Ol' Man River

Picasso Might Have Loved This Blue Period

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes the simplest photograph can bring you great pleasure. This is just a no-frills, straightforward shot taken from the footbridge leading to Flinders Street Station here in Melbourne. But the overwhelming blue tones throughout the scene really grabbed my attention.

I just framed it simply, so that the buildings on either side would dictate the perspective of the scene. We get amazing blue skies here, even in winter. But the thin wisps of cloud here added great value to a very tranquil scene. On the left is Southbank, the recently developed business and arts precinct. On the right is the central business district. And running diagonally across the Yarra River is the disused Sandridge Rail Bridge.

There have also been a few people asking me about the lens I used for the previous shot, titled Paper Moon, showing the sliver of the moon alongside the silhouette of a tree. It was a Sigma 125mm lens and the shot was taken without a tripod in rather mundane circumstances last night. I had actually gone to wheel the garbage bin onto the nature strip, then I saw the moon - and did what you would expect of me. I left the bin exactly where it was and rushed in to get the camera. I've certainly got my priorities right!