Belinda Carlisle – finally!

In August 2021 Nadia and I bought tickets to go see Belinda Carlisle in concert in February 2022.

Screenshot of a ticket purchase confirmation email that reads, “Ameel, You’re In!”. The ticket is for a Belinda Carlisle concert at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda for 8pm on Friday, 11 February 2022.

Unfortunately, the concert got rescheduled thrice: twice because of pandemic lockdowns and once because Belinda was having knee-replacement surgery.

But three years later it all finally worked out :)

Photo of a man and woman standing in front of a massive poster for Belinda Carlisle’s ‘Decades’ tour at the Palais Theatre.

And the concert was great!

Photo of an indoor concert stage on which Belinda Carlisle and her band are performing.

I thought I’d come out of this with one of her mega hits stuck in my head, but instead it was In Too Deep and Big Scary Animal – both of which I love. So yay!

Village drive-in FTW!

I wanted to watch Twisters at the drive-in cinema, but it had just stopped playing there. Oh well. Our alternative film was Deadpool & Wolverine and that was a really fun watch too :)

Photo of a large outdoor projection screen at a drive-in cinema. The screen shows the Village Cinemas logo. There are few cars parked between the photographer and the screen.

[Photo walk] University of Melbourne #2

I’m on leave this week so I picked Nadia up from her office at the University of Melbourne. While I was there, I took a couple of photos.

End of the day at Dr Dax Kitchen

Photo taken from the outside of a nearly-empty cafe. A barista is making coffee behind the counter and there are two people sitting at the only occupied table.

Nadia on Royal Parade

Photo of a smiling woman walking towards the photographer. The woman is wearing loose pants with pink and yellow butterfly designs on it, a red top, and a gold necklace with a sunflower pendant.

Positive potato

Photo of several items on a shelf in a large wooden bookcase. The items are an intersectional pride flag set in transparent resin, a large blue-and-yellow mug, a crochet potato, a Newton’s cradle, and several books. The crochet potato has an eyes and a mouth, and it is holding up a sign that reads: “Positive potato. I might be a tiny potato, but I believe in you. Go do your thing!”

Back of the Howard Florey Institute building

Photo of the back of a large university building with floor-to-ceiling windows through which you can see a series of walkways, balconies, and office doors.

Thursday morning at Southern Cross

Yes, that is a gold-tipped, bright red, high-heel shoe on top of a train carriage at Southern Cross Station around 9am on Thursday morning.

Photo looking down at the top of a blue and silver coloured train carriage. Wedged into one of the grooves running along the roof of this carriage is a bright red high-heeled show with a gold coloured tip.

Hopefully there was a fun story to go along with this!

[Photo walk] Along the Yarra River #2

On this week’s photo walk I decided to use only my long lens (50-230mm APSC, which is 77-352mm full-frame). This let me really zoom-in and isolate my subjects in the frame, which can be challenging, but is fun to do.

Parks VIC boat and runabout on the Yarra River

Photo of a green-and-cream, flat-bottom boat towing a runabout next to it as it makes its way down an urban river. The boat is about to pass underneath an eight-lane road bridge.

Bicycle hoops in Docklands, Melbourne

Black-and-white photo of maybe twenty metal bicycle hoops installed in a covered area outside an office building. There is one bicycle locked to a hoop about two-thirds of the way down.

Collins, Bourke, and La Trobe Street crossings over Wurundjeri Way and Southern Cross train lines

Photo that shows three vehicle and pedestrian bridges across a road and several train lines.

I don’t do drama, I do nails

Photo of an advertising chalkboard placed outside a nail salon that reads, in bright, stylised, chalk colours, “I don’t do drama, I do nails”.

Frankston train crossing the Melbourne Aquarium building

Close-up photo of a yellow-and-blue train train travelling down an elevated train line next to a blue building.

Let them out!!!

Photo of a sign on a building that reads, “Melbourne SEALIFE Aquarium” below which someone has graffitied, in all capital letters, “let them out!!!”.

Guiding boat renters back to the dock

Photo of a woman standing at the end of a short dock on an urban river. The woman is talking to some people on a boat that’s just off-camera.

Getting new boat renters on their way

Photo of a man standing at the end of a short dock on an urban river. The man is talking to some people on a boat that’s just off-camera. In the foreground are four people sitting on a small boat that has a large table build into the middle of it. This and several other identical rental boat are docked along the river.

Go-Boat ‘GOBO’ docked along the Yarra River

Photo of a motorboat docked on its own alongside a short dock on an urban river.

Checking her phone while heading slowly down the Yarra River

Photo of a woman piloting a motorboat down the middle of an urban river. The woman is looking down at the phone she is holding in her hand.

Killing time while waiting for friends

Photo of a man sitting in a river-viewing area next to some trees. The man is looking down at the phone in his hands.

Chatting on the Evan Walker Bridge across the Yarra River

Photo of a man and woman standing on a pedestrian bridge across an urban river, chatting with each other. The man is leaning back onto the railing. Another man, wearing earphones and looking at his phone, is walking along the bridge near them.

Sweep rowing training on the Yarra River

Close-up photo of two sets of sweep rowers (in which each person holds only one oar with both hands) from the Australian national team rowing along an urban river.

Sweep rowers on the Yarra River

Photo of two sets of sweep rowers (in which each person holds only one oar with both hands) from the Australian national team rowing along an urban river. In the background, and parked along the farther bank, is a low, flat, blue-and-white, river cruise boat with a ‘Melbourne River Cruises’ sign painted on it.

Guiding the sweep rowers on the Yarra River

Photo of a motorboat with three rowing coaches/trainers making their way along an urban river.

