Monday 1 March 2010

Theme Day - Passageway

The colonnade of the old GPO in Martin Place - above, looking east - below, looking west
Designed by James Barnett and constructed between 1886 and 1891, the GPO was sold by the Commonwealth Government to private interests in 1997. It was reopened in 1999 as a mixed retail building with a Westin Hotel occupying the upper storeys.


I am most appreciative of a suggestion by Ben from Nelson Daily Photo which resulted in the following version of the above image. Thanks, Ben!


Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

43 comments:

brattcat said...

Nice choice, Julie, for the theme. I'm looking forward to seeing the interpretations of 'passageway' roll in. FYI I'm becoming more and more wizened by the hour...amazing the transformative power of pain.

Dina said...

You can't beat arches and archways for gracefulness.
And you captured some beautiful light coming in.

Piyush Garyali said...

The first shot is amazing Juile. I love passages and this one seems to be one long passage.

Kate said...

I would very much like to be walking down this very passageway!

Marla said...

Julie ~ These are beautiful. Makes me want to walk through them.

PurestGreen said...

Gorgeous golden light - almost amber. Dreamy.

Tash said...

Splendid photographs, Julie. I would love to spend time in this passageway.

Birdman said...

I love this image!

Lachezar said...

Very grand, I like it!
Beautiful photograph!

Jim said...

Brilliant shots Julie. Terrific choice for the theme day.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

toledonative said...

What a great shot! I love the curves and the warmth of the light.

cara said...

Looks like a gorgeous place to walk through. I wonder if it's the same Barnett as the lane in my post...
How was the photo shoot?

Rinkly Rimes said...

http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/2010/01/colonnade-of-time.html

Not a personal photograph but I hope it catches the mood.

Ann said...

Nice one - good perspective and lovely colour. Yes, mine is Devonshire Street tunnel. I was trying to do a nice moody b&w underpass shot but that's on my kaput hard drive.

Tussy said...

Nice pick! Beautiful.

BlossomFlowerGirl said...

Very nice, very nice indeed. The first one is my favourite, marvelous architecture and excellently posed. The tables? in the rear look very interesting.
Cheers.
Melbourne Daily Photo

Bill said...

That's a great passageway. I'd love to investigate the restaurant we see.

Chin said...

So cool! ;)

Hilda said...

Such lovely and graceful columns and arches!

Kim said...

You found a perfect subject! It reminds me of Rue de Rivoli quite a bit, and for some reason, the California missions. Lovely shots!
-Kim

raf said...

Two marvelous images, Julie! Love the golden tones accented by the light all through this old structure's majestic colonnade. The shops and restaurants are similar to my passageway post today, but with a much more elegant style.

Ben Nakagawa said...

I love the second shot so much. It has great potential for gallery space wall.
I would correct the angle a little and crop to square or 8x10 format (keep all from left and crop off the right side).
Fantastic urban image!

Don't why Blogger posing same comment multiple times after failing to the first one.
Here you go again.

Julie said...

Thank you for that, Ben. I have cropped it square and it makes a massive difference. Brings out the elegance of the stance of the waiter and adds to the pillars that are visible through the furthest archway. Don't think of things like that. Much appreciated.

Peter said...

I love these photos and this area. Thanks for the encouragement, regards
peter

Ben Nakagawa said...

I'm glad you are not offended by my comment. It's a beautiful shot.

Julie said...

It was an insightful suggestion. I will post the adjusted shot with immense appreciation.

Mo said...

love the third image

Ben Nakagawa said...

Wow, Julie! It's fantastic. It gives more clear interest to the main subject and same time it retain great atmosphere. Well, done!

Joan Elizabeth said...

I'm always fascinated to see what you choose for theme day. I like that building since its refurb though the shops are a tad expensive for me. The new crop is great with the person dressed in red adding a special spot of interest

Julie said...

Thanks, guys.

Joan, yes the red woman adds but I think the red banner above balances her, too. For me, it is the waiter, and the shine on his heels which I can almost imagine as a pair of white socks. How Fred Astaire he is!

Bergson said...

i visit your blog at 12 a clock

i'm hungry to see this passageway

Jilly said...

Beautiful! I thought for a second we were in Fabrizio's Turin. Beautiful arches, colonnades, vaulted ceilings. Wonderful colours. I truly wouldn't have known I was in Australia.

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

superb images. i wish i was there.

Lois said...

It's lovely Julie!

Lowell said...

Not only a great theme day choice, but your photographs are superb. I can imagine the hotel is rather pricey and the shops are expensive, too, but I wouldn't mind spending a little time there - you know, a year or two!

Uma por Dia said...

I love this photos, so alike from a place here. I might post them in a few days if lazyness doesn't catch me.
Good choice!

James said...

Wow! What a passageway. I would love to take a few pictures of it myself. These are really nice shots.

Unknown said...

The great thing about a photo like this is that it invtes us, maybe persuades us to see things that we would miss with a glancing look. Maybe what makes a good photographer is really seeing what is before you.

Kim said...

Wow, Ben's suggestion just made the photo seem like we are right there, peeking at the scene, almost in it. I like seeing the detail clearly at the end of the collonade, as it pulss my eye all the way through now. Like Fabrizio's white passage with the hanging lamps, I now the hanging lamps less as a line and more individually in this cropped view, which I didn't catch before. The view is compressed and covers a lot of distance so I'm thinking you used a long lens. This is really lovely.
-Kim

Chuck Pefley said...

Nice, Julie! I'm always a fan of arcade areas like this ... they feel so "old world" and civilized.

Unknown said...

Great colonnade shots!
Do you know there are 35kms of colonnades in the city of Bologna, Italy? I was amazed, but the city is so hot in summer that it surely makes sense.

I answered your questions on my page, but in case you haven't read it, here it goes:
Yes, this passageway looks rather strange, but maybe this will help to understand the pic:
1- It's a private passageway, you can see #20 on top of the 'arch';
2- In the old days (and this is pretty old) it was not uncommon for humble people to have one door (non existant here...) leading to a patio with several houses all under the same door number.
3- I believe many transformations must have taken place here over the centuries), maybe that's why this place simply doesn't make sense... (you can even see concrete in the background where there was once a door);
4- The picture is a tile panel, maybe baby Jesus! :-))) Honestly, no idea...
5- The old rusty plate outside on the right is actually a box belonging to the water system (AGUAS = waters), but I don't even know if it's still in use.

Anonymous said...

Ecellent pictures, nice compositions!!!!
I like this work.
Serge

ruma said...

Thank you for showing wonderful scenery.

Happy weekend.

From the Far East.
Best regards.
ruma