Celebrate 2021 with my fourth collectible calendar! These sell out every year and make unique gifts for your friends or yourself with prints that can be torn out and displayed forever.
Featuring 12 original storytelling images created during 2020 by me, fine art photographer, Hayley Roberts.
The calendar is printed on 200gsm paper, is wire bound and measures 21 x 28cm when closed.
Available for $20 Australian (plus $10 for postage Australia or worldwide). Free postage for orders of 5 and over.
You can purchase from me directly (via my contact page or send me a message on Facebook). I accept PayPal, bank deposit or cash. Please feel free to use the PayPal button below for Australian purchases.
A few months ago I saw a call out on Facebook looking for creatives to join a dark 'Alice in Wonderland' themed shoot. It was like all my Christmases had come at once so I quickly applied and was stoked to be asked to join the team which included five models, three hair and make up artists, four photographers, a headpiece designer, and an effects specialist.
We all met one Sunday in the middle of a pine forest on the very outskirts of town. Digitaliss Demiwolf and her partner, Rob Nealson, had already spent hours setting up four mini locations as well as the main tea party table, which was laden with the most incredible treasures. I could have spent all day shooting the table alone. The amount of work they put into creating pieces, organising the shoot, transporting everything on site and setting up and packing down was just mind-blowing.
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Image courtesy of Mark Lynam[/caption]
While the models were being styled I helped the incredibly talented Belinda, from Husk & Vine, collect pine cones to use in one of her marvellous horticouture creations. I'd been following her work for awhile and was just thrilled to meet her and assist in the creation of one of her pieces, even in the smallest way.
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Image courtesy of Mark Lynam[/caption]
Once the hair & make up artists were finished doing their thing the models and photographers split off into groups to start capturing the mini wonderland. I was super excited that the footwear designers, Pendragon Shoes, supplied shoes for the photo shoot. I've been a fan of their fairy tale creations for almost 20 years (they've even made shoes for Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer!) and I was so happy to have them share their shoes and creative suggestions. I tend to still get a wee bit overwhelmed on photo shoots and only wish I'd had more time documenting their shoes in the way they deserve.
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I first teamed up with model Tiffany Lesley, made up by Ashlee Finnigan, in an area with a small table and an even smaller tea set, which had strong vibes of the scene where Alice grapples with her size and first meets the caterpillar. Tiffany has been recommended to me several times over the years and she was great fun to work with.
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Next I photographed Taylah Jay, made up by Mellissa Johnston, in a kind of outdoor living room set decorated with vintage props. Taylah looked a lot like the Red Queen so I tried to play up that vibe. There were several vintage furs included in the sets, which I grappled with morally to the point that I nearly pulled out of the shoot, but I tried to make these part of the story. In one image I photoshopped a bunny into Taylah's lap while off to the side you can see a rabbit fur draped over the chest of drawers, giving the indication that perhaps the Red Queen isn't so fond of rabbits. It's a pretty dark concept but these are the places my mind goes ...
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Afterwards I got to work with the superstar of the day, Digitaliss Demiwolf, made up by Ashlee Finnigan, who posed at the end of a trail of teacups. She was great to work with, needing little direction, and able to pull off several poses and moods. In my head I gave each of the models characters and, although I can't explain why, I had strong Cheshire Cat vibes from this set.
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By this time the sun was starting to set creating the perfect lighting for the group tea party scene. We all crowded around the table trying to snap what we could as the models played with the props. It was a tricky situation to shoot, especially trying to get the models to look the same way at the same time, but I ended up with several images I'm happy with. Husk & Vine did such a stellar job with the headpieces and Chloe's worked perfectly for this scene as it resembled the Mad Hatter's famous top hat. I've no idea if this was intentional!
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When I was 18 I had this dream about walking in a forest at night and stumbling upon the Luminaries (heavenly bodies) having a dinner party. I became obsessed with the idea and have since written both a short film and a short story based on the premise. Without having any creative input into conceiving this shoot I was shocked and moved to see it come to life for real.