Piloting the Yarra Duchess along the Yarra River in Melbourne

Photo of a man piloting a blue-and-white coloured, flat-bottomed, river cruise boat along an urban river.

Barista at AFLOAT pouring a beer from the tap

Photo of a barista at AFLOAT, a floating bar and restaurant on the Yarra River in Melbourne, pouring a beer while chatting to one of the servers.

Don't forget life.

Photo of a postcard-sized, zine-like, printed poem stuck with tape to the pillar of a green-coloured outdoor stairway. The poem reads, “Life is frantic chaos. But there are still roses for you to stop and smell. Don’t forget life”. It is signed @jaidynpoetry.

Trip to Pakistan 2024: people

Nadia and I took three weeks off to go visit friends and family in Pakistan. Naturally I took several photos as we travelled from one place to the next :)

Selfie at Melbourne Airport before heading off on our holiday

We had an almost-10pm flight out of Melbourne, so we had dinner at Melbourne Airport right after we checked-in.

Selfie of a man and woman, both wearing black t-shirts, backpacks, and face masks, standing in an airport terminal.

All set to fly from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi

Neither of us minds having seats near the bathroom and neither of us minds sitting right at the back of the plane, so we picked seats in the second-last row of this Boeing 777 since that row has just two seats on the window side :)

Selfie of a man and woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated in an aircraft. The two are giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

Selfie along the C-gates arm at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A

Abu Dhabi Airport’s brand new Terminal A is quite roomy (having been built for future growth) and is a surprisingly comfortable place to hang out for a ten-hour layover.

Selfie of a man wearing a bright orange jacket standing in the middle of a long terminal corridor, between gates C28 and C29.

Selfie to celebrate our arrival at Karachi Airport

Yay Karachi!

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, standing next to their luggage at the international arrivals gate of an airport.

Ready for the first of our three flights back to Melbourne, this one from Islamabad to Karachi

It took us almost forty hours to get back from Islamabad to Melbourne (via Karachi and Abu Dhabi). This was the start of our first leg.

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated inside an aircraft cabin during boarding.

Ready for the second of our three flights back to Melbourne, this one from Karachi to Abu Dhabi

This was the start of our second leg, waiting in the international departure lounge.

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated in a departure lounge at an airport.

Waiting for breakfast at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A

This is towards the end of our twelve hour layover in Abu Dhabi.

Photo of a woman, wearing a black hoodie and face mask, leaning on a restaurant table in an airport. Behind her is a floor-to-ceiling window that looks out onto and airport terminal apron.

Selfie before boarding our flight to Melbourne

We’re making sure to stretch our legs and stand as much as we can before our non-stop, thirteen hour flight to Melbourne.

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black tops and face masks, standing in a departure lounge at an airport.

Ready for the third of our three flights back to Melbourne, this one from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne

All aboard and ready to boogie (aka sleep) on this lovely Boeing 787 (yay!).

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated inside an aircraft cabin during boarding.

We hadn’t been back to Pakistan since late 2019, so this trip was very much overdue and it was a great way to start the year.

2023 Boxing Day test at the MCG

Since moving to Australia in 2006, this is only the second time that Pakistan has played Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Nadia and I attended day three of the last test match, back in 2016.

Photo of the grounds at a massive cricket stadium, taken from an under-cover seat some distance away from the field.

This year I attended day one of the match with a bunch of family friends.

Selfie of four people seated in a row at a cricket match, three of whom are wearing Pakistan cricket team gear.

Here are some of the photos I took while I was there.

Lots of ways to get to Melbourne Cricket Ground

Photo of a sign post at the Melbourne Cricket ground showing the walking time and distance (in kilometres) from this post to Jolimont Railway Station, tram routes 48 and 75 along Wellington Parade, Flinders Street Railway Station, tram route 70 along Swan Street, and Richmond Railway Station.

Train tracks between the MCG and Melbourne & Olympic Parks

Photo taken through a wire mesh fence of half a dozen train tracks running between where the photographer is standing and several buildings and sports centres on the other side. A blue-and-yellow Metro train is running along one of these tracks. A covered, elevated walkway runs above the tracks.

Welcome to the Boxing Day test

Photo of an entry gate at Melbourne Cricket Ground, which about two dozen people waiting in short queues to get through security and ticketing. A large digital sign above the gate reads, in all capital letters, “Welcome to the boxing day test”.

Qantas Choir getting ready to sing the Australian national anthem

Photo of three rows of young women, all wearing an identical uniform of black shoes, black pants, and cream coloured tops, standing in choir formation inside a massive cricket stadium.

Qantas Choir singing the Australian national anthem

Photo of three rows of young women, all wearing an identical uniform of black shoes, black pants, and cream coloured tops, standing in choir formation inside a massive cricket stadium. On the other side of the large ground are the cricket players standing next to their respective country flags.

Cricketer Shaheen Afridi warming up before his bowling spell

Photo of a male cricket player, wearing an all-white kit, jumping in the air as part of his warm-up routine.

Cricketer David Warner batting

Photo of a male cricket player, wearing an all-white kit, standing at the crease and ready to face ball that is being bowled to him.

Young Pakistani supporter

Photo of a young boy in a while t-shirt and a green coloured Pakistan team hat watching a cricket match.

Cricketer Shaheen Afridi bowling

Photo of a male cricket player, wearing an all-white kit, about to release the ball he is bowling.

Melbourne Cricket Club Members Reserve stand

Photo of four tiers of cricket stands, each with a café, bar, or corporate suites behind them. A large sign on one of these seating tiers reads, ‘Melbourne Cricket Club’.

DJ Ash bringing the music to the MCG outfield

Photo of a male music DJ standing at his console while he chats to a man dressed in a bright, multi-coloured ‘Squad Pakistan’ shirt with a large dhol slung across his back.

