A Touch Of Silver

Clouds Cloak A Goulburn Roof With Magic

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes mundane sights are rendered, by Nature, into beautiful settings that only last a few minutes. Thus, a simple tin roof takes on the fleeting look of corrugated silver.

I shot this through the window of my vehicle as I sat in a parking bay in Goulburn, in country New South Wales. To my mind, the scene looked like a painted stage backdrop, solely because of the cloud cover and the quality of the afternoon sun.

I sat there for a few seconds, wondering whether it was worth the effort of getting out, opening the boot/ trunk and rummaging for my camera among the many bags that were packed in there. The simple answer was yes. Of course it was worth it.

Because I spent my teenage years in a wonderful boarding school in the Himalayas, I spent a lot of contemplative time observing the subtle changes of light across some of the most stunning landscapes you could ever hope to see. In this case, I knew that the quality of light would change fairly quickly.

Four days later, we were back in Goulburn as we drove home from Sydney to Melbourne. I parked in exactly the same spot to assess the view from precisely the same angle. This time, it was just a plain tin roof under a sky that did not have any of the silvery magic from the previous visit.

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.