Stretching my wings.

Never too old to learn something new right! The post-production module I've just completed has taught me that it may take time to grasp a new skill, but the penny does drop and it opens up a whole new world of opportunities to create!! My style preference when it comes to photography is usually candid & photojournalistic. I love to capture stories as they unfold. The assignment I just handed in however, challenged me to find the narrative and set the scene for a conceptual homage series. The photographer I wanted to pay tribute to was Janelia Mould and her powerful conceptual series 'Melancholy - a girl called depression'. I love her use of vintage props, dark scenery and highly emotive compositions.

A seed of an idea...

The inspiration for my shoot came together during a conversation at Mt Henry Homestead's Binda retreat. Lizzy's grandmother passed away when she was young so she never got an opportunity to get to know her well. Lizzy inherited her grandmother's beautiful trousseau and wished she could have asked her grandmother about her earlier years. I wanted to create a series that spoke of those lost opportunities to pass down seemingly small stories that are actually important connections to the people we love so much. I decided not to do self-portraits in this series as it wasn’t my story being told, but I did want Lizzy to be part of the series in a way that she felt comfortable.

The forest provided a dark moody setting and there were faerie rings of bright red toadstools which I wanted to incorporate into the story to add that bright pop of colour and whimsy. I wanted items of the trousseau hanging from the trees, edited to look like they were being inhabited by a memory…the past hanging in the present. I also decided to place a vintage silver hand mirror in each scene to depict how we reflect on our history.

The shoot was scheduled a few weeks later. We hauled bags full of vintage robes and a very precious wedding gown down to the pine forest to play dress ups for an hour or two. Lizzy was nothing short of fantastic helping me to set the scene and be my model. Photoshoots are so enjoyable when you've got someone to laugh with! Thankfully the toadstools were still holding their colour and we managed to create some whimsical scenes for the shoot. Post production was far more time consuming and some of the scenes that I thought would make the cut just didn't have the impact I was hoping for...but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. These are some of the final images.

And below are some of Lizzy's gorgeous inherited treasures.