mornings
Reply
arrivals
Monday John comes to Sydney.
John looks like this:
He does this:
John recently left his job in Chicago as an overworked, though highly regarded engineer and is looking to do a bit of self-emersion in the Aussie culture. We’ll be going at it together until it no longer makes sense. It might be a while!
A few details on our plans…
Photo
It would seem, as it were, that we will be doing lots of this. Have numerous shoots starting to line up over the next few weeks. Pulling John in on most of these. I’m really excited to start working with locals. It’ll be a good chance to grow, gather feedback and refine our styles.
Travel
Depending on the work situation (read: how long I remain at my current job) we will be moving onward. It’s fall here in New South Wales and daylight savings time hits April 1st, which means shorter days. Queensland doesn’t observe daylight savings time and as winter* comes QLD is the place to be. Mainly because they are at summer temps year round. This is attractive, and so it’s likely in the next month or so that I’ll be mentioning a relocation up the east coast.
Build
It’s been an ongoing goal of mine to get back to making physical things. As I wrote in an earlier post, I used to work on cars. I was obsessed. I miss that. Between John being an engineer and me having grown up with one hand in a tool box, we’re poised to kick off some sweet projects.
And that’s about it for now. No certainties of what’s next, playing it by ear and enjoying our existence. Working more each day to do what we love. Heaps to come. Stay tuned!
*When I say winter in Sydney I mean 50′s and 60′s, but nonetheless, not beach weather.
this is Sydney
Saturday was canvassed by blue skies. I concluded my morning run at the top of Moore Park’s three tier hill and sat down to enjoy this view. Realizing that it was the clearest day since my arrival I ran home to grab my camera gear. You see downtown Sydney straight ahead, Surry Hills where I live (until Friday!) just to the left of the park. Centennial Park would be to the right of where the photo ends, and if you continue on that direction the ocean is about 15 minutes out. The guys on the field below are playing Aussie rules football.
Also, I haven’t shaved in a week and a half.
inspecting gadgets
the hood
The area I live in used to be not so good. I am somewhat ignorant to this and see everything as new and shiny and great because it’s Australia and in Australia everything is new and shiny and great. And you say the word Australia slower than the other words and with a hint of mystique.
My current hood is on the border of Redfern and Surry Hills right now in a house with some amazing people. They’ve been more than kind to me and I am thankful for that. It’s sometimes my response to feel bad for accepting favors, but the truth is, people wouldn’t offer if they didn’t want to help you. And people do want to help other people they connect with. It’s a compliment and I’ve come to accept kind offers with open arms. I’m in my current house until the 16th and it’s strange to think of leaving. It feels like home and that’s always hard to depart. I bought Maliny, who is the head of the household I guess you could say, two new mugs as a gift.
The area is totally fine. You might find the occasional needle in the gutter, which I was blind about until someone shared. The thing is, Redfern has houses. And not many places close to the CBD of Sydney have houses. So over the years people noticed this and bought them and renovated and then started renting. And thus you have a trendy area. Surry Hills and Redfern have been great to explore and I’ve found some really great character in the neighborhood as I’ve hopefully showed to some extent thus far. Having gotten to know the area, the neighbors and the style of the hood, the steel bars that decorate the windows seem less about what is and more about what used to be.
But, update!, tonight I just went to solidify my next living arrangement. I’m renting a house with a good friend who I’ll introduce in a future post. We’re sharing the house with an awesome family and we’ll have our own entrance through the garden (I know, posh huh?). And, get this, we’re two blocks from the ocean. Many snaps to come with the new scenery in a few weeks!
weapon of choice
I’ve been shooting almost solely with my 35. Trying so hard to balance more on using my 50. All my shots from Coogee were with my 50mm and I was quite happy with the results. It’s just a different experience entirely despite such a small increase in focal length. I’ve found for portraits, unless I am doing a headshot, I enjoy the 35 the most. The effect seems really close to the human eye and because of that, when you get close, the experience of viewing the photo reminds you of what you might see in person. It doesn’t seem like this fantastical portrayal of reality, it seems like a capture of reality. The 35L is also tied with the 85L for the sharpest lens that Canon currently makes, so you can imagine it’s tough to use anything else when the results are incredible.
Beams of sunshine
We’ve been having an unprecedented amount of rain in Sydney. At first it was frustrating though comforted me in a way because everyone talked about the weather just as they would back home. Then I realized, hey wait a minute, this sucks. Apparently summer in Sydney is straight sunshine for endless days. Well, we’ve had the opposite of that. I forget about it most the time because overcast skies has become the norm. In lieu of posting rainy day shots (to be honest I haven’t been shooting much because of) I wanted to beam you sunshine stricken simplicity.
Coogee
Last weekend I ventured solo to Coogee Beach to snap a bit and do some wandering. I’ve been wandering here and there, but not nearly enough. Coogee (which I learned the hard way is pronounced cuh-ji) is just south of the famous Bondi Beach. Further south from the beach in Coogee is a walkway that runs along the coast. The town is very small, with only a few streets that have shops and cafes running along them. The rest spreads residential quite fast. It’s refreshing to see such ideal locations near a city not being overly commercialized. I think the neighborhoods of Sydney do a good job with that. For example I can’t reach a Starbucks from my house for at least a 25 minute walk. I’ve heard people say they really do prefer Bondi over Coogee for beach life, but I like that it’s much less busy at Coogee. It feels more communal, less touristy. I’ve been trying to shoot more as I go to places and apparently that means standing in the street during oncoming traffic. I figure if I cause trouble I’ll just play dumb. It’s not like I speak English.
