June 25th, 2009
In the Blue Mountains to the west of the city the townships keep to the central plateau and north and south there are enormous thickly forested valleys with sheer cliffs … panorama. Being a landscape of ancient tropical seabeds there are coal seams here and small scale mining went on until the 1930s. Mining is blamed for the landslide you see here — where a large hunk of cliff tumbled into the valley in the middle of the night in early 1932. For a year crowds gathered at a large crack in the cliff top hoping to see some action but in the end it fell unwatched.
Posted in blue mountains, nature, scenic | No Comments »
May 27th, 2009
At the Opera House last night, projections from across Sydney Cove, onto the sails … panorama: Quicktime version, Flash version.
Posted in art, scenic, sydney harbour, urban life | No Comments »
May 9th, 2009
I was in Melbourne last weekend and went up to the 86th floor of the new Eureka Tower on the South Bank, where there is an observation deck … panorama. In the opening view of the panorama you can see the Yarra River winding its way west - then south, to Port Phillip Bay. The most impressive part of the Eureka Tower “experience” I thought was the sci-fi speed and smoothness of the lifts. Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower lifts are placid in comparison.
Posted in architecture, scenic, sculpture, tower, urban life | No Comments »
April 25th, 2009
On Anzac Day (the national day of remembrance) there are a number of ceremonies in the CBD — including this one at the War Memorial in Hyde Park at noon. Panorama.
Posted in anzac day, crowd, politics, urban life | No Comments »
April 12th, 2009
A crucifixion reenactment in the city on Good Friday. Panorama. Here is a little movie from earlier on. Movie. The Roman guards used to flay Jesus with whips and Mary used to run up to Jesus and carry on — but the last few years the action has been tamed down some. There is a person however with stage blood in a sauce bottle who discreetly sprays Jesus periodically so he miraculously appears to get bloodier as he procedes down the street.
Posted in crowd, festival, religion, urban life | No Comments »
March 5th, 2009
“Mirrored Years” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, at Circular Quay, on at the moment, is a large scale retrospective of the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama — and includes a couple of her amazing mirrored “Infinity Rooms”. viz. “Phalli’s Field” : Quicktime panorama. And “Fireflies on the Water” : Quicktime panorama.
Posted in art, sculpture, yayoi kusama | No Comments »
January 19th, 2009
On the weekend Cockatoo Island was given over to a music festival, All Tomorrow’s Parties — and the turbine hall here was one of the venues. Panorama. This is the same location that was used for the Sydney Biennale opening night party last year. Panorama. The headlining act for the music festival was Nick Cave … panorama .. at dusk. You can see the turbine hall exterior to the right of the stage in this panorama.
Posted in Uncategorized, architecture, cockatoo island, crowd, music, sydney harbour | No Comments »
January 16th, 2009
Dame Edna, Australia’s “housewife superstar” presided at an event at David Jones store in the city today. Panorama.
Posted in crowd, stunt, urban life | No Comments »
January 10th, 2009
Last night was Opening Night for the Festival of Sydney and giant crowds surged through the city. One of the entertainments was this performance of a pyrophone (fire organ) piece by a Melbourne group. Panorama. Here is a view of some of the crowds in Martin Place … panorama.
Posted in art, crowd, festival, music, sculpture | No Comments »
December 31st, 2008
New Years Eve fireworks last night by the harbour. Noteworthy this year were amazingly bright coloured spotlight effects and startling strafing sequences of fireworks along the length of the bridge. Panorama.
Posted in crowd, new years eve | No Comments »
December 24th, 2008
The backpacker party (Santa’s elves in the foreground) at Bondi Beach on Christmas Day is a long term Sydney tradition. Panorama. Also traditional is the attendance of Santa Claus at the Wayside Chapel for the Christmas dinner for the homeless and unattached. Panorama.
Posted in architecture, art, crowd, festival, politics, scenic, sculpture, sydney harbour, urban life | No Comments »
December 19th, 2008
A giant biomorphic sculptural form “Greeen Void” has been installed in the atrium at the Customs House in the city by architects Lava. Panorama. . There are more details about it here.
Posted in architecture, art, sculpture | No Comments »
November 9th, 2008
Fundraising gymnasts at Newtown Festival yesterday — they had some unruly spectators to deal with sometimes … panorama, Quicktime.
Posted in crowd, festival | No Comments »
October 19th, 2008
Tamarama sunset yesterday - panorama, Quicktime.
Posted in scenic | No Comments »
September 10th, 2008
The six month long annual cycle of suburban festivals has begun — from last weekend, Marrickville Festival in the inner west … panorama Quicktime.
