Three Kings, 2003 I moved to Balmoral in 2001 and became immediately intrigued by the many sleeping volcanoes that populated my neighbourhood. The suburb of Three Kings, which I knew very little about, began to quietly work its magic on me. It depicts a quieter Auckland, where tall fences don’t exist, great grassy lawns reign, ‘bach-like’ architecture is prolific and an older sense of place is tucked away. I had never seen the Winston’s Three Kings Quarry before and was rather surprised at the size and scale of this hole in the ground, so close to the city centre and still in operation. Its presence raised many questions in my mind, and added another layer of insight and enquiry to an already complex, unique area of central Auckland. Why night photography? Digital photography has opened many intriguing avenues for photographers, promoting new ways of seeing in a way that was previously technically unachievable. I was interested in investigating how this new technology had surpassed the sensitivity of conventional film products in low light conditions, digital no longer being subject to the well-known (to photographers at least) problem of film reciprocity failure. I believe these images have produced a new way of seeing, which the viewer will see evident in the relative lack of movement of the stars, light from unimaginable distances away, in context to the rest of the images exposure and content. Three kings is a contemporary expression of New Zealand’s on going interest in the peculiarities of it’s own burgeoning urban landscape, exemplified by the gentle but penetrating vision of Robin Morrisson.
All images in ‘Three Kings’ were taken at night making use of available (moon)light. The exhibition consists of 38 images, reproduced on Fuji Crystal Archive Digital Paper from raw digital 18mg files taken on a SLR Canon EOS D10 camera. |
