Friday 18 May 2012

FSO Gates and fences


Fences, we have so many of them in this rural area - and so many of them the same!   Farm fences, that is.  And all my shots are of them.  They have 5 or 7 wires depending on whether they are keeping in cows or sheep.  Sometimes the top wire is barbed to discourage fence climbing.   They do the job and don't block the view.


The next four photos are not from My Town.  They were taken, with this topic in mind, when I was visiting my daughter in Taranaki.

Sometimes there are fences within the fences, some to keep the animals in and others to keep the animals out.


Aiden thinks this gate is to keep the animals in, not to keep him out and pushes determinedly against it.  (Lucky there are no sound effects to go with this shot because he wasn't amused that, despite his best effort, he was still locked out.)


Most of our farm fences are pretty ordinary.


They get old and their staples rust.


I went back to see what I had submitted for Fences when it was our topic over two years ago.  I featured the fence by the gateway in the following photos then, too.  And I've posted about the property before.   It's beside  State Highway 16, which I take when I go to Auckland; a perfectly ordinary fence surrounds extraordinary sights.  Beyond this humble fence (with the little yellow tag that warns that it is electrified) lays Alan Gibbs'  1,000 acre farm/Sculpture Park.  He purchased the windswept site in 1991 and since then has commissioned priceless and epic works by national and internationally renowned artists.


In addition, the exotic animals of the farm, including giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, and yaks, create living sculptures.  I recently thought I'd managed to get a photo of a giraffe and an elephant but when I passed by again three weeks later there they were in exactly the same spot - sculptures.   (The llamas and people are real, there was some sort of open day going on.) 


When I was returning home I was thinking I must stop to get a photo of the gate to the property and figured it would be just my luck for the gate to be open.  I've never ever seen it open, even on the day when people could be seen walking all over the place, the gates were locked.  And, guess what?  The darn thing was open.  It's an extension of the fence on either side of the opening.  Then it joins on to the ordinary old farm fence, which I always think is incongruous. 


I can only hope that Mr Gibbs will one day open these gates to the public.  Well, he does that now occasionally to raise money for charity but an entry ticket costs $250.  Until my boat comes in, I'll have to be happy on this side of the fence.  Or, I should say, continue to be happy because I do enjoy stopping here and looking to see if there is anything new on the skyline. 

Meanwhile this is more my style of gate:


 I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the FSO team has to offer this week.  Will the fences and gates be to keep something in or to keep something out?  We can find out here.

17 comments:

  1. Wow, these are wonderful takes on the theme. So many interesting shots of a subject that could otherwise be dull. I like the perspective in the last one, and love the scenery which is a fantastic backdrop in your other pics. Very nice. Mark will have trouble deciding which of these to spotlight!

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  2. You managed to make fences look spectacular! I think the first and the last are my faves...but they are all really well done!

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  3. What amazed me more is the amount of land/space around there! Gorgeous pictures.

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  4. I especilly like the rusty staple shot and the last one. I haven't heard the expression 'Until my boat comes in' for donkey's ages.

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  5. Lucky you these place is beautiful!

    Kim,USA

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  6. you may have ordinary fences but these are not ordinary photos. Pauline they are really, truly great photos. After reading you story I had to go back and just focus on the photos. The first one wins hands down for me. the best of the extraordinary.

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  7. Yep I agree, until my ship comes in there are a lot of fences I will not get past. These are great shots and it is indeed the photography that makes these ordinary things extraordinary. Great job
    QMM

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  8. The seventh photo looks like a model, I do love the last gate with all the different textures. But Pauline I have to say you have some bizarre neighbours!

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  9. How much time do you spend fixing the fence? Do you really turn the electricity on? My NZ friends tell how as kids, they tried by throwing their shoes on the barb wire to test if the power is on.

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  10. Hello Pauline,

    Wow, fantastic photo's of fences, it is not the subject but the photo's that make this post. Congrats.
    It is not every day you see a Giraffe even a fake one. It looks like a movie set.

    Happy days.
    Bev.xoxo

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  11. These are all so good, each in its own way. I love that one of little Aiden, you can see his frustration in the body language... That photo from the property with the exotic animals would be wonderful poster, it looks absolutely unreal with that huge sculpture. I wonder if that's the same artist who made the rusty arcs in our town park, although those are not as big... Oh, just remembered your link, and checked it out. Nope, not the same guy... there seems to be more than one artist in the world who likes playing with rusty arches!

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  12. We have tons of these old farm fences around too. They may not be elegant but I love the way they look as they age. (That last shot is really fun.)

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  13. Ha, I clicked on 'Pauline is a contributor to The Paddock' and hey presto, there you are. I wonder for how long this particular gate will be left open.

    Your photos all looked like they were taken over the fence from a workaday farm and then you show me sculptures. More ha!

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  14. Ha, I clicked on 'Pauline is a contributor to The Paddock' and hey presto, there you are. I wonder for how long this particular gate will be left open.

    Your photos all looked like they were taken over the fence from a workaday farm and then you show me sculptures. More ha!

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  15. Pauline, I am in agreement with all the other commenters, these are extraordinary photos. All the fences and gates are nice, your story was engaging and the scenery is gorgeous. I hope your ship comes in soon.

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  16. I once stopped in front of Alan Gibb's gate (probably on the way back from a croquet tournament) because my passengers were keen to se over it. Odd because, as you say, so much of the land can be seen anyway. Did you see the film of the huge sculpture in your photo being erected? Amazing.

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  17. Berautiful shots from first to last and the last one grabs me eye particularly. Fascinating sculpture. I'm glad you added it.

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