The Boomer Legacy

Culture

You could be whatever you wanted to be

It was the twilight of the Age of Aquarius.

Passionately held 1960s beliefs like Peace, Freedom, Equality, People Power, Expanded Consciousness, Eastern Religion and Free Love… all went out the window. To be replaced with what? Excuses?…

Sample #3036
Cameo soulmate    (Nov 2022)

Topic Images

There are currently 148 photographs in this section.

True deliverance make

Be sure your sins will find you out

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Clothesline posts at Millers Point [Aug-2016 383kb]

Contraindications

All the bright lights could not conceal the darkness

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Luna Park Friday night rides [Jan-2019 389kb]

Freedom behind the wheel

To stream down packed motorways, clutching tickets to the road-trauma lottery

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Tyre burn-outs in an abandoned housing development at Faulconbridge, in the Blue Mountains [Dec-2012 837kb]

Nothing's gonna change my world

Imagine no Holden Morrisey Caulfield

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Strawberry Fields, Central Park NYC [Oct-2017 445kb]

Remarks…
The weekend circus attracted by Lennon's memorial in Central Park. Peace had little chance when it came to the epic jostling for the best selfie positions, while in the background numerous versions of St John's simplest tunes were played by panhandlers hoping for coin donations

Brett's armchair

The same music in completely different hands

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Sixteenth floor, Harbourside Apartments [Jan-2019 275kb]

Remarks…
Lavender Bay, visible through the windows, was one of Brett Whiteley's favourite subjects. The book on the table is Whiteley on Trial (2017), about the forgery of a handful of Whiteley's works and how the Australian legal system couldn't find any grounds for malfeasance

All those moments

If only we had off-world colonies for a chance to start again

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Times Square, NYC [Oct-2017 433kb]

Ever present eye

A watchful environment loaded with photographers to record your every moment

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Anzac Day photographers, Park Street Sydney [Apr-2018 268kb]

Never gonna not dance again

There was nothing more heartfelt and delicious than randomly flailing about your limbs more or less in time to the beat

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Egan Street terrace, Newtown [Nov-2022 472kb]

Private splendour

The poorest people with the most expensive phones; the best cars on the worst roads; the brightest children in the most dilapidated schools

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Luxury cars gleam in the parking space behind a Kogarah real-estate agency [Apr-2011 109kb]

摆 烂

By using Evergrande Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the CCP gloriously reshaped the Motherland into a wise and benevolent superpower

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St Collins Lane upstairs food court, Melbourne [Apr-2019 416kb]

Character arc

A lot of work was done to broaden the variety of gender roles

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Sydney candid triptych [Oct-2014 247kb]

The well-stamped passport

Take another selfie and move on, criss-cross the world only to find yourself

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Tourists scrum at Sydney Cove [Aug-2014 165kb]

Remarks…
Like most western economies, there was an enthusiastic shift in the 1980s toward relying on tourism as a foreign exchange earning and local jobs boosting “export”. Then came the pandemic…

A story of the margins

Come and park in the gutted remains of where people once earned a living

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Ex-Arnotts biscuit factory car park at North Strathfield [Jun-2017 419kb]

Dolchstoßlegende

Historical data was of little use to a society which always looked forward

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Photography at Observatory Hill, Sydney [Jan-2020 908kb]

Forerunning the Great Stagnation

Prior to the 1990s every decade had its own distinctive sense of style

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The Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift, NGV Melbourne [Apr-2019 163kb]

The Law of Conservation of Sport

If bread ↓ then Circus ↑

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Footy supporters watch their team lose at Panthers Park [Jul-2003 412kb]

Race Day chic

Ladies in the public enclosure would enjoy themselves in the Cup aftermath

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Rosehill Racecourse, Melbourne Cup hairdresser's picnic [Nov-2005 270kb]

Remarks…
Another Hasselblad film image, using my usual 3kg set-up of 501CM, Distagon 50 FLE, PME45 viewfinder, Metz flash, cable release and monopod. Taking candid photos with such a rig could at times be challenging

Null pointers

Always remember who you were and what you fought for

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Castlereagh Hotel Remembrance Shrine, Sydney [Jan-2019 145kb]

Living in a short here

It was taken for granted that we would live long productive lives

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AGNSW volunteer guide, Sydney [Jul-2022 225kb]

Tutelary architects of the soul

United by a shared vision of a progressive future, our beliefs were grounded in truth, science and fundamental human rights. Centuries of white male privilege had to be overturned, and if a few of the decayed remnants of the patriarchy were sacrificed, then so be it

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An air-filled waver during the Sydney Swans AFL team celebrations, at Sydney Town Hall [Oct-2012 137kb]

