Tag Archives: Council Chambers

The Last Decision about Chambers Here

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Architecture, Melbourne, Photography, Victoria

≈ 75 Comments

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Actually it will be my last post that I am going to be doing on the Council Chambers of the City of Melbourne.  It seems like I have been doing these images for ages, but then again, it also seems ages since my last one.  It is always sad when you realise that there will be no more, which is probably why I have put off doing this one.

Eyes to the FrontI found this image quite hard to do.  It was easy to photograph, I just stood at the back and pointed the camera to the front of the room.  However, when I got it on the Eyes to the Front - Originalcomputer, I found it very confusing, I didn’t know where to look and I thought that people viewing it would find it the same.

I am going to include the original image so you can see what I am talking about.  For me the challenge was to direct your eye to where I wanted it to be.  The original is a nice record shot of the room, but I think the first image is more of an art image and is much better at directing you to see what I wanted, which is the chairs.

Someone said to me the other day, “your work is always so dark”, then she bought 4 postcards from me.  So I said, why do you want the postcards if you think my work is dark.  She replied that she didn’t say she didn’t like it, she was just stating that my work is dark.  I suppose that is very true.  It is quite dark, I like that, I don’t have a problem with it.

I have two more images for you, I just love these, they aren’t really important, but fun.

Ex-Lord-Mayor

A little sign on the back, just so you know who sits here.

ChairmanBoth these plaques on the back of each chair that sits out the front.  They are the chairs on either side of the Lord Mayor’s chair.  I thought they were too good not to take photos of them.

I was given an amazing opportunity to go and photograph the inside of the Council Chambers and I really want to say thanks to those that helped me.  I will send emails for that.  I find myself in the position now of, what happens next.  I don’t know what to photograph next.  I have a couple of ideas, but I need a new building.  If you have any ideas, please let me know.

I thought, as this is the last post on the Council Chambers, I thought I might put a gallery with all the images I have processed from that room.

I hate it when projects finish.  I added the images from today to the gallery as well so you can see them all in it.

Now off to find some inspiration somewhere else, in another building, I hope.  Remember if you would like to see the room for yourself, you can, the City of Melbourne run tours of the Melbourne Town Hall daily and for more information the link is here.

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Taking Your Seat in the Chambers

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Architecture, Melbourne, Photography

≈ 56 Comments

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It has been a while since I posted an image from the Council Chambers in the Melbourne Town Hall, but I hadn’t forgotten about them.  I still have more I want to show you, but while I was doing the other images I set them aside.  Seat in ChambersI am just going to start off by saying, that I do like this image.  I like the way the seats really stand out, and how plush they look.  I can also say they are very comfortable.  You can see a brass ring at the bottom of each one and if you pull that it brings the seat out further so you can relax into it.  Even the carvings on each seat are so ornate.  Every detail was considered.

I didn’t process as much of this image as I thought I might, I almost ignored the rest of the room and tried to make sure your focus would be on the leather seats and ornate carving.  I have also lightened it up more, as the room is quite dark.

I still have some more images to process from this room, but they are running out.  I really need to start looking for some new places to photograph.  I have some ideas, but I might need help, but more on that another time.

The posts for the weekend are prepared, and have been scheduled to publish, one a day, I hope.  You never really know with these things if they will work, but fingers crossed.  I need to pack and get ready now.  I am pretty excited about it.  I hope you are looking forward to the photos.  I also hope the leaves have started changing in Bright and Harrietville, they say it is spectacular.  Wish me luck.

Sitting Tall

07 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by in Architecture, Melbourne, Photography

≈ 23 Comments

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Busy day busy week.  Had hoped to get more than one image done for you today, but stuff happened, and well, I only have one.

Chamber ChairsI chose this image because I liked how it highlighted the wood work in the chairs.  It is the best image I have to show you how wonderful those chairs are.  They are so ornate and I can imagine feeling so important sitting in them.

The middle one, the Lord Mayor’s chair is the one I spoke about last week, it is the oldest piece of furniture in the Melbourne Town Hall.  The carving is so intricate and so extraordinary.  It is worth going on the tour just to see the chair.

Next week I will show some more images from the room.  I will do the ones I had hoped to do today.

Order, Order in the House

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Melbourne, Photography

≈ 19 Comments

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Do they say that in Council Chambers?  I have no idea, but it seemed an appropriate title for the image I have for you today.

Three in a Row

I am sure I have shown you a similar photo to this a couple of weeks ago when I went on a tour of the Melbourne Town Hall.  I have been fortunate and was given the great honour of being allowed to go back and take photos of the Council Chambers.  I went on Tuesday and this is one of the shots that I got.  I love the three chairs that sit up straight and tall under the three windows in the arch.  The three chairs are separated from everyone else by the table and another table further down.  The chair on the left is for the Ex Lord Mayor, the middle chair, the most ornate one is for the Lord Mayor, the final one is for the Committee Chairman.

Three in a Row - HDR OriginalIt would be an amazing thing to be allowed to sit in that chair and call it yours.

When I went to take photos, I knew some that I wanted, and this was most definitely one.  I don’t know if the chairs stand out enough, but I find I can’t take my eyes off them.

