Wall Ease

It’s More Than Just A Façade

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Prahran is one of those wonderful Melbourne suburbs where there is something for everybody. The central strip is Chapel Street, which is the lodestone for tourists, cool shoppers, chic fashion, great gourmet experiences and some serious this-is-the-place-to-be karma.

I was driving down the street some weeks ago - which is always interesting because trams (trolley cars, to some of my American friends) run up and down the centre of the road - when I noticed this building.

Finding a parking spot on such a busy street isn’t the easiest task in the world, but I eventually tracked one down. I had to walk about a hundred metres to take this shot, so I was lucky that I had some coins in my pocket, because the machines don’t take anything else.

You can see why this small section of the building’s façade caught my eye. Apart from the manner in which someone has opted for bright slabs of colour on the exterior wall, there is another unusual element. You did notice the blue balcony rails, didn’t you?

And in the first photograph, did you notice the reflection (in the right-hand window) of the building on the opposite side of the street?

Vrooom With A View

How I Missed The Flight Of The Hornets

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As most of you know, my trusty Pentax K100D is practically welded to my shoulder, just so I never have to say: "I wish I had my camera to capture this sight". But be patient, pull up a chair and I'll tell you how I missed a spectacular opportunity. And you know the real clincher? I had not one but three cameras with me. This is how it all happened ...

On Friday at lunchtime I had to go and pick up a couple of great little Pentax cameras (the 10-megapixel Optio S10 and the eight-megapixel Optio M40) that I'm testing and that I'll give you my recommendations on in the not too distant future. Having collected the cameras, I then had to decide whether to take the freeway or go down picturesque Chapel Street. Naturally, I chose Chapel Street, even though I knew the traffic would be heavy. It's a funky street, so I knew there would be plenty of photo opportunities.

Bear in mind that it was more than 100 degrees that day and I'm not a tropical kinda person. But in the next few minutes, every time I saw a great photo opportunity, I would pull over, park the car legally, get out into the scorching heat and take the photograph/s. Then I'd drive off again.

Having done this a few times, I saw this great turret window (above). It caught my attention not just because of the shape of the window, not just because of the strong burgundy colour, but because the occupant of the apartment had carefully placed three pot plants on the narrow window ledge. I was too far away to tell what plants they were, but they were wilting in the extreme heat. And if you look closely, you'll see the right-hand flowerpot has a diagonal crack right across it, so it obviously loses water and moisture much quicker than the other two.

I had to get the shot. I put away the two new Pentaxes that I was testing and took out my own camera, with the 70-300mm lens that I bought about three weeks ago. It was perfect for the shot I needed. I thought about taking some more shots of the window and even framed one possible shot, a strong vertical, with the clear blue sky a great contrast with the burgundy. Then I shrugged and chose not to hit the shutter. I walked back to the car, placed the camera gently on the passenger seat and turned to check the traffic.

I'm not one for profanities, but that's as close as I came to uttering an oath.

There was one of the best shots I could ever have taken. Flying low through exactly the same patch of blue sky that I had framed a few moments earlier was a perfect formation of four RAAF F/A-18 Hornet jet fighters.

Aircraft do not fly in that pattern over the city, but the RAAF had special permission because the Hornets were practising their flypast for Sunday's Australian Formula One Grand Prix. I had just missed one of the rarest shots I could ever hope to shoot - by about thirty seconds.

Just don't talk to me about the f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-flight of the Hornets.

Face Value

A Larger-Than-Life Figure

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Kinda makes you look twice, doesn’t it? It’s just an advertising hoarding at a tram shelter near the intersection of Chapel Street and Dandenong Road here in Melbourne. I was fascinated by the apparent anomaly in perspective, so I shot this through the window of my car as I sat at the traffic lights. As I put the camera away, two people came and sat down to the left of the giant face. It would have made an even better picture, but the lights were changing and I had to put the camera down. This shot would have little interest to a Melburnian, who would be familiar with these ad hoardings. But I’ve always told other bloggers to post pictures of their own cities or towns, because those of us from other parts of the world always find these sights interesting. I’d like to know your thoughts on this subject…