Melbourne Photo Travel Diary | Things to do in Melbourne

During the ANZAC day long weekend AF and I flew down to Melbourne for all things food, art and music. Melbourne knows how to do things right- coffee and fashion for example. It is my home away from home, the cooler and hip cousin of Sydney. AND people are ridiculously nice! It actually made me feel a bit weird, Sydney-siders are notoriously cold and snobbish in a way. So walking into stores or eating at restaurants human interaction with staff was a novel experience, Melbournians are pleasant and up for a chat.

Looking for things to do- here is a list.

EAT

Supernormal

Bomba

Axil Coffee

Huxaburger

Izakaya

Drink

Georges Bar

Naked for Satan

Transformer

Record Stores

Alley Tunes

Dutch Vinyl

The Searches

Northside Records

Creating art with Made by Mara

A few weeks back my sister and I collaborated to create marble like abstract art. If you've been following my instagram page you would have seen inspiration posts like these. It is art I've been meaning to create for a while and I am glad I finally had a chance to get around to it. Watch this space  as you'll be seeing more of these bad boys.

Frame 17A Exhibition at the Australian Centre for Photography

Hi Pals,

I'm happy to announce that I will be a part of a group exhibition, Frame 17A, at the Australian Centre for Photography. Come along if you are in Sydney for this evening's opening night.

Exhibition launch:
Friday 15 April 6 - 8pm
Exhibition open 11am - 3pm, 16 April - 15 May 2016.
Presented in ACP's Social Gallery

A bit about the exhibition:
Writing in the 1980 book Contact Theory, Martine Franck described her process of reviewing several similar frames on a contact sheet to select the best one for printing, “Frame 18a was discarded because of the towel on the left, the figures in the background were confused and I had framed too close to the shadow of the hammock. Frame 16a was a possibility but I would have had to crop the bathing suit on the right which I preferred not to do and the man doing push ups in the background was in a less interesting position. The image that had the greatest intensity and concision was to my mind frame 17a.”

In this quote “frame 17a” represents what most photographers are hoping for – that moment when everything comes together to produce an image that stands out as being better than the others. Generally the other frames are then neglected, perhaps just being seen as steps on the way to the good image. The idea of this exhibition is to look at all of the frames from a roll of film without prioritising any particular one as being the best. By doing this we get to see the working process of a photographer – where they start, what options they explore, how one decision leads to another.

A roll of film is a bit like a short story – there is a beginning and an end but only a limited amount of material in between with which to work. Depending on the film format the number of frames might be 10, 12 or 36. Within these boundaries each photographer makes their decisions. Some devote the entire roll to exploring variations on one idea, while others cover a range of locations and subjects. Some are trying for a great image, while others are 'practising their scales' - doing it for the pleasure of photographing or exploring a technical aspect.

Many film photographers don't like to show their proof sheets, so I appreciate the generosity of the participants in this exhibition. Some are established professional or fine art photographers while others might be described as beginners. Despite their relative experience, each of these proof sheets has something to tell us about the photographic process, via all the frames that aren't 17a".

Featuring work by:
Gerard Azar
Steven Cavanagh
Jun Chen
Aislinn Connolly
Maria Cruz
Deb Cybula
Josef Geranio
Stephen Godfrey
Bill Green
Maclay Heriot
Diego Ibanez
Neville Leung
Paul McDonald
Prab Naththarampatha
Adam North
Geoff Roberts
Sergio Leyva Seiglie
Stuart Silcox
Benjamin Stone-Herbert
Gordon Undy
Michael Waite
Anthony Whelan
Pedro Xavier

*Image shot by me - featured in Frame 17A Exhibition

A bunch of flowers for your Sunday

Hey Pals,

Happy Sunday!

Sunday means Columbia Road Flower Market in East London. As I no longer live in the UK, I thought I'd share a tribute post to the famed market. These photographs are long overdue, it was a flower light test shoot I did at Studio Mondo last year.

What is your favourite flower market?

* Images shot by me @ Studio Mondo

Peter Lindbergh on Creativity

I've been in somewhat of a creative rut which I am slowly clawing my way out of. People believe that there are no coincidences in life, but I believe that the things we think about we attract. Lately I've been contemplating on my lack of inspiration/ art and while I was trawling through websites of things that make my heart happy, I found this gem from Peter Lindbergh's website  - an essay on creativity. 100% what I needed to read right now.

CREATIVITY
"Creativity is the basis of self-expression. Why are some people supposedly more creative than others, and why can’t others open themselves up enough to be able to express who they are?

Creation is the birth of something, and something cannot come from nothing. When someone creates something: a painting, a poem, a photograph, the creativity comes from an idea, from a feeling, from emotion, or from a combination of ideas, feelings and emotions that are somehow ‘reborn’ from all our experiences and perspectives.

Creativity is the desire to express ourselves. To formulate these expressions, we have to draw from our reservoir of experience, dreams, desires and experimentation and mix together what was, what is, and what could be… I don’t think you can learn it, it is rather something that evolves. Your perception of everything in your life fills up this reservoir.

Some people are drawn to create and express themselves, others are drawn to reflect, to analyze. But in the end, they all could be creative if they had the desire to explore the way in which they are integrated in the world of their experiences. Because creativity is really a rebirth, a true tone we feel for ourselves and for our world. Then our work becomes a real part of who we are. Maybe all this is a question of how deep we are willing to go…"

by Peter Lindbergh with Lily, New York, June 1996

*Image of the ocean shot by me

Auckland Travel Photo Diary

Vinyl Mix: Andrew Fazzolari - AU Sound X TRS

Hey Pals,

Music Monday for you! A few weeks back Andrew played a live vinyl set at The Record Store in Darlinghurst. AU Sound x TRS live streamed his mix through Sub FM. It's now up on The Record Store's Mix Cloud page.

Brilliant Soul/ Funk/ House vibes!

Sydney Brunch Ideas | Wolfe & Co

If you are looking to have brunch this weekend, I highly recommend making the drive out to Dural to have your taste buds go into overdrive at Wolfe and Co.

This quaint cafe is located on a windy country road, if you speed past you'd think it's another local take away food store. It's a blink and you'll miss moment when you are trying to locate the shop front. AF and I were driving slower than usual to make sure we were at the right location- our memory of google street view had us covered.

We were the first patrons on a Sunday morning (they open from 8am if your wondering), we were met with homely hospitality. Wolfe and Co has all the stylish interior and exterior markings of a hipster cafe, minus the hipster attitude. Outside is lined with alfresco tables and chairs. Inside you are met with a burst of light - white walls which is reflected back to itself from a mirrored wall.
We ordered The Breakfast Burger, Creme Brulee French Toast and The Breakfast Dog which was the special of the day. All three dishes were delectable, but the French Toast was definitely the favourite out of the three. What I like about Wolfe and Co is they aim to source produce locally, when you eat good quality fresh food you feel it. I wasn't bloated or overly full after three meals.

 Brilliant service, delicious food and liquid gold coffee - make sure you give this place a try. Tell me what you think of it too.

Inspiration: Music

Deep House grooves to keep you going on this fine Wednesday !

Hello 2016

I'm kicking off 2016 with a self portrait. Shot off the back of a test shoot I did mid December last year. I'll share my photographs with you all soon :)

I am looking forward to 2016. It will most definitely be a good year! What are your New Years resolutions?

Image shot by me @ Mondo Digital