WEBVTT
1
00:00:06.726 --> 00:00:08.512
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself
2
00:00:08.512 --> 00:00:10.276
and your photography?
3
00:00:10.276 --> 00:00:13.693
I was first introduced with photography
4
00:00:14.762 --> 00:00:17.686
in high school like most people
5
00:00:17.686 --> 00:00:19.853
and fell in love with that
6
00:00:21.613 --> 00:00:25.002
and had a real connection to the process
7
00:00:25.002 --> 00:00:27.335
and working in the darkroom.
8
00:00:29.576 --> 00:00:30.501
But I just let it go
9
00:00:30.501 --> 00:00:31.826
cause I never really thought of it
10
00:00:31.826 --> 00:00:33.176
as something that I could pursue
11
00:00:33.176 --> 00:00:36.259
as an actual job or in a serious way.
12
00:00:39.050 --> 00:00:40.250
So I just let that go
13
00:00:40.250 --> 00:00:44.163
and then dabbled in lots of different film,
14
00:00:44.163 --> 00:00:47.090
did a film course and worked as a location scout.
15
00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:48.701
And when I worked as a location scout,
16
00:00:48.701 --> 00:00:52.622
I was required to buy my own stills camera.
17
00:00:52.622 --> 00:00:56.254
And so, yeah, I bought that camera
18
00:00:56.254 --> 00:00:58.633
and then just started taking photos of friends
19
00:00:58.633 --> 00:01:00.410
when I was living in Melbourne,
20
00:01:00.410 --> 00:01:03.743
and it just organically grew from there.
21
00:01:06.396 --> 00:01:09.646
And I have to admit, I felt pretty lost
22
00:01:10.527 --> 00:01:12.302
in what I was doing with my photography.
23
00:01:12.302 --> 00:01:13.255
Even though I loved it,
24
00:01:13.255 --> 00:01:16.881
I didn't really have a clear direction
25
00:01:16.881 --> 00:01:18.768
about what I wanted to do with it
26
00:01:18.768 --> 00:01:20.518
or where I was going.
27
00:01:22.247 --> 00:01:23.664
And then in 2013,
28
00:01:26.605 --> 00:01:27.438
no 2014,
29
00:01:29.515 --> 00:01:31.682
I just started this series
30
00:01:32.929 --> 00:01:34.356
on a road trip up from Melbourne,
31
00:01:34.356 --> 00:01:37.279
up to my hometown, cold in Australia,
32
00:01:37.279 --> 00:01:40.429
and yeah, I just started taking
33
00:01:40.429 --> 00:01:43.669
self portraits and photos of my family
34
00:01:43.669 --> 00:01:44.919
and setting up,
35
00:01:45.843 --> 00:01:48.456
constructing these different realities
36
00:01:48.456 --> 00:01:51.456
based that small town suburban life.
37
00:01:56.706 --> 00:01:58.406
And it was quite confronting,
38
00:01:58.406 --> 00:01:59.479
heading home for Christmas
39
00:01:59.479 --> 00:02:00.793
as it always is.
40
00:02:00.793 --> 00:02:04.293
And yeah, I was just starting that series,
41
00:02:08.113 --> 00:02:12.113
it was the most personal work that I'd ever made
42
00:02:13.445 --> 00:02:16.309
and it just clicked into something
43
00:02:16.309 --> 00:02:18.506
that changed my practise from there on,
44
00:02:18.506 --> 00:02:21.959
and it changed the way I viewed my work,
45
00:02:21.959 --> 00:02:23.733
it made me more considered
46
00:02:23.733 --> 00:02:27.019
in everything that I was doing,
47
00:02:27.019 --> 00:02:28.696
it made me question things
48
00:02:28.696 --> 00:02:32.363
it made me be more focused and less flippant
49
00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:37.169
in how I was creating my work.
50
00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:41.409
Yeah, so that's still an ongoing series.
51
00:02:41.409 --> 00:02:44.076
And then when I became a mother,
52
00:02:46.681 --> 00:02:48.264
that was my saviour.
53
00:02:50.596 --> 00:02:52.783
When I felt so isolated from the world
54
00:02:52.783 --> 00:02:54.659
and my life turned upside down
55
00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:57.144
and I was like, photography for me
56
00:02:57.144 --> 00:03:00.227
was something that I could hold onto,
57
00:03:02.469 --> 00:03:04.673
my identity as someone
58
00:03:04.673 --> 00:03:07.396
other than a mother of a baby,
59
00:03:07.396 --> 00:03:11.659
and that was of a really comforting way actually
60
00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:13.294
of getting through the days
61
00:03:13.294 --> 00:03:15.377
of that early motherhood.
62
00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:19.419
And, then that just continued,
63
00:03:23.183 --> 00:03:24.016
documenting my children
64
00:03:24.016 --> 00:03:26.849
and experimenting with film again,
65
00:03:29.691 --> 00:03:31.179
from the high school days
66
00:03:31.179 --> 00:03:33.479
and having that freedom
67
00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:36.451
and no pressure to make mistakes
68
00:03:36.451 --> 00:03:37.868
and explore that,
69
00:03:42.429 --> 00:03:45.404
working with the unpredictability of film.
70
00:03:45.404 --> 00:03:48.737
So yeah, those are the kinds of aspects,
71
00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:52.423
I think are the most prominent aspects
72
00:03:52.423 --> 00:03:54.546
of my photographic practise.
73
00:03:54.546 --> 00:03:55.935
Yeah.
74
00:03:55.935 --> 00:03:57.199
Was there anything I didn't cover
75
00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:58.032
that you thought?
76
00:03:58.032 --> 00:03:58.971
No, that's awesome.
77
00:03:58.971 --> 00:04:01.296
Yeah, 'cause it's sort of your photo,
78
00:04:01.296 --> 00:04:02.909
it's this little windows
79
00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:04.349
into private worlds as well,
80
00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:06.785
so it's interesting.
81
00:04:06.785 --> 00:04:08.252
Those personal stories sometimes
82
00:04:08.252 --> 00:04:10.534
are the ones that people really connect with
83
00:04:10.534 --> 00:04:11.867
because of that.
