When the great Polynesian navigator Kupe arrived at the mouth of Hokianga in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) in his waka hourua (double-hulled canoe, Matawhaorua, around CE875, he was suspicious of the entry into the harbour, so he sent his two taniwha (spiritual guardians), Niwa and Arai-te-Uru, to check if it was safe for him to enter it without foundering on the sandbars. They returned and reported that he could enter without difficulty.

When he returned to Hawaiki Nui some three decades later, he left them behind to guard the harbour.

On Pukerangatira, at the head of the dunes on the north side of the harbour, is a pou (statue). It has been placed there to remind those who trace our ancestry to that place that it is our sacred mountain and that we are connected to a thread of origin that travels back across millennia.

In this issue

1. My Artwork of the Week

2. Frontispiece

3. Photographer's corner-f8 and be there.

4. Waiata mou te ata-Navajo Night Way ceremony

5. Fevered Mind Links (to make your Sunday morning coffee go cold)

6. Endpapers

My Artwork of the Week

To photograph a piece of landscape has much in common with forming a new relationship.

In the beginning, we are attracted by that which is immediately apparent, by its outward appearance. For a time, we relate to what is directly apparent; however, it takes a lot longer for us to see below the surface and begin to see its meaning and significance.

In another way, we begin a dialogue with what is in front of us, and where that conversation takes us will determine our personal and visual response.

Like any good relationship, there should be a lot of backwards and forwards, of give-and-take. And, like any good relationship, we must be willing to listen to the other party rather than impose our beliefs and views upon it. It is not an argument, and as wise people know, you can never win an argument. So why bother?

As many of you know, the Milford Road, all 110km, is my favourite road in the world. There's always a sense of anticipation and excitement whenever I set out on what is undoubtedly not an easy drive. It's a road that can throw up surprises and challenges, often when you least expect them.

Over the summer of 2019-20, just before the pandemic began, I spent a happy summer guiding tourists to Milford Sound. I loved that job. It struck me that being paid to share stories with tourists was a win-win. After all, they couldn't get away from me, and I could tell the most outrageous stories, and they would probably believe me (I didn't!). I could sing this Song of the Road five days a week to them and most appreciated it. Well, if they didn't, they never said anything. Occasionally one would shake my hand at the end of it, and I could feel a banknote pressed into my palm. That was always a bonus.

And as I drove and spoke, I had a strong sense of connection to all the silent, watching beings along the road. I could feel them looking down on me and nodding.

If time permitted, on our way into Milford Sound, I would stop in the car park at the Chasm and allow them to go for a small bushwalk, to enjoy the forest and star at where the river straitjacketed and gurgled itself down the rocks and out of sight,.

However, I did have an ulterior motive. Tucked away in a corner of the carpark was a mobile coffee cart, which meant I could enjoy a sneaky flat white while my passengers went walkabout. One day, while chatting to the owner in watching the antics of the resident kea, I looked at the mountains opposite. I had done that many times and only ever seen the labels. Mountains. Rocks. Bush. Clouds.

On this day, I opted to listen, to hear what they had been trying to say to me for months.

And they took their labels off, removed their masks, and showed themselves.

Teena koutou.

There you are.

Frontispiece

Atamaarie e te whaanau:

good morning everybody.

Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome.

May I begin this morning by welcoming our new subscribers?

There are now 311 of you receiving Breathing Light each week. Revue sends me an email when you sign up but only shows me your email address. I've said this many times, but I love hearing from you. If you're new here, I'd love to have you drop me an email telling me a little about yourself and where you live. One day perhaps I'm going to put a world map on the wall in my studio and start putting push pins in it, so I can work out where you all are.

I'd also like to send a big mihi (shout out) to those who have been subscribers since the beginning. It's always a joy to hear from you, find out what's happening in your lives, and take on board the wisdom and insight you share (here is looking at you, PRFH).

Mama Blackbird and her whaanau

I wrote last week about my small ritual of giving the birds the crusts from the loaves of bread I buy from the supermarket.

Well, I may have created a rod for my own back.

