Six Years Later

William Harry St

It feels strange when you revisit a location and do not recognise it. This is the corner of Harris Street and William Harry Street.

The picture on the left was taken on 6 February 2003 with Nikon digital point & shoot camera. It was one of those images I took and told me that I had good eyes. The site itself fascinated me. It was an empty land with a view overlook at Sydney in its growth.

Years went by and I passed that spot occasionally but did notice the development until I went to a second hand camera market at Ultimo Community Centre across the road. That land is now Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre. I have been inside briefly but it did not trigger the memory of the old image.

It is impossible to replicate the angle in then-and-now tradition for a number of reasons. First of all, the old building is a big part of the composition and it is not there any more. If it was, it would be behind the new one. Moreover, it was a different camera. These days I use Nokia N96 camera phone for simultaneous street shots like this. It is easier to upload them on the fly.

However, I try to stick to the old composition where Centerpoint (AMP tower) or , now, Sydney Tower is in the background looked through the building. Some risk is involved when I have to stop in the middle of the traffic light to get this shot. Well it’s Sunday people don’t get killed, do they?

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