With the sun disappearing fast I grabbed Chloe Vnt, made up by Mellissa Johnston, and we headed to the last mini set made of mirrors attached to trees. Although my flash started playing up (user error perhaps) the images I took during this small window of time were my favourites from the whole shoot, as Chloe is a natural and I really loved her look.
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As we began to pack up I saw the final model, Jocelyn Lothian, made up by Mj Nolan, standing among some long grass looking divine while she waited for another photographer to grab their gear. I was fast running out of time and hadn't had a chance to work with Jocelyn yet so I used the couple of minutes I had to capture Jocelyn's regal look and posing.
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Throughout this whole process Mark Lynam, assisted by Rob Nealson, was running between the sets creating special effects with his smoke machine and hot ice to add something extra to each scene, while also snapping behind the scenes images himself.
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Everyone was so professional and great to work with. My practice is fairly solitary so it's always a joy to work with other creatives and while it wasn't always easy with such a big team I'd happily do it again to capture a little piece of magic during an ordinary day.
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Image courtesy of Warwick Davies[/caption]
I've chosen 16 images from this shoot for my 2019 calendar, which you can learn more about here.
CREDITS:
Concept / Styling / Creative Directors:
Digitaliss Demiwolf, Rob Nealson
Photographers:
Hayley Roberts, Warwick Davies, Adrian Forster, JD Suarez
Models:
Taylah Jay, Jocelyn Lothian, Chloe Vnt, Tiffany Lesley, Digitaliss Demiwolf
Hair and Make Up:
Ashlee Finnigan, Mj Nolan, Mellissa Johnston
Headpiece Designers:
Husk & Vine, Digitaliss Demiwolf
Shoes:
Pendragon Shoes
Special Effects & Behind the Scenes Photography:
Mark Lynam
Well folks another year has rolled on by so it's time to announce my 2019 calendar!
This year's calendar features 16 images from the dark 'Alice in Wonderland’ themed shoot I worked on earlier this year. You can read about the experience of shooting these images at this blog post. It was a wild ride!
My calendar sells out every year so if you'd love to give these dark fairy tales as a Christmas gift or keep one for yourself, get in quick! These images will only be featured in this calendar and never released as prints or products so it's the only way to collect the images from this series.
The calendar is printed on glossy 200gsm paper, is wire bound and measures 21 x 28cm when closed.
It's available for $20 Australian (plus $10 for Australian postage or $25 to ship worldwide) and can be purchased from me directly (via my contact page or send me a message on Facebook). I accept PayPal, bank deposit or cash. Please feel free to use the PayPal button below which will charge $30 with local postage already applied.
Thank you so much for supporting my art business for another year! x
Please note the 2019 calendar is now out of stock.
I've mentioned in previous posts my desire to run away into the woods and how spending a few days at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park momentarily fulfilled that urge, but I've only really glossed over the actual experience. A luxury lodge was not quite the cabin in the woods I’d been dreaming of but it was a step closer than suburbia. My friends seem to have the mistaken impression that I’m far from the outdoor type anyway so this option seemed like a good compromise.
The prospect of being a woman wandering alone through the woods with expensive camera gear was admittedly quite daunting. But besides creepy crawlies and the weird creature I found mauled by the roadside there seemed little to fear. Each day I hiked 15km+ carrying my tripod, camera gear, and a backpack full of costume dresses and food. When I found a picturesque spot I would change into a dress, set up my camera, and climb into the scene. Afterwards while I packed everything away someone always walked by and I can only imagine what they would have thought had they arrived a moment earlier.
The drive to O’Reilly’s is a challenging, often one lane, winding mountain road made even more difficult because it had been raining non-stop for the past week. The slow and steady drive meant I arrived later than expected and so the first afternoon I did the short Booyong walk, including the Tree Top Walk over the forest via suspension bridges. When I returned to my room there were rosellas sitting on my balcony who barged into my room looking for food.