84
00:04:12.826 --> 00:04:13.659
Yeah.
85
00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:14.709
So you found your fate
86
00:04:14.709 --> 00:04:17.792
as sort of a documentary photographer
87
00:04:19.312 --> 00:04:21.832
and portrait photographer as well,
88
00:04:21.832 --> 00:04:25.749
I guess, telling people stories, would you say?
89
00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:32.791
Yeah, and I guess in Australia,
90
00:04:32.791 --> 00:04:33.994
series is more
91
00:04:33.994 --> 00:04:36.144
of a conceptual documentary series,
92
00:04:36.144 --> 00:04:38.570
as I'm not really documenting people's lives
93
00:04:38.570 --> 00:04:41.567
but I'm revisiting my own life
94
00:04:41.567 --> 00:04:42.707
through other people
95
00:04:42.707 --> 00:04:46.694
and constructing these scenes and things,
96
00:04:46.694 --> 00:04:47.527
but yeah.
97
00:04:49.556 --> 00:04:50.389
Awesome.
98
00:04:50.389 --> 00:04:52.554
So, tell us about your finalist work
99
00:04:52.554 --> 00:04:54.544
in the Living Memory series,
100
00:04:54.544 --> 00:04:56.377
say Leaving Melbourne.
101
00:04:57.534 --> 00:05:00.951
Leaving Melbourne, that image was taken
102
00:05:02.971 --> 00:05:04.597
on our first stop,
103
00:05:04.597 --> 00:05:08.061
as we had just packed up our life
104
00:05:08.061 --> 00:05:10.811
and left Melbourne at the end of,
105
00:05:12.006 --> 00:05:15.006
it was the 20th of December in 2020.
106
00:05:16.671 --> 00:05:19.004
After a really intense year,
107
00:05:19.971 --> 00:05:22.209
I think we'd spent nine months in lockdown,
108
00:05:22.209 --> 00:05:26.597
and my partner and I had dabbled with the idea
109
00:05:26.597 --> 00:05:28.197
of moving up north,
110
00:05:28.197 --> 00:05:31.759
or just working out where we wanted to be,
111
00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:34.173
where we wanted to put our roots
112
00:05:34.173 --> 00:05:35.834
and raise our kids.
113
00:05:35.834 --> 00:05:38.961
But we were just in indecision mode
114
00:05:38.961 --> 00:05:40.985
for a really long time.
115
00:05:40.985 --> 00:05:43.652
And then I think halfway through
116
00:05:45.817 --> 00:05:47.234
the year in 2020,
117
00:05:48.115 --> 00:05:52.006
I think it was between lockdown one and two,
118
00:05:52.006 --> 00:05:54.322
we decided to kind of,
119
00:05:54.322 --> 00:05:57.686
we made that decision to make the move
120
00:05:57.686 --> 00:06:00.022
and so we spent the last half the year
121
00:06:00.022 --> 00:06:03.732
just planning that and tying up loose ends
122
00:06:03.732 --> 00:06:05.315
and finding a house
123
00:06:06.432 --> 00:06:07.682
and packing up.
124
00:06:11.186 --> 00:06:14.522
Yeah, that image was taken in Lakes Entrance.
125
00:06:14.522 --> 00:06:16.482
I think it was about four and a half hours
126
00:06:16.482 --> 00:06:17.899
out of Melbourne.
127
00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:23.788
There was a level of excitement,
128
00:06:23.788 --> 00:06:25.229
but it was also just this
129
00:06:25.229 --> 00:06:27.812
really heavy feeling of sadness
130
00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:33.616
about leaving the place where we'd had our babies
131
00:06:33.616 --> 00:06:35.229
and all of our friends
132
00:06:35.229 --> 00:06:39.166
and just what an amazing city Melbourne is,
133
00:06:39.166 --> 00:06:43.239
and so I was just filled with this excitement,
134
00:06:43.239 --> 00:06:46.989
but also this feeling of uncertainty, I think
135
00:06:51.628 --> 00:06:55.452
and are we making the right decision
136
00:06:55.452 --> 00:06:56.539
and that image was taken
137
00:06:56.539 --> 00:06:59.416
as soon as we walked into our little cabin
138
00:06:59.416 --> 00:07:01.719
in the Caravan Park
139
00:07:01.719 --> 00:07:03.090
and my son just jumped up
140
00:07:03.090 --> 00:07:04.729
and I got out my camera
141
00:07:04.729 --> 00:07:07.928
and just started taking some photos
142
00:07:07.928 --> 00:07:09.416
and he jumped up on the chair
143
00:07:09.416 --> 00:07:11.514
and looked in the mirror.
144
00:07:11.514 --> 00:07:12.702
I really love it
145
00:07:12.702 --> 00:07:15.651
because he's got those wounds on him
146
00:07:15.651 --> 00:07:17.479
which I felt were quite representative
147
00:07:17.479 --> 00:07:20.163
of how we were all feeling
148
00:07:20.163 --> 00:07:23.163
after being a bit battered and worn.
149
00:07:26.385 --> 00:07:27.218
Yeah.
150
00:07:28.580 --> 00:07:29.749
Yeah, It's beautiful,
151
00:07:29.749 --> 00:07:31.509
like the little light as well.
152
00:07:31.509 --> 00:07:34.868
I've stayed in cabins like that,
153
00:07:34.868 --> 00:07:35.701
and it's that drawer
154
00:07:35.701 --> 00:07:37.796
of how it's sort of almost in like a cupboard,
155
00:07:37.796 --> 00:07:39.949
so you're like on your own little stage,
156
00:07:39.949 --> 00:07:41.596
and kids are just like (laughing)
157
00:07:41.596 --> 00:07:43.509
I know, I know.
158
00:07:43.509 --> 00:07:45.483
It's so beautiful and moody.