Aloha Oe

Our way of life faded right before our eyes

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Pasifika themed vintage car, High Street Penrith [Mar-2018 404kb]

Redaction everywhere

It became necessary to destroy Justice in order to save the Legal System

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Pursuant to s.8(e) of the NSW Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010, along with the strict confidentiality provisions under s.462 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW), the purpose(s), if any, of including this scene in this project cannot be disclosed for legal reasons. [Sep-2014 93kb]

Fungible ideology

It didn't require much effort to pivot from “SJW” to “WSJ”

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Fearless Girl statue, NYC [Oct-2017 383kb]

Electric evanescence

People would happily sing while hurling five-kilogram masses

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Strike Bowling, King Street Wharf Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 111kb]

Full Meta™ jacket

The deep epistemological reflection upon the Manichaean nature of post-analytical Aesthetic Theory of Nihilistic Communitarianism, was — despite the liberal use of significant, robust and holistic evidence — spoiled by unhelpfully self-referential endnotes

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Infinite regression at Croydon [Sep-2016 98kb]

The natural order

Developers → Banks → Speculators → Mortgagors → Tennants → Unhoused

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Fairy Bower cafe dog bowls, Manly [Jan-2021 576kb]

Zero-day vulnerability

At the end of 2019 Novel Sars-CoV-2 started to spread across the globe. In 2020—3 millions died, economies contracted and civic life became a meandering series of lockdowns

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Balaclava sculpture (since removed) at the Newtown Tram Depot [Jul-2019 670kb]

A fit country for heroes to live in

With a place for everyone and everyone in their place

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Unhoused on Pitt Street Mall, Sydney [May-2016 450kb]

Remarks…
The Sydney CBD was overrun with panhandlers who would position themselves strategically throughout major thoroughfares and doorways to maximise their earning potential. Noticed this particular juxtaposition in a busy outdoor mall and then came back a couple of days later to photograph it. Was amazed that neither council rangers nor police had asked them to move on

There was always someone for everyone

Eugenics through involuntary abstinence

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Bollards at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay [Oct-2013 576kb]

Together at last

A journey of eight hundred and seventy one thousand, three hundred and forty nine miles began with a single step

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Newly-weds at Grand Central Station, NYC [Oct-2017 250kb]

The Great White Fleet

Every Wednesday afternoon we would close our practice early to go down to the harbour and potter about in yachts

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Sydney harbour boats and ferries [Oct-2014 488kb]

Staying on message

Sectarian quarrelling went on for so long that it etched itself into the background

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Christian propaganda (since removed) at Belmore Park Sydney Central [Apr-2016 708kb]

Strategic Hamlet

I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space (Shakespeare, 1603)

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Wharf Terrace disabled-access elevator at Lincoln Crescent in Woolloomooloo [Jan-2012 167kb]

Underlying conditions

Health interests had to be balanced with protecting the economy. It was achieved by changing a few epidemiological definitions, statistically rationalising deaths and shifting the emphasis to personal responsibility and submission compliance blame resilience

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The Masked Passenger, near Glenbrook [Jan-2020 160kb]

Res judicata

It wasn't everyday that you saw a vandalised church

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St Stephens Anglican Church, Penrith [Jun-2022 348kb]

Foamy frappuccino in a sea of amber

Our restaurant and coffee habits were never those of an anxious nation

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Empty beer kegs outside the Abercrombie Hotel at Broadway [Oct-2012 212kb]

Significant Form

From the poop-deck of a Dreadnought to the lighthouse on the banks of the River Ouse, bunga-bunga until the light fades out

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Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, ANMM Darling Harbour Sydney [Nov-2021 283kb]

A fortress of your art

Few noticed the post-modern irony of appropriating the design of the Naval Range-finding Tower MP-3 at Pleinmont

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Solomon R Guggenheim museum, NYC [Oct-2017 202kb]

The tallest tombstones in the world

Arithmétique Macabre: 9 / 11 = 2977 + 60 000

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Church spire beneath a flight path, at Rockdale in Sydney [Dec-2013 149kb]

Remarks…
The impact of the September 2001 Islamist attacks cannot be overstated. It has seeped into our culture in numerous ways, not least the vague apprehension that another random event was coming to smash things up again

Magic sponge

During weekly mass at their spiritual home in St. Bernardino, the archreferee would hold aloft the Sacred Sphere and bestow His most holy blessing: Kind friends, VVIPs, WAGs and Ultras, we are gathered here on St Totteringham's Day to drink beers and throw flares. To give 110% when sports-washing the unsaved. To rise up and throw sardines into the sea from the back of the trawler. To find the back of the net, a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God. So please take a knee and raise your Vuvuzelas for the national benediction: Our Footy, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy game. Thy Kingdom score, thy bets be more, on phones as it is in Qatar. In nomine Blatter, et FIFA, et Spiritus Alea… You may now invade the pitch

