Melbourne (Australia)
20 March - 01 November 2020
In a way COVID-19 has given us all a break from our respective realities, or perhaps more fittingly, what we thought our reality was. These days it appears that there really isn't a 'normal' and there's not a piece of the puzzle that we can see that fits the image we were carefully crafting. Our vernacular has morphed too. It now encompasses all elements of what the pandemic enforced upon us. We've been surrounded by terms such as unprecedented, new-normal, social distancing, lockdown, curfew, sanitising, R number, flattening the curve, second wave, third wave, border restrictions, transmission rate.
Mind you, the year would have been oddball even without the 'Wuhan virus'.
First, fires ripped through the eastern part of Australia from October 2019 all the way into March 2020. With devastating consequences to all communities down the coastline, day turned into night, ash hazes engulfed our major cities, fauna was decimated and sadly, lives were lost.
Most recently we've had the pleasure of experience floods in both South-East QLD & North-Eastern NSW. A combination of La Nina and climate change has impacted our coastline and again brought to our attention just how fragile and insignificant we can be when it comes to mother nature
In the US, Donald Trump became the third President to be impeached. He totally ignored the Black Lives Matter movement and then literally said, regarding the election, 'I'll only accept the outcome of the election if I win, if I don't, then the result will be a sham, a fraud perpetrated on the American people by a corrupt and criminal Democratic Party'. I think we're all still waiting to get our head around the temerity, or perhaps the plain churlish and boorish display of the Commander in Chief of the free world! LOL - when you say that out aloud it sounds as ludicrous as it reads.
But of course, the star of the year was COVID-19. It occupied our every waking hour, and the waking hours of those that took over our shifts, for months. Nightly news simply became a summarised version of daily COVID-19 topics. Our weekend rituals of catching up with mates, having a drink and catching a game were all blunted, and then culled by an insidious virus whose ability to jump from one host to the next was 'unprecedented'.
For this reason I wanted to capture my own snapshots of 2020. A year where holidaying at home was enforced, where working form home was required and when going out for a simple walk was was restricted to a radius of 5kms from your place of residence.
Here's to a wacky 2020!
21 March 2020 - Riga International airport - Riga - Latvia
With lots of worry, extended phone calls, ridiculous sums paid for airfares, Inga's family made it back to Latvia, via a stop in Istanbul. Here's their photo of the international airport. It's the scene you'd imagine yourself seeing from those that had survived the apocalypse. Check-in desks empty, the departure hall devoid of life. It's almost absurd.
22 March 2020 - Southbank - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Sunday morning in Melbourne, this was out new normal. It felt like I was living out my own personal scene from Vanilla Sky.
27 March 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Happy 1st birthday to Aiden Robert Elisher!
For him COVID-19 was about cake, presents, parents being at home and endless amounts of attention.
27 March 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Aiden's 1st birthday - Are you getting an Elmo theme vibe?
At this point I don't even think he knew who or what Elmo was. Roll forward 6 months and there's cries of 'Noooooo' as soon as the Sesame Street channel needs to take its evening hiatus.
30 March 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Milestones and celebrations went indoors. Inga's birthday became a dine-in event and something that we needed to become accustomed to in the months that followed. The first few months were a sort of novelty and not nearly as brutal as when the second wave hit Melbourne, but that's a lockdown tale that I'll mention a little later.
30 March 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Celebrating indoors.
31 March 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
The fragility of the 'mental state' is on full display here. This is still very early on in the piece and we're already conjuring up moments of 'hilarity'???
10 April 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - looking down Flinders Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
This is what a Friday night now looked like. Empty streets, totally surreal.
19 April 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Another Sunday morning indoors. This became a favourite place to look down at the trains, count carriages, count the number of Uber Eats riders and marvel at the lack of traffic on the Kings Way.
19 April 2020 - Middle Park Beach - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
When the sun came out then most people would head out. I think Melbourne generally had a problem with social distancing, like it wasn't in their DNA or something. We'd be bombarded daily with health messages regarding the 1.5mtrs rule, sanitising, staying at home if you were feeling unwell, etc., but out on the beach it people simply felt as though they were immune to real world events.
25 April 2020 - Duckboard Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Inga and I started a little Saturday evening tradition. It would involve buying a few steaks from the Hereford Beefstouw, who were acting as our local butcher, and then picking up a few takeaway cocktails from Romeo Lane on Bourke St. It gave us (me) something to look forward to during the week, especially when working from home meant that the only days I'd really leave the house were on Saturdays to pick up our evening feast and on Sundays when I took Aiden out for a walk.