159
00:07:45.483 --> 00:07:47.086
And I really like,
160
00:07:47.086 --> 00:07:49.859
as all this face being in shadow,
161
00:07:49.859 --> 00:07:52.119
it's a portrait that says so much
162
00:07:52.119 --> 00:07:54.202
without the body posture,
163
00:07:55.084 --> 00:07:57.799
the lighting, the winds, as you said,
164
00:07:57.799 --> 00:08:00.860
like that scrape bowing back.
165
00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:02.347
Yeah, and his hair
166
00:08:02.347 --> 00:08:04.407
tasselled down his back-
Yeah. (giggles)
167
00:08:04.407 --> 00:08:07.788
and then they're really sterile,
168
00:08:07.788 --> 00:08:09.936
there's all this emotives,
169
00:08:09.936 --> 00:08:11.808
and stuff going on with him
170
00:08:11.808 --> 00:08:13.975
and him looking at himself
171
00:08:14.934 --> 00:08:17.434
and this real personal moment.
172
00:08:20.284 --> 00:08:24.018
And then there's just this sterile environment
173
00:08:24.018 --> 00:08:24.881
that he's in.
Yeah.
174
00:08:24.881 --> 00:08:28.061
I felt was a nice contrast.
175
00:08:28.061 --> 00:08:30.734
Yeah. That's very personal for you as well,
176
00:08:30.734 --> 00:08:32.981
bringing your son in your story,
177
00:08:32.981 --> 00:08:36.352
you sort of captured what you were all feeling,
178
00:08:36.352 --> 00:08:37.766
I guess at that time,
179
00:08:37.766 --> 00:08:41.739
this transition and heading into the unknown.
180
00:08:41.739 --> 00:08:43.072
Exactly, yeah.
181
00:08:44.516 --> 00:08:45.651
So, what do you think
182
00:08:45.651 --> 00:08:48.578
being selected in the prize will mean
183
00:08:48.578 --> 00:08:51.251
for your photographic career or practise
184
00:08:51.251 --> 00:08:55.084
being part of and triple pay in Living Memory?
185
00:08:57.566 --> 00:08:59.966
I was super excited
186
00:08:59.966 --> 00:09:01.801
when I found out that I was a finalist.
187
00:09:01.801 --> 00:09:04.903
I remembered quite a few years ago,
188
00:09:04.903 --> 00:09:07.403
my brother-in-law and his wife
189
00:09:08.739 --> 00:09:10.089
and my sister-in-law, I guess,
190
00:09:10.089 --> 00:09:12.639
we were living in Canberra,
191
00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:14.603
and we went to the National Portrait Gallery,
192
00:09:14.603 --> 00:09:16.576
and I remember saying to them,
193
00:09:16.576 --> 00:09:19.663
"I will have something hanging here one day."
194
00:09:19.663 --> 00:09:20.603
(giggles)
195
00:09:20.603 --> 00:09:21.529
Oh yes!
196
00:09:21.529 --> 00:09:24.946
I was like, "Oh my God! It's happened."
197
00:09:27.119 --> 00:09:29.452
I'm hanging in that gallery.
198
00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:34.017
So, that was a little tick box moment for me
199
00:09:36.786 --> 00:09:38.786
and just having my work,
200
00:09:42.288 --> 00:09:43.480
firstly in the gallery
201
00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:46.792
and then secondly in this prize,
202
00:09:46.792 --> 00:09:49.792
was just a really really nice moment
203
00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:55.402
of validation of my work.
204
00:09:55.402 --> 00:09:56.902
And, I don't know,
205
00:10:00.877 --> 00:10:03.968
I think it's just a really great achievement
206
00:10:03.968 --> 00:10:05.551
and it's something,
207
00:10:07.869 --> 00:10:09.692
I don't know, (laughing) sorry.
208
00:10:09.692 --> 00:10:10.525
We'll say hey.
209
00:10:10.525 --> 00:10:12.992
Yeah.
(both laughing)
210
00:10:12.992 --> 00:10:15.890
I'm hoping people being able
211
00:10:15.890 --> 00:10:17.279
to come into the gallery
212
00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:19.269
and being able to connect with the work,
213
00:10:19.269 --> 00:10:20.102
and yeah.
214
00:10:23.456 --> 00:10:25.441
Yeah, so, we're meant to be reopening
215
00:10:25.441 --> 00:10:27.900
in a couple of weeks.
216
00:10:27.900 --> 00:10:30.056
Oh, so you haven't been open?
217
00:10:30.056 --> 00:10:33.407
No. So we've been shut shut down.
218
00:10:33.407 --> 00:10:34.240
Yeah, so we've been in shutdown here
219
00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:37.962
for, I think it's just over two months now.
220
00:10:37.962 --> 00:10:39.112
Oh wow!
And that's why
221
00:10:39.112 --> 00:10:40.234
we've extended the exhibition.
222
00:10:40.234 --> 00:10:42.589
So we've extended it through to January
223
00:10:42.589 --> 00:10:44.172
just so people can enjoy it.
224
00:10:44.172 --> 00:10:45.338
Yeah.
225
00:10:45.338 --> 00:10:46.671
We're emerging.
226
00:10:46.671 --> 00:10:48.697
So, it'll be really nice
227
00:10:48.697 --> 00:10:50.597
to see people in the gallery again,
228
00:10:50.597 --> 00:10:52.439
looking at the works.
229
00:10:52.439 --> 00:10:53.272
Yeah.
230
00:10:55.098 --> 00:10:57.922
So with lockdowns and all the changes going on,
231
00:10:57.922 --> 00:10:59.298
how do you think lockdowns
232
00:10:59.298 --> 00:11:01.022
have affected your practise
233
00:11:01.022 --> 00:11:03.533
and the way you approach photography?
234
00:11:03.533 --> 00:11:05.866
Has it had an effect on you?
235
00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:08.752
Uh, definitely.
236
00:11:08.752 --> 00:11:11.975
The lockdowns have definitely had a huge impact
237
00:11:11.975 --> 00:11:15.475
on the work that I've been able to create.
