"My New Scarf"
Multiple Images [ Large Rainbow Version ]
Good things come to those who wait! This is the Zyasta polar-fleece orange-transition scarf I ordered from Jono, a couple of months earlier. It's actually become quite warm now and so a scarf isn't as useful, but I'm certain it'll be very useful next year. (That's Ashwin, by the way - in complementary orange witch's hat.)

"Bridge Collage"
[ Large Rainbow Version ] Multiple Images
As we exited the train at our last stop in Circular Quay, we looked out across the harbour and we were met by that wonderful site unique to Sydney: the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Here's a compilation of photos - from bottom to top: taken from the station, taken from the Opera House, a shot of the little place we ate dinner.

"The Opera House"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
It holds a majestic presence over us, its curves arcing high above our heads - it's the Sydney Opera House! Designed by Jorn Utzon and opened officially in 1973 (heh! I should know all this, since I studied it for my year 8 Visual Arts assignment), it is unique among buildings - to put it simply, I've never seen anything like it. Here's a nice shot of it a couple hundred metres from the front door.

"Robot Magee"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
We arrived at the base of the Opera House quite a while earlier than was needed - the show wasn't to start for a good hour or so, we sat and ate McDonald's (much to the consternation of certain others who were displeased with our lack of style) and entertained each other by taking photos and doing robot impressions. Here is an example of the former with an example of the latter. (Sorry Patrick, I know your eyes look strange... I don't know why!)

"The Whole Gang"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Thank the LORD for tripods. Not only do they let you do funky night photography with ease, but it lets you take a photo of without being next to the camera (yay, automatic shutter!). Here's all of us just outside the Opera House, with the lit harbour behind us. Very cool.

"Oooh, Lights!"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
I wonder if architects knew this was going to happen when they made their first skyscrapers, with glass windows, and filled them with lights. Perhaps they had no idea, but when they switched on the power for the very first time, the whole construction lit up like nothing they'd ever seen before! Well, in any case, bright buildings hedging the skyline are definitely 'oooh' quality. :)

"The Theatre Within"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
It was time. Packed up the tripod, got all our rubbish together - I scrunched up the wrapping from my two cheeseburgers, took a shot at the bin, got it in (but no-one saw - happens every time!) - and then we were moving, into the theatre. As we got close, I squinted and found a photo opportunity in the entrance. I let everyone in ahead of me, and then... *snap*!

"Audience"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside the theatre, but as soon as we were out of the performance hall (which had a very large chunk of ice in it...! Ask me...), the little silver piece of kit was out again and sitting comfortably in my hand. And once we were outside, we realised we had some time to kill. So with literally half the main cast of the Musical on hand, we just started singing songs... pop songs, old songs, Musical songs, and in the end we even sang the school anthem. We even had an audience throughout the performance! (Sadly, all bar two left after we had finished our rendition of the school song.)

"Leaving The Grief Behind"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Here is us after having decided to leave the Opera House to head back into the city. We were all walking pretty fast, so that blur in front of the camera is us. "The Grief" that we left behind actually was the play we watched - called "The Seven Stages Of Griefing" with Deborah Mailman (of Secret Life Of Us fame).

"Lighthouse"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
I ran a short way in front of the group and then peered down the road - this was the site which met my eyes. I thought, 'who would need a lighthouse when the city itself was like a shining beacon?'. When I thought about it more, I realised I'd never seen a lighthouse before. I'll have to try and find one.

"A Night On The Harbour"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
'Love this photo! (Well, yes, I love pretty much all of them, especially those with people in them, but this one is extraordinarily cool. Okay, so a lot of them are extraordinarily cool, but - aww, just read the description!) This is a lovely shot of the harbour lit by a bright ship in the background. The water shimmers very nicely but obviously quite differently to what would happen if it was the Sun (see Sparkles, in the First Gallery). I have so many wonderful memories from nights I have had on the harbour - I can't explain it, it's just a special atmosphere that you don't get anywhere else at any other time - but regardless, when you have the chance, spend a night on the harbour.

"Jazzy"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
For this shot, I was originally going to catch this lamp-post on its own. But what you will be missing from the photo is the sound playing in the background - jazz, on a sax, in the restaurant nearby. That, complete with Esther's clothes (the beret especially) - it just oozes of a film or jazz musical of decades past.

"Looking Flash"
Multiple Images [ Large Rainbow Version ]
I love plays on words. The title here is my weak attempt at making one. The last group photo we had was using a long exposure - this one was just using, you guessed it, a flash. And I thought everyone was pretty well dressed too. So... 'looking flash' was the logical decision.

"Fast Taxis & Slow Fountains"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Another long exposure shot. I set up the tripod with the intention of catching the fountain and the street lights behind it - but as I released the shutter, a taxi sped by, headlights blazing. That taxi became the bright white streak in front of the roundabout. Very nice!

"Harry's Uncle's Building"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Only next to the last photo was this tall apartment building overlooking the harbour. Now, Harry, I'm going to need your help on this one: I only caught the edges of the words but I thought I heard you say that your uncle owned this building. How majestic! I'm sure some of my uncles have owned corner shops before - do they count for anything?

"Like The Light Of A Thousand Suns"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
If you've been paying attention, you'll know that I'm a keen astronomer. I'm not just that, but I'm also an amateur render artist (I make pictures with computers... think Star Wars), and astronomy is one of my favourite subjects. I have a render named very similarly to this one - it's my impression of a binary star system - but as I looked Heavenward to the city's nightsky, I realised it looked very much like this. Things imitate, it's amazing!
(PS. That's Andrew's head in the foreground. Lookin' good, dude.)

"High Rise"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Any photographer will tell you: lighting is everything when composing a photo. I learnt that lesson as a render artist (click here and find your way around, it's a sample of my work), and it's even truer with photos. I had been looking for a photo like this all night, of the high rise towering over us, lights blazing for late night office workers. Came out well, I think.

"Fine Architecture"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Here is the building on the city side of Circular Quay Station. You can see the group of us marching across the pavement as the two blurs near the bottom. I don't know why... but stone buildings enchant me (ooh, just you wait till I find a cathedral or a basilica or something!).

"Epping Night"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Inevitably, our night our night was coming to an end, and we headed back into the station as time started getting into the double-digit hours post meridiem (that's the latin spelling). The train ride was pleasant - we were just about the only people on the train and acted accordingly loud - but we were soon off the Tangara and back at Epping. As we crossed the bridge over the main road below, I lookd down the road and saw a photo. (People who catch the Epping bus will find this place very familiar, but they mightn't have seen it at night and like this.) I hurriedly set up the tripod (and held up the whole group - thanks for being patient, guys!) and took aim - releasing the shutter as a bit of traffic passed by. Et voila!

"Cyclamens"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
I admire my mum and my sister - for many reasons, but one of them is that they have wonderful green thumbs. (Thinks back to experience on school farm... thinks of how bad a farmer he still is... tries to forget about it.) They gro a lot of flowers and other assorted cool plants. I... uhhh, I provide media coverage. Here are some nice ones - they're called "Cyclamens". Enjoy!

"Buds"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Here are soon-to-be flowers - buds of a big plant in a pot on my front verandah. The photography I want you to notice is the way the buds fall out of focus as you move further back. Neat, huh? (*silence*)
Well, hey, I think it's cool.

"Bugs"
[ Large Rainbow Version ] Multiple Images
Hmmm, what's with the one-word mono-syllabic titles sharing the letters 'b', 'u' and 's'? Not sure, I think it's just a coincidence. Anyway, here are some green crickets. If you want to know how large they are... well, see those gentle purple flowers they're standing on? Each one is about the size of your little finger (approximately; since everyone has different size hands. I have small hands). The one on the left's pretty small, huh?

"Apex Of The Ziggurat"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
One of the common features of most ancient civilisations is that they like building what archaeologists and anthropologists like to call "colossal structures". The Mayans and Egyptians had pyramids; the Romans had their Colosseum and the Greeks had their Parthenon. The ancient Mesopotamians had what we call ziggurats. Similar to pyramids - they had the same basic shape of a geometric square pyramid - but they were much more ornate, with tiers and ornaments and other cool stuff. (Contrast to the sleek, minimalist style of the Egyptian pyramids.) It's alleged that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Tower of Babel were both ziggurats. As I shot this photo of a plant at Stirling Reserve, it struck me that this would have been what the apex of a ziggurat would have looked like. (*silence again*) I hate it when that happens...

"Free Setup"
[ Large Rainbow Version ] Multiple Images
Ahhh, much awaited and much enjoyed - Free Day. Here is a few of us setting up the gear. Sadly, I must say, though Free Day was by most accoutns a success (not that you could measure it by how much profit we made!), most people completely missed the point. Talk to me about it - especially if you didn't understand or thought it was just a bit of a silly idea from the ISCF. Cheers!

"Five Guys Under A Table"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
It turned out that the day was very warmed - no coincidence, I think - which was very good for everyone eating ice cream. Here are a few guys who helped wit the setup - from memory, Nahm, Duckboy (Phil), Will, Rok (Tin-lok) and Lung - taking refuge from the heat under one of the tables.
Nahm: So, how do we look, Eddie?
Me: Like... *thinks hard* ...five guys under a table.
What, did you expect me to say something else?

"Cake Cutters"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Could the name be any more self-explanatory? Here are Aaron, Rachel, Charm and Susie - discovering the rigours of cutting cake with lots of yummy icing on top.

"Odd Jobs"
Multiple Images [ Large Rainbow Version ]
As is often the case with events like these, little odd jobs just seemed to be popping up everywhere. Here are some of them - holding down paper so it didn't fly away (well done Yewon! it was very windy), filming the whole event (something I definitely empathise with), and giving thanks for the food!

"The Masses"
[ Large Rainbow Version ] Multiple Images
As the lunch bell went, the rush began, and the first wave (year seven - always so punctual!) reached the makeshift setup we had in front of the demountables. Here's a couple of shots of the serving tables.

"Circetheatre"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
As people were given their food, they moved on to the break dancing competition, and a natural circle formed around the dancers. Here it is, viewed from afar near the farm mechanics lawn.

"Breaking Collage"
[ Large Rainbow Version ] Multiple Images
This is a huge image - it's actually nine photos! It's got the best moments from the comp, including a very nice audience shot and starring performances like Jun & Ray (in the thumbnail there - spinning!), Johnny, Joey (in the wig), Magee, Ashish, Jono and Aaron. Well worth the wait of loading to have a look.

"In The Audience"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
As I looked around the audience, I couldn't help but notice all the smiles - either I had exceptionally poor vision, or everyone was really enjoying it! Huzzah!

"Car In Motion"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Do you remember "Prefect In Motion"? (Look in the Third Gallery.) Well, on the way back from the Year 11 "Writing Event", we were real bored on the bus, so we tried to recreate the effect... with a car.
Here is Anupam's success!

"Soccer Ball Exercises"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
Getting injured is not a pleasant thing (I have plenty of experience). The road to recovery can often be as painful as the injury itself, and tedious on top of that. But when you can make the recovery fun (or funny), everything becomes so much easier! Here is my brother, my sister and I - helping my brother with a rolled ankle and torn ligaments by playing hot potato with a soccer ball while standing on one foot (doctor's orders - strengthens the ligaments). Taken with a tripod and timer. A spoonful of sugar...

"Amus Boy"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
You think you know someone, and then it turns out that they're ten times cooler than you thought they were. (It's a process I go through way too often here at Ruse!) Nguyen is a good example. As well as being a state-class runner (I sometimes try to race and outrun him - not smart), crazy and brave enough to do 4U maths, and also a Prefect, he is up to his AMus on piano! Here he is, practising his assessment piece. After playing a flawles rendition of some crazy music which is way too complex for my liking, he gives a cry and exclaims: "Aaaaarrr, I messed it up!!" Go figure. ;) Keep it up, Nguyen!

"One Of Many"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
A typical school morning spent hanging out on the library verandah, and who should I meet - but Kien! This photo was taken early September, very near Kien's birthday - hence the title. You see, September seems to be the month of birthdays, in my obsercation. I have seven birthdays listed on my calendar for September, and I'm the kind of derelict who's missing most people's birthdays - so seven in a month is a lot! You know, since there's around 160 of us in the ground, there's almost a birthday every second day! It's crazy.

"Channel Ten"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
It's not everyday you pass Channel Ten's studio. In fact, apart from this time, I'd never passed it before. Kudos to Anupam for getting such a nice shot while the bus was bumping up and down (taken on the same day as "Car In Motion").

"Grevillia At Dusk"
[ Large Rainbow Version ]
One of the challenges of becoming a good photographer is working with light available, rather than working against it (the flash is the epitomy of the latter approach, which is why I try so adamantly to avoid it). I spotted this flower (a grevillia) the day before but intended to capture it at noon the next day, when the sun would make everything a nice shade of gold. Instead, I became a bit... errr, sidetracked taking some of the previous photos in my backyard. When I checked the time, it was already 5:30PM - dusk, the sun was setting - and now, everything was a nice shade of blue. Here's the result, as unintended as it may be. :)