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The second day I walked part of the Border track with a short detour along the Albert River Circuit to admire the 3000 year old Antarctic Beech Trees. I was on the hunt for fairy tale spots and these trees certainly delivered. I then rejoined the Border Track having to detour from the path into the overgrown forest for a few minutes to avoid a massive fallen tree and walked as far as the NSW border before returning the same way. It’s amazing how easy it is to clear your mind in the bush when your focus is entirely on what’s directly in front of you.
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Fairies?[/caption]
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The rock climb to Elebana Falls[/caption]
The third day I again started on the Border Track but left after 3km to do the 11km Box Forest Circuit. Heading clockwise I walked along muddy paths down to the trail of waterfalls, rolling my ankle on the way which made things tricky for awhile. Most of the waterfalls I had completely to myself so I stayed for a long, peaceful time at Nugurun Falls and after a couple of creek crossings found the incredibly powerful Box Log Falls which felt oddly menacing so I was fearful to stay long. I headed back via Elebana Falls which is one of the more popular waterfalls in the area and involves a serious rock climb to reach the picture postcard spot. There I found a 70 year old man who’d been waiting since 7am for the right light. He said the soft, overcast light became perfect just as I arrived and I was amused to see the sun came out again just as I was leaving. Thanks nature!
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The view after the climb![/caption]
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Elebana Falls[/caption]
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Box Log Falls[/caption]
The uphill walk back was slightly laborious so I took a short rest in my room and then went to visit my feathered friends at the designated bird feeding spot (in an attempt to stop them doing home visits).
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On the last day I did the peaceful Wishing Tree walk, which is only accessible to O’Reilly’s guests, down to Glow Worm Gully and Moran’s Creek.
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Afterwards I drove to the Moran’s Falls walk entrance which is 1km away or you can take a path directly from O’Reilly’s. Either way the walk ends at the main lookout before looping back on itself. There’s a spot near Moran’s Falls which continually shows up on Instagram but after having trouble finding it I asked an O’Reilly’s tour guide for advice and he blatantly lied to me and told me it was a 6km walk away. Luckily someone on Instagram came to my rescue and told me it was only 10m away over a fence. Obviously, fence jumping is not advisable, but sitting at the top of an 80m waterfall with incredible valley views was certainly worth it!
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As I drove down the spirally hill away from the forest back to suburbia fatigue began to set in and I struggled to stay awake on the highway, so while I felt energised from my time in the forest, all the exercise wore me out completely.
A little over four years ago I was standing in the kitchen and noticed how lovely the light was hitting my mother's desk so naturally I had to climb under it and take some self-portraits. It was only the second time I'd ever taken artistic self portraits and I was pleased that there were some really beautiful poses among them. I love the glowing skin, the pop of the pink and my face hidden in darkness.
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However those photos, along with many, many others have sat on my hard drive all this time, unseen by anyone but me. A couple of times I've tried to make something of them but the ideas never really took off.
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I actually really like that third image but I could never quite work out why an angel would be trapped in a jar. If my stories don't make sense I will abandon them. It's frustrating because I've seen plenty of beautiful images from other photographers that have no story or make no sense, but I personally need my images to be believable, despite their strangeness.
Recently I thought I'd have one more go at it and by giving the image a more renaissance toning it began to go in a direction I was happy with.
My mother loves angels so I've grown up surrounded by them. She even pins an angel brooch to her outfit every single day. Only natural then that one would eventually creep into my work. For me, the story here is about an angel who feels overburdened by modern society. No one is truly good or truly bad and I feel like those lines blur even more as time marches on. If we take the seven deadly sins - pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth - I know that I, personally, commit at least one of these sins daily (mainly gluttony thanks to chocolate) but fundamentally I believe I'm a good person despite this. I'm not religious at all but I'm well acquainted with the bible and if there IS a heaven and hell, how difficult would it be to unravel the complexity of a human mind and proclaim it either good or bad? Particularly when the decision results in an eternity of either reward or torture. So yes, I feel like this angel is trying to hide herself away from the overwhelming burden of her position, hence the name 'A Burden Too Big To Bear'.
