Contrasts In Style And Grace

Two Faces Of Melbourne’s Architectural History

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken while I was walking towards Flinders Street Station recently, on an afternoon when the wind was biting but the sky turned brilliant blue for a short while.

As I walked, just soaking up the atmosphere of this beautiful city, I suddenly realised that if I found the precise angle, I could capture an interesting shot of the city.

So amid the crowds, I waited until I could find just the right spot in front of the city’s main station. I used my long lens for this sequence, because I wanted a really tight frame that encompassed two different styles and two very different eras in the city’s rich history.

In the foreground is the graceful Victorian-style façade of Flinders Street Station, just to the right of the central dome above the main entrance. In the background is Eureka Tower, the highest residential structure in the southern hemisphere.

The station is redolent of nineteenth century grace, while the super-skyscraper that redefines Melbourne’s skyline has only been officially open since October 2006.

So there you have it. A single frame that presents both ends of the spectrum of Melbourne’s most recognisable buildings.


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Heart Starter

Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot was taken just over a fortnight ago, as I walked past Flinders Street Station. I noticed there were new posters affixed to the tram shelter between the station and Federation Square.

And I also realised that if I really walked quickly, I'd be able to get a clear shot of the poster through the traffic - with a tram in the background. I wasn't quite quick enough, because the tram was actually moving when I hit the trigger for this shot.

And in case you're wondering what the sticker says up the top of the glass of the tram shelter, it is: "No smoking in covered areas."

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Bright Prospects

Yours, For Just $12 - An Armful Of Colour

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken two weeks ago, on a glorious winter afternoon when the sun was shining brightly and there was no real bite in the wind chill. I detoured through the forecourt of Flinders Street Station, where the flower vendors always add a touch of colour to the day.

Sure enough, among all the long-stemmed roses and a wonderful assortment of other varieties, I spotted these beautiful orange crysanthemums. I had just hit the button on the first frame (above) but I wanted to compose a tighter shot. It took me a split second to adjust the focal length, when all of a sudden the light changed dramatically.

And I mean ... dramatically.

It was as if a burst of light had suddenly illuminated the orange foliage. But the sun hadn't just emerged from a cloud. I was puzzled, and looked to my side - and immediately realised what had happened. Someone standing near me had been blocking the direct sunlight and as soon as he moved, the blooms were bathed in blinding light.

Instead of waiting or moving to a better position (or waiting for a cloud to mask the bright sun) I took the shot anyway, knowing the saturation of light would give me an effect that looked something like an oil painting. I wasn't disappointed ....


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Station Airy

Get On The Straight And Arrow

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

You simply have to have your camera with you at all time, right? And sometimes the most ordinary sights can compel you to lift your camera and shoot, right? And there’s no such thing as a boring image, right?

The first shot was taken at Flinders Street Station in May this year. And as I hit the shutter it reminded me of a similar sight I had shot during a very rushed afternoon at an MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station in Singapore in mid-December 2007.

Life isn’t all about following the arrows, you know. It’s also about finding some breathing space, which in turn spawns creativity. These creative impulses are everywhere. But it’s up to us to pause and recognise them.


For earlier posts in this series, check out The Doors Archive.

A Tribute To Autumn

Scene And Unseen, On The Yarra's Surface

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This sequence was shot early on Thursday morning, as I walked across the pedestrian footbridge that connects Flinders Street Station to Southbank. The sun was still at a very shallow angle and because it was a cool morning, there was a bit of haze around.

Normally, I would not even have taken my camera out of the bag. But I had barely taken half a dozen steps across the bridge when I noticed that there was only a very gentle breeze, which is extremely unusual for Melbourne, especially around the water.


So I shot these four frames quickly, in less than 90 seconds. The object of the exercise was simply to show you that on a hazy day, a reflection is sometimes more intense and robust in colour quality than the original object itself. That, of course, is the opposite to normal weather conditions in clear light and a standard breeze, when a reflection can never match what is above the water.

Scroll back and take a look for yourself. In the first shot, the row of plane trees themselves are not quite as striking as their water-enhanced rendering. In each frame, the bottom area (or the reflection) is better quality than the top.


If you're wondering why the breeze played a part, here's the answer. The normal Melbourne breeze ruffles the surface of the water, leaving no discernible reflection at all on the Yarra River.

