Last week we had a chance to take a close look at the Opera House in Sydney, where is thought to be the capital of Australia by most people. It is easy to understand because Sydney is well-known for its gorgeous harbour-front and sunlit skyscrapers. However, the Australian capital is Canberra combining the European “Cranberry” and the Indigenous “Nganbra”. Early 20th century, Canberra is given an entertaining nickname “The Bush Capital”. And when you visit Canberra, you cannot miss one of Australia’s iconic buildings is Parliament House, where you can skydive over it. 

By our capture, it shows the complex design with a total of 20 volumes, forming a pile about a meter high, which was built in only 7 years (1981-1988) and involved more than 10.000 people. After that, it became an enduring symbol of Australia’s democracy and there is a famous quote from the artist, who described the meaning of Parliament House:

“it…stands for this place where all people come and meet together…These Dreamings are part of this country that we live in…We’ve been trying to explain what the land means to us for the sake of all Australians.”

Additionally, the art of mosaic at Parliament’s forecourt has complex layers of meaning based on Jagamara’s painting named Possum and Wallaby Dreaming. It illustrated the large group of human-being from the kangaroo, wallaby, and goanna ancestors. The gathering purposes are to talk and to enact ceremonial obligations. From my point of view, it stands for the voice of people to pass knowledge about their country, culture, and laws. 

Our quarantine capture identifies the visitor numbers decline significantly. Yet the Art in Parliament House and its meaningful message are giving us a warm welcome anytime. 

I’m glad to have Brian Duy Nguyen, our marketing intern, rebooting the quarantine capture series, our look at aerial imagery of famous places minus the crowds.

The quarantine capture series introduces one of the top destinations in Australia, Sydney Opera House. In 2007, it was recognized as UNESCO’s World Heritage after its long journey. Jørn Utzon was inspired in his designs by bird winds, clouds, shells, walnuts, and palm trees for the international design competition held in 1956. Then Queen Elizabeth II brought this project into life on 20th October 1973.

Sydney Opera House sits on Bennelong Point blending with nature. Walking along in the evening and enjoying multiple performances from the Concert Hall or Joan Sutherland Theatre made people feel their life become more poetic.

Reading our blog, opening those captures in full-sized view, and playing your favorite music give your soul a good treat.

Next in our series of famous places without people is Buckingham Palace. The palace is the workplace of 800 people daily and countless tourists assembling to witness the changing of the guard ceremony.

The Vexcel oblique image shown here was captured a few months back in covid times. Here’s your random Buckingham factoid of the day: The standard bearskin hat of the British Foot Guards is 18 inches tall, weighs one and a half pounds and is made from the fur of the Canadian black bear.

Click to open the full sized view.

No doubt one of the most iconic structures ever built, the Colosseum has been a destination for families since 80ad. The 80,000 seat venue initially drew them in for the double feature of gladiator fights and lion feeding, while today the 4 million visitors each year stick to touring the underground passageways, posing for postcards in the square… and gelato. lots of delicious gelato.

Our flight over the city to collect 7.5cm resolution oblique imagery earlier this year presented the rare opportunity to see some of Rome’s architectural landmarks without the traffic and tourists. I’m looking forward to this area being published to our platform in the coming weeks and exploring it interactively.

The Trevi Fountain was completed in 1762 and has been packed with tourists seeking selfies throwing a coin over their shoulder every day since.

In fact, the day Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni danced in the fountain in La Dolce Vita is the only time the square has been without people since.

This stunning image of the fountain from the sky was captured in May in the midst of a city-wide quarantine in response to the early surge of Coronavirus that hit Italy. As a nation, they’ve done well to flatten the curve and I look forward to returning to Tevi Fountain for some delicious gelato someday soon.

The global spread of Covid-19 has affected us in many ways, including how we work, socialize and learn. everyone among us has been affected in some way by the pandemic. As we have continued our mission to fly and collect imagery it was odd to see the affect on cities worldwide in various stages of quarantine. Metropolitan streets devoid of cars. Famous landmarks and tourist attractions without people.

We’ll be featuring some of these images here on The Ground Truth blog in the coming weeks. Just look for posts tagged QuarantineCaptures.

Getting things started, here’s Sydney Olympic Park photographed April 14, 2020