Gallery Pick of the Week
Instead of just showing pretty pictures only, here we have space for contributors to discuss their images every week.
This is a great opportunity to get some insight from the original photographer and the content is entirely open. It could be anything from the personal feeling of the photographer about the image to any photographic techniques or location knowledge he/she would like to share with our visitors.
Gallery Pick of the Week > July 2009
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The Ultra Panorama of Yarra River Melbourne Australia, 30/7/09, Pele Leung "The reflection of Melbourne City on the Yarra River created a fascinating painting of this most livable city at twilight." To keep this piece of memory in all Melburnian's heart, Pele Leung chose to present it in his own way. |
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How Much Do We Know About Australia, 23/7/09, Pele Leung It has been more than 220 years since the arrival of the First Fleet and the locals learned a lot about this southern landmass - Australia. Do we know enough of this continent? |
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Sydney Vivid Light Festival, 16/7/09, Barbara Bryan Many budding and enthusiastic photographers were lured from their warm homes on chilly winter nights, in an attempt to record the many vivid lighting installations on display around Sydney's Circular Quay, Rocks and Opera house areas. |
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The Australian Eden - Kakadu National Park, 9/7/09, Pele Leung It is a place with deep local Aboriginal history and culture but also a place of ecological importance in the international standard. Because of these privileges, it gained a badge of world heritage in both cultural and ecological importance. |
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Around Australia the Hard Way in 1929, 2/7/09, Pele Leung In 1929, when the great depression was on its way, two young men, Jack Bowers and Frank Smith, had taken a plunge and committed themselves to this great Australian dream of riding their motorcycle through the unknown horizon. |
Pele Leung - The Ultra Panorama of Yarra River Melbourne Australia, 30/7/09
A small section of the ultra panorama of Yarra River
"The reflection of Melbourne City on the Yarra River created a fascinating painting of this most livable city at twilight."
On the time scale of human life and history, a period of nine hundred years is quite a long time. Back then, how the capital city of Northern Sung Dynasty of China looked like is really a mystery. Luckily we got some clues from an ancient landscape painting drawn in that era. It is a quite a large (long) painting with the dimension of 528.7cm (length) x 24.8cm (height). Although the original copy was already lost, there were at least 30 copies created afterwards. The one that kept in Beijing Gugong Museum is probably one of the most valuable copies left behind.
How does this Chinese painting relate to my ultra panorama project of Yarra River? Although I heard of this painting quite a while ago, I have never seen it myself. One day, probably Friday, I received an email from a friend about an illustration of this painting on Internet. I was immediately impressed by the extreme panoramic presentation of this painting and instantly linked the concept to my own photography. The first idea popped in my mind was to capture Yarra River in a similar way with my camera. At a glance, with the current technologies of digital photography and stitching software, this seemed to be feasible.
After having thorough investigations and communications with other related experts, I noticed that various implementation approaches such as panning shots from a river boat or taking shots in a regular distance along the opposite river bank were all practically impossible. I do not want to bore you with the details of those inapplicable approaches. In fact, the most important reason I did not want to take those approaches is that I wanted all my shots to be taken in the best lighting condition at twilight when the City and Yarra River look at its best. With this requirement in mind, all approaches required compromising image quality would not be acceptable. In other words, creating a single and perfectly continuous panorama for Yarra River was not possible without creative image enhancement. Meanwhile I prefer to apply realistic interpretation to my landscape photography.
As an alternative, I hand-picked 12 photo spots of Yarra River in the Melbourne CBD and intended to produce a virtual panorama that was equivalent to the continuous viewing experience of the Chinese painting mentioned above.
The 12 selected photo spots on the Yarra River banks in the Melbourne CBD
As the acceptable shooting window at twilight was limited to 5 to 10 minutes, I was limited to photograph one spot per visit only. In other words, I have visited Yarra River at least 12 times even if I excluded those unsuccessful attempts due to unsuitable weather conditions. In order to capture the maximal intensity of city light, photographing was restricted to week days only when office light was mostly still on at twilight. Therefore, this sort of photographic project would not be appropriate in summer when twilight does not coincide with office hour.
All panoramic shots created at those predetermined spots were stitched up based on multiple (4-12) photos covering 180-360° angle of view. Although presenting a print of a few dozens of metres long would probably draw quite a lot of attention from people, it would limit our presentation in brick and mortar galleries only. Hence, as a start, I hope that presenting a video on YouTube could help to share the result of this project with wider audiences.
Another small section of the ultra panorama of Yarra River
As an illustration of the image size, this is the 100% actual crop of the image above - the Crown Towers logo at the top right hand corner.
It is obvious that a small YouTube video will not be able to bring out the awesome details of this ultra panorama. Therefore, if there is such a demand, I hope to take the exhibition of this ultra panorama to another stage - such as 1920x1080 HD video or a banner print in full size (a few dozens of metres long). You are welcome to contact me if you think you could help - info@auscenery.com or pelel@peleleung.com.
Now I am already hooked up with such kind of ultra panorama so there will be more to come. At the time of writing, I am planning to choose the next shooting location and this time it would not be a river. That's all I can tell you now. If you want to know where I will be shooting my next ultra panorama, just watch this space.
