SURFFEST SCREENINGS & Feestix Draw

It's that time of year! Drag your friends and family along to see this years fantastic entry's into the NZ Amateur Surf Film Festival.

Check out the website for where and when the nearest screening will be for your region. All proceeds from this event are going to Surf Aid international.

AUCKLAND: 7.30 Thursday 24th Windsor Cafe, 550 East Coast Road, Mairangi Bay. $5

NEW PLYMOUTH: Monday 28th September, 5.30pm at Breakers Cafe & Bar. $5 *not Friday as previously advertised.

WHAKATANE: Friday 25th September, 7pm at 33 Melville Drive. $5

GISBORNE: Sat 3 October, 7.30pm at The Dome Theatre, Poverty Bay Club, Childers Road. $10 adults $5 grommets

DUNEDIN: Venue: St Clair Boardriders Club Friday 25th Sept @ 8pm ENTRY ON DONATION- Please give generously!

Also the draw for the FEESTIX board to raise money for Sea Shepherd. Will be 3 bands playing, spot prizes and the draw of the Feestix board.

WELLINGTON - NATIONAL FINAL!
The top two films from each region will be entered into the National Finals to be in for a chance of the grandprize!

The national Prize giving will be held in Wellington on
Friday 25th September at 7.30pm, venue: The Pines at Houghton Bay.
Entry fee: $10 Adults, $5 Grommets. $30 Families

Winners will be notified.

Educational signs being put in place at beaches

From the Otago Daily Times By Ellie Constantine on Wed, 23 Sep 2009

Information signs, like this one at John Wilson Ocean Dr, are being erected at Dunedin beaches to educate the public and encourage them to pay more attention to their surroundings. This particular one (at left) was designed by Solomon Baldock as part of a Sea Week competition.

Dunedin City Council parks officer Renee Gordon said yesterday signage was going up now at council-managed beaches, and had already been erected at Tomahawk, Brighton and Waikouaiti. The frames of the signs were made to allow the sticker-based signs to be changed easily so relevant issues could be highlighted.

Ms Gordon said existing signs encouraged visitors to take their rubbish with them, but if sea lions were to become an issue, for example, signs could go up informing the public to stay clear of the animals.

"Hopefully, it will make people pay a bit more attention," she said.

Time in the Water

Above: Jimi Crooks, below left: Matt the super grom, and right: Jay finding some quiet time.

SEPT. EQUINOX: Today, Sept. 22nd at 2118 UT (5:18 pm EDT), the sun crosses the celestial equator. This event marks the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere. It's also the beginning of aurora season around the poles. Happy equinox!

Larnachs Castle

Yes, I know, another non-surf post.

I did get out in the weekend though, but haven't processed the photos yet.. tomorrow.

For work on Thursday we did a day trip up the peninsula to Larnachs Castle which is the only inhabited castle in New Zealand.
The Dunedin City council has this local residents passport promotion going, that you can get in to the castle for 30% off and get a free hot drink. Heaps of other local touristy promotins in there, like Swell Cafe (Enjoy either: a tea and coffee with half-priced baked goods, half-priced dessert with your main meal or your first drink at half price.) What cool about the passport cover picture is the scotsman in kilt holding a thruster. I hope to visit and document as many of them as I can over the next few months. Remember.. don't leave the city till you'e seen the sights. Check out www.dunedindifference.co.nz

Dunedin Passport is a booklet of a range of restaurant, tourism attraction and accommodation offers from participating businesses and tourism operators throughout Dunedin city.
Passport holders are also entitled to enter in a prize draw to win $1500 worth of rates relief.

Top: looking down the Otago Harbour towards Dunedin City from close to the castle. Above: the traditiional view of the castle. below: two alternative views, from the back at right, and from the side. You are not allowed to photograph inside the castle, but it is an incredible work of art. one of the ceilings to three people 6 years to carve working full time!



Above: kaka Beack flower with castle behind, and the view from the top of the turret looking towards the entrance of the otago Harbour, Harbour Cone to the right.

Hollow Board Dogs

Jay picked up an old hollow core fibreglass longboard last month.
Its been out for a few test drives, the first one, the seams split, and it took on water.
A bit of a novelty, but it seems to go well.

Top image, is the board on top of the No Dogs sign st the entrance to Brighton Beach from the top Domain.
Brighton, Aramoana and St Clair Beaches have a no dogs allowed policy enforced by the DCC.
Most abide by this, but some don't and it affects both the people using the beach, and the wildlife. I had a bit of a talk to the local paper, the Taieri Herald, who ran a bit of an informative story on it a few weeks back. Shocking phot of me!

New Card Designs

I designed up some new business cards, as I had run out of the last lot. They are set up to print on a 6x4 photo with three 'cards' on each photo. A mixture of artworks and photos of wildlife, surfing, lineups and empties.

Stripping down another level now

looks like Blackhead quarries are stepping it down another level, and have bugun cutting away yet another layer of the headland.

UPADTE 18th September
Below is a copy of the 1991 Covenant on Blackhead, photographed not scanned as promised, my scanner died.

Below: photos from today... the rock breaker machine is fully into it with a few more bites out of the south face

Daisy Thomas wins Cleo Young Achiever Award!

A big congrats goes out to Christchurch surfer Daisy Thomas who has taken out CLEO's Young Achiever Award in association with Neutrogena for 2009.