Karachi Street Food stall outside the MCG

Photo of an outdoor food stall set up in a large garden. A sign above the stall reads, in all capital letters, ‘Karachi street food’. There are several people milling around the food stand, and a line to the food stand extends off-camera.

Long lunch-time line for the Karachi Street Food stall outside the MCG

Photo of an outdoor food stall set up in a large garden with picnic tables placed around it. A sign above the stall reads, in all capital letters, ‘Karachi street food’. A stall in the background has a sign that reads, ‘Sugarcane Juice’. There are several people standing in the garden, and a long line of people queuing at the food stand extends off-camera.

[Photo walk] Collins Street, Melbourne #2 (27mm only)

It’s week two of shooting at only 27mm (which is 18mm on my mirrorless APS-C sensor camera). Like I predicted last week, this focal length works much better when you’re walking through a city centre where everything is closer together. You can make the most of the wide-angle view to capture the scene/vibe and it is easier to get closer to people and objects.

Grey-blue buildings on a grey day

Photo taken from ground level looking straight up to the tops of a few tall office buildings. The buildings all have blue-grey windows and the sky overhead is overcast and grey.

Evening showers in Docklands

Photo looking up at a few tall office buildings through a glass awning in front of a build that's on the other side of the street. The glass of the awning is wet because of the rain.

Warm buns in a shelf at Breadtop

Close-up photo taken through a shop window of several, individually wrapped buns lying in a large wooden tray in a bakery.

Interesting fashion choices for a rain day

Photo of the legs and feet of a man standing at an intersection. The man is wearing shorts, calf-length black office socks (with a white pattern on them), and a pair of what appear to be rock climbing shoes with grips on all six sides (basically everywhere but the hole that the foot goes through). The man is carrying a cloth satchel in his left hand.

No one is seated outdoors on a rainy day

Photo of several wooden tables and benches lined up along the edge of a wide footpath in the city centre. There are also a few metal tables and chairs lined up next to the wooden ones. The area is covered by a couple of large, black-and-white striped umbrellas, but all the tables and chairs are wet nonetheless. Across the street is a line of several brownstone office buildings.

Umbrellas out on a rainy day in the city

Photo of a woman standing at an intersection, waiting for the light to change so she can cross. The woman is wearing a black puffer jacket and a white, patterned face mask. She is holding a domed, transparent umbrella in her right hand and a smartphone in her left hand (held close to her body so it stays under the umbrella).

Liberation can only be achieved…

Close-up photo of a large piece of graffiti painted on a wall that reads (in stylised, all capital letters) “Liberation can only by achieved through grace, radical understanding, and self love”.

Tram stops? I sure hope it does!

Photo of a large yellow road sign along tram tracks at an intersection in the city centre. The sign has an arrow pointing left and all-caps black lettering that reads “tram stops”.

You are at the corner of Queen and Collins Streets, Melbourne

Photo of a large street map installed on a tall, wide metal slab along the side of a road in the city centre. Marked on the map is a blue-filled circle that reads “You”. A larger blue circle drawn around the map is labelled ‘5 minutes walk”.

Empty benches on a rainy day in the city

Close-up photo taken from seat-height along the length of two metal benches installed along a footpath in the city centre. Both benches are wet, and so no one is sitting in them.

Wet benches on a rainy day in the city

Close-up photo taken from seat-height along the length of two metal benches installed along a footpath in the city centre. Both benches are wet, and so no one is sitting in them.

A bike named Larry (yes, yes, I know, that’s the brand name)

Close-up photo of a race/city hybrid bicycle locked to a metal bicycle stand in the city centre. The bike frame is black, but the top of the down tube has a white section on which the brand name ‘Larry’ is written in all capital letters.

Three locks walk into a bike stand

Close-up photo of three thick and heavy bicycle locks locked to an empty metal bicycle stand in the city centre.

Wet lime

Photo of a bright lime green bicycle helmet placed on a metal pillar along a road in the city centre. The helmet is wet from the rain and has the brand name ‘lime’ written on it in white, lowercase letters.

Next week I move on to shooting at only 35mm, which I think I’ll find more challenging. I’m used to loosely composing my frame at 27mm and then zooming in or cropping a little in post to get the photo I actually want. From next week I’ll have to do all that before I take the photo. I’m looking forward to seeing how I go :)

Also, two things have changed since I started on this ‘one focal length at a time’ experiment:

I’m going to add the 4omm focal length into the mix (in addition to 35, 55, and 85mm). This is because Fujifilm have an excellent 27mm pancake lens I would love to have, and that translates to a 41mm focal length on my camera. If I find 40mm-ish works well for me, that might be the first prime lens I get.

I’m considering investing in only weather-sealed lenses and, in the future, only in weather-sealed camera bodies. I live in Melbourne, Australia where it rains 139 days a year. And because neither my current camera body nor my current lenses are weather sealed, I can’t go out and take photos when it’s raining.

In the short term I plan to buy a rain cover for my camera, so this isn’t something I need to address straight away. But if I am going to be buying a new lens in the next few months, I might as well try to buy one that’s weather sealed and, therefore, something I can keep long term.

(Assuming this is within my budget, of course, since sometimes it’s only the more professional versions of Fujifilm’s lenses that are weather sealed. That 27mm pancake lens I mentioned above is both decently priced and weather sealed, by the way, which is why it’s one of my front runners.)

I guess we’ll see which way I’m leaning by the end of this experiment.

But for now it’s time to say goodbye to 27mm and move on to 35mm. Let’s go!

[Photo walk] Along Harbour Esplanade, Docklands #2 (27mm only)

The last time I walked along Harbour Esplanade in Docklands to take photos it was a cold, overcast day. But this time the sun was out and, by the end, I was walking around in a t-shirt.

