Mike Riversdale

On our way to Rarotonga , weird that it's out of order but timezones and the like, or something. (it won't be all sunrises and sunsets, promise)

This photo is almost too good to be true, however this is straight from the camera on our first night in Rarotonga as the world displayed itself. Absolutely gorgeous ... never happened again during our stay, LOL.

My theme for the year labeled 2024 is " foundational ". I'm sure it's an age thing, maybe it's an experience thing, perhaps it's even a maturity thing, but it's time for me be a different person for the next 30 or so years. I've done the growing up years, the adventure years, and the family years, now it's time for something different. So 2024 needs to give me a different stage upon which those years can play. The foundation needs to set me up for how I want to be, who I want to be with, choices and options I want to be able to have in the future, and a solid base from which to be. What's your theme? This video was my mid-2021 inspiration for thinking in terms of themes:

A trip to Rarotonga should be on everyone's bucket list and I was lucky enough to spend 6 days there , which tbh is about enough time unless you're all about sand baking and fish viewing. Over the coming days we're all gonna see the choicest of photos from the Rarotonga holiday - let yaself be immersed in a Cook Islands holiday. Seriously though, do go visit .

Our pocket computers are astounding and the quality of photos one can get with them blows my mind. Google Pixel 7 Pro f / 3.5  •  1/91  •  19.00 mm  •  ISO34

A long running irregular quiz on Twitter (before it's collapse) was me taking a slightly off kilter photo of somewhere and asking my followers, "Where is Mike?"

Whatever you identify as. Whatever type of beer you like. Whatever sport floats your boat. Whatever clothes you like wearing. Whatever work you do. Whatever colour your skin is. Whatever your past. Whatever part of the world you live in. Whatever your origin. Whatever gods you believe in. Whatever ... I'm the same as you.

The sunrise in Auckland was extra special on that particular day. Lahverly.

Sit back and relax into the big fluffy clouds as they slowly edge their way closer and closer to each other.

An amazing time at the Palmerston North Festival Of Colour in 2023 . We were all covered in paint and coloured powder just like everyone else and when we walked into a pub full of Kiwis pretending to be Irish (for it was St Patrick's Day as well) the looks were golden.

My one life hack is the cardboard Christmas tree lights non-tangle tool

What is the word for hills like these, the faded out, flat feeling hills? I ❤️ photos that capture hills like this which is why I'm sharing 3 today. I will buy a coffee to the first person that correctly let's me know that word as it's annoying the bejesus out of me not knowing.

My 2023 birthday celebration was one of the best. By sheer coincidence me and my housemates had birthdays within a week of each other and so the combined event brought together so many awesome people. I have, of course, a tonne of photos from that day/night and amongst my favourites is a mate, a brilliant photographer, taking a snap combined with her actual photo. Gorgeous.

ALT text: Close-up selfie of a man looking through a magnifying glass. All the bumps, colours, creases and folds of my face are awesome, like a daily diary of all the times I've been through writ large upon my being.

Every single dot you see with your naked eye in the night sky is a star of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Not just of our galaxy but the local area with the galaxy.  I used to think, and I've no idea which man in a pub told me this, that every dot you see in the night sky is another galaxy. I wasn't alone as I see it's a common question on Google as well. * Not sure how we can have a corner of something that is likely to be infinite, certainly expanding at an ever greater rate, and could even be curved.

Every Kiwi that has ever been on a roadtrip up / down State Highway 1 knows about the Mangaweka Cookie Time Douglas DC-3 café. You may stopped off and had a look around inside, the kids and I certainly have. But in 2021 it was suddenly gone, what happened? Well, it seems the plane was owned by two Mangawekan (?) business people who had a falling out. One dark and stormy night one decided to ship it away without the knowledge of the other (sort of). Shifting the plane meant they had to take the wings off first and now the body lives in Shannon at 2 Ballance Street, just next to the Club Hotel / bar.  Apparently it's being restored and will go back .. it won't. The wings, well who knows where they disappeared to but I understand they're not gonna be joining the body anytime soon. A little history lesson for us all: ZK-APK was delivered to the RNZAF in August 1945, then sold to the newly-formed National Airways Corporation (NAC) in 1947 and given the name Poaka. NAC was New Ze

The challenge you have is to come up with the title of the 1976 sci-fi book depicted by this as the cover.

Waitārere Beach, 1 March 2023 at 10:25am. Edited 15 Dec 2023 at 11:am. Posted a few mins later.

Green has always been my favourite colour. It's the colour of my home country and it's wonderful deep forests.

Love love a good reflection!

Appropriately this flower is called Morning Glory.

I don't know if worms would make good pets but I definitely know that the free range ones would be a pain to bring in at night.

