The Boomer Legacy

Environment

The Good Earth Shall Abide Forever

We were part of an infinite world.

Habitats were practically indestructible; Atmospheric cycles cleansed our air; Fresh water was limitlessly abundant; Forests and coral reefs always grew back. Ocean algae bloomed and sank into the abyss in an endlessly repeating cycle to replenish our natural fuels. It was perfectly possible to farm alongside nature, to make a profit, and produce healthy food.

The climate has always changed. There have been countless warm (and cold) periods in the past. Even dinosaurs flourished for millions of years in a world devoid of frost or snow or ice.

So there was nothing to worry about. Generations came and generations went. We humans were spirits trapped in bodies which were merely vehicles. What we did or didn't do to the Earth during our custodianship really didn't matter, for the question that really mattered was: Where Would We Spend Eternity?…

Sample #4066
Appeasing demand    (Nov 2018)

Topic Images

There are currently 104 photographs in this section.

Inside the tiger

Every rabbit was chased down every hole

#4034 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Coal Loader tunnel, Waverton [Jul-2017 489kb]

Apogee of despair

A tide of opioids washed through our suburbs, killing increasing numbers of adults aged 35-44 (CDC NCHS, Dec 2022)

#4106 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Kent Street pyramid and A4 overpass, Millers Point [Jan-2014 158kb]

Untapped potential

Sustainable development opportunities could be found in every direction

#4102 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Florabella Pass walking track, Blue Mountains [May-2019 797kb]

Unknown knowns

The systematic destruction of the environment was an event so terrible that even mentioning it became a taboo

#4025 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Hornby Lighthouse gun emplacement, South Head Sydney [Dec-2014 203kb]

Remarks…
South Head turned out to symbolise the end of the line in more ways than expected

Neptune's Navy

Broadsides for peace on the wide ocean blue

#4104 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sea Shepherd cruiser, Australian National Maritime Museum [Apr-2014 204kb]

For the rest of my life

Reschedule everything to make retirement a success

#4065 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Brisbane Str vehicle tarpaulin covers, Bondi Junction [Dec-2018 366kb]

Black poles

Our cities were filled with reminders of people we lost

#4105 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Old Canterbury road, Lewisham [Sep-2015 475kb]

PETM reloaded

Nine-month summers, super El Niños, category-five hurricanes, wildfires, methane fumaroles, acidified oceans, cubic-kilometres of eutrophication and rivers awash with millions of dead fish. Years of drought followed by months of flooding rain. 1000-year events every five years. Every decade and season among the hottest on record. The sixth mass extinction. Aim low for +1.5°C and overshoot by at least 100%

#4023 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Truck exhaust pipes at Woolloomooloo, in Sydney's east [Oct-2012 115kb]

Remarks…
We lived in a world where roads were filled with 2-3 tonne petrol-guzzling vehicles, racing each other to their own demise

From the plateau the shore

Our every step drove us further apart

#4080 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Garie North Head, Royal National Park [Jul-2019 481kb]

Infinity pool

Unlimited growth was questioned many times, but it never let us down

#4091 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Figure 8 Pool, Royal National Park [Oct-2019 428kb]

Epic ruin porn

Jack & Jackie died a long time ago, and Camelot became an abandoned car-yard

#4011 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Leo Cushieri Quality Used Cars in Blacktown [Dec-2012 192kb]

User funnelling

To paraphrase Lewis Mumford: the apotheosis of cities was to channel people from one checkout to the next

#4004 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The M4 Western Distributor at Darling Harbour in Sydney [Jul-2012 99kb]

Reinforced bulwark

The oceans were an ideal place to dump all our unwanted stuff

#4060 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Concrete erosion blocks, South Wollongong beach [Sep-2014 397kb]

Outlier Nation

Founded on penal servitude, maintained by the dispossessed, for the benefit of the super-rich

#4012 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sugar cane digester spheres in Waterfront Park, at Jacksons Landing [Jan-2013 485kb]

Troglodyte world

Going underground to evade the consequences

#4050 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Underground escalators at Macquarie University railway station, Sydney [Feb-2016 306kb]

Ready to enjoy your renovating touches

Deceased Estate — First Time Offered in 37 Years. Lifestyle studio apartments with iconic Oprah House, Bridge and Harbour views

