Last Day of Level 3, Stone #2, is the end of a very brief series of recently polished stones from TumbleStone. It was intended that Posts would be made every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday throughout what remained of Covid-19 Alert Level 3 in New Zealand. The Prime Minister announced two days ago that the country will move to Alert Level 2 at midnight tonight.
In New Zealand’s Alert Level system, Level 4 “Eliminate” involved a national lockdown – “Stay at Home” – to minimise cases and prevent further transmission of the virus. New Zealand was in Level 4 from 26 March to 28 April. Level 3 “Restrict” involved only a minimal easing of restrictions – “Stay Safe” – in order to restrict any further outbreaks. And Level 2 “Reduce” involves easing of many economic, travel and social restrictions but with social distancing and hygiene guidelines – “Play it Safe”. I have taken the opportunity to arrange a stone collecting trip by car (and Cook Strait ferry) to the bottom of the South Island in a couple of weeks’ time.
LDOL3 Stone #2 is a recently polished white stone from Gemstone Beach. It could be a quartzite as it has clouds within it as many quartzites tend to, but I cannot be sure of its identity.
On the beach, it looked like an off-white stone with some vague patterns just visible. Tumble polishing has brought out the complex intricacies of its construction.
In a recent Post, “Producing the Photos of the Stones of the Day“, I discussed aspects of photographing polished stones and using the Picasa app to “enhance” images to bring out patterns within the stones. The images below illustrate the stages involved in this for Stone 2 of Level 3.
This is how the “detail” of the stone was produced:
