Tuesday 8 December 2009

The far flung empire


Aching for home, the first white settlers to these shores nested by replication. To counter the drab olive of the bush, birch and oak were struck. In ignorance, bricked facades faced the prevailing breezes. Streets and avenues, majestic in concept yet rustic in fact, were signed York or Kent, Clarence or Sussex, Pitt or George.

Replacing the city markets in 1898, an entire city block adjacent to the Town Hall gave birth to a majestic, domed sandstone and copper ediface which, with a forelock tug, was christened the Queen Victoria Building.

Here be the stained glass window in the dome well on the eastern side, facing George Street.

24 comments:

brattcat said...

The top shot suggests a peacock's tail, fully opened. Nice compositions, Julie. Stained glass in a black background makes for wonderfully dramatic imagery. I followed your suggestion back to 43. This is such an interesting project, a very narrow way of seeing a place and yet rich with individual interpretation which reveals far more about 'place' than one would expect. Number 43 is particularly rich with visual detail. It is an eloquent collage of style and line. Thanks for sending me there.

Lois said...

I am a big fan of stained glass and these are beautiful Julie!

arabesque said...

the stained glass are so pretty...^-^
event he drama ans the angle of how you took it.

maryt/theteach said...

OMG, Julie! Stunning photos! My weekend reflection is a shot from outside the door of a assisted-living building in City Island, NY :)

Unknown said...

I have a great affection for stained glass windows. These are very beautiful. About Brattcat's comment on going back to Number 43 -- what am I missing here?


Having only recently discovered your blog I have been going back through the older posts and regretting that I did not discover you sooner. I am also visiting some of the other sites you link to and enjoying them as well, particularly Phil in Dublin. Lots of great stuff, thanks.

Julie said...

Bill, I have seen you dotted around my trail in spots. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Mary, I will check your previous reflection just in case, but look forward to this new one coming.

BD, I fnd it an engrossing blog and am working my way from 1 to 365. I love her writing style and the way she weaves topics in. Quite a talent, IMHO>

Sean said...

Love the first one Julie....

bitingmidge said...

A trip to Queen Vic in December and no photo of the Christmas tree?

Are you carrying your tripod now?

Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Julie said...

Patience, Peter!! The QVB Swarovski crystal tree is coming.

I did not use my tripod for these yesterday but carry it often now.

Ann said...

Gorgeous, I don't think I've ever really looked at those. Forgot about the QVB tree. Must pop up and have a look.

Unknown said...

The &7 blog is fascinating. I like the idea that she has been patiently harvesting numbers for this project and is now planting them one at a time. I am a bit overwhelmed. You have acquainted me with a number of blogs that I am trying to sort through, now I'm walking through 7&'s numbers and you have 4 blogs yourself. Were is the time for all this.

I have decided to shift gears with my own blog and focus more on interesting images with much less blah, blah, blah.

Jim said...

You've captured it beautifully Julie. The QVB is a fantastic building and it was brilliantly restored. I'm not a fan of the recent modern renovations, signage and paintwork that have somewhat lowered the heritage value.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Lowell said...

Good night, that's impressive! What's the building used for now?

At first I thought it was a church and I wondered what you were doing there! ;-))

Marka said...

Absolutely wonderful perspective in the first photo! It's great!

Marie-Noyale said...

Gorgeous fan shaped stained glass!
Reminds me of the beautiful fans some Spanish women still use on a hot Summer day

Leif Hagen said...

Simply fantastic stained glass - love it! What more could I say?!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

such beautiful and delicate stain glass. People must have loved their church in the olden days.

Julian Davis said...

I like the first picture most. Really a great piece of art .

Shot is excellent, right view from the front part.

Davine said...

Isn't Stained Glass so beautiful - oh to be so talented to create something like that

VP said...

I didn't know this building, I checked it out and spent half an hour reading happily about its marvels. Thank you for this and for the spectacular images you posted of it.

Joan Elizabeth said...

"Nested by replication" I like that term ... I think my home has quite some of that, harking back to our Qld roots.

My city photography trip ended up fizzer on the weekend ... ended up having an impromptu and very amiable lunch at QVB with people from church leaving little time for photography ... so didn't do much more than a quick rush by the Christmas tree and DJ's windows so nothing very satisfying.

Shirleyanne said...

Wow! Really love your photos of the stained glass.
They look stunning.

Stephen Van Tuyl said...

These are really nice. Sort of reverse silhouettes.

Julie said...

Thank you, Stephen. Much appreciated.