Vivid Sydney 2013 (Our Darling Harbour Experience)

This is Part 2 our Vivid Sydney 2013 experience, this time I'll share the photos we took at Darling Harbour. Note: If you missed Part 1, read our experience at Milsons Point, Circular Quay and The Rock here.

Vivid Aquatique. It is a completely immersive water theatre, combining a magic 20-metre wall of light, colour and music inspired by the fountains of Versailles. This is the first time a spectacular show of this scale has been staged in Australia . Aquatique Show International are considered to be unrivalled experts in water shows and special effects. 

Other than that wonderful in sync movement of light, water to music playing, there was also a video of dancing and images shown which was projected via a water mist. 

Night Blossoms. Lovely to see lighted trees all lined up on Pyrmont Bridge. There were hundreds of glistening blossoms so bright and captivating. 

This reminded me of Cherry Blossoms (and you know I love Cherry Blossoms!) so I was very fascinated with the lighted trees at Prymont Bridge even if they're like the simplest light installations during Vivid Sydney. 

Vivid Sydney in Darling Harbour with Friends. Very happy to share the beauty of lights at Darling Harbour with friends Faith and Rachel on Thursday and Friday nights respectively. 

We missed seeing the light projections on Australian Maritime Museum but that's alright. Maybe next year, they'll have another show there.

There were light installations in Darling Harbour and Darling Quarter but we didn't take photos anymore. Congratulations are in order for this year's Vivid Sydney team for including Darling Harbour--it's about time!

Related Post:

Vivid Sydney 2013 (Our Experience at Milsons Point, Circular Quay and The Rocks)

Vivid Sydney 2013 (Our Experience at Milsons Point, Circular Quay, The Rocks)

One of our favourite events in Sydney is here! 

Vivid Sydney comes back this year with a more vibrant show for everyone. They've put lights up on the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Museum of Contemporary Art, Customs House, Australian Steam Navigation Company building, Darling Harbour and Australian National Maritime Museum. They also have light and art installations in Circular Quay, The Rocks, Darling Quarter and Pyrmont Bridge. For three weeks, the city of Sydney glows from 6pm til midnight. 

If you've followed this blog, you'd know that we have never missed Vivid Sydney. Since 2009, we've made it a tradition to make time for it. If you want to see previous photos of Vivid Sydney, check out them out here: Vivid Sydney 2010, Vivid Sydney 2010 Macquarie Visions, Vivid Sydney 2011 and Vivid Sydney 2012. (Our 2009 Vivid Sydney photos are not available online.)

With so many places to enjoy, we always had to schedule our exploration of the city. Our first stop last Friday night was at Milsons Point to see and capture the beauty of the lit up Harbour Bridge. Fortunately, our photographer friends were there too. It was nice to catch up with an old friend and meet new ones.

Sydney Harbour Bridge in "Colour The Bridge". While it's okay to see the lit up Harbour Bridge from afar, we decided to photograph it at close range. The beautifully lit bridge is stacked with an amazing  100,800 energy-efficient LED lights that changes colour every few minutes.

There were a few stalls in Bradfield Park (located under the Harbour Bridge) where you'll get to buy food and crafts.

At 9pm, we made our way to the Circular Quay. The crowd was thick and intimidating that I almost backed-out (Me to Hubby, "Maybe we should just go home?" hahaha). But the Husband pointed out that we're already there and just to brave it out.

Sydney Opera House in "Play". The artwork on the sails of the Opera House is entitled "Play". This is the best lighting of sails to-date! We loved that they showed wonderful colours and happy artworks. They tickled the 80s child in us as they showed things reminiscent from that era: a spinning vinyl record, a cassette tape and a pinball game. 



The Customs House in "Move Your Building".  For the first time, Customs House becomes interactive with Move Your Building.Spectacular 3D mapped projections that are controlled by you and accompanied by music illuminating the façade of one of Sydney’s landmark heritage sites. You just choose a tune from a playlist, decide the graphic theme for the building and start dancing on a mini dance floor located in front of the building. As you dance and move, you’ll be interacting with the building via the latest projection and mapping technology.


The Museum of Contemporary Art in "Collaboration #3". Stunning 3D mapped illuminations light up the façade of the building in a creative splurge of colour and movement. This is another favourite of mine aside from the lightshow at Opera House.

Vivid Light Walk. Light and art installations surrounds the Circular Quay and The Rocks area. Some are interactive too. I wasn't able to take a lot of photos of installations this year as there were a lot of people (nakaka-uninspire mag-picture picture pag madaming tao). Instead, I soaked in all the beauty of all the installations by looking at them intently.

