I have walked the streets of the Sydney CBD many times with a camera, however seldom have I wandered west down to the Darling Harbour and Barangaroo precincts, and this beautiful spring day in Sydney was the perfect opportunity to do just that.
After a ninety minute drive down from the Central Coast my wife and I settled into a carpark and were shortly onto the Pyrmont Bridge and into the Darling Harbour precinct.
The Pyrmont Bridge is a heritage listed swing bridge spanning across Cockle Bay, and was opened in 1902. The bridge initially carried motor vehicle traffic, however since 1981 it only carries pedestrians and bicycles.
During mid to late afternoon on the bridge there tends to be less people, however well below on the wharves it is the complete opposite, particularly during spring and summer when a real party atmosphere is evident.
At this time of year the bars and restaurants are pumping, and most of the large passenger vessels are full of people itching to get out onto the stunning Sydney Harbour and let their hair down.
We wandered back and forth along the wharves, studying people as they went about their business. Whilst there were many families out and about, the area was dominated by party goers in their best outfits, and almost always with an alcoholic beverage in hand, raucous laughter and smiles all round.
The Darling Harbour precinct itself was once not only an iconic food and beverage destination, but also a shopping Mecca with a large shopping precinct on the western side. This shopping centre was demolished in recent years and a brand new one is currently under construction, which will once again bring more people into the precinct.
The low sun made for some spectacularly bright glow, which can be both a positive and negative for photographers, depending upon your shooting style and editing techniques. For me, I enjoy using fast shutter speeds in environments such as these, and the option to balance light and shadow with deep contrast in many images. There are of course many times where softer light is the preferred option for photographers, although you tend to have to work harder for contrast on those days.
I will say that I am really enjoying my new hybrid setup with the Fujifilm X-H2.
The ability to quickly switch from stills to video with the one device is a game changer for me, and the main reason why I switched from my Fujifilm X100f, not withstanding the fact that the X100f does not do 4K anyway, which is my preferred resolution for video.
Stay tuned for an episode on my YouTube channel about my camera choices… and on that subject, please feel free to check out my episodes via the YouTube link on this website.
Thank you for reading the blog, and I hope that you enjoy the images.
Roger Brooks.