25 April 2020 - Duckboard Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
17 May 2020 - Fitzroy Gardens - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Certainly one of my favourite parts of the week, even more so on the days when Melbourne managed to turn on the weather. This day was a good one, and with that said, Fitzroy Gardens has to be one of the best inner city parks of any capital city in Australia.
17 May 2020 - Fitzroy Gardens - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
17 May 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
All washed and clean, almost ready for the nightly ritual of trying to put an active baby to bed. Not one of the best parts of the day! Sometimes he hits the bed and its like the rebel in him just wants to riot. He'll do everything in his power to keep that body of his from hibernating...but there's one thing I know that I have over him for right now, I have adult staying power, which means I can outlast the will of a toddler (I think).
20 May 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Another morning at the window, another day of spotting trains and picking up movement and signs of life on the streets.
23 May 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Yet another Saturday night in, but at least this was entertaining. Powderfinger reuniting for their 'One Night Lonely' event. Somewhat shorter than anticipated, five songs in total, but hell, Powderfinger in lockdown was just the tonic that we needed.
26 May 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Sunday morning looking down Flinders Street. Of course there were days like this when I was in the midst of doing assignments and the whole office/view set up was an almost pleasurable experience.
Playground - Birrarung Mar - Yarra River - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Many of the walks with Aiden would end up in the playground on the north side of the Yarra, relatively close to Fed Square. It's a cliche to say that 'My enjoyment comes from seeing his enjoyment' but hey, why not live in the truth of that cliche for a while longer.
08 June 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
02 July 2020 - On the road to the Yarra Valley - Victoria
Between bouts of lockdown somehow the easing of restrictions coincided with our anniversary and my birthday. The timing was perfect! It allowed us to get outside of Melbourne for a few days and celebrate accordingly.
02 July 2020 - Four Pillars Gin Distillery - Healesville - Yarra Valley - Victoria - Australia
The best gin in Australia, without question....and it was calling me in for a birthday Negroni!
Domaine Chandon Winery - 727 Maroondah Highway - Coldstream - Victoria - Australia
Birthday bubbles and frolicking on the grounds of Domaine Chandon. I'll take that in the 'new normal'.
Domaine Chandon Winery - 727 Maroondah Highway - Coldstream - Victoria - Australia
Domaine Chandon Winery - 727 Maroondah Highway - Coldstream - Victoria - Australia
How happy is that 45th birthday!!!
Considering the way of the world it was slightly out of the ordinary.
25 July 2020 - Yarra River - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Mandatory mask wearing came into effect during the month of July. Another odd experience in this year of unprecedented occurrences. Not only were we asked to stay within 5kms of our places of residence but now we were all accomplices in the latest Melbourne bank robberies.
25 July 2020 - Yarra River - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
When Melbourne turns on the weather you feel like you've picked up a small win at the TAB. Those are the days when you say out aloud, 'Melbourne, if only you were like this more often...I could love you forever'. The only active participants in this photo were Inga and Aiden, on the banks of the Yarra looking for ducks, I assume.
25 July 2020 - Flinders Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
No traffic, no pedestrians and only red lights.
COVID-19 wear, masks in sleek, slimming black.
25 July 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Saturday afternoon, getting everything together for our steak night ritual. The empty streets had us wondering what the hell everyone else was actually doing.
26 July 2020 - Fitzroy Gardens - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
A typical COVID-19 photo coming out of the COVID epicentre of Australia.
Mandated and masked. Dan spoke, we listed and had to implement.
08 August 2020 - Flinders Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
I had to take these photos. Although now common place, I knew there would come a time in the not too distant future when shots such these would simply amaze us.
08 August 2020 - Bourke Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Bourke Street on a Saturday afternoon, a ghost town waiting for its new owners to come in and take over.
08 August 2020 - Romeo Lane Bar - 1A Crossley Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Our Saturday night saviour. The takeaway cocktails from Romeo Lane gave us that little pep in our weekly off-beat step. I actually enjoyed turning up to the relatively nondescript entrance, knocking on the door and pretending that this was some type of clandestine exchange in the era of prohibition. I was also surprised that on each occasion I was met by a person not wearing a mask, like they were somehow playing along with the fantasy in my mind.
13 August 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
There were nights when the lack of movement on the streets was truly a sight worth capturing.
15 August 2020 - Birrarung Mar - Yarra River - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Simple pleasures. Taking a stroll along the river on a Saturday afternoon became a favourite pastime.
16 August 2020 - Birrarung Mar - Yarra River - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Just hanging out, kicking around a ball, watching the trains, enjoying the sun and having some time with my son. There are moments that will always stick out in your mind.
16 August 2020 - Batman Avenue - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Tranquil, peaceful and somewhat disturbing. A Sunday afternoon with not a vehicle or a person in sight. At this point Melbourne was being hammered by the pandemic. By mid-August we'd either just hit, or just come off our highest daily infection rate in terms of new case numbers. New restrictions were being placed on us each day and the economy was on life support.