238
00:11:18.612 --> 00:11:20.529
I think normally by now
239
00:11:23.912 --> 00:11:26.812
we would have taken lots of trips around
240
00:11:26.812 --> 00:11:30.673
and I would have been returning back to Melbourne
241
00:11:30.673 --> 00:11:32.362
on and off for work,
242
00:11:32.362 --> 00:11:34.698
and in those moments,
243
00:11:34.698 --> 00:11:37.281
that's where I document my life
244
00:11:40.312 --> 00:11:42.075
and document what's happening
245
00:11:42.075 --> 00:11:43.552
and what's happening around me.
246
00:11:43.552 --> 00:11:46.135
And so, not having that freedom
247
00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:50.736
and that ability to move around
248
00:11:50.736 --> 00:11:52.433
and experience different environments
249
00:11:52.433 --> 00:11:54.199
in different places.
250
00:11:54.199 --> 00:11:56.525
Everything as well as it has for everyone
251
00:11:56.525 --> 00:11:58.662
has just become so insular
252
00:11:58.662 --> 00:12:02.579
and concentrated in your own small environment.
253
00:12:04.125 --> 00:12:06.884
So, I've gone through stages
254
00:12:06.884 --> 00:12:10.551
where I have not picked up my camera at all,
255
00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:15.632
felt really uninspired
256
00:12:23.307 --> 00:12:25.436
and just moved away from taking photos.
257
00:12:25.436 --> 00:12:29.436
And then, I've had little spurts of inspiration.
258
00:12:31.382 --> 00:12:32.215
As I was talking to before
259
00:12:32.215 --> 00:12:34.559
about me in Australia Series,
260
00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:35.426
a lot of that work
261
00:12:35.426 --> 00:12:38.426
is set in Lismore in New South Wales
262
00:12:39.266 --> 00:12:42.183
and that's in the next LGA from us.
263
00:12:44.152 --> 00:12:45.839
So, I haven't really been able to go there
264
00:12:45.839 --> 00:12:49.386
and scout and cast people in the location.
265
00:12:49.386 --> 00:12:52.636
So, that put a hold on all of that work
266
00:12:58.626 --> 00:13:02.925
and then I've spent a lot of time, not a lot,
267
00:13:02.925 --> 00:13:04.336
but I've gone through stages
268
00:13:04.336 --> 00:13:05.749
where I've taken
269
00:13:05.749 --> 00:13:09.116
lots of photos of my family. (sniffs)
270
00:13:09.116 --> 00:13:09.949
Yeah.
271
00:13:09.949 --> 00:13:12.273
And I think they're sick of me.
272
00:13:12.273 --> 00:13:14.910
I think every photography is the same.
273
00:13:14.910 --> 00:13:18.881
Have you turned the camera on yourself yet?
274
00:13:18.881 --> 00:13:20.381
I have a little.
275
00:13:21.621 --> 00:13:22.454
Yeah.
Yeah.
276
00:13:22.454 --> 00:13:25.621
Nothing groundbreaking going on there,
277
00:13:27.814 --> 00:13:29.647
but yeah, I use myself
278
00:13:31.671 --> 00:13:33.606
when I'm scouting locations-
Yeah.
279
00:13:33.606 --> 00:13:35.606
sometimes I use myself
280
00:13:36.698 --> 00:13:40.281
to put a subject in there so I can feel out
281
00:13:41.994 --> 00:13:45.316
the composition and everything, but yeah.
282
00:13:45.316 --> 00:13:46.149
What about you were saying
283
00:13:46.149 --> 00:13:47.668
sort of scouting for people.
284
00:13:47.668 --> 00:13:49.941
So, how does that process work?
285
00:13:49.941 --> 00:13:53.243
Like do you see a face or someone,
286
00:13:53.243 --> 00:13:54.843
or do you use models?
287
00:13:54.843 --> 00:13:57.220
And I guess that's affected moving from Melbourne
288
00:13:57.220 --> 00:13:58.544
where you can draw on
289
00:13:58.544 --> 00:14:01.481
such a vast network of people
290
00:14:01.481 --> 00:14:04.064
that are in the arts community
291
00:14:04.064 --> 00:14:05.981
to a smaller community.
292
00:14:07.561 --> 00:14:10.561
Finding subjects has been
293
00:14:10.561 --> 00:14:12.728
a real challenge actually.
294
00:14:13.939 --> 00:14:15.965
And not only because I'm in
295
00:14:15.965 --> 00:14:17.798
a smaller environment,
296
00:14:19.601 --> 00:14:22.651
but for some reason it feels more confronting,
297
00:14:22.651 --> 00:14:23.925
I don't know,
298
00:14:23.925 --> 00:14:27.092
asking people to be part of this work,
299
00:14:28.888 --> 00:14:31.971
being so close to home, I don't know.
300
00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:41.680
And not only that, is that people wearing masks,
301
00:14:42.745 --> 00:14:46.245
it's been really difficult to gauge people
302
00:14:47.168 --> 00:14:49.585
and being able to see people,
303
00:14:50.618 --> 00:14:52.218
'cause a lot of the time
304
00:14:52.218 --> 00:14:54.042
I'm just stopping people on the street,
305
00:14:54.042 --> 00:14:56.965
or seeing someone and being like,
306
00:14:56.965 --> 00:14:59.548
"Hey, how would you feel about,
307
00:15:00.392 --> 00:15:02.656
"blah, blah, blah?"
308
00:15:02.656 --> 00:15:03.805
And then getting their email
309
00:15:03.805 --> 00:15:05.228
and sending them a whole bunch of information
310
00:15:05.228 --> 00:15:06.417
to see if they'd be interested
311
00:15:06.417 --> 00:15:08.167
in being in the work.
312
00:15:09.055 --> 00:15:11.445
And yeah, the mask aspect
313
00:15:11.445 --> 00:15:13.612
has been pretty difficult.
314
00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:24.116
I just did a shoot on Sunday afternoon actually,
315
00:15:24.116 --> 00:15:26.040
and I just went out on a whim,
316
00:15:26.040 --> 00:15:26.930
I was just like,
317
00:15:26.930 --> 00:15:29.930
"I'm so sick of not doing any work."
