Temple of the Winds

Salvador 84 Lens // Uchitel 20 Film // Yuletide FlashOn Sunday I went for a walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens, a few minutes walk from my home and which I fondly refer to as ‘my backyard’, and took this photograph of the Temple of the Winds.

The structure was created by William Guilfoyle, one of the directors of the Gardens from 1873 to 1909, and who is often described as “the master of landscaping”. The Temple overlooks the Yarra River and beyond to Melbourne’s sports grounds such as the MCG and tennis centre, and further eastwards, Richmond.

I took the photo with the iPhone 6 native camera app, and used the randomiser in Hipstamatic to create the sepia double exposure. I love to make modern photos look vintage, and I love the happy chance combinations made using the random button in the Hipstamatic app. You never know exactly what kind of double exposure the Salvador 84 lens will make, and the Yuletide flash in monochrome images has a lovely aging effect. The sepia film, Uchitel 20, also produces random spotting and foxing.

Although it’s not the same as analogue photography, it is a rare instance of serendipity in the digital age, as I mentioned in my previous story on Eugène Atget. While I was not trying to emulate his work, it did remind me of him.

Here’s to happy chance.