16 August 2020 - Birrarung Mar - Yarra River - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Along the banks of the Yarra. Aiden and I had the place to ourselves.
22 August 2020 - Hoisier Lane - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
I found myself walking past the 'never deserted' Hoisier Lane, only to find that I was the only person in the frame. Of course the rain had an impact but there you have it, person free.
22 August 2020 - Hoisier Lane - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
22 August 2020 - Hoisier Lane - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
29 August 2020 - Flinders Street Station - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
The deafening sound of an empty vessel.
29 August 2020 - Flinders Street Station - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
It use to be when someone said, 'I'll meet you on the stairs of Flinders St Station', that you would still think, 'How the hell will I see them amongst that crowd?'.
Guess what?
I found you.
30 August 2020 - Flinders Street Station - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Sunday afternoon on Flinders Street.
30 August 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Somewhere about this time Aiden's obsession with pans started. Of course the impetus for the pan fetish was sparked by our Saturday evening steak night, but now he was taking his pans to 'another level'.
08 September 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Sometime during the month of August Inga & I made the decision to relocate. At that time the restrictions in Melbourne had no foreseeable end. The hospitality industry had been totally decimated and for Inga that meant that there was simply no available. Our tenants in Surfers Paradise were coming to the end of their lease and it just felt like the perfect time to make the move to a state where COVID was just a dirty word that described the goings on south of the border.
12 September 2020 - Queen Street - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Empty trams on the way to Queen Victoria markets. This became part of my Saturday ritual after the Hereford Beefstouw shut their doors. I'd head to the markets and pick up our steaks for the evening. Again, this was something I really enjoyed doing. It got me out of the apartment for that one-time per week and I didn't have the hassle of having to squeeze into a crowded space.
26 September 2020 - Birrarung Marr - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
One of my favourite photos. Not for the composition or quality of photo but just because of what it represented to us. Living on Flinders Street one of Aiden's favourite things to do was watch the trains go by and mimic their sounds. These stairs, looking out onto the railway line and over to the MCG was where we would head to on a Sunday afternoon in order to watch the trains and the trams, wave at them both, and hopefully get one of them to blow their horns for us.
26 September 2020 - Birrarung Marr playground - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
A Saturday afternoon at the playground.
26 September 2020 - Birrarung Marr playground - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
COVID friendly interactions whilst on the swings.
26 September 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
A beautiful display over the Yarra. On days like this you could almost forgive everything.
27 September 2020 - Birrarung Marr - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Enjoying Sunday afternoon with my favourite person in the whole world!
11 October 2020 - Birrarung Marr - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Sunday afternoon playground capers.
This was fun weekend. I'd just finished a major assignment and was procrastinating the need to start my final major assignment for the year. Sunday afternoons like these were way more enjoyable than thinking about Cybersecurity Risk Management.
2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
During COVID the Breslin Bar & Grill in Southbank turned into a mini-market on Saturdays and Sundays. After I'd venture to Queen Victoria markets in order to pick up our steaks for a Saturday night, I'd head down to the Breslin in to pick up a Saturday night tipple. In all honesty, the Black truffle Negroni was my least favourite of what they had on offer but still, Saturday night drinks soooo good!
17 October 2020 - Docklands Park - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
You can't take the Rock Star out of the boy!
30 October 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
'Where are we going again?' - 'I don't care, I just like boxes!'
30 October 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
This is the Melbourne sign that we purchased from Electric Confetti, (a fantastic neon sign shop in Brighton who produced it for us, they also do custom designs).This sign was specifically designed for our Melbourne apartment, and that's where it will stay.
Personally, I would have really wanted to stay in Melbourne myself, and certainly we tried, but COVID-19 had other plans for us and the real estate prices in the suburbs we wanted to be in had pushed us out of those markets. Of course COVID brought those prices back down but by that time our decision had been made. So it was 'Adios'
Thank you Melbourne! You were more than we imagined, and you gave us much more than we ever expected.
31 October 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Our last Saturday evening in Katherine Place - Steak Nights 'R' Us
31 October 2020 - Fitzroy Gardens - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Last time in the gardens too.
01 November 2020 - 2110/7 Katherine Place - Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Aiden doing the final bit of cleaning prior to us heading north for two weeks of quarantine in sunny Brisbane.
I have to say an absolutely 'massive' thank you to my fabulous wife!
As I'd been in the midst of trying to complete my final assignment, and work, she was the one that dismantled, packed and boxed absolutely everything. It was an enormous task and she did it all on her own!!!