318
00:15:30.876 --> 00:15:33.243
And I already had a woman lined up for the work
319
00:15:33.243 --> 00:15:35.225
and it was just gonna be her,
320
00:15:35.225 --> 00:15:36.266
and then I was like,
321
00:15:36.266 --> 00:15:38.303
"Oh no, I need some teenagers to be part of it."
322
00:15:38.303 --> 00:15:40.580
And so I went down to the local shop
323
00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:42.437
and I was like, "Do you know any teenagers?"
324
00:15:42.437 --> 00:15:43.270
(interviewer laughing)
325
00:15:43.270 --> 00:15:44.941
This look and she was like,
326
00:15:44.941 --> 00:15:46.681
"There's a couple of boys
327
00:15:46.681 --> 00:15:48.279
"that live a couple of doors up."
328
00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:49.127
I was like, "Great!"
329
00:15:49.127 --> 00:15:52.277
Went and knocked on the door.
330
00:15:52.277 --> 00:15:53.838
The mother was home and I'm like,
331
00:15:53.838 --> 00:15:54.964
"Would your kids be interested
332
00:15:54.964 --> 00:15:56.699
"in being at this time, Sunday,
333
00:15:56.699 --> 00:15:58.024
"like this afternoon?"
334
00:15:58.024 --> 00:15:59.824
And she was like,
335
00:15:59.824 --> 00:16:00.885
"Oh, I don't know."
336
00:16:00.885 --> 00:16:02.264
I was like, "I'll send you through some photos."
337
00:16:02.264 --> 00:16:04.398
And then they turned up,
338
00:16:04.398 --> 00:16:05.948
and they were great.
339
00:16:05.948 --> 00:16:07.634
I was like, "Oh this could go so wrong."
340
00:16:07.634 --> 00:16:08.821
Yeah.
341
00:16:08.821 --> 00:16:10.369
It was just one of those moments.
342
00:16:10.369 --> 00:16:12.148
And then I texted a WhatsApp group
343
00:16:12.148 --> 00:16:13.198
and was like,
344
00:16:13.198 --> 00:16:15.648
"Does anyone have an old car I can borrow?"
345
00:16:15.648 --> 00:16:17.271
It's actually cool.
346
00:16:17.271 --> 00:16:18.695
It's just like acting
347
00:16:18.695 --> 00:16:19.961
on those little inspirations
348
00:16:19.961 --> 00:16:21.484
and seeing what happens.
349
00:16:21.484 --> 00:16:22.317
Yeah.
350
00:16:22.317 --> 00:16:24.121
I mean, sometimes it doesn't come together
351
00:16:24.121 --> 00:16:26.419
and sometimes it just works.
352
00:16:26.419 --> 00:16:29.111
So it's just a bit of free-falling
353
00:16:29.111 --> 00:16:31.488
and seeing what you get.
354
00:16:31.488 --> 00:16:33.232
It's nice in smaller community
355
00:16:33.232 --> 00:16:34.597
sometimes as well,
356
00:16:34.597 --> 00:16:36.008
that people will go out of their way
357
00:16:36.008 --> 00:16:37.194
and it's like,
358
00:16:37.194 --> 00:16:39.029
"Oh, Joe, three houses over has a cow."
359
00:16:39.029 --> 00:16:40.434
(both laughing)
360
00:16:40.434 --> 00:16:41.267
Exactly.
361
00:16:41.267 --> 00:16:42.486
(both laughing)
362
00:16:42.486 --> 00:16:43.634
Exactly.
363
00:16:43.634 --> 00:16:45.496
I'll just quickly tell you
364
00:16:45.496 --> 00:16:47.110
that the car that I borrowed,
365
00:16:47.110 --> 00:16:48.443
I went to get it
366
00:16:49.424 --> 00:16:51.037
and she was gonna drive across,
367
00:16:51.037 --> 00:16:52.709
and ended up being across the road
368
00:16:52.709 --> 00:16:54.488
from the location,
369
00:16:54.488 --> 00:16:56.684
there was like stars aligning,
370
00:16:56.684 --> 00:16:58.470
the battery won't start
371
00:16:58.470 --> 00:16:59.831
and I was like, "Don't worry about it."
372
00:16:59.831 --> 00:17:02.569
And then she went to get NRMA
373
00:17:02.569 --> 00:17:03.402
and I'm like,
374
00:17:03.402 --> 00:17:05.766
"This is small town life."
Yeah.
375
00:17:05.766 --> 00:17:06.599
They're just,
376
00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:07.433
people are just so-
And the NRMA
377
00:17:07.433 --> 00:17:09.046
is her brother anyway.
378
00:17:09.046 --> 00:17:11.713
(both laughing)
379
00:17:12.882 --> 00:17:13.715
Totally
380
00:17:13.715 --> 00:17:14.548
So funny.
381
00:17:14.548 --> 00:17:16.207
Yeah and I was just like,
382
00:17:16.207 --> 00:17:20.247
"I'll give you a six pack of beers." (laughing)
383
00:17:20.247 --> 00:17:21.979
Currency of small towns.
384
00:17:21.979 --> 00:17:24.646
(both laughing)
385
00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:27.600
So one question we get asked
386
00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:29.019
a bit about final lesson
387
00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:32.254
is usually from aspiring photographers is like,
388
00:17:32.254 --> 00:17:33.568
can you tell us a bit
389
00:17:33.568 --> 00:17:34.815
about your selected equipment
390
00:17:34.815 --> 00:17:37.305
that you like to use?
391
00:17:37.305 --> 00:17:38.722
Cameras, editing.
392
00:17:42.115 --> 00:17:42.948
Sure.
393
00:17:42.948 --> 00:17:46.709
I'm such a non-technical photographer.
394
00:17:46.709 --> 00:17:47.939
(interviewer laughing)
395
00:17:47.939 --> 00:17:51.739
I'm not anyone who like keeps up to date
396
00:17:51.739 --> 00:17:52.875
with all the new gear
397
00:17:52.875 --> 00:17:55.458
and things that are coming out.
398
00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:00.352
I've got a Canon 5D
399
00:18:04.756 --> 00:18:07.096
which I occasionally use.
