# Imagine This in Australia and Across the Entire Globe



## Nero Egernia (Feb 18, 2018)

I was finally able to watch Planet Earth II. It did not disappoint.

While I love David Attenborough and nature documentaries in general, I think I spent most of my time marveling at the cinematography. It was simply stunning. The editors and camera operators did a wonderful job.

Towards the end of the final episode "Cities", there was a sequence that showcased Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and other "greening" projects. To see this taking place gives me hope for the future. While it's not the perfect solution to habitat destruction, it's something. Imagine this taking place in Australian cities, across the globe even. Stark grey concrete jungles transformed into lush green paradises. Tall buildings overflowing with native flora endemic to the area. The cities just might support more wildlife. If nothing else it may clear up the atmosphere, reduce air pollution, facilitate a greater appreciation for the natural world among a population essentially cut off from it, even serve as an insurance for potentially endangered plant species.

























Many will say I'm dreaming, but it's one I hope comes true. 

What does everyone think? Would it work? Would you like the cities to become more green?


----------



## Imported_tuatara (Feb 18, 2018)

damn that's amazing! it looks fantasy-esk.


----------



## richyboa72 (Feb 18, 2018)

Yes it looks so cool,I was awed by that episode too,surprising how it’s helped with some local reptiles too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## pinefamily (Feb 18, 2018)

I saw a similar thing on Costa's Garden Odyssey. This guy has invented a drainage cell that makes it possible to have a garden on any surface. Every rooftop could be a garden.


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Having been to Singapore, they really have done some inspiring things. The city is spotless, you can't even chew gum in Singapore, do so and you're getting a fine. Don't even dare drop a cigarette butt or litter on the sidewalk. Australia, while leagues behind, in cleanliness and "greenness", the major cities are beginning to have a shift in attitude with Melbourne apparently leading the way with regards to reducing carbon emissions closely followed by Brisbane in becoming Australia's greenest and most sustainable live-in cities.


----------



## Smittiferous (Feb 18, 2018)

Aussiepride83 said:


> Having been to Singapore, they really have done some inspiring things. The city is spotless, you can't even chew gum in Singapore, do so and you're getting a fine. Don't even dare drop a cigarette butt or litter on the sidewalk. Australia, while leagues behind, in cleanliness and "greenness", the major cities are beginning to have a shift in attitude with Melbourne apparently leading the way with regards to reducing carbon emissions closely followed by Brisbane in becoming Australia's greenest and most sustainable live-in cities.


Have you got a source link? I’d love to read about it, but haven’t seen any changes in Melbourne to indicate a shift to greener thinking...


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Smittiferous said:


> Have you got a source link? I’d love to read about it, but haven’t seen any changes in Melbourne to indicate a shift to greener thinking...


Really? I read a while back that Melbourne was leading the country. I was surprised myself. I thought it'd have been Adelaide or here where I live, Toowoomba. We're pretty green here.

I'll try to find it again.

Hi again @Smittiferous - http://www.eldersrealestate.com.au/2016/10/05/which-is-australias-greenest-city/


----------



## Nerdhero (Feb 18, 2018)

I think @Nero Egernia pointed out the problem. We are so removed from nature and our effects on it. No one sees where are rubbish is ending up, heck some people living in a major city wont see a plant all day long.

Im always awed by the sky, it has the ability to look beautiful in so many different ways. From a starry night to a sunset. The other day we had an electrical storm at about 4 in the arvo. Next minute i look outside and its literally orange. Perhaps the most beautiful sky ive seen. 

But I say these things and yet i hardly actually see the sky. Apart from walking to and from my car im almost exclusively under a roof.


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Nerdhero said:


> I think @Nero EgerniaIm always awed by the sky, it has the ability to look beautiful in so many different ways. From a starry night to a sunset. The other day we had an electrical storm at about 4 in the arvo. Next minute i look outside and its literally orange. Perhaps the most beautiful sky ive seen.
> 
> But I say these things and yet i hardly actually see the sky. Apart from walking to and from my car im almost exclusively under a roof.


I am very thankful I grew up in the New England region of NSW, where they have the most picturesque sky transformations in the country. Living in Toowoomba, I still get to drive the New England Highway regularly right down through Tenterfield, Glenn Innes, Armidale, Uralla, it's simply stunning country and well captured in Luke Oshea's duet with Diana Corcoran ~ New England Sky.

[doublepost=1518913754,1518912903][/doublepost]Driving the New England, I always photograph the sky. Last trip back in October. 
Near Glenn Innes - 5am





Thunderbolt's Way - 7am.


----------



## Nerdhero (Feb 18, 2018)

Awesome photos @Aussiepride83 

I have a little ritual at work; if i walk outside i stop and take 10 seconds to look around at the sky, then i give it a rating out of 10.

