Fractions of a City - Wellington

I really love Wellington, it feels so self-assured and doesn't long or try to be like anywhere else. I made these images on a recent trip there and shot the vast majority of them on a new lens, which forced a more measured, restricted approach on me which was refreshing. Shooting cities is so interesting because they are such volatile environments. From day to day they constantly evolve, degenerate and grow. They are full of coincidences, chance meetings, idiosyncratic nuances and humour. You really just have to go for a walk with your camera, follow your intuition and the images make themselves. View the series HERE.

On the street

Two images that highlight how easily we overlook the interesting and idiosyncratic elements of our environments.

Wellington:
Auckland:

Wellington

Took my camera for a quick jaunt around downtown Wellington today. Made some images and these were a few of my favourites:

Image

Just a run of the mill, garden variety black hole.

Pair

I thought these two images went well together. Both were shot quickly without stopping, both with blissfully unaware and banal subject matter and both with questionably sharp focuses.

Moko Ink

A series of images I made whilst photo-documenting the start and (almost finish) of my friend Jaimie's 56 hour tattoo marathon. She was lucky enough to have two internationally renowned and highly respected artists collaborate on her piece: Inia Taylor (founder and owner of Moko Ink) and Xed le Head. It was a genuine privilege to have the opportunity to observe and shoot these two creatives at work and can only hope these photographs do their profound talent justice. View images HERE.

Siren - Ray Lee

"Siren is a whirling, spinning spectacle of mechanical movement, electronic sound and light. A forest of large metal tripods, up to 3m tall, have rotating arms that spin around, powered by electric motors. Hand built electronic tone generators power loudspeakers at the end of each arm, creating an extraordinary sonic texture of pulsing electronic drones. Small LEDs at the end of the arms trace circles of light as the arms rapidly rotate, creating a compelling visual image."

My fellow photographer friend Mario and I recently viewed a 'Siren' performance. We both took our cameras and took the opportunity to make some images. The ambient lights were turned on for the majority of the performance, so we only had a small window of darkness to experiment in. Interesting, the differences in our photographs. Click HERE to view our images.

Photoblog

There's a proliferation of boring, cliched flower imagery on the internet. I'd like the think the interesting perspective and subtle, washed out colour palette of this photograph stops me from adding to it.

Squid Lookbook

The answer to the age old question: "What does a squid look like when it's in deep thought"? To see the rest of his 'looks' click HERE.

Photoblog

I think this is a really fun, playful photograph. It's almost as if it's smiling at you saying "have a nice day".

This Is Nota Love Shop

'This Is Nota Love Shop' is a vintage clothing store on Auckland's K Road with it's own distinct character. My thanks to the friendly shop assistant for allowing me to make some images in her store. To view the series of images please click HERE.

Photoblog

An image that politely requests interpretation.

Lasers

Forget about space travel, the wheel, numerous life saving vaccines or the Internet. Smoke machines and lasers are pretty much the crowning achievement of mankind thus far. For further evidence supporting this theory click here.

A poem

Haven't penned many thoughts lately but this is today's offering.


Wannabe

I am

a want to be,
not a want to not.
If you're not a want to be,
what are you?

I don't

want to be
what already is
or
what's already been.
I want to be
what you've never seen.

I try

to follow the footsteps
of who I know
I can be.
Leaving behind
who I was,
when I wasn't.

- Jw

Light Memorial

One of my favourites from a collection of surreal abstractions called "Light Memorial". Please click here to view the rest of the images.

Photoblog

I enjoy this photograph because without anything to reference it's difficult to gauge the scale of the subject matter. For me the image has a peaceful, clean feel to it and almost invites you to touch it with its smooth, waxy appearance.

The Mantis

One of my favourite insects visiting my window, conveniently contrasting its green body against the blue background. Could be time to clean the window though.

Voyeurism

Years of voyeuristic people watching have honed my ability to translate body language. This is what I like to call a 'fusion of expressions'. In laymen's terms he's saying "Is that guy with the camera taking a photo of me?" coupled with "If he is, I wish I hadn't dropped my greasy hamburger down the front of my shirt".

Found

I found this in my mums garden and can only assume it used to be mine when I was a kid, which means it's been in the garden for at least 15 years. I like the idea of finding a lost relic from my childhood.

Ayn Rand - Food for thought.

I really enjoy old Mike Wallace interviews. Here Ayn Rand is interviewed by him in 1959. They discuss her self contrived philosophy, objectivism and how it related to the then current political, economic, moral and religious climates. Whilst some of her views and opinions are harder to swallow than others, she seems to have the courage of her convictions and does make some exceedingly valid points, arguing them in an intelligent, logical and eloquent manner. I for one am going to add some of her books to my to read list, food for thought if nothing else!

Photoblog

Oops, I think I used the wrong white balance settings on my camera. Ah well.

Photoblog

Little things...

What is life without the time to stop and notice all the small things that make it beautiful?

For example:

The sun filtering through a canopy of trees, falling selectively onto a group of leaves and illuminating them, but nothing else.



The way a tree, even on it's deathbed, decays in an aesthetically pleasing manner and starts to greatly resemble Mars' landscape.

An image that almost allows you the smell of salty air, the warmth of summer on your sun-kissed skin and the feel of a crisp sea breeze at your back.

A sunflower that has forgotten it's supposed to be yellow, acting as a small pocket of colour resistance on an otherwise grey city street.


There's really so much to enjoy if you stop and take the time to do so.

Matariki - Light Paintings

I just reworked this gallery and it is possibly my favourite collection to date. I was lucky enough to be involved in a shoot celebrating Matariki (Maori New Year) for Maori Television. The set was ace-rad and I wanted to make the most of the opportunity to create some engaging images. View the collection of highly experimental, surreal and unapologetically self indulgent photographs, here.

Tree Spectre

My camera had a bad trip and got caught in a hauntingly illuminated, spooky forest of tree spectres. I wasn't actually there but it looks intense.

View all the images, here.

Photoblog.

Sometimes I end up with photographs that I really enjoy but I can't put my finger on what it is about them, this is one of those. Was sitting in my friends apartment on K road having a cup of tea and people watching with a longish lens, documenting blissfully unaware strangers when I made this image. Note the subtle co-ordination of her shoes and purse.

See ya 'round.

If you spread yourself
too thin
you become
transparent.

A slice of toast
with too little
butter
is just dry bread

&

no-one likes dry bread.

When you have too
much on your plate,
you may drop something
precious
and not realise
until you need it.

A friendship held
by the thin thread
of a shared past
is nothing more

than a memory.


- Jw

Prints

Nobody likes a criminal with boring walls. Avoid the long arm of the law and purchase some art from me. Even if you're in prison already you can buy a print for your cell wall, at least then you won't be breaking any more laws and you'll have something to stare longingly at until your liberty is reinstated.

e-mail me: jameswatkinsphotography at gmail.com
and we can e-discuss your options.

A photograph

A photograph

I really enjoy this photograph. It has a gritty, cinematic feel to it and reminds me of scene from an arthouse movie or nightmare where you are forced to blindly drive around a dangerous corner into a black void of intrigue and suspenseful obscurity, or something like that....

Was taken at about 2am on a chocolate with hallucinogenic properties inspired bike ride. Immediately after this photograph was made, I roared like a lion and rode down a HUGE and outrageously steep hill with no brakes on my bike. It was really genuinely scary, dangerous and one of those cliched "I feel so alive" moments.