400
00:18:07.096 --> 00:18:10.179
And then more recently I have a Sony,
401
00:18:13.369 --> 00:18:14.952
oh God, what is it?
402
00:18:16.128 --> 00:18:18.045
I've got a Sony 7S III,
403
00:18:21.879 --> 00:18:24.293
or some, I don't know, A7 III,
404
00:18:24.293 --> 00:18:26.793
I don't know what it's called.
405
00:18:29.269 --> 00:18:31.769
I've got a Pentax film camera.
406
00:18:35.215 --> 00:18:37.965
I have a Polaroid 600, old thing.
407
00:18:43.446 --> 00:18:46.779
And I edit with Lightroom and Photoshop.
408
00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:51.843
And then I've got a scanner
409
00:18:51.843 --> 00:18:53.926
that I recently purchased
410
00:18:54.809 --> 00:18:58.233
and it's like been a game changer for me
411
00:18:58.233 --> 00:19:01.869
to just being able to process my own work
412
00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:05.369
at home and scan work and have that whole,
413
00:19:08.153 --> 00:19:10.809
that process to look forward to.
414
00:19:10.809 --> 00:19:12.669
I had a darkroom in Melbourne
415
00:19:12.669 --> 00:19:14.693
just in our laundry,
416
00:19:14.693 --> 00:19:17.469
and I'm missing that a lot.
417
00:19:17.469 --> 00:19:18.933
It was a nice experiment
418
00:19:18.933 --> 00:19:21.100
last year during lockdown.
419
00:19:22.796 --> 00:19:24.483
And in terms of lenses,
420
00:19:24.483 --> 00:19:26.816
I've got a 50 mil, a 35 mil,
421
00:19:30.349 --> 00:19:31.182
a 24 to 70
422
00:19:32.468 --> 00:19:34.385
and that's probably it.
423
00:19:36.257 --> 00:19:37.243
Yeah.
Yeah.
424
00:19:37.243 --> 00:19:41.092
You've got quite of a collection there.
425
00:19:41.092 --> 00:19:41.970
I know,
426
00:19:41.970 --> 00:19:44.583
compared to most photographers. (giggles)
427
00:19:44.583 --> 00:19:45.416
Yeah.
428
00:19:46.917 --> 00:19:48.970
But what about, do you have any tips
429
00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:52.053
for aspiring photographers out there?
430
00:19:55.760 --> 00:19:58.093
In terms of creating work,
431
00:20:01.470 --> 00:20:03.887
the big tip I think would be,
432
00:20:07.520 --> 00:20:11.792
don't look at what you think you should be doing
433
00:20:11.792 --> 00:20:13.393
or what work you should be producing
434
00:20:13.393 --> 00:20:14.990
based on what other people are doing.
435
00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:17.043
And I think it's so important
436
00:20:17.043 --> 00:20:18.876
to just find something
437
00:20:20.756 --> 00:20:21.589
that means something to you,
438
00:20:21.589 --> 00:20:23.646
because if it means something to you,
439
00:20:23.646 --> 00:20:26.396
it just automatically translates,
440
00:20:27.754 --> 00:20:29.914
I think, to the viewer,
441
00:20:29.914 --> 00:20:32.831
and we've all fallen into that trap
442
00:20:33.678 --> 00:20:34.683
of feeling like
443
00:20:34.683 --> 00:20:36.967
you had to be making a certain work
444
00:20:36.967 --> 00:20:40.134
or this is what people are gonna like,
445
00:20:42.257 --> 00:20:44.174
and it took me a while,
446
00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:49.244
but I just learned that I just have to make work
447
00:20:49.244 --> 00:20:50.827
that is close to me
448
00:20:52.694 --> 00:20:54.041
and something that I'm proud of
449
00:20:54.041 --> 00:20:56.155
and something that means something
450
00:20:56.155 --> 00:20:58.107
because if it doesn't mean something to you,
451
00:20:58.107 --> 00:21:01.774
it's not gonna mean something to the viewer.
452
00:21:02.717 --> 00:21:04.467
Yeah.
453
00:21:05.376 --> 00:21:08.209
And I think we all have stories,
454
00:21:12.459 --> 00:21:15.053
interesting stories that can be told
455
00:21:15.053 --> 00:21:17.446
and be of interest to people,
456
00:21:17.446 --> 00:21:20.276
so, a lot of the times I think people
457
00:21:20.276 --> 00:21:22.256
feel like they need to look out
458
00:21:22.256 --> 00:21:25.314
and go to different communities
459
00:21:25.314 --> 00:21:26.693
and document this
460
00:21:26.693 --> 00:21:29.526
and sometimes just looking smaller
461
00:21:32.206 --> 00:21:35.589
and looking around your immediate surroundings
462
00:21:35.589 --> 00:21:39.506
and the people that are immediately around you,
463
00:21:40.807 --> 00:21:42.135
can sometimes bring out
464
00:21:42.135 --> 00:21:44.468
the most compelling stories.
465
00:21:47.525 --> 00:21:48.358
Yeah, perfect.
466
00:21:48.358 --> 00:21:52.134
So that genuine, it always shines through.
467
00:21:52.134 --> 00:21:53.471
Are you being genuine?
468
00:21:53.471 --> 00:21:54.971
Yeah.
469
00:21:54.971 --> 00:21:58.248
What about photographers or artists in general,
470
00:21:58.248 --> 00:22:01.355
that inspire you or that you look up to?
471
00:22:01.355 --> 00:22:03.772
(Tara gasps)
472
00:22:06.084 --> 00:22:07.636
So many.
473
00:22:07.636 --> 00:22:10.309
(both giggle)
474
00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:14.509
I'm part of a photography collective, Oculi.
475
00:22:14.509 --> 00:22:15.342
Yeah.
476
00:22:19.689 --> 00:22:20.522
And I'm just surrounded
477
00:22:20.522 --> 00:22:24.189
by so many amazing and wonderful photography
478
00:22:25.225 --> 00:22:27.046
just in that collective.
