Sunny Garden

Despite experiencing lovely sunny weather throughout our stay on the Gold Coast, the day we were meeting Nick Earls in Brisbane the sun disappeared and the weather was bleak and rainy. Still, Rachel and I were only in Brisbane for a couple of days and I couldn't afford to let rain get in the way.

First stop on the agenda was Zigzag Street.

The sun is setting as I walk down the hill, a bottle of red wine in one hand, and a blue haze is settling over the brewery and Toowong and the west.

We stood around the approximate location of the house and looked for the brewery. We couldn't see it. Nick was pointing at some indistinguishable haze in the distance. It looked like rain and clouds to us. Nick pointed again at the indistinguishable haze and insisted he could just make out the brewery. Still looked like rain and clouds to us. Sensing our doubt, Nick said the view was better when the weather was fine. We'd test that theory later...

I took some photos regardless, hoping the brewery might magically appear after processing, and we then headed up the hill to Waterworks Road. As did a resident of Zigzag Street who was running to catch us, copy of Zigzag Street in hand. She had seen us on the street, recognised Nick and wanted his autograph. The rain hadn't deterred her, neither had the fact that she was still in her dressing gown, wearing slippers and had a bad case of bed hair. Dedicated bunch, these Zigzag Street residents. Then again, you'd have to be if you were walking up and down that hill every day.

Toowong Village was next in line and was the source of a number of photos. We started at the bottom and headed for the toilet paper in Coles. When we got to the relevant aisle there was a shop assistant restacking the shelves. A shop assistant who took a healthy interest in the fact that I was carrying two cameras. We stood around for a few minutes waiting for her to leave, but she didn't. She did move out of frame however, so I took a photo and started lining up a second shot. Then she pounced:

What are you doing? Taking a photo, I answered, admittedly somewhat condescendingly. I mean seriously, what did it look like I was doing? Have you got permission for that? Sorry? I asked, wondering if I'd heard her correctly. Have you got permission to take photos inside the store? No I said. It was just a photo of toilet paper. It's for a website I clarified, hoping that would put her mind at ease. Maybe she thought I was a terrorist. An undercover operative taking photos of toilet paper in preparation for an extortion attempt on Kleenex. I never thought I'd be mistaken for a revolutionary, but there's a first time for everything.

You need permission from the manager to take any photos inside the store or the shopping centre. You must produce a written letter of permission to take any photos within the centre. I have to ask you to go to the service counter and speak to the manager, she continued, looking at me like I was a highly dangerous criminal.
Okay, I replied, backing away slowly, thinking she took her job a little too seriously.

I had no intention of speaking to the manager, but I put my camera away to reassure her that the toilet paper was safe, and turned around to speak to Nick and Rachel. They weren't there. My support team had disappeared to the far end of the aisle and were pretending they didn't know me. If I was going to pursue toilet-paper terrorism, I was going to go it alone.

Following hurried discussion, we decided it was probably best not to risk any more photos in Coles. After all, Nick had to shop there and being banned from your local supermarket isn't terribly convenient. I decided the website could live without a photo of the dairy aisle, so we left Coles and ventured forth into the shopping centre.

We spent the rest of our time in Toowong Village skulking around, acting as if we weren't taking photos. Nick or Rachel would stand watch while I lined up a shot with my small camera. Once the photo had been taken, we'd stand around and feign ignorance Gee, where did that blinding flash come from? and then move on. Ultimately, despite a few scares, we managed to escape more reprimands and dodge the security guards. And when you're told what you're doing is against shopping centre policy, it's amazing how many security guards you notice.

The next challenge was Indooroopilly shopping centre. At least it was approached as a challenge, but we seem to have perfected the skill of undercover photo taking and didn't encounter any problems.

The University of Queensland was even more accommodating, right down to the ducks at the lakes. One duck waddled up to have its photo taken and, once its duty was fulfilled, waddled away again. I thought that was pretty cool until Nick pointed out that the duck was actually anticipating food and had left when I didn't give it any. Oh well, ducks have to learn that life is full of disappointments.

We took quite a few shots around campus and even managed to get some shots inside the library and the Parnell Building. My apologies to anyone attending a lecture at the time who may have been distracted by the flash as I endeavoured to take a photo of the pitch drip.

