Back

And just like that, I’m back in the motherland (that’s Singapore, for the uninitiated). I haven’t written a whole lot about New Zealand for several reasons. I’ve never been great at blogging on the go. It takes time for this little brain to process the constant new inputs and fit them into the picture-in-progress before…More

Bethells Beach

At one of of Bethells Beach is a cave that yawns into the barrier cliffs, a magnificent respite from the long awaited summer everyone is celebrating, except you, and your singed equatorial skin.More

By any other name

You know, I’m really not a flower person. I like flowers well enough where they naturally occur, but I would be a bit horrified to be presented a bouquet of the things, artfully arranged for the blushing beauty queen mincing down an aisle in slinky bindings and hobbles, an ensemble popularly known as “dress and…More

Len Lye Centre, New Plymouth

A triplet, from the Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth, experiencing the works of its namesake, the extraordinary artist Len Lye. I started doing these batch-of-three things for fun on Instagram, then wondered why I wasn’t doing them on the blog, since I like my blog better than any of my social accounts. Not that…More

Pukekura Park

This movie is the beginning of something I’ve been feeling a need to do, wanted to do for years. Made in the lush sanctuary that is Pukekura Park in New Plymouth, it is about watching the change of light on leaves, being absorbed by the forest and those tall, rushing trees, and the magnificence of…More

Simplr Strap

A year or so ago, I wrote a little story about a Domke camera strap, reposted here. I’ve always been a fan of hardy gear, because I’m a klutz, and despite my best efforts (and believe me, I try very hard) everything I use regularly gets pretty well beaten. When the strap in that post…More

Glimpses of Mt Taranaki

New Plymouth, October 2017 “There’s an enormous volcano somewhere behind those clouds,” Flemming said, as we drove out of New Plymouth towards our home for the week, in the verdant foothills of what a grim blanket of cloud that day. Gary luxurious “Shed” is in a section of the Taranaki region that used to be…More

Karekare Beach

Auckland, October 2017 …is where Oscar winning The Piano was filmed. When Sherry and Jeff brought me there in 2012, it was a gusty grey day. It is how I remember Karekare beach. And it was grey again when I returned on this trip. Fog roiling on the peaks of the mountains that guard the…More

Gannet colony, Muriwai Beach

Auckland, October 2017 The gannet colony at Muriwai Beach, an hour or so outside of Auckland, was an accidental discovery. Flemming and I had headed to Muriwai on a location scouting mission. It quickly turned into a bird watching one. There is a cliff walk on the south end of Muriwai, where we observed several…More

Scenes From a Week in Auckland

Auckland, October 2017 Auckland city probably deserved more time than I gave it, but between volcanic beaches, fifty-something volcanoes in the metropolitan area, and arresting scenery spitting distance from the city center, it was hard to want to be downtown. Having just spent four solid months in crowded, uber urban Singapore, all I want at…More

Black sands

Auckland, October 2017 Five years ago I transited in Auckland with my friends Sherry and Jeff for a couple of days, on our collective way to the USA. They brought me to the volcanic beaches of Karekare, Piha and Te Henga. At some point in those 2 days I decided I really, really wanted to…More

On the bus to KL

When I was growing up in Singapore, trips to Malaysia happened several times a year. Both my folks, being originally Malaysian, have family there, and my Dad also went game fishing in Malaysian waters all the time. It remains, for me, a place of myth and magic. Every supernatural tale I’ve heard originated there. These…More

Beyond is 4 today

Ahhhh, good times in New Mexico! Flemming and I launched this little film (our first filmmaking collaboration) 4 years ago. I miss the complete abandon with which this movie was made, back when I didn’t know anything about making movies, but was all: “There are epic landscapes. I have a willing movie star. Said movie…More