Nana

Having not been back in NZ for almost 2 years seeing my 93 year old Nana was high on the agenda and I decided to pester her for an hour or so and photograph her.  It was no surprise that Nana had not lost any of her independence, she was busy as ever going about her morning routine while I clicked away around her.  She was a real natural in front of the lens.  I wanted to capture her how she is, the real deal so to speak.  Capturing her like this is how I see her, no bells and whistles and straight to the point!  It was also nice to capture Nana and Lucy together and it wasn’t until afterwards I realized we had 4 generations of family sitting around enjoying the sun. It was a great day! I recommend that everyone have a go at capturing their older family members, it’s very rewarding.

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For over 40 years this is how we are greeted by Nana. Very matriarchal!

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A favorite spot for my sister and I.  We spent many hours surveying Nana’s farm from this viewpoint.

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All the ingredients for a hearty breakfast….porridge, milk, sugar and cream.

img_People_0385We used to have breakfast in this same spot everytime we visited. Nothing changes!

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After breakfast it’s all business to make sure Nana doesn’t miss anything….glasses clean, check! hearing aid clean, check!

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Now on to the requests for family tree info. A wealth of information!

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Nana is not alone on the farm.  The ‘Boys’ more or less pay the bills and the cat is a bit of company.  There is also an amazing amount of native bird life around.

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Roughly 87 years between these two.  One wise old lady and one little rascal!

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Ethnee Mollie Simpson or Mollie to her friends.  But to us she is Nana.

 

De Beauvoir House

Scott Architects have just completed the renovation and extension of this Victorian Terraced house in the De Beauvoir Conservation area in Hackney, London.  I was lucky enough to have a nice fine day to shoot this house which has been shortlisted for the The Sunday Times British Homes Awards 2013 ‘Small House’ category.

A quote from their website pretty much sums up the renovation….“The sculptural form of the rear extension has resulted from specific responses to the site’s immediate surroundings, while preserving the character of the existing building. The extension is designed to be part of the garden landscaping rather than the main house and this is reflected in the choice of timber cladding and green roof system”.

I pretty much spent the whole afternoon and evening there and the only thing missing was cranking up the barbie and having a beer in the courtyard.

 

 

London Photo Walk

Last weekend I attended an Architectural Photography workshop run by Andy Spain.  Saturday had been the first sunny day in a while but unfortunately Sunday, the day of the workshop, was a bit hazy with high cloud.  I was hoping for blue skies.  Five of us started off near Southwark Cathedral and we did a loop up to the Swiss Re building and back to the New Exchange before a quick break and a look at some of the images we had created.  After our break we headed out again to capture some evening shots of St Paul’s Cathedral and views from the Millennium bridge.  It was a great afternoon and Andy was very generous with his knowledge about photography and his experiences of the business we work in. Here are a few images I made.

First shots across the river with London bridge to the right.

Inside Southwark Cathedral.View of The Shard from London Bridge. Lendenhall Market.The Swiss Re building aka The Gherkin.After a quick break it was off to St Paul’s Cathedral.Looking back towards St Paul’s Cathedral from the Millennium bridge.The Shard again but from the Millennium bridge this time.

Splashpoint Leisure Centre Construction.

Currently under construction and due to finish soon is the new Splashpoint Leisure Centre in the seaside town of Worthing.  After a bit of to-and-fro, I finally made it down to the site on a very cloudy and cold day.  The forecast was for fine spells in the afternoon but they didn’t eventuate.

Wilkinson Eyre Architects designed the new pool complex and it is being constructed by Morgan Sindall.  The complex comprises of a 25 metre six lane pool, a learner/diving pool with a variable depth, indoor leisure pools with hydro slides and an outdoor paddling pool. For the non swimmers a health and fitness centre, café, crèche and what I was told were dance rooms complete the building.

The unique copper cladding was definitely a talking point for many of the contractors on site and lead to a couple interesting conversations regarding the use of the material as a cladding.  I was also bombarded by a few local residents voicing their opinions about the project whilst having a coffee break in a nearby cafe. I guess you can’t please everyone!  I thought it was pretty cool and look forward to seeing what effect the salt air has on the copper cladding a few months from now.

 

 

Docklands – London

Originally I had intended on creating a few images of The Shard from some scoped out vantage points, but with a layer of smog clouding the shot, this proved impossible. It was a beautiful blue-sky day so I headed to London’s docklands to check out the Emirates Airline Cable Car instead.  The cable car, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, was finished in June of this year ready for the Olympics and it connects South London to the North from Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks.  Located beneath the cable car on the Northern bank is Siemens Urban Sustainability Centre, also known as The Crystal, and also designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects. Awarded a BREEAM Outstanding rating the building incorporates a number of sustainable design and construction elements including high performance glazing, rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to name a few.

Bamber Miller Architects – Maida Vale

Once again I was commissioned to shoot for Bamber Miller Architects here in London.  This project was a total renovation of a garden flat within the Maida Vale Conservation Area.  Careful planning during the design process enabled the addition of a new double bedroom, ensuite shower room and new open plan kitchen.  Other areas of the flat that had considerable work done were the bathroom, utility room and main entry space.  The new white oiled floorboards and white gloss bespoke joinery throughout help to reflect light back into the rooms.  It’s always a pleasure to photograph work completed by Bamber Miller Architects and their tradesmen, as the level of workmanship is outstanding.

The works were completed in August 2012.  Email info@bambermiller.com for any inquires