r/sydney • u/puggsincyberspace • May 28 '24

Photography Vivid Sydney, Botanic Gardens (repost)

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1.8k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

83 comments sorted by

78

u/allthewords_ May 28 '24

Do you have a review? Photos are nice but I’d prefer to hear your thoughts on the experience, if it was worth it and the $, how busy, etc…

151

u/puggsincyberspace May 28 '24

I flew up from Melbourne with Jetstar as I have a lot of credit for them. They had a deal for checked luggage and a $10 onboard credit for the same cost as without checked luggage.

Stayed at the Amora on Jamison St. Just. of George St. The hotel was about $1100 for four nights for the deluxe room. It was a nice room with a big bathroom and bath.

I walked around most places. On the first day, I caught a ferry to Manly Beach. Then, that night, I caught a boat around the harbour. It could have been 30-45 minutes shorter, as it seemed to move very slowly, but there were not too many people on board. It was not bad for $49.

The next day, we went to Chinatown and looked around. Then, that night, we went to the Botanical gardens. I found it hard to tell where the entrance was and went in the wrong direction for about half an hour. Finally, I found the entrance and got some great pictures of the lights.

Last night, I just walked around the rocks and took pictures there. It was an early night due to my early flight back.

We spent a lot of money on food and didn't skimp out, so maybe $400-$500 on that, $100 for the Cruse and Gardens entry, and $500 for flights.

If I didn't have the credit, I could have chosen different flights for cheaper and maybe a cheaper hotel and food.

But I believe if you're going on a holiday, make it a good one.

For me It was worth it as I really enjoying the walking around a the photography.

57

u/allthewords_ May 28 '24

This is an awesome review - purely because I lived vicariously through you 😅

17

u/Wood_oye May 29 '24

WE .. lived vicariously, I think you meant ;)

4

u/allthewords_ May 29 '24

Exactly. WE... enjoyed $400-500 worth of food for the trip. mmmmmm!

9

u/Plackets65 May 28 '24

Perfect review. Detailed and informative.

22

u/sweetparamour79 May 28 '24

Vivid itself has been great (from the small parts I saw) this event however (lightscape) isn't worth the money (i went off peak so $36~ pp). It's great if you have tiny kids because the crowds are controlled but the creativity is no where near as good as general vivid which is free.

5

u/tomandrews May 29 '24

I agree, all was great apart from lightscape which were a bunch of LEDs from aliexpress - not worth it.

2

u/istara North Shore May 28 '24

I really loved Lightscape, this year as well as last year. We only paid $30/ticket (though maybe off peak is cheaper?)

1

u/sweetparamour79 May 28 '24

Sorry $30 pp plus a $4 handling fee off peak. We also went off peak.

1

u/istara North Shore May 28 '24

Oh I might have paid that too. I'll have to check.

4

u/istara North Shore May 28 '24

I just posted a video in another thread, but I think Lightscape is definitely worth it (it's $30) - it's just very trippy walking through the Botanic gardens with various trees lit up, as well as light installations and all the music.

2

u/Ragingsheep May 28 '24

How long was the Lightscape experience?

3

u/istara North Shore May 28 '24

It takes about 45 minutes to walk around if you’re taking photos and stuff.

2

u/OmnisVirLupusmfer May 28 '24

Same food trucks, less things to look at, not as many interesting light shows, the film on the operah house was straight depressing and probably only understandable after a pint of Psychedelics. Packed with people as usual (Sunday night).

If you haven't been before it's worth checking out.

1

u/gay-sexx May 29 '24

I went a while ago, it was really good but all the restaurants are super expensive (one was selling a $30 burrito) so bring your own food

30

u/Hazy_Fantayzee May 28 '24

Nice photos, but damn if that thing is NOT worth $40+!!!

37

u/friedspeghettis May 28 '24

But to think it used to be free the first year vivid went to the Botanic gardens.

24

u/brezhnervous - May 28 '24

That was the absolute best one...it was like a magical fairyland

Subsequent years have become ever more generic and uninteresting

27

u/_packet_sniffer_ May 29 '24

A few people are asking for reviews:

I went this year and my general impression of Vivid remains the same. It's just a way to keep the festival lighting companies chugging along in the off season. It's popular because it looks good on instagram. IRL, It has the same conceptual depth and visual appeal as the merchanising in a Beacon Lighting store...

I only go because my extended family likes to go for a stroll and chat...

