Oh harbour city
Look how your beauty sparkles
As the night sets in
I took this a few weeks ago, looking toward Sydney Tower and the Sydney CBD from near Queens Park. It was a beautiful clear evening and I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Photo details: Olympus E-P3 + 40-150mm f/4-5.6
1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2014
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Dark skies hang
Over the ocean;
I dream of home
And a warm embrace
Looking across a very wet and cold Belmont wharf yesterday afternoon.
It was a miserable day yesterday and I had a medical appointment in Belmont, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gone out in the rain. But I did anyway – only to walk straight into a tree, which broke my umbrella and my pride, and I ended up getting thoroughly soaked.
As I was wet anyway I decided to brave the wharf to take a few photos. I only had my little Olympus E-P3 with me which isn’t waterproof but luckily I managed to kept it relatively dry.
I was going for an old-fashioned, grainy black and white look with the photos. Think they came out pretty well in the end.
Photos and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2014
Two birds fly
Over the ocean
As the sun sets
On another day
I took this photo a couple of weeks ago while I was in Sydney for a couple of days. These two beautiful multicoloured birds came out of nowhere and circled the beach for several minutes. Everyone just stopped what they were doing and stared at them. I managed to get a quick shot before they disappeared.
Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2014
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
Update: A version I edited in black and white as well.
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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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
A list of names,
All that survives
Of a sad past:
History repeats
I took this photo a couple of days ago while going for a quick walk, just before dusk. I often find myself wandering past the local war memorial on my afternoon walks… it’s the main feature of a small, peaceful park in the middle of Randwick and I often stop there for a few minutes to reflect and gather my thoughts.
The memorial is made of sandstone and was originally unveiled in 1925 by Lord Forster, the then Governor General of Australia, to honour the soldiers of the First World War; the cenotaph contains a scroll with the names of over four thousand local residents who served in the war. Over the years plaques have been added to remember the soldiers of the Second World War, Borneo and Vietnam as well.
With more of our soldiers wounded in Afghanistan recently and with the current events in Syria as well, I guess I was feeling rather contemplative when I took the photo… something about the dusk light seemed to reflect the way I was feeling and I think it shows in the mood of the photo, and the haiku as well.
Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2012
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