First Light

Treat Each Dawn As A Gift

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I have parked literally hundreds of times in this Southbank high-rise car park. On most of those occasions, I have parked before dawn’s first light and always walked down the concrete walkway out onto the street.

But on this occasion, luck was on my side. The parking slots on the first level were all full, so I parked higher up and got into the lift/elevator, where another person had already pressed the button for the ground floor.

Because I didn’t walk down as usual, I found myself taking a different exit onto a side street. Looking up, I saw that the first light of the morning cast the shadow of Eureka Tower (the world’s highest residential building) onto the nearby Exxon Mobil office building across the street.

Rather than shoot a skyscape reflection, I chose to position myself under a nearby palm tree, so as to include the fronds in the frame.

Routine is a wonderful thing, but because my pattern of repetition had been broken, these shots were a gift, a simple way to start another wonderfully productive day.


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