Newcastle

Newcastle is a major Australian coastal city north of Sydney (New South Wales). Once the centre of major steelworks, it is now a major port for coal exports. The nearby Hunter Valley is a popular area for wine touring.

Shortland Beach, Newcastle. There are plenty of beaches around Newcastle to surf or swim, many of which are patrolled by lifesavers. Stay between the flags! 14 Jan 2005.
Corner of Pacific and Hunter Streets in Newcastle central business district (CBD). Newcastle suffered from an earthquake 28 December 1989. Since that time, the CBD has struggled to attract shoppers compared to newer shopping centres in the outlying suburbs. 14 Jan 2005. Picture taken by David Fong with DMC-FZ10. My first serious use of a polarizer filter!
Newcastle Surf Club, Shortland beach. Picture taken from the Noah's On the Beach hotel. I had been warned that the night-life around Newcastle's central business district was somewhere between seamy and dangerous. However, in the past few years, there has been a mini-explosion in inner-city apartment development in Newcastle (just as there has been in both Sydney, Melbourne and other Australian cities). Plenty of fairly normal people seemed to be enjoying an ice-cream on the beach on both warm and not-so-warm summer nights! (I hope to re-take this photo again one day, my hand must have been trembling...) A photo of the same scene, taken during daytime, is elsewhere in the gallery.
Like much of the New South Wales coast, there are lots of nice beaches around Newcastle! This was one of hte first photographs I took with my DMC-FZ10 digital camera. Fairly harsh lighting conditions...this image is unprocessed.
Shortland beach, Newcastle. Beach volleyball courts can be seen on the right hand side. Photo taken by Stephen Fong with Sigma SA-300N from a hotel room (Noah's). January 2005.