Latest news with #Highlands
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
A New Zealand photographer's 'poetic journey' into Papua New Guinea's past
From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied Forty-eight years ago, a young New Zealand photographer set off on a brief solo journey into the remote Papua New Guinea Highlands. Victoria Ginn is now in her seventies and has a gallery in the small Taranaki town of Normanby. That trip, almost five decades ago, was the first in a series of exotic trips she undertook and resulted in a remarkable collection of photographs of the indigenous people, which she has called 'A Welcome Adventure' . Victoria Ginn spoke with RNZ Pacific. Kabo – the Sorcerer, from A Welcome Adventure into the PNG Highlands, 1997 by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) Don Wiseman: So when you were 23 years old, and I guess, a fairly inexperienced photographer, you took yourself off on your own into the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Why did you do that? Victoria Ginn: Well, I probably wasn't as inexperienced as you state. I began photography when I was about 14 years old, in the 1960s, after a friend of mine realised I could take good photographs. He gave me his Leica camera, and I self taught. I was interested in human culture and nature right from day dot really. Why I took myself into the Papua New Guinea Highlands at the age of 23, probably a yearning to connect with a deeper part of my own self and also a deeper part of the human culture, than was represented in my own modern culture, in terms of 1970s modern Melbourne, Australia, and that sort of system. I was probably a natural photographer in terms of my yearning to use a camera as a way to connect with people. It is a form of connection, photography, or was. Nowadays it is a form of intrusion and narcissism. From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied But back then it was an art form, and it mesmerised me to know that you could translate a moment in reality into something that was a beautiful essence of somebody through black and white portraiture and a moment in time, where you saw an emotion or an expression or a sense of the self that was portrayed In another person. It was never intrusive photography. When photography became fashionable in the 1970s, art photography became fashionable in the 1970s through the production of a book by Diane Arbus, and everyone had to be a photographer, sort of thing. But photography in a way, became corrupted by wide angle lenses and people not realising the sensitivity of the other, meaning the subject, and a lot of deceitful photography happened that was calling itself art photography at that time. DW: It's still very difficult on a number of levels to access the Papua New Guinea Highlands. But in 1977 and on your own, it would have been very, very difficult. VG: Yes, it was. But I was an adventurer. I enjoyed the attraction of the unknown and the challenge of finding a way into an area of such remoteness in the world, where there was not a pollution of modernity, if you like, upon the peoples that I wanted to meet. So yes, it was difficult. It was basically bussing up the Highlands into the Highlands, and then finding ways to get around. And I did have some fairly hairy encounters, not with the local people, but with imports, imported construction managers and things like people from Australia. Papua New Guinea was only two years into its independence at that time, so there was still a very raw aspect to the confusion between what was meant to be and what was, where you have an important psyche, like the Australian mentality, wanting to civilise and develop a country, and you had the indigenous people who had stayed sane and intact and culturally together and had a very rich, beautiful culture that was kind of timeless. From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied DW: How did you communicate? VG: That is an interesting one, because I discovered the art of non verbal communication, and it sounds stupid or nonsensical, but there is a way. I developed it later, when I was travelling through other remote regions of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, particularly. There's a way to communicate that does not require speech in terms of your tongue, and it becomes a very basic, essential, means of communication, which involves gesture, but it also involves something that is unspoken, and it is very difficult to describe that, and you connect. It is about someone connecting to you, and you connecting to them on a level that is not cerebral, and it is not through your tongue, so not through speech. I used that method. It grew on me. It developed. I was not there long enough to become adept at that sort of thing, but I got a taste of it, and I learned how you can communicate without language. I have spent time in a lot of different cultures using that means. DW: This happened back in 1977, so 48 years ago. Why has it taken you so long to bring a book out? VG: I have gone backwards, looking at my work, in a way, I'm going backwards. I am in my 70s now, and I mean, I have had other work that propelled me to do other creative essays that I was prompted to do by my own artistry, and that has come to an end. I am no longer a photographer, so I am more a writer now, and I am looking backwards and tidying up my life, you could say. And it is a beautiful little essay. It is a very poetic essay which portrays a form of gentleness, contrary to what is happening in Papua New Guinea today. It is a counterbalance to what is what is occurring in the Highlands today, which is