Ready… Set… GO!

What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
Lately I’ve been working on refining my portfolio, taking more photos that genuinely interest me. I enjoy shooting portraits in everyday environments, trying to convey the emotions the subject might feel, and I’m working on building this into a series.

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
I’ve always been a big fan of using natural lighting, but especially now that I’m investing more in photography, I’m continuously trying to learn how to use what I have to my advantage and discover new techniques using the gear that I have (and unlearn the idea that technology is a competition).

What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
Be unashamed, disrupt, reach out. Self-doubt always persists as I’m still learning and building a portfolio, but I keep reminding myself to just keep working and let a personal style emerge over time.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
As a film lover and maker, I like to think I subliminally reflect this in my work. Movies like Dazed and Confused have always spoken to me, as well as the link between sound and image. Music can really set my mood and help me find my intentions for a shoot.

What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
The most difficult thing has been balancing work and creativity. After recently graduating from university, I’m having to relearn how to manage my own week—balancing a non-creative job while still finding time to plan and execute my creative ideas with other people who are similarly busy.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
My favourite restaurant was Red Lotus, a local Vietnamese restaurant. They closed late last year (devastating) and merged with the café next door, Café O-Mai , and my go-to is the lemongrass chicken vermicelli noodle salad.

If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
If this month were a movie, it’d be called Ready… Set… GO! , and the soundtrack would include bands like Wednesday, Horse Jumper of Love, Dove Ellis, and heaps of local noisy music that I probably shouldn’t start naming or I won’t stop.

Recommend one or more artists you follow who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
Rita Busa, Sierra Breeze Petrocelli, Tanguy Delavet, Petra Collins, Taylor Pendleton, Mel Mercer. I like the way quite a few of them foreground women as models, but not in an expository way—more so entering into their real worlds and creating deeply emotive images through light and space.

Dev/Scan at Fotofast Brisbane Film Lab