Ancient Figures, Modern World

I photographed this group of statuary in the first few days of November, 2010, in London. This is one of the four groups flanking the Albert Memorial on the south side of Hyde Park, opposite the Royal Albert Hall, tribute to the partner of Queen Victoria. The groups were meant to represent the British Empire's overseas protectorates and dominions, such as India and Egypt, and, leaving aside colonialism, which today leaves such a bad taste in one's mouth, one can enjoy these monuments purely as art. The Albert Memorial is perhaps the most sculpture-rich edifice in a town which to this day is dripping with the stone-mason's art, and the individual figure work is quite breathtaking. Colour and contrast were adjusted as tiny bit. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Dawn from Altitude

 

The rising sun breaking through ocean cloud, seen over the wing as my plane approached Singapore on November 16 or so, 2010. This was the midpoint landing on the way back to Australia. Air travel offers the chance of such sights, amazing views of day's beginning or end, of storms and panoramas of the Earth below, and I miss this a lot. Of course, the filthy windows, with persistent drops of condensation between the inner and outer panes that turn to ice crystals at altitude make first-rate aerial images more a matter of luck than skill for the casual traveller. But there are still endless opportunities, and on every trip I had a window seat and my camera to hand for this very reason. This image is unretouched, just as it came from the card. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Refuge for Wildlife

 

This peaceful scene of an Australian waterway is just a stone's throw from habitation—just across a road, as it happens. Here is nature in harmony with suburbia: the Onkaparinga River at Old Noarlunga, the highest stretch at which the river is in fact a tidal estuary. Here one finds fish aplenty and birdlife to match: pelicans frequent the area, testimony to the plentiful catch to be had. I took this frame, looking toward the cliffs on the east side of the river, during a family walk around the Noarlunga “Horseshoe” on February 13^th, 2020; nothing fancy in the approach, simply taking advantage of the scenery to compose a pleasing image. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Stark Stone and Light

Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide, photographed after dark. The symmetry of the columns is a pleasing perspective, and looking up into the floodlights is unusual. The building, completed in 1911, if memory serves, was thoroughly cleaned of soot and vehicle carbon many years ago—Parliament House was a dark grey, almost black, when I was a young child, but the stonework was deep-cleaned and taken back to its beautiful native tones. The same program cleaned the General Post Office, the Town Hall and the cathedral off Victoria Square, removing a reminder of the days of rampant air pollution. I took this shot on the evening of Sunday 5^th December, 2010, on my way home from the Celtica Festival at Hart's Mill Waterfront, Port Adelaide. Very little enhancement, this is pretty much what the raw pic looked like. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.