As any person has experienced, from time to time you have to inject some fun and creativity into your work or else you risk boredom, slumps and untold other work difficulties (insert your own experiences HERE!)…
Several weeks ago, we were traveling to The Catlins, mostly to “find” a small waterfall that we’d somehow discovered, and which wasn’t on any tourist lists. The basic directions that we found to Koropuku Falls went something like this: drive down the Chaslands highway, about 10.2 kilometers east of its intersection with the Niagara-Tokanui Highway, and look for the ice cream sign on the north side of the road. Yes, you read correctly – look for the ice cream sign. It turns out that the property owners are encouraging visitors to their little waterfall. Since the waterfall is not on Crown Lands (i.e., belonging to the government of New Zealand), it’s not afforded a proper sign. So, the owners have taken the plastic lid from a tub of ice cream and created that their own small sign that says “Waterfall,” with a little arrow pointing into the bush.
It’s a short and pleasant hike to Koropuku Falls. It’s not a particularly remarkable waterfall in any way, but it was a nice hike, nice to climb around (especially for the kids), enjoy a simple lunch, and beautiful to photograph. The following gallery will provide you a sense of this small, intimate waterfall:
After our visit to Koropuku Falls, we travelled down the road a bit further to investigate another couple of waterfalls. Well, it turns out that we’d have to traverse some private property, so I decided that we weren’t going to be able to investigate those falls after all. (But, later, I realized, “wait, this is New Zealand, not the States!” — more to come in a future installment!)
We then drove back to Porpoise Bay. The rest of the family wanted to swim, hopefully with the Hector’s Dolphins that reside there, but I wasn’t up for it. We’d been at Porpoise Bay a few weeks before and were able to swim with the dolphins, which is quite a treat. They’ll let you get a little close and then speed away. It’s a blast to watch them play in the surf – you can see their silhouettes in the waves!
When we’re at Porpoise Bay, one of the most pleasant things for me to do is to just sit and mindlessly watch the waves crash on the rocks at the Bay’s entrance. The power of the waves is awe-inspiring and humbling. And, the rhythm of the waves, along with a cool breeze, can almost put you to sleep. But, those nasty little sandflies are always doing their best to extract a sanguine meal from you.
I was trying to photograph these large, booming, crashing waves, and just felt sort of blah about the effort. I knew that my typical photos weren’t going to convey the sense and power of the waves. As I was lazing there, a bit frustrated, I realized that there was something fun, different and entertaining that I could do with my camera and skills.
In all likelihood, you’ve seen “animated gifs” on other websites. (Actually, I have one in the upper fight corner of my website to help draw attention to my business.) In certain situations, they can create additional drama and meaning with otherwise bland photographs. So, I proceeded to snap several hundred photographs (yes, I do love digital photography!) with the hope that there would be one or more series of photographs that would yield some decent animations.
And, I wasn’t disappointed! After a bit of editing work, I believe that you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy some of the waves below. I just hope that you don’t get mesmerized by these waves and forget to go to work, or grab an extra margarita… 🙂 (My favorite is the last one.)
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