Christmas is a magical time in many cities, with colourful lights everywhere. For a photographer, getting to places where the lights are on when the crowds aren't there either means an early start or staying late. In Sydney this can be especially challenging with some shopping centres now open 24 hours in the last few days before Christmas. This image was made the day before Christmas Eve, at about 07:15am in Sydney's 'The Strand Arcade'. Being early, the centre was already 'switched on' but the only people about were office and shop workers heading into work, so I set up my composition and exposure, and waited until I could get the image with nobody in the frame. Of course, this might also make for an interesting image with the crowds present, but I wasn't brave enough to stand there with a camera on tripod (needed for the slow shutter speed I needed) as the Christmas throngs pushed past to get their last minute gifts. And I had some last minute shopping to do myself ;-) There was something calming about having such a beautiful scene all to myself, even if it was for just a few minutes.
On Boxing Day Belinda and I got out of town for a couple of days, traveling up to Lithgow along the Bell's Line of Road, and coming back via the Blue Mountains. It was a beautiful couple of days exploring Lithgow, a town that I had not visited previously. It is a place that is full of history, including having been the original home of Australia's steel industry. The Old Blast Furnace preceded the steel works in both the Hunter and Illawarra regions. I found it amazing that this old structure is still standing, albeit in a quite dilapidated state. I also found it amazing that you can freely wander about the site, given there are a lot of deep holes and pits. I was pleased that I could wander around as it is a photogenic site, and I hope that photographers and others can continue to explore locations like this. As I wandered about the Blast Furnace, I could not help but wonder about the efforts and hardwork of the people who built and operated the old Blast Furance.
Sydney's Central Railway Station is the main hub for interstate and country trains. The grand old building is the hub of the station, and makes for some interesting street photography opportunities. I love the architecture here, and could spend hours exploring the station, the platforms and nearby pedestrian tunnels. This image was made using my Panasonic GX-7 and the 20mm f1.7 prime lens - my favourite street photography lens.