The ground was photographed at Mt Cook in New Zealand. I chose it because of the golden tone of the grass. Her wings are from a swan in London's Kensington Park. The sky is a mixture of several layers.
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The end result!
For some time now I've been feeling the call of the wild, a desire to run off into the woods and shack up in a log cabin away from society. As urbanisation consumes the natural world and disillusionment with consumerism and 'stuff' grows I've noticed that more and more people are sharing this desire. I've been reading about people with similar interests, starting with Barbara Newhall Follett's, 'A House Without Windows', a novel about a girl who leaves her family to live in the forest. The book was published in 1927 when Barbara was just 12 years old. At 35 she walked out of her home and was never seen again. Currently I'm reading 'The Nature Fix: Why nature makes us happier, healthier and more creative' highlighting the studies of leading scientists into nature's effects on health, crime and productivity. It's fascinating stuff and I hope to explore it further in a forest based series I plan to work on next year.
Lacking the funds and the means to find a forest home of my own I decided to book into O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park. Here I spent four days alone wandering by waterfalls and through ancient forests in an effort to soothe my soul and unload some of life's burdens. Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku as it is called in Japan where the term was coined, truly is magical and I long for a time when I have a little forest of my own. I hope the intent of the image is obvious in that, by spending time in nature, it causes us to bloom ourselves.
This image was photographed in two spots. The pose was taken from me draped over an Antarctic Beech tree estimated to be thousands of years old.
The location was photographed near one of the waterfalls along the Box Forest Circuit.
A really cool little feature of this image is that if you look closely between the two centre rocks and behind the middle one you'll see streaks of white and blue. This is the Lamington Spiny Crayfish which only lives in this part of the world.
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I've released the image to coincide with Earth Day, the focus of which for 2018 is reducing plastic pollution and being mindful about your consumption of single-use plastics such as plastic bottles, cling wrap, food containers, cups and straws. We have lost so much of the natural world but as governments start to realise the healing benefits of green spaces we can all do our part to preserve what remains.
When I was 16 I overheard someone in an elevator say ‘why waste the emotion’. At the time I was riddled with teenage angst and thought this was the most profound thing I’d ever heard. I adopted it as my mantra, my security net against the world, and slowly taught myself to repress the messy and unnecessary emotions that come from not only being human but also an empath.
After two decades of practice I’ve become a fairly unemotional person. I am an INTJ anyway, the type of introvert who prefers reason to feelings (hence why I like to categorise myself), and I’ve learnt to avoid situations that require emotional expenditure. I refuse to watch sad or scary movies, I have little to no desire for a relationship let alone children, and I keep my friends at an arm’s length. I do these things unconsciously and I’m certainly not proud of them but I’ve had to make peace with the way I am.
Naturally as a black hearted ice queen I’ve built up a fairly impenetrable fortress with bricks made of cynicism and distrust. So you can imagine my surprise when I found someone had snuck through my defences.
This series is about a heart that starts to feel again and the tidal surge of emotion that comes after decades of repression. It’s also, in part, about the need for an artist to bleed to create meaningful art. I want the images to portray something beautiful, about broken and hardened hearts that begin to heal and awaken; about that delightful moment when something or someone touches your heart profoundly. These are the messages I will send these images out into the world with.
The reality though is much darker. The reason the security of my fortress failed is because it was not equipped for the small percentage of people who operate differently from the rest of us. This is how I became briefly entangled with my first and last narcissist; that particular breed of toxic human who feeds on the emotions of others. When you’re cautious about guarding your feelings there is no worse person you could invite into your life than these masters of manipulation. But empaths and narcissists are drawn to each other because they both have high emotional intelligence, it’s just that one uses this skill to heal while the other uses it to destroy. Thankfully I quickly realised what I was dealing with and was able to escape with only slight emotional bruising.