Cadman's Cottage, The Electric Canvas. This is an engaging interactive projection where with the use of a large touch screen, people can create their own architectural projection. With a variety of themes, tools and pallets the participant is able to select different architectural regions and then apply textures and animations to the cottage in real time. 

Australasian Steam Navigation Company Building in "The Speed of Light". In cooperation with A3, Audi and Spinifex Group, the Australasian Steam Navigation Company building' historic façade is transformed into a feast of light, colour and speed. As an artful homage to Audi’s reputation for world-class design, technology and innovation, Spinifex developed an energetic projection exploring depth and dimension.

What We Ate:
We had about six hours (from 6pm to 12 midnight) of exploring and taking photographs so we needed replenishment all throughout the night. We started off with early dinner of hotdogs, cheesecake and coffee at Chanoma Cafe. That meal got us thru till the time we arrived at Circular Quay.

When we got to Circular Quay a little before 10pm, we knew we had to eat something because we will be walking a whole lot more. The first line we queued up for was at a gelato store and it was packed. However the wait only took less than 10 minutes as the staff had a good wait system and they moved very quick.

We'd normally have a scoop for each of us but that night, we opted to get three scoops to make our waiting worthwhile.

Had a bit of walk towards the Opera House and then came back again to the wharf area where we bought a box of chips. Yummy load of carbs that gave us energy while we shoot photos of the Opera House at the Passengers Terminal area. 

The shoot of the Opera House took about an hour. We were a bit tired by then but we moved on to The Rocks and continued looking at light and art installations. 

We were about to go home when we saw food trucks!!! Yay! Our almost-midnight snack were dumplings, hot and fresh! Comforting on a cold night.

We finished Vivid Sydney til midnight, which was a first time for us. It was fun and we had a great time.

This is just an account of what transpired during our Vivid Sydney adventure at Milsons Point, Circular Quay and The Rocks. More photos will be shared next week. 

Our next Vivid Sydney adventure will be at Darling Harbour this week.

All photos by Chris and Ibyang Sanchez. Some descriptions lifted from the Vivid Sydney website.

The Husband Gifts Me With Photographs

The best thing about being a wife to an artist is that I get to be his muse. I giggle with glee whenever he gifts me with his art. Whether it may be art designs or photographs, whether I'm in it or not, I appreciate receiving them. I'm proud of his talent and I'm his number one fan.

We had a very busy long weekend which started with visit to the Korean Consulate. And while our thoughts were preoccupied with a million things to do, we made it a point to have fun too.

We recently got an olloclip for the Husband's iPhone 5. Since we'll be travelling soon and saw the potential of the iPhone 5's camera in capturing good, clear photos, we decided to invest on an olloclip. The olloclip is a 3-in-1 lens which includes a fisheye, wide angle and macro lens. We were amazed with the capability of an olloclip as it enhances capturing photographs via an iPhone. We love it!

Last Friday, the Husband gifted me with his photographs, some of which he captured using an olloclip. Here are some of them.

The Train's Here. He used the fisheye lens for this and then processed it into monochome via the Snapseed app.

In Transit. Again in monochrome...because the Husband knows I love monochrome photographs.

All Ours. Caught a different train when we arrived at Central and what a nice blessing to have the carriage just to ourselves. This one's just a normal phone photo. No olloclip involved. 

 Levitation. Jump when no one's watching. I think this was my best photo that day. And the of the most fun photos we've created. To levitate inside a train carriage - check! :)

Train leaving. Still in fisheye lens. This is one of Sydney's old underground stations. There's a something dreamy and spooky about this photograph.

Husband's Got My Back. Me walking out the tunnel in St James Train Station. So lucky that for one moment, we got this tunnel all to ourselves. The Husband told me to walk ahead of him and took of snap of me.

In Between Buildings. This was Pitt Street in wide angle lens. 

The Husband made a monochrome version and posted it on his instagram.

Those were just a few photographs that made me very happy on Friday. Grateful for a Husband who thinks of me while he creates his art.

Style Musings: Mr and Mrs Camera Shirts

Chanced upon a camera shirt at a Korean clothing store named SPAO in April 2011. SPAO is a global clothing brand shop offering various items from casual wear to men's suits, women's suits, children's clothing, underwear, sportswear, and accessories.  We were on our way back to our hotel when we passed by their store. It was here that the Husband found a good winter jacket and this camera shirt that I liked the moment I saw it.

November 2012, we were grateful to receive gifts from our friends from SG which included a UNIQLO camera shirt for the Husband. I realized that it matches my shirt from SPAO! 

Aren't they cute??? The amusing thing was it was a pleasant surprise that my camera shirt has found a match after almost two years. It was kind of serendipitous too that both of us are into photography.

