The Sydney harbor under a blue sunny sky is a gorgeous place to be. With the sea at your feet, the wind in your hair, you can amble along the waterfront slowly while nibbling on a ice-cream cone, all the while gazing at the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

For a great view of the Harbour Bridge, go to the Circular Quay subway station platform. Chances are good that you’ll hop off at this station anyway!

The stately facade of the St Mary’s Cathedral. While it may not be the biggest church in Sydney, it certainly is the most dignified, even though it is a stone’s throw away from numerous high rise buildings in the Sydney CBD. Its location at the edge of The Domain (green open space) and Hyde Park also lends it a regal air.

Alas, its strict non-photography rule means interior shots are very very rare, although I didn’t let it stop me. I should feel ashamed.

There are few light shows better than a gorgeous sunset. Here, it is accompanied by a cluster of super trees found at Gardens by the Bay. Alien looking and yet so sublime- it wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi movie.

After a very sedate and subdued week, today’s image is a veritable burst of color. We went to the observation deck on top of Marina Bay Sands just before sunset, and the views were simply gorgeous. The observation deck is on the 57th storey, and gives panoramic views of the Marina Bay area in Singapore. The public area of the deck is shaped like the bow of a ship. With the wooden floor beneath your feet, the bustling wind in your hair and the cheerful sun on your face, it really does feel like you are on a huge ship, especially when you look towards the sea.

I spent a couple of minutes shooting inward however. The light conditions would have made this impossible, but adjusting the exposures and combining five pictures into a single photo worked out brilliantly if you ask me.

Closing off black & white week is Sydney Opera House. Well, an interior shot of its foyer anyway. I didn’t really like the purple upholstery used in this foyer, although I guess it’s meant to act as a visual contrast to the wood based interior. In any case, I think the looks great in black and white – mysteriously elegant if you will. This shot was originally published in color back in May 2012.

This marks the end of my monochrome week. It’s been fun going through my archives and selecting candidates for black and white conversion. I’m pretty sure I will repeat this not too long in the future!

Today’s selection is an abstract architectural feature from the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. This was posted in July 2011. Years later, I am still struck by the form of its lines.

The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

- Matthew Arnold, Dover Beach

This week, I revisit some of my old photos and give them the black and white treatment. First up is the Vatican Museum spiral ramp in Rome, posted way back in April 2011. The curving lines and structured zones of shadow and light make it an excellent candidate for black and white shots.

This was also the first time I keenly felt handicapped without an ultra wide lens – I have not traveled without one since!

The gracefully unfurling petals of a golden chrysanthemum drew my eyes. I haven’t shot flowers in a long time, this definitely makes me itch to visit the florist!

A well-dressed sea anemone shows off its retro colors. I really dig the pink and lime green combination- pretty amazing that nature has color theory down pat!

The shipwreck exhibit is one of the aquarium tanks in the SEA Aquarium in Marine Life Park, Marina Bay Sands Resorts World Singapore. It is the first tank visitors see, and is pretty small but artfully presented.

When kindness has left people, even for a few moments, we become afraid of them as if their reason had left them. When it has left a place where we have always found it, it is like shipwreck; we drop from security into something malevolent and bottomless.
- Willa Cather