sightseeing in Canberra

On the day that was set aside for sight seeing as a group what does the weather do? Oh yes! There was a thunderstorm through the night and it was not exactly “wild” but it certainly wasn’t sunny when the coach pulled up to the front door of the Country club. (The Country Club is where the Convention is being held.) A row of umbrellas between the front door and the coach door amused me – why stand in the rain and then have to struggle to put down the umbrella before entering the coach when the distance between the two entrances is only six paces?

Off we went with the wet raincoats contributing to the steam that built up and made looking through the windows impossible! Realising our plight the driver instructed everyone on how to open the top window vent to let some cool air in!

Our first port of call was the National Film and Sound archives where we were ushered into the theatre.

Entering the imposing entrance

We had three presentations. They were SO interesting!

The three individuals who gave us the presentations are so passionate about what they are doing that you could not help but be fascinated by their talks. We were told about the actual preservation of film and shown several examples of before restoration and after as well as watching a very amusing clip of the running of the first Melbourne Cup – without actually seeing the race except as a diversion in the background!

We were told about glass slides that were one of the first moving picture shows and shown how they worked. A short film showing a few of them working had sound effects and music added and that really gave them an extra dimension! Good fun!

Fortunately the rain had stopped when we walked from the Film and Sound Archives to the Museum because it was almost a kilometer between the two buildings.

 Young at heart and fit as fiddles!

The people unable to walk that distance were taken by car. There were only about five of them.

What an unusual and dramatically shaped building is the Museum! The main entry took my breath away!

 The foyer of the museum

It was past lunch time so everyone made a beeline for the cafeteria to recharge the batteries! Me included! Not interested in stuffed animals or relics from past civilizations I found the camera and information about Frank Hurley and more examples of glass positives more to my taste.

 A glass positive - a light is behind the glass

After the walk through the museum we were taken on an interesting drive around Capital Hill having landmarks and buildings pointed out to us as we went. We drove around several of the foreign embassies but saw no one of any importance – in fact we saw no person at all!

Up Red Hill lookout we drove but didn’t stop, instead we moved on to Ainslie Lookout where everyone dismounted and swung their cameras into action – the clouds were breaking up and the city below us was beginning to glisten.

 Telstra tower in the background.

Shots were taken of all the landmarks including yet another of ANZAC Parade. It certainly looks impressive from up here.

 ANZAC Parade from War Memorial to the Old and the New Parliament Houses

The day was rounded off with a splendid meal – the “Convention Dinner” and an entertaining talk by a retired Public Servant – I am still smiling. His talk was about hobbies and totally not what I was expecting after the introduction! He knew how to hold an audience’s attention! I wish I was as skilled.

AJ

Capital works

Well I didn’t think that I would find it too difficult to link to a wireless network – but even with the help of the motel manager I failed to link with the Miranda motel’s free internet – well, they do say that nothing is for free! Usually there is a pop up that asks for the security code – but we couldn’t get this to happen! Grr! Just as well I have the pre-paid Telstra thingy with me!

This morning I managed to find out that parking is almost impossible to find when you are looking for it! I thought I would take a quick look at Parliament House – but I need more than road signs to get me there – I couldn’t find the road that would take me there – I went round and round it! I did not come across a road sign that told me where to get off the road and up to where I wanted to be! Time ran out for me so I gave up and drove over to pick up Colleen and Shirley and the three of us went to take a look at the War Memorial. Finding parking for that was much easier – we had a local with us to give direction!

 Colleen and Shirley talk seriously before going in to see the War Museum.

The Museum is a simple but magnificent building with guided tours running all the time. We really could not afford the time for a tour so we wandered around by ourselves, I took quite a few video shots with the Pani-blog but here are three that I have taken from my Nikon shots.

Here I am looking towards the entrance from near the beautiful tomb of the unknown soldier.

The long pond is decorated with coins that have been tossed in - I wonder if people think that their wish will come true if they throw money into fountains and ponds, you often see coins in decorative water features in public places.

 This last image was taken from the steps in front of the Australian War Memorial and is the view along ANZAC Parade. Parliament House is at the far end of the parade.

This evening after the official opening of the FAMM Convention by the ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, the attendees to the evening enjoyed a delicious meal and a great deal of camaraderie.  A few competitions with film titles followed - I am not very good with that sort of thing, not being much of a film buff! Fortunately for our table we had a fellow and two ladies who were very clever on this topic so we did quite well!