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Sports promotion at Olympic Park [Aug-2017 188kb]

Remarks…
St. Bernardino
Patron saint of advertising, communications & compulsive gambling wagering
Sacred Sphere
A hollow spherical object made of suitable material, with an external circumference between 680—700mm and mass of 0.41—0.45kg, and inflated to an interior pressure of 60.795—101.325 kPa at sea level
VVIPs
Very — very — important people
WAGs
Highly accomplished Wives & Girlfriends of players
Ultras
Highly accomplished association football fans noted for their black hoodies, self-restraint and civilised behaviour during pitch invasions
St Totteringham's Day
The day celebrated by Arsenal fans when Tottenham can no longer outrank them in the League table
110%
The First Law of Thermodynamics shall not apply to sport
Sports-washing
The role of media-workers when reporting large sporting events
Throw sardines […] trawler
King Eric's 1995 epigram
Hand of God […]
Unjustly criticised goal during the 1986 FIFA World Cup
Vuvuzelas
The national wind instrument of South Africa
Qatar
A Gulf petro-state that has denied any wrongdoing, ever
Blatter
Highly accomplished 8th President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015
FIFA
Federation Internationale de Football Association
Alea
Latin: “game of chance”

Empire of the self

Bring distant points of interest within close range by the use of this machine

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Empire State Building observation deck, NYC [Oct-2017 462kb]

Deus lo vult

It turned out that Organised Religion wasn't

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Greek Orthodox church on Belgrave Street, Kogarah [Oct-2013 326kb]

Suburban borderland

A little slice of heaven, where dreams often did come true

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Darling Point renovations, Sydney [Jan-2017 376kb]

Forever wars

For decades we believed it was peace for our time

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“To Poseidon” sculpture by Xia Hang, at the Australian National Maritime Museum [Apr-2019 426kb]

Heroes of Social Progress

Canonical ideals of liberalism, openness, thriving multiculturalism, safe routes to asylum, genuine compassion for society's most vulnerable, celebrating difference, counter-racism, mandatory cultural awareness, watch-lists, lone-wolves, quarantine camps, failed states, undocumented migration, entrepreneurial people-movement, empty supermarket shelves, hospital ships, months of level-four lockdowns

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Confetti remnants of the 2012 Swans AFL team Victory Parade [Oct-2012 534kb]

Grey nomads

The Big Lap added years to our lives

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Covered motorcycles on Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay [Dec-2015 288kb]

Vibrant isolation

The doorbell legit scares me now. I jump every time. It just seems so aggressive when you could just SMS (WSJ, 2017)

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Young Street terrace doorway (since repainted) at Annandale [Sep-2015 647kb]

The apotheosis of Curators & Gallerists

A point was reached where the only way to truly appreciate contemporary art was in complete blackness

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Adrián Villar Rojas' “The End of Imagination”, AGNSW [Dec-2022 82kb]

Remarks…
We were given plenty of opportunity to celebrate the Reductio ad absurdum of Art Practitioners

The big day

The bent-knee proposal in a fast-food outlet; The princess-cut engagement ring; The effortlessly stylish top-knot bun extension; The fake-tan; The lip augmentation injection; The adorable ivory patent leather classic ballerina flats; The bridesmaids' hair extensions & wrist corsages & hand-printed yellow kaftans & daisy crowns & frangipani espadrilles; The trending blood-red gel nail-extensions; The stunning $20k bespoke wedding dress; The delicious hand-selected vegetables picked from the chateau gardens; The awesome Ottolenghi-style vegetarian feasts with steaming pork bao; The hand-cut white peonies; The polka-dotted ribbon for the mason jars; The bubble cyclone machines; The Disney love songs; The pack of wedding paparazzi; The rhinestone encrusted complimentary selfie sticks; The juggling flower-girl triplets; The wow-factor troupe of wedding drummers; The PolAir hovering above the reception; The flashing LED hula-hoops to get the guests dancing; The surprise flash-mob doing a really gorgeous TikTok dance; The last-minute bridesmaid replacements; The honour-guard of kids from previous marriages; The Labradoodle ring-bearer; The two dozen pure white doves for the 3m tall vegan gluten-free celebration cake… But best of all, what about the hot pink ride!…

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Wedding-hire 14-seat H2 Stretch Hummer at Luna Park, Milsons Point [Oct-2014 196kb]

I could have drunk a river

A couple of schooners, a case of Smirnoff Ice Double Black vodka, a few more shots at the Dragon Lounge, and I was yours

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Abandoned refreshments near Gas Lane, in Millers Point [Jan-2014 383kb]

Retrofitting diversity

From “Apartheid” to “Black Lives Matter” in only one generation

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Bent Street, Lithgow. [Apr-2012 365kb]

F2F heroes

Who was the faker and who was the fake?

