Knowing what works for your creative practice

Eucalyptus trunks, Tasmania

I am returned from a trip that was first intended to happen three years ago; to Tasmania with my other half (OH). A trip that was cancelled twice due to you know what..... and that finally came to fruition in 2023. 

It has been a time for reflection. On accepting the difference between a family holiday and a personal photographic adventure. We were travelling around, staying two or three nights in differing locations, and now that I am home  I look through my photographs and know that they are not destined to be anything more than a record of our trip. A great holiday, but not a creative holiday.

Time was the limiting factor. Two days anywhere is not long enough for my style of working. Along the way I knew that had I spent several days or longer in one place, I could have had something to say about specific places. 

I wanted to have something to say about the many varieties of eucalyptus trees on the island.  So many different shapes and colours. Their graceful stems and branches changing colour with the time of day.

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Eucalyptus tree, Tasmania

​I love the way that they shed their bark, revealing smooth patterns and colours underneath.

Eucalyptus bark

But the weather was either very grey or very sunny, and I did not have time to seek out a grove of trees and spend an hour or two alone with them. My good intentions went unrealised.

I would have loved, too, to spend more time in the rain forest. So lush and green, with incredible ferns, mosses and running water. 

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Rain forest, Tasmania

Ferns in the rain forest, Tasmania

​But we were on the move, getting a taste of all that Tasmania has to offer. OH needed to be wined and dined as much as I needed to walk and take photos.......

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The 100 day project

Whilst I was away I was trying to keep up with the 100 day project that I had started just before we left.

The 100 day project is a free challenge for artists, to create or do something every day for 100 days. You can follow people's efforts on Instagram using the hashtag #The100DayProject . I had decided to try collage as a way to find new ideas for my book making ventures. Trying to do this whilst travelling proved a challenge. It became a rather child like record of our days; collecting any bits of paper/ephemera that I could find to create a daily page in my notebook. 

My best attempt was from Sydney, on our first day, when I collected bits of fallen materials from fancy dress costumes from the Gay Pride celebrations. I like the morning sunshine drifting across the photographed page, reminding me of the beautiful early autumn light, so welcome after our dark and gloomy winter.

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day 10 of my #100dayproject

On another day I collected fallen myrtle leaves from a walk at Cradle Mountain, and glued them into my notebook.

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I realise that even a simple challenge requires time and a willingness to experiment. Hopefully now that I am back home I will be able to develop this project more meaningfully. 

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Small things in the landscape

There were many small things that I enjoyed along the way.

Spider's webs and seaweed.
Orange lichens and brilliant yellow bottle brush flowers
Sea shells, bobbing grasses,
Wombats and wallabies.

​A feast for the eyes.​

Morning dew on a spider's web, Tasmania

lichens on rock

yellow bottle brush flower, Tasmania

Seashell and seaweed, Freycinet, Tasmania

A pristine beach

And then, at the end of our trip we visited a beach that for me, topped everything we had seen so far. A reminder of how the world could be.

​A beach on which I could see not a single piece of man made material. Not a piece of plastic to be seen. White sand and black rocks. Stretching for miles.

Called 'Friendly Beaches reserve', it was almost deserted. The weather was grey and misty. We walked, and explored the rock pools.

I knew that this was the place where I would have spent time if I was working on a photographic project. And I also know, that it is not likely to happen in the future, being so far away from home. 

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Only footprints, Friendly Beaches Reserve, Tasmania

Having something to say is when I work best. Using my camera to express my feelings.

I would have loved to spend more time here to express how wonderful it was to find an unspoilt coastal environment.

And to share the details of the natural world as I see them.

​Small, and beautiful.