My plan was to drop the boys to Mark's work at around 4.30pm but as the afternoon was really quite lovely, we decided we'd scooter and ride a little way around the Parade for a Kaffee Eis gelato first.
These two really are chalk and cheese. Mr Always Chocolate on the left, Mr thought-I-was-getting-lemon-then-said-white-chocolate-then-threw-a-hissy-fit-when-it-wasn't-lemon on the right.
It was one of those glorious Wellington days that only Wellington knows how to put on. It was hard to tear myself away with the boys even if it was just for the ten minute round trip to drop them at Mark's work before I got down and dirty with the tripod in the sand.
Despite the glorious day, signs of winter were still clearly visible up the valley.
And even though these next shots could easily pass for a lazy late summer's evening, they were in reality taken at 4.30 in the afternoon not long before the sun disappeared for the day.
I still haven't used my 10-stop neutral density filter much yet so I figured I'd have a play with it. Basically it's like putting on very dark sunglasses for your lens. The result: wicked sunflare to capture the last light of the day.
And silky smooth waters to follow.
The shot below my favourite of the three, taken at about six seconds exposure.
I thought I should make use of the lovely fountain to frame some photos whilst it was still going so made my way back toward the spot where we'd eaten our gelato that just an hour earlier had been bathed in bright sunshine.
The seagulls were bobbing up and down near the shore and put on quite the entertaining show, raising themselves up high on their wings before diving under the water to grab what seemed to be an abundance of fish.
It must have been a glorious evening to arrive on the Interislander ferry.
The air so clear that the dusky pink sunset simply hung on and on in the air.
Up on the roof of the Bluewater Bar & Grill that has been many a different restaurant over the years, you get a pretty darn good spot for viewing the city. I mean, how's this for front row seats for the night show? All the rest of my photos below were taken from here, and I must remember it in the future as a great location for city scape shots.
This photo below reminds me in a small way of scenes from places on the Italian Amalfi coast like Positano or Sorrento.
Once the lights are turned on, the fountain glows in spectacular colour, the centrepiece to the glorious city light show behind.
It's not easy capturing the lights of the city while the sky is still so light behind but I do love this shot I caught after trying a few different settings.
I think this photo makes the city looks so much bigger and more built up than it really is. We are just ickle in the grand scheme of cities around the world. But I think that is exactly the appeal and why people rate Wellington so highly as a cool city to live!
Ah my city. Now quietening down for the night, as the salmon fades into royal blue.
Softly sleep now until morning.
