Out on Flanders Fields ...

And the struggle to return to Belgium continues ...

Belgians are all surprised by, and talking of, the long grey sunless winter continuing on into February.

Did I mention ... no sun, tons of greyness, and loads of pollution as all of Europe passes by us on our highways?

Anyway I've been busy.  I photographed the most delicious Belgian wedding on Saturday.  Truly lovely people and I hope to get permission to post some of those images soon but Sunday and Monday ... Oh My!

I was back out on Flanders Fields attending the reburial of a WW1 soldier from New Zealand ... he was recently discovered and although they did all that they could, and came close, they were unable to identify him for sure.

But where to begin because it was about so much more ...

Saturday night, just after the wedding, there I was at Central Station in Antwerp waiting for the talented London-based New Zealand, soprano Carleen Ebbs.  Gert and I spent a enjoyable evening with her before Martin, from the blog Messines 1917 picked us up, early Sunday morning.  We were heading off to  Flanders Fields, through snow, to participate in the reburial of the New Zealand world war one soldier.

The moment was captured by Belgian television (I am there at around 8 seconds, completely oblivious to the cameraman, as I planned my next shot).  New Zealand television was there too.  I only appear in the Belgian clip  and had to laugh, as I had no idea I was being filmed but do have a photograph of the cameraman filming me ... I discovered it today.  I was photographing someone near him.

But first there was Sunday, the day before the reburial.  Martin OConnor and I went wandering with some New Zealanders based in London.

It felt like a time of privilege as we were introduced to a little Maori history and protocol and I was allowed to photograph this man as he made his way through the cemeteries.

Anyway, below is a random series of photographs taken over those two days ...

Tot later!

The Road ...

I love this kind of view ...an empty road opening up in front of me.

Gert informed me that this song is mine, in those days as he watched me fill with the joy of that South Island roadtrip in the little red car.

I hate leaving, dislike saying goodbye, right up until that moment I'm on my way and then I am happiness-filled.

Leaving is one of those things I do best.  And out there, I usually stretch myself to the limit of what I can stand and beyond sometimes, then it's okay to come home again.

I'm not a wild thing, I'm just a smalltime wanderer who doesn't like to stand still for too long.

Favourite Flowers, New Zealand

Of all the flowers in the world, so far, these are the flowers I would fill my garden with ...

The humble yellow Lupin.  Colour-specific because no other lupin smells like the yellow lupin, otherwise known as L. luteus. 

In Dunedin, they mostly grow in that place between the land and the sea, in the interstitial zone.

Following the sandy tracks that led to favourite beaches around Dunedin, the yellow lupins filled my soul with something that felt like joy.

Long Ago, I Lived Here ...

I lived on the edge of Otago Harbour, out on the peninsula, and scenes like this were everyday kind of scenes. And I often slipped out of the house, usually with my dog, and wandered out into those early mornings ... any season.  It was always stunning.

I never took them forgranted, I loved every day that I spent out there.  It was only that I needed to see the world.  It was good to go home and visit it all again.

L’Art'e Cafe and Gallery, Taupo - New Zealand

Every detail had been so lovingly added at L'Art'e Cafe and Gallery ... even the stairs.

But read what L'Art'e have to say ... Judi Brennan has been a successful clay artist for many years. She has won several pottery awards including a merit in the prestigious Fletcher Challenge Exhibitia and has her work all around the world.

The pathway leading to the studio created huge interest from people wanting to make something similar in there own garden – Judi had embedded feature pieces that she had made out of clay eg cats, dogs, fish etc into the paving to form a fun pathway. This interest led to years of producing, with a staff of 5, the Clay Art Studio mosaic feature pieces that everyone has come to know and love.

There is more, so much more, over here on the L'Art'e website.

L’Art'e Cafe and Gallery, Taupo - New Zealand

There is so much to write about L'Art'e Cafe and Gallery ... so much.

The mind-blowingly beautiful location, the friendly service, the truly sublime food, the superb coffee, the exquisite artwork ... and nowhere do I exaggerate.

It's that remarkable! 

This was brunch on that first day back in New Zealand.

Wai-O-Tapu ... a Thermal Wonderland, New Zealand

I stepped back into life here in Belgium and, like an out-of-control magic carpet, life whooshed off with me.