Pele Leung - How Much Do We Know About Australia, 23/7/09
It has been more than 220 years since the arrival of the First Fleet and the locals learned a lot about this southern landmass - Australia. With the help of satellite images, we can easily "zoom-in" and inspect every square kilometre of this landmass even it is in such an enormous scale to human - 7,692,000 square kilometres. Without spending months if not years of travel like the early explorers, we can travel on the cyber space from the most northern point at Cape York to the lowest point down the south at the Wilsons Promontory by simply dragging and clicking our mouse a few times.
If you have patience to count the number of islands underneath the wings of Australia on your screen, the final answer would be very close to 12,000 - all large and small islands included. If marathon swimming is your favourite sport, the coastline of Australia can provide a long waterway for you to swim for quite a while. If time is limited, perhaps the shorter coastline of NSW might suit you better. However, it will still take you 259 hours to complete your voyage even if you were a world record keeper of 50 metres without slowing down after swimming many 50-metre intervals. What do we want to tell you? Australia is huge even if we have already own some of the most advanced technologies and transportation devices.
Island Arch, Port Campbell National Park, before its recent collapse in 2009. The coastline of Australia continues to evolve and the fallen Island Arch is now separated as two small rocky islands.
Do we know enough of this continent? I don't think so even though massive information is already available from Australian Bureau of Statistics and other scientific authories. To share a few data with you, we have organised some basic information about the local geology and climate for your reference.
- The inland furthest points
North - Cape York (QLD), South - Wilsons Promontory (VIC) , East - Cape Bryon (NSW) and West - Steep Point, Shark Bay (WA) - Number of Islands:
12,000 - The length of coastline
The shortest is NSW and the longest is WA (almost 10x of NSW) - Area
Almost equal to USA (excluding Alaska), 50% larger than Europe (excluding former USSR) or 32 times larger than UK. The sixth largest country in the world.
- Landform
Lowest, flattest and apart from Antarctica, the driest of the continents. Much of the centre of Australia is flat, but there are numerous ranges (e.g. Macdonnells, Musgrave) and some individual mountains of which Uluru (Ayers Rock) is probably the best known. The area was worn to a plain, and the plain was uplifted and then eroded to form the modern ranges on today's plain. In looking at Uluru, one remarkable thing is not so much how it got there, but that so much has been eroded from all around to leave it there. - Highest mountain: Mt Kosciuszko (2,228 metres) in the Eastern Highlands
Mount Feathertop (1,922 metres), the second highest mountain in Victoria. It is slightly shorter than Mt Kosciuszko, the highest mountain in Australia.
- The longest river system in Australia is the Murray-Darling, which drains part of Queensland, the major part of New South Wales and a large part of Victoria, finally flowing into the arm of the sea known as Lake Alexandrina, on the eastern side of the South Australian coast. The length of the Murray is about 2,520 km, and the Darling and Upper Darling together are also just over 2,000 km long.
- Temperatures in Australia were relatively stable from 1910 until 1950, and since then have followed an increasing trend, with an overall increase during 1910 to 2003 of approximately 0.7 °C. Is this an evidence of global warming? We don't know yet. July is the month with the lowest average temperature in all parts of the continent. In the south, the months with the highest average temperature are January or February. Due to the increase in cloudiness during the wet season, the month of highest average temperature in the north of the continent is December or, in the extreme north and north-west, November.
- The hottest and coldest records
Hottest: Cloncurry in Queensland reached 53.1°C on 16 January, 1889
Coldest: Charlotte Pass in New South Wales reached -23.0°C on 28 June, 1994 - Over the continent as a whole, rainfall has increased over the 1900-2003 period. However, since 1960, there have been substantial decreases in rainfall over three relatively small, but economically and agriculturally important, regions - south-western Western Australia, Victoria (particularly southern Victoria), and the eastern coastal fringe (particularly south-eastern Queensland).
Perry Sandhills near Wentworth, NSW. Due to the impact of climate change, the increasing growth of desert is not surprising.
Barbara Bryan - Sydney Vivid Light Festival, 16/7/09
In June, many budding and enthusiastic photographers were lured from their warm homes on chilly winter nights, in an attempt to record the many vivid lighting installations on display around Sydney's Circular Quay, Rocks and Opera house areas. This inaugural two-week, winter light festival , brought out Sydneysiders and visitors in their tens of thousands, to enjoy strolling around viewing the two dozen or so sites of light features.
Some of the Light Installations
Bars and cafes were jumping with crowds warming up between viewing the sights.
However the highlights were the enchanting, everchanging light-painting projections on the Opera House sails (created by Brian Eno).
Light on the Opera House
To conclude the festival, a free outdoor performance event was held three times per evening for the last three nights. This Fire in the Water show was a huge success with capacity crowds enjoying the drama of this convict story based around a wooden sailing ship catching fire and slowly sinking into the water.
