Status-Q

There are some really beautiful woods just outside Wellington.

I was on a tour visiting some of the sites used in filming the Lord of the Rings movies. Fans should picture Frodo yelling "Get off the road!":

or me saying "Ooof! I think I broke something!":

Mmm. One of the good things about being on the far side of the world is that you don't have to endure your friends' pitying looks.

Others won't have a clue what I'm talking about and should just enjoy the views of Wellington scenery:

Or this fine bust of Arthur Wellesley looking out over the city that bears his name:

This is Weta Workshop, where much of the LOTR magic was created:

And the boat used in King Kong:

Here's a photo of an architect's model:

Well, actually, it's not a model - it's a real church. It's part of an extraordinary series of photos by Keith Loutit showing views of his native Singapore; the architecture of which he describes as 'almost too perfect' in the newer housing estates.

He's used extremely shallow depths of field and tilt-shift lenses, and the result, I think, is reminiscent of a macro lens, or even of the way the eye focuses at close range, hence the feeling that you're looking at a model. It's accentuated by the fact you're viewing them from above; most of the photos are taken from the apartment tower blocks.

It's worth having a look at the others. I heard about this on Jeff Curto's Camera Position podcast.

Another beautiful National Trust property.

In case you’re wondering, it’s pronounced “item”!

Sheep and lambs on the Fairlawne Estate in Kent. They belong, or at least the grass they munch so assiduously belongs, to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

A rear view of Bateman’s.

I quite like this chap, seen this morning at Bateman's, Rudyard Kipling's former home.

Rose and I had a very pleasant weekend exploring parts of Kent and Sussex. I'll post a few more pics here over the next few days.

The sports fields behind the Ndiyo office were floodlit as I walked home tonight.

(Click for bigger versions - another view here)

Yesterday I came across this picture for the first time - it's Tom Rabon interviewing me at last year's FiRe conference.

I quite liked it.

I showed it to Rose and she said "It looks like you're talking to the plant! Perhaps that's why Tom's smiling?"

And now, of course, I can't look at it without thinking of that.

My commute to work is a short walk, past hedgerows like this. I'm a lucky guy.