Discussion around March 2026's Theme: Metal, Metallic

This is where we share stories (or post extra photos) around March’s theme Metal, Metallic.

Back to the March 2026 contest: HERE



The Ghan (train connecting Adelaide to Darwin), at dawn.

Hello

Congrats on the double win! 🙂

Another metal statue—the surfer of Lacanau.



Cat

Hi there,

Metal that protects our belongings... useful metal in some way!!

A Canadair CL 415 from the Civil Security taking off on a mission from its Campo dell'Oro base in Ajaccio.



And its "helper," the Beechcraft for Liaison and Command of the Civil Security (same site).



Puma2A

...

...

As a follow-up to my photo posted on the contest page:



Garabit Viaduct: 3,619 tons of wrought iron + 41 t. of steel + 23 T. of cast iron.

...

Hi Alain, Just a heads-up about the contest—you labeled your photo as number 3.

P.S.: I actually think this one’s prettier 😁

Watch out for the contest—you named your photo number 3.

Hi Bruno,

No worries, "2" and "1" will come one of these days.

...

This is where we share stories (or post extra photos) around March’s theme Metal, Metallic.

Back to the March 2026 contest: HERE



The Ghan (train connecting Adelaide to Darwin), at dawn.

I’m giving this photo 3 points 😊

Double congratulations Xavier on your 1st and 2nd places on the podium! 🤩 Like Bruno, I’m giving this photo 3 points—I love it! 😊

The metal engravers of the Tunis medina:

This one is working on a copper piece for a hookah—I stayed a while watching him work; he’s really fast.

Unfortunately, young people no longer want to do this kind of work, and these traditional crafts are disappearing.









This one works with silver-plated metal:



The result:

Metal studs enhance Tunisian wooden doors:

Shall we dig in? Tonight, it's raclette...😛

Where's the plov?



Catherine

The "Flamingo," a large abstract red steel sculpture by Alexander Calder, located in Chicago’s Federal Plaza—it’s striking and impossible to miss.

In the city I love so much: the façade of the Centre Pompidou...



hgb

Hello

This theme is tough 😉 Not sure I’ve got much in stock.

Still, it immediately made me think of the gleaming jeepneys you see in the Philippines—kind of repurposed buses made from jeeps left behind by the American military, with super metallic bodies 🙂

Tough theme, wink. Not sure I have much in stock.

Not that difficult after all!

While waiting for your discoveries, here’s a bit of trivia in map form (can’t help myself!)



and main iron ore deposits in Australia

I agree with you (and Bruno), the train photo is gorgeous!

I also really love the Unamilanese statue 😉

Could this possibly count as metal? (I doubt it, but hey, I’m giving it a shot 😉 ...because I’ve searched a lot but didn’t find many metallic photos (decent ones, at that) in my folders 🤪, though I do have a few 😇).

Hi Muriel,

On the rarity of metallic photos... While browsing—if one can say that—with a selective eye through the few archives I have left, I realize that metal isn’t so rare after all.



A metallic collection in a Piedmontese farm courtyard.

Catherine

Art Nouveau ironwork too Here at Château Laurens in Agde:



Catherine

Hi Catherine,

I have to say, I take way more nature photos than city ones—that explains it ;) ... Still, I managed to find a few: the gilded details of Versailles

vs. the Burmese gold

Hi,

Metal / wreckage that welcomes passengers disembarking on the bush airstrip in Mikumi, Tanzania ... 😕



....

Hello,

Oh, you like planes, huh? 😮

Personally, my thing is boats—especially cargo ships!









And so on, and so forth—especially since I lost my external hard drive, so now I have to dig up photos from the blog, enlarge them, and the quality isn’t great. 😕

Catherine

They’re tall, they’re strong, they’re beautiful. They brave the storms. And... I love them.

Catherine

What are they doing?

Catherine

"Metal (Machine) Music" (Lou Reed)



Seattle (US): The Jimi Hendrix bronze statue, called "The Electric Lady Studio Guitar", in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Jimi with his Stratocaster...



Paris: The Stravinsky Fountain. Created in the 80s by artists Jean Tinguely (yes, him!) and Niki de Saint Phalle: Tinguely’s sculptures are made of steel and aluminum, painted black, while Saint Phalle’s are colorful and not metallic. In total, sixteen black and colorful sculptures adorn the fountain, animated by water jets. The fountain pays tribute to the great Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. His music (including The Firebird and The Nightingale) inspired the sixteen mobile, spurting sculptures placed in a large rectangular basin. A lovely spot right in the heart of the French capital, where you could find a bit of peace (at least when I was there).

hgb

...

I also love ferries or mixed cargo ships that let me leave for or return from vacation....





🙂 😏

They took part in the carnival (Cape Verde, 2009).

Can this count as metal?

The idea of metal/metallic is definitely there.

Awesome! I’ll enter the other one from the same band in the contest then 😉

To go with the plov...

Antique Pastafarian headdress



(Time travel vibes...)

To complement my photo #3

The essential tool for the hiker-traveler (which is why you need checked luggage...)

Travel memory (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

What is it? (this last photo?)

Reykjavík Phallological Museum In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, the Icelandic team won the silver medal in handball. To pay tribute to them, the Icelandic Phallus Museum had special trophies made—replicas of the original from the handball players.

It's a cow head made of wrought iron.

Oh yeah, even in New York, I photograph wildlife 😄 Next to the octopus, the animals' feast...



A link about these sculptures: https://www.explorewtc.com/en/local/things-to-do/events/wildlife-wonders.html

In honor of our Australian winner, whether Bronze or Steel, metal reigns on Adelaide’s Rundle Mall.

Metal: the music At the Hellfest site in Clisson (44) One of Europe’s biggest festivals

Tough theme, wink. Not sure I have much in stock.

Not that hard after all!

Yeah, in the end 😉

Still in New York:

The Copper Lady,

The bronze Wall Street bull,



The steel Brooklyn Bridge, The subway,

At the Long Island amusement park,

Hey there,

Friends of your American elephant ;)



C.

The French Lady too

Hey there,

Friends of your American elephant ;)



C.

Ah, that’s not too far from my place.¾

Hi Bruno,

Exactly, Chambéry! A great cheese restocking stop before crossing the Fréjus 😎.

In Italy, you’ll also find metallic fountains—slightly more graceful, though. Gotta say, these are from the 16th century, not the 19th.



The Fontana delle Tartarughe (Turtle Fountain) in Rome’s ghetto.

Catherine

Good evening,

Friends of your American elephant 😉



C.

Ah, that’s not far from my place.

I really like their nickname: “The Four Sans-Cul”

Another door with metal in Funchal