Exploration, half the art of landscape photography
One of the perks of this work is the thrill of discovering new places and an essential skill of any landscape photographer is knowing where the landscapes are. I spend as much time scrolling around on Google maps searching for interesting features or buildings as I do actually photographing them. One of the key attributes of my photos is that they make me ask questions about peoples lives, and so when I came across this unusual arrangement of abandoned WWII military buildings I was excited to make the hike out to learn more about them.
New Zealand is historically a peaceful country. Being tucked away here at the bottom corner of the map we tend to keep to ourselves for the most part. However that doesn’t mean wartimes didn’t leave behind an impression on our landscapes, they are just a little less obvious. Made to store weapons and ammunition as well as house soldiers, these structures were built to blend in to the environment to avoid bombings. Now abandoned and open to the public, they feel remarkably out of place in what is otherwise a stunning rural landscape here in Wellington.
We had our first heavy rain last week and it’s still very warm, so what was dry grass has just sprung back into life in an amazingly vibrant way. The soft light from the broken clouds made for a very colourful landscape that afternoon.
They are also incredibly almost completely free of graffiti, somewhat adding to the airiness of their dormant history. Having lived in Wellington my whole life I was surprised I had never known about this place. We have a handful of bunkers dotted around the city, often plastered in graffiti art and used for underground raves etc. Somehow this place seems to have slipped the cracks and avoided that fate. Anyways, I’m sure the sheep and the cows enjoy using them now to escape the wind and rain.
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