Burning Whip Of Fire

I can't just have one Brookfield Show shot, it's not a one shot type of event. I was determined to get a piglet racing shot but managed to get to the enclosure too late (again). The prize chickens on display were an impressive sight but the lighting was pretty low and I didn't want to startle the poor things with my flash. I think their nerves may have been a bit frazzled already as their barn was right next to all the big fairground rides with loud music blaring out and teenagers screaming. One thing I did catch was this man who was very adept at cracking a whip while it was on fire. I'm not sure when that might come in handy but I guess in rural Queensland you never know.

Heavy Traffic on the Gateway Bridge

Brisbane folks love a bridge and yesterday 170,000 people walked across this brand new one.

This is what the Second Gateway Bridge looked like from the south side yesterday. The event was a public walk across what will soon be a very busy car bridge over the Brisbane River. It's been built right next to and almost mirroring the First Gateway bridge (which is the one with the cars on it in the photo). The idea is that it will ease traffic congestion on the original bridge by having traffic on one bridge going in one direction and traffic on the other bridge going in the opposite direction.

length: 1.6km
height at highest point: 78m
new name for both bridges : Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (like that's going to stick!)

Duck Herding at the Brookfield Show

If you've ever seen trained sheepdogs working as a team it's amazing. There were four dogs (one out of shot) and they managed to herd these ducks around this assault course and into a box. All the ducks were kept in a perfect bunch and all the while each dog was listening for it's owners individual instruction... pretty impressive if you ask me.

Chilly Market Day

It's been freezing (for Brisbane) these past few mornings. Everyone was rugged up at the market today.

Happy Days

Weekday morning coffee on Boundary Street in West End.

William Jolly Bridge Projection

Last night's projection. More information on this one soon, hopefully!
For others, click on the WJB Projections label below.

Edit (18.5.10) The artist who did this slide, and 3 others this month, is Guan Wei, born in China and now resident in Sydney. The Museum of Brisbane says :
   
 Guan Wei's work references cultural diversity, including Indigenous and colonial cultures. Through the recreation of oceans, islands and desert interiors, Guan Wei makes connections with subjects, such as navigation, exploration, searching for treasure, migration and the influence of and response to Globalisation.

If you like, you can visit his website here.

Pizza last night in Woolloongabba

Our family verdict: Vespa is in joint first place with Arrivederci's in Milton. Mmmmm!

Face in the clouds, Sunday

Cheeeeeeeese!

Camping friends at The Planting Festival up at Woodford last week.

Raqs The Kasbah

It was a bellydance extravaganza last night at the West End Club. Some fantastic Egyptian music and the dancers weren't half bad either. I think in the end most of the audience (95% women) were up dancing too which was great fun!

Happy Mother's Day!

RAAF Memorial

This is the Australian wedge-tailed eagle sculpted in bronze, symbol of the Royal Australian Air Force. It sits on its perch, keeping watch outside the Treasury Casino in Queens Park.

Putting a cat amongst the pigeons

Ibis birds with their guard down at the City Botanical Gardens.

Eucalypt Forest

These are Eucalyptus trees (known as gum trees) and they cover Mount Coot-tha, a native national forest within the city boundaries. The smell is gorgeous... it's a fresh, spicy, earthy smell with a hint of tea tree oil.

Showers on Edward Street

Trailer Trash

I was up at The Planting Festival in Woodford over the weekend which included a spot of spray painting. Capitalising on the recent success of the Trailer Trash night a couple of weeks ago, a couple of caravans were set up and decorated over the course of the weekend by some very familiar Brisbane artists.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 45)

This kookaburra sits on the corner of William and Margaret streets.

Queensland Parliament House

In 1863, an Australia-wide architectural competition was held to design a parliament house for Queensland and Charles Tiffin won with this French-Renaissance-style design. It's a gorgeous, majestic building which overlooks what is now the City Botanical Gardens. The first gathering of parliament was held here in 1868 and continues today.

May Theme Day: Statues

Being the first of the month, it's a theme day for members of the City Daily Photo community and this month the theme is statues. This is the Queen Victoria statue outside the Treasury Heritage Hotel (formally the Land Registary Building) in Queen's Park. Unveiled in 1906 (5 years after she died), it's by English sculptor Sir Thomas Brock who did the big Imperial Memorial outside Buckingham Palace among many others and is a replica of one he did in Portsmouth, England. She's a pretty imposing figure up on her plinth, her dark bronze features contrasting sharply with the floaty nymphs behind her.

Did you know... Queensland was originally going to be called "Cooksland" but they decided to change it in her honour.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

La Bella Luna

Wednesday night's full moon in a clear sky over Brisbane. It's cropped from a much bigger photo which is why the detail isn't as good as I wanted it to be. I'm not sure about photographing the moon but I imagine my Nikon D40 with 200mm lens just wasn't fancy enough for the job.

For more skies from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Seahorse Valentine

As Julie from Sydney Eye pointed out a few days ago, you can't afford to stand still for very long here. Although I have noticed that the pretty stuff stays. I'm something of a graffiti spotter (incase you didn't know) and the really angry stuff I have passed and then subsequently gone back to photograph tends to get wiped off by the council before my return. I know. Going out without my camera. Silly.

Whatever You're Doing, You're Doing The Right Thing.

The William Jolly Bridge was in a reassuring mood last night. Let's hope you weren't robbing a bank.

This projection is part of the National Youth Week commission for the bridge and is by Fiona Mail. The series runs until May 3rd.

Tinny Dipping

Down By The Riverside

Enjoying Brisbane's first dry day in about a week.

