Christchurch Photowalks in Winter

The joys of repeating the same photowalk route

The New Zealand Veterinarian Conference was held in Christchurch this week. Chris' company had a stand at the conference and I decided to join him and work from my company's local office.

We stayed at the city centre right beside the Cathedral and the Te Pae conference Centre. Without a car, my choice of transport between the hotel and my office for the week is a 4km walk each way. The walk takes me through Hagley Park and Lincoln Road in Addington. 4km full of photograhic adventures to be had over three days.

Chris thought I was crazy to walk 4km in Christchurch's winter conditions especially when the city was experiencing uncharacteristically wet conditions. But the ability to walk through a new environment to make photographs was too enticing to give up; especially so when rain brings another element to photography.

On day one, I spotted a local dairy, shining brightly along a dark road lit only by headlights from passing vehicles. The lights and colour signage from the shop shone like a lighthouse, drawing me closer. Unfortunately as I raised my camera to make an image, a delivery truck pulls up and robs me of a photography opportunity.

My luck improved on day two. This morning had a buzz and I made some images I really liked.

On the way back to the hotel on day two, early evening homeward bound traffic brought another flavour to the same spot. Right beside the dairy is a takeaway and a café. The retro vibes of the Chinese takeaway and the beautiful mural on the side of the café made for beautiful backdrop for pretty pictures. even though there was a break from the rain, lighting conditions are dull. However, it was much brighter than my usual dark mornings and late evening photography settings and it gave me a chance to test my new Classic Negative film recipe in different lighting condition. The images did not disappoint.

On the last day, I started the morning with Chris over a cup of coffee and so I arrived the same dairy and takeaway spot in brighter conditions. Once again, I had fun making images. The images were muted as the sun seemed content to hide behind heavy clouds. And yet, this different look appealed to me.

The rain and cold did not hinder my photography. I made more images over the three days and quite a few that took advantage of the rain and wet conditions to add an interesting angle. However, I'll share those images in a different post. Focusing on the same spot over repeated visits dawn and dusk has given me an interesting chance to test different compositions and learn from every visit.

There was another common theme in the images I made at the spot. The theme talks to my common aid to add a point of interest in my photos and also to my observation that Christchurch is much like Wellington and much like Amsterdam as well - Bicycles.