Kaitiaki is hunting

Another early morning run; something I mostly enjoy. And these days of running for enjoyment and fitness rather than as training for competition, if I don't feel like a morning run (like yesterday) I will do one later. As the sunrise gets earlier and earlier, it is harder and harder to get to a good place for a picture before the sun is too high.

This morning, there were so few clouds, that having missed the actual sunrise, I was just faced with a dazzling ball of light. On my way to the Auckland Domain I tried for some interesting shots of the container wharf with Rangitoto beyond, and was actually quite pleased with one.

In the Domain, I remembered the 2004 sculpture by Fred Graham (Kaitiaki), and thought that it would be hit by the still low and golden rays of the sun. Although it was, I have chosen to crop the picture to produce this effect of a giant hawk like bird threatening the towers of money in the central city. The description of the sculpture in the site about sculpture in the Auckland Domain includes these words:

The enormous swooping steel bird, dark against the sky, may seem threatening, but  conveys the the strength that makes the hawk a powerful guardian of the land.

The world is seeing the actions of the children of Kaitiaki "threatening" (by questioning) the established order. This is an offering of a symbol in support.

The day ended with S and I spending almost all our total weekly TV time watching a programme on humans living in harmony with and containing the power of rivers. I kept an eye on the sunset and did get some lovely shots, but this trumped all other pictures today.

In February I posted another view  of Kaitiaki.

Kaitiaki is a term for the Maori concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga. Increasingly within New Zealand kaitiaki encompasses trusteeship and guardianship in many public service settings.