Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life. The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week I am returning to the Enlighten Festival. We went back yesterday to try and catch Old Parliament House illuminated, and to see a performance called Voala Station, performed by Spanish artists. In it, we followed four businessmen who had missed the last late-night train and were swept into a world of magic and dizzying heights. It was an incredible performance, and lots of it was done hangind from wires. Sadly, my camera had a malfunction and the shutter speeds were wrong. I will show some photos, but they are not good.
Starting with Old Parliament House - before the lights went on.
Then the sun started to go down.
Old Parliament House illuminated.
And some less than wonderful shots of the Voala Station performance. How I wish I could have shown you just how magical it was, with up to eight people spinnng above our heads, and an absolutely glorious singer.
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life. The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week I am returning to the Enlighten Festival. We went back yesterday to try and catch Old Parliament House illuminated, and to see a performance called Voala Station, performed by Spanish artists. In it, we followed four businessmen who had missed the last late-night train and were swept into a world of magic and dizzying heights. It was an incredible performance, and lots of it was done hangind from wires. Sadly, my camera had a malfunction and the shutter speeds were wrong. I will show some photos, but they are not good.
Starting with Old Parliament House - before the lights went on.
Then the sun started to go down.
Old Parliament House illuminated.
And some less than wonderful shots of the Voala Station performance. How I wish I could have shown you just how magical it was, with up to eight people spinnng above our heads, and an absolutely glorious singer.
Wow, amazing acrobatics!
ReplyDeleteThe building lights are just incredible.
And that last shot is very artsy.
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Arty, shmarty. That final photo is a failure. Just less of a failure than some of the ones I junked.
DeleteThe building lights were fun - and the performance amazing.
Looks like fun for you. I love the sky...it looks like a bowl full of sweet berries!!!
ReplyDeleteBookie: It was fun. Lots of fun. Tiring though. And I did have to sit on the ground to see the performance.
DeleteDear EC
ReplyDeleteYour photos do give a lovely flavour of the spectacle - it looks wonderful!
Best wishes
Ellie
Ellie Foster: Thank you. And your comment on my last post has at least one person interested in the Land of Green Ginger. And has reminded me to order a replacement copy.
DeleteHaving a wonderful time--wish I were THERE!!
ReplyDeletefishducky: I wish you could be here too. Balloons next. Woo Hoo.
DeleteThose performers who do such acts are so skilled, so confident. I can imagine how wonderful they must be to be seen live.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ahead, EC. I hope all is well with you and the Skinny One. Cuddles to your two furry mates :)
Lee: They looked as if they were enjoying themselves too. Which added a lot to the performance.
DeleteA good week to you and your furry tyrants too.
looks like so much fun
ReplyDeleteSue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: It was. It was crowded (which I don't do well). It was late - and after dark is bed time. I had to sit on the ground. Very, very challenging. And I am glad that we went.
DeleteYou have certainly shown us how entertaining it was, and how talented the performers.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the second-to-last photo; such ethereal beauty!
Alexia: It was incredible. In the second to last photo you can see piles of confetti, swirling in the lights. Just beautiful. And a little later we were showered with red heart-shaped paper.
DeleteThe photographic gauze adds the magic.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon: Thank you. It really was magic. Skilled and beautiful magic.
DeleteThese are great, love the acrobats.
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: The special events at Enlighten always are worth a trip to see them. We take a trip early, and marvel at the lights, and go back later for the special events. And are not sorry. And, amazingly, it is all free.
DeleteEspecially love your dusk shots...and the final pic is a masterpiece!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
Cloudia: The sky is always a delight - and was a wonderful prelude for the show.
Deletewow, you have the most amazing experiences and photographs to match
ReplyDeleteLinda Starr: The whole festival is an incredible gift. Most of it is free, and we took advantage of it. As did many other people.
DeleteI can always rely on you for stunning sky shots at dawn or early twilight. The pink/lavender/dusky blue tones are so lovely in a big sky.
ReplyDeleteI really like the pollie caricatures on one building, and especially what looks like a medieval tapestry image on the KingTown.
The aerial acrobats look amazing! I can only imagine how spectacular they would be in person.
And the second last image looks like a shattering explosion of white birds wings. Wow!
Vicki: It was indeed a medieval tapesty - a link back to our political heritage from the UK. The cartoons were fun too. I liked the charactericature's of past prime ministers too. There were also depictions of our liberal leaders, but the photo was too bad to share.
DeleteWowsers! That performance looks incredible. I imagine it was a real thrill to watch them spinning like that. You always provide great pictures! Most of my photos come out much fuzzier than yours. :)
ReplyDeleteRiver Fairchild: It was an incredible performance. It lasted about three-quarters of an hour, and was played out in front of literally hundreds of spectators. Well behaved spectators - probably because it was such a spectacular show.
DeleteThat looks like a great time!
ReplyDeleteTeresa: It was. It was the last night of the Enlighten Festival - and they went out in style.
DeleteDefinitely WOW! I am sure good things happen in Perth but nothing to compare with what Canberra does in so many ways each year.
