Happy Birthday Patrick

Every one has one every year. Some do not know when theirs is and many will not have another one. Many others in the world have not had one yet.

I hope you are as pleasant and bright for the next 14 years, Patrick.

Happy Birthday.

Shirley Club

Over the last weekend I was privileged to be able to take photos at the New Zealand's 2nd Shirley Club mini Convention.The above photo is of a group of people whose first name is Shirley. And if you take a close look at it, you will see that this name is not restricted to females.
Some people travelled a long way to be here, there were a few from West Australia, a bigger group from various parts of Queensland, in fact it would be fair to say that all parts of the two countries were represented. They had a great time, in fact considering that they have nothing in common except their names, they got on very well.
From a photographers point of view, there were a few differences. When I asked Shirley to move a bit to the left, the whole lot went. On the other hand I did not have to learn any other names. As soon as I got them all into position, they burst into song, and were as good as any choir I have heard.
This convention was organised by four local Shirleys, Bell, Morait, McGregor and Marsden. They made a very good job of it.
I am angling to get a free trip to Perth next year for the next convention, and as there may be 200 plus at that, it may well be worth going.
Thanks for having me, Shirley and Shirley etc. Have a good trip home.

Bob and Vini

In one of my previous posts I said that most of my photos had the human face in them, but this one is not so specific, but it has a good story.
Pictured is a group of children from Clyde School, singing to a group of about 50 adults, while the children from another school sit in the foreground waiting their turn. So why on a Wednesday would 2 schools go to the trouble of taking some singers to a lunch for a bunch of adults?
Kathi McLean is an enthusiastic sort of person, and some years ago she organised REAP to supply adults who had time to go into the local schools at a time that suited all, to listen to children read. A friend of mine has been doing this every Tuesday afternoon for a couple of years, two children, half an hour each, a bit of reading and then a game of something. Or maybe a puzzle. On those Tuesday afternoons when my friend could not make it, he would get me to step in, if I had time. So on several Tuesdays I would go to the school near me, and listen to the reading of Bob and Vini.These two guys were always pleased to see me and keen to show off their latest skills with the language. (I sometimes believe that if I had covered the pictures in the books they would have had no idea, but I will save my opinions about teaching reading to boys for some other time). We would have a game of cards, using the official rules (otherwise they make up their own), or a game of connect four, or even just noughts and crosses. Sometimes the attention strayed a bit, but generally they were good. In the room with me would be four or five other adults, and as many children, doing the same thing. Good fun.
This happens only for the two middle terms of the year, so at the start of the fourth term all the adults involved go out to lunch. That is what is happening in the photo, and the children come and sing by way of thanks.
I did not see Bob and Vini there though. Maybe they were, as Vini would put it, 'grounded again'.

Adam's Cake

Jo, who is married to me, is famous for her cakes. In this blog she will be known as the 'Chef', because that is what she does. The Chef maintains you can't have a party for any reason without having a cake.

The above photo is of the cake she made for Adam's Baptism. It was a carrot cake, and stood about 20cm high.

The Chef does not have a blog, but if you want the recipe for this or any other cake, you should leave a comment here.

Adam will be around for 70, 80 even 90 years, but I can tell you the cake did not last long.

A sharp intake of breath.

On Sunday Adam Jamie was Baptised. It was a real family affair, the service was conducted by Father Brendon, who is Adam's uncle, and family members were the Godparents. Even the photographer is a second cousin of Adam's.
This sacrament was started 2000 odd years ago by some guy known as John the Baptist, who was a cousin of Jesus Christ. Adam's event took place in the Church of John the Baptist, Alexandra. Some one once told me that the Church was called John the Baptist because it was beside the biggest river (for volume) in New Zealand.
None of this stuff was worrying Adam, who slept through the whole thing, except the sharp intake of breath when contacted by the water.
Father Brendon told the story of King Louis the 9th, King of France, who went on to become a Saint. He lived from 1214 through to 1270. For his official seal he used "Louis of Poissey". When he was asked why he did not use the official Royal seal, or the seal of Reims where he was crowned he replied "I was Baptised in Poissey. Though I was crowned in Reims, it is better to be a child of God, than Ruler of a Kingdom".
After Mass most of the Parish went up to the Presbytery for morning tea. Just as well there is a large lawn and it was a nice day.

I did another Baptism later the same day. Though it may not be fashionable, it is certainly very common.

Is it Art?

I have been taking photos for a living since the mid 70's. Before that I had the odd photo published in school magazines and some specialist sport publications, but mostly the subject material was the human face, as this is always what has interested me. So it was really photos of family and friends, pretty much the same as everyone else. When I was getting paid for doing the job, it seemed so easy and natural, I used to say it sure beat work. The more good photos I could take, mostly portraits of children, the more I got paid. As time has gone on, I have done other subjects, but never seem to get the 'difference' between my photos and everyone else's. So maybe I am not a photographer at all, just a 'people organiser'. This means really that the 'art' part of it is getting people in the right place with the right expressions rather than the finished product itself. Though I still believe the human face is the greatest of all works of art, and I am just recording what is there. A recorder. A documenter. There must be some other word for it.
The first photo by Peter Peryer I became aware of was "Dead Steer". He has come across a swollen corpse of a black and white cattle beast somewhere on a road side and took a photo of it. It sort of became famous because someone tried to stop it being published in Europe, as the fear was it would tarnish New Zealand's clean green image, or something. (No mention was made of the thousands of possums, slow hedgehogs and rabbits that daily feed the hawks on our roads around here!).
At Central Stories on Friday night, Peter Peryer launched his latest book. He has had several launches around the country, and this one was probably the smallest, but it was a launch all the same.
This guy is so good that he really challenges me to examine what I have been doing all these years. While I have been trying to get the 'photo that sells', he has photographed what he likes, and makes it work.
The Henderson Arts Trust Residency is a trust based here in Alexandra, that invites Artistic people to stay in Henderson House for a year. They don't have to do anything while they are there, you can't apply to get in, you are selected, and it is a great system. Peter Peryer is the latest resident, and we are very pleased to have him.
The above photo is of Martin Haanen, from the Henderson Arts Trust, Peter Peryer holding his new book, and Brian Patrick, the Director of Central Stories.
Get the book. It is Art.

Preschool Education

This photo is of a group of people in rural Southland. The children range in age from 11 days through to almost 5. This is a Playgroup, an almost casually organised group of parents who meet several times a week so their children can 'play' together. The children have a wide range of activities to try, though the paint was not out on the day I was there, as I need clean faces for the portraits.
I find this type of 'preschool education' to be one where the children are very relaxed and busy. Because of the high number of parents present, it becomes a social outing for everyone, with tea coffee and home baking for the adults, and each child has a chance to have morning tea with their friends. It would be fair to say that the children are much 'easier' from the photographers point of view, and the only objection to having one's photo taken is that someone else may get the best bike while the photo is being taken. This is not "bunging the kids in preschool" Jim Mora, this is the true socialisation of the young into a group. They expect to have some 'formal' times like mat time, but mostly they choose for themselves those things that interest them. Over the years I have been photographing the children at this place, I have come to realise that being there is like having a day off, compared with some of the places I go.
Some of them travel some distance to get there, and so do I. All agree it is well worth it.
Thanks for having me again.