FLYING TO SYDNEY

Whenever I fly I always take the window seat as I like looking out but also because I get a chance to take some photos if the weather is right. On a recent flight to Sydney, the conditions were right and I managed to snap these shots.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

CAMELLIA

Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number. The genus was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who worked in the Philippines, though he never described a camellia

This genus is famous throughout East Asia; camellias are known as cháhuā (茶花) in Chinese, "tea flower", an apt designation, as tsubaki (椿) in Japanese, as dongbaek-kkot (동백꽃) in Korean and as hoa trà or hoa chè in Vietnamese.The most famous member is certainly the tea plant (C. sinensis). Among the ornamental species, Camellia japonica, Camellia oleifera and Camellia sasanqua are perhaps the most widely known, though most camellias grown for their flowers are cultivars or hybrids.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

WALL INC, PERTH

Wall Inc is a City of Perth initiative to commission professional practising artists, inviting them to translate their work from a Studio/Gallery setting to a public open-air space, connecting with urban spaces and its community. Wall Inc is underpinned by three objectives; to enhance the attractiveness of the city; to decrease the incidence of localised graffiti in the city and to bring a broader aesthetic approach and visual diversity into the streets.

Wall Inc is a series of mural commissions without a theme. Artists are invited to respond to a selected, to the physicality of the walls, the building use and surrounds. Many walls have permanent visual distractions such as uneven surfaces, air conditioners, pipes, and blocked- in windows. Artists are required to embrace the conditions and work with them, not against them.

This is Clare McFarlane's "A Fragmented Tale" 2011, found in the  Hay Street Mall Laneway between Flight Centre/Sussan and London Court.

This post is part of Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Monday Murals meme.

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

Curtin University is a research-intensive public university based in Perth, Western Australia. Named after the former Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin, it is also the largest University in Western Australia.

Curtin was conferred University status after the legislation was passed by the State Government of Western Australia in 1986. Since then, the University has been actively expanding its global presence and currently has campuses in Sydney, Singapore and Malaysia Sarawak. Being a leading global institution, it has forged close ties with 90 exchange universities in more than 20 countries.

The University comprises 5 main faculties with over 95 specialists centres. Curtin is one of only two Western Australian universities to rank in the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong Annual Ranking of World Universities (2011). It is also one of the two Western Australian universities to rank in the Times Higher Education's 2011-2012 world university rankings. Curtin is ranked within the top 300 universities by QS World University Rankings 2011/12.

This post is part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.

MIRRORWORLD

A seagull mirroring itself on a shallow puddle. A quiet time for self-reflection...

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme,

and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

SUNSET IN PERTH

Some more photos taken on my recent trip to Perth. A beautiful sunset over the City and the Swan River.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

PASSIONFLOWER

Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina (Corrientes and Misiones provinces, among others). Its common names include passion fruit (UK and US), passionfruit (Australia and New Zealand), and purple grenadilla (South Africa).

It is cultivated commercially in warmer, frost-free areas for its fruit and is widely grown in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, the Caribbean, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Portugal (Madeira), Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, South Africa, United States (California and Florida), Venezuela and Philippines.

The "Passion" in "passion flower" refers to the passion of Jesus in Christian theology. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion:

• The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance.
• The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ.
• The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles (excluding St. Peter the denier and Judas Iscariot the betrayer).
• The flower's radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns.
• The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents a hammer or the Holy Grail.
• The 3 stigmas represent the 3 nails and the 5 anthers below them the 5 wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance).
• The blue and white colours of many species' flowers represent Heaven and Purity.

The passion fruit is round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced; passion fruit juice is often added to other fruit juices to enhance the aroma.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.