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Madame Tussauds Sydney, Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 86kb]

Watch and act

Undocumented migration was a fundamental human right which could not be overruled by popularity contests

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The Edge at Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne [Apr-2019 253kb]

Everything was fine

We married our passion for the authentic interpretation of regional Spanish cuisine with a desire to celebrate the high quality fresh produce supplied by a close network of artisanal farmers

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Ash Street restaurant, Sydney CBD [Jan-2019 168kb]

Beneath the iron ceiling

Social mobility was bunk

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Lord Sheffield Circuit at Penrith [Apr-2017 55kb]

In a cage of gold

Most marriages were happy ever after

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Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 235kb]

Lotus, Porsha & Mersaydees

Part of Bogan Pride was to give your children homophonous names of brands you hoped one day they would steal

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Excavation of an ex-service station at Bullaburra in the Blue Mountains [Feb-2011 458kb]

Some kind of connection

Pets lifted our spirits and reminded us of who we really were

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On the Parramatta ferry to Abbotsford [Mar-2015 288kb]

Nowhere was safe from Footy

11 touches, 5 tackles, 3 clearances and 1 goal; Controlling, Non-controlling, Boundary & Goal umpires; Yes! Go! Kick! Woohoo! Run! Stop! Mark! No! What?! Miss! Boo! Exit Gate 3 ten minutes before the final siren; Shoving and yelling at Jolimont-MCG station

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Melbourne vs St Kilda AFL game, MCG Melbourne [Apr-2019 399kb]

Bench blanket bingo

Cover, cloak, cape, napkin, camouflage, shroud

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Coalcliff station platform, South Coast NSW [Apr-2012 398kb]

Eat fresh

Marketeers tapped into a growing personalisation potential and famous craves

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Upstairs food-court, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 66kb]

Cordon sanitaire

We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again. (EIIR, 2020)

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Bollards at Warrimoo [Oct-2019 436kb]

Trouble in Luvvyland

Decades of careful instruction about hope and positive social progress failed to achieve the desired outcome

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Apartment building at the top of View Street, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 552kb]

Grand theft generations

With all the cheap debt we created, over 50s could comfortably retire to condos in the sky

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Jacksons Landing at Pyrmont in Sydney [Jan-2013 113kb]

Laps around the sun

Quiet voices in a quiet room; The graceful movements of her hands; The cone of cigarette smoke beneath the ceiling light; Her voice, her smell, her mouth, her warmth; By morning we were gone

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Turning circle (since repainted) outside Central Station, Sydney [Mar-2019 918kb]

Logic had nothing to do with oppression

(Steinem, 1983)

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Egalitarian architecture at Wunulla Road in Point Piper [Sep-2012 164kb]

Клином the revolution

Despite a century of recreational activism, the Whites were not beaten by the Red Wedge

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Mega mall at Auburn [May-2017 80kb]

Our plates in heaven

Between delicious mouthfuls, we would chat for hours about fusion and aroma and flavourful and authentic and three-hatted chefs and signature dishes and all the countless things we loved or didn't love to eat

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Acland Cake Shop window display, St Kilda Melbourne [Apr-2019 391kb]

Back to the beach

All thoughts eventually led to the sea

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Surf carnival surf-skis, Manly beach [Jan-2021 318kb]

The shadow of 1989

The Atlantic-centred post-WW2 order unravelled as soon as the Wall came down

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Council kerbside clean-up, Darling Point [Jan-2017 478kb]

Lamp beside the golden door

Despite unease and criticism from parts of the community, decades of pluralist multiculturalism turned out to be surprisingly successful (Turnbull, 2017)

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St Pauls Cathedral congregation after Good Friday service, Melbourne [Apr-2019 280kb]

Driving home for Christmas

Childhood summer holidays firmly strapped into the back seat of a car

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Christmas display, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 245kb]

Operational Matters

VIP Lounges, lotteries, pokies, meat-trays, linked EFTPOS accounts

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Behind the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 173kb]

Winning the argument

Citizens learned that protest theatre was the only way to achieve positive social change

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Palestinian demonstrators on George Street, Sydney CBD [Aug-2014 206kb]

Direct instruction

Expert guidance and interpretive panels ensured that Art was enjoyed properly

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AGNSW tour guide, Sydney [Mar-2019 142kb]

