Canberra Daily Photoblog

It was all...

2009-10-16T18:57:00.002+11:00

Something about the bright yellow paint job and the slick grey asphalt/building just makes my eyes happy.

The end

2009-10-11T19:01:00.005+11:00

...of Floriade that is! Well, only until next year. Here's hoping it's a bit warmer!

& turn into gold in the sunlight

2009-10-10T16:51:00.003+11:00

More floral loveliness from Floriade.

You spin me right round

2009-10-09T09:57:00.002+11:00

Giant Ferris Wheels like this actually freak me out, but all the kiddies and their parents seemed to be having a grand old time up there seeing the flowers from a different angle. It's lit up at night, but unfortunately camera-phones are useless after dark!

Rainbow connection

2009-10-08T23:43:00.001+11:00

One of the many colourful stalls.

I see red

2009-10-07T19:23:00.000+11:00

This looks a bit scary and hurts my eyes, but I still like it for some reason.

Bright Grey

2009-10-06T21:28:00.004+11:00

This week is the final week of Floriade 2009, so I thought I would celebrate it by posting a few pictures from the festival over the coming days. The last time I visited was for a school excursion goodness knows how many years ago, so it was interesting to come back and see it from a fresh perspective. I was going to write a spiel about Floriade, but their website does a much better job, so I pinched something from there:

Floriade began in 1988 as a spectacular commemoration of Australia's Bicentenary and Canberra's 75th birthday. Floriade blossomed for the first time with a stunning floral display of exotic bulbs and annuals, which grow beautifully in Canberra's climate. The community embraced the inaugural Floriade, making it such a success that it became an annual event - Australia's celebration of spring. Since its beginnings in 1988 Floriade has been held in the city, in Canberra's Commonwealth Park.

Floriade is Australia's premier spring festival and a world-class floral spectacular. More than one million blooms create a stunning backdrop to a month-long festival filled with music, cultural celebrations, horticultural workshops, artistic displays, entertainment and recreational activities. Floriade runs from mid-September to mid-October and attracts more than 400,000 attendees.

Check out the Floraide website here.

Angular

2009-10-05T18:09:00.003+11:00

Corner of Alinga and Mort Street, Civic

A matter of perspective

2009-10-04T23:26:00.003+11:00

Putting yesterday's sign into (a much larger) context. Giant insect/plant mural found in the city near Garema Place.

FYI

2009-10-03T22:47:00.002+10:00

This no standing sign in the city has become something of a haven for stickers and general randomness on an otherwise mural-ised wall. Confined to the sign only, I like the respect shown to the artwork.

Through the looking-glass

2009-10-01T18:25:00.003+10:00

City Daily Photo theme day this month is contrast. Natural meets man-made at Floriade in Canberra.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Facades

2009-09-30T22:48:00.001+10:00

Outside the NGA

Pre-loved

2009-09-30T10:37:00.001+10:00

Indeed, Kim's Chinese Grocery was immediately to the right of this picture. Garema Place, Civic.

Mixed Messages

2009-09-29T23:29:00.001+10:00

Alinga Street, Civic

Awesome Chips!

2009-09-28T11:37:00.002+10:00

This weekend just past I was visited by my fellow Photo-Blogger, French Sydneysider of My Down Under. Of course Canberra, as usual took a break from some lovely balmy spring weather to welcome her with lots of rain and cold wind. In conversation she made passing mention of experiencing something "exclusive to Canberra," so when we took refuge from the cold in the Canberra Centre while waiting for her bus home, we stumbled upon an exclusive Canberra experience: Kingsley's Chicken. Though a chain, it is located exclusively in Canberra.

A fast food institution of sorts, Kingsley's does all the regular chicken fare, as well as "salads, delicious Chicken Gravy and, of course, Kingsley's Awesome Chips - which many customers claim are the best in Canebrra, if not the world!" Wow!

Gimme shelter

2009-09-27T23:02:00.004+10:00

Discovered these two pigeons huddled on a tool box in a vacant shop space at the Jolimont Travel Centre in the city this afternoon. I can't blame them - it was bitterly cold outside. How they got in? Another eternal mystery...