Jingle Jangle Morning

Toowoomba Morris Dancers (according to their shirts) wandering through the City Botanical Gardens yesterday. Perhaps they were heading to a "dance-off" with rival Brisbane gangs... the streets emptying, curtains and blinds twitching, sticks and accordions at 20 paces.

Raise High The Floorbeams, Carpenter

Traditionally, houses in Queensland were built for the hot climate. They raised the floor to let the cool air flow under the house and for the rooms above to catch more of a cooling breeze. I've been to houses here where, in the summer, you spend most of your time underneath the house rather than in it. People move couches down there and beer fridges and you still have laundry hanging or perhaps a car parked.

I suppose now that space is becoming more of a premium in Brisbane (and that there's air conditioning), people feel that they could be better using that space under the house so they are doing "Up and Unders"; raising the entire house so that the space underneath is of legal height to build an enclosed lower level, this making the house 2 stories.

Evolution

Victoria Bridge foot traffic with the top floors of the Evolution building behind.

Fungadelic

I've been walking past this log in my friend's front garden for weeks now. It's completely covered in these beautiful little stripey fungi.

Guessing Game (and the answer)

Maybe I'm just not digging hard enough but there doesn't seem to be any information on the changing projections by artist Ian de Gruchy on the William Jolly Bridge. This was last night's. I think it might be a drawing of City Hall.

Yes, a nice web-based database with information and pictures on all of the different pictures would be lovely. Perhaps I should write a letter.
                                         
                                               *                            *                              *

AMENDMENT: Isn't it great? Ask and you shall receive. I emailed Ian de Gruchy who has kindly told me that this artwork is by Hanna Groff and it is to celebrate Youth Week. So there you go. For some other projections onto the bridge, click on the "WJB Projections" label below.

Decorated Water Tanks

This is Davies Park in West End. The tanks are (I think) painted by two of Brisbane's most recognisable street artists. I've linked to their pages before but just incase you missed them, here they are again. The tank on the left looks like the work of Shida and the one on the right by Andy Harwood.

Size Isn't Everything

This is the female Golden Orb Weaver spider, probably one of the most commonly seen spiders in Brisbane. They hang out in strong webs where they catch their flies or other flying insects and then wrap them up in a nice bundle for later like a packed lunch (see left of picture). That teeny spider next to her not much bigger than her lunch is the male.

Intersection

What a Space of Waste!

Reverse Garbage on Montague Road is a rubbish idea!

In that it's a not-for-profit co-operative that takes in all sorts industrial and office bits and pieces that would normally be thrown in landfill and sells them to the public at low-cost. It also creates artwork from them and you can go into the little gallery there and have a look - it's great! The whole place is a treasure trove of carboard, metal, plastic, glass, nuts and bolts, buttons and levers. And it's stock always changes so you never know what you're going to find. You can visit their website if you fancy.

Skywatch Friday

Changeable skies this week in Brizzy...

For other skies posted in blogs around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

I'm ooooover heeeeere!!!

Here's the third of my trio of Try-athlon-related posts. Terrific.
There were thousands of bikes stacked in South Bank waiting for their out-of-breath owners to come and find them.

Street Kids

 Montague Road, normally a busy thoroughfare, taken over by kids doing their triathlon.

Hop off/Hop on

Despite the unseasonable heat and humidity on Sunday, over 2000 7-15 year olds took part in the Weetbix Try-athlon. For the younger ones, there was a 100m swim, a 500m run and a 3km bike ride with double the distances for the older ones. It wasn't a race and they didn't keep times but every kid got a medal at the finish line for having a go.

CityGlider

The CityGlider bus service is now officially up and running. Every 5-15 minutes, 24 hours a day, West End to Teneriffe via The Valley. It's cashless to speed things up so you have to have a prepaid ticket or a Go-Card but if you travel before April 30th it's completely free. Bargain.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 44)

This box is by Carolyn Watson and was painted in 2002. The pigs have developed a couple of snotty snouts since then which is really not too bad considering they've been propping up the bar for 8 years non stop. You'll find it on the corner of Gipps Street and Kennigo Street in the Valley.

Mouse

This is my friend Mouse singing at his party last night. Besides teaching full time, he busks a lot around West End and provides musical entertainment for parties all over Brisbane. During a recent camping trip he played for 12 hours with only a 20 minute break! Definitely worth a blog post, I reckon.

Pink Morning Skywatch

This was taken at the same time on Wednesday as yesterday's photo but looking north. Yellow AND pink in one go... how very Easter!

For other skies from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday  

Yellow Morning

Wednesday morning around 5.50 looking east.

Swoop-Proof

This shot was taken a couple of weeks ago during the Great Brisbane Bike Ride which, as you can see, was open to all ages. Incase you were wondering, the spiky headgear is to stop protective magpies from swooping. Cyclists are particularly prone!
See a rather dashing example of an Australian magpie (if I say so myself) on a previous post here.

Waiting For The CityCat

Skate Arena

Red Hill Skate Arena was destroyed by fire in 2002. The ground is slowly creeping up to consume it.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 43)

This box is painted by Paul Robertson who also did this one and this one.

One More For The Road

The bridge furthest from view is the contraversial new 4-lane Hale Street bridge - to be called "The Go Between Bridge". It's due to open in the next few months, linking South Brisbane and Milton. As you can see, they like a bridge round these parts.

Feng Shui

Chinatown Mall in the Valley, which recently got a bit of a facelift.

April Theme Day: Red

It's the first of the month which means it's Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Red.

Burnett Lane in the city is due for a refurb. I did a little 3-part series on it a few weeks back showing how it is now (click on the Burnett Lane label below to see). I hope they don't touch these pipes - I think they are quite a feature.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants