Bondi with Sam.

Some highlights from a little shoot I did in Bondi with my friend Samantha Toong.

Sydney, August 2016.

Last week I was in Sydney once more. I helped my sister move house, met up with friends, and did a lot of shooting, both for work and for pleasure. Since I've transitioned to full-time freelancing, I've fallen in love with photography again. I've never hated photography, but something feels different now. Sure, being in a different city helps with that excitement and novelty, but I've been to Sydney many times before and it wasn't until this year that I've really felt that spark for photography return. I'm excited about where my photography is taking me—I'm not sure where exactly that is, and I can't really describe it or put a name to it, I just know it's taking me somewhere. I love that I'm exploring within my photography again, and these days instead of only ever taking the camera out to shoot for clients or for “work”, I have it with me more often and it's reminded me how I came to be here in the first place. This is how my relationship with photography began: snapping things that pique my interest, even if those things may seem totally mundane to others. It's nice to be back here, to feel giddy like how I did when all this started.

The cute little lady in the photos below is my talented friend and fellow Brisbane lens wrangler, Annie, who happened to be in Sydney at the same time I did and spent lots of time adventuring and photo-ing with me.

Places featured in the photos below: Edition Coffee Roasters, Darlinghurst; Bondi Beach; Bills, Darlinghurst; Royal Botanic Gardens; Sydney Opera House; Kürtősh, Darlinghurst; Bills, Surry Hills; Citta Design, Surry Hills.

Milk Beach.

During my solo weekend in Sydney I spent an afternoon with my cousin and his friends, bidding farewell to Jon, who was returning to America the next day. We had a little picnic, played guitar, did some yoga, danced and laughed as the sun went down and winter's evening chill set in. I formed a bond instantly with this affectionate, warm and welcoming group of people. It was as if I'd known them all my life. Group situations can be hard for me due to anxiety, so being totally comfortable around a group of people I've never met before means so much to me. I'm happy to say we've continued to stay in touch since, and I'll be seeing them again very soon.

Surry Hills.

Last month I was back in Sydney, but through a series of unfortunate—but actually, fortunate—events I found myself in this big city all on my own. I've been visiting Sydney a few times yearly ever since my sister moved down there, but she ended up having to go to Melbourne during the last weekend I was down, leaving me to explore all on my own.

The Friday I arrived I took myself on a date around Surry Hills. At St. Jude's I enjoyed an omelette, my soy latté and a book I started at the beginning of the year but still haven't finished; after a while, I wandered down to Bourke St. Bakery and got myself a seeded sourdough loaf—yes, the hype over their bread is real, and worth the wait; then I explored Crown St. for hours, letting my curious eyes take everything in. This is how my journey in photography began: shooting whatever piqued my interest, for no reason other than it was interesting. There doesn't always have to be a point, and if shooting anything and everything is still as enjoyable to me as it was a decade ago, well...I guess this is what I'm meant to do. Photography has allowed me to see magic in the most everyday of things, and it's the gift that keeps on giving.

I set myself a challenge that weekend to bring my least used lens—so everything in this post was shot with my 85mm f/1.8. I forgot how enjoyable it was to shoot with a prime (a fixed-length lens, meaning there's no zooming in or out). You're forced to move to adjust your composition and in most cases it asks you to see things in a totally different way. I can't remember the last time I was able to shoot for myself, by myself, but I can't wait to do it all again.

A Saturday in Sydney's summer.

In February I flew back down to Sydney to catch up with my sister and my uncle's family. One of my cousins was visiting from where she lives in Shanghai, and I don't see them often. I had some spare time, so I caught up with Jason. Sydney treated us nicely that day—it was warm, the sun was out; a perfect day to be by the water. Instead of heading to Bondi, Jason took me to Shelley Beach. I'd never been before. The beach was packed with swimmers, stand-up paddleboarders and snorkellers in the water, dozens upon dozens of South Americans partying on the beach, and even a wedding reception happening in the restaurant by the shore.

Jason wanted to help me take some yoga photos for my 365 project, up on top of the cliffs where the view was beautiful (typical Sydney). The light was perfect, and being photographers, we lingered. I mostly spent time on the other side of the lens that day. I observed my thoughts and noted with relief, gratitude and surprise that I was not anxious, whereas I previously would have been—despite the fact that I was in a swimsuit, quite close to a small group of South American men who were having their own good fun but were no doubt curious as to what we were doing. I let all of that melt away so I could be and let small parts of my true nature surface for the lens. It is not easy to do. It will not be easy to do again. It takes time to be vulnerable in front of the lens, in front of someone else—even friends, even family. This impromptu portrait session on the rocks led to what has to be my most favourite photos taken of me ever, and I'm really glad it turned out the way it did. It has helped me feel a little more comfortable in my own skin, which will be a lifelong project, and things like this are like victories, triumphant milestones to mark times where I felt change in me. Deep-seated scars moved and freed so I could continue to un-become everything I wasn't.

Chuck Close at the MCA.

After a very early wake-up and then a very awkward change of plans, Martin and I went to see the Chuck Close exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It wasn't in our original itinerary but I was so pleased that we ended up going, especially as I'd completely forgotten to include it in our rough Sydney plans. I actually knew very little about Chuck Close and it just so happened to be the exhibition's very last weekend—a fortuitous day indeed.

Martin and I enjoyed the exhibition so much we circled it twice. We savoured every minute detail, and boy, was there detail; the clearly enormous, careful process Chuck Close went through to produce these works was so evident, and I think we can all agree that even at a small size, producing a realistic portrait of someone using only thread, or tiny lines, or tiny little dots of paint, is an astounding feat.

A brief visit to Sydney.

Three weeks ago Martin and I escaped to Sydney for 4 days. I haven't been back since 2010, and have only been a handful of times since I've lived in Australia—Martin has probably only been once, and he was born in this country. We didn't get to spend Christmas together and I wasn't sure when we'd get to go away again, so with my sister having only just moved down it seemed the perfect opportunity to visit.

Us: photos with Sydney photographer Jason de Plater.

Martin and I shot on film by Sydney photographer Jason de Plater.

Last weekend when I was in Sydney I got to meet up with my long-time Internet friends Jason & Joe (more on Sydney later once I have a couple more days to go through my photos!).

What was meant to be a casual afternoon of shooting together around Bondi ended up being an afternoon of Martin & I being the main subjects on the other side of the lens. Definitely not a position either of us are used to. Martin especially has never been keen on photos of himself, but after being with a photographer for some time now, he knows better than to fight it.