Skylines to Street Photography

For this week’s Fun Foto Challenge Cee asks us to present photos of cities. I have chosen photos from four of the five Australian capital cities I’ve been to. Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. I have also visited Canberra but I was using a film camera then and have not yet transferred those pictures to computer. I really should do that it was 9 years ago!

In a city, especially a big city it’s pretty hard to photograph buildings or anything really without getting people in your shots, unless you like to get up at the crack of dawn anyway. You can either get mad, not take the pictures or go ahead and take them anyway. That’s what I do. People are part of the city environment and sometimes they add something to the photo.

Melbourne

1. A photo of the ever-changing skyline of Melbourne taken in 2014. This would have been taken from the Star Observation Wheel.
2. Trams in Swanston Street. I think I photograph the trams every time I go to Melbourne. I love them. I rather liked the cyclist in this particular photograph too.
3. St Patrick’s is Melbourne’s Catholic cathedral and while trying to fit it all into my frame I thought that the line of bikes and the tourists taking a “selfie” were a nice contrast.

Melbourne

Swanston Street Melbourne October 2014.

Visitors taking a selfie in front of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathederal.

Sydney

1. I don’t often take photos of people like this one taken on a tram on Sydney’s light rail system. Everyone seemed to be on their phone and didn’t notice me with the camera.
2. Queen Victoria Building . This is one of my favourite buildings in Sydney. I was a bit annoyed to find the man with the cigarette in my best shot but actually I think it makes it a good city scene now I’ve cropped it a bit.
3. Sydney Harbour. Sydney and Melbourne seem to be in competition for largest number of skyscrapers.

Travelling on Sydney’s Light Rail System.

It’s not so common to see people smoking in the street now.

Sydney’s ultra modern skyline. March 2016

Adelaide

1. Rundle Mall Adelaide 2012. I took several photos in Rundle Mall last time I was in Adelaide as I was afraid that by the time I came again they would have completely ruined it with ugly new developments. I get especially angry about that because I grew up in Adelaide.
2. Light Rail Adelaide. After removing most of their tram lines in the 1950s Adelaide is now in the process of putting them back.
3. Adelaide Arcade is a rather grand and beautiful arcade off Rundle Mall.

Public Transport, Adelaide

Adelaide Arcade

Hobart

1. Hobart’s Red Decker tourist bus on a sunny Saturday afternoon last summer
2. The recently refurbished Cat and Fiddle Arcade at Christmas
3. A mixture of old and new architecture taken from a Hobart rooftop.

Red Decker tour bus. Hobart

The cat and fiddle clock the arcade is named for, taken last December.

Old and New Hobart