24/7

2009-09-24T21:34:00.001+10:00

24 Hour Carwash, Weston.

The eternal question...

2009-09-23T16:46:00.002+10:00

For those of you still bothering with this little photoblog, my deepest apologies for the massive and unannounced halt in proceedings. A fortnight ago I was knocked well and truly for six by what was apparently a nasty bladder infection which also entailed 4 sleepless and rather desperate nights in a row due to nausea or unbearable stomach cramps or a joyous combination of the two. At one point I honestly thought I would have to be propped up by buscopan and maxolon for the foreseeable futue. Such was my delerium. Not fun.

In the meantime I have recovered (and learnt how to sleep properly again!), but am still without a car! Maybe I need to bite the bullet and take a bus into the city one Saturday. Anyway, here we plunge back into the routine.

Complementary Opposites

2009-09-08T20:17:00.004+10:00

Who knew a giant pile of gravel could be so aesthetically pleasing?

Running the angles

2009-09-07T23:38:00.003+10:00

Because I have found myself habitually taking pictures of powerlines and the like, I usually employ a bit of self-censorship and avoid them all together. This beautiful mass of angles, however, I could not resist. Found up the quiet end of Hindmarsh Drive.

Hiatus (sort of)

2009-09-03T21:36:00.003+10:00

I'm heading for the hills this weekend, far away from my laptop and magical wireless USB, which is probably a good thing! As such, there wont be any posts until Monday the 7th of September. I think you'll cope.

Primary Colours

2009-09-03T18:28:00.005+10:00

These wonderfully co-ordinated pallette's and lifter out the back of a local nursery caught my eye the other day, not hard to see why. You may or may not have noticed that the majority of my posts in the last few weeks have come from a very limited area. I'm in the process of switching my registration between states and have been essentially without a car. This has forced to pay closer attention to my local area, to look beneath the seemingly mundane for an interesting image or story, and given me a greater appreciation for my little slice of the Canberra pie.

On the menu

2009-09-02T10:01:00.000+10:00

Found behind Domino's Pizza at Weston.

Big

2009-09-01T18:15:00.003+10:00

First day of the month means theme day at City Daily Photo. This month's theme is 'big'. Ah! The glare! This is why I love book shops - coming to my rescue at the last minute with randomly appropriate covers and titles! I really wanted to post a picture of Mr. Big from Sex and the City, is that a bad thing?

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

I heart Parliament House

2009-08-31T16:07:00.002+10:00

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

2009-08-30T11:21:00.002+10:00

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

2009-08-29T22:12:00.001+10:00

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

The Frog King?

2009-08-28T16:36:00.004+10:00

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...

2009-08-27T23:50:00.004+10:00

...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

2009-08-26T17:38:00.002+10:00

So much love, so little time.

Blossom for me, Rose...

2009-08-25T20:08:00.002+10:00

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!

2009-08-24T17:35:00.001+10:00

Doggie vandalism is alive and well in Canberra!

Good Day Sunshine

2009-08-23T23:45:00.004+10:00

Watching the sun rise on the way to work.

Reduce, re-use, recycle!

2009-08-22T16:27:00.004+10:00

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

Third dimension

2009-08-21T10:12:00.001+10:00

Three dimensional graffiti, Salvation Army carpark, Phillip

Fresh?

2009-08-20T10:33:00.003+10:00

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

Blossom

2009-08-19T21:45:00.002+10:00

Nursery days, Pialligo

Going down down down

2009-08-17T17:07:00.003+10:00

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

Deeper and deeper

2009-08-16T20:03:00.004+10:00

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

2009-08-15T12:52:00.001+10:00

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

Curvature

2009-08-14T17:32:00.002+10:00

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...

2009-08-13T14:58:00.002+10:00

Now we're reaching overkill!

Tower of light (part 2)

2009-08-12T13:20:00.002+10:00

Colour variations

Tower of light (part 1)

2009-08-11T16:05:00.005+10:00

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)

2009-08-08T16:02:00.003+10:00

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)

2009-08-07T20:04:00.004+10:00

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

2009-08-06T19:52:00.003+10:00

Crosswords and coffe by the tankard at Beyond Q Books.