The sparrows, finches and other small birds are no longer content to wait out of sight until I scatter the crumbs on the lawn. Now they arrive each morning and climb on the deck. I'm waiting for them to start pecking on the front door. And, if I see crows lining up in the tree, I will really know a Hitchcockian moment.

Mama Blackbird, who is clearly the matriarch, now sits there giving me the evil eye. Because I hadn't jumped to put out the bread when she wanted it, she hopped over to one of my pot plants and proceeded to shred it, all the time glaring at me balefully.

I got the message.

Photographer's corner-f8 and be there.

You may have heard this quote:

Q: what is the secret to photography?

A: F8 and be there.

At the start of our photography journey, one of the things most of us may struggle to master is the exposure triangle; aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Last week I talked about depth-of-field and aperture. However, there is more to aperture than just zones of sharpness.

Much of mastering aperture (an ongoing journey) has to do with considering how we see and how our choice of aperture reflects that.

Did you know that the natural aperture of the human eye is f3.5?

Once upon a time, if we bought a film SLR, it came with the ubiquitous 50 mm/F3 .5 lens. So naturally, because we wanted to do much more with our cameras, we sold them off and replaced them with a zoom lens or two. After all, the 50 mm seemed to be one of the most boring focal lengths possible and not much use for anything.

Tell that to Ernst Haas, who, I am told, regarded this focal length as the most perfect possible and virtually used nothing else throughout his stellar career.

50 mm (in full-frame) is the angle of view that best approximates how the human eye sees. And while we are on the subject, and natural field of vision is approximately 120°.

You've probably all seen the ubiquitous image of a mountain daisy in the foreground, razor-sharp, with a mountain some kilometres away, also razor-sharp. The photographer has perhaps used focus stacking, a very small aperture (say f16), or both.

And in doing so, they have created a work of pure fiction. Here is why.

We like to think we see with our eyes. The language we use encourages us to do so. Perhaps we think we see with our brain. Instead, seeing is a function of our mind, which collates multiple images made by our eyes into a single coherent whole. We are constantly scanning our scene, changing framing and focus, and shipping the data down our optic nerve, where our mind composites it into meaning, into a mental picture.

Try this experiment:

step outside and hold your hand up at arm's length. Focus your eyes on your hand and observe the now out-of-focus background. This will work fine indoors, looking at the other side of the room. Now shift your focus, so the background is sharp, and you will see that your hand is out of focus. Yet, your mind tells you both are sharp.

Your mind is constantly altering perceived reality to meet its own expectations.

So which aperture should you use? Should you shoot everything at f22 or be a purist and use f3.5? Or is the answer somewhere between them?

Another thing to know is that most lenses have their maximum resolving power (line-pairs/mm) in the vicinity of f8. The further you go away from f8 in either direction, the less resolution you will get from your lens.

If you use a mid-range zoom (24-70), you are probably safe setting it to f8 and leaving it there.

And not missing the shot of your lifetime, that precious, irreplaceable moment, because you were too busy wondering which aperture to select.

F8 and be there.

Waiata mou te ata-Navajo Night Way ceremony

One of the joys of receiving emails from you is that you have found something beautiful and profound you want to share with me.

This week's waiata is exquisite and profound. Certainly one I will be learning for myself, taking into my heart. Thank you, AHM!

Navajo Night Way ceremony

In beauty may I walk.

All day long may I walk.

Through the returning seasons may I walk.

On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.

With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.

With dew about my feet may I walk.

With beauty may I walk.

With beauty before me may I walk.

With beauty behind me may I walk.

With beauty above me may I walk.

With beauty below me may I walk.

With beauty all around me, may I walk.

In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.

In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.

It is finished in beauty.

It is finished in beauty.

Fevered Mind Links (to make your Sunday morning coffee go cold)

Exploring the Otherworldly Symbolist Work of French Artist Odilon Redon — mymodernmet.com

Late 19th-century France was an exciting time for avant-garde artists. While the best-known figures from this period can be grouped into the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art movements, there are other creatives from this era who possessed unique and lasting aesthetics.

