New Zealand

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with New Zealand

Design

A 100-Seat Church Constructed From Living Trees in New Zealand by Barry Cox

Located in the same island country that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed is a structure that, like the hill-secured homes of the hobbits, also seems to hide within its natural environment. The Tree Church is formed almost entirely from living trees with thick leaves covering its shady interior. The New Zealand-based church can seat a hundred people and was first planted by Barry Cox on his property near Cambridge beginning in 2011.

The original inspiration behind the structure was a means for Cox to “retreat from society.” However, after others caught word of his living church as it grew into completion over the last 4 years, he decided to open it and the surrounding gardens for public and private events. The Tree Church is now set within three acres of extensive shaded gardens, including a labyrinth walk based on the ancient city of Jericho from 460 BC.

An iron frame is at the core of the church, as Cox wanted the walls and roof of the natural building to be distinctly different, “just like masonry churches,” he said. Cut-leaf alder was chosen for the roof as it is flexible enough to be trained over the frame which will be removed when the branches become strong enough to support the church themselves. (via Faith is Torment, Inhabitat)

Photography Science

Long-Exposure Photographs of a New Zealand Cave Illuminated by Glowing Worms

The twinkling lights dotting the ceiling of this dazzling cave system are the work of arachnocampa luminosa, a bioluminescent gnat larva (also called a glowworm) found throughout the island nation of New Zealand. It is believed that the light, emitted mostly from females, is how the insects find mates. These long-exposure photos by local photographer Joseph Michael capture small communities of worms amongst 30 million-year-old limestone formations on North Island. You can see more shots from the project titled Luminosity, here.

Photography

Idyllic Oceanside Landscapes Photographed by Andrew Smith

If I had to spend the rest of my life trapped inside a photograph, there’s a good chance I might flip through a stack of photographs by Andrew Smith (previously) to make a selection. Smith shoots mostly in locations around his home in New Zealand where he captures breathtaking oceanside landscapes both in and out of water. Smith photographs almost exclusively with a Nikon D800 and then processes his images in Adobe Lightroom, something he documents in detail on his Before and After Lightroom Blog. These are some of my favorite shots from the last year or so, but you can see hundreds of additional photos by Smith over on Flickr.

Photography

Stunning Photographs of the New Zealand and Australian Coast

In the course of normal blogging I probably encounter hundreds of landscape photographs in a week, maybe even in a day. Many of them are truly wonderful technical achievements or perhaps they capture a unique moment in time, but it’s rare that I am suddenly gripped with the urge to sell my house, quit my job, and buy a plane ticket to live in the photograph I’m staring at. That would precisely explain my feelings when I encountered these idyllic landscapes shot on the shores around Auckland, New Zealand and Australia by photographer Andrew Smith of Cuba Gallery. To be fair the images have been color corrected a bit and Smith runs a blog called Before & After where he details his process for using Adobe Lightroom to achieve the results. See much more over on Flickr.

Update: This post originally suggested that all images above by Smith were taken in New Zealand. In fact, the 5th image of the rocky boulders is a natural formation known as the Twelve Apostles in Victoria, Australia. Thanks everyone.