I was about to put the lens cap back on my camera when I noticed this red-clad jogger going past. Naturally, I had to take the shot - because I knew the two people in black (or dark blue) would not be visible on the water's surface, while the red jogger would stand out like a beacon.


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Silent Might, Holy Might

If It Please Your Worship

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This image was shot a few weeks before I started this weekly series devoted simply to doors from around the world. The metalwork on the wooden door caught my eye before Christmas and since all of you have probably guessed it is a church door, let me assure you that you’re correct in that assumption.

It is the side entrance to St Paul’s Cathedral here in central Melbourne and while the church has side entrances leading into the central courtyard, this is on Swanston Street, just past the Flinders Street intersection.

Given the fascinating history of this Anglican cathedral, the metal would date back to the nineteenth century. Today’s beautiful building, with its stunning spires, stands on the very spot where Dr Alexander Thomson conducted the new colony’s first open-air services in 1836. This area then became a market until the site was consecrated in 1852.

Its location is deliberate, placing the beautiful place of worship at one of the city’s foremost intersections, literally opposite the main entrance and hall of Flinders Street Station.

I’m guessing the metal design on this door probably dates back to the late 1880s. Just one (or maybe two) sets of hands created this piece of art, but thousands more have touched them in the generations since.


For earlier posts in this series, check out The Doors Archive.

Contract Bridge

Portrait Of A City Coming To Life

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

If you shot an inanimate object every day for a month, you’d still be able to endow it with different qualities each time. Shoot it from a different angle. Shoot it at a different time of day. Shoot it in differing light. Each time, it will look unique.

I’ve shot Princes Bridge several times in the past three years, but I try and cloak it in a different guise each time. That is part of the challenge for any photographer. And trust me, being able to find a different "personality" to any object or scene brings a grin to my face.

These two frames were shot before dawn, without a tripod. The first image was taken from the south bank of the Yarra looking north and the second one (below) was taken from the Flinders Street end of the bridge, looking south from the northern end of the Yarra River.

Why do I like the first image? For more than one reason. Because there was very little wind, the surface of the river looks glassy. That was a great starting point in the composition. Because of pooling light from alongside, the water actually has an emerald-green quality to it, as if someone has spilled a giant vat of oil paint. This in turn is emphasised by the circles of reflection from the lights of the pathway.

This meld of water, reflections, concrete and roadway in the pre-dawn darkness was perfect for what I wanted to achieve. An added bonus – and a fortunate one – was that the silver paintwork had recently been refurbished by a team of contractors, so the side rail of the bridge really stands out as a strong diagonal feature across the frame.

In the image below, I tried to make the most out of the side rail again, using it as my central point of interest in creating the image. The illuminated building is the Victorian Arts Centre, boosted by its own reflection in the water. And the sense of movement in this image comes from a single moving vehicle on the left of the frame, a handy motif of a city coming to life on a workday morning.


Visit TNChick's Photo Hunt. Today's theme: "Bridge".

Star Turn

It's Christmas Time In The City

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I was walking down Flinders Street with my family on Tuesday, soaking up the Christmas atmosphere in the city, when I took this shot. We had just walked out of a multi-level car park when I spotted the delicate colour of the sky. It was about 8.30 at night and the sun had already set, leaving a beautiful summery dusk glow.

We were walking towards Flinders Street Station and I hastened my pace marginally, because I could see that the sky would be fairly dark in less than five minutes. I wanted to shoot the silhouette of the station's main dome and one of the minaret-like towers against the sky.

When I decided the combination of sky and silhouette was just right, I realised I was fairly close to a typical Melbourne Christmas decoration - rows of giant silver stars strung across the streets. I only shot one frame, simply because the all-round balance was as close to ideal as I could have got that evening.

I'd just like to emphasise that I did not plan this shot. I just happened to be walking down the street at exactly the right time. Ten minutes earlier or later and the shot would not have had the same effect.

But that evening, it was the ideal Christmas image - a summer sunset, an Eastern-influence minaret and man-made stars against a pastel sky.

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

Sunny Side Up

Simple Light And Shade Can Bring A Great View

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

At this time of year, I guess it would be completely appropriate to post a photograph of one of the religious symbols of central Melbourne - a slightly different view of St Paul's Cathedral. Both these shots were taken a few days ago, under a lunchtime sun.