I think the administers of men's rugby have forgotten what the point of it all is. At a 2023 pre-season game between the Hurricane's and Crusaders (a very entertaining 19-34 game) at Levin Domain you could feel what it used to be about. The game is important, of course, maybe too important to some. It's the catalyst for the coming together, no game no point.  However the game itself isn't the reason everyone was there having fun. Nobody was 100% focussed on the game, some were more than others, and this fluctuated as the game ebbed and flowed. The general chatter, the catching up, the telling of stories, the laughter at dumb jokes, the getting your mates a pint, the kids running around, the road trips to and away from the ground, the reliving of past victories and dismal defeats, the families just pleased to be out of the house, the smell of hotdogs, the sense of tribe when your team does that thing well, the promises of same again next time as it all comes to an end. T

When there's a deluge in the hills the water's rush to the oceans means sometimes the flood gates need to be opened.

  M e r r y C h ri s tmas a n d H a p p y N e w Y e a r Keeping this blog's tradition  going, this is my Yuletide posting about all that you should know for Christmas. But let's just take a moment in the busy day to remember what it's all about - the people you love. I'm thinking of the people you love right now ... are you thinking of mine? Of course, it's not just about family and friends (if that's who I was thinking of) but also presents, alcohol and oodles of sitting around in front of the TV (or under the the sun you lucky Southern Hempishpereans!). If Jesus is your thing, I mean, if he's your bag, what you're into man then do the religious thing as well. Just don't get all "God" over Christmas and try to remember that it was  originally a pagan festival  around the longest day, certainly don't want you Christians foisting your ideas on people and trying to subvert the real message! Fun. that's the real message. Believe in F

Tap to hear.

We had no idea what we were doing but we had someone who did.  It was such a great moment that I have already used this photo to highlight the concepts of confelicity  and kairos , two guiding attributes in my life.

Further to the studio tour .

I can't remember if I posted a similar photograph (prolly), but it's amazing eh. There I am standing on Waitārere Beach looking directly north and voila, the volcanoes of the North Island are in view. They are 144km (90 miles) away! Takes around 2½ hours to drive from one to the other. I am absolutely sure I've listed this before, go on find it with the search up there and prove it.

All my growing up years in Monmouth we knew and were blase about the recording studios on the outskirts, it had been there before us and it would be there after us. It also meant it was not unusual (but not an everyday occasion) to be in a pub and to recognise people at the other end of the bar. Famously my Dad had a drinking buddy he called Bobbie. My Dad was not up with music and it took quite some time for us to realise that Bobbie = Robert Plant. Rockfield Studios , the world's first residential studios, has had so many well known artists and bands through, check out the list on Wikipedia. And so, on the weekend I visited via an official tour . As with the whole studio setup the tour is very much a family run affair as you walk around the various buildings hearing how stables are now recording studios, how that wall is the Oasis Wonderwall , that's the grass the brothers fought upon, how the Stone Roses saved the place but started in jail, the piano Yellow was written upon

There's a story told by actor Bernard Hill about his Lord Of The Rings costume whilst portraying  Théoden that on the inside of his breastplate there were intricate designs and patterns that would never be seen by moviegoers; "It made me feel like a real king, something there not for the screen but for me." I find a lot of such detail in buildings is up high, hidden from everyday viewing. The little details that the architect has created because it made her smile, or the flourish in a corner that made the builder happy. Always look up . And always add your own touch to whatever you created be it the beans on toast for lunch, the code you're writing, or the month long event you're hosting. Something that if no-one else notices still makes you smile.

I can't recall what was so special about this tanker that the tugboat needed to do a special welcome by splurging it's hose water all over it. Fun to watch though.

Just because I wore a tuxedo onesie I was asked to be in the Vintage Whanganui 2023 competition.  One lined up with all these amazing people in spectacular costumes ( photos ), paraded around when it was your turn, and when the time came winners were decided by a table of judges. I didn't win. But I had a bloody good laugh.

The Vintage Weekend in Whanganui is very very cool and I'd heartily recommend it to all those with a sense of style, adventure, and fun. Music of all sort s, costumes, art, and vehicles are on show as the town centre closes to traffic. 

Here's the following new SEVENTEEN Wales photo albums up for those that want to have a poke around: General Coastal Wales Inland Wales Towns Llandrindod Wells Crickhowell Caernarfon Beddgelert Betws-y-Coed Llandudno Porthmadog Bishop's Castle (England) Places and Things Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber St David's Cathedral Devil's Bridge Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Conwy Castle Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

There will always come times when it's your turn to pull on your big boy pants and do the thing you know you have to do. Be like this spinifex and just go for it!

Waiting for everyone to move was never gonna happen so I edited out the people, blurred the background and hopefully have left the two subjects for your eyes to be caught by. The statue, Woman Of Words , is the work of New Zealand sculptor Virginia King, and is made of stainless steel and embellished with words and from Mansfield's writing. At night the statue is lit up from inside. [ source: Wikipedia ]

Let the sounds and calmness take you away from your worries of today.

I miss my mate from Waitārere Beach, she's the best dog ever.

It took many years before I got used to a hot summer Christmas in Aotearoa New Zealand, in fact there is no defining date as it's sort of crept up on me. That's not to say hot summer Christmas has replaced the Welsh cold winter Christmas, they now live inside my head both paying equal rent.