Bruce Springsteen on Surviving Depression and His Strategy for Living Through the Visitations of the Darkness — www.themarginalian.org

It starts with a low hum that adheres itself to the underbelly of the hours like another dimension. Gradually, surreptitiously, the noise swells to a bellowing bass line, until it drowns out the symphony of life. It can last for days or months or entire seasons of being.

fill the tins baking — lovelyweedays.blogspot.com

With the cookies I like to press a square of chocolate into the top of each one as soon as they are removed from the oven. The chocolate will melt onto the top of the cookie, which looks quite cool but also means each coookie is guaranteed at least one big chunk of chocolate.

107 Times Architects Really Outdid Themselves And People Praised Their Work In This Online Group (New Pics) — www.boredpanda.com

30 People Who Own “Century Homes” Share What They Look Like And Their Most Interesting Discoveries In This Online Group Kotryna Brašiškytė

The Biggest Lie About Abstract Expressionism — hyperallergic.com

Abstract Expressionism is a storied movement continually re-told at blockbuster museums: We think we know it so well. The story, however, is still wrong. There are no women in it. The most recent show in the United Kingdom was at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2017.

Mechanochemical breakthrough unlocks cheap, safe, powdered hydrogen — newatlas.com

Australian scientists say they've made a "eureka moment" breakthrough in gas separation and storage that could radically reduce energy use in the petrochemical industry, while making hydrogen much easier and safer to store and transport in a powder.

What Makes Great Art: The Single Most Important Element in Creative Work — www.themarginalian.org

Here is the great hoax of culture: If you are a musician with legions of fans, if you are an artist with legions of collectors and admirers, if you are a writer with legions of readers and subscribers, it is not because legions of strangers have impartially esteemed you as a staggering creative geni

David Bowie Answers the Famous Proust Questionnaire — www.brainpickings.org

In the 1880s, long before he claimed his status as one of the greatest authors of all time, teenage Marcel Proust (July 10, 1871–November 18, 1922) filled out an English-language questionnaire given to him by his friend Antoinette, the daughter of France’s then-president, as part of her “confe

Southlanders' R now a global puzzlement

A major study into the Southland accent produced a startling finding - one with implications for linguists worldwide, and for our understanding of early southern society. –---------------------------- Said it before and we’ll say it again. Some people don’t know their Rs from their elbow.

Paintings offer glimpse into Chinese artist's take on life — news.cgtn.com

Including both large-scale paintings and smaller sketches, these pieces that make up the exhibition mainly portray flowers, birds and land animals. They embody the artist's meticulous observation and portrayal of the natural world.

End Papers

Looking back across recent newsletters, I notice that I've mentioned the importance of small rituals. In many ways, they help fortify us, providing small pillars of certainty to prop up the roof of our lives.

I'm sure you have your own, whether it's the ritual of morning coffee made your way, prayer, yoga, or simply catching up with the news. Perhaps you turn to somebody you love and tell them how wonderful they are. And while they may take it for granted, I will bet they appreciate it.

It is still winter here at the bottom of the world, and the sun doesn't appear over the roof of the house next door until 8 am. So, when I emerge from the cave of the night around 3: 30-4 am, I still have a few hours of darkness before me. Nevertheless, the first part of my morning ritual is to step outside onto the lawn waewae tuturu (barefoot) and ground myself on Papatuuaanuku (Mother Earth). Then, I usually recite a karakia (prayer) which has taken me six months to learn. Now, I feel connected and appreciative, and everything follows from that. I have the gift of the day before me, and surely that is something to celebrate.

Joy and gratitude, it seems to me, are two free vaccinations that can inoculate us from the ills of the world.

A dear friend, a kuia (wise elder woman), tells people whom she helps to live their lives by the three A's:

• Acknowledge

• Accept

• Appreciate

such simple and yet rich advice.

As always, wherever you are, I wish you health, strength, insight and peace.

Ngaa mihi nunui arohaa ki a koutou

much love to you all

Tony Bridge | X-Photographers | FUJIFILM Digital Camera X Series & GFX – New Zealand — fujifilm-x.com

Fujifilm X-Photographer Tony Bridge's Online gallery. Explore Tony Bridge's photography shot with the FUJIFILM X Series cameras and lenses.