I am trying out some new ways of doing my processing.  Some of it is the same, but how I do the blurring is different.  I don’t know if it works, but I actually like the way it is turning out.  I will continue to experiment.  The only real problem is that it now takes me so much longer to process the images.  This one took around 4 hours.  I was starting to think that I would never finish it.

I do enjoy that aspect of it though.  I have a lot of images from that day and you will, no doubt, get to see them over time.  I will also see if I can find you some of the history that goes with it as well.  I was told about a link, but I ran out of time.  There will be more images, so there is still time to give you the history.

It really is a most extraordinary room, so I hope you will enjoy other images.

Speaking of history, I was at the DCA building today, and the phone does not work anymore, well it is not connected.

WordAds

On the original blog I signed up for WordAds, as a lot of us do.  We do it thinking we will earn some extra money from our blogs and that is always good.  According to the terms and conditions people don’t have to click on the ads, it is done by impressions, so how many times the page is looked at. I assume that is what they mean.  Of course once you sign up, you find out that you won’t get any money until you have earned a $100 and therefore, you will have to continue it until you at least get that much, and they don’t care, because they get to put their ads on your blog.

IT IS SUCH A CROCK

Unless you are getting really really large numbers of hits then you may never be paid that $100.  Last month I had the largest number of hits ever on my blog, and in the 6 months I have had it, last month was almost the lowest amount they have paid me, well put in the account to pay me when I get to $100.  I am wondering if this is what they do.  How can it be so, it just does not make any sense.

At this rate I will never make that amount and they will win because they got to advertise on my blog for nothing.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE ADS, LET’S SEE IF IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

I have wondered if it does, as soon as I get to that $100 the ads will go.  I bet they pay me less and less each month so they never have to pay.

If you are thinking of doing WordAds, don’t bother, waste of time.  You won’t see the money from it.

Thunderstorms

We are in the middle of a massive thunderstorm here right now, it is so lovely.  I have muted everything just so I can listen to all the thunder.  Ah summer, I have missed this.

Visiting the Centre of Town

19 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by in Melbourne, Photography

≈ 39 Comments

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In yesterdays post I spoke about how I had been to the city to visit the Melbourne Town Hall.  You may remember some previous images I have shown you of the outside of the building just before Christmas.  It was the building that had the amazing light show on it.  I never realised that you could take a tour of the inside of the building.  So Klara and I went on one.  It was really amazing.  Such a beautiful building and obviously built during a time of great wealth in Melbourne, the gold rush era.

Council Chambers - 1Before we talk about the tour and the images, I need to explain, that the images aren’t great.  It is quite dark inside the rooms we visited.  I had to up the ISO as high as it would go, and that is probably one of the worse things about the D300s, the high ISOs give a lot of noise.  I couldn’t use a tripod, so I had to do what I could holding the camera, even with the highest ISO, I still had to have a wide aperture.  I am hoping that I will get to go back again and do some photos with a tripod.  I tried to get rid of as much noise as I could, but it is still there.  I was going to use Topaz DeNoise, but I see my trial has run out.  Might have to check out the one from Nik Software.

The image up there, as all the images today are, were taken in the Council Chambers Room.  A very opulent room where the council members of the City of Melbourne meet.  Three very important people sit in the three chairs above, the middle one being for the Lord Mayor of Melbourne.

Council Chambers - 2The rest sit in these seats.  It isn’t a large room, but then it is just for the local council.

The room is so beautiful.  The attention to detail was astounding.  It really is worth the tour just to see this room.  A room like this would never be built today.  The intricate carvings would cost so much money, and all the marble.  There are so many things to photograph in this room.  I really do think this is the room I would want to go back and photograph.

Council Chambers - 3This is taken from the back and looking to the Mayors chair.  You can see the trouble I had taking the photos.  HDR images would be a must here.  These are HDR images, but only with 3 images.  If I am allowed to go back, I hope to do more.

Mayor KlaraHere is my daughter Klara sitting in the Mayor’s Chair.  She didn’t take much convincing.  You can see some of the detail there that is on the chair.

I had a wonderful time on the tour.  It is a beautiful building and with a rich history.  Our tour guide was lovely and very knowledgeable.  Of course, there is a lot more to the building than what I have shown you here.  This is just from one room.  You also get to see the main hall, and if nothing is on you can go to the back and see all the organ pipes and see how the organ works.  We were shown the Melbourne Room where the Queen came for afternoon tea in 1954, and where the Beatles hung out when they came to Australia.  We went out onto the balcony and watched Swanston Street below.

One of the things that surprised me was how surprised they were that Klara and I wanted to do the tour.  Apparently they don’t get many people who live in Melbourne wanting to do it.  We both thought it was great.

If you would like to go on the tour, then check out the details below.

Contact details

03 9658 9658
townhalltour@melbourne.vic.gov.au
www.melbourne.vic.gov.au

Virtual Photography Field Trip

I have to get back to writing the Virtual Field Trip for my new client.  We have had various discussions about where to go and finally settled on a place in California.  I am as excited as she is about where she is going.  I convinced her to try photographing a subject she wasn’t sure about, I thought it was a great opportunity for her to learn how to do something new with me to help her. I have written most of it, time to go and do some more.

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