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.
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.
QV Building, Sydney
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.
Aborigines before White SettlementCaptain Cook’s Landing 1770Second Fleet Landing – 1790Crossing of the Blue Mountains – 1813The Taking of the Children
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.
The beach is where I like to be and the best holidays for me are to be on a beach and swimming in the sea. We live near one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia and in the summer it’s a wonderful place to be. There are also a few river beaches, although I wouldn’t swim in these, too many jellyfish. My dogs love a good dip in the river though.
The theme for Monochrome Madness this week is birds, hosted by Elke @ Eklastic. We have so many birds here in Australia and all so colourful and it would be a shame to take away that colour. So I’ve opted for black or white, or both with just a touch of colour.
Australian IbisBlack CrowBlack CockatooNewly born cygnets following their motherCheeky KookaburraAustralian Pied CormorantOyster CatcherA Squadron of Pelicans
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.
Court House
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!
We enjoyed our stop in historical Gundagai and finding out about this country town.
The apartment I had booked for our stay in Melbourne was in St. Kilda, even though it was from Booking.Com, it was just an Air B n B. As we drove into the carpark I realised it was a stacker park and Anthony was concerned that his long car wouldn’t fit! Luckily a lady who had just finished parking her car said she would help guide the car in. It was a very tight and tricky fit and I would definitely never book a place with stacker parking again. She even tested the elevation to check the fit. All the while with Anthony in the driver seat. The apartment itself was fine with a fantastic view from the large balcony. This would be wonderful in summer.
Meeting Archie
We spent the next two days wandering around Melbourne, eating, drinking and shopping.
I wanted to have a look at the Three Fates displayed at The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne. They were painted by Ox King (Steven Nuttall). They are called Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.
Clotho (left) chose when and whether a person was to be born, spinning the thread of human life. Lachesis (centre) chose the length of a person’s life and measures the thread. Atropos (right) chose when and how a person would die and cuts the thread.
The mural on my left caught my eye as we walked down the street and I had to backtrack to take the photo. A comic book mural featuring Gordan Ramsay, I noticed at the bottom. The sculpture on the right is titled “Creative Brilliance” by Ngardang Girri Kalat Mimini. It is located outside the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre.
A few from our evenings out wining and dining
Hall’s Gap and The Grampians
I had planned a two day visit, overnight in Ballarat and then onto The Grampians. Anthony said he wanted to experience really cold weather. It looked like his wish would come true as the temperatures were hovering around 0 to 3.
We had to make the most of our time away as it was so short, so on arriving at The Grampians Motel, we checked in and made our way into the picturesque town of Halls Gap. The motel was situated outside of the town and in a beautifully landscaped area. Complete with its own troupes of kangaroos.
I made my way over to a very large one and froze on the spot when he got up and I started walking slowly backwards.
Views from our room
Infinitely more friendly!
We did just a couple of small walks around The Grampians, there are some wonderful trails for the more serious hikers, sadly I’m not one of those.
A zoomed in shot of some climbers up in the rocks on the right.
The Grampians are a range of quartzose sandstone mountains that were a million years in the making. There are five spectacular sandstone ridges running north to south with steep and craggy slopes on the eastern side and gentler slopes to the west. They are the result of earth movements lifting and tilting the hard sandstones to create an impressive landscape of peaks and valleys. Source: The Grampians
I thought at first the markings on the trees above were some kind of symbolic carvings! The patterns are so intricate and look like ancient configurations. It’s just where the bark has fallen off though or maybe some beetle borings.
On our drive back to Melbourne we stopped at a winery in Ararat called Montara. We shared a delicious charcuterie platter and sampled the wines.
As you’ve noticed I do take quite a few selfies, I enjoy posing everyone, so when a stranger offers to take our photo I never object. It’s the awkward moment after, do you check it straightaway, look later or just take your own anyway. I’ve yet to decide how to deal with this. They do generally come out okay but if not you’ve lost that opportunity. Also they take so many! It’s the control freak in me.
All too soon our mini trip away was over. The next day we would be heading over to Sydney. with another overnight stop on the way.
So technically, I didn’t drive from Perth, but flew to Adelaide to meet Anthony who did drive! Also while I’m being upfront here I didn’t do any of the driving, I did a lot of sleeping though. If sleeping was an olympic sport, I would definitely be up for a gold medal.
I arrived shortly before Anthony and checked into the Stamford Grand in Glenelg. We’ve stayed here before, a few years ago and it was a welcome return. I was fortunate enough to be upgraded to a fantastically large room overlooking the ocean.
Glenelg, South Australia
Stamford Grand Hotel, Glenelg, South AustraliaView from our room Grand staircase, Stamford Grand, Glenelg
After I had checked in I went for a walk along the promenade and down the pier. There were quite a few people around considering it was a Tuesday afternoon in winter.
View across the bay from the pierReflections of the sun’s rays
Beautiful sunset from the room
Anthony arrived shortly before sunset and we walked to the marina where there are many restaurants. We chose a tapas place and had an excellent dinner.
After a good night’s rest and a buffet breakfast we set off on our long drive over to St. Kilda in Victoria. It would take approximately 8 hours and 30 minutes, plenty of sleeping time.
Serviceton, Victoria
Anthony is already in Victoria and I’m still in South Australia – “you snooze, you lose”.
We had hoped to have a coffee break here but sadly the cafe had closed it’s doors for good.
One of the great things about driving these long distances is that you get to see all the small country towns. Some aren’t the best, but there are some wonderful surprises along the way. An example is Kaniva, Victoria where we stopped for lunch.
Kaniva, Victoria
I did enjoy the sheep art trail along the road. I looked up the meaning of why there are so many sheep. I found it was to encourage visitors to look closer at the town. There are 46 sheep in all, we definitely didn’t have the time to find them all. Grazing sheep are still very much part of a sustainable agricultural future for this area. They help improve both soil health and plant biodiversity. Source: Kaniva.org
We bought sandwiches and ate at one of the picnic tables, enjoying the winter sun.
Then we were off again to arrive in Melbourne in time for dinner at Laurence and Maddy’s.
This little outing was taken during the last school holidays and it’s also just down the road from me. The Claremont Museum is somewhere I’d never visited even though we’ve lived here for 20 years. I thought I would check it out with my two munchkins.
The building was actually a school once upon a time, called Freshwater Bay School opening in 1892. It was subsequently used for a place of worship, a boarding house for young men and also a police station.
There is no entry fee which was surprising and when we entered the kids were given clipboards by the lady in charge with photos of tiny lego men which were hidden all around the museum.
Ready to start searchingLessons from the good old days
After spending a good hour in here we wandered down to the small river beach and as it was a hot day, they decided to have a paddle and build sandcastles.
Sand and water provide endless entertainments for kids.
Time for lunch and a play
After I had taken this photo I zoomed in and was taken aback at how creepy and ugly these mini sculptures were!
“Kids, hallowed be thy youth. Enjoy it while it lasts.” ― DON SANTO
Oh! to be young again is many a lament you often hear from old people, but I’m not sure I would want to be a child again. I’m very happy I don’t have to go to school anymore, especially not hundreds of years ago anyway.
“No matter if you’re 14 or 90 years old, you’ll never be this young again.” Matt Purcell
Tina from Travels and Trifles is the host this week for Lens-Artist and the topic if you haven’t guessed is “To be young again”.
