I heart Parliament House

Ok, so by now it's pretty obvious that I love taking photos of Parliament House! It's such a photogenic building, and there are so many different architectural and historical facets that make it so interesting to study. This little abstract is from one of the viewing rooms for The Senate. I'll let the government website explain:

"The Senate is one of the two houses of the Australian Federal Parliament. It consists of 76 Senators, twelve from each of the six states and two from each of the mainland territories. It has virtually equal power to make laws with the other House of Parliament, the House of Representatives. It is elected by proportional representation, so that its composition closely reflects the voting pattern of the electors...

...Proportional representation also makes it easier for independents and the candidates of the smaller parties to be elected. In recent decades this has meant that the government party usually does not have a majority of votes in the Senate and the non-government senators are able to use their combined voting power to reject or amend government legislation. The Senate's large and active committee system also enables senators to inquire into policy issues in depth and to scrutinise the way laws and policies are administered by ministers and public servants. The Senate is thus a house of review and a powerful check on the government of the day. Detailed analysis of election results makes it clear that many Australians deliberately cast their votes in Senate elections with this review role in mind."

Yee-haw, I do so love the machinery of politics!

Cool-hand Luke

Every day on my way to work I pass this inscription and wonder who are you? where do you come from from? Ok, sometimes I just walk right past without even noticing, and the inscription does answer my first question. I find it curious nonetheless.

Climbing up the walls

Crazy cloud frog in context. I think it's meant to be an Australian landscape of some sort.

The Frog King?

Or maybe the patron saint of rain clouds? Found as part of a large mural in a laneway off Brierly Street in Weston.

There's a destination a little up the road...

...Well just clap your hands, just clap your hands

(Sorry! I couldn't help the Beck reference, it was calling to me!)

I passed by a thousand signs

So much love, so little time.

Blossom for me, Rose...

Despite the biting winds, spring is just around the corner, I can smell it. (Argh! My finger! This occurs frequently, it's amazing I don't do it all the time!)

Woof!

Doggie vandalism is alive and well in Canberra!

Good Day Sunshine

Watching the sun rise on the way to work.

Reduce, re-use, recycle!

Doing their bit for the environment on the Queen's Terrace, Parliament House.

Third dimension

Three dimensional graffiti, Salvation Army carpark, Phillip

Fresh?

The other side of a shopfront, near Woden Bus Interchange.

Blossom

Nursery days, Pialligo

Going down down down

Continuing with staircases/steps, this is the Grand Staircase in the Entrance Foyer at Parliament House.

Deeper and deeper

When I took this shot, a friend who was with me at the time said it looked sad and forlorn. I prefer to see it as an interesting detail, a quiet moment in the hurly-burly and rush of life. Pictured are the steps which lead to the subterranean depths of Beyond Q Books in Curtin.

Before Sunset

Looking from Duffy, back across Holder towards Weston with the sunset behind me.

Curvature

I like finding (hopefully) interesting shapes in the ordinarily mundane. This is the entrance to the underground carpark out the front of Parliament House.

It was all yellow...

Now we're reaching overkill!

Tower of light (part 2)

Colour variations

Tower of light (part 1)

Usually lit in plain white, over the last 6 weeks or so, Telstra/Black Mountain Tower has been transitioning between every colour under the sun, and causing me to veer off the road in wonderment more than once! Apparently they are testing out a lighting rig to use on special occasions, but here's hoping the last few weeks can be replicated long term. I have to agree with poster #20 here, when they say, "I love the old space needle, it looks awesome on slightly foggy winter nights."

Please excuse my lack of posting the last few days. I've been drifting in and out of an atrocious cold which I just can't seem to shake, and if I'm not at work, or out (which is infrequent), I'm curled up in bed trying to get some kind of recovery happening!

Sum of all the parts (part 2)

A view of the roof, and spectacular reflection of the sky at the National Portrait Gallery. Sadly it doesn't capture the warmth of the timber ceiling. Various timbers were used throughout the building, including Hoop Pine, Southern Blue Gum from Tasmania, Spotted Gum from inland Queensland, Jarrah from Western Australia, Blackbutt Eucalyptus pilularis from along the Eastern Seaboard, Mountain Ash and Tasmanian Oak. Once again the use of such a wide variety of timbers was a deliberate design decision, once again reflecting Australian biodiversity.

Sum of all the parts (part 1)

Opened in December 2008, the new National Portrait Gallery of Australia bulding has been constructed and crafted in much the same vein as Parliament House. Incorporating stones and timber from each state and territory, the building's design reflects the natural diversity of elements found in Australia in a sleek and minimal way.

Since moving to Canberra, I have developed a newfound appreciation, almost fondness, for polished concrete within the realm of architecture, and this building is no exception. Despite its geometric design, it's a building of real warmth and character, especially as the afternoon light floods through the massive glass panels at either end of the building. Well worth a visit, even if you don't get to see any familiar faces.

Drink up

Crosswords and coffe by the tankard at Beyond Q Books.

Surely not?

I didn't realise until I got home the other day that in my lining up of this shot I completely missed out the word there's, as in BY THE WAY THERE'S NO GOOD LUCK. Found near, what I've come to call, the little bus stop of sadness, filled with gaudy obscenities, and this tribute to loneliness. I don't think it's true, but it did get me to thinking...

Don't forget to write

Postcards and miscellany, Beyond Q Books

Further abstractions

Floor of the Entrance Foyer, Parliament House.

Tender is the Night

This is my first City Daily Photoblog Theme Day, yay! This time around the theme is night, which allows me to indulge my ongoing obsession with street lamps! Click here to view thumbnails for all participants