Scenes from the new world

Willkommenskultur guaranteed a kaleidoscope of culinary delights

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Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne [Apr-2019 106kb]

Crucify your mind

I really thought that love would save us all (Lennon, 1980)

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The exterior of the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Peter & Paul (since repainted), at Petersham [Sep-2012 463kb]

Remarks…
As mentioned elsewhere, one of the most enjoyable aspects of this project was finding unusual scenes in random places. You would walk for hours and there it would be, almost as if had been waiting for you

Looking back

We stood by the Well of Contemplation to admire the sacrifice of others

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Hall of Memory, Anzac Memorial Sydney [Jan-2020 185kb]

Latter-day Bloomsbury

We've ended up with an inner-city hive of woke workers, hiring woke friends to do their woke work in their quest to “wokify” the world (Senator J.McGrath, 2021)

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Freethought Book Exchange (since demolished) at Regent Street Chippendale [Apr-2014 308kb]

Choosing to opt away from patriarchy

When this is all over, gender studies professors are going to have a hell of time explaining what happened (Valenti, 2017)

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Supplement Warehouse on Sunnyholt Road, Blacktown [Aug-2015 223kb]

Go hard or go home

The more we studied history, the more problematic it became

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Harbour Sands at Darling Harbour [Jan-2017 753kb]

Free at last

Your mortgage turned out to be a perfect forced-savings vehicle

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Victoria Street terrace, Kings Cross [Jul-2018 347kb]

Because austerity

The signs of recovery were difficult to discern

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Bird cages outside the China Lane restaurant, at Angel Place in Sydney [Oct-2013 276kb]

Life under the occupation

The Fragmented was turned into the Harmonised by encouraging our staff to compile their own dossiers

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Revolving doors at the ANZ bank building, in Castlereagh Street [Aug-2014 143kb]

Remarks…
It was assumed when capturing this image that it would probably end up a discard. When back home, however, an hour spent in image editing programs changed things considerably

Points of light

Remember, remember the eleventh of November

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Shrine of Remembrance, 11AM beam of light [Apr-2019 379kb]

Molecular resonance

Free markets guaranteed the enjoyment of identical products and services everywhere

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Nike Savas installation at Macquarie Centre, Sydney [Dec-2017 501kb]

The one with the best notes wins

Half-step bends to voice for the next chord

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Guitar seller, Winter Magic festival at Katoomba [Jun-2019 330kb]

A few personal blow-outs

Success, power, glamour, excuses, misstatements, lies

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Corner of Chippendale lane, near Central [Jul-2017 295kb]

In the thrall of Schedule 8

A large number of people spent their lives up the Cross

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Fitzroy Gardens in Kings Cross [May-2003 418kb]

Remarks…
Taken when using a Leica rangefinder was the only relatively unobtrusive way to do candid photography. Have subsequently used cameras triple the size, sometimes even mounted on a tripod. So it's really just a question of confidence, timing and discretion, and not the brand of camera or whether the logo has been properly taped over

Gone a million

The rich were always with us

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Abandoned Rolls-Royce automobile at Hiles Street in Alexandria [Jun-2015 289kb]

Remarks…
This Rolls Royce was “parked” in Alexandria for years. When Leica Australia held a launch event in Nov 2019 for their SL-2 camera, four years after this photo was taken, they used a converted warehouse in the same street. After the presentation, went outside to see if the Rolls was still there — it was

Cultural aftershocks

The impact of the 911 terrorist attacks reverberated for decades

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911 Memorial park and museum, NYC [Oct-2017 232kb]

Contumacious determination

Faithful servants of the court had a formal duty to massage reality until outcomes matched expectations

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Addison Road community centre, Marrickville [Sep-2012 177kb]

Boxing day specials

Our cities were gradually fortified, one concrete block at a time

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Anti vehicle-ramming barriers at George Street, Sydney [Dec-2017 170kb]

Allow plenty of additional travel time

Spatially mismatched cities where amenity, employment and education were deliberately centralised, forcing the non-rich to commute for hours from the urban fringe

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Trains on the T1 Western Line pass through Burwood Station [Apr-2015 212kb]

Electric tribalism

Wandering around with no idea what was about to happen

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Preparations for the 2019 Australia Day celebrations, Campbells Cove Sydney [Jan-2019 248kb]

Equality of opportunity

To provide a more inclusive and accessible education for all children and families, along with the virtues of competition and ensuring excellence in the marketplace of educational options, everyone agreed that governments must vigorously subsidise parental free-choice

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GPS school tennis courts in Stanmore [Sep-2012 198kb]

