.

Chopped grass