| Joined: | Wed Apr 11th, 2012 |
| Location: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Posts: | 525 |
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Australians keep the interior of their houses very dark in summer, I had to ask them to raise the exterior blind which was 80% closed, to get the window lighting used in this shot and even so it was only half way up.
It seemed very strange to me when I first came over especially as at the time I was living in a relative palace (air conditioned modern penthouse apartment with deep double glazed, double story windows looking out over the city) but when my rent was no longer tax free and I moved into more normal houses I quickly understood.
The temperature outside was 43C and direct sunlight onto windows (from the most powerful sunshine on earth thanks to our Ozone hole) can quickly turn a house into a reletive oven, even with aircon. So when I leave home on a hot day now I go round and make sure all the blinds are closed and leave the house in darkness.
In England our mind set is all about keeping our homes warm and dry, in many parts of Australia, it's about keeping them cool.