The Fire in the Water Show
Pele Leung - The Australian Eden - Kakadu National Park, 9/7/09
It is the largest national park in Australia but also has rich deposit of uranium. It is a place with deep local Aboriginal history and culture but also a place of ecological importance in the international standard. Because of these privileges, it gained a badge of world heritage in both cultural and ecological importance. It is a very important place after Uluru, the heart of the nation. Its name is Kakadu National Park. If you have not heard of its name, do not worry because you do know now.
The most attractive drawing cards of Kakadu - the wildlife and the ancient drawing by Aboriginal people
Kakadu is a very popular tourist spot and it is also a hot place for many international visitors. You will realise what I mean when you watch sunset at Ubirr - a top spot for watching wetland sunset in Kakadu. You will hear many different languages there.
Watching sunset at Ubirr - one of the most relaxing activities at Kakadu
Why did I travel thousands of kilometres to watch sunset at this remote place? Once upon a time, I was told every sunset is the same and there is no point to watch it over and over again. Agree? Still not. It is all dependent of how we interpret the thing. Life is unique to every person and everybody has his/her own vision and interpretation. In the old days, while most gold rushers believed that digging the precious metal out from the ground would bring them wealth. In the end, most of them were disappointed and those who sold water to the diggers in the tough Outback were the winners. You know what I mean.
In addition to watching sunset at Ubirr, the following highlights are also very welcome:
- Studying the ancient drawing by Australian Aboriginal people at Ubirr and Nourlangie
- Taking a 4WD day tour to Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls
- Taking a sunrise or sunset Yellow Water cruise at Cooinda when wildlife is most active
Yellow Water cruise at Cooinda
As Kakadu is located up north near Darwin, the most comfortable visiting time is in winter (June - August). If you want to avoid the cold in the south, now is the best time to head north for a warm winter holiday. You will not be disappointed by this Australian Eden.
Pele Leung - Around Australia the Hard Way in 1929, 2/7/09
Travel around Australia is a great Australian dream but only a handful of people have actually completed the journey. This 15,000 km drive is a long journey even if we travel in luxury standard on bitumen road nowadays. In 1929, when the great depression was on its way, two young men, Jack Bowers and Frank Smith, had taken a plunge and committed themselves to this great Australian dream of riding their motorcycle through the unknown horizon. This journey took them about eleven weeks and this was a record in 1929. After almost eighty years, their journey and travel experiences still fascinates many people.
"So with many good wishes, much hand-shaking and farewells generally, we were off. the official departure took place at 1 p.m. on 4 July, outside the Sydney GPO. What lay before us and when, or if, we would return was anybody's guess".
The full route: Sydney - Armidale - Brisbane - Barcaldine - Cloncurry - Mt Isa - Aven Downs - No 19 Bore - Alexandria - Brunette Downs - Anthony Lagoon - Newcastle Waters - Darwin - Wave Hill - Nicholson - Halls Creek - Broome - Lagange - Marble Bar - Perth - Kalgoorlie - Norseman - Yardes - Port Augusta - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney
In 1929, Australia did not look quite the same as what we have today - no Internet, no mobile phones and bitumen roads were only limited to the surrounds of capital cities. Most highways did not exist and signed posted tracks were luxuries. Therefore communications between civilisations were extremely limited especially for the small settlements.
This is a very smooth country road if we take into account of Jack and Frank's standard of their cross-country trip in 1929
With only £60 in their kitty, Jack and Frank had to rely on their knowledge and skills to keep their journey going. By fitting a side box to their motorcycle, they gained a spare seat for the second person and some room to accommodate their necessities. Their craftmanship and understanding of their third partner, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, helped them to survive from many mechanical catastrophes. They rode mainly at daylight as their motorcycle did not even have a front lamp but still managed to ride after nightfall with a hand-held torch in some occasions.
A tourist scene in Broome which could not be seen by Jack and Frank during their trip as this sort of tourism development was started many years later
The had to deal with the shortages of the survival resources including food, water, cooking fuel and petrol. In the remote country, if they were not lucky enough to capture a few wild turkeys and rabbits, they would have to keep their stomachs full with their usual meal - flour and water dough. While gas burner was not available, dead wood branches in the bush were their sole fuel for cooking and keeping warm at night. Although bushes were almost everywhere, there were still some haunting places like Nullarbor plain (treeless) where they found nothing to burn for preparing their basic meal. This mean hunger and also bitterly cold nights in an open ground of hundreds of kilometres.
"The track from Madura to Eucla extended flat and straight as far as the eye could see. Country like this became a virtual speed track and we peeled the miles off hour after hour. However, come nightfall we found our speedway entirely devoid of wood and we had nothing with which to cook the flour and water or to boil our rabbits. Not only that, but nights across Nullarbor were bitterly cold and here we were almost reduced to tears with the prospect of no food and scant warmth for the entired night".
The beginning of Nullarbor Plain - the treeless country
After 80 days on the run, the exploration team finally returned to their starting point, the Sydney GPO. It was 21 September 1929 - almost eighty years ago. Although we might not come across the same experiences like what Jack and Frank encountered even if we take the same journey now, travel around Australia is still a fun and fascinating thing to do. So what are you waiting for?
For the full story of Jack and Frank's adventure, please read Around Australia the Hard Way in 1929 by Jack L. Bowers.