A Moment of Light photography by Carl Street

I'll be honest and say that on the first of September I had a real concern there may not be any images for me to share by the time I got to the end of the month. After our epic trip to Denmark and Greenland with a few thousand images still to edit I just had no inclination to pick up the camera and add to my pile! So, for the first time in over three years I didn't pick up the camera everyday and hoped that at some point something would inspire me to pick it up again.....preferably before October ;-)

Well readers I am happy to report that inspiration did indeed come and it was when we found ourselves staying at the wonderful Department of Conservation grounds of Godley Heads. This is a peninsula that sits out just east of Christchurch and was used during the war as a base for gun emplacements and bunkers. Being quite high up on this spot gave great views across to Christchurch and out to the horizon and rising sun. It's an exposed spot so weather was changeable and we quite often found ourselves surrounded by cloud.......and that was my inspiration as the light playing on the hills was stunning. Suddenly the camera was out, batteries charged and a smile was on my face :-)

Godley Heads has some great walking tracks that take you through fields which were teeming with sheep and the ever comical spring lambs who tried very hard to be brave until a bleat from Mum would have them running back to her for safety and another feed.

After a couple of great weeks full of walking around the heads we hitched up and made our way to Mackenzie Country on our continuing journey south towards Mt Cook. Geraldine was our first stop followed by Fairlie. Geraldine starts to give you a glimpse of what is to come and then Fairlie really brings on the scenery with, at this time of year, Mt Dobson and surrounding peaks covered in snow, it really is breathtaking and reminds me of what awaits us when we get to Tekapo and beyond in October.

Some lovely chilled out walking around this area and, naturally, a visit to the stunning Fairlie Bakehouse whose pies are legendary throughout the country. I'll leave this months update with the memory of an amazing pork belly and apple sauce pie with perfectly cooked crackling sat on top......yummy :-). I may have to have another one before we leave the area and put in an image for October ;-). Until then, here are some images of our travels this month.

When you're not really in the frame of mind to take images then it is surprising what can take your eye.

We did have a couple of spectacular sunsets across the south of Christchurch before we made our way to Godley Heads.

Work is needed on some of the gun emplacements and these barbed wire fences are there to prevent access. Despite all the warning signs and obvious barricades there were still plenty of tourists who decided to access them anyway!

One of the many old buildings at Godley Heads and another walker enjoying the trail and views at the top of the path.

The Godley Heads track is very popular so it wasn't long before a couple walked through my frame of the hills beyond

The passengers on that flight would have had amazing views of the clouds and hills as they took off from Christchurch

A cargo ship added a nice element to a simple composition as they head off towards the horizon

I'm sure it's lovely to wake up and see the sun rising, however, I'd want my house on the other side of the hill enjoying the spectacular view of those mountains.....wow!

I was up early to catch the sunrise and, funnily enough, had the track all to myself which was very peaceful on this beautifully calm morning

Under that concrete room is a bunker looking out to sea. As I sat waiting for the sun to rise I wondered if the personnel stationed there during the war would think each morning that this could be the last sunrise that they saw.

With an hour or so walking ahead of him I suspect this guy got a little wet as it wasn't long before those clouds decided to bunch up and deposit the rain.

The light was constantly changing on this bit of coastline which quickly became my favourite view while at Godley Heads. Thankfully I didn't get caught in this bout of rain.

A double rainbow sat low in the valley

Beautiful light through the hills at Godley Heads.

Spectacular views from the Godley Heads coastal walk made even more interesting with the broken high cloud.....very dramatic

The lonely tree on the hill

Another of the old buildings from the war.

Father and daughter enjoy the weekend sunshine at Sumner Beach promenade

An interesting single lane road to tow our home along before getting to the Godley Heads site!

Another photographer contemplates the view across to Christchurch

Fairlie is dotted with old buildings and this one in particular caught my eye. Reminded me of old slide photos, hence the old style treatment.

As views go from the front window, this one is pretty special

And this was the view that greeted us from the door, just a 90 degree change in direction

A single layer of cloud sits above Mt Dobson (at least I think it's Mt Dobson).

A pause in a walk along the river and this ladybird decided to drop in for a photo