Since I am not able to get the free internet connection I was expecting I have topped up my pre-paid internet so I have no worries about running out while I am away! The blog will continue!

AJ

Photos of Melbourne trip

Once you have been away, even for a few days, there seems to be so many things to catch up on! I have only just managed to get around to working on my photographs of my visit to Melbourne - many needed major correction due to the distortion caused by the height of the buildings. I will make another post soon to show how the corrections were acchieved.
Not all my pictures are here - I still have the pictures I took on a walk along a few of the city streets to upload. However there are quite a few here that should keep you entertained for a while!
I was very lucky with the weather when in Melbourne - only on one day did it rain and that was when I spent the day wandering around the Tutankhamen exhibition (truly magnificent and something I will treasure in my mind for years) and then in the company of friends.
So let me take you to see Melbourne through "my" eyes!
AJ

Melbourne in August 2011

If you wish to see the pictures as a slide show, After clicking on the picture in this blog, click on "slideshow" above the collection of photos. When the first picture appears change the length of time from 3 seconds to 5 so that you can read the captions.
If you press F11 you will fill the screen with the pictures, removing the menu bar at the top of the screen. Remember to press F11 once the slideshow has finished to restore the menu bar. Esc. (the keyboard key top left of your keyboard) will stop the slideshow.
When you make Google your email account you too will be able to share lots of photos with your friends in this way - and have a blog page too. Google gives this all to you FREE!

Into the City

My morning was spent teaching my host computer techniques – nothing new in that activity! I always seem to find someone who needs some help with one program or another. Today it was video editing. The program I had brought with me did not work on the computer so I downloaded a freebie which is actually very good for someone just starting out. For anyone wanting more control over the sound (this free program will only allow the entire sound track to be made louder or softer) this program will not do – so I hesitate to recommend it. It is much better to start with a program that will do all that is required and learn how to use it than to get a program that you will end up feeling it is inadequate.

After lunch the clothes were tucked back into the suitcase and Mary and I were taken into the city where we booked into the Mantra on Carlton. This will be our home for three nights.
I just have to share a picture of some of the old buildings - these are very expensive and very small homes.

After the mandatory cup of tea (Something I just HAVE to do when arriving at any new place!) I took my camera for a walk because across the road from the Mantra I could see a park and beyond that the Exhibition building.

The sun was still out and the clouds made the sky very pretty so this afternoon was perfect for taking a few pictures. Off I went and was soon in the park and opposite a magnificent fountain. There were lots of couples taking photos of each other with the fountain behind them but I chose to have my fountain on its own!

Walking around the fountain I noticed there was a rainbow so I turned the circular polarizing filter until it was the most colourful and this is the result.

Then I walked around to the sunny side of the building and took a shot from there.

Next door to the Exhibition building is the Melbourne Museum. This is an amazing looking building. I wandered all the way around it and took lots of photos.

After I am back on the Gold Coast and with my regular laptop, I will put the photos I have taken in Melbourne into a web album and share the link to it.

This evening I am off to have a meal at a “posh” Indonesian Restaurant. I have put on my glad rags! Wanna come?

AJ

day one in Melbourne

My first day in Melbourne is now a memory, the sun decided to stay hidden for my introduction to this southern capital but my host for this first day, Barbara, was able to take me around the bay south of the city and show off some of the beauty of that coast line. Of course I was told that on a sunny day that you could see right across to the point on the other side and how beautiful the city looked from here! The imagination had to do! On this day the city was a blurry blob of grey shapes masked by grey haze.

It is such a long time since I came to Melbourne that it is like coming to the place for the first time! Driving from the Airport past new city buildings was thrilling. The straight up and down style of functionality has been replaced by curves and dramatic extrusions and exciting architecture.

There is a dog in the home I am staying and being a doggy person it is difficult to fathom why this little schnauzer is keeping me at paws length. I just had a mini cough and the wretched thing barked wildly! I feel on the outer!

This morning the sun is making an effort to shine – there is blue sky and a few clouds that do look as if they could get thicker – but I will keep my fingers crossed! I love the sun!

No photos to share just yet but I intend to do something about that very shortly!

AJ