NZ visual diary - entry 48

cafe patron reading

I was nearing the end of a photographic walkabout, a meander that took me across K Road, along the length of Ponsonby Road and down College Hill Road into the suburb of Freemans Bay. As I approached the Victoria Park area, I decided to veer off College Hill and wander through some back streets by turning onto Runnel Street. At the intersection with Spring Street, where Runnel becomes Middle Street, sits a small cafe.

I stopped to admire the establishment because the cafe walls and awning roof had been overtaken by vines and tree roots. It was the accidental antecedent of the contemporary architectural feature of the 'living wall.'

A lone patron sitting at a table on the front sidewalk was bathed in splendid late afternoon sunlight. The visual feel of diffused light -- the gauzy texture of an Impressionist canvas -- inspired the look I adopted for post-processing.

In my rendition of the scene, the patron appears indistinct as if he, too, has been enveloped in vine and root.