Sydney City Break

City Vista

Ask us a few years ago and we would never have given Sydney as the answer of where we would go for a 5 day city break.  As it is, it is now one of the few options open to us, not that we want to spent all our holidays in urban areas.  With Amy getting progressively rounder and the time that she would be banned from flying rapidly approaching it was time to take our last holiday for a while as a twosome and Sydney was the answer, both for a bit of winter sun and to visit family in that neck of the woods.  A ridiculously early start meant that we arrived at 8:30am on Friday with a whole day to spend exploring.

Operatic Tiles

We could check in early and after wondering arounf Kiribilli met up with Sally, Mick and Ann for a coffee at Luna Park before crossing the bridge and wondering through the Rocks, along Circular Key, around the Opera House and through the Botanic Gardens.  Tick, tick, tick!  It was fantastic to feel the warmth of the sun and as city vistas go there can be few better than the many we witnessed from different vantage points.

Garden Blooms

Day two of our tiki tour started with a short 2 minute walk to Kiribilli warf where we hopped on a boat to Circular Key before catching the ferry to Manly.  This was one of the trips I remember from my month in Sydney in 2001 and I really wanted Amy to see the city from the water.  It did not disappoint and 30 minutes later we landed at Manly.  I don't really see why Bondi gets all the glory, the northern beaches are infinitely better and with Manly being so close to the city and a bustling area in its own right it wins for me without doubt.  There was no surf this day but that did not stop the surf schools getting out in the water and with the golden sand playing host to plenty of intense games of voleyball it was all go.  We made do with walking up the beach and returning on the promenade before heading on a 2 hour circular walk on the peninsula.  We always walk a long way wherever we go and Amy was not going to let a little thing like pregnancy put her off!

Harbour Breeze

Sunday was a day for catching up with the extended family. I spent 5 months in Australia before university in 2001, a month of which was spent in Sydney where I was incredibly well looked after by the extended Chitty family.  Apart from Sally who had been able to come to our wedding, it had been 11 years since I had seen them and so it was great to be able to catchup a little without a trip around the world.  Andrew, Dawn and the kids met us in Kiribille where we wondered along the harobur front, past Luna park and up through the village for a coffee before dropping us at Sally and Mikes.  They had to head off for the kids cricket trials!  We were then driven to a lovely park and beach reserve just short of Manly where Pete and Dimity were already set up with an enormous picnic, and Mick and Anne were not too far behind.  It was also Micks birthday the day before so good timing.  What followed was a lovely afternoon in the sun with the kids having a great time collecting starfish and always on the go.  Hopefully it's not another 11 years until the next meet up!

The City

Amy had to have a little lie down once we got back to the hotel and with the sun rapidly going down I rushed out to try and grab some images of the harbour while there was still some colour in the sky.  There is a jetty right opposite the Opera House which was only a couple of minutes brisk walk away that I had earmarked as a good spot earlier on and so that is where I headed.  There were some fishermen trying their luck already (they had none!) but there was room enough for me to set up my little tripod on a fixed pillar rather than the rocking jetty.

The Bridge

 It was a little wait before the sky and lights were balanced and then as darkness came on much faster, there was just enough time to race around to the bridge to capture a shot of that in lights.  I am quite pleased with the results and once again evidence that a compact with some knowledge of how to use it is all you need.  We had travelled over with just hand luggage and so there was no room for my D80 or proper tripod.

Opera House

 Our final full day involved an early-ish start as we hopped on a train from Milsons point to Katoomba, self styled capital of the Blue Mountains.  I had vague recollections of the Three Sisters from my previous trip and knew it would be a good option for us to see a small amount of Sydney's surroundings.  The sun shone, though definitely a little cooler than the city, and we enjoyed fabulous vies of the area on the train.  Initially we had planned on getting a shuttle bus to Echo Point but after walking the length of the high street and then realising we were already 1/3rd of the way there we just kept going.  From there we headed to the valley floor via the 800 steps of the Giants Stairway and made our way to the Scenic World cableway a couple of km away.  This meant we could cheat and not have to climb all the way back up.  I used Amy as my excuse of course!  The walk back along the cliff top was excellent and we had a well earned snooze on the train home.

At Echo Point

On our final morning we ended up watching Andy Murray win his first major at the American Open before exploring the city a little more.  After grabbing lunch at Circular Quay in the blazing heat we caught our flight home where we arrived back in Christchurch needing to clear snow from the windscreen before our hours drive home!

After the Sun Sets

Star Light, Star Bright

 There are some fantastic images around of nightscapes and once you start trying to capture your own interpretations it quickly becomes clear how difficult it is to get a really strong image.  The problem is that the light (what little there is) often results in very flat, uninspiring detail or once processed looks too artificial in my unsubtle hands.  Here are two rather different pictures that I believe have some merit.  The first was taken from the balcony of a surf lodge in Morocco and I feel it is a great representation of the view we were treated to ans the light from the sun left the sky and the start started to show themselves.  Incidentally this is a reprocessed version, the first being too light on reflection and losing the atmosphere it holds.  It is often subtle differences that actually really make or break an image with the difficulty first being to recognise what it is that is wrong and then know if it can be "fixed and how to go about it.  I'm still starting out on that journey, often not knowing what it is I need to do, either in camera or in processing, to really make the most of the scene that presented itself to me.

Final Glow

Simplicity is often key and I have read some advise that you should keep moving in closer until you are about to cut something out of the frame that really matters.  Trying to fit too much in just confuses the eye of the viewer, they just don't know where or what to look at and so interest is quickly lost.  Over the New Year break we spent 2 fabulous days camped by Lake Tennyson.  Apart from a very large number of 1lb fish that were eager to eat anything off the surface we also enjoyed spectacular scenery.  While I often wonder if dawn has the best light, it is generally sunset I go for as very early starts are hard!  I tried to get a good shot of the lake but failed and the best image ended up showing the surrounding hilltops catching the last rays of sun with the moon already up and bright.  Enough rambling from me, maybe I should just put up my pictures and leave any critique to your own judgement, after all what works for me may very well be rubbish to you!