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Christmas in Photos

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15 Frederick Street

Christmas light panorama from Frederick Street, Randwick

These are some of the other photos I took over the Christmas period. I had meant to post them before Christmas but didn’t get a chance to sort through them all in time, so I thought I’d post them now instead.

Most of the photos are from around Sydney, except for the first few which I took during my trip to Melbourne last month. The Christmas lights are all from houses in Frederick Street in Randwick, near where we live.

My favourites are the ones from around the Queen Victoria Building in the Sydney CBD, which was beautifully decorated this year. I had coffee there with my mother on Christmas Eve and was spoilt for choice, walking around, trying to work out what to photograph.

There are quite a few photos so I’ve split them after a page break to make it load faster and you can click on any of them to make them larger as well. I hope you enjoy them and that you had a wonderful festive break. ~ CJ.

Melbourne at Christmas

The Melbourne CBD, decorated for Christmas. I wish I’d spent more time wandering around as there was a lot I didn’t get a chance to photograph and the decorations were beautiful. Next year, I guess.

Melbourne Christmas Windows

Myer’s Christmas windows in Melbourne. This year’s window displays were based on Rob Scotton’s “Russell’s Christmas Magic” and there was also a separate window with a nativity scene.

Melbourne Christmas Windows

“Russell’s Christmas Magic” is about Russell the Sheep, who comes to the rescue when Santa and his broken sleigh are left stranded in Firefly Wood. It really felt like the book was coming to life.

Myer Melbourne Christmas windows

The sheep, Santa and reindeer were fabulous and most were fully articulating. The frogs were my favourite though – very cute.

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Looking Down Union Lane

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Down Union Lane

A thousand pictures
Across two walls,
Telling the stories
Of our lives

This is another photo I took while in Melbourne last month. It’s of Union Lane, a small lane off Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne. The location is well known for its street art and graffiti murals, the main bulk of which was approved by the City of Melbourne in 2010 and consists of art by dozens of artists painted over 5 months. You need a legal permit to officially paint here but unfortunately it’s also a prime target for unauthorised graffiti, as you can see in the photo.

Standing at one end and looking down these long walls of graffiti is quite a sight, a feeling I was trying to recreate with the photo. I didn’t get a chance to see Hosier Lane, which is even more well known for its street art, but hopefully will get to do that the next time I’m in Melbourne.

Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2012

Union Lane 2

Update: A version I edited in black and white as well.

Flinders Street Station

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Flinders Street Station

I am like
A train leaving its station:
My journey goes
Ever on

Flinders Street Station, at the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne. This was one of the photos I really wanted to get while I was in Melbourne last week as it’s such a beautiful and iconic building. I think it came out quite well in the end and doesn’t look too touristy, which was something I was trying to avoid.

The station is the oldest train station in Australia and was originally designed by James Fawcett and H.P.C. Ashworth in 1899 as part of a design competition, with construction on the main building completed in 1909. Sadly Ashworth didn’t live to see the completion of his design as he died from illness in 1903 at the age of 32.

Over 110,000 commuters and 1,500 trains pass through the station every weekday; during the mid to late 1920s the station was the world’s busiest passenger station, with over 290,000 passengers and 200 trains passing through the station daily.

Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2012
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The Clouds Gather

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Clouds Gather Over the MCG

Dark clouds
Gather overhead
Like stormy skies
Hanging over my heart

I took this photo during a short day trip to Melbourne on Saturday. Despite living in Sydney for most of my life, it was actually my first trip to Melbourne (just something I’ve never really got round to before) and I went with my father to see some of the fabulous Christmas decorations around the city, particularly the Myer window displays. We then stopped in at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch a session or two of Victoria taking on South Australia, which is where I took the photo.

It was a good day’s cricket, with Phil Hughes scoring a hundred, but what surprised me was how few people were there. There couldn’t have been more than 350 people at the ground and as you can see in the photo, almost all of the stands were empty. I know Sheffield Shield games don’t attract huge crowds but I thought there’d be at least a few more people watching than that. It happens at most other grounds as well unfortunately and I don’t understand why as the quality of Shield matches is usually very high. I guess most people are just more interested in international matches and T20s.

The haiqua came to mind while I was sitting watching the cricket and the clouds, thinking back over the past year. It’s been an eventful year, both personally and around the world, and that’s made me feel a little reflective and sombre lately. I guess that’s what inspired the haiqua’s tone.

Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2012