Lanewalking #2: Eton Lane

Given how grey, stormy and wet it is in Sydney right now, it's nice to look back on these photos I took a few weeks ago. Look at those blue skies! The complete absence of clouds! The fact that it isn't pissing rain for days on end!

Eton Lane is just a few blocks from my house, a little unremarkable lane that I set for myself as a phtotographic challenge. Much of the lane itself was sort of ho-hum, so I decided to focus on the details. Surprisingly, there were more interesting details that I initially thought.

This is the back fence of my local corner shop, and I like the creative recycling use of the old signage. MILK BA.

Some wangfitti. If there's one thing my neighbourhood loves, it's penis. Loves it!

My local council has judged your rubbish bin and frankly, found it wanting. If you put non-recyclables in your recycling bin, or in the green waste bin, then you have to do the Reject Label Walk Of Shame.

Home made security, not much of a deterrant but I guess it's something.

20 2, Eton Lane by the numbers.

Lane Walking: Gibbens Lane

I thought it might be fun to start a little semi-regular photography project, exploring the myriad of laneways around Newtown and Camperdown with my camera.

I don't claim any real originality to this idea, other bloggers have done this sort of project before me. In fact I remember once finding an Adelaide blogger whose blog was devoted entirely to the idea of documenting the lanes and alleys of Adelaide. (I don't know if this blog is still going, I've since lost the url a long time ago. If anyone knows of it hit me up in the comments and I'll add in a linky dink.)

My house is right on the border of two inner west Sydney city suburbs, Newtown and Camperdown. Both of them have a long and colourful history, and for many decades were cramped low rent suburbs filled with worker housing, and not terribly well serviced with sanitation. Behind almost every street there are parrallel laneways, where the 'night soil' sanitation workers would collect the toilet pans from the 'out houses' at the bottom of every garden.

That's a long time ago now, and these inner city suburbs of narrow terrace houses and cottages are now considered desirable places to live, rather than the borderline slums they were. But the laneways remain. Mostly now they are filled with people's garbage bins, the odd discarded sofa or ironing board, and prowling domestic cats. But sometimes these semi-private spaces are also home to odd and interesting things, funky grafitti and bits of self expression.

The other day I discovered Gibbens Lane in Camperdown. Unlike most of the lanes Gibbens Lane has a few twists and turns and instead of just the mostly non-descript rear fences of residences it also has a couple of warehouse type buildings mixed in.

But then I turned the corner and unexpectedly found a cool street art project by someone called "Madame Kafoops" (who I discovered has a Flickr photostream of their own.) These burlesque styled paste ups of a woman in various outfits and poses are almost life sized.

Cool, huh? Over the years I've photographed other odds and ends that I have found in the laneways, but this was one of the more surprising discoveries. And it was mostly this that kicked off the idea that I should maybe explore more. To try and use this as an exercise to find the interesting in what can generally be pretty bland spaces. To try and look at these neglected and infrequently visited spaces with fresh eyes.

[Click the pics to see them full sized on Flickr.]