The last stop for the day was West End where we discovered the perfect strategy for getting good photos inside a shop - know the staff member. As a result, taking photos inside Avid Reader was not a problem. There was even a ladder I could climb for that perfect shot, and a stage I could stand on for yet another angle. Of course, I now have more photos of Avid Reader than I can ever possibly use, but it is a fabulous bookstore and I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

See, be nice to the photographer and you will reap rewards. That's Avid Reader, Shop 1, 173 Boundary Street, West End, Queensland 4101. Tell them Sunny Garden sent you. They'll probably look at you blankly and wonder what the hell you're talking about, but tell them anyway.

Brisbane: Take two

In the morning I was on photography duty alone. Deserted by my security flanks, I knew I'd have to call on all my survival skills to get through the morning. I steeled myself and went in search of The Underground.

The Underground had closed, but Nick had assured me there was plenty of signage around. Not, of course, that I could find any. Just when I thought I had got the address wrong, I found a few signs for the taxi rank. Then I noticed freshly cut wires on the walls, evidence that signs had existed. As I later found out, all of the signs had been removed a few days before I arrived in Brisbane. I told you I was teaching that duck a valuable lesson.

From The Underground I wandered down to the Roma Street station. There were security guards in the train station and, after yesterday's experience, I was unsure whether I needed permission to take a photo inside. I didn't ask. I just took a photo and left. I was getting pretty good at this urban-terrorist garb. A useful skill should I ever become a fugitive, roaming the badlands like Lorenzo Lamas in Renegade...

From the train station I headed into the city. I must admit, I hadn't expected to see quite so many police in the city. Most of the officers must have read Zigzag Street as they seemed to like standing around Eyewear Now and Koffies. It was very inconvenient and forced me to tackle Broadway first.

Taking a photo of the outside of Broadway was easy, but as soon as I stepped inside I noticed a security guard. The security guard also noticed me or, more to the point, noticed the camera around my neck. As the escalators at the front of Broadway were being repaired, I went to the escalators at the back. The security guard followed. Pretending I'd just realised I had a large camera around my neck (Hey! How'd that get there?), I put the camera in its bag, then wandered into the nearest clothes shop.

At this point in time, I really needed my support team. Rachel or Nick could have thrown a shoe at the security guard (I heard that sort of thing happens a lot around here) and I could have snapped some photos in the resulting confusion. As it was, I had only myself to rely on. Thankfully, after a few minutes, the security guard left. I think he'd sighted Lorenzo Lamas. Seizing my opportunity, I left the shop, quickly took a photo of the escalators and exited out the back door.

I then doubled back to Eyewear Now and Koffies. There were still police around, but most had moved slightly up the mall so I took some photos and kept walking.

Later in the day I met up with Rachel and we set out on a drive to more locations. Among them was the school used as the model for the one in 48 Shades of Brown. An all boys private school. We arrived during lunch break. If you ever want to feel conspicuous, try being a twenty-something female, standing outside an all-boys school at lunch time taking photos. I managed this feat twice in the one day as the area where Dan's house was located was opposite another school. By this time I truly was a master at the shoot-and-run style of photography.

Given the sun was shining we decided to end the tour where it began and revisit Zigzag Street for some clear, sunny shots.

The sun is setting as I walk down the hill, a bottle of red wine in one hand, and a blue haze is settling over the brewery and Toowong and the west.

We stood in the same place as yesterday and looked for the brewery. The sky was clear and there were no clouds, no rain and no haze to interrupt the view. We couldn't see the brewery. We stood there for five minutes, peering into the distance searching for that elusive XXXX sign, but we couldn't find it. I swear I heard a duck quack in the background.

In spite of this setback, I took some more photos and wandered up the street. This time a lady in her dressing gown didn't give chase, but another resident stopped me to tell me I was looking lovely that day. I guess she'd seen me hanging around in the rain yesterday and was either making the polite observation that I look better when my hair isn't plastered against my head, or she thought I was a security threat and was trying to distract me while someone else phoned the police. I didn't wait to find out.

Excerpts from Zigzag Street are © Nick Earls and are used with permission.

All photos are © Liz Perkins and may not be reproduced without permission.

Disclaimer:
Sunny Garden is designed, written and maintained by Liz Perkins, in cooperation with Nick Earls and Penguin Books. Any questions about Sunny Garden should be directed to Liz

All original contents are © Liz Perkins.