The other thing different from last time is that all this week (and also next week) I am restricting myself to taking photos at only a 27mm focal length (which is 18mm on my mirrorless APSC camera).

Why?

  • I think you can be more creative, and also learn a great deal, when you impose restrictions or limitations on yourself

  • I’m considering buying a prime lens but I don’t know which one I want to get first so, over the next eight weeks, I’ll be forcing myself to shoot at only one focal length every fortnight (27mm, 35mm, 55mm, and 85mm, respectively)

The good thing is that I’m very comfortable shooting at 27mm. That’s because the main (prime) lens on pretty much all smartphone cameras is 27-28mm. So I have years of experience composing photos at this focal length.

Which I presume is why, even though I have the whole 27-85mm focal length range at my fingertips these days, 31% of my share-worthy photos from my main lens are at 27mm.

Graphic with four subheadings. On the top-left, under the ‘Camera’ heading is a photo of a black camera with the caption ‘Fujifilm X-S10’. In the bottom-left, under the ‘Zoom lens’ heading is the photo of a black zoom lens with the caption ‘Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS’. In the top-right, under the ‘Focal length usage, full’ heading is a bar chart showing the frequency of usage of several focal lengths. The tallest bar is 85mm (34%), followed by 27mm (31%) and 45mm (13%). The rest of the bars range from 2-9%. In the bottom-right corner, under the ‘Focal length usage, by closest prime lens’ heading is a bar chart showing the frequency of usage at four focal lengths. Highest to lowest these are 85mm (36%), 27mm (31%), 35mm (18%), and 55mm (15%). A footnote in the corner referring to the ‘focal length’ phrase in the headings reads “Full-frame equivalent”.

When I look through my Capture One library, though, many of the photos I’ve taken at 18mm, I’ve ended up cropping just a little.

That suggests two things:

  1. The 31% of photos I’ve taken at 27mm should probably be lower, given I likely crop many of my photos to 35mm.

  2. Years of smartphone photography have made me lazy when it comes to composing my photos [1]. Instead of zooming in a little with my lens or stepping closer to my subject (ie zooming in with my feet), I do a relatively loose composition because I know I’m going to crop the photo when I edit it.

When I walked along Harbour Esplanade this time, I was more deliberate with my compositions. As a result, I did either no cropping or only some thoughtful cropping of my photos this time (like ones I cropped to square).

Basically, by imposing these limitations, I’m already upping my composition game. So even if I don’t end up buying a prime lens at the end of this eight week exercise, I expect I’ll have improved as a photographer.

Anyway, enough with the talking. Here are the photos. They’re not all that good, to be honest. And at least three of them were crying out for a longer focal length composition. Oh well. This is how you learn.

Harbour Esplanade

MPavilion shade sail detail in Docklands Park

Photo looking up at a rounded, three-pointed, petal-shaped shade sail that is standing on thin, metal columns. This installation involves multiple, overlapping, fabric shade sails that are being illuminated with different intensities of sunlight.

MPavillion installation at Docklands Park

WTF is MPavillion? Find out.

Photo of a pavilion consisting of a few dozen overlapping shade sails standing on thin metal columns. Each shade sail is round, three-pointed, and petal-shaped. Combined, the effect is like that of a forest canopy. This pavilion has been installed in a park that has several tall trees in it and several tall buildings around it.

The massive Collins Square tower complex in Docklands

Photo looking up at a set of five large, but differently sized and shaped, office towers arranged in a block.

National Australia Bank’s 800 Bourke Street building

Photo of the side of a large office building with bright red, green, yellow, light blue, and dark blue coloured panelling on the outside.

Docklands Harbour and the Lady Cutler showboat

Photo of urban dock. In the foreground is a grid of several old, wooden, white-tipped pillars sticking out from the water. In the midground is a large ferry boat tied to one of the piers. In the background are several tall buildings.

Lady Cutler showboat through a lifebuoy

Photo of a large blue-and-white ferry boat, now a show boat, named Lady Cutler as seen through the hole of a bright red lifebuoy attached to a pole next to a harbour.

Fishing at Docklands Harbour

This photo would have worked so much better with, say, an 85mm lens that I could have used to isolate the subject better from the background (which would have also been blurry).

Photo of a man smoking a cigarette as he sits on a white bucket at the edge of a pier. In front of him are two fishing rods attached to poles with their fishing lines in the water.

Getting the side-eye from an opportunistic seagull

This photo would have worked better with a longer focal length lens too. I didn’t want to get closer to the woman (for obvious reasons) and I didn’t want the seagull to fly off either. So we’re stuck with lots of empty space around the subjects, instead of a tighter composition.

Photo of a woman sitting and eating her lunch on the steps of a harbour esplanade. A short distance away from her is a white seagull hoping to steal or to be given some of the food that the woman is eating.

Cow Up a Tree — John Kelly (2000)

Learn more about Cow Up a Tree, if you’re interested.

Photo looking up at a large bronze sculpture of a black-and-white square-ish cow with a tiny head that is stuck, upside-down, on top of a bare tree.

La Trobe Street

V/Line trains parked at Southern Cross rail yard

Photo taken through a square cut-out of a metal fence of several purple, yellow, and silver coloured diesel trains parked in a rail yard outside a large train station.

V/Line trains parked in the rail yard just outside Southern Cross Railway Station

Photo taken through a square cut-out of a metal fence of several purple, yellow, and silver coloured diesel trains parked in a rail yard outside a large train station with a wave-shaped roof.

Diesel engine parked at Southern Cross rail yard

Photo of a red-and-yellow diesel engine parked in a rail yard next to a few purple, silver, and yellow train carriages.