More than simply sharing this post with you, I'd like to show you what a vast difference can be achieved by instinctive composition.

I was walking back to work when I idly looked up as I waited for the lights to change outside Flinders Street Station. My attention was arrested by the sight of the solitary white cloud in a huge expanse of brilliant blue sky.

I had my Sigma 18-125 mm lens on the camera, which was perfect for this shot, even though I was also carrying my 70-300 mm lens. I took this shot at the full extent of the 125 mm lens and chose to ignore the main spire. Instead, I used the exposed brickwork on the main spire as a simple, angular silhouette against the bright sky, and I chose to make the secondary spire the central point of attention.

Sometimes, asymmetrical composition can be more arresting than a standard, symmetrical aspect. Here, I was just lucky to have strong colours, arresting shapes and a great colour contrast. And maybe it's my early background in newspaper and magazine design that magnetises my attention to a close-in frame at an unusual angle.

By the way, in case you were wondering what the more formal view of the scene looked like, here it is below. It's the same scene, in the same light, taken from the same angle - and according to the electronic data on the images, the two shots are a mere nine seconds apart.

Yes, it's still a handy shot, but it is not endowed with that look-at-me immediacy of the first.


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Clockwork Oranges

Bouquets Aplenty For My Fair Ladies

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I was very little when I saw the movie My Fair Lady for the first time, but the cinematography in certain scenes really stayed with me. The opening shots of the flowers must have really struck my fancy, with the camera seeming to caress the petals of the multi-coloured blossoms.

Was there one single example of camera work, albeit a movie camera, that had a formative effect on me? Honestly, it’s very hard to tell, but perhaps that sequence of shots stayed emblazoned in my memory for a reason.

So there I was on a drizzly evening a few days ago, hurrying to catch a train at Flinders Street Station, when I caught sight of the beautiful display of flowers for sale, as they are every day. That evening, the striking contrast between the endless gerberas and the deep purple of the cellophane wrapping just stopped me in my tracks.

Out came the canmera. Off came the lens cap. Quickly, I stole a glance at the station clcoks in the concourse. Did I have enough time? Probably not, but I was going to take the shots anyway.

One quick horizontal shot. I should have stopped there. Okay, give in to that instinct. Take a vertical shot. Put the lens cap back on. Camera back in the bag. Ticket through the slot. Rush down the escalator. Sprint to the carriage doors before they close.

The train on the plain stays mainly out of the rain.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Vote Yea Or Neigh

Thereby Hangs A Tail

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Late on Friday I was walking to Flinders Street Station when I noticed this unusual display outside EQ, a Southbank restaurant. You can see the petunias, right? You can see the eye-catching orange umbrella, right? You can see the lights, right?

But you're wondering where the critter is? Yes?

Okay, so let me take you to a different view of the scene. With the Melbourne Cup just around the corner (yes, it really is the race that stops a nation) here's some great advice scribbled on the board beside the display.


Now look at the last shot (below) which is another view of the scene, taken from further east. You can see the umbrella, right? You can see the petunias, right? You can see the board, right? And now you can see the horse as well! But go back to the first picture and you'll see it was there all along.

Did you see it in the first shot? Did you really? Let me know how observant you are ......


Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

Head Start

Maybe This Was Their First Screen Test

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken on the concourse at Flinders Street Station here in Melbourne on Wednesday evening. It’s school holidays here, so I met Mrs Authorblog and two of the Authorbloglets after work. We spent some time in the city on a beautiful, balmy spring evening before walking down to Flinders to catch a train home.

I had just walked through the ticket validating machine when my son nudged me and pointed to these four people wired up and wearing monitors on their heads. Naturally, I had to take the shot, so I told the rest of the family to carry on.

Now here was the dilemma. Should I walk up close and try and capture just one or two of them? Or should I try and take the broad view and get all four into one frame? I had to take into account the fact that this was rush hour and I would have commuters hurrying past me as I tried to compose the shot.

There was a train coming in less than two minutes, so I just followed my instincts and took a horizontal frame with all four of them in the shot. But only three of the screens were visible, so of course I had to take another shot - and I was lucky that the two commuters rushing past didn’t actually obscure my view.

Then, as I heard the train approaching, I fired off a couple more shots. Yes, I made the train. No, the rest of the family weren’t concerned. They’re used to me going walkabout with my camera.

Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

Out Of The Blue

Anyone Can Be Street Smart

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As a rule, I don’t generally put old shots on my blog, but this one is for the benefit of the many bloggers who ask me if a little compact camera can produce a shot of comparable quality with a more expensive DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera.

Many of my favourite shots are images that I took years ago, with a simple, cheap Instamatic Ricoh. The camera lens is nothing more than a connection to your eye, and the shutter mechanism is simply an extension of your brain.

I’ve always said a writer doesn’t need a $10,000 computer to write well, so the same logic dictates that you don’t need a $2000 camera to take great shots.

The little compact digitals have made cumulative leaps in technology in the past five years and while you get a lot of bang for your buck in the under-$400 range, one of the best I’ve used is the 10-megapixel ultra-compact Pentax Optio S10. Since I first used it around Easter this year, I’ve recommended it to several bloggers on the basis of its compact size, its many features and its macro function. More to the point, it retails for between $200-$250.

Yes, I use a digital SLR, a Pentax K100D. Yes, my default lens is an 18-125mm Sigma. Yes, I always have a 70-300mm Sigma zoom with me. But a lot of the shots I take can be replicated with a simple compact camera.

For example, this shot was taken in mid-2005, with a simple, basic early-model compact. I was walking down Flinders Street before dawn (as you can see by the illuminated street light) when I took this shot. I was facing west, where the sky was blue, but behind me to the east the sky was covered in black clouds.

The silhouette of the distinctive dome of Flinders Street Station was perfect to emphasise the blue wintry sky. Look carefully at the shot and you’ll even see proof that there was just a gentle zephyr of a breeze - the flag at the top of the dome is almost limp.

And while the over-riding sensation of the photo is blue, black and white, can you spot the sliver of red in this low-resolution version of the original shot? Need a clue? Look at the traffic light on the right - and depending on your screen resolution, you’ll glimpse a whisper-thin hint of red.

Just to prove my point, it was a simple three-megapixel camera, but it gave me a wonderful, crisp image.

What’s under the hood doesn’t matter. It’s how you use it.


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

The Wild Blue Wander

There’s Always Time For Clarity

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

About a month ago, I’d planned to take a lunch break and to walk out into the city with my camera. But the weather closed in, not surprisingly, because we’re still in winter here.

The rain stopped just after two o’clock and so I ventured out, ready to seek shelter if the weather deteriorated. I only spent about half an hour in the city and was on my way back to work. I had replaced the lens cap on my camera, but I was still looking around for any unusual shots.

Because it was very windy, a tiny patch of sky began to clear as I walked down Elizabeth Street. A couple of minutes later, by the time I got to the pedestrian crossing at Flinders Street, I could barely believe what I could see. The little patch of clear, unsullied blue was almost summery in its intensity – and it sat regally above the central clock tower of Flinders Street Station.

While I waited to cross the street, I knew I had to take the shot. Off came the lens cap and I fired the shutter exactly where I stood, using the zoom to compose an unusual view to include the silhouetted outline of the traffic lights to the left of the frame.

A couple of minutes later, I was back at my desk at work and showed this shot to a colleague of mine, a graphic designer who is also a keen photographer.

"Nice shot," he nodded. "When did you take it?"

"Coupla minutes ago," I explained, as he shook his head in disbelief.

You see, the huge window near our desks gave us a splendid view of the Melbourne skyline, completely shrouded in grey, threatening cloud cover.

I guess it’s a bit redolent of life experience. It doesn’t matter how many problems loom on the horizon, we just need one solitary, brief flash of clarity or inspiration to see our way forward.

Visit Mama Geek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

Panda Monium

The Suspense Was Too Much To Bear

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Okay, I have to admit I had a smile on my face when I saw this poster on Wednesday morning. I was in the underpass at Flinders Street Station when I noticed it and even though I had my camera bag on my shoulder, I knew it would be futile to try and take the shot immediately.



Why? Because it was peak hour and there were hundreds of commuters hurrying past it. And there was an added degree of difficulty. You see, this was one of the special scrolling posters that are so popular at Melbourne train stations. Each hoarding displays three posters – each of which is on view for just seven seconds before a roller mechanism pulls it swiftly upwards and replaces it with the next one.



I’m game for anything, generally speaking, when it comes to a good photo. But I wasn’t going to stand there and wait for a brief moment of opportunity while city workers surged past. So I kept walking. But the smile grew bigger on my face.



