02 November 2009

Tokeawa Stream, Pohangina valley

Tokeawa stream
Yesterday morning we walked down the road to the Tokeawa Stream. Bright sunlight danced over swift, shallow water, the patterns of light and shadow on the algal-covered rocks changing continuously like the moments themselves.

All content © 2009 Pete McGregor

7 comments:

Anne-Marie said...

I could stare at this photo for ages. The colours, the movement, are both hypnotic.

robin andrea said...

I don't know how you capture the movement of water so well. I've tried and my photos never have that sense of motion in them. I swear, I think of your photos every time I look through the viewfinder at a rushing body of water.

Lesley said...

A lovely abstract of something both solid and fluid. I think the sense of movement comes from all the oblique lines running in both directions and crossing one another.

pohanginapete said...

Thanks Anne-Marie. Moving water has greater power to hypnotise me than anything else I can think of.

Robin Andrea, thank you. That's quite a compliment :^) (Try a wide range of shutter speeds — they give different effects; some will work, many won't.)

Lesley, I agree, and I find it fascinating that those lines (other than the bright, squiggly reflections) have no real substance — they're nothing more than distortions of light.

Ruahines said...

Kia Ora Pete,
I concur with your words to Anne-Marie.
I just returned from two nights camped at Makieke stream. I had intended to camp up top, but I am afraid I have come to the end of large heavy packs and this bad hip. So I instead sat by that stream all day in the sun and contemplated what this means and still appreciated the fact I was simply in the Ruahine. The next day I climbed up to the tops with a much lighter load and then returned to my camp. I would never had contemplated that before, always passing through on my way to the tops, but it actually a very cool spot to sit and by hypnotized by the sounds of water.
We are fortunate to have many places like these on our doorsteps, some just harder to get to than others.
Cheers,
Robb

pohanginapete said...

Kia ora Robb. I assume you parked up at the foot of Knight's Track? It's a lovely spot there, and just the thought of being camped there makes me feel a bit wistful. Unfortunately I have a bad cold and a heap of assignments to mark, so I'll have to wait a little while. But I'm glad you got a few days out there, although it must have been frustrating and a bit melancholy to have been limited by that crook hip. Maybe the ultralight tramping approach might offer a partial solution?
Cheers Robb.

Ruahines said...

Kia ora Pete,
That is exactly where it was, just up on the highpoint around the bend heading upstream. It is really a nice little area to camp and roam a bit and I will do so again.
The ultimate solution to my hip is replacement and I have started that process for sometime early to mid next year. Just the extra weight of a tent and sleeping mat in addition to the normal stuff were enough to make walking unbearable. So it was somewhat wistful and melancholy. Hopefully all will go well and I will be back as good as ever, or else have kind mates willing to go slower and carry more!
Cheers,
Robb