Down a dead end street in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote the gardens are occasionally transformed into The Black Market, a convergence of goth, steampunk, live music and dozens of market stalls. These three young punters had just left the market and were heading back towards the main road. The dilapidated graffiti covered backdrop seemed to fit their persona as they emerge back into the world.
Three young punters depart The Black Market held at Eunson Avenue Northcote.
Walking through Mall of Asia one evening I stopped to watch a game of ice hockey. I’m easily amazed at how there can be a frozen winter wonderland indoors while outside is the relentless tropical heat. Mall of Asia is one of the largest malls in the world and there is always plenty to see and do in air conditioned comfort.
Deep within Mall of Asia in Manila shoppers pause to watch a game of ice hockey.
The tomb of Manuel L. Quezon rests on a catafalque in the mausoleum located in the base of the Quezon Memorial Shrine at the centre of the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Greater Manila, Philippines. Quezon led a very successful political career throughout the first half of the twentieth century.
Quezon Memorial Circle is pretty much a giant roundabout that’s very busy with constant traffic day and night. A collection of jeepneys, cars, trucks, fully loaded motorcycles and many other road users rush around going about their day, while at the very centre of it all it’s quite peaceful.
The tomb of Manuel L. Quezon in the Quezon Memorial Shrine at the Quezon Memorial Circle Manila.
Visiting Italy in 2006 I stayed with my sister in La Spezia where she suggested visiting the nearby Cinque Terre. We caught the train to Monterosso al Mare and walked the historic trail through to Riomaggiore. With beautiful clear blue skies we explored the villages and wound through the vineyards and orchards along the coast. When leaving Monterosso I looked back and captured the amazing vista overlooking the old town.
A panoramic view of Monterosso al Mare, part of the Cinque Terre in Italy, as it appeared in 2006.
When visiting the Royal Melbourne Show there were many tent stalls. This tent had the inside walls darkened and had strings of paper lanterns and fairy lights on display. I’d been on the lookout for an opportunity to create some nice bokeh with lights and this turned out well. Most of the brightly coloured lights were small fairy lights instead of the paper lanterns across the front.
Unusually for me this shot is straight out of camera. It’s often tempting to mess with the colours, getting the warmth and vibrancy just right. I usually like to get detail from all areas of the photo, though here the dark areas do well in hiding the walls of the tent, making it look like there is only darkness beyond the lights.
Strings of brightly coloured fairy lights and paper lanterns on display at the Royal Melbourne Show.
The lanes of Melbourne are renowned for their street art and graffiti. The maze like back lanes of the central city you’d imagine would be places to avoid at night. Instead there are many clubs and nightspots, very much a vibrant nightlife, as well as tourists and other photographers there to see the graffiti.
Every time I visit these lanes I don’t know what to expect as the layers of art build up over time. This particular piece, a depiction of the Hindu deity Ganesh, was created in early 2010 by “Deb” and could be found in Hosier Lane just off Flinders Lane. I haven’t been there lately and I wonder if it’s still there or now hiding under more recent work.
Graffiti of Ganesh in Hosier Lane Melbourne at night.
Every year in early spring the Tesselaar Tulip Farm in Silvan on the outskirts of Melbourne hosts the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. There they open their doors to the public for the month or so the flowers are in bloom. Every time I’ve been to the festival I’ve been fortunate with the weather, as it’s often still cold, wet and windy in the Dandenong Ranges so close to winter.
I like to get there early in the season and early in the day when it’s not too busy. Often by late afternoon the place is teeming with retirees, tourists and school groups. I find children are often fascinated by the camera and want to see how it works. This boy placed himself between me and the flowers I was capturing, posing until after he was sure I’d taken a photo.
A schoolboy dressed in blue poses amongst the brightly coloured flowers at Tesselaar Tulip Festival.
On Corregidor Island we took a tour around the island in a tramvia: a small open sided bus designed to look like the electric trolleys used on the island during World War II. After an early buffet lunch the tour guide took our group up to the Topside area of the island. The sky filled with dark clouds as we passed the crumbling giant ruins of the topside barracks.
With rain starting to come down heavy, being stuck amongst the jungle and ruins without cover seemed likely. Instead the driver took us up to the back door of a more modern building, even providing umbrellas for the few steps it took to get indoors. Inside and out of the rain we examined the World War II relics on display in the museum. As the storm cleared we gradually wandered outside to explore the Pacific War Memorial.
The Pacific War Memorial Museum on Corregidor Island has on display artifacts from World War II.
Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition set off from Spain in 1519 and he is famous for leading the first circumnavigation of the Earth, however he never made it home. Lapu-Lapu, a chieftain of Mactan Island, resisted Spanish dominance. At the battle of Mactan the warriors of Lapu-Lapu defeated the Spanish and Magellan was killed.
I’ve visited Mactan Island, where there is a much smaller statue of Lapu-Lapu than this one in Manila, and imagined the Spanish forces wading through the shallow water in their armour, their boats unable to get near the shore. Lapu-Lapu is considered to be the first national hero of the Philippines for his role in resisting Spanish colonisation and maintaining independence.
This statue of Lapu-Lapu, the first Filipino national hero, stands larger than life in Rizal Park Manila.
From the upper storey of the monastery in the San Agustin Museum are many doors leading through to large display rooms. One door leads through to the antecoro, a small room that doesn’t seem to lead anywhere interesting. But surprisingly the room leads out the other side to the choir-loft, or coro, of the San Agustin Church.
There’s a stunning view from the choir-loft of the detailed trompe-l’œil painted on the ceiling and walls. You can look down into many of the ornately decorated side chapels. San Agustin Church is the oldest church in the Philippines; if you look closely you can see posters on the wall celebrating 440 years since its founding, though the current building was completed in 1607.
The interior of San Agustin Church in Intramuros as viewed from the choir-loft.