I often finish at 6pm, there have been many 10 sunsets, the sky transitioning from golden orange at the skyline to a purple


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Nerdhero said:


> Awesome photos @Aussiepride83
> 
> I have a little ritual at work; if i walk outside i stop and take 10 seconds to look around at the sky, then i give it a rating out of 10.
> 
> I often finish at 6pm, there have been many 10 sunsets, the sky transitioning from golden orange at the skyline to a purple


Awesome!

There's an old bloke here in Toowoomba, he made the local paper a few years back, every morning for something like 12 years straight now, rain, hail or shine, he's at Picnic Point (looks down from the escarpment towards Brisbane) before dawn to photograph the sunrise. EVERY single day he does it. Reckons there's never any two sunrises that are remotely the same. Has had a lot of his work transformed to Canvas prints.

Just some random Picnic Point sunrise images.








Photography certainly is a great hobby to be in and the sky is probably a very underrated subject.


----------



## Scutellatus (Feb 18, 2018)

Aussiepride83 said:


> I am very thankful I grew up in the New England region of NSW, where they have the most picturesque sky transformations in the country. Living in Toowoomba, I still get to drive the New England Highway regularly right down through Tenterfield, Glenn Innes, Armidale, Uralla, it's simply stunning country and well captured in Luke Oshea's duet with Diana Corcoran ~ New England Sky.
> 
> [doublepost=1518913754,1518912903][/doublepost]Driving the New England, I always photograph the sky. Last trip back in October.
> Near Glenn Innes - 5am
> ...



That's not a sky...
This is a sky!




Taken this week before a storm near Jimboomba.


----------



## Nerdhero (Feb 18, 2018)

@Aussiepride83 that second photo is a 10.

Perfectly illustrates the transition from golden orange to that deep purple...velvet? 

Sorry if this thread got a bit off topic :/
[doublepost=1518918353,1518918121][/doublepost]@Scutellatus i reckon thats the same day i was talking about above. I live on the gold coast so its likely!

How insane was it, there was like an ambience of orange everywhere. I remember looking at my window and there was a glow behind the blinds, i was like wtf is going on outside. Could hardly believe my eyes when i opened the blinds.

Its interesting though that i never really take photos, never been into photography


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> That's not a sky...
> This is a sky!
> View attachment 323314
> 
> Taken this week before a storm near Jimboomba.


Nothing spectacular about the colours in that. Pretty uniform. The dust storm we had back in 2011 (I think it was) produced better colours.




I'll take the New England any day.


----------



## Nero Egernia (Feb 18, 2018)

Here's some very old photos of sunsets on the Stirling Ranges I took as a kid. Was still learning proper composition then, haha. 


























I hope Australia one day becomes as clean as Singapore, litter wise. It's disgusting how people dump their rubbish everywhere. I was at the Mount Barker Hill Lookout the other day and there was broken glass scattered everywhere across the rocks.


----------



## Imported_tuatara (Feb 18, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Here's some very old photos of sunsets on the Stirling Ranges I took as a kid. Was still learning proper composition then, haha.
> 
> View attachment 323317
> 
> ...


 that first image is probably the best sunset/sunrise picture I've seen in this thread.


----------



## Scutellatus (Feb 18, 2018)

Nerdhero said:


> @Aussiepride83 that second photo is a 10.
> 
> Perfectly illustrates the transition from golden orange to that deep purple...velvet?
> 
> ...


Most likely was Nerd, it was an awesome looking sky, definitely beats the usual drab looking sky photos.
That photo was taken with my phone, I have always had an interest in photography but have never gotten around to getting a decent quality camera to pursue it properly.


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Here's some very old photos of sunsets on the Stirling Ranges I took as a kid. Was still learning proper composition then, haha.
> 
> View attachment 323317
> 
> ...


Great photos. 

Imagine Australia as clean as singapore... Not just physical litter wise, if you're caught involved in a public argument with someone in the street in Singapore, you are fined $5,000 no questions asked, whether you're at fault or not. There'd be no more car park rage here in AUS if that was enforced!


----------



## Scutellatus (Feb 18, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Here's some very old photos of sunsets on the Stirling Ranges I took as a kid. Was still learning proper composition then, haha.
> 
> View attachment 323317
> 
> ...


Still learning proper composition?
I think you had it nailed even at that age Kayla!
I especially like the fourth shot. It reminds me of the Japanese flag,
The land of the rising sun.


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

A few weekends ago after a full 2 days on the roof with the Milwaukee rattle gun and 1,351 roofing screws later, it was good to sit down with a beer and watch the sun set. Just Samsung Galaxy S8 nothing fancy but I love the colours in a sun set sky. 




[doublepost=1518921308,1518921035][/doublepost]@Nero Egernia I'd be interested to see any good photographs of rainbows that you've captured if any? I've snapped a few gems in the past but again, only with mobile phone cams. I'd love to see proper professional photography grade rainbow pics.