ReplyDeleteDon't apologise for your photography as you showed us very well all the delights that were happening and those colours on the old Parliament House were something else. Thanks for sharing them and the sunsets too which are always worth seeing just for their own sake.
Mimsie: Every city does some wonderful things, but Canberra spends a lot of time in the shadows of our political overlords.
DeleteI love it, even the photos you think are lousy, I think they're great and show motion and how strange the whole thing must have been. So is that last one someone with an umbrella? It's awesome!
ReplyDeleteStrayer: It was indeed someone with an umbrella. They featured quite often. They had cut-outs which allowed the lights to shine through as they danced/soared with them, twirling them all the while. And there was a crane which at intervals carried the performers on their wires across the audience. Quite amazing. Surreal - and fun.
DeleteThe lights are lovely on old Parliament house, thank you for that. I can see how the Voala performance would have been riveting.
ReplyDeleteRiver: Thank you. I really wish I could have shared it better though.
DeleteActually the photos are quite good! A couple in particular have created something very pretty from the blurred shutter speed.
ReplyDeleteI love the old parliament building - so beautiful.
Jackie K: Old Parliament House never looked so good. Its unadorned architecture doesn't appeal to me - but I did like it in its lights of many colours.
DeleteAnd thank you about the other photos.
Oh glory EC! Spectacular sunset, loved the lights on the old Parliament House, but it's the photos of the performers which truly enthralled me! Brava, brava!
ReplyDeleteJaquelineand...: It was such a wonderful evening. From beginning to end.
DeleteOooooooooh, and ahhhhhhh too, it looks brilliant! I'm so glad you got to see all that and envy you to the extent I look like the hulk's sister. Your photos have movement to them and show the colour and spectacle of it all really well. We don't have much along these lines over here, not without a great deal of travelling anyway.
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming: I cannot imagine you as the hulk. I really can't. We are lucky. This festival is less than half and hours drive away. The parking wasn't too bad either. And it was soooo worth it.
DeleteNice, no, it is beautiful, I love the circus. And the sunrise, it is fabulous EC.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: Thank you. A circus is a pretty good description. Those daring young men, and women on the high trapeze...
DeleteYour pictures were good enough to give me a really good idea of how magical it was! And those sunset pictures are wonderful! I'm really glad you showed me your pictures of the performance, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: It was magical. Loud though. So much fun. And I am a fun (and beauty) addict.
DeleteWhat an amazing show....loved how you took us through from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteDonna@LivingFromHappiness: It is an amazing show. Really amazing. From the start to the finish.
DeleteThis looks fascinating! You have some really good pictures and I have a much better idea of the light show now! This must have been such fun to attend. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
DMS ~ Jess: Thank you. I wish that you, and so many other people could have been there to enjoy it with us.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous spectacle, S. WOW. Stunning.
ReplyDeleteHow are you? Kitties? Hubby? xxx
My Inner Chick: It was not one, but many gorgeous spectacles. That performance was one of the highlights though.
DeleteThe cats are fine. Himself and I are not tooo bad. How are things in your world? Hugs.
Even though you say you wish your photos were better - I think they are marvelous. They really give a glimpse of what a wonderful evening you must have had. Looks like all aspects - from mother nature and humankind - were stunning.
ReplyDeleteSusan F.: Thank you. I am still frustrated looking at the photos and remembering just how amazing an experience it was. And yes, mother nature lent herself to the display very well, with a light show of her own.
DeleteAmazing! Thanks for making us experience it!
ReplyDeleteNas: Thank you. I am glad that you enjoyed coming with us.
DeleteWow. I love that! It has to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, seeing that.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Faris: Enlighten is on each year, and each year they have one or two 'special' events. This year's was brilliant - but so was last year's. Lucky, lucky, lucky.
DeleteThe Parliament Building is stunning and even tho those pics didn't come out as intended, they are still magical.
ReplyDeletemshatch: The light displays were indeed stunning, and got people to visit who probably wouldn't otherwise. And the special event was incredible. A win on every level.
DeleteMagical is the right adjective. Stunning would be another.
ReplyDeleteStarting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: Stunning and magical they were. The whole festival is a delight. There are paid events as well, but all of the ones I showed were free. Which is incredible.
DeleteA total veil of magnificence! I think my jaw would still be resting on the ground.
ReplyDeleteSusan Kane: As we sat and watched I was smiling so broadly my face hurt. Despite having to sit on the ground. Getting up again was a challenge, and painful - and it was worth it.
DeleteNo, the photos are art even if you don't know it.
ReplyDeleteJono: Thank you. They do show movement, colour and light - but I would have liked more clarity too. Much more clarity.
DeleteThat does look like a great festival, it happens every year right?
ReplyDeleteMichael D'Agostino: Every year. Run over about ten days, with different performances each weekend. Magic.
DeleteTo those singers swirling overhead I say wow, wow, wow!! I'd love to have seen the show too. All of the pictures in the post are awesome (and that sky!!!!).
ReplyDeletemail4rosey: It was wonderful. Really, really wonderful.
DeleteThank you for sharing your photos, EC. I hope you got a chance to watch without the camera, as well. How do people come up with imaginative performances like these? I'm amazed by the creativity.