Surely not?

2009-08-05T19:33:00.004+10:00

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

2009-08-04T13:06:00.001+10:00

Postcards and miscellany, Beyond Q Books

Further abstractions

2009-08-02T11:50:00.004+10:00

Floor of the Entrance Foyer, Parliament House.

Tender is the Night

2009-08-01T13:12:00.004+10:00

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

In the mist

2009-07-31T23:30:00.002+10:00

Welcome to Canberra, where every other morning we're shrouded in mist.

Littlewing

2009-07-30T19:38:00.003+10:00

This image begs a story, and I have been toying with many throughout the day. It is the discarded wing which I assume once belonged to a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. When I took it this morning, frost still crisp on the grass it rested on, I felt as though I had stumbled onto a crime scene, a private and violent happening of which I was a post mortem witness.

Good day sunshine

2009-07-29T20:07:00.002+10:00

Walking to work yesterday at 7am.

From the sidelines

2009-07-28T20:39:00.003+10:00

Supported the Hall Bushrangers again on a Saturday, that despite a pleasant and sunny enough start, quickly dissipated into a cold overcast afternoon. When we arrived at the ground in Woden, we mused over the fact that there seemed to be a whole lot more people here than the last time we were here. Turns out they were there for a clash between 'Aussie Legends' and the Canberra Royals. Anyway, despite not having a scoreboard we're pretty sure that Hall won, despite a gutsy second half from the opposition.

A different perspective

2009-07-27T20:42:00.003+10:00

Target carpark, Canberra Centre

Birdwatching

2009-07-26T17:33:00.004+10:00

A couple of monogamous (? I like to think so!) pigeons at the Kingston Powerhouse.

Head in the Clouds

2009-07-25T18:32:00.003+10:00

Walking through a tunnel of plastic shopping bags at the Soft Sculpture exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. It possessed a surprisingly ethereal beauty.

Burnished

2009-07-23T17:20:00.000+10:00

Jardine Street, Kingston

Peachy Keen

2009-07-22T21:29:00.004+10:00

Inspired lighting, NGA gift shop

Intergalactic, planetary (part 2)

2009-07-21T15:58:00.004+10:00

In more detail. Two today because I forgot yesterday!

Intergalactic, planetary (part 1) (Monday)

2009-07-21T15:54:00.002+10:00

Supersonic ~~graffiti~~ art, Salvation Army carpark, Phillip

Lucky?

2009-07-19T17:28:00.002+10:00

Horseshoe sculpture spied on previously mentioned aborted breakfast journey to Pialligo. I'd be buying myself a lottery ticket if I had that many horseshoes!

Memory Lane

2009-07-18T22:44:00.002+10:00

School children on a guided tour of Parliament House.

A slightly awkward composition, I know, but one I am strangely drawn to. On the day we were there we kept bumping into this group and I couldn't resist the urge for a voyeuristic happy snap.

The sky lit up

2009-07-17T19:40:00.002+10:00

Driving home on a stormy day

Subterranean

2009-07-16T19:52:00.004+10:00

Beyond Q Books in Curtin is less of a book shop than an experience. Housed beneath the unprepossessing Curtin shops, Beyond Q is a book lovers dream, filled with 3km worth of second hand books as well as ephemera so random it's cool - I picked up a daggy 80s style Wagga Wagga postcard for my flatmate the first time I visited. They also make surprisingly delicious coffee which is served to you in tankards while you sit on a Victorian chaise lounge. Add live jazz on weekends into the mix and it really is about two or three slices of heaven, not to mention their impressive display of original Popular Penguins which lines a full wall of the cafe. Only 10 minutes drive from my door, this is definitely my favourite Canberra haunt so far.

At the hop

2009-07-15T16:48:00.002+10:00

Lunch, Queen's Terrace Cafe, Parliament House

Take it easy

2009-07-14T12:57:00.000+10:00

Ottomans (?), Canberra Centre

Abstraction

2009-07-13T15:27:00.003+10:00

Foyer, National Gallery of Australia

Designed in the Brutalist architectural style, the angular structure of the NGA is based around the triangular form. This manifests itself most strikingly in the triangular grids of the gallery's ceilings. I'm not a big one for monotonous patterns, but whenever I'm at the NGA I always find myself looking up.

