I’m so attracted to busy, vibrant cities at nighttime…..the neon lights, the motion of people and cars moving, the darkness, the grit…..this is Sydney.
Sydney Fish Market, Australia
When I was planning my recent Sydney trip I was of course searching for interesting things to photograph architecturally and when I read that the new Sydney Fish Market had just opened its doors, I had to have a look. I went with a fellow architecture photographer Kathy Wallace and we booked into a small guided tour to learn more about it.
Fun facts: Sydney Fish Market is the third largest in the world by volume (and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere). It features over 40 retail and food/coffee outlets and is expected to attract over 6 million visitors annually. It’s also the third major landmark on Sydney Harbour (after the Opera House and Harbour Bridge). It uses state of the art technology in its auction room and provides more than 50,000kg of ice daily.
The Dutch Clock Auction system has been used here since 1989 (bids get lower, not higher!) and each weekday morning at 0430 is when auctioning begins with 100 buyers. Around 20 tonnes of over 100 seafood species are sold every hour. (TIP: one of the tours running here allows you to come inside the auction room and see how it all works….fascinating!).
Designed by internationally acclaimed Danish architects 3XN/GXN, in collaboration with BVN and Aspect Studios, and built by Multiplex, it boasts a roof around the size of 4 football fields that is superb to look at from afar but also from underneath.
There was just something amazing about the dappled stainless steel ceiling above some of the fish vendors inside the building….what do you think?
Victoria Cross Metro Station - Sydney Australia
Photographing underground/metro stations in cities is one of my fave things to do when I travel. Some of the architecture and design is so beautiful to look at, as is the artwork and things of interest to make your time underground more enjoyable. Sydney Metro Victoria Cross Station in Australia is absolutely stunning and I could not stop finding more areas to photograph on my most recent visit. Feel free to Click on any image to see it larger!
The architecture, interior design, signage and wayfinding for the station was created by the team led by David Holm of Cox Architecture @coxarchitecture . The design aesthetic is a futuristic look.
My tips for photographing the station are: if you prefer images with few or no people, wait a few minutes until after everyone leaves the metro and departs out of the exits, and choose slower traffic times. I don’t mind people in my photos sometimes (expecially if it’s one person on their own) but other times I prefer no people (and yes, you could edit them out later but it’s far too much editing time for me!). When I’m holding my camera up to my eye, I can usually sense if there are other people around, and I’m quite happy to let them go before taking a photo (let’s all be conscious of other people trying to get somewhere!). I usually find strangers quite accommodating and friendly, and interested in what I am doing.
I like to use a wide angle lens, my Canon RF15-35mm f2.8 IS USM. I love my wide angle however…it can cause issues with distortion and when you are photographing symmetrical things, it can really mess you up!
Initially I had my white balance settings on cloudy/shade, which is what I use mostly for landscapes. But I changed it to get more of the white/ almost high-key effect. Always hand-held, with manual settings, and always viewing through the lens once I pick a spot to photograph to create a composition. In particular I look for curves, lines, and interesting textures, ALL OF WHICH feature at this station.
I edited these images very lightly: mostly I used de-noise in Lightroom, and tried to adjust any straightening/ symmetry issues. It’s always better to get it right ‘in camera’ and I work really hard at doing this. It is most annoying when everything doesn’t line up perfectly, and I’m still learning!
What do you think about this station? Please leave a Comment below!