Melbourne’s skyline

A saw line rooftop dominates the foreground of this picture of Melbourne's CBD seen from its western edge. It's a warm but overcast Saturday. The middle ground is dominated by newly built apartments while the office buildings dot the horizon
Melbourne’s skyline seen from West Melbourne. 2024-01-20 11:53:39
Melbourne's city fringe seen from a balcony of an apartment situated on the North Western edge of the CBD. A pool which is part of the complex dominates the foreground, a palm tree centre frame paths the eye with many high rise builtins in the backgound one of which is the Royal Women's hospital
Melbourne’s north western edge from 8 stories up. 2024-01-20 10:53:38

Two views of Melbourne only made possible by our interest in real estate.

Some Saturdays my wife and I locate and list some properties that will give us an idea of what we could get for our money if we decide to change our lifestyle. This has the added benefit of getting to see parts of the skyline that we would not normally see.

These 2 views from Saturday just gone are from different properties in different parts of the western edge of the CBD.

This is probably as close as I can get to a true flâneur in my own home town of Melbourne.

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Drossscape in flux

Some time after 2005,  I photographed this caravan park that was being remodelled into something more modern.

As I work my way though my colour negative archive I’m rediscovering work. Long forgotten and seen now with fresh eyes, having  seemingly more impact.

I may have even photographed around the park before its remodelling.

It’s rare that I get so many “keepers” from one or two rolls of film, of course not having looked at the images for more than a decade might have something to do with it.

Here’s a digital image made near the caravan park before demolition had begun. Taken in 2005. Look closely at the background and you’ll see several vans still in place and part of the fence.

A open field in sunshine with a disused telegraph pole in the foreground. a dramaitic sky and an old abandoned caravan park n the background. Taken in October 2005
A drosscape in Sunshine, former caravan park seen in the background.

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Flânuering in Frankston

I recently had the good fortune to  stay overnight in a suburb called Frankston. While not that distant from where I live, it is far enough away to be out of the way. I haven’t walked the streets of this shopping precinct in Frankston for more years than I can remember. I in fact I may have never walked this part of Frankston. But I spent an hour or two wandering the CBD of this bayside suburb.

To say I was pleasantly surprised would be putting it mildly. I only have vague recollections of the shopping centre. It is now serviced by all the major food chains and there was lot s of pedestrian friendly “open” space.

I have to admit it’s rare that I feel a tourist in Melbourne, but here I was in Frankston feeling completely foreign; like the proverbial ‘fish out of water’. Nonetheless I could not help myself and wander about and grab a few images that caught my eye. As is often the case I found the small laneways and backstreets the most compelling.

Here’s a series of pictures I thought looked interesting.

a collection of dumped or abandoned chairs in a laneway in Frankston
a collection of dumped or abandoned chairs in a laneway in Frankston
Backs of older buildings often have more interesting things to see.
Backs of older buildings often have more interesting things to see.
Murals everywhere, is it street art though?
Murals everywhere, is it street art though?
The train station precinct in Frankston
The train station precinct in Frankston, surprisingly quiet for 8:00am on a Tuesday.
A red sign indicating the direction of the beach
A red sign indicating the direction of the beach amongst the pedestrianised area south of the Train station.

 

When these pictures make it to flickr, they will be titled with their exact time, and include geotag coordinates.

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Thirty Plus Years Ago

A dark industrail scene from Melbourne's west in the early 1990s, in the foreground a pit of dark water, electric poles occupy the middle ground along with some fences sheds and other infrastructure container and a giant electricity transmission pylon can be seen in the distance, the sky has a smattering of small clouds
West Melbourne circa 1992

I was recently gifted a scanner. Thanks to Gary. This now means I can scan any or all of my analogue work on an as needs basis. All I need is time. This image has always stayed with me since I made it around 1992. It is one my earliest successes using 5×4 inch film. However it never moved beyond a contact print as the emulsion had been damaged  in a couple of places.

Now using Affinity Photo, I am at least able to resurrect it and use it online. I may some day get a commercial scan and make a big print from it.  In what context I’m not sure. I use Affinity Photo because it has a perpetual license and a few technical advantages over PotatoeShop.

I have been photographing this area for a long time and the changes are significant. I will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Even after the major infrastructure project is over the mix of light industry along with the decaying  heavy industry and modern  architectural flourishes makes this in my mind an interesting place to photograph.

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On the cusp

As we reach the end of summer here in Australia, I’ve been exploiting the  the effects of La Niña. With the Melbourne Art Book Fair approaching rapidly, I was hesitant to head out to make pictures but this Friday the weather was just right, so I exploited that and made pictures for a couple of hours.

google earth view of the are explored
google earth view of the are explored

I initially set out to make some pictures as teaching aids, but as I was on a bridge near the ring road, I decided to wander towards an aspect of the Maribrynong river that has always intrigued me.

I started under the EG Whitten bridge. A sad spot in so many ways. So much rubbish just dumped. I am unsure about the status of the land under the bridge as well. I know that the edges of rivers up to the high tide mark are considered crown land, but this land is well above that and also bordered by some private land. The western side of the river seems mostly private. This has been heavily impacted by trail bikes and other uses. This is the part I found most interesting. As the bike riders reshape the topography.

An early influence for me as a student of photography was Joe Deal’s work, The Fault Zone Portfolio, a group of 19 silver gelatin prints that documented suburban life along the San Andreas Fault Line in Southern California. This place reminds me of that except the forces at play are much more human in scale.

I only took digital equipment with me on this occasion. Given what I saw I’m sure a return visit is in order with at least my Hasselblad. It would be no mean feat to cary this equipment in, but more than worth it under the right lighting conditions.

Maribrynong River from the EJ Whitten Bridge
Maribrynong River from the EJ Whitten Bridge in 2019
Rubbish, and sticker art under the EJ Whitten Bridge
Rubbish, and sticker art under the EJ Whitten Bridge
Dirt Bike tracks litter the area
Dirt Bike tracks litter the area
Landfill to the left and natural landscape to the right
Landfill to the left and natural landscape to the right

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