Hanging by a thread

2009-07-12T20:10:00.002+10:00

Foyer, National Gallery of Australia

Woden Bus Interchange (part 2)

2009-07-11T15:13:00.002+10:00

Little Mallrats hanging out at the interchange.

Woden Bus Interchange (part1)

2009-07-10T15:33:00.004+10:00

Community-friendly graffiti out the back of Westfield Woden at the bus interchange (that is a "Chewy disposal board" you can see to the left of the tree).

Koko is the new black

2009-07-09T15:59:00.006+10:00

For lovers of chocolate, Kokoblack on Bunda Street in the City is probably the ultimate experience, for those with somewhat less of a sweet tooth (myself included) it induces thoughts of disastrous sugar-comas past. Founded in Melbourne in 2003, Kokoblack embodies the style and substance of the European chocolate making it aims to emulate. I didn't have a chocolate breakfast in mind when I stumbled across this place last week, but was just happy that I was able to order a coffee and take refuge from the winter wind. Coffee wasn't spectacular, but the cake plate we ordered was surprisingly good and not as rich as I had feared. I'd stay purely for the old-world, dark-wood, slightly stuffy decor!

Caught in the headlights?

2009-07-08T12:52:00.004+10:00

Pialligo Plant Farm, Pialligo

Last Wednesday I set off early-ish in the morning to take a friend of mine to my (current) favourite eatery: Podfood. However, on the way there we went through a number of traffic lights which had blacked out. When we arrived we were told that a blackout had wiped out power to the entire Pialligo area and we would have to forgo (an extremely delicious) breakfast. Wandering into the gallery next door (the name of which I did not have the presence of mind to enquire of), I spied these awesome, demented looking ceramic rabbits I thought would be equally at home in Donnie Darko. Pity I couldn't take them home!

Everything old is new again

2009-07-07T15:09:00.003+10:00

Having the distinguished honour of being the oldest building in Canberra (being built in 1913), the now refurbished Kingston Powerhouse is home to a dedicated contemporary glass arts centre. The strikingly atmospheric building ebbs seamlessly between its historic industrial architectural features and the contemporary art it houses. Especially comforting on cold, windy winter mornings!

Turn on the bright lights

2009-07-06T18:05:00.001+10:00

Groovy lighting, Canberra Centre

Stranger in a strange land

2009-07-05T16:19:00.004+10:00

The spectacular foyer of Parliament House is designed, through use of materials and architectural concept, to represent the European arrival in Australia (this sense of symbolism permeates the entire building). Using white, grey-green and black marble sourced from Italy, and flooded with natural light, the 48 pillars in the foyer represent the once vast eucalypt forests which greeted the first European arrivals to this land. If you look closesly, fossilised crustaceans can be seen in the surfaces of the black marble.

Point the way

2009-07-04T17:35:00.003+10:00

Parliament House (Good to know!)

Through the side streets and the alleyway

2009-07-03T16:40:00.004+10:00

Off Jardine Street, Kingston

Far to Here

2009-07-02T17:43:00.003+10:00

Far to Here exhibition, Parliament House

from the exhibition website: "How do refugees bridge the divide between memories of conflict and loss, knowledge of ongoing violence in their homeland, and beginning a new life in Australia? How has the journey from Africa to Australia affected them? And what do they think of their new home?

Far To Here is a photographic exhibition that attempts to answer some of these questions. In part one Kabir Dhanji documents the lives of Darfuri people who fled the conflict in Sudan and are now residing in Australia. In part two, Darfuri youth capture their own experiences, photographing their day to day surroundings. The result is a suite of images that spans the chasms between continents, cultures and generations."

Brides stripped bare

2009-07-01T09:24:00.001+10:00

Green Square, Kingston

(back to Kingston Grind for more delicious mugs of coffee)

Just looking

2009-06-30T13:09:00.000+10:00

ADFA Playing Fields, Duntroon (two today because I completely forgot yesterday!)

