Tag Archive for: Award winning photographer
Mary
Mary is 85, originally from Ireland. I chat with Mary every time we meet on my daily walks around Castor Bay. She was born in 1936 to a Catholic family of eight children (Mary was number five after four boys). Mary’s mom had to find a job when her father died and she taught orphans in a monastery. She wanted to be a teacher, but eventually found a job in a large department store in Belfast where she met Mary’s dad. Mary’s dad was an active member of the IRA (as you would) and when the conflict with the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 monarchy (God Save the Queen) ended, he became a policeman.👮♂️ “Those days women lost their jobs when they got married”. Mary wanted to become a nurse 👩⚕️ so went to England to study “it was free because the English government wanted the Irish girls to become nurses”. After getting married, Mary and her husband immigrated to New Zealand when she was 22. Knowing how to use a typewriter, Mary found a an office job when arriving to New Zealand. Five years later she had three kids who all live here. “Life was simpler then”, she says. “You would grow your own veggies in the backyard”. People need to move to the countryside. She apologised for holding the ☔ umbrella to protect from the rain.
The Gargoyle
I was determined to photograph the gargoyles that guard the Notre Dame cathedral in the heart of Paris. My first attempt failed when the guard said no more visitors for the day. My second attempt failed because the guards went on strike! This photo was taken on my third attempt to see these stone-monster marvels! Some of the gargoyles laugh, one spits, others look bored, feed on prey or they grimace. Standing stoic and proud, these mythical birds and hybrid beasts are eerie witnesses to history. Catching a personal glimpse of these silent grotesque creatures was one of the highlights of my visit to Paris, and well worth the 387 steps climb to the top when the cathedral is restored and opens to the public again. This one is actually a Grotesque. Gargoyles are the ones that spout water from the roof. These awesome creatures were added during the reconstruction of the church in the 1840s. When the Nazis invaded the country during World War II, the gargoyles stood strong, withstanding a four-day German siege on the church. This print was awarded Bronze medal at the NZIPP Iris Awards!
Dome of the Rock
located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and one of the three holiest Islamic shrines in the world. It was initially built in 691 on the site of the Second Jewish Temple and destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1023. Being one of Jerusalem’s most recognizable landmark it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to belief, the rock inside the mosque is the spot from which the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. Usually packed with tourists and locals, I was the only one to visit the site early morning when the forecast was for snow. It was so cold that there was no one on site and I could get a beautiful reflection off the wet marble stones just before the storm.