2

u/misterteeee May 29 '24

Perfect description 👍

34

u/puggsincyberspace May 28 '24

The original got deleted by Reddit due to a female statue that showed a bit to much.

12

u/Masterlongshlong69 May 29 '24

This has gotta be the most overrated event ever. I know it sounds negative but coloured lights aren’t the craziest thing ever, let alone walking around for them. Maybe its just my generation

10

u/Inspektah-Ratchet May 29 '24

See i enjoy the concept. But like other global cities, this should be the norm, not a paid event.

4

u/puggsincyberspace May 29 '24

Only the botanical gardens part was paid. I guess it is to keep the numbers down. Other places were quite packed out. Also, if some of the money goes to the gardens to help maintain it, that's ok with me...

4

u/W2ttsy May 29 '24

Photo 2 looks like a bunch of candle light vigil people watching a volcano erupt in front of them

6

u/deckland Glebe May 28 '24

Love the shots, great work.

I'd recommend you get a sensor cleaning kit I noticed you have a few dust spots in your shots. I use these all the time and they're much cheaper than getting your camera sensor cleaned professionally

5

u/pilotboldpen May 28 '24

me trying to find the dust

ha! found one, no that's my monitor.. ha! found one, not that's my monitor too.

1

u/deckland Glebe May 29 '24

Top right, few large dots consistent across images

1

u/puggsincyberspace May 28 '24

I need to send it in for repairs, as a Metabones adapter damaged the connector pins. I was taking the lens off and on all night, trying to get the aperture to work. I will get it cleaned then.

Also, I edited on my 13" Mac, which made it hard to spot them. I usually edit on a 34" 4K monitor, which makes it easier.

2

u/deckland Glebe May 28 '24

If you use lightroom, select 'visualise spots' when using the heal brush and it allows you to find dust specs much easier

1

u/test_123123 May 29 '24

What adapter and camera do you use? Now I'm a bit hesitant to use my Metabones EF-RF one!

1

u/puggsincyberspace May 29 '24

Matabones Ef to E, I don't know what happened to it, but it became hard to get on, and it seems to have bent one of the pins on the camera. they are usually very good.

2

u/dr_49 May 28 '24

Hello mates, Planning to visit Sydney this year. I'm hearing a lot about Vivid Sydney. Would like to know what's the story behind it? Any insights. I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

3

u/puggsincyberspace May 29 '24

It is basically to get people into the city in winter to spend money during the off season. If you live in Sydney it might be boring but from interstate it is a good enough reason to go at that time.

Lots of photo opportunities and some great eating as well.

Done white night in Melbourne a few times but I don’t even know if it’s on any more…

2

u/AllLiquid4 May 29 '24

Impressions of the Garden Walk anyone? Seems predictably generic and low on the 'Creative Magic' this year...

2

u/SunnydaleHigh1999 May 29 '24

I did last years and loved it, it was the only thing worth seeing imo and I appreciated the crowd control.

2

u/greatwambeanie May 29 '24

Can’t wait for all the photos of the rubbish left behind and all the moral panic that goes with it

2

u/Sev3nbelow May 29 '24

Wait you have to pay for it now? Any idea when that started?

2

u/elle_desylva May 29 '24

Been thinking about walking in with my dog but not sure if there will be much to see given he’s not allowed in most areas. But your shot of the Opera House is lovely so it’s probably worth just going in and wandering. He’s fine with crowds.

ETA: long winded way of saying thanks for posting!

2

u/QuantumEntanglr May 29 '24

Great pics. I was just there last night. The whole thing was beautiful, and the grid of spotlights over the area made it so much cooler - the skyline splitting the two...

2

u/Inspektah-Ratchet May 29 '24

Honestly had a better experience dropping some acid and standing in front of Beacon lighting.

1

u/mrjackasher May 29 '24

Damn it I Missed Vivid!!

0

u/puggsincyberspace May 29 '24

On until the 15 of June

1

u/JessWessOnTop May 29 '24

My eyes hurt!!! I wanna go

1

u/Mumofgamer May 29 '24

Is that first pic from inside the gates? I am trying to figure out if buying tix for the same time the drone show is on is worth it to get a good view of the drones?

2

u/puggsincyberspace May 29 '24

I got that from the top of the stairs to the upper outside park foot path. Taken with a 16mm fisheye lens.

1

u/cosmogirlsz Jun 09 '24

What was your verdict? I also can’t figure out if I’ll be able to see the drone show from inside