Hungry Panda delivery driver on La Trobe Street

This another photo that could have done with a zoom-in. I wanted to focus on the delivery driver and the yellow insulated box she had on her motorcycle.

Photo of a delivery driver stopped behind a car at a red light. The driver is on a motorcycle and is wearing a bright yellow high visibility vest and a white helmet. On the back of the motorbike is a large, insulated food container box with the Hungry Panda logo and the phrase “join us” written in large, all capital letters.

When it comes to street photography (which is what I mostly do) the 27mm focal length is more about context-setting and showing off the vibe of the place. Unless you get really close (or you’re already in a tighter space) you can’t get much subject isolation. And it’s challenging to focus on details – or at least arrange the composition such that the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the detail.

While I like shooting in 27mm, I think I’m going to really enjoy shooting in 35mm. But I have to wait a couple of weeks before I get there.

Next week I’ll be walking through the middle of the city on a Friday afternoon, and I think the 27mm focal length will work much better there. I’m looking forward to that.

[1] Yes, high-end modern smartphone cameras now have secondary lenses with a longer focal length. Most of these are still not as high quality as the main lens though. So it’s still often better to take a higher quality photo with the main lens and then crop, instead of taking a lesser quality photo with the secondary (zoom) lens.

Picnic at Kingsford Smith Ulm Reserve

We celebrated a friend’s birthday with a picnic at Kingsford Smith Ulm Reserve in Glenroy.

I haven’t looked up the history of this place, but given it is located just north of Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne, I’m guessing they named it after pioneering Australian aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.

Here are some of the photos I took while I was there.

Essendon Fields Airport

Essendon Fields Airport control tower

Photo of the top of an airport control tower peeking out from behind a low hill, in the background of the photo. In the foreground is the rise of a grassy hill, which is part of a reserve, with a road running through it.

The old fire service water tower at Essendon Fields Airport

Photo of the top of an large water tower above a series of industrial buildings at the top of a low hill. In the foreground of this photo is the rise of a grassy hill, which is part of a reserve.

Monee Ponds Creek viaduct on the Albion-Jacana railway line

Moonee Ponds Creek viaduct

Photo of a railway viaduct built across a creek’s valley and flood plain. The viaduct comprises steel girders supported by steel-framed towers. Behind the viaduct is the residential suburb of Gowanbrae.

Moonee Ponds Creek viaduct and houses in Gowanbrae

Photo of a railway viaduct built across a creek’s valley and flood plain. The viaduct comprises steel girders supported by steel-framed towers. Behind the viaduct is the residential suburb of Gowanbrae, and you can see several blue paint and red brick houses behind the rail line.

Play area

Bench in the shade

Photo of a brown park bench in the shade of a few large trees in a park.

Frog sculpture in the play area

Photo of a low, wooden, green-and-brown frog sculpture in a play area at park. In the foreground of the photo are two park benches and several vertical logs that little children can climb over and walk on. A nearby tree is providing shade to this area.

Wooden frog sculpture

Photo of a low, wooden, green-and-brown frog sculpture in a play area at park.

Drinking water fountain

Black-and-white photo of a drinking fountain, with some blurry shrubs visible in the background.

Tree stump

Close-up photo of a tree stump embedded vertically into the ground. There are visible tree rings and several large cracks running through the cross-section of the stump. On the ground around the tree stump are wood chips, placed to soften the fall of children when they’re climbing on or over these stumps.

Another tree stump

Close-up photo of a tree stump embedded vertically into the ground. There are visible tree rings and several large cracks running through the cross-section of the stump. On the ground around the tree stump are wood chips, placed to soften the fall of children when they’re climbing on or over these stumps.

Magpies

Scavenging magpie

Photo of a magpie on the ground next to a picnic table that has a few food bags placed next to it. The bird has a bit of fallen food in its mouth.

Scavenging magpies

Photo of a two magpies on the ground next to a picnic table.

Singing magpies

Photo of a two magpies on the ground next to a picnic table. The magpies have their mouths open, mid-song.

I guess it’s particularly appropriate to be publishing a photo of two singing magpies, given the Collingwood Magpies won the 2023 AFL Grand Final today :)

And, of course…

Selfie!

Selfie of a man and a woman at a park/reserve. The man has a mostly-white beard, and is wearing glasses and a straw hat. The woman is wearing a small necklace and sunglasses. Both are smiling at the camera.

[Photo walk] Picnic at Coburg Lake Reserve

Nadia and I went for a picnic to Coburg Lake Reserve so, naturally, I took some photos :)

Reclining by the lake

Photo of two people in a park sitting on a wide, reclining bench with a small dog in their lap. The bench is facing part of a lake shore on which there are several birds, some of which are sitting on rocks in the water.

Keeping an eye out

Photo of a large, brown and white dog in a park. The dog’s leash is being held be someone seated behind a tree. The dog is looking at a couple of people with a small dog who are coming down the walking path towards it.

Ibis in flight

Photo of a white ibis (a type of bird) flying away from the photographer in a large park with a lake. The bird’s wings are pushing down to give it lift. Below this bird are several other birds, sitting on the grass.

You lookin’ at me?

Close up photo of three rock doves / common pigeons sitting on a rock wall, all of which are looking at the photographer.

Keeping an eye on the inquisitive human

Close up photo of two rock doves / common pigeons sitting on a rock wall, both of which are looking closely at the photographer.

Barbecue time at Coburg Lake Reserve

Photo of four people standing around several tables and a barbecue that have been set out in a large, grassy, public park with lots of large trees. A large volume of white, puffy barbecue smoke is blowing away from barbecue.

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: Players

Following on from my previous post, the other half of the fun of watching a live sporting event is (obviously) watching the match itself :)

Players arrive at the USA v Sweden match

Photo of a brightly coloured bus arriving at a large football stadium, with FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 banners flying around the area.

