A Flash Of Orange Amid The Concrete

Hi Lilium, Hi Lilium, Hi-Lo

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes you spot a gem of a sight when you're busy looking for something else entirely. A couple of weeks ago, I took my camera out at lunchtime and I walked under the Princes Bridge to take some shots by the river. Then I took the spiral walkway from under the Victorian Arts Centre leading up to street level on St Kilda Road.

I was looking up towards the brightness of the street above when something caught my attention over my left shoulder. In a narrow alcove bordered by a triangle of concrete, in typical Melbourne style, was a steep garden slope. Even a little wedge is fair game for garden cultivation here in Victoria, which prides itself on its parkland, its greenery and its gardens.

These liliums were in full bloom and I have to say the flaming orange hues were a perfect foil for the mortar and bluestone that is such a hallmark of the city's early architecture.

Finally, I have to ask the question - you did notice the sharply-defined shadow on the bottom leaf, didn't you?

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

Tunnel Vision

Seeing Things In A Different Light

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Princes Bridge in Melbourne is just one of many graceful bridges across the Yarra River. This first shot (above) takes in only one of the spans of the beautiful bridge, but I'd like you to pay close attention to the underpass. There is actually a walking path and a cycle path under the bridge, beside the flowing water.

Now look at the second shot (below) and you'll get a clear view of the underpass. The stone walls on either side are built from bluestone, which is very common in buildings and construction work from the early Victorian era. Not really the sort of thing you'd photograph from a distance, but I had my 300mm lens on for this shot.

The reason I took the first two shots is to show you an amazing contrast. Most Melburnians are accustomed to seeing the underpass in terms of the dark-grey stone. I guess it has a gritty, old-world look to it. There is a certain Dickensian earthiness to it - and you would almost expect to see Bill Sykes in the vicinity.

But would you like to see a total - and dramatic - transformation rendered by very rare natural light?

Just have a look at the shot below and you'll see the same scene endowed with a special quality. This was one of the first frames I shot with my new lens, about three months ago. I was absolutely dazzled by the rising sun and then realised that the glow across the river had brushed the underpass with a glow I'd never seen before.

Check out RuneE's "Building Bridges" theme at Visual Norway.