Making time to play

This is not the usual scene that you expect to see on a busy day on a busy street- people stopping by to play on the swings- but then Montreal is not your usual city. These swing sets were part of an urban installation called 21 Balacoires and were placed along the Promenade des Artistes. This new urban space links the Place des Festivals with Le Parterre, along de Maisonneuve and Président-Kennedy.

21 BALANÇOIRES (21 swings) is an exercise in musical cooperation that is half street furniture, half game. It’s the work of artist-designers Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat. Luc-Alain Girardeau, professor of animal behaviour at the UQAM Faculté des Sciences, helped develop the concept.

Each swing is a musical instrument. Depending on how you swing, it generates different notes. It was a very novel idea and was really enjoyed by the people. Alas! I was rushing past it to go for an important appointment and only stopped by to click some pictures. I could not revisit this before the temporary installation was taken down. 😦

To see a video of the swings in action , click here

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This is in response to Phoneography Challenge: My Neighborhood. This challenge could not have been more well timed. After many days which seem like many weeks we have the sun shining on us and I have been photographing my neighborhood with … Continue reading →

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond

“Do you have a photo which invites the viewer to look beyond? Are there hidden depths in the background? Is the focal point just a framing for the rest of the picture? If it’s not clear why we should look beyond, tell us! “

The moment I read the photochallenge brief, I knew what I wanted to post about. In Oct 2012 we revisited Dubai , a place we called home for three years. In one sense,  Dubai is beyond home for us.

When we left, the latest icon of Dubai and UAE – The Burj Khalifa–  was still under-construction and I was really excited to see it completed (that’s the architect in me speaking). Compound that with the fact that the designers from the office I was working in at that time were involved in the landscape design around the building so I had a heightened level of excitement to see it.

Here are a few pictures that I clicked:

My first sighting of the building was from the plane and I think this picture best fits the Photochallenge brief!

The top of the building as seen from inside the towers’ base! The Building designers had specifically designed the viewing spot for photographers!!

A scaled model of the Burj- Khalifa displayed at the foyer!

This is the Burj-al- Arab a luxurious seven-star hotel built on an island of its own as seen from the Burj- Khalifa viewing deck. It was synonymous with Dubai until Burj-khalifa ousted it. If you look closely, you can see the Palm Jumeriah Islands behind the Burj-Al-Arab.

Last but not the least, A picture of the Burj Khalifa in its Splendor.

Phir Milege!!