Friday, April 10, 2009

Oh Buoy

Some Rivers Have A Slow Eddy, Some A Fast Eddy

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON


It was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. I was walking beside the southern bank of the Yarra River here in Melbourne. I had the 70-300mm lens on the camera and I was in search of an unusual shot.

That's when I spotted this buoy in the middle of the river. I've seen it hundreds of times, but I've never bothered to try and decipher what the words say, so I figured this was as good a time as any. Because I had a long lens, I was able to zoom in really close and frame a really tight shot.

The clarity of this image is pretty good - because the light was so strong. This is just a low-resolution version of the original, but you can see the moss on the bottom of the buoy, as well as the plastic-encased light that flashes in darkness.

The colour of the water, too, was really interesting - the silvery-grey tone is not something you see often, but maybe it was caused by the sun being directly overhead. It's almost as if the buoy is sitting on a flooded freeway, rather than a wide river.

On the other hand, maybe this was one of the Backstreet Buoys.

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20 comments:

Chris said...

I think maybe it's one of the Lost Buoys.

Very cryptic message too -- No boats prohibited or No boats, prohibited water?

Punctuation please.

Lew said...

Maybe the "back water bouys"?

Izzy, Emmy 'N Alexander said...

What an interesting photo! Very funny tale too!

Willow said...

Very interesting! I am always curious about the signs I see...

I enjoyed your post on the sunrise photos!

Sniffles and Smiles said...

It truly does look like a flooded roadway! The water almost looks like a solid surface! Terrific photo!

Linda@ViewFromTheRidge said...

hah - this is a good one.
I vote prohibbited water... i think?

marcia@joyismygoal said...

UUUUUUGGGGHHHHH -- on the pun Love it --- but I see the grammatical error -- you could read it--"No boats prohibited" ok so ALL boats are allowed? or "stop no boats" don't dare stop another boat or its telling the water it is prohibited beyond this point? :) Have you ever read the book Eats Shoots, and leaves? it is so funny.

Ananda girl said...

Perhaps it is David Bouy or one of the Soggy Bottom Bouys. Giggle.

introspection said...

The words on the bouy are intriguing, how you get to spot these and capture them in pictures is more intriguing. great photo.

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

The wording is SO funny!

bowledover said...

The water looks like its oiled, some times seen at sea.
I did think that the warning buoy was on a flooded road.
Lovely photograph.

Eddie Bluelights said...

The water is clearly in breach of this command! Summon a policeman!

Shadow said...

....i don't think a boat could go beyond this point, even if it wanted to. unless james bond's in it...

Spesh said...

the blog header got me here and I like what I see......
Will be back.

Mara said...

This is what I read: Stop, no Boats, Prohibited, Water beyond this point. Which I didn't quite get: why no boats when there was water beyond this point? I got the real meaning after a second read though...

aims said...

I thought it was sitting on a flooded street....good thing I like to read your text David.

Nessa said...

The clarity of the image is excellent. the clarity of the message is not. Could be confusing if you actually think about it.

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

Ha, I tend to agree with Chris and that color is SO vibrant.

Cath said...

You were doing good till the last sentence! lol

It does look like it is standing on flooded ground.

Stephanie said...

Nice photo! I like the reflection that shows on the water.c