#4064 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Misspelled blurb on a real-estate hoarding, Waruda Street Kirribilli [Nov-2020 242kb]

A machine to make the land pay

(Gilbert, 1905)

#4018 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Flinders Road Industry lookout, Port Kembla BlueScope steelworks [Sep-2013 241kb]

Appeasing demand

Sawtooth factories rapidly made way for empty apartments

#4066 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Zetland redevelopment [Nov-2018 279kb]

Tranquillity Bantustan

The charred tree-trunks, the ferns and weeds, the track which went on forever

#4094 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Forest Trail, Illawarra Escarpment near Wollongong [Oct-2020 921kb]

111 false dawns

Waiting for the pandemic to recede for long enough to celebrate another birthday

#4096 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sunrise over the Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne [Apr-2019 91kb]

Ready-made solutions

Our “developers” were given a blank cheque to do whatever they want

#4071 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sandbridge pedestrian crossing, Melbourne [Apr-2019 272kb]

The hikikomori archipelago

An intricate matrix of domestic ideology to increase the rate of self-incarceration

#4029 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

“Sirius” public housing at The Rocks, which in 2022 was redeveloped into multimillion dollar condos for offshore investors [Sep-2016 173kb]

This brown and angry land

City dwellers still had a lot of trouble adjusting to the chaos of the Bush

#4098 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Scribbly gum moth trails, Illawarra Escarpment track [Oct-2020 371kb]

Hedge city

O beautiful for spacious skies, to park our excess wealth

#4058 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Central Park apartments, Broadway [Jul-2018 350kb]

Wish the sun to stand still

For a short while it remained possible to spend all day outside

#4084 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sunbathing on the steps at Nielsen Park, Vaucluse [Dec-1990 310kb]

Surf's up

Sandy beaches became problematic in a world of rising sea levels

#4100 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Fairy Bower rocks, Manly [Jan-2021 765kb]

What mean these stones?

We were at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all we could talk about was money and fairytales of eternal economic growth (Thundberg, 2019)

#4005 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Iron slag at the Blast Furnace Park in Lithgow [Aug-2012 331kb]

Remarks…
Another early Hasselblad 120-film shot, but one which turned out to be the main instigator for this project. Had always wanted to buy a V-System 6×6 camera, but could only afford it when they started being dumped onto the second-hand market in 2010. The project at the time had been somewhat aimless for 18 months, even if some of the shots were okay. Then this image at Lithgow changed everything

Volunteer sacrifice

According to former fire chiefs, relying on large numbers of volunteers to fight bushfires was not necessarily a sign of inadequate funding, but possibly the best way to do it (SBS, 2019)

#4095 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Waterfall Bushfire Volunteers Memorial, commemorating the death of five volunteers in Nov 1980 [Sep-2020 748kb]

Shoulder season

Work commenced to identify and implement the next wave of positive reforms

#4082 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Backyard firewood at Blackheath NSW [Aug-2019 523kb]

Scenes from Planet B

More than fifty years later, we were still just a warm dot in the cold dark void

#4068 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

North Era camp-site before dawn, Royal National Park NSW [Jul-2019 204kb]

Game the system

Those with the best view won

#4059 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Friday night on Sydney Harbour [Jan-2019 190kb]

Through an augmented sky

All the atmospheric particulates ensured a golden hour for everyone

#4079 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sunrise over Bourke Street, Melbourne [Apr-2019 57kb]

Remarks…
The 135mm TEM (11861) in action again. While on holidays in Melbroune, looked out the balcony just after dawn and noticed hot-air balloons being launched. A few 40mm shots looked okay, but the 135mm pointed into the sun did the trick

The curated home

Redesign your nest with hygge cosiness

#4057 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sutherland Crescent, Darling point [Jan-2017 184kb]

Out in the open

A few growing pains were a small price to pay to ensure our city remained a true global city

#4109 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Brocks lane construction appraisal, Macdonaldtown [Dec-2022 263kb]

We were here

Passing paths that climb halfway into the void (Yes, 1972)

#4069 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Royal Coastal Track, near Wattamolla [Aug-2020 911kb]

