Blogs from Victoria, Australia, Oceania - page 644

11 September 2002 For most of August I didn’t take any photographs in Kindergartens or Daycare Centres, instead I was working for another photographer. He had commissioned me to get group photos of school bands, after they played on stage at Monash University. It was a welcome break from the stress of getting the required number of photos of children in a limited time span. Instead I watched the school orchestras play for about thirty minutes. For about fifteen minutes an adjudicators would get up on stage with the children and help improve their performance. At the end of that it was my turn. From the balcony I would instruct the students to arrange their chairs so everybody could be seen. With all eyes looking up to my position, two shots were taken. I would thank ... read more

16 June 2003 From time to time I find myself in a town that I have not visited before and that’s good. On the other hand because I have been with this company so many years its inevitable, return trips to areas are becoming more normal. The first year is great because I can explore places of interest. Some are worth a return visit but most are not. Once the morning session is finished, I find myself in front of the TV and believe me there is little that interest me there. I still enjoy travelling to these country towns and sometimes stop to capture on film part of country life. On this trip to Kyabram I passed an old deserted hotel near the town of Murchison and got some good shots before getting on with ... read more

After the last 3 months travelling on the Oz experience Bus along the east coast we caught a flight down to Melbourne in oder to replenish our battered bank accounts. Even though i am on holiday i feel a sense of holiday blues. the east of Australia is one of the best areas i have ever travelled and i have had an amazing 3 months doing it. Melbourne seems nice though, abit chilly compared to Cairns. I like the trams.... I arrived in my thongs and shorts from 33oC Cairns to 4oC Mebourne: not a wise thing to do. Now living on the Esplanade in St. Kilda. right on the beach, average looking beach but i am told the place really comes alive in the Aussie summer. I a staying here for 6 months and really ... read more

27 May 2003 After driving four hours yesterday I arrived in Sale, which is in Southeast Victoria. The trip down was done in fine weather and the motel I'll be staying in, until Friday is good. My first day's job was thirty kilometres to the west; a small town called Rosedale. It was a foggy morning trip but I still managed to arrive in plenty of time before the children came through the door around nine o'clock. The morning went well and by time I checked my watch around eleven thirty the last of the children had been photographed. The town wasn't far from the coast, so I drove down to Seaspray, near by was part of the Ninety-Mile Beach. Parked the car and took a short walk over some sand dunes and found the view ... read more

5 MAY 2002 It was close to midnight when I was driving home from a debutante ball where I had been working with a couple of other photographers when it occurred to me that my life is far from boring. Photography has given me some sort of uncertainty; I very rarely do the same thing day after day. Granted having children between the ages of one to four in front of the camera most days of the week, could be looked upon as the same thing. Working in so many different centres, I feel as if I'm starting a new job three or four times a week. Dealing with the personalities of children keeps me focused and the staff of these centres can either make a morning session a pleasure of very hard. Other commissioned work ... read more