Sweden come close to scoring a goal

Photo of two teams of women playing a football match in a stadium. The play is very close to one of the goals.

USA come close to scoring a goal

Photo of two teams of women playing a football match in a stadium. The play is very close to one of the goals.

Megan Rapinoe takes a corner kick

Photo of a footballer in a while coloured uniform taking a corner kick on a football pitch in a stadium.

Sweden v USA penalties

Photo of two sets of football teams lined up along the centre line during a penalty shoot-out at a football match in a large stadium. An assistant referee stands between the two sets of players.

Goalie versus goalie at the penalty shoot-out

A goalie in green (playing for the USA) takes a penalty kick against her counterpart goalie in red (from Sweden).

Colombia v Jamaica about to kick off

Wide angle photo of a football stadium in which two teams are about to kick-off. A large video screen mounted on the side of the stadium is counting down the time, and there are five seconds to go before the start of the match. A spectator in the foreground of the photo is holding up a sign that reads “Go Jamaica”.

All quiet in the Colombia half

Photo of a football pitch in a stadium. The half the photographer is on is almost completely empty, and even the goalkeeper has moved up halfway along her side of the field.

Usme letting her goal-scoring moment sink in

Photo of Colombian forward Catalina Usme kneeling on the ground, her arms outstretched, in the corner of a football pitch.

Arias encourages the Colombian supporters to cheer

Photo of Colombian forward Carolina Arias waving her hands upwards by her side, in an effort to encourage the Colombian fans in the crowd to cheer as she steps up to take a corner kick on a football pitch.

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: Spectators

Half the fun of attending any live sporting event is getting to attend it with thousands of people.

Taking a photo of the big screen

Close-up photo of a Swedish supporter in the stands at a stadium. The supporter is taking a phone of the stadium's big screen with her smartphone.

Half-time is a good time to take a selfie

Photo of two Colombia supporters in the stands at a football stadium. They are taking a selfie with a smartphone. The supporters are dressed in Colombian colours, and the woman has a Colombian flag draped around her. They have their backs to the pitch, and are both holding glasses of beer in their hands.

Half-time photo opportunity

Photo of a group of people taking a photo of people dressed up in costumes at a football match.

Jody Brown supporter

Photo of a man sitting in the stands at a football match. The man is holding up a large, hand-made sign that reads “Jody Brown U R Gold” and has the number ten written on it.

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: Behind the scenes

This FIFA Women’s World Cup (football) was held in Australia and New Zealand this year, and I attended two of the round-of-sixteen matches held in Melbourne. (I did have tickets to two other matches, but work got in the way and I wasn’t able to attend those.)

One of my favourite things to do at large events like this is to document the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on. I am a producer / events organiser / behind-the-scenes person at heart, and I do enjoy seeing – and, evidently, photographically documenting! – how things are run.

Stadium

Birds on the pitch 90 minutes before kick-off

Wide angle photo of a large football stadium. The stands are mostly empty and there are only four people in bright red puffer jackets standing in the centre of the pitch. Also on the pitch are a couple of dozen seagulls sitting on the grass.

Watering the pitch

Wide-angle photo of a large football stadium. Five large water sprinklers are spraying water onto the grass along two sides of the pitch.

Grounds keepers make their final adjustments to the pitch

Photo of two grounds keepers walking across a football pitch. They each have a small pitchfork in their hands, and they are using those to push in any bits of loose soil or grass.

Grounds keepers flattening the pitch during the half time break

Photo of three grounds keepers in the corner of a football pitch. Two are picking up any small debris they find, while the third is using a small pitchfork to push-in any bits of loose soil or grass.

Doing the phone camera spectator participation thing

Wide angle photo of a large football stadium with most of the big lights turned off. Several thousand spectators around the stadium have turned on the flashlights on their cameras and are holding them up in the darkened space.

Full house at USA v Sweden round-of-sixteen match at

Photo of a large football stadium screen that reads “Attendance 27,706”.

Full house at Colombia v Jamaica round-of-sixteen match

Photo of a large football stadium screen that reads “Attendance 27,706”.

People

Ushering spectators

Photo of an usher wearing a blue, padded jacket standing at the top of a flight of steps leading into the stands at a large football stadium. The stadium is mostly empty at this time.

The only folks not watching the game

Photo of four security guards in bright yellow, high visibility vests sitting in low chairs along the breadth of a football pitch. They have their backs to the football pitch and are, instead, keeping a close eye on the spectators who are watching the match.

Keeping an eye on the crowds

Photo of a security guard in a bright yellow, high visibility vest sitting in a low chair outside the corner of a football pitch. The guard has his back to the pitch and is, instead, keeping a close eye on the spectators watching the match.

Assistant referee

Photo of an assistant referee standing by the side of a football pitch, holding a flag in her hand. The referee is keeping a close eye on what is happening in the match.

Photographers and videographers

Aligning the cameras behind the goal

Photo of a camera operator lying face-down on the grass behind a goal at a football stadium. The operator is looking through, and making slight adjustments to, one of the many cameras placed on the pitch in a line behind this goal. In the top of the frame is an assistant placing small plastic markers along the pitch (in front of a small, portable goal) for the players to run along during their warm-up before the match.

Getting ready to capture the match

Photo of several photographers and videographers in the process of getting ready to photograph and film the upcoming football match. In the top-left corner of the photo are two videographers aligning their cameras behind the goal. Along the left of the photo are several photographers setting up their equipment next to the boundary fence of the pitch. A couple of photographers, carrying cameras or wheeling them in bags, are walking along the breadth of the field as they make their way to their assigned locations.