Remarks…
Roger Dean everywhere, although without the tarns or waterfalls. Instead in Australia we have lots of burnt scrub, in this case scorched by yet another deliberately-lit wildfire

Terra nullius

I direct council to amend its draft planning-scheme to remove any assumption about a theoretical projected sea level rise due to climate change (Seeney, 2014)

#4074 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Rock ledge at The Waterrun, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2019 645kb]

Multilevel regression with post-stratification

Cityscapes were continually redesigned to uplift the soul

#4097 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Liberty Place, Castlereagh Street Sydney [Jan-2019 288kb]

This fatal shore

A remote and hostile continent where the unwanted were sent to be forgotten

#4086 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The boulder-strewn shoreline on the way to Figure 8 Pool, Royal National Park [Oct-2019 390kb]

Frame your reference

An existence punctuated by cranes & crosses

#4045 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Elm tree memorial at Lewisham building site [Sep-2015 123kb]

The big smoke

Bushfire smoke pushed Sydney's air quality index rating to 2,552. That's 11 times higher than the level considered hazardous. And it's well below air quality index readings in cities in China, India, and other places known as hotbeds of air pollution. (Gizmodo, 2019)

#4087 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Weeks of bushfire smoke in Sydney [Jan-2020 213kb]

Boom without end

Sprawl was right, sprawl worked. Sprawl clarified, cut through, and captured the essence of the evolutionary spirit

#4017 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Diamond Bay cliffs at Dover Heights, in Sydney [Feb-2014 508kb]

Markers of social progress

Signposts to reinforce things we already knew

#4047 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Abandoned used-car dealership sign, Church Str Parramatta [Jul-2017 127kb]

Less is more

A rectangular lattice to corral our inoffensive and risk-adverse lives

#4037 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Housing demolition on Gray Street, at Kogarah [Apr-2011 161kb]

Well-hidden symmetries

What to nearly everyone was hopeless chaos, was to INTJs a landscape filled with intricate patterns and connections

#4072 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Southbank lighting store, Melbourne [Apr-2019 611kb]

A domain of wreaths

Ideally, we should live as free people. Sensibly, we must live under guard (Daily Telegraph, 2018)

#4027 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Papered-over window display in Henry Str Lewisham [Sep-2015 169kb]

Situation normal

Everything was fine, until it wasn't

#4028 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Lawsons Auctions car-park, Moore Street Annandale [Sep-2015 302kb]

Remarks…
Walk the suburbs for hours and sometimes you will be rewarded with the most surreal experience

A wound that would not heal

Meanwhile, up in the stratosphere…
O2 + (UV) → 2 O•
O2 + O• → O3
O3 + (UV) → O2 + O•
CCl2F2 + (UV) → CClF2• + Cl•
Cl• + O3 → ClO• + O2
ClO• + O• → O2 + Cl•
2 ClO• + (UV) → O2 + 2 Cl•

#4000 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sunburst above the Wollongong Sewage Works [Feb-2011 113kb]

The albatross beneath our feet

Rows of apartment blocks where agent-orange once bloomed

#4015 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The decontaminated site of the Union Carbide plant, at Rhodes [Jul-2013 284kb]

This tun of treasure

We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives (Criswell, 1959)

#4021 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The Green Square Waste garbage facility (since demolished) at O'Riordan Street (Daily Telegraph, 2014) [Aug-2014 343kb]

Outwardness within

The world was only as small as you wanted it to be

#4077 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Sightseeing at The Balconies, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2019 638kb]

Remarks…
The northern part of the Royal National Park tends to be overrun by day-trippers on weekends. Most of them stand around posing for selfies, but occasionally you can also find people reflecting on what they see

Aquatic dysphoria

The hydrosphere was loaded with enough micro-plastics and heavy-metals to make our marine-life indestructible

#4026 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Storm-water grating at McCauley Lane in Alexandria [Mar-2018 434kb]

Across the roaring forties

Just one summer in western Sydney: 43.5°C (2017-12-14), 44.1°C (2017-12-19), 43.6°C (2017-12-20), 42.1°C (2017-12-24), 40.4°C (2017-12-29), 42.3°C (2018-01-06), 47.3°C (2018-01-07), 42.5°C (2018-01-08), 40.5°C (2018-01-19), 40.2°C (2018-01-20), 40.3°C (2018-01-21), 43.2°C (2018-01-22), 40.0°C (2018-02-14), 40.0°C (2018-02-24)   (Aust BOM, 2018)

