Storm a-coming (15.10)

 

It was only the day after I went on my blog-holiday that I took this one from my friend's back yard so I have been waiting since the middle of October to show you! As I remember it was a short, sharp storm as is common in this part of the world when the weather heats up. The best place to be is under cover but outdoors where you can enjoy the show and the cool breezes that come with it.

For other skies in today's Skywatch Friday, visit the portal here.

December Theme Day: Action Shot

Woohoo! Summer's here! Today is officially the first day of summer although most of November was glorious sunshine. Just the kind of weather for taking a plunge in the pool. Actually this one gets a perfect 10 from me for the ultimate belly flop.

Fab to be back posting again after a much needed break. Happy theme day!


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1000 images today!

The jacarandas are in bloom everywhere in Brisbane at the moment. The evenings are warming up nicely and the weather radar has started to get a bit more interesting with storms starting to come through. Yesterday (while I was at work and couldn't get out with my camera) there was a huge hail storm on the south side of Brisbane blanketing a huge area with piles of hail stones. It looked like snow it was amazing.

So today is my 1000th post - HURRAY!! I'm going to use the occasion as an excuse to take a break for a while and have a bit of a blogging holiday. As those of you who do a daily photo blog know, it can be very time-consuming and hard work. So unless I have a little gem on my memory card that I can't wait to share with you, I'll be off until the December 1st theme day... when, if I may mix my animal-related metaphors for a second, I shall be back roaring like a Bengal tiger and ready to get the bit between my teeth. So until then, enjoy your Spring or Autumn depending on where you are and I'll see you on Brisbane's first day of summer.

Yeehaah!

The Papery Bark of a Tree Around The Corner

I've heard of a Paperbark Tree. Maybe this is one? It stands with two others on the pavement of a local street with its bark all ragged and falling off. Some parts come away in chunks, others in gossamer-thin leaves that float off in the wind. I love these trees!

Head Lights

What is this? Well it's a slightly off-centre photo of a chandelier in the Lychee Lounge with Barbie doll style heads plonked on top of the bulbs to make them glow subtly. It doesn't really throw out much light - the heads would probably melt. Purely an art piece, I reckon.

OK it's a bit macabre...  but for me, having never been a fan of Barbie dolls, I love it!

The iconic pub The Regatta Hotel sits on Coronation Drive in Toowong. It's been 9 months since the floods and the ground floor still remains closed while they rebuild. You can pop in for a drink or something to eat, though, as the first floor is open.

By the way - you can't see it very well in this shot but the jacarandas are in bloom again. Expect some purple here soon!

 

Baby Paw Paws

Afternoon Beers by the Hibiscus

Rubber Ducky, You're The One!

This is the starting line for the Great Brisbane Duck Race which isn't until October 30th but they want to promote it a bit. The deal is, you buy a (normal sized) rubber duck and that money goes to charity. Your duck gets a number on it and gets poured, with all the other ducks, into the river when the tide is going out. The ducks float down the river in a 'race'. They've got people cheering and a race caller on a megaphone and it's all a good laugh. I think the winner this year gets a car.

Read more here.

Life by the river aint so bad....Skywatch

I took a short stroll down to the CityCat stop early on Wednesday and was greeted with this scene. The sky was breathtaking, making the Brisbane River shine like liquid gold.

Not too shabby at all.

Check out other skies on offer at Skywatch Friday

Messing Around with Night Time Light

Morning Rower

The days are getting longer and the mornings lighter. This was taken at 5.35 this morning with the sun a few inches over the horizon. This time in two months there won't be much of an orange tinge - the sun will be much higher in the sky. Remind me again why Queensland doesn't have daylight saving??

Outdoor Inspriations

The side of this building was only revealed recently after renovations started taking place. I like how the writing and little floral decoration contrasts so starkly with the scarred facade. I'm sure it won't be there for very long.

NRL Grand Final

It was the Rugby League Grand Final yesterday. If you like big men with big necks getting into a bit of rough and tumble then you'd probably love it. It's not really my thing. I spent the afternoon in the garden sipping wine.

Northey Street City Farm

Aside from the organic market that's held here every Sunday, Northey Street is home to a City Farm where you can go and volunteer in the gardens and learn all about permaculture. They have tours every Tuesday morning at 9am. Their website is here.

October Theme Day: Mystery Object

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Bald Spots

Ok last one from the Bunya Mountains till my next trip. This one was taken whilst walking on the 'Balds' which are hills with natural grassland growing all over them. The balds support a wide range of native plants and animals and are shrinking due to the encroachment of the surrounding forests.

If you want to read a bit more about the Bunya Mountains habitat there's an interesting PDF you can download here.

