> John Wheeler [mailto:wheelej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] wrote:
> Well, asking anyone from Sydney where the best subjects are
> is probably not as clever as asking someone from elsewhere as
> tourists always seem to know more about one's home town than
> one does.
John is absolutely correct. The volume of suggestions are making
me feel like a stranger in my own city. :-) Mind you, I live
hear but I've never in my life been inside the Opera House.
> ...the art deco Modern Art Museum building
I love this building. They were going to knock it down at
one stage to put up...probably massively priced apartments,
but that idea was given the flick on protest. Next to it
is a reasonable sized grass area where lots of people sit
and relax looking across Circular Quay to the Opera House.
I think it's popular with lunchtime office workers and
folks like yourself, Wayne, who need a rest from all the
walking.
> and of course around to the left is the Opera House.
...which, despite the number of photos that have undoubtedly
been taken of it, is still I think one of the best photo
opportunities, especially if you get up close-and-personal
with it. I'm always surprised to see another novel angle
on it in a photo.
> of the underside of the coat hanger.
...again, I can only reinforce what John says. It's a good
(and very impressive) look from underneath.
> These are in Macquarie Street...
Ahhh, a place where I can offer a suggestion. At the end of
Macquarie is Hyde Park, and apart from the Archibald Fountain,
there's lots of people shots to be taken if that's your interest
(the big chessboard and chess tables surounding it can be a
swarm of chess-minded people during the middle of the day).
If not, there's the avenue of trees (big figs joining overhead)
that are lit with fairy-lights at night (a small note here -
that light "rain" you feel on a summer night under the trees
isn't rain. It's a lovely little fall of pee from the
fruitbats eating above :-) ). At the end of this avenue is
the War Memorial and the pool of remembrance. It's a
big solid block of a building (as many of these are) that's
quite attractive and has a smallish museum inside. If it
interests, it's a nice spot to do the obvious; reflect.
> behind which is the Domain (very large park with great
> views of the Harbour)
Again, if it's an interest, next to the Domain is the
Art Gallery of NSW. You might want to check for any interesing
exhibitions that are on when you're here at the website as
there seem to be some interesting exhibitions on:
http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/
Just further along from that is Mrs Macquaries Chair, where
you have one of the most photographed views of the Opera
House with the Harbour Bridge behind it. For novelty, a
hell of a lot of folk get their wedding photos done here,
including a lot of Japanese couples out here for their
weddings and honeymoons. From the Chair, you can walk around
the water's edge through the Botanical Gardens to the Opera
House and Circular Quay again (the Gardens are the daytime
roost for the fruitbats - if you've a long lens, their
daytime antics might be interesting photography, but there's
also a lot of birdlife and peoplelife there too.
You sound like you are going to be here during the middle of
the Sydney Festival, so have a look here for stuff that
might interest:
http://www.sydneyfestival.com.au/
> In Pitt Street you can access the Centrepoint Tower which
> has a revolving restaurant at the top from which you can almost
> (but not quite) see NZ.
You don't have to go to the restaurant of course. There is
an Observation Level (it doesn't revolve, but that's because
it's fairly open and you can walk all the way around). They
actually have panes of glass marked with a big camera
symbol. You'll note the different reflective properties
of this pane - neat of them to do that! There's also a
sway-meter, so you can see how much you're currently
swaying up there.
There's another revolving restaurant at the top of Australia
Square called "The Summit". Neither of these two are probably
to be considered Sydney's best restaurants foodwise (try
Rockpool or Forty One...but book early!), but they've the best
views which would be good for that, including the "family
holiday snap" factor.
> Then there's the Queen Victoria Building in George
> Street with, inside, its very fancy clock that has all
> sorts of figures jumping around four times an hour that has
> just been installed.
I have to say I hate this clock, but I certainly agree that
it's worth seeing (and everyone else seems to disagree with
my opinion :-) )
> From here it is a short walk down to Darling Harbour with lots
> of photogenic stuff particularly on weekends including our
> National Maritime Museum.