#4053 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

117°F in the shade, the hottest Sydney temperature since 1939 (ABC News, 2018). The following summer on 2019-01-04 there was a new record of 48.9°C [Jan-2018 85kb]

Liens Den

The potential for redevelopment was endless

#4054 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

View from beneath the Western Distributor, at Darling Harbour [Jul-2017 72kb]

Dam the Franklin

Environmental activism to prevent the construction of dams in one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the planet

#4030 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Protesting the building of dams on the Franklin River in Tasmania [Feb-1983 476kb]

Buckley's chance

Going nowhere was better than going backwards

#4085 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Coastal track upgrading works at the Royal National Park, NSW [Jul-2019 641kb]

Build a better rookery

It was amazing how well organisms could adapt to living on the sixteenth floor

#4078 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Rainbow lorikeets at the kitchen window, Harbourside Apartments [Jan-2019 172kb]

Rocks & Crops

Diggers and drillers drew heartfelt inspiration from the island paradise of Naru

#4020 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The Port Kembla coal terminal (PKCT) [Sep-2014 251kb]

Home! Sweat Home!

An exile from home splendour dazzles in vain
Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again
The birds singing gaily that came at my call
And gave me the peace of mind dearer than all
(J.H. Payne, 1823)

#4108 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Egan Street red-brick flats, Newtown [Nov-2022 898kb]

Hidden externalities

A vivid pile of inclusive spaces to facilitate social cohesion

#4075 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Centre Place lane-way, Melbourne [Apr-2019 475kb]

Down from the trees and into the meat

It was almost as if we knew the plague was coming…

#4038 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

82nd street apartment entrance, NYC [Oct-2017 361kb]

Where even the windows wept

Our villages were filled with community and a common sense of purpose

#4022 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Factory windows at Chester Lane, Zetland [Sep-2014 414kb]

The wealth of future generations

We were prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure a better future

#4001 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Olympian Rock walkway after a deliberately lit bushfire in Leura [Oct-2011 351kb]

Bright shining billions

The Great Architect stood with his hands on his hips and proclaimed: You too shall have a bone-yard

#4040 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The Westfield World Trade Center atrium, NYC [Oct-2017 248kb]

Late for the sky

The air was eaten, promise crammed

#4016 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The final blast-furnace at BlueScope Steel, in Port Kembla [Sep-2014 97kb]

Remarks…
“Scheduled Trackwork” meant having to catch replacement buses between Wollongong and Port Kembla. The problem was that they were infrequent and unpredictable. So had to instead catch a wildly indirect timetabled suburban bus, which went up and down every side-street before eventually arriving at the final destination. Meanwhile, during the slow-motion journey, the weather clouded over and completely trashed the light. But what the hell, after such a l-o-n-g trip you may as well walk out to the steelworks anyway. And then, as if on cue, the clouds parted and steam started billowing from the blast furnace chimney…

Re-imagine urban life

Traffic and cranes were used to measure our prosperity

#4056 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Tower cranes at Australian Technology Park [Mar-2018 371kb]

Snafu City

A patchwork of failed-states, ruled over by unaccountable leaders, where distrust, stagnation, corruption and absence of social cohesion were systematically ignored

#4032 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Apartment towers surrounding Chatswood railway station [Feb-2016 254kb]

My variegated village

Machines of extraction between funds and their intended recipients

#4063 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

UTS construction site, Broadway [Jul-2018 336kb]

The moral precedence of humanity

We peered through the bay-windows of our tastefully renovated homes, yet could not see the yachts for the trees

#4007 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Vandalised Moreton Bay fig tree roots on Wunulla Road, Point Piper [Sep-2012 612kb]

After Nature

An all-new Pliocene, with polybutadiene gastropods in a reinforced concrete sea

#4006 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The front yard of an abandoned spare-parts dealer at Tempe in Sydney [Sep-2012 209kb]

Intelligent design

Architects don't merely design – they create environments, inside and out, and spaces that function well, to mediate the dialogue between the boundaries of architecture and design, exterior and interior realms, structure and psyche

#4013 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The remains of the Jonley Australia plastics factory in Meadowbank [Jan-2014 587kb]

We were the memories we created

How and why will people remember us?

