KARAMEA wild
... is a personal photo album and an outlet for an endless collection of images that this shutterbug is addicted to snapping. This is not about photography, neither myself nor my cameras are professional in any way, any half decent shots you may see here are down to the luck of circumstance in the moment. This is more about sharing a lifelong habit of snapping moments around me and my great love of the Karamea district and all the wild wonder that it holds. The term 'album' is also used in the loosest sense as I have lost control of the number and categories and images, years have passed by in my attempts to organise them and all I have is thousands more images.... so I have given up and here throw them at you in whatever fashion they fall on that day. I share just to share, with no objective, I am delighted if someone else enjoys to see some of the world I see. I do hope for those that live in Karamea some of these images may remind them of the treasures that we have here, and for those who have not yet discovered Karamea, I wish that joy for you in the future.
::This site is always under development and can change without notice.
Scenes of wonder
Karamea district holds a million scenes and different times of day and times of year make a million more, it is not possible to capture all that Karamea has to offer, for this amateur happy snapper it is a paradise of light and promise.
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:: you can click on these pics and move them around to look at them, double click to make them bigger, or delve deeper and click on the links for more pics and stories
Oh the colours!
It has always amazed that a flock of red and yellow and green birds can be flying around a drab brown field of dry grass and hardly be visible. The colours around us are amazing, but often you can only appreciate if when you can get a really close look or pause the movement for a moment, or when it lights up the whole sky.
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Winged wonderland
Karamea is a bird lovers wonderland. To the uninterested it might look like a block of pretty pastureland but to those high on twitching, it has to be one of the best regions in the country, such a range of environments in short distances and ease of access and observation.
The Littles !
The 'Littles' are the smallest residents of Karamea, the tiny beings who live busy, unnoticed lives, all around us.
These Littles are often misunderstood, sometimes feared and most frequently ignored. But when you stop and look closely, they turn out to be skilled engineers, patient hunters, tireless cleaners and excellent parents, just doing their best in a complicated world.
If you think you don't like insects, that is okay, you don't have to love them.... but just take a moment to meet some of them.
Whiskers on Kittens
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Layers
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new layers highlighted or made by mist or shadows,
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reflections,
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reflections of land in sky,
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slate blue sky,
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slate blue/grey sky with white clouds, sunsets when the sky is still blue,
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light that makes visible what is normally not visible,
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sunlight on storm clouds...
.....to name just a few.
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Webs of weirdos
Fungi are weird, that is all there is to it. They are classified scientifically into a realm of their own because they are not plant nor animal. Not only do some of their chemical properties hold boundless possibilities for the human mind and wellbeing; the way they operate in nature and communicate with each other and the environment around them is still one of the great mysteries of the natural world. Fungi are weird and fascinating, if you are interested in fungi, a whole universe of discovery awaits.
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The Visitors
Karamea has a friendly climate, enough that visitors often stick around for quite some time, with enough space and resources that domestic visitors can survive on their own for long periods. Over the years we have had many visiting species, some are seen just once, some are seen for a few weeks or months, some keep coming back for short periods. You just never know who you are going to meet in Karamea!
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Fluffies!
Fluffies abound in Karamea, different seasons see an abundance of birdy reproduction, you just have to find it! There are many that breed here that don't feature in these albums, because they are very secretive, but every season brings new opportunities and possibilities to track them down, without too much disturbance. Sometimes it can take 2 or 3 seasons to figure out where they might be and how to capture them on film without disturbing their activities... and sometimes you just see them every day when you drive past... you just never know in Karamea.