3:47 pm, 22 January 2009
Ugly New Zealand is the blog with those New Zealand photos everybody else would delete immediately. Our mission is to collect the ugliest, most boring, most appalling and plainly dull (landscape) photography possible.
Please feel warmly invited to write me if you think you have photos that qualify. But who knows, perhaps you’ll find that it is in fact incredibly hard to photograph truly ugly landscape in New Zealand?
Ralf Hebecker
(ralf.hebecker@uglynewzealand.com)
© 2009-10 the authors. If not stated, most likely © 2009-10 Ralf Hebecker.
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LOL great idea for a blog. Surprised it’s all focused around the lower South Island. You could find a bonanza in the lower north Island such as the Hutt Valley.
That’s just because I live in Dunedin. But thanks for the tip… you wouldn’t happen to have any examples, would you?
Rather puerile and time-wasting, for an ‘academic’ such as yourself. Are you taking the images of others in preparation for some indulgent sham of a conference presentation perhaps? I suggest you return from whence you came.
I’ve got a better idea, why don’t you eff-off to the Falklands Islands or anywhere else where people are a bunch of uptight feebs with no sense of humour. I happen to think that this blog is hilarious and true and I welcome with open arms Ralf and any other foreigner with criticisms of NZ.
Thanks, Struthers, for your friendly advice. I’d love to act according to your recommendation, but jobs here are so underpaid that it might take another… decade to finance my return ticket. Sigh. Feel free to donate.
Can I tell you how much I love you for this blog? From someone dishonestly lured to Dunedin by false representations….
Hi chiarabr, perhaps as much as I love you for loving this blog! Ta! :)
I doubt it was dishonesty from the locals, it was much more likely absolute ignorance; they’ve been brainwashed into believing NZ and Dunedin are so wonderful and they’re completely oblivious to the outside world that is leaving NZ behind.
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I love your idea. It’s a bit like mine, which was to make an attractive town look ugly. I’d be delighted for you to use my photos (on the flickr site) if you like.
Well done for finally being discovered by the MSM! A badge of honor that is well deserved.
As a request, you may wish to include some urban blight that includes motel frontages.
I am sure that the lower South Island has some fine examples;-)
These photos are funny as hell, love it and I’m a Kiwi. It reminds me of that book ‘Crap Britain’ – but it’s a bit too easy to write a piece of non fiction like that, though. Who thought Germans actually had a sense of humour?! lol.. Me and a fried lived in Dunedin and we both agreed if you got offered a million bucks but couldn’t leave, ever – neither of us would take it!
Thanks, Paul! I don’t know the book, but there’s a nice lil’ blog about this: 1001 Reasons why Britain is crap. Actually, I should write a real post about it…
Great site. Anything that makes us start looking critically at the ugliness of much of our built environment is doing the country a long overdue service! How about an ‘Ugly Shot of the Week’? Start with the ‘sculpture’ at the Titirangi scenic drive roundabout (West Auckland).
Thanks for the idea and the lead! I’ll check out Titirangi. With my lazy posting frequency, pretty much any post becomes the “post of the week” automatically. Update: Haha, I see what you mean! Hilarious! Definitely a candidate for “Monstrosity of the Week”!
You could do a whole special feature on the ugly things N Zers do to trees – especially council ‘pruning’in places like Auckland & Whangarei. The sancrosanct inviolability of overhead wires & cables is a striking feature of such scenes.
Great point, Nigel, thanks for the suggestion. Reminds me of the Canterbury “hedge walls”, too. You wouldn’t happen to have any example photos yourself?
Just remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!