We got a little fed up with the cold and total lack of insulation in our house so we drove a couple of hours over the mountains to Haast. As you come down out of the mountains it’s like coming in to a new country, with palm trees and a tropical feel to it (including a temperature about 20 degrees warmer than Wanaka) We came out on a huge beach about 15 miles long, with absolutely no one on it at all…epic. There was massive rolling surf, huge oldgrowth trees with the beach covered in knarled piles of bleached drift wood…It was sooo good to wander down the warm beach in bare feet after the freezing temperatures in Wanaka…

I feel very humbled in this place. It has an ancient and weathered feel that I’ve not come across anywhere else, and with all the turmoil going on in the world, it feels a very long way away from it all.

However, with many, many different problems clearly on the horizon I have to doubt that anywhere is really safe from it all…..

Been driving round exploring lots, testing the car out, passing time til the mountains open, and work starts…

I had a couple of good opportunities to shoot this week so got the flashes out….

1) Lismore Bike Park

2) RedRock Skate Park fundraiser jam

I havent posted anything in a while so felt like sharing a few thoughts and links that have crossed my path recently……

Since I went on holiday the markets seem to have turned on their heads, especially Oil, Gold and the US$, and more than a few have been stung by it.

Some people think the recent military action is the beginnning of the end while, as often, there seems to be more and more going on than meets the eye….

Last night I listened to a couple of students near me in a pub discussing whether it was justifiable to kill 6 Billion in order for 1 Billion to have adequate resources to live on…is it? Is that even a legitimate discussion?!

Meanwhile people just keep on spending stupid money on houses, including this one just along the coast from where I was on holiday… or this extra ordinary converted church I photographed recently, on the market for an unlikely £3m…

Or this Behemoth, on for £10m…

So in the wider world, are certain groups really still intent on provoking war?

Its easy to let it all just overwhelm, so I’ve been going here and dreaming of simple pleasures and next winters snow….

However, its clear that the months between now and when I actually get out of both this creaking industry and this stinky cynical city are going to be one hell of a ride…..
Luke

Dreaming of Snow again…for now just have to make do with visual stimulus… New Digital Onboard Magazine out now…
Many have tried this style of interactive snowboard internet magazine, but this is one of the best put together online mags. In particular check out the Terje interview and Natural selection comp.

Gap Session this weekend too…

The biggest ever temporary collection of Henry Moore statues brought together in one place just happens to be right by my house…

Kew Gardens is a very unique place, surrounded by the heaving megatropolis of London and yet a huge, quiet and protected park of greenhouses, trees and plants from all over the world, and currently featuring these statues dotted all over the place…

Its starting to feel like spring time in London, so we went to take a look…

Quick stitch of Wembley stadium.

Spurs beat the Chelski in extra time…yeehaaa
90,000 people in front of me…slightly trippy…

Quick edit of low res video I took here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=22666340051

I have about 5000 plus unsorted slides…anyone want to sort and scan them for me? Nope? didnt think so…

I started the process many times but just get lost in old trips…

Turks and Caicos 1999

Italy 2000

Africa 2001

New Zealand 2002

Whistler 2004

American immigration at Vancouver Airport? UK Border post at Calais port, or Gatwick airport (50 miles inside the country)

Can a border post be anywhere? Do we need borders? The EU for example doesnt seem to think so, while North and South Korea jealously guard theirs with thousands of soldiers.

Nationalism can be a touchy subject these days.

We took a full size replica of the UK Border barrier from Gatwick, to Speakers Corner and various other places to see how people reacted…

The reaction was mixed to say the least

(including amoungst many others being called racists, crazy and having 3 police encounters with 1 illegal demostration fine)