Straker down the lane(s)...

Two very different works by Perth based artist Drew Straker . Above, how totally cool is the camper van painted on an old dilapidated shed behind Mexican restaurant La Cholita on Williams St. in Northbridge.. check out the driver, he's seen better days :) Love it! Below a bit further down William St. (or up depending where you're coming from) this piece luminously glowing in uniquely Straker style outside popular laneway bar Ezra Pound.  Hope you had an excellent weekend, I'm having a few 'technical difficulties' with the new desk top.. bear with me :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..  p.s. check out this one here, so much talent.. !

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Conventional matters!

In past shots from Kings Park you may have noticed the building curved around the front of the city to the left above and below. I remember so well the controversy re the design and cost of the Perth Convention Centre.. when it opened in 2004 it was described as having an 'unprepossessing external appearance' and like a 'giant grey cockroach' :) It may well be externally 'challenged' but if you check  this link you will see that it has excellent facilities and is well used..

I know you've seen the view from Kings Park many times but it's almost impossible not to turn tourist and take more pics when up there, especially when the skies are so blue.. which by the way was not the case today :) I took these last week.  Picnics, posing and selfies.. it's all happening up there overlooking the city.. Hope you're having a good weekend, take care and stay safe..

Magical Melaleucas..

Take a piece of paperbark and 

write your wish

Bury it in the ground and

in three days dig it up and set it on fire

Releasing the wish to the universe... Ian Scott

You may need to embiggen these shots to get up close and personal with one of the most unusual trees you're likely to see. The Melaleuca quinquenervia aka the paperbark tree was, and in some areas probably still is, used by the indigenous Aboriginals in many ways, medicinal and practical. Herdsman Lake Regional Park has the densest area of paperbark trees that I personally have seen. Not quite 'enchanted' but it is an eerie and at the same time magical sight..

Described as 'thicker than paper but with a softer texture' it was tres tempting to reach across and pull a shard off the nearest tree, I resisted.. this time! I read that in Florida the paperbark has been deemed an invasive weed, the swampy area it thrives in does seem the perfect environment for alligators, thankfully not so in Perth :) Here's hoping you have a fabulouso weekend, take care and stay safe..

Visit James here to see more weekend reflections

Do go down in the (paperbark) woods today!

Bit of a picture overload today to make up for being so lazy yesterday :) On Wednesday we walked  around Herdsman Lake, a three square km parkland of open waters 7km NW of Perth city. The park, made up of  dense wetland rushes, paperbark and flooded gum woodlands is home to over 100 species of birds, some who migrate from far distant shores. If you've seen a paperbark tree you will agree that it is a most peculiar sight with it's multiple layered peeling bark, but to see a forest of paperbarks is something else.. will show you what I mean tomorrow, the boardwalk takes you right out through the swamp..  

Perfect place for nesting..

... and then there was the local out for a stroll in the warm morning sunlight.. walking a little ahead of us on the path Izzy Ibis who kept looking back to see if we were still there :) eventually the pressure was too much and she took off over the lake! Come back into the woods tomorrow, it's an eerie but oddly beautiful sight. Happy Friday, take care and stay safe..

Swamp explosion!

Do you ever take a shot simply because you can already see how it'll look after you've had a bit of fun with it.. just for the heck of it ? Even as I was taking this one, that's the original below, I could see a bit of zoom here, a bit of saturation there, not to mention a tiny smidgen of HDR all over and WHAM.. explosion! Not that I'm a fan of explosions but you know what I mean :) I'll tell you where I was and show you a few more shots tomorrow, amazing spot so close to the city. Have a good Thursday, take care and stay safe..

Boulangerie.. Jean Pierre Sancho.

Whenever I long for a crème brulée tart.. it happens :) a tiny taste of bliss, I head for Jean Pierre Sancho on Hay St. in the city. When Albin Sancho opened the first Sancho Bakery in 1904 in the medieval town of Lodeve in the South of France little did he know that many years later his legacy would be alive and thriving in the world's most remote city, Perth. The Jean Pierre on Hay St. opened in 2010 and was the first of six now around the city. Are you thinking about a crème brulée tart right now.. I am :) Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe..

'Memory of the Land'..

Whether you're a fan of surrealism or not it's impossible not be impressed by this huge scale work on the Central TAFE building in Northbridge by Ukrainian artist AEC titled 'Memory of the Land'. Surrealistic art is all about the 'symbolic', to understand the artist's interpretation of this work have a look here and if you check here you may see some of his work in your city. I took the first shot almost two months ago during Public2015 while it was still a work in progress, the second two days ago.. as of yesterday we are officially into winter, check the difference in the intensity of the sky, incroyable! I hope you enjoyed the theme for this month, it was excellent checking out stylish around the world. Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

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