Growing pains

People were strongly encouraged to use public transport to reduce traffic congestion

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Commuters on the St Kilda tram, Melbourne [Apr-2019 207kb]

Cultural attrition

Civility could not last forever in a vacuum

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Wall graffito, subsequently painted over, in a Pitt Street Lane near Town Hall [Oct-2012 405kb]

The new world order

The social contract had to be positively reformed to quadruple the number of billionaires

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Torn up posters on Parramatta Road, Strathfield [Jul-2014 484kb]

Capitalist idyll

Forget about Marx or Lennon or Friedman-Phelps: The Colonel saw, the Colonel knew, the Colonel understood

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Fast-food franchise hoarding at Parramatta Road, Five Dock [Sep-2016 161kb]

Waiting for the V-shaped recovery

It took almost a century to progress from sound fundamentals and prosperity around the corner to primed for lift-off next year and bouncing back

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Broadway bus-stop beggar, Central [Jan-2020 74kb]

Mr Robot says “Hi”

The lights dimmed throughout a divided America

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Armed Forces recruiting station, Times Square NYC [Oct-2017 241kb]

Community standards

Our suburbs were strewn with eye-popping enticements by agile entrepreneurs

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Dulwich Hill skate park [Sep-2015 98kb]

Remarks…
The “sneakers thrown over power-lines” meme was comprehensively addressed by TikTok™ contributors: Some people do it just to be annoying. Some people do it as a memorial to a dead friend. Some people do it to advertise a drug dealer territory. Some people do it because they've seen it done and just think it's funny (Daily Mail UK, 2020)

Dialectical moralism

A vanguard of progressive activists, academics and news-workers decided it was their moral duty to reshape everyone else's morals

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Rainbow house, Stanmore [Nov-2017 296kb]

Poly-dimensional facets

GDP versus infrastructure versus ecology versus quality-of-life versus unconstrained population growth

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Darling Harbour under the express-way, Sydney [Apr-2017 202kb]

A vista full of rainbows

If half of the population of same-sex couples chose to marry within one year, the benefits to the economy in the first year of the legislation would be over $1 billion… (ABC News, 2017)

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Same-sex Marriage Law Postal Survey posters outside the Imperial Hotel at Erskineville [Sep-2017 274kb]

Every city another Venice

From aquarium to fish-soup in one generation

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Tourists at the McMahon Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2019 263kb]

We two formed a multitude

The first time we saw each other has not been forgotten

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Abandoned shopping trolleys at Shoreline Drive in Rhodes [Dec-2015 452kb]

By this sign thou shall conquer

Iota, Eta, Sigma: to die poor was a sin

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South Head General Cemetery, at Vaucluse [Nov-2016 146kb]

Put the person before the disability

Inclusiveness meant telling everyone how much you cared

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Beneath the Western Distributor on Harris Street in Ultimo [Jan-2013 244kb]

Fine-Dining as a way of life

There was no better way to achieve a true sense of purpose than to be seen in a hatted restaurant

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Restaurant exhaust stacks, Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Jan-2019 145kb]

The authentic self

The best we could hope for was to become a billionaire's pet

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Town Hall arcade begging, Sydney [Jul-2015 342kb]

The sun shone on the Supreme Leader

The inspection of State Food Processing Plant #2193 inspired genuine patriots to dance and brandish flowers

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Fast-food franchise at Old Canterbury Road, Hurlstone Park [Oct-2015 212kb]

Keeping the Sixties alive

The memory of a beloved wife, the promise to a dead brother, the customers who only came to stare

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Olympia milk-bar & hair salon at Parramatta Road, Annandale. Closed by council order in April 2019 [Jul-2016 424kb]

Release the bats

Canned music, caterwauling karaoke & wall-to-wall poker-machines

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Nick Cave from The Birthday Party at Sydney University Refectory [Jan-1982 77kb]

Murder on the dance-floor

The Enlightenment turned out to be a bunch of flashing lights in a discotheque

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Queen Victoria Building “disco” Christmas lights, Sydney [Oct-2020 233kb]

How did we ever get here?