----------



## Stompsy (Feb 18, 2018)

Horrible shots but the sky can be incredible!
This one was taken from my back deck as a storm was rolling in off the bay.





This was taken from the train on my commute to work one morning. Even though it’s an awful picture, I couldn’t resist because I’d never seen a sunrise that colour before.


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

Stompsy said:


> Two terrible iPhone shots of the sky.
> 
> View attachment 323324
> 
> ...


You can still see the awesome colours.


----------



## dragonlover1 (Feb 18, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Here's some very old photos of sunsets on the Stirling Ranges I took as a kid. Was still learning proper composition then, haha.
> 
> View attachment 323317
> 
> ...


nice pics young fella,they might'nt be "properly framed"but they are still great shots you should be proud of


----------



## MANNING (Feb 18, 2018)

@Aussiepride83 
On the galaxy, in camera mode swipe to the left, brings all the camera modes up - click pro.. when you learn what all those extra buttons do and which order to change them the photos you take will be 100% more "professional" .

Definetely takes a great photo in auto tho


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 18, 2018)

MANNING said:


> @Aussiepride83
> On the galaxy, in camera mode swipe to the left, brings all the camera modes up - click pro.. when you learn what all those extra buttons do and which order to change them the photos you take will be 100% more "professional" .
> 
> Definetely takes a great photo in auto tho


Cheers for the tip man! I'll give it a crack!


----------



## Nerdhero (Feb 18, 2018)

Thank you everyone for the pictures, I see a few 10's. Sometimes its easy to get caught up with the stresses of live. Looking at the sky reminds me to be thankful for all there is.


----------



## MANNING (Feb 19, 2018)

All photos have been resized well below the original quality. But a quick few I found taken from my phone


----------



## pinefamily (Feb 19, 2018)

Looking at the sky reminds me that we need to take care of everything beneath it.


----------



## bluedragon (Feb 19, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> I was finally able to watch Planet Earth II. It did not disappoint.
> 
> While I love David Attenborough and nature documentaries in general, I think I spent most of my time marveling at the cinematography. It was simply stunning. The editors and camera operators did a wonderful job.
> 
> ...



did you watch on Saturday his new masterpiece Blue Planet 2 it was amazing


----------



## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 19, 2018)

pinefamily said:


> Looking at the sky reminds me that we need to take care of everything beneath it.


Doesn't have that effect on Me, causes a great deal of wonder and thought... questions like who else/what else is out there beyond the blue... who else/what else walks among us that we're unaware of. Looking at the sky, whether in broad daylight or under stars, I always have the same 3 words run through my mind... "_we're not alone."_
Might have something to do with Toowoomba being renowned as the paranormal capital of Austrralia. I have seen some out there stuff lol

There's a good doco on Netflix called Australian Skies for anyone interested in that sort of thing. Done by Damian Nott, one of Australia's leading authorities on UFO's etc.
Here's the trailer.


----------



## Nero Egernia (Feb 19, 2018)

Aussiepride83 said:


> ]@Nero Egernia I'd be interested to see any good photographs of rainbows that you've captured if any? I've snapped a few gems in the past but again, only with mobile phone cams. I'd love to see proper professional photography grade rainbow pics.



No, I don't think I have any rainbow photos. I've only dabbled in landscape photography a little bit, mostly when I was a kid. Most of those photos have been lost.



bluedragon said:


> did you watch on Saturday his new masterpiece Blue Planet 2 it was amazing



I got Planet Earth II on DVD. Good to know that they've done a sequel to the Blue Planet. Looks like I'll have another awesome series to add to my collection. 



pinefamily said:


> Looking at the sky reminds me that we need to take care of everything beneath it.



I think that's the ultimate message. The natural world is beautiful and awe-inspiring. We need to protect it before it's lost forever.


----------



## Bluetongue1 (Feb 21, 2018)

Greening cities is one thing but in my opinion you hit the nail on the head in acknowledging that we need to retain what we can of the natural world. It does not matter what it looks like, be it rainforests to heathland scrub to arid hummock grasslands or whatever natural environment, no matter if our eyes find attractive or otherwise.

Greening cities is a positive thing but one needs to be realistic about what can actually be done. Singapore was originally a full-on tropical rainforest ecosystem so they have a plethora of showy plants to choose from in greening their city state. This is not the case with the vast majority of Australian cities. There is also the cost of implementing such a project and the on-going costs of maintaining it. Singapore derives a highly significant portion of its economy from tourism, sufficient to warrant such undertakings. Last year, for example, the number of tourists visiting this independent state was treble the number of local residents.

The thing that really stuck in my mind as truly significant whilst watching the video. was their having planted two million trees. Now that is what I call genuinely greening a city and something Australian cities could emulate to a greater or lesser degree, rather than trying to implement the showy structures designed to attract and hold the interests of tourists.


----------