#4010 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Tree growing in the old Fosters brewery wall (since demolished), at Broadway in Sydney [Apr-2014 552kb]

Remarks…
Had photographed the tree growing in the brewery wall a few times earlier, but got lucky this time when a couple of pigeons inserted themselves into the shot. A few months later the wall (and tree) was demolished when the Central Park development neared completion

More days at the beach

Personally, I love drumming with a samba band if there is some environmental action going on. Everyone loves the band. One year, even the police got into trouble for dancing. So don't do nothing. Just find activism that you enjoy. (The Guardian, 2022)

#4081 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Miniature snowman at Blackheath Oval [Aug-2019 546kb]

A two-speed world

The landscape was altered to better reflect our social order

#4031 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The remains of Lawrence Hargrave Drive beside the Sea Cliff bridge, near Coalcliff [Dec-2016 779kb]

Remarks…
Most people drive over the Sea Cliff Bridge and don't notice the abandoned Lawrence Hargrave Drive. It was decommissioned in Aug 2003 due to numerous rockfalls from the escarpment along its western side. The road still remains open to intrepid walkers, and the kiosk-sized boulder which finally closed it is still visible

Travel in stylllleeee

And what I hate about traditional carbon offset programmes is so many companies are using them, and they are a fig leaf for a CEO to write a cheque, tick a box, or pretend that they've done the right thing for sustainability when they haven't made one wit of difference in the real world (Kirby, 2021)

#4008 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Primary school mosaic in Sydenham Green, near Sydney Airport [Sep-2012 397kb]

Neo-Monogorod

To encourage immediate relaxation, new apartments promoted a sense of calm and well-being among their residents

#4083 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Melbourne Docklands [Apr-2019 446kb]

Crosswalk puzzle

Waiting for the white man with the upraised orange palm

#4042 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Pedestrian crossing at 37th and 5th, NYC [Oct-2017 264kb]

Sunset industry

The party had to end some time

#4090 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Tower cranes at Barangaroo, Sydney [Jan-2020 135kb]

Cars with grunt

Politicians fought hard to ensure tradies could keep upgrading their utes (SMH, 2019)

#4073 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Penrith Station car park [Oct-2019 344kb]

Rising above

Endless views to match our ambition

#4076 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Eureka sky-deck, Melbourne [Apr-2019 329kb]

Charting success

A million schemes for the world we were going to make

#4055 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Parramatta Square construction site [Jan-2018 124kb]

Controlled flight into terrain

There was never quite enough time for the Eagle to land

#4093 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Looking south from Garie Head North, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2020 437kb]

Day-tripping

The greater our impact on nature, the more we wanted to see it

#4070 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The Waterrun, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2019 411kb]

Remarks…
Many people liked to travel for hours just to take photographs of themselves. In the background you can see one of the cliffs mentioned earlier

Black bird

… singing in the dead of night

#4049 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Freshly harvested pine logs awaiting export, Dunedin NZ [Dec-2017 386kb]

Under the waning gibbous moon

The goal was to squeeze as much as possible out of the status quo before it collapsed

#4101 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Re-enacting Quartermass and the Pit at Parramatta [Nov-2017 917kb]

Right by conquest

Our rules-based social order continued to function very effectively

#4036 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Poisoned trees at Larkin Street, Waverton [Jul-2017 309kb]

Force majeure

Politicians were elected for years on a platform of denying climate change. Then they were amazed when they were thrown out of office

#4107 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Post-election garbage bins at Copeland Ave, Macdonaldtown [May-2022 553kb]

The problem with problems

Owing to the proliferation of psychology graduates, everyone was constantly reminded about how dependent/ fragile/ isolated/ confused/ powerless/ helpless/ humiliated/ depressed/ anxious/ anguished/ harassed/ stalked/ victimised/ violated/ dehumanised/ traumatised/ wild-eyed panic-stricken they were

#4062 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Domain car parking station [Jul-2018 271kb]