ReplyDeletejenny_o: I hear you on the awe and wonder front. I am an appreciator rather than a creator and I am blown away by the things people think of, and create. And yes, I was able to watch without the camera. And applaud.
DeleteThat sunset was spectacular! And what an amazing performance you got to see. Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteLynn: Nature and the organisers collaborated very, very well.
DeleteWow!!! What a performance. Your photos give me a good idea how magical this must have been. I wish I could hear the singer as well. Amazing! You are lucky to have seen this, and thank you for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteCarola Bartz: It was incredible. I am still awed thinking about it - and how I loved the singer. Powerful and beautiful. She had a really special cackle too.
DeleteWow. That's a beautiful light show.
ReplyDeleteThank you, EC.
Rawkynrobyn: Oh it was. Very, very beautiful.
Deletelooks magical.....like a fairyland after dark.
ReplyDeleteglad you got to be a part of the glitter:)
-Jennifer
Jennifer Richardson: It was way too noisy for fairyland, but magical just the same.
DeleteAnd this morning I pulled a red confetti heart from the bag I had been carrying and smiled all over again.
It looks like so much fun! Beautiful and magical!
ReplyDeleteThings Are Looking U.P.: It was beautiful. It was magical. A truly wonderful festival.
DeleteWhat a lovely and colourful experience.
ReplyDeleteladyfi: Thank you. It was definitely both of those things.
DeleteI think this is some of the best pics yet!
ReplyDeleteTammy Theriault: Ok, so it seems I am a poor judge of photos. I am glad you liked them though.
DeleteThe sunset pictures are stunning. I always stop and look at sunsets. Not that you can see much with all the houses, buildings, and powerlines but I still look.
ReplyDeleteSonya Ann: I do mad woman with camera dances at dust and at dawn. Often. And love them both.
DeleteI love the pictures. They're not bad at all, though I know you wish for better quality. I wish I could see that show. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteMyrna R.: It was a wonderful show - and the culmination of a great festival. How I wish that more people could see it...
DeleteWow- that must have been amazing to see live. I'm glad you got to see the show.
ReplyDeleteTerri @ Colouring Outside the Lines: We are glad we went too. Very glad.
DeleteI need to go visit your country. Need to!
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: And if and when you do, I hope you will come visit us.
DeleteWe saw a similar show but on a much smaller scale in Branson, MO years ago. It is amazing.
ReplyDeleteGrannie Annie: It was indeed amazing. And fun. I was blown away by the skills of the performers too.
DeleteI love that pink sunset sky!!
ReplyDeleteOptimist Existentialist: It was an added bonus to the evening.
DeleteIf I were sweet like you, would I get as many comments as you do or would my looks work against me?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you had a good time, Hon.
Snowbrush: Looks certainly don't work against me. Or perhaps they don't work against me because I don't show myself...
DeleteI think the pictures add a little mystique to the show... I'd call them "Action Shots" and smile if someone tried to give me any stick :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the main thing is you had a good time - and the pictures give you a reason to go back if the show is still/comes back to town :)
Mark Koopmans: It was amazing. The performance was a one and only and I believe the performers are now back in Spain. Next year will be a different special event, and I hope to be there.
DeleteThese are just too beautiful. I love especially the picture of the sky. So majestic.
ReplyDeleteLux Ganzon: I look to the sky for beauty each and every day. And am very rarely disappointed.
DeleteWhoa! Those were not the pictures I imagined seeing after you described the Parliament House. Very striking, and jeeze, I would never have the guts to try acrobatics like that.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: I think that old Parliament House is improved by the lighting. In its natural and unadorned state I think it looks a bit 'wedding cakey'.
DeleteAnd no, I have neither the guts nor the skill for acrobatics. I appreciated it though.
I'm so glad you went back to see the old Parliament House before and after illumination for the night. It's beautiful! And the performance looks spectacular! I've never seen a performance like that in person (only on TV), and I'm glad you were able to capture a few shots to share with us.
ReplyDelete2justByou: It was spectacular. And I went back to old Parliament House very early yesterday morning. It seems to have claimed a lot of my time recently. Photos of that trip to follow.
DeleteSpectacular. Beautiful photos. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
A Cuban in London: Thank you.
DeleteYou got 107 comments I've never seen so many.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures , a great night out.
Merle.........
Merlesworld: I do get lots of comments - and welcome them. One of the blogs I follow regularly gets over 200. Which is amazing.
DeleteAnd it was a beautiful night. A really beautiful night.
Gosh gosh gosh, how absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading blogs to feel better and what joy!
Guyana-Gyal: You need to feel better? That doesn't sound good at all. I hope whatever it is disappears quickly. And completely.
DeleteI am glad that you liked Enlighten - and have some more beauty to share tomorrow (and next week).
It looks like that was a magical evening, and I think your pictures are just dandy.
DeleteSusan: It was a wonderful evening. Really wonderful. I do love the whole festival, and am blown away by how much of it is free.
DeleteLove your photos. I like reading all these blogs...gives new perspective on life!
ReplyDeleteRomance Reader: The blogosphere is wonderful for the glimpses of other worlds/cultures/lives isn't it?
Delete