Twenty-year-old Daisy beat out some strong competition from five super-talented young women — a singer/songwriter, youth worker, glaciologist and author — to win the $5,000 prize money to help fulfill her dreams.

Not only is Daisy aiming to win the World Title at the ISA World Surfing Games this year but she also wants to open her own training school for up-and-coming surfers in her area.

"I am often thinking up new projects but would love to develop a business and give the kids in the area I grew up surfing, the opportunities to fulfill their talents and reach for the stars," she says.

She also has ambitions to help the environment, get into travel journalism and learn Spanish.

"Life throws all sorts at you so I set goals and go hard for them," Daisy told CLEO. "But I am also flexible with opportunities that may need to be taken up along the line."

You can learn more about Daisy in the September issue of CLEO magazine, on sale now.

By Cleo staff

Three New Artworks

Priced to sell, get in early for christmas, if you are interested in purchase please email Nic at phoam.arts (at) gmail (dot) com - postage within NZ $10 2 day courier

Uposted Empties

It has been over a week since I posted some surf shots.. with being away, and also the flatness that engulfed the coast the last week.

So here are a selection of unpublished empties from various breaks around Otago the last few months.

Memorial Mosaics

Arrived in Ashburton via bus on Wednesday night to stay with Amber for 5 days. Yesterday it was her 20th Birthday, we spent the day going around a few op shops, nothing but rubbish, so saved a few $$ there.

I was keen to get Amber into a new hobby, so bought up a mosiac kit for her, damn my pack was heavy! Our first project was to make some memorial plaques for our lost loved guinea pigs. My beloved Floyd, and her recently passed Amma. Above: we designed the blocks to go on large pavers. here we have got as far as laying out the letters.

Hi caity! missing you babe, hope your science exam was better today than you thought.

Update 12th Sept09:

Below: more progress... Amber working on Ammas, you can see hers in the reflection in the window. And to her left, the plastic tray she bought today to keep all her cut pieces in. Just waiting now for the adhesive layer to dry for 24hours, and we should be able to grout tomorrow arvo.

Update 13th September::
completed.

Bad News at The Cove

The Taiji Dolphin Hunt Begins. Eight days later than usual, but still arriving, this year's seasonal dolphin killing has begun at Taiji with about 50 pilot whales and 100 bottlenose dolphins being driven into the cove. this morning

http://tinyurl.com/CoveHunt

Update 15th September 2009
from the Otago Daily Times

70 dolphins released ... following an international outcry.

The released dolphins were part of a catch of about 100 on September 9. The Taiji fishing association had said it would sell about half to aquariums and set the rest free.

The town has said it is unclear if it will continue to release dolphins.

read full article here

Blog Reader Share

Some useless information about the blog readership from sitemeter.
Got a good readership in North America going, interesting only 2% in Australia.

If you are an overseas viewer, pop in to the comments and say gidday!

I also spent ages a few weeks ago going through my old posts from all of 2006 re-formating them, because back then I didn't really know what I was doing.
Comparison below: before on the left, after on the right

Blackhead Boulder Beach

Taken during my 'rock hopping' post about three weeks ago, erosion at Blackhead Beach.
Compare to this post

Pic below a photo I saved off the net sometime in the past, apologies I don't know who took the photo. When there was sand.

I am, and I'm sorry

I just can't sort myself to find my way out of a paper bag, actually a few would tell me to keep the paper bag over my head.
I have let a bunch of people down recently, I am sincerely sorry, but I do have a pathetic excuse.

I could call it creative procrastination, but I'm just wired this way, this is how my personality works.. which on occasion is there to sabotage my best intentions and the other 95% of my work .

How it works, or doesn't work:
For me, inspiration to create most things comes not at my own will but just at random times from an abstract thought-image or from an offhand request that sparks one of these. This ball of inspiration/energy just moves through me regardless of what else needs to be done. And I just act and do it like its my next breath.
If for example if I am painting or editing film most times it is not me actually doing it. I can at these times just sit back and watch the creative process unfold.. the unthinking mixing of colours and my brush hand polluting the canvas at just the right spot endlessly. Or the rhythmic cutting and applying of motion to music that tends to just gel at the end to some master plan that I could never have thought of. This happening when occurring is not actually me, but some other force which grabs the project with both hands and feet and runs [with] it. Sometimes only to a certain point. On occasion when I stop to have a breather or wake up the next day or week, the drive/inspiration is all gone and my relationship to the work is like a first grader looking at Einsteins blackboard. I have no idea what I'm doing and how to complete it. This is why I have so many unfinished canvasses and so many 'short films' still in the editing suite.

Thing is, I'm trying to make my way in some little corner labeled 'The creative works of Nic Reeves' - So many times I have just wanted to throw it all in and get a full time job because there is at times just too much anguish, Im too broke and I know I am doing it all wrong. I feel that I could or should be making some kind of headway, but alas it appears I am inadvertently a better self-sabotager than a productive self-marketer.

However, I do enjoy making this blog, it seems the only consistent thing in my life that I can continue to apply my creativity and passions to without fucking it up too much (until I made this post). I at least have some creative control with the photography, but not with stupid computers.

I am right now working to finish through sheer self will, the 2085ks to the beach DVD in my 2 weeks off my part time work while our premises are being remodeled.

For sure, put me in the loony bin, but this is who I am. I'm sorry to those who have prepaid for the DVD and are waiting... I will finish it.