December Dusk

 

And so the sun sets on another year. 

How was your 2010? Did you follow through with your resolutions? Do you have any for 2011? I have a list as long as my arm. 2011 is going to be fabulous, I just know it.

Drip Dry

 

South-East Queensland looks as if it might have seen the back of the rain for the time being. Mushrooms and other fungi of all shapes and sizes have sprung up all over the place and everything is very damp.

Oh, The Flower And The Passion

Third time's a charm as far as my growing passionfruit goes. The other two attempts were pathetic and wilted within a month. This one is threatening to take over one whole side of the building, already covering two windows and the wall in between.

I've never got to the flower stage before so it's quite an event for me. They are so exotic looking and showy. The little red bits are some other struggling flower that is gasping for a bit of light and space but I fear isn't going to last much longer. But there's no way I'm cutting back the passionfruit plant to make room. Not until I get my first actual fruit.
Sometimes you've got to take the hardest line.

Check the Radar, Love!

Most people I know in Brisbane, me included, love to go onto the Bureau of Meteorology website to see what's happening with the local weather. Here's a snapshot of what was happening yesterday here with rain over a large part of south-east Queensland. Properties and towns in other parts of the state have been inundated - you can check out a quick video report here.

I don't think those clothes on my line are ever going to dry!

Faces Facade

Last year I posted a photo of this facade. The council knocked down most of the building leaving the facade. Well one year on, the facade is still here with nothing behind it but mud. The grass and weeds have grown tall and the local graffiti and paste-up artists have had a ball with it. See last year's photo here.

In A Rusty Holden Ute

A bloke at work has this rusty Holden Ute that he drives around in (see picture) and every time I see it I have to break into Australian Jingle Bells. What's that? you ask... well here's a snippet - you  know the tune so sing along:

Dashing through the bush,in a rusty Holden Ute,Kicking up the dust,esky in the boot,Kelpie by my side,singing Christmas songs,It's Summer time and I am inmy singlet, shorts and thongsOh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut !,Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Happy Christmas!

This is James -  probably the happiest, cheeriest Big Issue seller ever anywhere. I've never seen him without a smile and he always has a kind word for passers by whether you buy the magazine or not. Happy Christmas from him - and me.

By the way, if you pass a Big Issue vendor selling those funny calenders for only $5, they are a great buy.

Turning Away From The Eclipse Skywatch

Ok I was in the wrong spot for the eclipse.. but this was my compensation...
(looking south on Kurilpa Bridge towards William Jolly and Montague Road)

For skies around the world today, check out the brilliant Skywatch Friday.

The Tide Is High

Three years ago South East Queensland's dams were just 16% full and we were all taking egg-timers into the shower with us. Now all the dams are full to capacity and they have started doing controlled releases. Wivenhoe, Brisbane's largest dam, is sending hundreds of megalitres down the Brisbane River and out to sea causing some whopper tides (and some flooding!).

Check out Wivenhoe's flood gates at Diane's blog here.

Eclipse Shmiclipse

Last night's lunar eclispe was a bit of a let down. The moon was supposed to be a blood-red colour as it rose but was covered in a bank of cloud. As it turned out, I was standing in completely the wrong place with buildings of the city blocking my view so I wouldn't have seen it anyway. Luckily, my little outing to Kurilpa Bridge wasn't completely in vain. I turned around and got a great sunset instead. This is the view looking towards the State Library (left) and the Gallery of Modern Art (right) with the Skyneedle in the distance.

In A Galaxy Far Far Away...

The walkway on the Go-Between bridge at night.

Rain Stopped Play

The English cricket team in Perth could have done with some of Brisbane's never-ending rain yesterday.

Six White Boomers

Friday night Christmas singing in West End. Topping the bill (with excellent speaking parts for kids) was the Rolf Harris Aussie Christmas classic Six White Boomers.

Carols on Queens Street Mall

Storm Cell Skywatch

 Picture: courtesy Network Ten

The weather in Brisbane has been pretty exciting these past couple of days with storms rolling in and dumping hail the size of golf balls in some areas around Brisbane. While I was at work on Wednesday, I happened to be recording the traffic helicopter's camera footage as it was passing by a wild looking storm cell in North Brisbane. I've taken a screen grab from it... pretty cool, huh?

Check out other skies around the world this week at Skywatch Friday and have a fab weekend!

Hanging Out at Rocking Horse Records - Wide Shot

A bit of an expansion on Tuesday's shot. Yep, that's a rat.

Protest in the Myer Centre

 

So you're doing a bit of shopping and you see Santa with a big red sack and lots of people dressed in green and red and you automatically think it's going to be something to do with Christmas, don't you? The protesters were encouraging boycotting Israeli products as Christmas gifts. It's a bit complicated explaining the connection between Santa Claus and the Palestine-Israeli conflict to kids who think they're about to get a special preview visit from the big guy. 

