Sunshine Coast Daily Photo

Sunday, 30 November 2014

No turning - yet.

At some time in the future there will be a turning lane, but the temporary kerb does nothing to enhance the streetscape. Perhaps it will be there for years.

I guess white lines and "no turns" signs aren't good enough for today's blind drivers, but why forbid turns now anyway? The intention of the lane is to allow turns at some time in the future when the road is busier!

Kawana

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Entrance Sign

After half a dozen years in the sun, the bright primary colours have mellowed quite nicely, but in some cultures one wouldn't know what to make of the two words.... actually it's only one, the hyphen is invisible.

Kawana

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How did the chicken cross the road? 4 of 4

Finally somewhere for pedestrians to access the centre!

That's it, with the handrail by the way. The little brown path through the ground cover is the logical spot, that those who survive the road crossing tend to use rather than walking the extra twenty metres to the not so logically positioned pathway.

If you build it, they will come, but not if you build it a bit out of the way!

Kawana

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How did the chicken cross the road? 3 of 4

Safely on the side we need to be, but we can't find a break in those prickly plants to get through to the shops.

Lighting in carparks must meet certain standards, so despite an absence of after-dark trade six nights a week, there is a huge investment in pylons topped with mercury vapour.

Nice.

But we still can't get in.

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How did the chicken cross the road? 2 of 4

Having successfully negotiated yesterday's monster path, and thus far three lanes of traffic (although two of those were so innocuous as to be non-existent, the level of difficulty as in all good games, increases.

Now with just one lane to cross, the pathway narrows to the width of a single shopping trolley, the road here is busy, there is no room for two of anything to pass between the kerbs.

If it does, notice the logical end to it all on the other side. Perhaps trying to enter on foot by the driveway is not a good idea, cars are leaving the road at seventy kilometres per hour at that point!

Kawana

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How did the chicken cross the road? 1 of 4

So here we are, just a ziggy path and a couple of roads from the Home Centre. The world's widest crossing with enough bollards to make absolutely certain that no miscreant car can possibly mistake the path for a U-turn opportunity.

Kawana

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Pasture of the cranes.

The largest collection of cranes on a single project in the Southern Hemisphere/World/Universe depending on who one listens to, is on the new hospital construction project.

There are a lot, but more importantly the follow-on jobs should underpin a large proportion of the surrounding community.

Birtinya

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Carpets

I've been tracking the steady decline of this tenancy as well. There is still the vaguest of hints that a photo once resided in the billboard, and the sign bracket is still holding up well, although sharing its rust colouring with the rest of the facade.

Let's wait a few more years to see what time and a salt laden atmosphere can do.

Kawana

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In another hundred years...

I've been watching this complex for at least half a dozen years now, pondering the aging process, watching the bright paint fade and get dirty, wondering if the patina will every settle in comfortably.

It won't, but at the moment it's not terribly unattractive.

Kawana

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Accidentally on Purpose.

I've looked and inspected and short of getting a ladder I can't make up my mind if the colour change is deliberate or whether it's an accident of the painter's art. How I would like to believe that it was a new tin of paint and they worked their way down one panel on a swinging stage.

Kawana

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Where's Willys?

Life can't be easy when you are the only one that isn't a Kombi.

Caloundra

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The Cusp

We are on the very cusp of the high season. In a few weeks time there will be lot's of neon "NO" signs lit all over town.

The Christmas holidays are coming. Ho ho ho!

Caloundra.

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View from the West

These buildings have almost no openings on this elevation because it faces west. That means that arguably they miss out on some lovely views of the hinterland, but also on some incredible heat loads every afternoon.

Sadly from a climatic response perspective, the views and balconies are on the southern side, where the prevailing winds are such that balconies remain unused on many occasions, and wind blown salt spray can be bothersome!

Caloundra.

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Streetscape

I'm not trying to tell any stories here, simply recording the streetscape as it is in 2014.

Perhaps it's the sort of view that would make an interesting meme.

Caloundra

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Contours

I've been mucking around trying to find a way of expressing the contours of the streets in Caloundra. Today I discovered that the sky was doing its best to assist.

Caloundra

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The books all say that one must make photographs in the first and last hours of the day. How then does one illustrate the shelter that we seek from the midday sun?