now a lawless place where people have had their essential culture stripped from them by the incursion of missionaries and what have you, and mining companies and so on. It gives voice to a portrait of a people. DW: You've visited a number of places, as you say, remote areas around the Pacific, particularly, where does this adventure into the PNG Highlands in 1977 sit? VG: That is a hard one. I think the last big work I did in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia was called The Spirited Earth , which was subtitled dance, myth and ritual from South Asia to the South Pacific, which was a philosophical look at the religious and spiritual forms of expression through performance art and ritual in those regions. Mostly color photography. Back in 77 you could say this was a stepping stone to my awareness of the depth of understanding of the spiritual aspects of the human psyche within a people that were so called prehistoric and primitive. It's candid work. It is more portraiture, portraiture in terms of face rather than form or body, which my book, The Spirited Earth , looks at the complete picture of face and form and body and environment. This is mainly a portrait, and it's a poetic portrait which involves the poetry of the people, but also the more prosaic sort of day to day, here am I sitting in a marketplace, or here am I pulling my bow and arrow, carrying my grasses from the fields and so on. It is more a documentary portrait than an artistic portrait, but it contains artistry, of course.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Flash flooding and downpours bring chaos to roads and railways across Scotland
Flash flooding and torrential downpours have brought chaos to roads and railways across Scotland after more than two weeks worth of rain fell overnight. All trains between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh on the scenic Kyle Railway Line were cancelled after the track between Garve and Achanalt, in Ross-shire, was submerged underwater. Network Rail was forced to close the line after the heavy rain caused a 'significant' amount of silt and floodwater to cover the track. Images also showed the road leading to the station at Achanalt badly damaged and strewn with mud and gravel after more than two and a half inches (66.4mm) of rain - more than two weeks worth - fell between 2pm on Monday and 5am yesterday. To show the extent of the flooding, Network Rail shared a photo of the submerged track at Achanalt station, saying: 'Here's some footage of what we're dealing with at Achanalt. 'The speed and volume of the floodwater, plus the silt it's washing onto the tracks, makes it unsafe to run trains here.' Engineers were sent to assess the track with an inspection expected to take several hours as they worked to clear the lines. ScotRail confirmed that no stations along the route would be served until at least the end of the day [Tuesday]. The operator said: 'Our staff onsite continue to work to clear large amounts of debris and silt which are obstructing the track after previous flood water. The line remains closed.' Elsewhere in the Highlands water was seen streaming like a river onto the busy A835 near Ullapool, while two inches of rain fell near Loch Droma, which led to tumultuous water falls at Corrieshalloch Gorge. In Newton St Boswells, Roxburghshire, the water levels became so deep one resident was seen using a paddle board to cross a flooded section of road which had become impassible. Several buildings, including a Lidl supermarket, in Perth, were also reported to have been forced to shut due to the torrential downpours, with a yellow weather warning for parts of the country ending at 6am yesterday [Tuesday] as residents likened the conditions to a 'monsoon'. It comes as forecasters gave a glimmer of hope that the sun would break through the clouds later this week with a chance of thermometers hitting above 20C in cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh. But the Met office warned the sunshine will be 'quite short lived'. Meanwhile, residents in Tobermory, on the island of Mull, have been urged to take short showers amid 'extremely low' water supplies. Scottish Water has urged residents to use water as efficiently as possible in homes, businesses and gardens to help protect resources and maintain normal supplies following what has been the driest start to the year across Scotland since 1964.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
University of the Highlands and Islands student numbers drop
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) saw its student numbers fall by more than 6,000 students in one academic year, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) figures. UHI is a network of colleges and teaching centres across the Highlands, Islands, Moray and numbers - across all courses - fell from 42,255 in 2022-23 to 36,142 the following academic year. A spokesperson for UHI said the figures reflected broader sector challenges, including demographic shifts, increased competition for students and the impact of the Covid pandemic. The BBC FOI figures show it is not the first time numbers have dropped sharply with a similar fall between 2018/19 and 2019/ remained higher than they were at the peak of the Covid pandemic in 2020/21 when they fell below 33, findings come amid challenges across the university sector in Scotland, with some hitting a crunch point, forcing job losses and facing questions about their has faced funding issues, merging colleges in north Highland, west Highland and the Western Isles in 2023. A spokesperson said the university was seeing "encouraging signs of recovery" after a post-pandemic decline in several high-volume, full-time undergraduate programmes. Growth in graduate apprentices and international education were said to be supporting a return to previous levels. Mike Williamson, from the University and College Union Scotland, said it was vital UHI was made more secure and stable."UHI is currently discussing how it adapts to changing circumstances," he said."UHI has cut staff on several occasions over the past three years."We're in redundancy avoidance talks with the university right now. It's as a direct result of student numbers going down."A spokesperson for the university said it had been investing resources into student recruitment.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Highland GP could face probe over abusive rape survivor posts
