A short history…
The premise of this project is not particularly original. Search instagram, flickr or other photography sites on the internet and you’ll find people participating in daily challenges, following set themes for inspiration. My project isn’t linked to any particular challenge, instead it was an attempt to convert so much thinking about photography into doing. I’ve always been good at dreaming big, but usually find a way not to follow through.
I can’t really pinpoint what first drew me to photography. Mum and Dad’s slides of their 1970s European adventures are an early fond memory, as are the albums of our childhood on the beaches and in the backyards of Western Australia. By high school I was sufficiently interested to take the only photography class on offer. We spent a term roaming the school grounds, making black and white photographs on old SLRs, developing the film and making prints. I have few memories of high school I can recall with any precision but the pungent smell of the developing chemicals in the school darkroom has never left me.
In 2001, living away from home for the first time, I invested in a Pentax SLR, buying it from an old man who hoped I’d use it more than he did. I’m not sure that ever eventuated but I still have the prints I made of clouds, the bush, the ocean and anywhere in between. Usually not of people, though. Occasionally I track down a replacement battery and fire it up again, only to forget halfway through a roll of film that I’ve done so.
My first digital camera was a tiny Pentax, bought out of loyalty to my film camera. It wasn’t the best, but it travelled the world with me, and was eventually replaced by a Canon, and then a better Canon, and then another one.
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Living in Canberra for 10 years, my love of photography thrived. I spent endless mornings by the cold, still lake waiting for the sun to rise, and evenings fighting the wind at the arboretum to capture the ever changing cloudscapes. The balloon festival, the botanic gardens, snow on the Brindabellas, it’s an incredible environment, and one I still miss. I dedicated summer weekends to photographing the W-League women’s football, before the Matildas became superstars, and seized the chance to extend this to parliament when restrictions on photography were somewhat relaxed. In a city where almost everyone is defined by the job they do, photography was my saving grace. My way of finding beauty in the world.
Moving to Melbourne, I struggled. The commute was too long to take a heavy camera, the environment too unfamiliar, and people, there are people everywhere. How can you make beautiful photographs when there are so many people in the way? While I can capture sport or parliamentary theatre I’m too hesitant to put a camera in someone’s face, like a street photographer of old. I needed something to break the rut.
In 2019 I thought a photo a week would be reasonable, not too much pressure, but enough to prompt my long-dormant creativity. That lasted about five weeks. So, in 2020, I went all in. A photo a day, no matter the quality. A chance to conquer my need for perfectionism and to polish my rusting skills. This would be the year I would master street photography, and the gritty, cultured environment of Melbourne. Then COVID-19 loomed. It would have been so easy to give up, but when we collectively lost so much control, it became incredibly important to keep going with this little project of mine. When we have so much to worry about, so many to be concerned for, and when we can’t find the energy to do either, carving out something for me has become more and more important. So I kept going.
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In September, as Melbourne’s lockdown wore on and my 40th birthday loomed, I started to think more deeply about what I was trying to create, and why. Earlier in the year, I’d scoffed at the suggestion to keep a diary of these momentous days. My days were monotonous at best, full of worry at worst, what sense was there in documenting them? But of course, I was already keeping a record of sorts. I’ve made too many pictures of sourdough, the cat, and the garden, but every now and then I make an image that makes me really proud. My street photography may not have improved, but I am learning more about light, framing, seizing the moment, and how to edit an ok photograph into a good one.
So, as a present to myself, in a year when we all need a little help to see the beauty in the world, I’ve made myself this website. To show that I value what I’ve created this year. I value the joy and purpose making images brings to my life. I haven’t included every photo. Quite frankly some aren’t worth remembering. But I’m proud of the ones that are here and I hope you enjoy looking through them.
You can see some highlights from each month, and a few thoughts to accompany them here.