That story might inspire my next series.
I read a lovely quote on a blog that said ‘narcissists can be like angels in disguise. They are catalysts of change in people’s lives: they stir up all the old wounds, scars and shadow elements in a person and force growth.’ This sums up perfectly what this work is actually trying to convey.
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When I realised it was all lies[/caption]
Human heart from Pixelsquid[/caption]
I wanted this series to be a Photoshop project instead of photography one and so I didn’t shoot a single image for this series, using only stock I’ve purchased or photographs I’ve shot before. With much experimentation and the help of YouTube tutorials I applied different effects to give each heart a unique look. At the moment my focus is on creating work that, while still dear to my ‘heart’, is faster to make, cheaper to produce and more affordable to buy. After much soul searching I’ve decided to spend 2018 focusing less on pursuing a fine art career and more on creating collectible art pieces for my Society6 and Redbubble stores and so this series is in that ‘vein’.
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I created the first nine images with the intention of portraying something romantic and uplifting.
After much deliberation I then created the tenth image that puts a whole new spin on the series. Since it was partially inspired by real life events the last image was necessary in sticking to the truth. While it’s difficult to talk about the exact circumstances that inspired it, the beauty of art is that it allows you to abstractly express the things you’re uncomfortable saying with words. It’s the best kind of therapy.
I loved the challenge of telling a story in this way and recommend the exercise of using one object to tell a story for other creators who are feeling stuck or looking to hone their skills.
What does this series stir up for you?
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'There Was' by Charles Blackman[/caption]
If I haven’t mentioned it before my favourite artist is Charles Blackman and, in particular, his Schoolgirls and Angels series. He manages to imbue his simple paintings with this lonely darkness that I just adore. And it’s a theme that all my favourite art pieces seem to have in common. Lonely darkness.
Anyway, recently I learned how to make a photo of day look like night. It’s really simple. Basically you drop your exposure and blacks and add an overall blue tone, but for some reason I’d never been able to figure out how to do it, and not for lack of trying. Sometimes the simplest Photoshop tricks completely elude me. But now I finally have the tool I need to create my own lonely darkness.
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‘The Stars are Falling’ was initially inspired by an episode of 'Angel' I watched long ago that featured a storyline where the sky rained with fire. It got me thinking about the moment of peace the world would experience when everyone looked to the sky wondering what was going on, before everything erupted into chaos. With all that has gone on in 2016, political upheaval, the deaths of so many icons, as well as personal struggles such as losing my job, alienating friends, and reaching a plateau with my art, it’s impossible to ignore that everything is changing. All of which has manifested in this image, ‘The Stars are Falling’. I started the year with an image that symbolises rebirth, ‘Metamorphosis’ and I feel as if this new image metaphorically completes that “circle of life”.
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Metamorphosis[/caption]
The rooftop in the image is from the bakery of my favourite restaurant, ‘Harvest’, in Newrybar and was photographed during a road trip I took exactly a year ago. The ‘meteor’ is a stock photo sourced from Unsplash and is attributed to NASA. The girl is, of course, a self-portrait, photographed, as usual, in my backyard.
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Happy New Year and here's to 2017 and whatever it shall bring. :)
Lately I've spent a lot of time staring at mountains and experiencing that feeling--you know the one--that is a mix of awe and wonder, interconnectedness and insignificance. There is no word for this feeling in the English language, or maybe any language, but it feels a lot like joy, or at least a kind of enchantment. When the clouds clear or the fog rises revealing a rainbow or a snow capped mountain and there you are to experience this rare and beautiful moment as woven by the elements, well, perhaps it would be an injustice to try and contain it in a single word.
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Staring at mountains, Hooker Valley, New Zealand[/caption]
I travel to find these moments and I photograph to try and immortalise them, but much like words, there is no medium on earth that can accurately convey the experience.
This is what my image 'Enchanted' came to be about but as usual it did not start out that way, and as usual it ended as an image of a character interacting with nature, as the majority of my photos do.