Posted in crowd, festival | No Comments »
September 10th, 2008
A promotional stunt involving a giant fishtank and models outside the Customs House in the city today .. panorama Quicktime
Posted in stunt, urban life | No Comments »
August 5th, 2008
I made a second trip to Jenolan Caves last weekend and made some more panoramas. First … the Cathedral Cave … panorama, Quicktime, Flash. This is the tallest chamber in the caves. There is an interesting article on the “Age and Origin of the Jenolan Tourist Caves” here. Here is the Orient Cave, perhaps the most elaborately “decorated” chamber in the Caves … panorama, Flash
Posted in jenolan caves, scenic | No Comments »
July 15th, 2008
This is Barangaroo in the leadup to the first WYD Mass yesterday — Panorama, Quicktime, Flash. Barangaroo is a a large area of wharfage which is due for conversion to parks, apartments etc shortly. Originally there were rocks and beaches here but they were excavated away in the 19C to make this cliff edge and the area for the wharf. Here is the Pope in his Popemobile whizzing past me in the Rocks last night (Thursday night) … Panorama, Quicktime. I got another panorama of the Pope on Sunday at Randwick Racecourse where he did a circuit of the enormous crowd before conducting the final Mass of WYD … panorama, Quicktime. Here from earlier in the week “Nuns on a Bus” … panorama Quicktime. These nuns venerate Saint Faustina, “the first saint of the Third Millenium”, and the painting they are holding represents one of her visions.
Posted in religion, scenic, sydney harbour, world youth day 2008 | No Comments »
July 6th, 2008
World Youth Day - and the influx of vast numbers of young Catholic ”pilgrims” - is fast approaching. The body of Italian saint-in-the-making Pier Giorgio Frassati has arrived and has been put on display for devotees in an inner-city church. Panorama - Quicktime, Flash. The last pope, John Paul II, is being remembered for WYD by a new statue of him installed outside St Mary’s in the city. Panorama - Quicktime, Flash . Inside the cathedral a rather novel looking Australian-themed Madonna picture “Mary of the Southern Cross” by local portrait painter Paul Newton has been installed. Panorama - Quicktime, Flash. Update: Monday 14th. Here is a panorama .. Quicktime, of the Cross (like the Olympic Torch for WYD), arriving at Circular Quay this morning.
Posted in religion, wyd 2008 | No Comments »
June 21st, 2008
A grand opening on Thursday night for the new Apple Store in George Street in the city … panorama (Quicktime, Flash)
Posted in apple | No Comments »
June 21st, 2008
A spectacular venue on Cockatoo Island (the largest island in the Harbour) for the opening party of the Sydney Biennale on Wednesday night … panorama (Quicktime, Flash).
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 1st, 2008
I was at Jenolan Caves last week … PANORAMA (Quicktime Flash). This is the Temple of Baal cave, one of the many highly decorated chambers in the caves. Jenolan Caves is a three hour (train/bus) trip west of Sydney and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. The Showcaves website has a lot of info on this particular cave in their world cave directory. Here is another panorama — of the Grand Arch — a large exterior cavern … PANORAMA (Quicktime Flash).
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
April 25th, 2008
Anzac Day today, the 93rd anniversary of the first major military encounter of Australian troops — against Turkish forces at Gallipoli. The crowd numbers seemed distinctly down on the last few years.
panorama
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2008
At the Royal Easter Show yesterday in Sideshow Alley …. panorama, video. The zombie character behind the barrel periodically lurches into life, looks up despairingly, then, vomits, hyper-realistically, quantites of toxic-looking gunk. (Vomiting robots you might think would be thin on the ground but a little Googling shows this is not so — they are used for instance in dental training simulators.) Here is a panorama of one of the more heavy duty thrill rides. A panorama from the Poultry Pavilion. Here is the scene during some judging in the Cattle Pavilion . .. panorama.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 17th, 2008
Here am I being blessed by a bunch of bishops (and a pope) at the St Patricks Day parade yesterday … panorama. The pope is coming to Sydney later in the year for World Youth Day. The peculiar looking building facade behind them used to have a giant Scientology volcano on it — with ads for Dianetics on the now dead big screen on top.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 25th, 2008
Sizable crowds turned out yesterday to see the new Cunard liner Queen Victoria on her first visit to Sydney – panorama – and the final visit of the QEII (off to become a floating hotel in the Middle East) .
Posted in scenic, sydney harbour | No Comments »
February 20th, 2008
A warm sunny day today after a month of cool, wet weather …. panorama. This is Dawes Point after Captain Dawes of the First Fleet - who built the colony’s first observatory here. The ugly metal sign on the concrete pillar out in the water is a speed limit notice for boats. A little way along the shore towards the city is Campbells Cove — panorama — the site of the colony’s first Stores. The tall ship is the Svanen.
Posted in scenic, sydney harbour | No Comments »
February 18th, 2008
Some folks at the Gay Mardi Gras picnic day today … panorama.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 14th, 2008
Prime Minister Rudd delivered a long awaited apology to Australia’s indigenous people as the first order of business of the new Labor government in Canberra today. Crowds gathered in many venues across the country to watch the historic speech including here in Redfern in inner Sydney. Panorama.
Posted in politics | No Comments »
February 10th, 2008
The internet spilled onto the streets today with global Anonymous (a web grouping) vs. Scientology protests. In Sydney about 150 protestors assembled outside the Scientology headquarters in the city and yelled slogans (some obscurely nerdy no doubt to the general population - like the acronymic “GTFO“) and held placards and distributed leaflets. Here they are giving obeisance to Lord Xenu, the evil alien nemesis of humanity according to Scientology. Panorama.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
