Raffi

I am very constrained with respect to my photography at the moment, as we have an 8 week old silver standard poodle pup that requires a lot of attention to burn off the energy. We have taken a weeks holiday to adjust and are down to Victor Harbor to help ease him into our routines. Despite the high energy the places that we can go to are limited.

Raffi, Victor Harbor
Raffi, Victor Harbor

I’ve pretty much lost the early morning photography as I am walking Raffi along the foreshore to get him used to the life of the seashore whilst Suzanne walks Ari. Then I am walking Ari and Raffi in the early evening.

along Rundle Mall

The hot weather in Adelaide has continued. It’s been unpleasantly hot these last few days. Even the southern coast at Victor Harbor has offered little relief. Normally it is about 8-10 degrees cooler.

This photo of shop mannequins in Rundle Mall was made the day before we picked up Raffi, our new silver standard poodle pup, from the airport, and drove down to Victor Harbour.

mannequins, Rundle Mall
mannequins, Rundle Mall

The photo was made in the early morning whilst I was on my way to the IMVS clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for my yearly blood test.

hidden treasures

We are experiencing a week of high temperatures in the mid-to high 30’s C in Adelaide at the moment.

Cacti, Adelaide
Cacti, Adelaide

That means the buildings and pavement in the city retain their heat in the early evening, we live and work in the buildings with the airconditioners running most of the time, and we avoid walking around the city during the heat of the day.

filling in time

I had an hour to fill in this morning whilst I waited for new lenses to be put into the old frames of my glasses. So I wandered around the CBD with my digital camera looking at the shops in and around Rundle Mall, the CBD’s premier shopping strip.

$59.95
$59.95

Nobody was buying. Some of the fashion shops were empty. The shop assistants looked bored. A few of the fashion chain shops had closed. Plenty of people were having coffee with friends and colleagues though.

empty shops

One of the things that we keep on coming across on our poodlewalks in the CBD are the empty shops and offices. They seem to be everywhere we walk. Does that suggest that small business is doing it hard because consumers are not spending?

empty shop
empty shop

Some of the signs on the windows say that some of the small businesses are moving out of the CBD to the inner suburb, presumably due to the lower rents. I would think that others would have gone into debt and they have to sell up. The dreams become nightmares. The economy is not booming and the job opportunities are no longer abundant.

However, what I do notice is that the empty shops are not being filled with new tenants. They remain empty for long periods of time. What does that mean for the CBD’s economy? Is it structurally changing? Or are people just hanging on?

Gouger Street

I wandered around the Adelaide Central Market precinct on Friday morning trying to make sense of all the activity as a photographer. The neon lighting inside the market makes it very difficult to make photos of the fruit and vegetables in the stalls, so I tend to hang around just outside the market.

Zuma, Gouger St
Zuma, Gouger St

I mostly avoid pictures of people as I am not a street photographer. I search for the more off beat images or for subject matter that would be suitable for making abstractions:

‘a slight mistake’

A phone call from my pro-lab. There’s been a slight mistake made. We have crossed processed your colour negative film (C-41 process) as slide film (E-6 process). My heart sank. So much time and effort had gone into making those photos. I quickly went down to have a look. The negatives have an image–they’ve been exposed okay and there were no light leaks–but they look very orange.

The picture below was taken on an early morning poodlewalk. A similar one was made with the 5×4.

yellow buoy, American River
yellow buoy, American River

The 5×4 negatives have been given to the pro-lab’s scanning and art department to see if they can be rescued.

it is hot

The day dawned warm and bright. I was down at the jetty area by 6.15am, but the light was already intense, even though the sun had just risen above the hills. The wind was warm rather than cool. The day promised to be unpleasantly hot.

So I just sat on the edge of the jetty and made some sea abstracts, with both digital and medium format film cameras:

sea abstract #1, American River
sea abstract #1, American River

I gave up after 20 minutes as the light was becoming too harsh. It was a pity because the rocks, seagrass and the strong tidal current were providing good possibilities for abstractions.

at Redbank, American River

We returned to Redbanks, the cliffs on the Kangaroo Island side of Backstairs Passage, tonight for a 5×4 shoot along the cliffs. Though it was a 5×4 shoot we turned it into a bit of a picnic–wine and nibbles—whilst I waited for the light to soften.

Suzanne, Redbank, American River
Suzanne, Redbank, American River

It was very pleasant watching the dolphins cruise by, waiting for the light and soaking up the moment, knowing that the heat will return tomorrow.

bird sanctuary walk

American River is charming as well as picturesque and peaceful. It teems with bird life and has interesting, low profile walks along the edge of Eastern Cove. Both the northern (Red Bank) and southern sides (Pennington Beach) of the island are easily accessible.

bird sanctuary walk, American River
bird sanctuary walk, American River

It is a little world unto itself that allows one to relax and unwind. It’s a gem of a place. Yet Kingscote, the main main town, is close by, if and when you need household supplies.