Impermanent & Fleeting - Death of a Home

I often go for drives up random streets for a look around and for the inspiration it can so often provide for ideas and photographs. This time I was looking at the enormous mansions in the area when I decided to turn up this street to find the top of a partly demolished home. I had my phone with me so made some photos with it as the light wasn’t the best. It here was a high wooden fence that was still up being used as a fence for the demolition. I was able to stand on the side of the fence which enabled me to get my signature front on perspective I love so much. A few days later I went back with my camera in the hope it was still there and it was. I remember it was an overcast day but the weather was forecast for partly sunny by late afternoon. I wanted it to be a little sunny and for some cloud definition, but not too sunny that there would be harsh shadows. Turned out the lighting was perfect and I was able to fire off some photos of this once grand mansion. I found real estate photos of it when it was for sale and to say it was a grand Art Deco building inside and out was an understatement. It was massive and detailed with a front porch, tennis courts and beautiful interior details.

I’ve photographed several homes and other buildings in the process of demolition. It’s quite somber seeing them in a toppled state, yet at the same time it’s fascinating seeing ripped brickwork and timber all over the place. I always think about how people lived their lives in these walls and in a instant it’s gone forever.

Former Administration Building - Willow Court / Royal Derwent Hospital

This follows on from my previous post documenting the former Royal Derwent Hospital / Willow Court complex. It was the longest running mental institution in Australia operating for over 170 years. I documented the site after it’s closure and many of the buildings were in a vandalised and neglected state. This was the beautiful Art Deco Administration building which was badly vandalised and had an arson attack too. Thankfully it was recently purchased and renovated. My previous post showed the barracks building built in 1830, this beautiful Art Deco building designed some 100 years later. The site was a wonderful rich period of architectural designs that reflected mental healthcare practice of nearly 200 years

Industrial Giant

There is nothing I love more than documenting industrial architecture, it's one of my favourite aspects of documentary photography.  The sheer size and scale is something to behold and witness and try and do justice to through the medium of photography.  Here I set up my composition  in near darkness, except for some slithers of sunlight entering through rusted and cracked windows creating lush shadow and light detail as well as depth to my final photograph.  

Home is but a Memory - Southern Midlands Tasmania Project

This is my latest edit from my Southern Midlands Tasmania project.  The project explores the relationship between the built and rural landscape of the Southern Midlands and the region. I get very reflective travelling around the vast open landscape of the midlands and think about the old abandoned houses and the lives of people who once called these places home. For me these abandoned homes are so important to document before they literally decay, crumble and are lost to memory.  They provide a visual identity to a time when country areas flourished in Tasmania.  View the project here

The Importance of Photography in Preservation

Whenever I am documenting a space or place its important for me to capture from as many perspectives as possible to provide a narrative of a place. This home in Launceston stood for so long, some might have said for too long. It's funny how when something stands abandoned that its as if the entire community knows about it and its often referred to as an eyesore. This home stood for many years decaying more as the years went by - I documented it over many years wondering every time I did so if this would be the last time. This space is now but a memory and its as if it never existed, but it was a home for people, memories were made here and lives lived... The photograph though lives on forever and its what drives me to document the everyday so that there is a quality record of our past for posterity.

The Best Camera is Your Imagination and Creativity

I provided myself with a challenge, to make photographs by having a walk in an everyday location. I often do these walks as they provide me with inspiration and new ways of seeing familiar places. It also emphasises my belief that it doesn't matter what camera you have with you, that good photos are made by seeing the ordinary and mundane and finding inspiration from them. Looking for the quirky, light and shadow as well as strong colours and shapes. All these photographs were captured within a few blocks of everyday suburbia as well as some spontaneous moments in the city on a 2 hour walk.

Raymond Priestly Building - Architecture Inspires Me

This is one of my favourite buildings in Melbourne, The Raymond Priestly Building at the University of Melbourne. It's a real inspiration to me on many levels - the details are amazing from the grand open space underneath the building held up by angled pillars and the use or orange brick - a lot of orange brick! For me buildings are my open air gallery, they inspire me and teach me so much about the built environment in which we live. I remember many years ago when I first visited Melbourne University I was totally inspired by the architecture, it really elevated my enthusiasm for architecture and design, especially those styles from the Modernist period of the 20th Century. The Raymond Priestly Building was designed by Architects Douglas Alexandra and Raymond Berg in association with Rae Featherstone in 1969. View my ongoing project documenting Melbourne 20th Century Modernism here

Raymond Priestly Building, designed by Architects Douglas Alexandra and Raymond Berg in association with Rae Featherstone, 1969