Abandoned Places

Last weekend I decided to investigate an abandoned service station I pass every day on my way to work. I love abandoned things - the gradual encroaching of nature, the inane acts of vandalism, the air of melancholy that hangs over a place that used to be full of activity and purpose all utterly fascinate me.



One of the most surreal aspects of this place was the things people had chosen to dump there. As well as an odd assortment of childrens toys, there were plant pots, a suitcase and a bath?!



I thought that place was pretty amazing and didn't think I'd be able to top it - I was wrong. A quick bit of research online pointed me in the direction of St Crispin county asylum, a massive complex that was just down the road from me, yet somehow I'd never known it was there. It was opened in 1876 and closed in 1995 after a gradual process of transferring the functions of the hospital to other facilities. It's currently undergoing renovation into what looks to be office units.



Some extra pics are on my Flickr.

Settlements!

In striking contrast to the untamed wilderness of the Outback, Australian cities are modern and sprawling, filled with high rise buildings. The city of Perth (below) is one of the worlds most isolated cities. Everything in Australia looks new (mostly because it is), very few buildings seem to be much older than the 1920s-30s, and they stick out like sore thumbs amid all the glass and steel.

(left) The harbour of Cairns viewed from the cannon at the war memorial, and (right) Sydney Harbour bridge, complete with climbers walking along the top. You get some fantastic views up there but sadly you can't take a camera incase it falls onto the freeway below!

(below) More shots from around the Circular Quay and Rocks areas of Sydney, mainly the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge!

There's a few more odds and ends to see on my Flickr.

Outback!

The middle part of my trip was around the Red Centre - an area that is mind blowingly vast, as well as desolate. I was lucky enough to catch it at quite a mild time - low temperatures and 'high' rainfall meant it was actually a lot greener than you'd normally expect. It truly is amazing that people deliberately come out here to live their lives, miles from anything resembling civilisation.

This leg of the trip wrapped up with the rather beautiful spectacle of watching the sun set over Ayers Rock. Soothing!

Wildlife!

I traveled around Australia last month for two weeks. It wasn't as long as I would've liked, but I was determined to see as much of it as humanly possible. I started in Perth, from there I went on to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs, then Cairns and the Barrier Reef before finishing up in Sydney. I was only in each place for a few days, and everytime I landed at my next stop I was in a new time zone! I somehow managed to take lots of pictures along the way. I was especially fascinated by the wide array of bizarre wildlife Australia has!

Most of these are pretty self-explantory except for the third photo - these are little cat-sized creatures called Quokkas that live on Rottnest Island. The island actually gets its name from these - the first Europeans to sail past the island mistakenly thought they were giant rats, hence 'Rottnest' or 'Rats Nest' in Dutch.

Jamie bits

My most recent packaging related adventure was a range of products for Jamie Oliver. These use the new branding guidelines developed by Pearlfisher and also happen to be one of the first sets of products to use them, so we got to work out all the kinks together.

From left to right you've got large grinders, small grinders, and herb crust (breadcrumbs, basically).



It's great to be working on a project for such a huge brand, even better when you see photos with the man himself handling the stuff you've designed!



Product shots are by me, Jamie Oliver portraits are © Chris Terry 2010