portfolio 1

my portfolios

Each of my portfolios (1 and 2) are based on themes depicting a place or concept. I add new themes and switch images on a regular basis. Check the top of each portfolio page for my most recent additions!

Recent additions to portfolio 1: timeless; January 18, 2021: woven; November 26, 2020: the shore in winter; November 24: weathered; October 17: liminality; October 17: cusps of night and day; September 21: sea shore choreography; August 25: kelp; August 4: enmesh; July 31: Cambodia; July 28: forest magic; July 26: (a)wake

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timeless

The ancient mosses in BC and Haida Gwaii defy time with a delicate beauty that belies their resilience. They adorn trees and the forest floor. Leis of lace hang from branches, their delicacy a portal for luminosity in the sunlight. The same garlands withstand storm after storm.

woven

Nature is constantly weaving a cosmic fabric. It can be seen in the waft and warp of leaves that become stage screens, enhancing the mystique of the forest. It can be seen more fleetingly in the patterns that are woven by wind, water and tide.  

the shore in winter

The Pacific shoreline in Tofino wears another cloak in winter, with steam rising from logs late on a sunny morning, and frost lingering through the day. I grew up in the sub tropical north of Aotearoa, New Zealand where frost was a rarity. I didn’t experience snow until my late teens, so mornings like this are magic for me. Every cell is alive as I breathe the energy of the crisp sea air, unfog my lens, and wonder at Nature’s artistry.

weathered

Both fallen trees and errant logs of timber develop a softness and grace as they weather on the shore, exposed to sun, rain, frost and snow, as well as being sand blasted across the shore and pounded by the ocean, especially when tides are high or storms exert their might.

liminality

There are times when reflections play with my understanding of reality. The reflections in the first two images are on sand that had just been washed by a wave, a transient and ever changing mirror.

cusps of night and day

It is at the cusp of night and day when the sun drops below the horizon that its rays spotlight the dance of wind and clouds. Tofino BC provides a big-sky stage as wind currents meet the west coast of Vancouver Island. While the stage lighting is a cacophony of vivid colours in summer, the more muted pastel shades that mark spring and fall highlight the nuances of cloud shape-shifting in the wind.

sea shore choreography

Every wave motion within each tidal shift choreographs a new artwork comprising seaweed strands that have been washed onto shore.

kelp

I love the luminosity of kelp as it filters light, its fluidity of movement as it is swashed in the tidal flow, and its resilience in withstanding the rhythms of strong currents and wave action. It is when kelp is dislodged though that it is most striking in a celebration of a life transition. For a few days when it is washed onto shore, the translucence lingers, suffusing gold at the cusps of day – at sunrise and more so in the evenings as the sun sinks toward the horizon.

Aotearoa

Aotearoa, New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud. I was born here and grew up on a farm north of Auckland, surrounded by native forest (bush). We were in close proximity to the east coast where we adventured in estuaries, picnicked in secluded coves. Occasionally we travelled to the west coast where the Tasman Sea rolls onto iron sand beaches, the wildness and rawness contrasting with the white sands and rock-fringed coves on the east coast.

when sea meets shore

I’ve been privileged to have frequent opportunities to be wrapped in shore song, to smell the salt in the wind, to witness the dance of the tides, to wonder at the meeting of sea, shore and sky.   It is here that the tide creates ever-shifting artworks that reflect the ebbs and flows of water onto land – and land onto water. 

Haida Gwaii

This island chain off the west coast of BC has been stewarded by the Haida nation for at least 13, 000 years. Its beauty and biodiversity are unrivalled, with forest, sea and shore offering an abundance of bounty.

(a)wake

When water and light choreograph dances that defy words, hold those moments in your soul.

forest magic

The diversity of NZ and South Pacific bush and the forests of BC each hold a magic of their own. The dank, damp smell of soil and leaf decay evoke memories of childhood in the bush in Aotearoa. Tree rings record time, while the mosses in BC and Haida Gwaii defy time with their delicate beauty belying their resilience.

Cambodia

When I visited Cambodia in 2018, I was struck by the resilience and gentleness of Khymer who have experienced multiple religious and political changes across time. The forest is reclaiming many of the temples, which remain a testament to an ancient technology that was able to support millions of people.

enmesh

I am intrigued at the intricacy and energy that humans and other living things invest in netting their sustenance. In the case of humans, many time-honoured techniques have been passed down over generations. The images that follow are of a fisherman in Cambodia, a nearby fishing trap, a Khymer woman spinning a net (2), two different nets in Tofino BC (2), and fishermen in Halong Bay (Vietnam) and the Huangshan River in China.