An unending mausoleum of reinforced concrete, seen through translucent windscreens smeared with bile

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Ventilation funnels atop the Kogarah Railway Station car-park [Apr-2011 41kb]

Cameo soulmate

Golden sunshine fades down Rae street; Fingers full of unexpected rings; Marry well and inherit big she said; And other practical things

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Project Halo at Central Park in Sydney [Nov-2022 364kb]

Suburban psychodrama

Our belief in a better tomorrow was clearly expressed through our architecture

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Front yard gate, Great Western Highway [May-2019 244kb]

Sumptuary laws

The entire fashion industry was trickle-down in its purest form

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Step into Paradise Exhibition at Powerhouse Museum, Sydney [Jan-2020 410kb]

Prophetic methodology

Remember, do not stop shooting even if u see women or kids — no mercy is Rule One (Haroon, 2016)

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Lindt Café siege flower memorial at Martin Place, Sydney [Dec-2014 529kb]

It's just a jump to the left

Everyone was convinced liberal democracy would sweep the world

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Pedestrian passageway at Potts Point [Dec-2015 525kb]

The Wall is the Wall

(Trump, 2018)

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Busking opposite Sydney Town Hall [Jan-2018 338kb]

Without bias or agenda

Journalism is the pursuit of verifiable truth — it's an existential fight against conspiracy theories, fake news, voluble opinions, false balance, online bandwagons, talking points, against activists who claim to be in the truth business, but are actually in the point-of-view business (The Guardian, 2018)

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State of Origin victory celebration for the NSW Blues at the Northern Broad-walk, Sydney Opera House [Jul-2014 271kb]

Unquestioningly affirmative

In a changing world and with the best intentions, it was not enough to use progressive arguments to challenge expressions of racism, homophobia, sexism and misogyny. You had to prevent people from thinking racist, homophobic, sexist and misogynistic thoughts in the first place

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Bruce Lee statue prior to unveiling at the Kogarah Town Centre [Mar-2011 189kb]

One-way journey

On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place (Yes, 1971)

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Ovation of the Seas cruise-liner at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Dec-2017 108kb]

Remarks…
Two years after this photo was taken, 22 passengers from this ship died during a shore excursion because of the White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand

Carnival ride

As we grew older, we craved the luxurious pampering that only floating Xanadus could provide

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Majestic Princess cruise ship, Circular Quay [Jan-2020 237kb]

Discrimination positive

Feminist academics and red-pill misogynists agreed that a person's worth could only be determined by the number of their X-chromosomes

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Extended phenotypes at Addison Road in Marrickville [Sep-2012 233kb]

Racquet Kultur

Watch, cheer, drink, boo, repeat

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Show Court #3 outside the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Tennis Centre [Apr-2019 259kb]

The efficiency dividend playbook

A land full of equal opportunity, where respect for property, hard work, fair-play and fiscal self-restraint guaranteed a good life

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Darling Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2017 283kb]

Remarks…
A pleasant walk on a summer afternoon turned into an object lesson in social stratification. It appropriately happened at the ferry wharf to one of Sydney's wealthiest suburbs

A semblance of community

Democracy turned out to best serve those who were most invested

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NSW election voting centre at Town Hall [Mar-2019 543kb]

Remarks…
One of the great themes of the last forty years has been the gradual unravelling of western democracy. One could say it started with Watergate in June 1972, but you could also argue it began much earlier in November 1963 with the assassination of JFK

Survival of the richest

Our remaining days were spent counting our passive income, in the comfort and safety of our own bunkers

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Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 321kb]

In the time of contagion

Green physical distancing dots will continue to guide customers on the best places to sit and stand on all modes

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COVID-19 safe seating on the Double Bay ferry, Sydney [Jul-2020 485kb]

Thought showers

To proactively incentivise our key stakeholders, we touched base, actioned our settings, held 360-degree reviews, got all our ducks in a row and strategically uplevelled our synergies to facilitate a win-win paradigm

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The repurposed cauldron from the best Olympic Games ever [Aug-2017 407kb]

You can't live like this

We loved each other like it was the end of the world

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Cockle Bay promenade, Darling Harbour [Dec-2003 371kb]

Redefining perfection

You press the button, we do the rest (Eastman, 1888)

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Laurie Daley and fans at SOH [Jul-2014 288kb]

