Peter Murphy's Panoramic VR Weblog

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:32:28 GMT

A grand opening on Thursday night for the new Apple Store in George Street in the city ... panorama (Quicktime, Flash)

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:52:42 GMT

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).

Sat, 31 May 2008 21:50:46 GMT

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).

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:38:00 GMT

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.

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:38:06 GMT

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.

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:14:45 GMT

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.

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:55:07 GMT

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) .

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:54:19 GMT

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.

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:13:18 GMT

Some folks at the Gay Mardi Gras picnic day today ... panorama.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:09:12 GMT

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.

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 12:25:50 GMT

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.

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:01:19 GMT

Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the Australia's only military revolt -- the Rum Rebellion of 1808. The costumed figures are presenting a tableau of the moment when Captain Johnston, head of the rebels, announced the arrest of Governor Bligh (of Bounty fame) to the townsfolk. Panorama. The tableau emulates a version of the scene by painter Raymond Lindsay. The Sydney Morning Herald has a very detailed multimedia account of the rebellion.

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:15:46 GMT

More Festival of Sydney happenings .... this is an event "Haircuts by Children" organised by Canadian group "Mammalian Diving Reflex". "Ideal entertainment for the end of the world" they say on their website ... panorama

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:40:08 GMT

Another panorama from the Festival of Sydney -- this is from Becks Bar -- with DJ Krafty Kuts performing.

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 03:52:38 GMT

This year the Festival of Sydney has taken a more populist turn -- and the city yesterday, the opening day, was full of mass, free events -- including this public wedding in Macquarie Street (the city's historic precinct) .... panorama. Later, at the top of Martin Place French group Airvag installed a collonade of giant inflatable "horns" ... panorama.

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:36:29 GMT

The New Year fireworks last night ... panorama. The computer technology controlling such displays is becoming capable of amazing synchronized sequences now -- on a vast scale in this setting -- and last night had some really novel effects. Fireworks fanatics might like to read this City of Sydney fact sheet about the display.

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:46:21 GMT

This anti-whaling poster spills "blood" onto the footpath. Panorama. I noticed it in Surry Hills this evening. There is an even more radical version apparently.

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:26:28 GMT

At the Newtown Festival yesterday -- panorama -- the masks of Rudd and Howard on the stage probably came from the large Global Warming rally in the city earlier in the day.

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 01:32:15 GMT

Giorgio Armani is in Sydney at the moment. I stumbled across him at this media event in Martin Place -- outside his store in the city yesterday ... panorama.

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:28:12 GMT

From the top of the Harbour Bridge yesterday ... panorama. This is shot from the short tower (called Blinky Bill, for its blinking aviation safety light) which rises a few meters above the main top girder. The cage on top of the tower -- where I am standing -- contains, besides the light, a weather station. Here is another panorama I shot futher down in the bridge a little later.

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:43:15 GMT

This installation by German artist Gregor Schneider opened on Bondi Beach today ... panorama. It references Australia's immigration detention camps which are often dire places in remote desert locations. Here is an "aerial" view of the installation ... panorama.

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:56:14 GMT

Time for a scenic scene perhaps ... this is Mackeral Beach at beautiful Pittwater 40km north of the city yesterday .... panorama.

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:47:43 GMT

These zombies at Sydney University yesterday ... panorama ... were helping create an open source zombie movie. It was part of the worldwide ZombieWalk phenomenon.

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:11:28 GMT

At the main APEC demonstration yesterday ... a flag-burning ... panorama. Here is the same locality a little while later .... after the demonstration had moved further up towards Hyde Park. Panorama. Note the water cannon in the middle of the intersection. This is a new $700,000A purchase for the Riot Squad and the APEC protests marked its first appearances in public.

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:29:33 GMT

George Bush is in town for the APEC meeting and there have been a bunch of demonstrations.... Chaser comedian Chris Taylor turned up as a policeman on a pantomine horse (a reference to the equine influenza epidemic preventing mounted police presence during APEC) at a schoolchildren's demonstration in Belmore Park yesterday. Police objected to the insignia on his shirt .. panorama ... but once they were removed he was allowed to proceed and he rode off triumphantly through the crowd on his horse. Pic1. Pic2. The Chaser team got into a lot more trouble this morning (Thursday) when they drove in a phoney motorcade up to the entrance of the Intercontinental where Bush is staying. Bush this morning visited the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour and I made this panorama of his motorcade (a real one) when he was leaving. He is, I think, in one of these three black limousines.