Almost 3 weeks after the return, I finally created a space to go wandering through 2 complete folders from that trip through New Zealand.  There are so many more still to explore ... and process but most of the portraits are done now, with some massive ones still to do, Hunter and Clare, Peter and Christine.

Anyway, on our second day in the country, Christine and Peter took us on a North Island Roadtrip.  The image below was taken at one the ports of call on that first surreal and magical day. 

The Wai-O-Tapu thermal area covered about 18 sq.kms near Rotorua and it was area where collapsed craters, boiling mud pools and steaming fumaroles were the norm. 

They told us that the area is associated with volcanic activity that happened about 160,000 years ago and that beneath us was a system of streams heated by magma from earlier eruptions ... water temperatures of up to 300 celsius have been recorded.

Stunning isn't it ...

I miss my morning walks in New Zealand

Outside, there was that predawn kind of clarity, where the momentum of living has not quite captured the day. The air was not filled with conversation or thought bubbles or laughter or sidelong glances. Everyone was sleeping, all of their ideas and hopes and hidden agendas entangled in the dream world, leaving this world clear and crisp and cold as a bottle of milk in the fridge.

Reif Larsen, from The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet.

Meanwhile, I'm playing this song on repeat and up loud as I work here this morning. 

And before I forget, I found the opening quote over on the marvellous Terri Windling's blog.

A glimpse from one of those early morning walks I took, back home in New Zealand ... Cooks Beach, on the Coromandel Peninsula ... sunrise.


Back in a New Zealand Summer

Sitting here, having just completed 100-shot photo-shoot, a hotwater bottle on my aching back, Miss 8 downstairs with that horrible flu/cold that's going around, waiting for the predicted snow to arrive on a zero celsius day ... I find myself missing those sublime days, back in New Zealand, on that roadtrip in the little red car.

I miss pies too.

 

On Arriving in New Zealand ... this happened

On arriving in New Zealand, I was greeted by a character from Lord of the Rings. 

I was discombobulated for sure.

The creature knew my name.  He was shouting it, welcoming me, dancing around ... or that's how I remember it.

My friend, Christine, could see that I was not quite on the planet after 40 hours spent crossing the world ... she shouted, 'You don't know him!  Don't worry!' 

I appreciated that because I had no idea but felt it was entirely possible that one of my old friends, 8 years unseen, might have been messing with me. 

I had warned Gert that, in some instances, being loved by New Zealanders was a little like being loved by bears.  They're rough, it may hurt as they verbally sting you, and you might feel attacked but mostly it's love. 

And Peter, well there he was, behind-the-scenes, photographing that startlingly unusual welcoming committee.

On Returning to Belgium ...

People keep asking me how the return to Belgium is going ... what can I say?

We have been pleasantly surprised by the 9 celsius temperatures we've had since returning but the grey grey days are testing me.  It's winter, I know, but Belgium does grey in a way that is unlike any other place I have known.  My tan will surely be leached out of me ... perhaps within days.

I miss New Zealand food.  I went to a Delhaize supermarket yesterday and came away sad over not finding anything nice, then realised I was searching for New Zealand food.  Just that.  Nothing else would do.

We are still tired after 60 hours mostly awake as we crossed the world, and in crazy-making ways.  Yesterday we set up my work station here at the desk and later, as we failed in so many ways at the supermarket, we realised that we had potentially used up our daily quota of intelligence on the work station.  The intricacies of supermarket shopping were all but beyond us.

Last night, coming home from a new year party, Gert kept nodding off on the tram.  He had to be quicker in recovering than me, as he has already had two days back at work ... but there was a price it seems.

I miss the freedom of driving long distances through beautiful scenery on almost empty roads.  I miss the little red car.  I miss mountains and rivers, endless coastlines, and the variations of forest and bush.  The smell of the air.  I miss sunshine, family and friends.  I miss a lot of things but I'm almost sure it will be okay fitting back into life here. 

I'm not going to ruin my life with all that I miss.  After all, it's as Justine Musk recently wrote, it is time for you to go on an adventure. 

Here's to some good adventures in 2013 ... for all of us.