Autumn in Canberra

2009-06-30T06:58:00.003+10:00

Taken whilst walking up my street

All that glitters

2009-06-28T16:05:00.003+10:00

Entrance to Dendy Cinemas, Canberra Centre

Bus stop, Holder Shops (part 2)

2009-06-27T14:47:00.002+10:00

Because once is never enough.

Ruck & Maul

2009-06-26T19:17:00.006+10:00

ADFA Playing Fields, Duntroon

How much do I love rugby? Some would say too much! Lastnight I gave up going to a free Bertie Blackman show to support my flatmate's boyfriend's team the Hall Bushrangers as they took on the ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy) team. The boys went down, and we couldn't feel our toes by the end of it, but the hot soup we had when we got home made it all worth it.

Bus stop, Holder Shops (part 1)

2009-06-25T17:33:00.003+10:00

Awesome bird mural on the bus stop at Holder Shops

2009-06-24T13:27:00.003+10:00

View from Cafe Gaudi, Woden Westfield

Misty morning

2009-06-23T12:52:00.003+10:00

Leaving for work at 6.30am yesterday morning. The fog was so thick I had to drive 40 km/h all the way there. Excuse the bad quality, I just wanted to share the eeriness.

Afternoon delight

2009-06-22T15:15:00.005+10:00

Afternoon light, Mt Stromlo.

Dare to Dance!

2009-06-21T22:51:00.001+10:00

Anyone who has lived in Canberra, or been to Canberra and followed signs full of promise such as "Deakin Shops" will know that in virtually every suburb around the city there is the modern equivalent of the corner shop: a half block of shop fronts that will always house a grocer and maybe a cafe, take-away or a pharmacy. Though it is absolutely contrived I like the concerted attempt to foster (in some small way) a sense of small scale community. Every time I go for a bottle of milk I see the same faces, and they recognise me. It's nice to know that I'm not getting lost in the crowd.

This little dance studio is part of my local 'shops'. It's always interesting to walk past and see the girls in their black leotards doing moves I could never even dream of! Makes my walk and grocery run that little bit more fun and proves that sometimes enjoyment is closer to home than you think.

Rugby Saturday

2009-06-20T17:06:00.000+10:00

It's another Rugby Union Saturday, and to commemorate the Wallabies taking on (and hopefully defeating) Italy in Melbourne I thought it would be appropriate to include a rugby related picture in today's post. Maybe it's just me, but rugby seems to be fairly well supported here in Canberra: almost every time I go to the shops I see a Brumbies sticker on the back of someone's car or someone wearing a jersey. I'm happy to say I'm one of their number. On the left is yours truly (proudly wearing my Brumbies jersey of course!) and on the right is my flatmate and awesome friend Georgie who I drag along to as many home games as I can (though this seems to be a relatively easy task).

Enjoy your weekend!

Black Swan

2009-06-19T17:00:00.000+10:00

Tucked in behind the suburb of Yarralumla, on the western side of Lake Burley Griffin is Weston Park. While cruising around its expansive and beautifully mellow surrounds at twilight I came across a group of black swans. Worried they would scuttle off as I approached them, I was surprised to find them curious and gregarious. And though not diabolical or history changing in any way, my discovery of them did fit the first criteria of Black Swan Theory, which is that an event is a surprise.

Working 9 to 5

2009-06-18T17:01:00.001+10:00

Seeing as I've spent the whole day at work, today's images are from there. I'm employed in the aged care sector, and the place where I currently work is a dementia specific facility. It can be emotionally and physically draining, but more often than not it's filled with hilarity and is very rewarding.

Cafe Culture

2009-06-17T18:45:00.000+10:00

My Canberra revolves around getting home from work so I can go and have a coffee, so it seems only natural to include an obligatory coffee shot. The best thing about moving to a new city, for me, is exploring all the cafe's and restaurants on offer. One of my favourites so far is Kingston Grind, who make coffee just the way I like it: strong. Pictured here is a delicious Chai Latte, which was enjoyed by a friend upon her visit to Canberra on the weekend.

Public Art

2009-06-16T17:58:00.000+10:00

On the wall opposite the bus stop outside Cooleman Court in Weston.