Gaggle of photographers

Photo of about a dozen professional photographers seated on the outside of the fence surrounding a football pitch. They are all looking through their cameras at the match taking place in front of them.

Operating the primary broadcast camera

Photo of an operator standing in front of a broadcast video camera that's been set up in a bright orange, walled-off area among the seats on one side of a large stadium.

Capturing fan reactions

Photo of a roving videographer and an accompanying security guard. The two are standing next to a stand full of spectators in a football stadium. The videographer is broadcasting live video of a group of spectators.

On-camera talent

Getting ready for her live cross

Photo of a TV presenter wearing a long, light-blue coat and holding a microphone in her hand. She is getting ready for her live broadcast from the side of a football pitch.

1/3 Getting ready for their live cross

Photo of two sports commentators standing at the edge of a football pitch in front of a small, tall, round table. They are in the process of getting dressed for their upcoming appearance on camera. The woman is adjusting her tan trench coat and the man is putting on his suit jacket (which his producer producer is helping him with). Their camera operator is standing a short distance away, ready to go.

2/3 All set for their live cross

Photo of two commentators making final preparations for their live broadcast from the side of a football pitch. They are standing with their backs to the pitch, and are facing a camera, a screen, and two lights that have been set up in front of them.

3/3 Making their live cross

Photo of two commentators making a live broadcast from the side of a football pitch. They have their back to the pitch and are facing a camera, a screen, and two lights that have been set up to face them.

AMWP at Emerging Writers' Festival 2023

Nadia’s publication, the Australian Multilingual Writers Project, was invited to present a session at the 2023 Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne.

I went along and took a few photos :)

Nadia getting ready to host the event

Photo of a woman standing on a stage and leaning out from behind a tall, blue pull-up banner that reads “Australian Multilingual Writing Project”. Next to this is another tall banner, this one green, that reads “Emerging Writers’ Festival”.

Podium microphone at the Immigration Museum

Close-up photo of a black microphone mounted on a podium. In the background, and out of focus, is a large, empty exhibition space bathed in pink light. The room is built in the Italianate revival style of Victorian-era architecture, with tall Ionic columns and a very high ceiling.

Sneakers on the floor of the Long Room at the Immigration Museum

Photo looking down at a pair of white sneakers that are bathed in pink light. The floor is a pattern of black, white, and red terra cotta tiles.

Colourful shoes in a colourful room

Photo looking down towards a terra cotta tiled floor. From the left of the frame you can see the legs and feet of a person seated off camera. This person is wearing a yellow skirt with bright patterns on it, light blue socks with flower patterns on them, and slightly darker coloured light blue shoes with a different flower pattern on them. Another person is standing on the tiled floor with pink coloured trainers with blue lines on them. This person is also wearing white coloured ankle warmers and light brown coloured pinstriped shorts.

The stage is set

Photo looking through a doorway at a large event space that is bathed in pink light. There are people seated on plastic chairs that have been set out in rows in front of a stage. On the stage are two pull-up banners. The smaller blue coloured banner reads “Australian Multilingual Writing Project” while the larger green banner reads “Emerging Writers’ Festival” and “14-24 June 23”.

Nadia at the podium, preparing and then performing

Madhvi Singh Thakur, Gabriela Georges, Asiel Adan Sanchez performing

Candid photos of the performers

[Photo walk] Flinders Street, Melbourne

Overhead construction gantry on the corner of Collins and Flinders Street

Photo looking up at a large construction gantry erected two or three stories above the road. You can see the underside of the gantry and, above the gantry, is a tall, white construction crane with the Metro Tunnel project logo on it. Behind this platform is a wide hotel building.

Keeping an eye out for their friends at the steps of Flinders Street Station

Photo of two women at the top of a wide flight of steps that leads into a building. One woman is sitting on the metal hand rail that runs along the steps. The other woman is standing to the side, a few steps back from the top of the stairs. Both women are looking off-camera at the people walking towards the entrance of this building (which is Flinders Street Railway Station). In the foreground, and out of focus, is a woman on her phone walking across the frame of the photo

Flinders Street Station ready to be lit up for RISING festival

Photo looking up at the entrance to Flinders Street Railway Station. The railway station building is a brown, Edwardian structure with a large, green dome and a large clock above the main entrance. Affixed to the building, just below the clock face, are large, serif-font letters that read “RISING:”. These letters will be lit up as part of the RISING festival in Melbourne.

Keeping to herself on the banks of the Yarra River

Photo of a woman sitting cross-legged on the edge of a walking path along a muddy, brown river that runs through a city centre. The woman is looking down at her smartphone, and she has her backpack placed next to her.

Keeping to himself on a bridge across the Yarra River

Photo of a man wearing a jacket and backpack standing by the stone railing of a bridge that spans the Yarra River in Melbourne. The man has his back to everyone and is looking out across the river. Another man is walking across the frame behind the first one.

Dropped shoes at the entrance of Flinders Street Railway Station

Black and white photo of a pair of trainers lying abandoned on the floor, all by themselves, some distance from the entrance to a train station.

[Photo walk] Collins Street, Melbourne

Clouds reflected off Mövenpick Hotel

Photo looking up to a very tall, blue-glass covered building. The building has rounded edges and two large curves along its length, making it look like a fancy water bottle. There are white, puffy clouds in the blue sky behind the building, and two large clouds are also reflected in the windows of this building.

Road expansion joint in Collins Street, next to Southern Cross Station

Photo of a metal, zigzag shaped road expansion joint built into the surface of a road. A motion-blurred car is driving over this joint as is drives down the road. Across the road from the photographer is the entrance to a large metropolitan train station.