479
00:22:27.046 --> 00:22:29.002
And then looking out,
480
00:22:29.002 --> 00:22:31.412
I think some of my big inspirations
481
00:22:31.412 --> 00:22:33.162
would be Carol Jones,
482
00:22:34.925 --> 00:22:36.898
I have her book,
483
00:22:36.898 --> 00:22:40.731
and just anytime I'm feeling a bit uninspired,
484
00:22:43.048 --> 00:22:43.922
I look through her book
485
00:22:43.922 --> 00:22:44.755
and I'm like, "Oh! Okay, now."
486
00:22:44.755 --> 00:22:46.438
Amazing?
487
00:22:46.438 --> 00:22:47.584
Yeah.
488
00:22:47.584 --> 00:22:49.084
Raphaella Rosella,
489
00:22:51.570 --> 00:22:54.320
she is an Australian photographer
490
00:22:55.857 --> 00:22:59.440
doing just heartbreaking and beautiful work
491
00:23:02.219 --> 00:23:04.969
in mainly indigenous communities.
492
00:23:10.368 --> 00:23:13.035
And then Bill Henson, of course,
493
00:23:14.449 --> 00:23:16.459
the who's who of photography.
494
00:23:16.459 --> 00:23:17.846
(both laughing)
495
00:23:17.846 --> 00:23:22.132
And he's just next level and blows my mind.
496
00:23:22.132 --> 00:23:26.132
Tracy Moffitt, her work is very inspiring to me.
497
00:23:27.207 --> 00:23:28.405
Trent Parke.
498
00:23:28.405 --> 00:23:30.482
These are all Australian photographers.
499
00:23:30.482 --> 00:23:32.815
Yeah, I saw.
500
00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:35.783
Yeah. I could go wider,
501
00:23:36.745 --> 00:23:38.873
but I probably wouldn't stop. (giggles)
502
00:23:38.873 --> 00:23:40.647
Yeah, it was nice in the judging,
503
00:23:40.647 --> 00:23:43.023
just listening to Bill talk,
504
00:23:43.023 --> 00:23:45.856
I was just writing down all these,
505
00:23:47.635 --> 00:23:48.468
every second, sentence
506
00:23:48.468 --> 00:23:51.148
was like this profound gem,
507
00:23:51.148 --> 00:23:52.507
that was just set off hand,
508
00:23:52.507 --> 00:23:53.492
and I'm like, "Goddamit!
509
00:23:53.492 --> 00:23:56.773
"My pencil's going, I'm running out of line."
510
00:23:56.773 --> 00:24:01.260
I know, he's just the most articulate man.
511
00:24:01.260 --> 00:24:05.010
Yeah, with what he does and what he thinks.
512
00:24:07.157 --> 00:24:11.021
Yeah, and he's been super wonderful,
513
00:24:11.021 --> 00:24:11.955
helped me out a little bit too,
514
00:24:11.955 --> 00:24:14.385
just like writing me reference letters
515
00:24:14.385 --> 00:24:16.931
when I was setting up my doctrine in Melbourne,
516
00:24:16.931 --> 00:24:18.333
I'd call him and be like, "Bill."
517
00:24:18.333 --> 00:24:20.394
Yeah he is so lovely and helpful.
518
00:24:20.394 --> 00:24:21.227
He was like, "What do you wanna set up
519
00:24:21.227 --> 00:24:22.188
"a darkroom for?"
520
00:24:22.188 --> 00:24:24.852
(both laughing)
521
00:24:24.852 --> 00:24:27.747
So he's super supportive too, which is wonderful.
522
00:24:27.747 --> 00:24:29.473
Yeah. He's supportive of the arts.
523
00:24:29.473 --> 00:24:33.237
I think he really enjoyed judging this
524
00:24:33.237 --> 00:24:35.900
'cause the amount of entries as well,
525
00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:39.524
if it's 3000, so some of the prizes,
526
00:24:39.524 --> 00:24:42.524
you judge a few hundred or into 200,
527
00:24:43.360 --> 00:24:44.860
so it's like, "Oh my God!"
528
00:24:44.860 --> 00:24:46.836
Like he looked at every single one
529
00:24:46.836 --> 00:24:48.573
and read every single artist statement,
530
00:24:48.573 --> 00:24:51.323
like ringing and it's incredible.
531
00:24:53.564 --> 00:24:54.397
Yeah.
What about arts in general?
532
00:24:54.397 --> 00:24:57.435
Like painters or sort of your works
533
00:24:57.435 --> 00:24:59.525
have got a painterly sort of quality
534
00:24:59.525 --> 00:25:02.775
or a cinematic quality to them as well?
535
00:25:04.631 --> 00:25:05.464
Yeah.
536
00:25:08.473 --> 00:25:10.692
I don't know if I could rattle off
537
00:25:10.692 --> 00:25:12.942
a bunch of painters' names.
538
00:25:19.395 --> 00:25:20.356
I'm not sure.
539
00:25:20.356 --> 00:25:23.023
I definitely appreciate painters
540
00:25:24.981 --> 00:25:26.648
and going to different exhibitions,
541
00:25:26.648 --> 00:25:30.357
but I wouldn't really-be able to say
542
00:25:30.357 --> 00:25:32.857
if anyone's really-
Inspired?
543
00:25:33.771 --> 00:25:36.354
consciously inspired my work.
544
00:25:38.872 --> 00:25:40.082
What about, can you remember
545
00:25:40.082 --> 00:25:42.582
the first photo you ever took?
546
00:25:47.661 --> 00:25:50.254
It would have been terrible.
547
00:25:50.254 --> 00:25:52.767
(interviewer laughing)
548
00:25:52.767 --> 00:25:54.204
It was probably a still on,
549
00:25:54.204 --> 00:25:56.453
like a old music video
550
00:25:56.453 --> 00:25:58.244
that I took or something.
551
00:25:58.244 --> 00:26:00.411
I actually can't remember.
552
00:26:01.264 --> 00:26:03.677
As a teenager or?
553
00:26:03.677 --> 00:26:04.677
Oh, oh no.