A lot of photographers who create the kind of art that I do have a very simple formula which is:
a) a basic setting that isn't important to the story
b) a moody sky
c) a character
d) something interesting happening to the character
e) an overall colour tone, desaturation and overlaying of a texture
My work has been getting too complicated and time consuming of late and arguably has suffered for it (or at least, I have) so I wanted to simplify things by creating an image using this formula. Without any plan I threw on a wig and a dress and posed for the camera, dancing, swishing, jumping and it was fun and freeing but probably not recommended because it's difficult to come up with a concept after the fact. I chose the final pose because it was the most pleasing to the eye, but it was a challenge to work with because she's observing, not interacting and that made it hard to put her in a story.
The mountains were photographed from a train in Scotland and have been on my mind as a potential scene for forever and a day. Because she's observing I had to give her something interesting to observe and I liked how the mountains complemented the colour scheme of her hair and skin. The clouds are from the original mountain scene but combined from a number of different shots. It was at this point seeing the scene become the story that I ditched the formula and yet again indulged my subconscious desire to run off into nature.
She is standing on a stormwater drain mainly as a way of making her the correct perspective, but also, don't you find you like to climb things to get a better view of pretty scenes?
I added the rainbow because I wanted to create one of those rare and beautiful moments I talked about earlier. An epic mountain is one thing but an epic mountain with a rainbow is exactly the kind of scene that makes you experience that exquisite feeling there is no word for, but feels a lot like joy.
FOOTNOTE: Two days after writing this post we had a stormy afternoon and with it came the closest, brightest double rainbow I've ever seen. As the neighbours came outside to view it it was a lovely to see so many people enchanted by the moment.
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Detail of image - final touches with the oil paint filter to make the image resemble a painting[/caption]
Last spring I created the image, 'Dance of the Jacarandas' to celebrate the month when my city turns purple, so after a trip to Japan earlier this year it seemed appropriate to make a companion cherry blossom themed piece for release this spring. I'm thinking of turning this into a regular series and am toying with poincianas, wattle or bougainvillea next, so if you know of any good spots ...
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A cherry blossom sighting in Japan (my mother can't be trusted with my camera).[/caption]
It's embarrassing to admit, but back in my university / goth years, on the 1st of Spring I would dress up as the spring fairy, buying fresh flowers and weaving them into a wreath, and if I felt brave enough (because clearly playing dress ups was not already brazen enough) I would give out floral gifts to strangers (there is photographic evidence of this but it's such a terrible shame that I can't currently find it). If this series is any indication I guess I still like to play dress ups and celebrate spring.
To my surprise cherry blossom trees are actually quite tough to photograph. For one, they are totally inundated with people. They bloom for approximately 11 days once a year so if you blink you'll miss 'em, which of course means everyone wants to experience them in person. We were on a regular commuter bus in Kyoto and as we drove past a cherry blossom tree, EVERYONE took out their phone cameras and started snapping away. Some companies even pay an employee to sit in a park all day during hanami (cherry blossom viewing) reserving the best picnic spot for when they all finish work. The Japanese also have this astounding ability that, while it may seem as if there's no one nearby, as soon as you point your camera at something at least one person will appear and stand in your way for as long as it takes for you to give up and move on. It's uncanny.
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Keage Incline, Kyoto: I got totally lost at Nanzen-ji temple looking for a waterfall and found this instead.[/caption]
Secondly, Japan has become quite polluted. On my previous two visits this wasn't the case so I'm sad to say it is now. I love photographing overcast scenes because colours become deep and saturated, even sunny days bring blue skies and lots of contrast, but pollution? It does no favours for anyone.
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Philosopher's Walk, Kyoto, and the most boring type of sky.[/caption]
Lastly, cherry blossoms come in a stunning array of colours and varieties but the majority of them are this wishy washy pale pink colour that just blends right in with the polluted sky and looks kind of mucky.