I found out later that Prouds jewellers weren't a target. The protesters just happened to be going past there when they were turfed out by the shopping centre security staff.

Hanging Out at Rocking Horse Records

Rocking Horse Records on Albert Street is Queensland's largest independent record shop but is probably just as well known for the kids that hang out the front. "The Cool Kids" as my 8yr daughter calls them. They happily obliged when I asked them for a photo and they told me I was the second person that day that had asked.

Terrible Twos

 

It's been two years since Brisbane Daily Photo has been online. Actually 2 years and one day but I forgot yesterday. I hope you've enjoyed it so far - it's been hard for me at times to find the inspiration but great to learn about Brisbane and photography at the same time.  A big thankyou to everyone who has visited and commented.

Lovely Weather We're Having!

Taxi!

 

If your desire to have a novel, green mode of transport while giving a hardworking guy an honest wage outweighs the embarrassment of having someone huff and puff to get you and your friend around the hilly streets of Brisbane in full, leisurely view of everyone.... then this is the mode of transport for you.

U2 at Suncorp Stadium

Note to self: get a point and shoot camera to take to gigs of monumental importance. They made me check my camera in at the cloak room because it had a detachable lens and was therefore a professional recording device.

Other than that it was a spectacular night. No rain but plenty of heat, lights, dry ice, sweat, cheers, screams and whistles. All of which were amplified for me any time anything pre-1987 was played. I have sore feet and a hoarse voice today.

Thanks for Oriana for letting me use her picture.

Checking out the Myer Christmas Window Displays

Thanks to Julie from Sydney Eye, last year for the inspiration!

The Cable Guys

Laying the fibre-optics which will one day, hopefully, become part of Australia's National Broadband Network.

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings

Note to self: must take real camera to gigs of monumental importance and not my cheap camera phone.

So today I am overlooking the awful quality of my picture to talk about the contents thereof. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' stunning soul revue exploded onto the stage at the Tivoli on Sunday night. People of all ages and backgrounds made for an unforgettable atmosphere and the crowd members Ms Jones pulled up onto the stage strutted their funky stuff with varying degrees of hilarity.

The venue, in Fortitude Valley, is intimate and elegant with a curved wrought iron balcony and a capacity of 1500. Plush couches are dotted around the outside and upstairs at the back which leaves the front free for you to get down with your bad self and get up close to the music. Talking of the music, if you like your soul funky and your divas with attitude, then this is the band for you.
Here's a taste of what she's like live.

Eagle Farm Wash Out

Saturday was race day at Eagle Farm racecourse.

This photo was taken just after the second race while the officials deliberated on whether the meeting should be cancelled or not due to heavy rain. In the end, the plug was pulled but it didn't dampen spirits. There was a great atmosphere around the stables and people who worked with the horses (and the horses) were more than happy to pose for a snap before they packed up for the day.

Summertime Blues

December the 1st marked the first day of Summer here in Brisbane. It hasn't stopped raining since then and today is no exception. So this one, taken back in May, is for those Brisbane residents who may have forgotten what a blue sky looks like. And for my family back in London who are probably a bit more cheesed off with their weather right now than I am with mine.

Caloundra, Sunshine Coast

The Little Homemaker

Here's a young Golden Orb Weaver spider going about her business. You get them hanging around in their webs all over Brisbane during the warmer months.  The females grow up to be quite big but they do the right thing and stay in their webs.

Pavement Dining, Hardgrave Road

Love, Fish, Banksy and Other Stuff

On our way back from dinner last weekend, we ended up hanging out in a neighbour's garden that we didn't know listening to live music (as you do). On one of the walls was this flyer. When I asked about it, I was told Love and Fish are graffiti artists who are having an exhibition which starts today. I'm interested in the idea of graffiti artists being exhibited conventionally like this and getting famous. Look at Banksy - his stuff is worth an absolute fortune now and there is a major scandal if someone accidentally wipes it off. He's had exhibitions in major galleries and people pay good money to see his stuff. Increasingly, artists seem to be using graffiti as a foothold to get noticed... and appealing to a much wider audience because their work is so public. But once they are noticed and their prints are being sold, the whole street-art thing isn't as prolific. I suppose graffiti doesn't pay the rent.

December Theme Day: Time

30 days is not a great deal of time to cultivate a stylish soup strainer but, as you can see, the boys at work have given it a good go. It's all in the aid of Movember, a charity which raises funds and awareness for men's health by getting guys to grow sponsored moustaches during November each year.

This month's City Daily Photo theme day is Time. I know you're wondering... what has this blatant plug for charity got to do with time? Well... despite it now being December, there's still TIME to donate to this worthy cause on the Movember website here. And: maybe it's TIME for a shave?

For less tenuous takes on today's theme...
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants