A few recent photos from around central Melbourne. The season is changing and the weather is again turbulent.
Melbourne skyline after light rain
Art House spire on St Kilda Road
During the last two weeks, lights have been fitted to the rows of trees outside of Melbourne’s casino.
Lights adorn the trees outside the casino
Foot bridge over Melbourne's River Yarra
Foot bridge and cycle way over the River Yarra
Detail of bridge over River Yarra
During the long weekend in March, Melbourne celebrates Labour Day with the Moomba Festival.
This year many of the same attractions from last year appeared. We had a walk around and I took photos and some film footage. This time last year, Melbourne was being drenched in a sudden hail storm. Thankfully no sign of anything less than sun and blue sky this year.
Ferris wheel, Moomba Festival, Melbourne
Big teddy bears as prizes, Moomba Festival, Melbourne
Water skiing, Moomba Festival, Melbourne
Blue sky and rides at Melbourne's Moomba Festival, Melbourne
I was pleased to be able to film kite surfing taking place at St Kilda last weekend. A High Definition (HD) edition is available on YouTube.
Kite surfing at St Kilda, Melbourne
Melbourne’s Chinatown district marked Chinese New Year with celebrations today. Megan and I went along to enjoy the parade and see the assorted stands and stalls in the streets.
Crowds waiting for the Chinese New Year parade to pass, Melbourne.
A food vendor, Chinese New Year celebations, Melbourne.
Unlike last year, I managed to keep clear of the fire crackers and generally kept away from the smoke and noise. The short film below focuses on the parade. A High Definition (HD) edition is available on YouTube.
Last weekend Megan and I joined local friends and family for an event at the Botany Bay Yacht Club. The club’s location is stunning. I could not resist putting together a short film to share.
Watch in high definition on YouTube.
Sunset, Botany Bay Yacht Club
View from Botany Bay Yacht Club
View from Botany Bay Yacht Club
Megan and I spent yesterday sightseeing along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Our stops included Torquay, Bells Beach, Apollo Bay, and the Port Campbell National Park.
I had my camera on hand throughout the day and came away with great footage and stills.
Watch the High Definition (HD) edition of the film on YouTube.
Below are photos from the day.
Melbourne in the early morning
Beach, Great Ocean Road
Great Ocean Road
Apostles, Great Ocean Road
London Bridge, Great Ocean Road
This afternoon Megan and I visited Melbourne’s annual Moomba Festival. Yesterday’s storm made the Yarra river’s banks muddy and slippery, but did not appear to reduce the crowds.
Carnival ride, Moomba Festival, Melbourne
Carnival ride, Moomba Festival, Melbourne
I put together a short film of the waterskiing on the Yarra River. This is my first film experimenting with Garage Band. The result is not what would I like but I learnt a lot.
Watch the High Definition (HD) edition of the film on YouTube.
This afternoon an unexpected hail storm hit Melbourne. Megan and I were lucky enough to be inside at the time. I grabbed the camera and we joined others in the building’s lobby to watch the storm build.
Watch the High Definition (HD) edition of the film on YouTube.
The thunder storm that followed lasted for most of the afternoon.
Hail storm, Melbourne, Australia
Chunk of ice from the hail storm
Hail storm, Melbourne, Australia
Update
The day after I ventured out into the city and took photos showing the remaining piles of hail ice.
This short film has appeared in the Slovakian Pluska.sk, the Australian Herald Sun web sites, and has accumulated a handful of YouTube honours:
Embedded below is a film showing a little of Charlie and Rebecca’s wedding celebration. Charlie’s family is Lebanese, and the celebrations followed Lebanese traditions.
See this film in High Definition (HD) on YouTube.
The music and dancing was loud, fun, and fast. Early in the evening it quickly became apparent that still photographs could not capture the moment.
During the celebrations and entertainment, I switched between filming and experimenting with various still settings on our point and shoot camera.
I came away with approximately 14 minutes of HD film footage, weighing in at 2.64 GB. The quality is acceptable given the lighting. The sound is terrible, but that should be expected; the camera’s microphone is mono.
Editing an HD film in iMovie on Mac OS X
The film was edited using iMovie. Films like this benefit from being short, closely cut, affairs. I had fun cutting and trimming footage. The process gave me a little insight into just how challenging a professional editor’s role can be.
Canon PowerShot SX200 IS
The camera is a Canon PowerShot SX200 IS. I can highly recommend this camera. It is small enough to carry around, not too expensive, and is capable of taking great shots.