Canberra next week

[polyglot]

I have a daytrip to Canberra for work purposes next Tuesday and will be free for about three hours in the morning. Any recommendations as to where I might schlep the 4x5 system? Will be on my own and have a rental car.

[Maris Rusis]

I have a daytrip to Canberra for work purposes next Tuesday and will be free for about three hours in the morning. Any recommendations as to where I might schlep the 4x5 system? Will be on my own and have a rental car.

I'd do the grounds of the National Gallery of Australia and environs. There's big and small outdoor sculpture, big deciduous trees, glimpses of Lake Burley-Griffin, and fancy architectural forms. And the best part is a security guard told me it's forbidden to photograph in the gallery but everything outside is freely available for the camera. Then again Australia is in a security panic about homegrown ISIL operatives. A guy with a big camera on a tripod could attract misguided attention!

[polyglot]

thanks, I'll have a look.

Is it worth getting up on one of the neighboring mountains?

[Maris Rusis]

I'm not sure about the mountains in Canberra. Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie are both drive-ups with the usual views; you see a lot, it's far away, everything looks small. The Telstra Tower on Black Mountain is is a grand (gross?) architectural spire with look-outs accessible at several levels after you pay the admission fee to go up in the elevator. I don't know what the tripod policy is but last time I was there the trend was innumerable selfies by telephone camera.

An evocative, slightly spooky, ground-level alternative is the Cork Oak Forest at the National Arboretum. I'm doing it on 8x10 next time I'm in Canberra.

[polyglot]

cheers; that should keep me entertained for a couple hours!