Wednesday 21 October 2015

2 Funerals and a Friend

This last week I have attended two funerals.  Last week was for a very good man, Steve Skinner.  He passed away in a road accident on the 5th October 2015.  He is survived by his wonderful wife Denise and two children Holly and Kaya.  I dedicated this photo in memory of Steve as I was fortunate to stop by Moeraki Boulders on the way up, enjoying the salt water and sand on my bare feet and the serenity of being in a special place with no one around.

 Dedicated to Steve Skinner who passed away on the 5th October 2015
This image is dedicated to Steve Skinner

It was a day trip up and down.  Driving back to Dunedin, my Sister called to let me know my God Mother had passed away that day.  Beverly Macleod was 85.  Steve was 45!  I stopped on the beach for a walk.  It was cold, windy and grey now.  Not like the morning.  And as I felt the chill of the sand squeeze between my toes, it was all a bit much.  The image below is dedicated to Bev and all my close family from my recent trip north, to attend her funeral.

 Dedicated to Beverly MacCloud
This image is dedicated to Beverly Macleod

There are no comparisons between each event.  Nothing could ever come close, yet there are similarities.  It has struck me how important it is to attend funerals if you can.  I understand it is not always possible, yet, it is important.

The two events have affected me profoundly.  To say the least it has been an important reminder that going to funerals are very important.  Why?

The main aspects I think are:
1. It serves as an action of respect for that persons life, who they stood for (warts and all).
2. It is a celebration of their life, what they have done and love they have shared throughout this period.  In some way they have touched you, and it is vitally important to reflect and rejoice in their life, once been.
3. It is about remembering that person and etching the love shared into your heart
4. Finally it is about you living the grief of that loss.  In my view it is to self indulgent and selfish to continue this grief and wallow in it, however we all have to have that time (and there is no set time for this) where we we must grieve and then be able to move on to spending more time to celebrate that persons life and what wonderful things they did within ours and other lives.

Death, like life is part of the deal and western society does not deal with it that well  - I believe.  We need to talk about it more, and grasp an acceptance and what it means for each of us.  The one thing we all have is; the ability to share love and kindness to each other, saviour the richness of life, embrace the adventure and appreciate every little second we have on this fragile planet.  Do what you can to make a difference to others, and never take it for granted.  Don't hold grudges - let go, but have conversations that matter.  This included embracing and living the crappiness of what life throws at you too.  Life is not meant to be easy, and I would be disappointed if it was.  All of it is fantastic.  It's what you make of it that matters.

Funerals do bring people together.  What struck me was the catching up that goes on and this is a good thing.  We do need to make an effort to keep in contact, however weddings and funerals are such occasions that makes people re connect.  This is good!  I saw such wonderful people again that I had not seen in years at Bevs funeral.  It was fantastic to see Warren, David, Julie again and their families and neighbours from the past like Mrs Duffy at 93.  Wow!

One aspect of the last two weeks that have been incredibly important is the support I have had from my partner Jo.  I only hope I can do the same.  She has made the difference and thank you so much Jo xx.

Good luck

Andy Thompson

Sunday 18 October 2015

Central Dunedin Street Art

Travelling around Dunedin city, I have always noticed and admired the stunning and beautiful art that is on the sides of buildings.  I marvel at the incredible size and wonder how the heck does anyone paint such images?  It must take amazing spacial awareness with size, textures, having to deal with a canvas that is often irregular, has windows and pipes in odd places, while trying to deal with colors and daily weather.
'Giant Native Tutara'

So one day I stumbled across an article that my daughter Jessica Thompson-Carr had written for the critic.  As a father sometimes I seem to be the last to know, however none the least I was ecstatic at what she had written.  Of course when I quized Jess about it - she played it down and said she was done in a hurry.  Not me... it was wonderful and I was so proud of her.  You can check it out at http://www.critic.co.nz/features/article/5190/painting-the-town  

This gave me an idea!  I am obsessed with photography and always have been, however this year had decided to take it up a few gears and invest in much better equipment.  I had started a gallery and only recently purchased my own domain name. (www.andythompsonphotography.co.nz) .  So I decided that I would start a photographic project to celebrate the images around Dunedin.  Also with the idea to link this to Jessica's article.  It took me a few months, however finally I made a start.  Well little did I know it was going to grow!

Investigating these wonderful images opened a whole new door.  Firstly I started interpreting the art with my camera in my own way - capturing images that attracted me.  Processing each photo to ensure it did the art work justice.  I also found a little about the artists - not much though - yet?  But through this project it was opening my eyes to all the nooks and crannys of Dunedin visual street art.

All photos have been collected while biking around, finding the right time of day and photographing them, bring them back and processing each image.  I still have so many more to collect, however the experience is enlightening and I have now started another project on the street art around the Dunedin Harbour.  That's my next blog to write with new stories.  I hope you enjoy scrolling through these.  And remember to take a moment to consider the work and effort that has gone into these and marvel at their creation.  They may not be there forever so saviour the images.  Hopefully my gallery may serve as a celebration remembrance to these wonderful creations.

Andy Thompson
Photography NZ