How can we describe the heat that jolts as we walk from the shade to the sunlight to cross the road for instance. It's like jumping into an icy bath, in reverse!

Caloundra

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Urban Vista

I don't know whether the future of the fig trees in Bulcock Street has yet been assured, I hope it has. They provide a depth of shade and protection from glare that has to be experienced to be believed.

They are quite difficult to photograph satisfactorily though. I shall keep trying.

Bulcock Street
Caloundra

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Blues

I mostly don't get the use of blue to somehow draw "beach" or "nautical" themed images. Then occasionally I go for a walk when the sun is shining and there's not much humidity and the sky is a particular colour and I walk away shaking my head.

On those days, somewhat reluctantly, I get it.

Caloundra.

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Wiggly Shadows.

One of the nice things about building a wiggly wall is that it throws wiggly shadows, which actually move out of parallel as the sun transcribes its arc across the sky.

It's one of those little things that people don't question, yet the subconscious perceives the softening of the hard surfaces and suddenly the act of walking on a footpath becomes something pleasant.

Or it might just be the view.

Bulcock Street.

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Wiggly Wall

This wall was obviously built on a windy day and the mason's stringlines weren't pulled tight enough. To make matters worse, the metalworkers plumbs were out of whack as well.

Despite all of that, it looks rather pleasing.

Bulcock Beach.

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Picnic Table

Picnic Table - Bulcock Beach

Caloundra

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Looking Down

The Boardwalk at Tooway viewed form the road bridge.

Dicky Beach

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In days of old, rubbish bins were small and kept behind fences. On collection day, the nice men would come and collect them, empty them into their trucks and leave them back behind closed gates.

Now it is not good enough to have one small bin, we must all have at least two large ones (one for recycling) a sad reflection on the amount we consume, and the amount we waste.

The combination of power lines and wheelie bins do not make a terribly positive statement in the streetscape, thank goodness for the trees opposite.

Dicky Beach

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Pumicestone Passage

On a clear day, it looks .... clear.
The Pumicestone Passage is as enticing as it looks, but swimming just here is not advised as the current can be a little beyond the ability of the average swimmer. A few hundred yards inland is better for those who would like to survive!

Caloundra

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Sunset Facing East

Sunset is not an easy thing to capture when you are facing east, but it does show the grass in dire need of a drink. We have drought again!

Moffat Beach.

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Fig eats Fig.

I'm not sure what's going on here - I first noticed it earlier in the year. The new fig is planted in mulch in the fork of the existing one. Originally it was in a hessian bag, now wrapped in plastic. Is it a council parks job, or someone taking nature into their own hands?

Moffat Beach

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Waiting

Waiting, presumably for school to finish!

Dicky Beach.

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Lifesavers!

Lifesavers from a generation ago marching on the wall of the first aid station.

Dicky Beach.

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Landmark or Icon

I almost used this photograph as my contribution to the "Landmark" theme, but in the end decided that no matter how we use the beach flags as meeting points and markers as well as for their intended purpose, they were temporary, moving every day to the safest bathing position, even being removed some days when conditions are not safe, so they probably aren't a landmark strictly speaking.

Mooloolaba

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Opposite Landmark Resort

Just opposite landmark resort there is a building which has been slated for demolition for at least a decade. The "coming soon" signs are gone now, but so are many of the tenants.

Is there a line that can be drawn between "urban character" and "eyesore"?

Mooloolaba

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Landmark

Strictly speaking it's Landmark Resort in Mooloolaba, looking seriously in need of some love and attention. It's seems to be a bit of a recurring theme on the coast: buy and apartment all shiny and new and expect it to stay that way forever without spending a penny on maintenance.

The salt air does not treat things kindly, perhaps eventually someone will notice.

Mooloolaba,

Disappearing Landmark

There's so little of it left that it's hard to believe that it's still a landmark, but those jagged black bits which breach the surface of the water, are all that remains of the iconic wreck of the SS Dicky, the ship from which the beach derives its name.

The other bits have been removed for preservation apparently, but I am yet to find out their present whereabouts.

Dicky Beach

Many other photos illustrating today's City Daily Photo theme "Landmark" may be found by clicking on this link.
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