Once I built a railroad

Delayed due to an operational issuePostponed due to a train requiring mechanical repairsBlue Mountains rail services have been suspended until further notice due to a freight train derailment at LindenNo trains this weekend due to scheduled track-workCancelled due to a staff availability issueLate due to mechanical problems earlier onRunning late and out of timetable orderTransport authorities have urged passengers allow additional travel time, listen to announcements and check indicator boards as stopping patterns may change at short noticeThis service has been cancelled due to an electrical fault, passengers should disembark and transfer to the suburban service waiting at platform fourPassengers be advised that we are proceeding slowly due to some track failures, and if we make it through the next signal then we should be right to proceedBlue Mountains rail services have been suspended until further notice due to a landslip near LeuraDelays as a result of a number of unexpected incidents including a tree falling onto the tracks between St Leonards and Wollstonecraft, and a fire to sleepers at North StrathfieldAll services have been cancelled this week due to protected industrial actionThere may be a short delay at Penrith while the rear carriage is checked for possible contaminationDelayed due to temporary speed restrictions caused by wet weather conditionsNo trains this weekend due to scheduled track-workTrains have been suspended between Lawson and Penrith due to a tree on the tracks near LindenDelayed by approximately 41 minutes due a person threatening self-harm at LithgowPostponed due to urgent power supply repairsCancelled due to lightning strike at PenrithRunning 27 minutes late due to a tree caught in the overhead wiring at BlaxlandBlue Mountains rail services have been suspended until further notice due to a landslip near Emu Plains35 minutes late due to passenger with a medical emergencyOther incidents including multiple self-harm attempts and trespassers on the tracks at Doonside and BellambiDelayed due to a police operation at AshfieldNo trains this weekend due to scheduled track-workMajor delays on all lines due to a fatality at MortdalePlease consider postponing your journey or using alternative transport

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Macdonaldtown rail viaduct (since rebuilt) [Mar-1983 484kb]

Fête Moderne

It took a long time to shrug off the Superwoman myth

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W-H portrait session, Hurstville [Jun-1991 354kb]

Enjoying the benefits of adequacy

Budget surpluses, rising house prices, vigorous job growth, decades of near-zero interest rates (until 2022)

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Lewisham apartment redevelopment [Jul-2018 367kb]

Malpractice with impunity

The very first document, among more than a hundred in this folder, is a written admission by our client that he mixed up his patients and accidentally performed a full hysterectomy on the 36-year-old plaintiff. Correction — our client is [redacted], not the surgeon, who is merely a policy holder of our client. Okay, the surgeon admits, in writing, that he sterilised the plaintiff by doing an unauthorised procedure. No one disputes this — so why is this thing dragging on for years with requests for interrogatories, updated medical reports and dozens of discovery hearings? Well, it is our firm's policy to fully test all claims to discourage frivolous ones. But the surgeon has freely admitted negligence. So it cannot be “frivolous” and, frankly, our stalling borders upon unconscionable. I'll say it again: it is our firm's policy to fully test all claims to discourage frivolous ones…

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The ghosts of lawyering among the tombstones at Camperdown cemetery, Newtown [Jun-2015 407kb]

Remarks…
It took a long time to find a scene which reflected our two-tier third-world health system. The accompanying blurb is a paraphrased version of an April 1992 law-firm conversation between the author and a medical-litigation partner (in italics)

The post-industrial well-being complex

A lifetime of small authentic moments, where you mindfully honoured your feelings, aligned your vibrational energy, feasted from the whole pantry, applied essential oils, embraced your expansion, and followed your bliss down the path to soulistic wellness

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Sydney Olympic Park RSPCA stalls [May-2018 281kb]

Winning at the starting line

Party members, broadcasting and strategic partners cheered. Our tattooed heroes puffed and flexed and skipped and hopped and twisted and splashed. We paid

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The endlessly gushing fountain at Olympic Park, Sydney [Jan-2011 351kb]

The militaristic subtext

Despite decades of “peace”, the common purpose of every action was “security”

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The crypt beneath the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne [Apr-2019 164kb]

Spirited formalism

Everyone benefited from our unwavering commitment to certain kinds of inclusion and diversity

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The waterfall entrance to the NGV, Melbourne [Apr-2019 618kb]

Remarks…
Shots through the “water wall” at the National Gallery of Victoria entrance are, unfortunately, a photography cliché. Consequently, great care is taken to avoid these things. Not this time though, as the juxtaposition between the seated mother and exterior family was too strong to ignore

Manufacturing Eros

Productivity was enhanced by using mass-produced images of completely unavailable women

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Workbench at the Pottery Estate, Lithgow [Jun-2019 499kb]

Lambos to the moon

It was an era of unending optimism. Families prospered, inflation was beaten (until 2022) and credit was easy to get at near-zero rates (until 2022). Average mums & dads were flipping investment properties, collecting NFTs and betting on cryptocurrencies. Stock markets inexorably kept rising, while house values soared to what looked like a permanently high plateau

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Living statue performer at Circular Quay [Jul-2017 253kb]

Remarks…
A simple, almost throw-away candid shot acquired sinister meaning when you notice the children were prodding a stuffed crocodile

Break with the past

Artefacts of violence for a new millennium

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The remains of the the North Tower transmission mast at the 911 Memorial Museum [Oct-2017 443kb]

Mission statement

The Glory of the coming of the Lord was passed-in at auction

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What was once an Anglican church, but became an open-plan dwelling, at Warrimoo in the Blue Mountains [Jul-2011 93kb]

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