Turbulent Times

Today's post takes me back to a very "turbulent" time of my life. Back in July of 2009, I was lucky enough to have the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream and visit New Zealand. I spent 3 weeks there. The first week was centered around my presentation at an educational conference on the North Island. The next two weeks were spent touring the South Island specifically to photograph some of the amazing scenery there. Several days of our trip were spent in and around the "Adventure Capital" of New Zealand, Queenstown. I spent little time in the town proper except to sleep as the great sights were away from the city center. I did happen to be in my hotel on the night of July 15th. At 9:22 pm, I was in my bed watching TV (we were planning a dawn photo shoot for 7/16!) when the turbulence started! At first my bed started to feel like a waterbed and then I heard the bottles and glasses in the mini bar start to jingle. As soon as I realized what was happening, I got up and opened the door of my 4th floor hotel room and stood there. The motion of the earthquake was a rolling one, and felt as if I was on a ship in rough seas. The scariest part for me was standing  in the door and thinking that I did not want to "ride" the building down in case of a collapse, but I also did not want to be in the lobby area if there was a collapse. Of course, the quake was over before I had a chance to settle my potential "lose - lose" situation.  Thankfully, there was no damage to the hotel and all returned to normal after a bit and my nerves settled. 


Given the amazing level of connectedness we have, I knew within minutes of  going online the location and magnitude of the earthquake. It was a 7.8 magnitude that struck 115 miles away from Queenstown in the Tasman Sea off of the coast of the New Zealand near Dusky Sound. (Click here for technical details). This quake was one of the top 4 most powerful earthquakes in the world that year! 



Rosy fingers Dawn Over the Remarkables(Click the image to see it in the original Blue Lion Gallery)
The image you see here was taken the next morning from the shores of Lake Wakatipu. The mountains are called the "Remarkables" and host a large ski area on the back side.  The morning was a very calm one which was a definite contrast to the excitement of the previous turbulent night! 
Thankfully, the quake was remote enough that no people were injured and property damage was minimal. By comparison, the devastation of a smaller quake in an urban area can be extreme. The Haitian earthquake of January, 2010 measured "only" a 7.0 on the Richter Scale and the deadly Christchurch earthquake in February, 2011 was "only" a 6.3 on the Richter Scale. I know I remain grateful for the location of the Dusky Sound earthquake and also for New Zealand's strict building codes which dramatically reduce the damage of earthquakes. 
I'm curious as to what earthquake experience my Blue Lion Blog readers may have had. Please feel free to share your experiences in the comment section below. 

The Fires of Mordor

I took this image near Queenstown, New Zealand looking across Lake Wakatipu  toward the Remarkables mountain range. The sky was not looking favorable for much of a sunset shot and then a break in the clouds allowed me to see the front of the Remarkables bathed in the last light sandwiched between the lower clouds and a fog bank just above the lake surface. I named this shot "The Fires of Mordor" as it had the foreboding feeling straight out of the Lord of the Rings books.

The Fires of Mordor

Queenstown, New Zealand

Click in the image to view in the original gallery.

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