Prickly Pears

Well I hope you like plants because you're not getting anything else from me at the moment. I'm still all loved-up from my Bunya Mountains camping experience, frolicking in the natural world and being at one with nature and all that. These cacti are about 2 metres tall. I love the way they are lit from behind. If you look closely you can see a spider web in the bottom right of the picture providing a bit of contrast.

The Elders

Some of the largest trees in the Bunya Mountains are the Australian Red Cedar trees like the one in the middle of the picture which right now in Spring have small red leaves that turn green later on. Most obviously, though, are the Bunya pine trees - that's one on the left. From December to March the trees drop their cones which contain lots of nuts inside. The cones look like a large green pineapples and weigh about 10kgs and the trees are about 60m high. So if one of them drops on your head it'd kill you stone dead. Yes, September is a very good time to go!

Postcard From The Bunya Mountains

Bunya Mountains National Park is about 200kms north-west of Brisbane. The mountains themselves were formed 30 million years ago supposedly from the remains of a volcano. They seem to rise out of nowhere from the plains around them and peak at 1135m. Walking around the park is different at every turn. It can't seem to make up it's mind if it's rainforest, eucalypt forest or natural grassland. There are idyllic waterfalls and rockpools and you get frogs there that are found nowhere else in the world (with the biggest tadpoles you've ever seen). There are kangaroos and plenty of other native mammals as well loads of reptiles and 130 different species of birds. If you like that kind of thing, it's definite WOW territory.

Roller Derby Girls

This one was taken a couple of weeks ago during the Kurilpa Derby. The Sun State Roller Girls did a bit of a demo, chasing eachother around, bashing into eachother, cartwheeling and jumping over their teammates who were lying in the road...  all in sexy clothes and on roller skates. Excellent.
Learn more about them here.

Interactivity

This is the Light Scope again as featured in yesterday's post. Some of the lights are interactive such as these dots. They follow you around as you walk, or cluster together if you stand as a group.

Light Scope

 

It's a bit like walking through a kaleidoscope with lights and mirrors everywhere. Sometimes there are moving images, sometimes patterns. Sometimes there are little blobs that follow you around. Ace!

It's on each day until Saturday 9am-9.30pm outside QPAC.

Sitting on the Renovators' seat

This is the seat that some of the contestants from the TV series "The Renovators" made for the people of Brisbane. It's made from steel and inspired by frangipani branches and ibis birds both of which you get a fair bit of round these parts.

Mirror Ball At Night

I went down to South Bank again last night in the hopes of capturing the laser show reflected in the big mirror ball. Unfortunately the ball is a little bit too far away from the action but it is lit from underneath in light that changes colour every few seconds.

I'm off camping in the Bunya Mountains for a few days so hopefully posting will continue while I'm away. Back next week!

Santos City Of Lights last night

As part of the Brisbane Festival, there is a laser show to music every night at South Bank. There are huge searchlights that fly around, laser beams from the tops of buildings and laser images projected into the spray of water canons on the river. Not as exciting as Riverfire but if you are in the area, it's worth a look. The best place to see it is between Victoria Bridge and the Goodwill Bridge.  There are free shows every night until the 24th. Times are here.

By the way - last night I committed the cardinal sin of photographers and ventured out without realising I had a low battery. My spare battery was sitting in the charger at home so my camera died about 3 minutes into the show. D'oh! Another lesson learned.

In the style of Z

I am follower of a blogger named "Z" in New York who you may already be familiar with. He's started posting some exciting photos of people in the street under the tag "Chaos and Dynamism of NYC". The photos are close range, shooting from the hip with lots of contrast and saturation. I tried to give it a go, choosing Queen Street and Albert Street in hope of some crowds but there just seemed to be nobody about. This picture was the best of the bunch I took. It was really hard! I haven't quite managed the Hitchcock-esque technicolor look but I'll keep working on that one. Anyway - to check out what I am trying to get at, see here.

Refugee Totems, South Bank Parkland

For all of us who listen to the almost daily crapping on by Australian politicians about immigration and 'boat people'... here's a refreshing, beautiful, artistic look at refugess in Australia. There are 3 stone 'totems' which have text and artwork inlaid. The plaque nearby has this to say:

This artwork represents 'Memory Boxes and Suitcases' that convey the stories, memories, hopes and dreams of three refugee students that have undertaken remarkable journeys to become valued members of our community.
Each totem follows the story of a young student from their childhoods in far off homelands to their dreams for the future in Brisbane. Being the first example of art representing multiculturalism in the parkand, the work not only provides a voice to their experiences but will hopefully also encourage understanding in the greater community.

If you are in the area, I recommend a look. They are located near the big wheel at the top of the steps.

At Northey St. Organic Market This Morning

I'm ashamed to say that this morning was my first ever trek (15 mins in the car) to Northey Street Organic Markets. Compared to other markets in Brisbane, this one feels more relaxed. There is more space to move around, less people and everything there is organic. It is set amongst a city farm with fruit and vegetables growing all around you as you wander around. There are activities for kids and a rope swing incase you feel the need to release your inner Tarzan.

