New South Wales – Travels with Ali

~ Leading Lines from Across the Globe ~

For Monochrome Madness this week, Sarah from Travel with Me, has challenged us to find leading lines in our photos.

“Leading lines are a compositional technique that uses lines in a photograph to guide the viewer’s eye towards the subject. They can be natural or man-made, and can be straight, curved, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Leading lines can create a sense of movement and depth, and can be used to direct the viewer’s focus, create balance, and tell a story“.

I’ve thoroughly scoured my archives to see if I had anything along these lines (excuse the pun!).

I wouldn’t have necessarily taken a photo because of the lines, these just become apparent after viewing. I will now try and implement this technique.

It’s something I’ve come to appreciate on these challenges, I find out more and more about different ways of taking photos.

Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a popular tourist attraction. For the more adventurous and not something I’ve ever felt inclined to do! I prefer looking up at the ant like characters at the top.

Sydney Harbour Bridge
Hong Kong Skyscrapers

Stairs leading up to a temple in
Luang Prabang
Looking over to Mount Sakurajima, Japan

Quiet street in Luang Prabang, mostly bikes. Such a peaceful road.

Exploring Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building: Staircases, Windows and Clocks

Just last month we were in Sydney visiting friends and relatives. We had a day out in the city and visited the iconic Queen Victoria Building. It was a win-win for both of us, shops for Anthony and amazing photo opportunities for me. The architecture is stunning and the stained glass windows beautiful. There are many cafes and patisseries to have coffee or lunch, all with excellent service and delicious menus.

The QVB opened in 1898, and was designed by George McRae, it replaced the original Sydney Markets and was named to honour the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee. Its architecture is Romanesque and once housed a concert hall and warehouses. In the 1930s it was remodelled using Art Deco style. In the 60s it faced near demolition but was rescued in time and put back to her former glory.

It’s feels like stepping back in time for a few hours, and it makes a change from the modern malls that are now common place.

The Great Australian Clock

The Great Australian Clock, designed and made by Chris Cook, weighs four tonnes and stands ten metres tall. It features 33 scenes from Australian history. Below are just a few of the ones that I managed to take good shots at.

The scenes depict actual events and are quite distressing. They are quite thought provoking and some of the issues are still being addressed. The Aboriginal hunter above circles the exterior of the clock continuously.

“The hours of folly are measured by the clock; but of wisdom, no clock can measure.” William Blake

The Royal Clock by Neil Glasser

Unfortunately I missed the scenes from English history from the above clock. The clock activates on the hour from 9 am until 9 pm. Each performance begins with the music of the trumpet, and each scene is viewed one at a time. An excuse to revisit next time I am in Sydney.

Looking up at the glassed turrets

The beautiful stained glass arched windows overlooking the street below.

Sydney’s oldest steel spiral staircase, which is 119 years old.

After lunch we took the new Sydney Metro which wasn’t around the last time we were here. It runs through the city centre and to other regions of Sydney. We found it extremely easy to use and so convenient.

Just a few more shots of Sydney City Centre that I found on our walk back to Circular Quay.

I loved the two paintings of Sydney scenes above. They are some of the paintings that have been put on the side of hoarding boards, surrounding another skyscraper about to be built.

The Tank Stream Fountain above shows Australian plants and animals, including frogs, snakes, goannas, echidnas, crabs, birds and tortoises. I spent a while looking and walking around these sculptures as Anthony walked further and further away!

Just a quick glimpse into some of the things Sydney has to offer, amongst an abundance of other delights.

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~ On the Road to Gundagai – Midway between Melbourne and Sydney ~

This is a place I’d never heard of, let alone knew there was a song about it. I opened up the maps and Gundagai seemed the obvious choice, plus I liked the name! The song was sung by Slim Dusty and written in 1922 by Jack O’Hagan. Some useless trivia that might come in handy for a quiz night.

Another one night stand in another motel, The Tuckerbox Motor Inn.

A tad chilly to throw something on the barbie!

After checking in we drove back into “town” and had dinner at The Family Hotel. A lovely country pub in a fabulous building.

Located along the Murrumbidgee River, Gundagai is quaint and picturesque. Perfect for a morning’s walk along the high street and learning about the history of this small town.

The Tuckerbox Motor Inn, I imagine, gets its name from the “Dog on the Tuckerbox” monument.

A tribute to the pioneers who came to settle the colonies and their dogs.

The legend of the Dog began in the 1850s with a poem Bullocky Bill by an otherwise unknown author ‘Bowyang Yorke’, about the partnership of the bullockies who opened up the land to settlers, and the dogs who accompanied them and guarded their possessions.
Source – Visit Gundagai

It was interesting to read about certain events that had occurred over the years in Gundagai. For instance, The Great Flood in 1852, when the Murrumbidgee River broke its banks.

The sculpture below honours two indigenous men who went above and beyond to aid in the rescue of several people.

Continuing our walk I found three murals of cows with a plaque commerrating one of them.

**Daisy, Melba & Daphnie – Artist: Yianni Johns**

The legend of three sisters – Daisy on the left was screaming in frustration and jealousy. Melba was producing so much milk that it left Daisy dry. The same goes for Daphnie on the right.

Melba was the World’s Butter-Fat cow in 1924. In over 365 days Melba yielded 32,522 lbs of milk. I wonder how she felt after all that pulling and tugging!

The wide high street of Gundagai, a misty morning clearing to a beautiful sunny afternoon.

We did have a wander around the Pen Museum. Anthony had quite the chat with the “curator” about the amazing amount of pens exhibited. It was definitely a labour of love as there was no entry fee just an honesty box. There was also other paraphernalia such as buttons, badges and pins.

All too soon it was back to the car and onwards to Sydney. Stopping for petrol I spotted “The Big Koala”. There seem to be a few Big Koalas around Australia along with Big Kangaroos, Parrots, Sheep. They are something of an icon along the highways.

Before I nodded off I spotted some odd looking boulders along the highway, so had Anthony make a stop. When I googled them they are called “Mystery Boulders”, and remain so because there is no other information out there!