Also, the Aquarium which is pretty flash. I've been three times
(though you have you're own one down in Melbourne along similar
lines, which I understand is also a bit of a ripper).
> At the other end of the QVB is the Town Hall with
> St Andrews cathedral next door.
There's also St Marys up next to Hyde Park. It's finally had
it's steeples put on, and the forecourt redesigned (or rather,
put back). I think it was bowling greens at one stage. The
forecort is a pretty large, relatively bare area, but I
understand a big open "square" area is traditional for many
cathedrals (as a pre- or post-church gathering point for the
community??? I love cathedrals. I could do a cathedral-tour
of Europe and be a very happy little chappy).
> If you're staying in North Sydney you may like to walk across
> the Harbour Bridge rather than catch the ferry. This will give
> you great views of the city and harbour; you can even go to
> the top of the South East pylon from which the views are even
> better.
This is one of the best Harbour/Opera House views to be had,
and would be a great way to start the day with the walk across
the bridge from Milson's Point as John suggests. The walk also
gives you a good idea of the scale of the bridge (and the pylon
has some a fair bit of history display inside it).
Other things to do on the ferry are to catch one to Taronga
Zoo. Great photo op's there, including some views back to
the city. The new gorilla enclosure I could hang around most
of the day, watching the gorilla-interaction (until the
silverback sorts their arguments out :-) ). For a nice lunch,
I like Doyles around at Watsons Bay rather than the one at
the Quay. It's a nice ferry-trip (smaller-type ferry), and
if you book a table on the Doyles on the jetty rather than
the original on the beach, it's generally quieter, and
with better views (especially when they slide the big
windows open to let that harbour breeze in). Again, you look
back towards to the city, and there's walks up around to
South Head and the infamous "Gap". The ferry-trip heads
around the bays of some of the more affluent spots on
the harbour ("bloody, stinkin' rich" in other words ;-) ).
There's a nudist beach over that way, inside the harbour
and very secluded, but you don't want to be taking your
camera there (well, you might, but there's that whole
200mm f4 suppository thing you'd have to worry about). If
it's a bad weather day though and you're over there, that
beach is empty of nudists and is a wonderful tiny beach
backed by sandstone cliffs and overhangs.
You can get a tour of Pinchgut/Fort Dennison too. Good
photo op's there I reckon. To save walking through the
city to get to Darling Harbour, you can get a ferry from
Circular Quay. It takes you under the bridge, past a
few of the really old wharves (like Pier 1) plus some
high-priced apartment renovations, and drops you at
the Aquarium or Darling Harbour proper (it's an easy walk
between the two). The monorail passes through Darling
Harbour, but whether you can consider that photogenic
or not is a matter of (much disputed in Sydney) opinion.
Another easy walk from Darling Harbour are the fish
markets (trawlers and the like on the water there, plus
the markets themselves), and the big ANZAC Bridge (quite
photogenic, though probably best in certain lights). Of
course, then you're getting further and further away.
A lof of easy walks one after the other can take you
one long walk back to where you're staying!.
Roger's suggestions were also excellent. I highly recommend
his "Observatory Hill" suggestion, and it's just at the south
end of the bridge (on the side opposite to the Rocks), so
you can make it part of that walk across the bridge. Manly
is a nice, close (by ferry) beach if you're after a bit of
a bodybash or suntan too. I personally prefer it to Bondi,
but I've always likes the northern beaches most, having
my grandparents from there.
Oh, and if you're walking around and you see two blokes
hauling around two big black-and-tan dogs (Airedale Terriers),
make sure you say "G'day"! :-) I don't live *quite* in the city,
but I walk there in about 10 minutes from the inner-east suburbs.
On weekends, we often walk through Hyde Park, down to the Domain,
and on to Mrs Macquaries Chair. It takes a while - some OS
tourists like having their photos taken with the dogs. It's
quite a bizarre experience.
Any specific questions, ask away. If there's some information
you want me to get and post down, just let me know.
Cheers
Marc
Sydney, Oz (more specifically for the "locals", Surry Hills)
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