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Pale flowers, Philosopher's Walk, Kyoto[/caption]
The two trees used in my final image were both photographed at Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo on the first day of our trip, right before cherry blossom season had actually begun. They have thicker flowers and are a rarer rich, pink colour which is quite lovely. If anyone knows what type of sakura these are, I beg you to tell me so I can buy one. The other elements that make up the final photo are included below.
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I had the photo all ready to go but my Mum pointed out that the hedges didn't have any fallen flowers on them. It's these kinds of details that really make a composite believable and is why getting a second opinion is so important. (And also why I then had to spend an extra day on the image.)
As with 'Dance of the Jacarandas' I created a brush out of a cherry blossom to paint some falling blooms into the scene and then added some more petal shaped brush strokes. Falling cherry blossoms are quite lovely and to experience them is like being caught in a soft, warm snowstorm. I have a video of what it's like featuring my mother being delightful but I can't figure out how to post it with Wordpress so check out my Facebook instead.
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Sakura Photoshop brush[/caption]
And then of course, there's me, photographed as usual in my backyard using an op shop parasol and an eBay dress. I really liked this pose but there were some problems with it so I photographed it again a few days later, only to decide that I preferred the original pose afterall.
You can see more of my travel photography (I'm not up to Japan yet but I'll get there eventually) at my travel Instagram account @hayleyrtravels where I post a photo daily. Sayonara!
Celebrate 2021 with my fourth collectible calendar! These sell out every year and make unique gifts for your friends or yourself with prints that can be torn out and displayed forever. Featuring 12 original storytelling images created during 2020 by me, fine art photographer, Hayley Roberts. The calendar is printed on 200gsm paper, is wire […]
A few months ago I saw a call out on Facebook looking for creatives to join a dark ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed shoot. It was like all my Christmases had come at once so I quickly applied and was stoked to be asked to join the team which included five models, three hair and make […]
Well folks another year has rolled on by so it’s time to announce my 2019 calendar! This year’s calendar features 16 images from the dark ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed shoot I worked on earlier this year. You can read about the experience of shooting these images at this blog post. It was a wild ride! My […]
I’ve mentioned in previous posts my desire to run away into the woods and how spending a few days at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park momentarily fulfilled that urge, but I’ve only really glossed over the actual experience. A luxury lodge was not quite the cabin in the woods I’d been dreaming of but […]
A little over four years ago I was standing in the kitchen and noticed how lovely the light was hitting my mother’s desk so naturally I had to climb under it and take some self-portraits. It was only the second time I’d ever taken artistic self portraits and I was pleased that there were some […]
For some time now I’ve been feeling the call of the wild, a desire to run off into the woods and shack up in a log cabin away from society. As urbanisation consumes the natural world and disillusionment with consumerism and ‘stuff’ grows I’ve noticed that more and more people are sharing this desire. I’ve […]
When I was 16 I overheard someone in an elevator say ‘why waste the emotion’. At the time I was riddled with teenage angst and thought this was the most profound thing I’d ever heard. I adopted it as my mantra, my security net against the world, and slowly taught myself to repress the messy […]
If I haven’t mentioned it before my favourite artist is Charles Blackman and, in particular, his Schoolgirls and Angels series. He manages to imbue his simple paintings with this lonely darkness that I just adore. And it’s a theme that all my favourite art pieces seem to have in common. Lonely darkness. Anyway, recently I […]
Lately I’ve spent a lot of time staring at mountains and experiencing that feeling–you know the one–that is a mix of awe and wonder, interconnectedness and insignificance. There is no word for this feeling in the English language, or maybe any language, but it feels a lot like joy, or at least a kind of enchantment. When […]
Last spring I created the image, ‘Dance of the Jacarandas’ to celebrate the month when my city turns purple, so after a trip to Japan earlier this year it seemed appropriate to make a companion cherry blossom themed piece for release this spring. I’m thinking of turning this into a regular series and am toying with poincianas, wattle or bougainvillea […]
