The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Sweet Hua Hin:

The ubiquity of it all!

The sea (The Gulf of Siam/Thailand) changes all the time. From misty . . . 

 . . . to picture postcard  . . . . .

 . . . to clear and azure . . . . .

. . . . and then stormy . . . .

. . . to the drama of an approaching storm . . . .

. . . to serene evening moods with cool breezes . . .

. . . followed by next morning's sun rise.

 . . . .  to memories of past storms.  Here we have the impermanence of wealth.

The mornings are my favorite times . . . . when the fishermen are out . . . .

 . . . and the boats head back in after a night's squidding . . . .

 . . . and when the tide is out, it is a nice time for a walk down the beach.

It is a good time of the year (The Damn Hot and Damn Wet Season) to photograph flowers. These are frangipani.

Yes, it is true even in nature: play with your stamen and you can twist it.

Incredible lotus flowers, a symbol of Buddhism, and my favorite flower.

Perfectly amazing color.

A tiny, complex world of colorful beauty.

Colorful. Purposeful. Beauty.

 Propagatory. The Lotus' universe.

Rust and vines.

Above - The map of our route and how many days we stayed in each place on our South Island, New Zealand Road Trip.  Yes, lots of driving, but incredible scenery all along the route.  Amazing natural beauty. See photo entries below, and in the Travel Photo Blog section.

Our road trip ended with a drive down New Zealand Highway 1 back to Christchurch -- the South Pacific Sea on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other.

Yes, a dolphin in Milford Sound! We saw so many wonderful things in New Zealand!

We saw a few things that left us scratching our heads too.  What the . . . . . .?

I was very enthusiastic about the photo opportunities in New Zealand, (Aotearoa) The Land of the Long White Cloud.

Incredibly clear and clean streams in New Zealand.

And, of course, I always love the flowers and plants.  This is a Rose of Sharon.

Incredibly beautiful flora! The Arrow Fern is the national plant of New Zealand.

New Zealand incredible wild berries.

We enjoyed many funky eateries . .  the food was always good.

Never ending beauty:

Alpine lakes along the highway crossing from Queenstown to the West Coast through the 'Southern Alps'.

-3c in the morning!

One afternoon we saw many rainbows!

Mountain stream and rainbow.

We were lucky with the weather. Other than the morning frost, every day has been beautiful.

One morning we hiked up to the Franz Josef Glacier.

The Tasman Sea . . . around every corner of the West Coast road.

Famous Pancake Rocks - West Coast, New Zealand.

A rough Tasman Sea.

Mt. Cook (Aorika), the highest point in New Zealand.

Waterfalls seemingly around every corner.

A very curvey and slippery road - New Zealand Highway 6.

And I caught a rainbow!

Invercargill to Te Anau to Milford Sound to Te Anau to Queenstown . . . perhaps the most beautiful road trip I have ever taken! Many, many photos to upload!

Old world.

Sunrise on the road from Te Anau to Milford Sound.

Morning in New Zealand's Southern Alps.

We took a cruise on Milford Sound.

The weather has been cold and alternately clear and foggy . . . wonderful winter moods.

The Victoria Railway Hotel in Invercargill, New Zealand has been continuously operated as a hotel since it was built in 1893.  The current owners have lovingly restored it to it's original charm and beauty.  I much prefer these old gems to any Hilton or a motel.

At -1c the old beauty looks great. Invercargill is the last stop on the rail road at the very southernmost tip of New Zealand's South Island.  If you were a British, or Scottish visitor, or immigrant, in the 1890s you would have reached the absolute farthest outpost in the English-speaking world: 12 time zones of longitude and over 90 degrees of latitude! You would have stepped of the train and walked across Levent Street to this very hotel.

The food in the 1890s dining room was fresh, honest, and tasty. Yes . . . .  if these walls could speak . . . .

In the old days this is where you would repair for a cigar after your meal and perhaps reminisced about the Old Country, and how far away from it you were.

What a perfect period perfect restoration!

A special mood permeates the Victoria Rail Road Hotel.