Disregarding our descendants

The town did get a bit dangerous after dark

#4089 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Hickson Road, Dawes Point Sydney Cove [Jan-2020 934kb]

Stack trace

International trade agreements led to enormous economic benefits

#4024 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The concrete base of the demolished Port Kembla copper stack [Sep-2014 349kb]

Remarks…
The Copper Stack was an Illawarra landmark since its construction in 1965. After standing derelict since its closure in 2003, it was finally demolished in Feb 2014. A few months later this image was obtained by scaling a security fence, along with risking arrest by waiting around for the sun to peek out between clouds to light the stack base

Multinational style

Curtain walls of glass and steel as far as equities could stretch

#4041 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

6th Avenue office buildings, NYC [Oct-2017 530kb]

Wildfulness everywhere

Sometimes the bush was so wild that even the signposts wore out

#4092 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Illawarra Escarpment Track, above Coalcliff NSW [Oct-2020 584kb]

It was fun while it lasted

81M barrels a day — the greatest achievement of our generation was to make the deserts bloom

#4019 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Nike Savvas installation at the Art Gallery of NSW [Apr-2014 364kb]

The men in the high castle

The benefits of fifty years of neoliberalism were there for all to see

#4033 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

BP Site bund wall, Waverton [Jul-2017 425kb]

Magnificent isolation

Many embraced the rolling lockdowns because it finally gave them enough time to do all the things they always wanted

#4103 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Waruda Street apartment stairwell, Kirribilli [Nov-2020 42kb]

Potential harbour views

Uninterrupted vistas for our tax-shelter investment properties

#4099 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Harbourside Serviced Apartments, McMahons Point [Sep-2018 305kb]

From lives to livelihoods

Consumption for symbolic, signalling and cultural reasons

#4046 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

New apartments from old flour mills, Lewisham [Sep-2015 163kb]

Made by We

The four seasons of positive climate reform

#4088 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Blue mountains seasons [Dec-2019 467kb]

Permissive Occupancy

We, the legatees of adverse possession, hereupon swear to lobby and plead and flatter and appeal and threaten and randomly proclaim “significant heritage values” in order to enjoy our rightful seaside retreats deep inside a public national park

#4067 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

RNP shack at Little Garie, NSW [Jul-2019 511kb]

Golden sunlit uplands

Import alien species to remind you of home, then watch helplessly as they spread throughout the environment

#4048 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The invasive plant species Common Gorse spreads along the Taieri Gorge, NZ [Dec-2017 818kb]

Remarks…
This shot was taken while hanging out the door of the Taieri Gorge tourist train. Had actually wanted shots of the train taking a curve, but looked around and saw the weed-covered gully (next time it might be an idea to stay safely inside inside the carriage and just point the camera out the window). There might not be a “next time” however, as the line was closed in 2020 due to COVID related financial pressures, and the reopened line now only runs to Hindon, well short of where this photo was taken

Captive audience

Cruise ships, nursing homes, schools and daycare centres provided an ideal way to disseminate contagious disease (Sepkowitz, 2014)

#4052 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Green Thunder waterslide on the Carnival Spirit cruise ship, berthed at Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Dec-2014 207kb]

The signs were all there

The pressure kept increasing, but everything appeared to be still within safe limits

#4039 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Steam relief chimney, Dey Street NYC [Oct-2017 173kb]

Memories of what's to come

The last thing we wanted was to extirpate all the large vertebrates (WWF, 2018)

#4051 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Deceased sulfur-crested cockatoo, Warrimoo [Dec-2017 149kb]

Remarks…
The cockatoo — which had died overnight — was lying in a neighbour's front yard. What was fascinating was watching the ants explore the corpse. Used the 100mm APO (11352) to get in close to bring out the details. And yes the Dali references [1] [2] were deliberate

Siri versus wild

Here's one of me tweeting that I uploaded an Instagram of myself taking a selfie while on holidays somewhere

#4003 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

The viewing platform of the Scenic Railway at Katoomba [Nov-2011 561kb]

Foundations of a globalist millennium

Ceaseless construction activity underpinned our economic vigour and internationalism

#4061 IMG thumb

Click to enlarge…   Ξ  

Parammatta Square construction site [Jul-2018 165kb]

Topics