A Flash Of Orange Amid The Concrete

Hi Lilium, Hi Lilium, Hi-Lo

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes you spot a gem of a sight when you're busy looking for something else entirely. A couple of weeks ago, I took my camera out at lunchtime and I walked under the Princes Bridge to take some shots by the river. Then I took the spiral walkway from under the Victorian Arts Centre leading up to street level on St Kilda Road.

I was looking up towards the brightness of the street above when something caught my attention over my left shoulder. In a narrow alcove bordered by a triangle of concrete, in typical Melbourne style, was a steep garden slope. Even a little wedge is fair game for garden cultivation here in Victoria, which prides itself on its parkland, its greenery and its gardens.

These liliums were in full bloom and I have to say the flaming orange hues were a perfect foil for the mortar and bluestone that is such a hallmark of the city's early architecture.

Finally, I have to ask the question - you did notice the sharply-defined shadow on the bottom leaf, didn't you?

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Smoke On The Water

Fire In The Sky

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

During a bushfire, the sky is always endowed with vivid colours. Last summer, when fires ringed Victoria, I took these shots from Princes Bridge here in Melbourne. There was a brooding sky that looked as if someone had dropped a can of Chrome Yellow paint all across its expanse.

As the sun rose through the heavy cloud and the thick smoke that choked the city, it seemed devoid of any recognisable shape. I shot half a dozen frames very quickly, moving from the St Kilda Road end of the bridge to the other side, near Flinders Street Station.

The timing was perfect because I was able to compose several shots of the dramatic sunrise against the tall trees that fringe the Alexandra Gardens. Then, when I was halfway across the bridge, I realised I could shoot a vertical frame to include the historic boatsheds and the glow of the sky reflected in the surface of the Yarra River.

Summer Daze

The Brighter The Sun, The Stronger The Shadow

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Today is the first day of summer and as any photographer will tell you, this is the time of year when the shadows are strongest and longest. I thought I'd post these shots taken along St Kilda Road, in front of the Arts Centre. The metallic white arches are always intriguing, but I also framed the shot (above) to include the shadows cast on the footpath. I thought I had done a good job - until I walked back a couple of metres. That's when I took the second photograph (below) and I'm sure you'll agree that it's a far more striking image.

Burning Ambition

Eternal Flame Honours The Bravest Of The Brave

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This is the Eternal Flame at the Shrine of Remembrance on St Kilda Road here in Melbourne. With this week's theme being "Hot", I figured there aren't many things that emit more heat than this - and that I would be able to photograph up close. This flame has burned continuously since 1954.

I'm not sure how hot the flame is, but I could feel the intense heat even as I stood beside the metal railings. Have a look at the image (above) and you'll see the temperature is so high that the metal railings in the background have been endowed with a heat shimmer, like a desert mirage.

It was a hot, windy afternoon when I took these photographs. The breeze was really gusting and the flame was blowing wildly, first one side and then the other. It was impossible to take a pre-meditated shot of it, no matter how hard I tried. This was the first photograph I took and I was really pleased with how intense the orange is and how the flame was concentrated in one area.

But I wanted at least one frame with the flame filling the entire screen from left to right. It took a lot of patience and the photograph below was sheer luck. But I guess reverence and silent contemplation are natural in these surroundings.