A GP from the Highlands has been the subject of reports to the General Medical Council (GMC) about abusive online comments concerning his rapist son's victim, the BBC understands. Dr Andrew McFarlane's son Daniel was convicted of raping Ellie Wilson in 2022 and jailed. She has since become a campaigner for survivors of male sexual violence. Dr McFarlane has been posting comments on social media to allege that his son is the victim of a miscarriage of justice and has made dozens of deeply disparaging comments about Wilson. BBC Scotland News has contacted Dr McFarlane for comment. Ms Wilson secretly captured Daniel McFarlane admitting to his crimes by setting her phone to record in her was found guilty of two rape charges and sentenced to five years in prison in July attacks took place between December 2017 and February 2018 when McFarlane was a medical student at the University of the conviction Ms Wilson, who waived her anonymity, has campaigned on behalf of January 2023 Ms Wilson, who was a politics student and champion athlete at the university at the time, released audio on X of a conversation with McFarlane covertly captured the year after the the recording she asks him: "Do you not get how awful it makes me feel when you say 'I haven't raped you' when you have?"McFarlane replies: "Ellie, we have already established that I have. The people that I need to believe me, believe me. I will tell them the truth one day, but not today."When asked how he feels about what he has done, he says: "I feel good knowing I am not in prison."Ms Wilson told BBC Scotland she had released the clip because many people wondered what evidence she had to secure a rape the trial a lawyer was found to have abused his position after Ms Wilson said she was subjected to personal attacks in Faculty of Advocates complaints committee said Lorenzo Alonzi repeatedly crossed the line of what was acceptable and found that his behaviour amounted to unsatisfactory professional conduct on six of the 11 issues you are affected by any of the issues in this story, help and advice is available through BBC Action Line.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
UK weather: When will the rain stop?
Following three successive heatwaves across the UK this summer, the last few days have seen heavy rain and showers return widely and a raft of weather warnings, including two amber and Murlough in Northern Ireland have had their wettest July day on record with 69mm and 61mm of rain respectively. More than a month's worth of rain has fallen in parts of eastern Scotland and south-eastern England over the last three days. With several yellow weather warnings still in place, when will the rain stop? Flooding and travel disruption Low pressure stays in charge of our weather on Monday with some persistent rain in Northern Ireland and the north of Scotland and some heavy bursts of rain developing in the Highlands later. For the rest of the UK, it is a day of sunshine and showers. The heaviest thunderstorms and downpours may bring up to 50mm of rain in a few hours so we may see one or two areas of localised flooding and disruption to travel. It is worth keeping an eye on the sky too as there may even be a funnel cloud from some of the storms today, perhaps eastern England has a better chance than again look quite widespread on Tuesday so there's a fair chance of catching one at some point. The heaviest will tend to become concentrated in northern and eastern Scotland and eastern England through the afternoon. What is the weather like for the rest of the week? Wednesday and Thursday will be much drier days for western areas of the UK as a ridge of high pressure moves in. Showers are expected to form in eastern areas of both Scotland and England. These will be a bit more hit and miss in nature, so there will be quite a few areas that dodge the downpours. On Friday, the highest chance of catching a shower will be in west Scotland and Northern Ireland, these probably quite short-lived. England and Wales should have a mostly dry day with some the week, between any showers there will be some warm July sunshine with temperatures often reaching the low 20Cs. It will get warmer in eastern England on Friday with temperatures reaching about 26C (79F). What about the rest of July and into August? Next week several areas of low pressure are likely to develop and run across or close to Scotland. These will bring spells of rain and showers, especially to northern areas. It will also be quite windy at times. The weather will tend to be drier towards the south-east of England with only small amounts of rain. There are some signs that high pressure may build from the west during early August bringing some drier, sunnier and warmer weather, but forecasting this far ahead is rarely straight forward and could well the latest Monthly Outlook here.