554
00:26:05.554 --> 00:26:08.789
Yeah the first photos I would have taken
555
00:26:08.789 --> 00:26:12.528
probably would have been of my then boyfriend
556
00:26:12.528 --> 00:26:15.445
when I was like 14 or 15 years old.
557
00:26:18.719 --> 00:26:19.552
Yeah.
558
00:26:19.552 --> 00:26:20.415
Yeah.
559
00:26:20.415 --> 00:26:21.518
So cool.
560
00:26:21.518 --> 00:26:23.591
Can you remember them,
Yeah.
561
00:26:23.591 --> 00:26:24.978
the photographs?
562
00:26:24.978 --> 00:26:26.568
Yeah. Super special actually.
563
00:26:26.568 --> 00:26:27.401
Yeah.
564
00:26:28.391 --> 00:26:29.788
There's such little windows,
565
00:26:29.788 --> 00:26:32.701
like you go through that thing of
566
00:26:32.701 --> 00:26:34.964
going like, "How embarrassing?"
567
00:26:34.964 --> 00:26:36.478
And then when you look back,
568
00:26:36.478 --> 00:26:38.778
they're just such treasured little pockets.
569
00:26:38.778 --> 00:26:39.839
Yeah.
570
00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:42.339
And actually my work back then,
571
00:26:42.339 --> 00:26:45.664
not as embarrassing as when I started out
572
00:26:45.664 --> 00:26:48.854
(both laughing) in my late twenties.
573
00:26:48.854 --> 00:26:50.528
Yeah. It's that child's eye,
574
00:26:50.528 --> 00:26:51.651
how kids approach
575
00:26:51.651 --> 00:26:54.401
drawing and painting, its
Yeah.
576
00:26:58.086 --> 00:26:59.753
just put it there.
577
00:27:02.959 --> 00:27:05.685
Yeah and also I think when things age as well,
578
00:27:05.685 --> 00:27:09.685
they have like some credit to them or something.
579
00:27:12.388 --> 00:27:16.156
Nostalgia and the fading golden ages of memory
580
00:27:16.156 --> 00:27:18.304
sometimes scrap in.
581
00:27:18.304 --> 00:27:20.798
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
582
00:27:20.798 --> 00:27:22.256
What about dream subject?
583
00:27:22.256 --> 00:27:26.089
If you could get anyone in front of your camera.
584
00:27:26.089 --> 00:27:27.839
Yeah. I don't know.
585
00:27:32.993 --> 00:27:35.023
Right now you're like anyone without a mask.
586
00:27:35.023 --> 00:27:37.690
(both laughing)
587
00:27:41.943 --> 00:27:46.045
Yeah. Although here's quite a few people
588
00:27:46.045 --> 00:27:47.795
that I've seen around
589
00:27:49.541 --> 00:27:51.410
that I've lost my courage
590
00:27:51.410 --> 00:27:53.353
to ask them to be part of this work,
591
00:27:53.353 --> 00:27:56.020
but no one really comes to mind.
592
00:27:57.034 --> 00:27:59.093
I mean, I'm always like scouting
593
00:27:59.093 --> 00:28:00.346
and I've got like a mood board
594
00:28:00.346 --> 00:28:02.403
of like different people that I see on Instagram.
595
00:28:02.403 --> 00:28:03.691
And I've got a vision board,
596
00:28:03.691 --> 00:28:07.374
but no big names or anything that you would know
597
00:28:07.374 --> 00:28:09.811
or that would mean anything to anyone else.
598
00:28:09.811 --> 00:28:11.728
So, yeah, I'm not sure.
599
00:28:16.219 --> 00:28:18.045
What about, have you got any
600
00:28:18.045 --> 00:28:19.888
shout outs or thank yous
601
00:28:19.888 --> 00:28:23.305
that you wanna put out there to anything?
602
00:28:24.394 --> 00:28:26.589
Sure. Well, I would.
603
00:28:26.589 --> 00:28:30.877
I'm so thankful for the National Portrait Gallery
604
00:28:30.877 --> 00:28:34.627
and to the judges who judged this incredibly.
605
00:28:37.857 --> 00:28:40.579
I imagine the challenging job
606
00:28:40.579 --> 00:28:42.912
of going through all these incredible photos.
607
00:28:42.912 --> 00:28:45.912
And I'm super grateful for my family
608
00:28:48.904 --> 00:28:52.020
for putting up with me and my camera,
609
00:28:52.020 --> 00:28:54.020
and especially to my son
610
00:28:55.623 --> 00:28:57.040
who has just been
611
00:28:58.617 --> 00:29:00.504
a huge source of inspiration for me
612
00:29:00.504 --> 00:29:02.909
from the time that he was born
613
00:29:02.909 --> 00:29:04.664
and for the last six and a half years.
614
00:29:04.664 --> 00:29:07.014
So, my son Harlow, yeah.
615
00:29:07.014 --> 00:29:08.014
Beautiful.
616
00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:10.174
What about, last one,
617
00:29:10.174 --> 00:29:12.162
is your parting words of wisdom.
618
00:29:12.162 --> 00:29:14.913
So, it can be photography, life,
619
00:29:14.913 --> 00:29:16.717
whatever you want.
620
00:29:16.717 --> 00:29:18.990
(both laughing)
621
00:29:18.990 --> 00:29:21.094
Coming in so that they kill at 9:30
622
00:29:21.094 --> 00:29:22.261
in the morning
623
00:29:24.210 --> 00:29:25.788
Oh God!
624
00:29:25.788 --> 00:29:27.955
My parting words of wisdom
625
00:29:31.151 --> 00:29:33.707
would be give yourself
626
00:29:33.707 --> 00:29:37.013
some time away from social media.
627
00:29:37.013 --> 00:29:39.143
Good one.(laughing)
628
00:29:39.143 --> 00:29:41.060
And still enjoy life,
629
00:29:42.679 --> 00:29:44.858
and not be consumed with everyone else
630
00:29:44.858 --> 00:29:48.025
and just go inside and see what comes.
631
00:29:51.064 --> 00:29:51.897
Yeah.