February 6, 2024 and I have just completed day one of a four day business trip in Melbourne.
Being summer I knew that by taking one of my cameras on this trip it would mean that I would have at least one chance to go out into the late afternoon/evening after the day’s work and walk around the city to see what pictures I could see, so I left my Docklands motel and headed in.
It was a very pleasant day in Melbourne… not too hot, not too cold.
I made my way around the water and up over the train line toward Spencer Street, before turning right into Spencer and then heading toward Flinders Street.
The streets were full of people who were just finishing their work day and heading for public transport, some into grocery stores etc, some already dining.
For street photography Melbourne rarely disappoints. There is always movement here, always something to see and shoot, you just have to be on watch all the time and you’ll find it.
Once you reach Flinders Street you now have more trains and trams coming into the scene, along with pedestrians either travelling beneath the train line toward South Melbourne, or heading back up Spencer Street to catch a train from Southern Cross Station which is majestic.
I began walking along Flinders Street toward Flinders Street Station, the late afternoon/evening sun now low in the sky and providing a beautiful glow across the urban landscape.
I love scenes like those where you can find beautiful pockets of golden light sprinkled through the city and contrasting against the shadows.
Once I reached the station I turned left onto Swanston Street and began making my way up through the maze of people, eventually threading my way to Bourke Street and beyond, then back toward Chinatown.
Even as the clock moved toward 8 and 9pm the streets didn’t seem to slow down, and this was a Tuesday night.
People interspersing with trams, bicycles and cars, the lights of Chinatown, the many Asian restaurants filled with diners… Melbourne has a soul.
I stopped in at Beast City which is a burger chain, with Melbourne’s one on the corner of Swanston and Little Bourke Streets and enjoyed one of the finest chicken burgers I’ve ever had, and the chips, bloody awesome too!
While I was eating I was noticing through the window that the people walking by and the cars moving along Little Bourke Street were partially blocked by the neon burger sign in the window, and I instantly thought that it might make for some great long exposure shots, introducing blur and saturated colour to the images… I’m happy with the way that they turned out.
I am beginning to force myself to experiment more whilst being out with a camera in the street, gotta mix it up more.
Well, it was getting late and I had three more full days of work in front of me so I headed back toward Docklands. On my way back I happened upon some more interesting scenes to shoot, including road workers incorporating tram movement and the beautiful magenta and blue glow around the Bolte Bridge which I captured by using a 40 second exposure with the camera sitting on my gorilla pod… glad I brought the pod with me to Melbourne.
Thank you for reading the blog, and I hope that you enjoy the images.
Roger Brooks.
