Sunset over Sydney

I took these photos in Vauclaus this weekend. I think it’s the best spot in the city to look at the skyline.

#OccupySydney

I took some photos of  the Occupy Sydney even in Martin Place, in front of the Reserve Bank headquarters, Australia’s central bank.

Remember Sydney is The Matrix, that film was entirely filmed in Sydney. 😉

What is capatalism?

Martin Place and Philip/Elizabeth Street

I am getting more and more comfortable with my camera and wide angle lens. Here are some urban photos I’ve taken recently. Long post, sorry!

Governor Philip Tower, designed by the Melbourne architect Denton Corker Marshall and built 1993.

AMP Centre, built 1976.

Aurora Place, designed by the Italian Renzo Piano. Built 2000.

Chifley Tower, designed by the New York firm Kohn Pedersen Fox in a neo-art deco style. Built 1992.

Chifley Square, named after the Prime Minister of Australia in ww2, Ben Chifley

Qantas House, designed in 1950 and finished in 1957, important as the first internationalist style curtain wall in the city.

Looking up from Chifley Square.

Deutsche Bank Place, by the British Foster + Partners.

Deutsche Bank Place, Chifley Tower and Aurora Place as seen from Royal Botanical Gardens.

Here is Space, just south of Chifley Square, new tower finished this year.

Looking down Elizabeth Street from Chifley Square.

Colonial Centre, this is the building Morpheus was held hostage in and rescued by helicopter. 😉 The Matrix was filmed in Sydney.

It also the home of Channel 7 and their news crawler.

Which brings us to Martin Place, used to be a street that was so busy with pedestrian traffic it was turned into a pedestrian plaza in the 70s.

Number 1 Martin Place, General Post Office. Today it’s tenant is the Macquarie Bank, one of the largest Australian investment banks, they have multiple locations through out the city, they lease this building only for the prestige of the address. Martin Place is regarded as the centre of corporate Australia.

Pedestrian crowds.

The lady in the red dress scene in The Matrix was filmed in this spot, by the fountain to the left!

State Savings Bank building.

MLC Centre, completed in 1977 and designed by the great Sydney architect, Harry Seidler

Back down Elizabeth Street.

Looking back at Martin Place.

Looking down King Street.

St James station on Elizabeth, built 1926 one of the first electrified underground lines built in the city.

201 Elizabeth peaking out of the trees along Elizabeth Street, Hyde Park is to the left of the street.

St James Trust building, next to the Jewish Synagogue.

Sheraton on the Park.

And the intersection of Elizabeth and Park Street.

Park Street takes you to the busy George and Park Street intersection, there is an Art display above it this week in front of the Town Hall building.

Sydney Apple Store Memorial for Steve Jobs

I took some photos of the memorial for Steve Jobs at the Sydney Apple Store. A great man, to me he stood for something. The need to improve and change the world and to not get stuck focusing on the dead wood of today and the past.

Star City and others

These two are on George Street, I was testing out my polarising filter that I had just got for the new wide angle lens with street photography, before going to Pyrmont to take some photos of the recently reopened Star City casino.

Here is a the view of the city from Pyrmont, from near by the Maritime Museum.

And here is The Star Casino.

My new wide angle lens

I got my wide angle lens, the Canon 10-22mm. Here are some shots I took as soon as I picked it up. Though it will take some time to get used these lens with the very different framing options, I tried some shots I had wanted to do but couldn’t, looking straight up at skyscrapers.

This shot is from the Victoria Galleries, a mall inbetween the Citigroup Centre and Hilton.

These are in Chifley Square.

Sydney, with long exposure

I was given a tripod, and I have now had the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to a while, try some long exposure night photography. Circular Quay from Kirribilli!

 

And the Bradfield Highway.

I need a wide angle lens!

Often my current 18-55mm lense just doesn’t do the job, in architecture and landscape photography. And streetscapes, with buildings, peoples, cars all around, even 18mm cuts off a lot of interest that could be in the photo. I just can’t fit everything in the frame I want to.

So I am going to get a wide angle lense!

At first I considered the Tamron SP 10-24MM F3.5-4.5 XR DI II LD, the cheapest, and has a good zoom range. But reading reviews, it seems that it’s sharpness is poor. Then I looked at the Sigma 10-20mm F/3.5, which looks like an excellent lense, except that it’s large at 82mm and heavy, weighing half a kilo. There is also the Sigma 8-16mm, which is the widest angle lense you can get and is quite affordable. But looking at the photos at 8mm, there is so much distortion that I really don’t think I’d use it, appropriate for back ground effects with close ups but not so much landscapes and architecture. It also has a fixed lens hood, making a filter impossible.
I am thinking the best option is the Canon EF-S 10-22mm. It’s lightweight being just 300 grams, has one of the widest viewing angles and has the lowest distortion. However it’s the most expensive, and does not come with a lens hood.

The Concourse

Today after work I went through Chatswood, where The Concourse was opened. A new concert hall and library for Chatswood, a suburb of Sydney.

Here are some photos of The Concourse I took.

Sydney’s Street Art

Here are some street art photos I’ve taken around Sydney, mostly Newtown.

The text on this Martin Luther muriel says, “Behold the dreamer comeath, Come now therefore, Old us slay him…and we shall see what will become of his dreams”  With the flag of the aboriginal people.

 

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