Maintenance work along Collins Street

Photo taken from close to the ground of a large maintenance hatch built into the footpath of a metropolitan road. The hatch is lying open and a large piece of equipment (electric or communications?) that’s attached to a pair of well-shielded cables is lying outside the hatch. In the foreground of the photo (and out of focus) is a silver coloured adjustable wrench. The open hatch is surrounded by bright yellow, temporary, safety fencing, and this photo has been taken from underneath this fence. A bunch of cables exiting this hole in the ground are snaking their way into the back of a while panel van that's parked on the side of the road.

Down-tools at this maintenance site on Collins Street

Photo taken from close to the ground of a large maintenance hatch built into the footpath of a metropolitan road. The hatch is lying open. In the background of the photo (and out of focus) is a large piece of equipment (electric or communications?) that’s attached to a pair of well-shielded cables and is lying outside the hatch. In the foreground (and in focus) is a silver coloured adjustable wrench. The open hatch is surrounded by bright yellow, temporary, safety fencing, and this photo has been taken from underneath this fence.

Driving a coach along King Street

Photo of a driver concentrating on the road as he drives a grey coloured Irizar/Mercedes-Benz coach along a metropolitan road. You can see reflections of tall buildings reflected in the front windscreen of this large bus.

Heading home from their worksite on a Friday afternoon

Photo looking downwards the footpath at the intersection of two roads. Several people are standing in a group, waiting for the light to change so they can cross the road. You can only see these people from the waist down, and they are all wearing work pants or jeans. Everyone in the photo is wearing tan coloured, heavy, steel-capped, work boots.

[Photo walk] Along the Yarra River #1

Every Friday after work I walk through the Melbourne city centre so I can take some photos. I took these ones on a walk along the Yarra River.

West corner of Melbourne City View Apartments

Photo of the top few storeys of the wedge-shaped end of a multi-storey residential apartment building. The photo is taken on a clear day with a deep blue sky.

Under the train lines crossing over Flinders Street

Photo of a man waiting at an intersection underneath several elevated train lines. The man is waiting to cross the street. He is wearing white shorts; a blue, short sleeve, button down shirt; black-and-white sneakers, and printed blue socks. To the right of the man is a massive, square rock pillar that’s holding up the elevated train lines. To the man’s left is a pole on which there is a pedestrian crossing sign and a painted sign that reads “Pedestrians watch for traffic”. On street in front of a man is a tram that’s waiting for the signal to turn green so it can cross the intersection. Across the street, coming towards the man, is another tram waiting at the intersection for its turn.

People walking down Oris Walk, next to Lamont Bridge

Black-and-white photo of two people walking across a walkway next to a road and tram bridge that crosses a river in the middle of a city. Behind the people are several tall buildings.

Helicopter taking off from Microflite Melbourne Heliport

Photo looking up at a dark-blue-and-white helicopter (an Airbus H135) that’s just taken off. Behind the helicopter (but below the helicopter in the photo) you can see three tall buildings against the blue sky.

Helicopter landing at Microflite Melbourne Heliport

Photo of a red-and-gold helicopter (an Airbus EC130) seconds away from landing on a helipad build in a pontoon on a wide river in the middle of a city. A sign on the side of the pontoon reads ‘Microflite Melbourne Helipad’. In the background of the photo are several tall and short buildings, as well as a bridge across the river.

That's Australia for you

Photo looking up at a set of red, yellow, and green traffic lights that are covered with cobwebs. These traffic lights are underneath a bridge. You can see the slice of a city in the background from underneath the bridge.

Yeah buoy!

Photo of three buoys – one red, one yellow, one green – on a river in the middle of a city. The photo is taken through the horizontal wires of a metal fence along the river. In the background of the photo there is a bridge across the river and lots of tall buildings that make up the city centre.

Train from Flinders Street Station

Photo of a train going down an elevated train line in the middle of a city. Below the elevated train lines are several cars waiting at a red light. In the background, above the train, are several tall buildings.

Stopping to check her phone where the bike trail widens

Photo of a woman sitting on a bicycle. The woman has stopped cycling, one foot on the ground, and is taking something out of her bag. The woman is wearing a bicycle helmet that has several zip ties attached to it, making the points of the zip ties look like antennae. These are to deter and protect her from swooping birds. The bicycle path the woman is on runs alongside a river, and the woman has stopped underneath a bridge that crosses the river because the path here has widened considerably. It is dark in the shade under the bridge. In the background of the photo, in the bright sunshine, you can see dozens of people walking along a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river. You can also see several boats traversing the river or moored along its banks.

Lime e-scooter delivery at Flinders Street Station

Photo of a large, white delivery van with its rear doors open. The van is parked in a delivery parking space next to a large train station. Inside the van are several green-and-white coloured e-scooters. A man in a high-visibility shirt is taking scooters from his van and is placing them along the sidewalk next to the train station.

Lady Justice watching over the Supreme Court of Victoria

Lady Justice above the Williams Street entrance to the Supreme Court of Victoria

Photo of the side of the historic Supreme Court of Victoria building, as well as some trees growing in front of the building. This bluestone building (completed in 1884) is built in the classical Renaissance Revival style. On the roof, above one of the building’s entrances is a large, bronze figure of Lady Justice. Unusually, Lady Justice is neither wearing a blindfold nor is she holding up the scales of justice. Those scales are resting on her knee. The Victorian state flag is flying on a pole jutting out from above the first floor of this two-storey building.

Bronze figure of Lady Justice atop the Supreme Court of Victoria building

Photo of the top of the historic Supreme Court of Victoria building, as well as some trees growing in front of the building. This bluestone building is built in the classical Renaissance Revival style. On the roof, above one of the building’s entrances is a large, bronze figure of Lady Justice. Unusually, Lady Justice is neither wearing a blindfold nor is she holding up the scales of justice. Those scales are resting on her knee.