As exciting as this stick figure*, Mr Tripod, could possibly be! "TADAAAA!"   * You're welcome 😜

Despite the title this is just a photo of rain on a leaf. I do like taking photos of rain, there's something quite cleansing about it.

It seems very big, and solid, and slightly scary. Sitting on an outside table in Waitārere Beach on the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Anyone, what is it? (yes I've tried Google Lens and it helpfully told me it was a spider. With a bit of prodding Lens then said maybe a Wolf Spider or perhaps a Jumping Spider, I don't think it's those, or is it?)

As part of an " Only In Wellington " advertising campaign there are a bunch of bronze pigeon statues scattered around the city centre representing innovative and kickass companies. As I've just discovered after wondering why today's photo is of a pigeon with a calculator. James and Claire Fuller’s Hnry -inspired pigeon sculpture, by Jonathan Campbell

The Welsh Dragon Bar (Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand) is proud to wear it's heart upon it's sleeve as it serves Welsh beer and whisky amongst the display of Welsh flags, rugby shirts, and knick-knacks.

I wonder if they all talked about leaving the ivy to grow over the garages or when one did they all followed.

The 2022 Groove Armada gig was bloody awesome, and yes you DO know a song of their's, this one .

Digital photograph, enhanced. Google Pixel Pro 7  f/1.9  •  1/2719  •  6.81 mm  •  ISO45 -41.278267,174.770133

I can't imagine this is an official sign but it certainly gets the message over eh!

Here's the following new photo albums up for those that want to have a poke around: Theatre Angela Barnes (Monmouth, 2023) Hancock's Half Hour (Monmouth, 2023) World views Reykjavik (Iceland) Golden Circle, Iceland (2023)

With a constant supply of hot air the Majestic Chimney has been the pride of Wellington's BS industry since the early 1990s.

Today's daily photo is one showing off the internals of the cool church in the centre Wellington known as St Mary of the Angels. And another showing off the amazing editing skills of my phone and how it can remove all the people from the above photo.

Late 2022 and I'm lucky enough to be in Whanganui's Sargjeant Museum during the  The 2022 Members Show from the New Zealand Society of Artists in Glass ( NZSAG ) as I was stuck looking at this piece and photographing it from all angles. Forward a year and here I am writing this daily photo blog with no idea who it was by, or even where I saw it. Google Lens , what a bloody marvellous bit of tech eh. The piece is called Kahu , it's by Michael Crawford , and it naturally won the top award coz it is STUNNING. So, if anyone is thrashing around for Christmas present ideas for me, here ya go ...

A dramatic storm burst. When I finally turned and had to drive through it I was forced to stop and let it roll over me as the wipers just couldn't cope.

Margaret Austin is a creative force to be reckoned with, published author, poet, dancer, actor, stripper, raconteur , theatre reviewer, and of course the Duchess of Wellington.

Something dramatic this way comes.

Casually reading Do gravitational waves exhibit wave-particle duality? * and during its excellent explanation of waves and how to find them through interference patterns** this pops up: Even stranger realizations came in the 20th century, as we discovered that: Single photons, when you passed them through a double slit one-at-a-time, would still interfere with themselves, producing a pattern consistent with a wave nature. Electrons, known to be particles, exhibited this interference and diffraction pattern as well. Composite particles, and even tiny living organisms, can interfere with themselves as you pass them through a double slit. However, if you measured which slit a photon or electron went through, you wouldn’t get an interference pattern, at all. You will only get one if you don’t make that measurement. What!? There are tiny living organisms that are both  one thing (particles) and another thing (waves). What the!! * the answer, according to Betteridge's law of headlines i

(obviously not a photo I took) From NASA Webb#First Images: Behind the curtain of dust and gas in these “Cosmic Cliffs” are previously hidden baby stars, now uncovered by Webb. We know — this is a show-stopper. Just take a second to admire the Carina Nebula in all its glory: nasa.gov/webbfirstimages/   Webb’s new view gives us a rare peek into stars in their earliest, rapid stages of formation. For an individual star, this period only lasts about 50,000 to 100,000 years. Image Description: The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-lik

A dude playing smooth smooth jazz whilst dressed as a tree covered in Christmas lights whilst educating the world to be more environmentally friendly.

"Hey, Wellington, how are ya?" "Not too shabby thanks"

Looking at the photo what is the title of the play / movie being represented by Gladys?

And at the end pay with a $2 coin to ascend Durie Hill. It's an eerie experience walkinto into the heart of a hill to catch an elevator up and out the top, but well worth it.

So, the phrase will now have it there no "I" in Wellington unless you go down to the waterfront and stand in for it. I am all for this Instagramisation of city promotions, coz it's fun and you get a cool photo. And the Wellington one is v cool, and changes colours.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Embassy is an annual treat for everyone that wants to dress up and let loose their inner whatever. The aftermath of the movie interactions from the audience takes some cleaning up though.