I’m battling with where I belong these days. I love aspects of the city, but it’s really nice to be secluded at will. I’ve found that’s not too hard to do in cities, you just need to look a little bit harder. I started bringing in some cash, which is helpful in the short term. The problem is that I begin to disdain the cause behind any time I spend inside for prolonged periods. Also lined up a few photo gigs recently which has been refreshing. Wandering in my free time has been really good for the soul. Sometimes, if you go where you aren’t supposed to go you can find a place all to yourself, even in a city of four million plus. Alone with the waves, your tunes and your thoughts. I captured some video footage as well.
The sun was setting and I was making my way to grab the bus home and I saw a gathering overlooking the water and the beach. Such a wonderful location. It’s an interesting moment to be perceiving people who are perceiving something beautiful.
Halcyon
Douglas Sounders wrote a post that took me back to a very specific place.
When I was 15 years old I purchased my first automobile. I wasn’t to have my license for a few more months and it was a manual transmission car, but the deal was too good to pass up; if I remember correctly the price I paid was about $5500 and the going value of the car was around $7500. Little did I know, this car was to change everything for me. As I began to learn how to drive a stick shift, I became increasingly curious about the way in which this machine worked. Time continued on and I began tinkering. Fast forward a year and I had learned to disassemble and remount most components of an engine, I was doing electrical wiring modifications and installing stereo components in my garage having amassed a number of tools that have no use anywhere other than under the hood of a car or as a paper weight. I was learning everything intimate about this vehicle. I won awards with it. I knew its flaws and its perfections. I knew its limits in many regards and was learning more every day. As I became better at shifting I learned tactics to make shifting faster, easier, more smooth. I became connected with it as one.
That connection extended to define who I was. Others knew and referred to me by my car. I distinctly remember multiple memories of driving at a certain point in summer evenings when the sun had just set and the reflection that hugged the black paint of my car was so clear. All my hard work presented itself as a reflector of the world surrounding. One particular afternoon I decided I wanted to be alone. I turned up my stereo and off my cell phone, hopped on the interstate and drove. I had never done this on my own and didn’t really know what the exits I passed on the freeway would lead to. I got myself lost, parked the car and sat in the driver’s seat listening to the sounds of the stereo. At this point I felt the inexorable invincibility of a teenager. It was the first time I had taken off with no destination. It was a test and an exploration. I had created and connected to something that was unlike any other. And not a single person knew where I was. I didn’t either.
As far as I am concerned, this defining instance is one of the greatest checkpoints in my life. I then realized I could do what I wanted. This realized freedom was one of trial and error and has stuck with me to this day. It has not steered me wrong. There will always be repercussions to decisions, but I knew I was in control of pointing myself in a certain direction and saying go. You may get lost, you may not make it back alive, but it is knowing and embracing this ability to choose a movement in one direction or another that shapes us.
I was dating someone through this time of discovery and it was increasingly serious. Years passed. She appreciated (though often despised) my love of working on that car and, just as the car and I were destined to move our separate ways, her and I would one day split. Since that time I have respected and worked to continue the man + automobile relationship on a level most people will never fully know. I have ties to autos because of timing. A love that came to fruition during those formative years. Without the memories of her, my memories and nostalgia of autos would not be the same.
The vehicle that followed my first was a proper progression as a more mature experience of similar significance, and after I built it to its finished product a friend purchased it from me. Since then I am sorry to say I have not had the same level of involvement with the cars I drove. But I still receive that same fulfillment of a long drive alone. That ability to make a choice and drive into the night is something that will always be within my grasp. It has been a challenge for me to be away from the sensation of driving as I continue to exist in a new place. Clearly I was not to bring a vehicle across the ocean even though I joked about doing so. There is of course opportunity here in Sydney, and I will make that leap if and when it becomes right, but for now I am happy to have been reminded of these memories in such a vivid fashion. It is times when we pause that we allow our deepest thoughts to surface.
// photo taken at the back entrance of a mechanics shop in redfern.
symbols
I’ve really come to love quiet atmospheres. It’s an interesting twist since I once really enjoyed chaos. There is a love of very forward circumstances, where honesty and transparency reign, but so much more than that I’m drawn to environments that highlight thought provocation and good conversation. Perhaps it is a sign of maturity or the fact I’ve been exercising so much, but come the evenings I’m less drawn toward wild and more toward feel good company and relaxation.
I spent most of last weekend with my housemate Mailys, wandering the streets, drinking too much coffee and discussing everything under the sun. If you’re a lover of proper atmospheres for proper conversation there is no shortage in this city. The mood in an environment is important to me and I often rely on being able to feel a certain way when returning to a place that has created that atmosphere.
As we wandered down Crown we were drawn to a wonderful voice and some rocking blues music coming from a cafe.
Sitting down we came to find it was Reunion native Laetitia Mahicka, a talented worldly singer who has been winning awards since age 13. We watched till after the sun set. Here is a portion of her cover of Adele. Apologies for the background noise.