CAROLINE FRASER PHOTOGRAPHY
  • welcome
    • news
  • Photographic works
    • Shore Life
    • rain dance
    • fire on water
    • findings
    • Conversation pieces
    • unbearable lightness
    • previous works
  • artist books
  • Workshops
  • Blog
  • shop

blog - an ordinary life

Knowing what works for your creative practice

28/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
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.

​
Picture
Eucalyptus tree, Tasmania

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


Picture
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. 

​
Picture of rain forest in Tasmania showing green leaves, mosses and undergrowth.
Rain forest, Tasmania
Picture of green ferns in the Tasmanian rain forest. Arching stems and fronds of tree ferns and other ferns.
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.......

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.

​
feathers and a room card as a collage from Sydney Gay pride for the 100dayproject.
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.

​
Picture


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. 


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.
​
picture of a dew laden spider's web on a bush in Tasmania
Morning dew on a spider's web, Tasmania
Picture of orange, grey and green lichens on a white rock, Tasmania
lichens on rock
Picture of a yellow callistemon flower ( bottle brush) on a bush in Tasmania
yellow bottle brush flower, Tasmania
Picture
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. 

​
Picture
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.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Caroline Fraser - an ordinary life

    on life, suburban living, art, creativity, photography, book art and travel.

      Sign up here if you would like to be notified of future posts, news, tips and special offers.

    Join my mailing list

    Archives

    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020

    Categories

    All
    Art And Creativity
    Book Art
    Lockdown Life
    The Art World
    Travel

    RSS Feed

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
Welcome to Caroline Fraser Photography

Colourful abstracted and traditional photographic landscapes, book art and workshops. Capturing the moods and beauty of nature whether in wild open places or in small sanctuaries in suburbia.

About Caroline Fraser
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • welcome
    • news
  • Photographic works
    • Shore Life
    • rain dance
    • fire on water
    • findings
    • Conversation pieces
    • unbearable lightness
    • previous works
  • artist books
  • Workshops
  • Blog
  • shop