I sort of liked the idea of teeming humanity, just because of the reality of the shot. So I figured it would be best to go back to the same spot at lunchtime, when the rush started again. There’s nothing like a ``complicating factor’’ to introduce a bit of a challenge to a simple photograph.



I had the 70-300mm Sigma lens on the camera – so in order to get the whole poster into my lens, I had to back a few metres away, into an alcove/ walkway. For the first shot (above) I took a clean version of the poster, with no interruption.



For the second version (below) I had to wait a few minutes to get a passer-by frozen slap-bang in the middle of the poster. For this shot, timing was everything. No confusion, just Kung fusion.





And for the last version, I had to wait once again to get just one person into the edge of the frame, with the panda still visible. It made for a very interesting fifteen minutes, all up.



I always tell my kids that if I had to write ad blurbs for movies, I would have called Finding Nemo "A fish called wander". I guess I could write one for Kung Fu Panda as well. Hmmmmm, how about "King Kung"?





Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

Sesame Treat

Muppets Need Creature Comforts Too

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

About ten days ago, I was walking past Federation Square when I noticed this Sesame Street jumping castle (is that what you call them in Europe, Canada and the US?) on the edge of the square.

I figured it would be perfect for an unusual interpretation of the Camera Critters Theme, but I had to find something to "anchor" the scene, some way of making it apparent that it was shot here in Melbourne.

I didn’t have to spend too long thinking about the angle I needed. The main dome of Flinders Street Station is one of the most recognisable symbols of Melbourne, so I thought it would be fun to include it in the same shot as Elmo and Grover.

You see the sign on the jumping castle that says "Sesame Street"? Our street signs here in Melbourne are white letters on green backgrounds and I thought it would be great to get a Flinders Street sign in the frame with the iconic Sesame Street sign. But nope, the signs were just too far apart.

Yes, there are some things an intrepid photographer just cannot do! Having taken this shot, I figured it was time to make my way dome, er, home.

Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

See Gull

O Is For Opposing Points Of View

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I was brought up to respect differing points of view. It was a great way to grow up, because I learnt to evaluate and respect each person’s take on a subject.

How does it work? Let me put it this way. Put six people at a busy city intersection, tell them to spend five minutes looking at it and observing it carefully. Then ask them to tell you about the highlights of that five-minute period. Each person will have seen exactly the same sights, yet each will generally nominate something different as their highlight.

A few years ago, when I did some great travel writing trips, I was always struck by how each person’s published report on the trip was so distinct, so different, from those written by other people who had been on the trip together and had shared the same experiences.

A few weeks ago, the day after I bought my new Sigma 300mm lens, I had a brief discussion with a colleague that perfectly illustrated how two people can see the same scene differently. I was heading to the river to take some photographs, while he asked me what I could possibly see in a scene that both of us saw every day. What he regarded as mundane sights, I regarded as fresh and interesting sights. Just one of those things, hey?

To start with, I was intrigued by the quality of the sunlight. It had not been a spectacular dawn, but shortly after the sun rose, I was struck by the golden glow in a pure blue sky. I shot about two dozen frames very quickly, before heading away from the river. I was just about to put the camera away when I noticed this scene.

The far bank of the river was bathed in amazing sunlight. But the south bank, where I stood, was cloaked in shadow.

Let me explain. Flinders Street Station, across the river from where I stood, is painted a dull yellow-ochre and burgundy and often provides a great backdrop to city scenes. But the startling rays of morning light endowed the station with a golden yellow glow that seemed almost unnatural. I shot this view (above) of the clock tower exactly where I stood. Bear in mind I was probably 400 yards away from the tower when I shot this, so I was lucky I had the long lens.

For the first shot, I focused on the tower, bringing into play all the gentle contours that complement the regimented right angles of its construction. To the right of the frame is an interesting counterpoint to the architecture of the tower - a looming blue, orange and white office building.

For the second shot (below) I reversed the focus on the same scene – and you can now see the preening gull sitting on my side of the river, in complete shadow, while the clock tower provides an unmistakable hue of warmth on the other side.

Each is an opposing point of view, an opposing point of focus. But the trick is to balance each of them and to understand that they both comprise the total picture, rather than either one of them being the single, absolute perspective to the exclusion of the other.

Just goes to show – there is always more than one point of view on any subject.

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