Are these forgetmenots?

Spring at last! The weather has really improved over the last week. Temperatures are in the mid twenties, it's really sunny and there are buds and blooms everywhere. These flowers are growing on the pavement on my street. There are white, lilac and purple flowers all on the one plant and they smell AMAZING! Someone once told me they were forgetmenots... I always thought they were blue.  What do you think?

Mirrored Skywatch

As part of the Brisbane Festival, they have erected this large Light Sphere at South Bank (see two days ago for another view) which is just fab. You could spend ages there checking out all the reflections... and you can see the sky from all sorts of angles.

For even more skyviews, visit Skywatch Friday.

City Branch

If you've ever been to the junction of Eagle Street and Creek Street, right in the heart of Brisbane's skyscraper area, you'll notice some gigantic old fig trees in the middle of the intersection. Read all about them in the very excellent Your Brisbane Past and Present here.

I love the texture of these old aerial roots. They are sent down from the branches until they end up planting themselves in the ground forming gnarly twisted curtains. The contrast to the cars, buildings and construction that surround the trees on all sides is striking.

Light Sphere

This giant ball of mirrors is down at the new grassy section of South Bank near the Maritime Museum. It's part of the Brisbane Festival which is an annual event here with art, music, comedy, fireworks, laserbeams... all sorts of fun stuff. Read more here. The reflections off it are fascinating AND... it plays music too. Very satisfying. If it's still there by the time I get off my night shifts early next week, I'll nip down and get a night time shot.

Dinner on Boundary Street

Three of a Kind

Brisbane is definitely going a bit ukulele mad. This trio provided some great background music while selecting fruit and vegetables at the market last week.

Beer Garden in King George Square

As promised, here's the beer garden ready and waiting for customers!
Hmmm. It must be beer o'clock by now, surely?

Speigeltent in King George Square

 King George Square doesn't have too many redeeming features these days since the unveiling of the giant concrete slab. As part of the Brisbane Festival, this beautiful Speigeltent is currently sitting in the middle of it at the moment making it look infinitely better. Inside there is a plenty of comedy, cabaret and music. Outside, you can enjoy a beer in the beer garden (I'll show you that tomorrow).

See what's on at the Speigeltent here.

The Urban Grind

With the weather warming up a bit now, by about mid-morning you can sit out in the sun quite comfortably. This one was taken on Saturday morning at the West End market. It's primarily a fruit and veg market but you can buy other stuff there. You can get your eyebrows threaded and your back massaged, you can buy crafts, clothes and a wide variety of snacks from all over the world. While we sat and relaxed, sipping our flat whites (and strawberry smoothie) a pretty lady sang suitably mellow guitar songs. Tough life, eh?

Crash Landing!

West End's Kurilpa Derby Day kicked off with a parade of all sorts of weird and wonderful ways to wheel yourself around. There was no shortage of stacks.

Big Hello Outside Lock 'n' Load

Balancing Acts!

... and they managed to stay upright! Amazing!

Kurilpa Derby Day

West End's main street, Boundary Street, was closed off yesterday for a series of wacky races. Prams, bikes, go-carts and pretty much anything else on wheels was eligible. As well as the races, there was a brass band, bicycle polo and a roller derby demonstration. Too much going on for just one photo so sit back, relax and enjoy the next few days courtesy of the folk of West End.

Riverfire 2011

For the next three weeks, Brisbane will play host to all sorts of theatre, music, dance, wacky races and all sorts of other fun stuff at the Brisbane Festival. Last night was Riverfire which is a spectaular fireworks display that runs all the way from the Story Bridge to Victoria Bridge. Fireworks spray from bridges, tall buildings and barges in the river. Thousands of people line the banks - it's a great night out. I managed to get a good viewpoint from the 16th floor Riparian Plaza. This was shot through glass but I think it came out quite well :-)

Flocking Trendy Wallpaper!

I never thought I'd say this but...I'm developing a 'thing' for flock wallpaper. After decades of mocking the flock each time I discovered a patch in a dark corner of an Indian restaurant in England, I'm now seeing it in a new light. This is a bar in West End called Lock n Load. Very trendy.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 56)

This traffic signal box is by Brisbane-based artist Guido Van Helton and is called 'James Street Style'. It's on the corner of James Street and McLachlan Street in Fortitude Valley. 

Find a box or paint a box at Urban Smart Projects.

September Theme Day: Perspective

 This month's theme is "Perspective". I must admit I struggled with this one. In the end I decided on a camera-on-the-floor shot to give a bug's perspective of the City Botanical Gardens on Sunday afternoon just gone. I don't know the couple and don't know if they were aware I took their photo...I hope they don't mind!

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