Fooditude: Doing Food Photography in Restaurants

The issue of taking food photographs while dining inside a food establishment is not new to me. I’ve read an article about it in 2010 concerning some restaurant owners disliking the growing population of foodies who take photos in their restaurant. It’s 2013 now and another article has come up about some restaurants banning food photography (read article here).

I had a good exchange of ideas with tweetmates this morning when I asked "When taking food photographs in restaurants, do you ask staff/owner if you can take photos of their food and establishments?". My answer is at the end of this entry. In the meantime, here are a few thoughts I tweeted which I'd also like to share here:

On restaurants prohibiting food photography:
A food establishment has the right to prohibit taking photos and we cannot argue with them because it is their way of service. However, it is very important that guests know this information before they dine at the restaurant. A sign on their door, informing guests via phone when they make reservations and a note on their website would be good ways to let people know that taking photographs are now allowed. It's important that guests are well-informed as it is their choice whether to eat at the restaurant or not.

I understand why a few restaurants have taken to their hands the prohibition of food photography. Some guests tend to overdo it and forget that the reason why they are at the restaurant is to eat and not fuss about photos and their gadgets. Restaurant owners are also concerned for other guests who deserve some quiet while enjoying food. 

As a consumer:
Food establishments have to understand that nowadays part of the food experience is to immortalize what guests eat in their restaurant.  

While it is our right as consumers to take photos of what we ordered, we need to be ethical and discreet about it.

I don’t mind dining at a restaurant that prohibits taking food photographs. While I love taking photographs of what I eat, it's something that I do even before I had a blog, I value my love for good food more than the photographs I could take. Sure, photos are good reminders but experiencing something special is so much better.

I’ve been crafting this article for at least a year but never get to finish it. But with the article that came out yesterday, I’ve pushed myself to finish this once and for all. I’m sharing a few tips on how the Husband and I discreetly take photos whenever we’re dining at a restaurant:

We take photos as quick as we can. Just a minute will do, no more than that. It’s a fortunate circumstance that the Husband and I are skilled in photography. It’s very convenient to have him around as he helps me take shots. Sometimes I am only capable of taking a shot at a certain angle due to where I’m seated. In just a few seconds, we are able to produce photographs of a dish taken at different angles with different perspectives. Other than angles, it pays to have a quick mind when it comes to shooting food. The minute you see your dish, you must quickly know how you want to photograph it and what you want to show in your photograph. You know why else you need to be quick? Because you don’t want your food to be cold when it’s supposed to be warm; you don’t want the ice cream on your Belgian waffle melting when you eat it.

We don’t take photos in the middle of eating our meal. When our order arrives, we give ourselves a moment to take a shot and then we keep our phones and cameras out of sight.

We choose the best seat where natural light (or at least good lighting) is available. We prefer tables near the window if possible. If we’re not given a seat we don’t prefer, we politely ask to be moved. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The point is, it doesn’t hurt to politely ask. 

We avoid using flash because we care about other guests inside the restaurant who deserves to eat in peace. Also, using flash photography makes food look bad anyway. It’s very rare that we use flash and it occurs only when we’re desperate, if we know that we are allowed to do so and we have a friendly relationship with the staff/owner.

Even if we are allowed to take photos of our food, we do it as discreetly as possible. We're try to be as quiet and non-intrusive. It helps that we have a micro-four thirds camera (Lumix GF1) which we use most of the time instead of a DSLR which is conspicuous.

When dining with family or friends and they allow me to take a photograph of their food, I take a shot at their food first before mine. Sometimes I just take a "group photo" of all the food in our table to save time.

We ask the restaurant owner/staff if we are allowed to take photos. This is a case-to-case basis as some establishments have that casual vibe where you can easily take out your camera and shoot away. However, in a restaurant that has an ambiance of exclusivity and privacy, we are careful not to offend so we ask.


So there. A few thoughts and a few tips that may be helpful to you. 

Care to share any thoughts on foodies that photograph in restaurants or restaurant owners that ban food photography? Any tips you'd like to share?

The Moon Shining Down On Us

It was a beautiful night last night as the full moon shone thru to the first day of October. NSW is celebrating Labour Day today so we stayed up late and found ourselves hanging out at our balcony at 1:30am taking photos of the full moon. It took almost thirty minutes and three different lenses in order to capture the beauty of the luminous moon. Such a tranquil night and we're grateful to have witnessed the the moon shining down on us.

Hope the start of your October is just as lovely as ours!

All photos taken using a Canon 7D with lenses 50mm, 17-85mm and 70-300mm
Special thanks to my husband, Chris, for lending his photos and expertise.

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