Interesting, though, to see that some things about Paris haven’t changed a great deal in 60 years: people still sit on the embankment of the River Seine, canal boats still moor by the Pont Neuf, and the skyline behind Ile de la Cite has gained only one tall building.

Although it’s possible to stand where the great man stood, and to point a camera at the same things he saw, it is totally impossible to replicate digitally the fabulous film grain and misty light in Cartier-Bresson’s image. And that, I think, is a very good thing.

Ile de la Cite, Paris, gelatin silver print by Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1952

Ile de la Cite, Paris, digital image by me, 2011. (Black and white conversion and “film grain” added in Capture NX2 and Photoshop Elements.)

Later in the evening I was reading the news about the journey of the Aurora Australis to Antarctica to mark the centenary of Douglas Mawson’s 1912 expedition. The internet being the wonderful place that it is, I was soon following links to photographs taken by Frank Hurley on that expedition, then photographs taken by him in France during the First World War, and then photographs taken in the Middle East during the Second World War.

I knew of Hurley’s work in Antarctica, and also of his war photography, but didn’t know that he also visited and photographed Petra sometime around 1943. So I started playing spot-the-difference again, comparing Hurley’s photographs with my own from October last year. How presumptuous!

I discovered that Petra hasn’t changed all that much in nearly 70 years. Except perhaps in the ease of travel. Hurley’s note on his photograph of Ad-Deir says this: “Situated to the s. e. of the Dead Sea. Practically impossible to reach today.” For air-conditioned buses, I am very, very thankful.

Rock Tombs at Petra, silver gelatin photograph by Frank Hurley, c.1943

Rock tombs at Petra, digital image by me, 2011.

Glimpse of Petra Valley, silver gelatin photograph by Frank Hurley, c.1943

Glimpse of Petra Valley, digital image by me, 2011

Huge temple cut in one piece from the mountain, Petra, Jordan, silver gelatin photograph by Frank Hurley, c. 1943

Ad-Deir (The Monastery), digital image by me, 2011

Midnight fireworks in Sydney to bring in the new year, photographed from Pirrama Park, Pyrmont.

Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens; Joby GorillaPod and Nikon remote control; ISO 100, f/9 at shutter speeds between 2.5 and 4 seconds.

A big day of Christmas cooking and doing as much preparation for Christmas Day as possible. These no-bake mini Christmas puddings were too pretty not to photograph.

Nikon D7000 with an ancient Sigma 55mm f/2.8 macro lens. Manual exposure and focus: 1/200th sec at f/4, ISO 400.

Happy Christmas to you all!

Sweet.

I had my camera at the aquatic centre today, taking photos of children from the school where I work. The effect of the water moving over the tiles on the floor of the children’s play pool was fascinating.

Inspiration for a quilt? Yes, indeed.

Photographed with a Nikon D7000 and 85mm f/1.8 lens, 1/125 sec at f/2.8, ISO 250.

Urban art found near the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. A more political edge than flowers in St Peters, perhaps?

Photographed with a Nikon D7000 and 20mm f/2.8 lens, 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100.

In some places, on brick walls. Somehow I don’t think this would look quite as good if I tried it on my colourbond.

Urban art found at St Peters railway station in Sydney.

Photographed with a Nikon D7000 and 20mm f/2.8 lens, 1/200 sec at f/5, ISO 100.

Here are the two images that are “bookends” to my journeys this year.

Paris, in June: the Eiffel Tower as it came into view at the end of Rue de Monttessuy, the first photograph taken during my family holiday to Europe. And Petra, in October: my last glimpse of Al Khazneh, the Treasury, the final photograph from my study tour in the Middle East.

I’m struck by how different these landmarks are, and yet how similar the photographs. The Eiffel Tower, a modern monument built as the entrance for the World Fair of 1889, here framed by contemporary apartment buildings. And Al Khazneh, a king’s tomb carved from a sandstone cliff in the 1st century, framed by the 80m high walls of the Siq. Modern metal and ancient rock, both candidates for the new seven wonders of the world. I’m amazed that I have seen them both.

Petra is a huge site and we spent a whole day here, though even that was probably not enough to see everything properly. Entry is through The Siq, at the end of which is the classic *gasp* view of The Treasury. But Petra has more treasure than The Treasury. Take a look at the link above, and be amazed.

Some of us climbed the 800+ sandstone steps to the top of the mountain to view Ad-Deir (The Monastery). Others, including me, took the Indiana Jones option and rode a donkey – 15 dinars (about 20 Australian dollars) for two donkeys and a guide, which we would pay when we reached the top and not before. I was so excited that I didn’t stop to consider how the donkey was going to manage this, and was taken aback when we reached the bottom of the stairs.

“The donkey climbs the stairs?”, I asked the boy leading the way. “Oh, yes,” he replied. “Donkey know the way. Just relax.” I wasn’t worried so much about donkey knowing the way, but whether donkey had steady feet! One slip, and donkey and I would be at the bottom of the valley again.

But it was OK. Apart from stopping twice to readjust the saddle and tighten the frayed girth strap. It was probably better not to think about OH&S anyway. We made it, and it was worth every slip and scrabble up the stairs. I walked down, though. No way was I trusting the descent to anything but my own two feet!

Our guide had told us, as we arrived at the site in the morning, that the average number of photos taken per person during a day at Petra is four hundred. Seven hundred in the case of Japanese tourists. I have only forty! Hopefully the dozen below give you a feel for Petra and how wonderful it was to visit. Enjoy!