The Way Home

What a dreamy entrance to a home!

It leads to a stately property on the outskirts of the town of Bungendore, over a rickety old bridge on Molongo St.

My Brother-in-Law's Wedding

Who says toy cameras can't be used to photograph weddings?

I'm in love with the unconventional idea of using plastic for documentary purposes, so made sure I had a stash in a rather big bag at my brother-in-law's marriage to the delightful Kirrily in March last year.

It was a day of sunshine, champagne and smoked salmon — plus tiers of cupcakes covered in thick icing and lollies. There was even a bouncy castle and someone swirling fairy floss onto sticks.

Sigh ... my inner child was in happy land!

Snooker

The front of The Boorowa Hotel may be home to a rather fancy bistro, but the rest of the building is a little down-at-heel.

The colours in the snooker area match every bawdy image of late night playing, complete with cigarette burns and un-mopped beer spills. The atmosphere is the epitome of a working class pub in country Australia, which — as always in my book — makes it the perfect stop for any tourist.

Note the vintage cinema chairs in the background … these would look very nice on my front porch!

All Saints’, Tangmangaroo

Built in 1889, All Saints', Tangmangaroo is an Anglican church in the middle of nowhere, next to a wooden house that was once a school, and surrounded by paddocks. Lonely churches, barely or never used, are common in the Yass Valley and vicinity — their congregations must have been farming families, the numbers of which would have shrunk as farm sizes grew bigger, transport developed and Christianity waned in popularity.

I spent two weeks working on this image, trying to blend the past and present, showing the luminous beauty of the church’s stonework and hinting at its spiritual past.

Suitcases and Electric Jugs

Down Memory Lane is a cavernous antique, vintage and curios shop in Fyshwick, a strangely-named industrial area in Canberra. The prices are realistic and an afternoon of rummaging is akin to visiting a social history museum.

I’m a big fan of using old suitcases for storage, and can never walk past a stack of vintage magazines or a cabinet of costume jewellery.

Screened Portrait (Justin)

Seven years ago today, I went on a date with a young PhD student. He had black hair, grey eyes and a voice like smoke — I thought he was divine. We had lunch in the sun at a little place on the café strip in Leederville, Perth. Not that we ate anything … we were both too nervous, a state that lasted for the whole nine weeks and two days that we dated.

It wasn’t very long … you see, the PhD student was waiting for his final marks and planned to get a job on the other side of the country. And he didn’t want to take me as his girlfriend.

Instead, he wanted to take me as his wife.

We married six months to the day after that first, awkward date.

Were we crazy? Yes. Did we know what we were doing? Yes. I knew Justin was “the one” before he even asked me on that first date. And here we are all these years later.

You’ll be pleased to hear we’re not nervous around each other any more!

I'm not sure the above portrait is the best illustration for this romantic story. Justin looks less like a dream first date and more like a character from the sci-fi series V — the one where alien lizards disguise themselves as humans and take over the world!

Single Sheep

Some people say sheep are silly. Not this one — it kept me on my toes for a good half hour before I could get close enough for a shot. Perhaps "sneaky" or even "skittish" are better descriptions. I was quite surprised when this well-framed shot came back from the lab as I gave into running and randomly shooting in the end!

Tantrum through the Tulips

This image shows why one should not take a child to a flower festival. In 2004, we went to Floriade with Justin’s cousin, Jo, and her two girls, Eden and Bronwyn.

And this was the result.

For those who prefer blooms to bust-ups, Floriade is the biggest flower festival in the southern hemisphere. For 30 days every September and October, there are three times more flowers in Commonwealth Park than residents in its host city, Canberra.

That’s one million flowers!

After Mondrian

I remember the furor over the cost of Australia’s new parliament house when it opened in 1988 — notably the extravagance of the 48 pillars and two staircases of Italian marble in the foyer.

Of course, the building is now an award-winning architectural icon, applauded for its sophistication and symbolic use of materials. Further, Italian-born Romaldo Giurgola — who co-created the winning design with Australian Richard Thorp in a 1980 competition — is now an Australian resident and lives within walking distance of his handiwork.

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Yellow, Blue and Black

The sleek, symmetrical exterior of Parliament House is instantly recognisable — it towers, visible from all angles, over central Canberra, making it one of the city’s most photographed subjects. However, I prefer the foyer; grand yet minimal, it’s geometric shapes and simple colours remind me of a Piet Mondrian painting.

Geometry expressed truth for this modernist Dutch artist. Can the same be said for what goes in the home of Australian politics?

Two Girls

The Harden-Murrumburrah Historical Museum, located in rural New South Wales, is a rabbit warren of dust and artifacts, housed in a gorgeous old building. There's a fabulous collection of antiquated garments upstairs, modeled by an array of vintage dummies — sigh … it’s my idea of photographic paradise.

Don’t tell anyone I snuck behind the ropes to take this shot!

The name “Harden-Murrumburrah” is curious. It actually refers to two towns that have merged, although everyone (including maps) simply refers to it as “Harden”. A walk around the streets is a must — peeling paint, crumbling bricks and uneven pavements speak of a mythical Australia, yet beg for restoration at the same time.

Telephone Booth

Lucknow is a strange name for a tiny town in rural New South Wales. The last piece of luck to notably occur there was almost 160 years ago when two farmers stumbled upon a gold strike. Ironically, no-one knows if this event was the inspiration behind the name — some say it comes from the siege of Lucknow, an Indian city that the British and "rebel" Indians fought over in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. One can hardly describe a six-month battle as lucky!

I fared much better when I visited the Australian version of Lucknow a few years ago. I found this delightful girl hiding in a phone box outside D’Arcy’s Old Wares on the main street. A mix of antiques, collectibles and junk, this store is a dream to browse through. Don’t expect a bargain, though — over the shoulder of the mannequin, you can just make out a price tag of $2,500 for this decrepit old telephone booth.

Playing Double

Using mannequins to mimic real people is not new — after all, Madam Tussauds has been going for some 200 years. However, the example in this picture takes the practice to uproarious extremes … are we really to believe the pretty young thing with the blue eyeshadow and 1960s wig is the grey-haired dear in the portrait? Sure, the clothes are the same, but the connotations are completely different — one is strutting down the street in chic black, while the other is in mourning for her dead husband!

Australian Animals in Danger of Being Extinguished

In my last post, I promised something other than mannequins for the new year.

Well, January has been chaotic with visitors and two huge writing deadlines, so it has been a long time coming. I blame this busyness, not to mention a couple of weeks of soaring summer temperatures, for the deranged sense of humour shown here.

C'mon, could you resist photographing a pile of fire extinguishers, a danger sign and three pictures of Australian animals?

I found them at the Handyman's Trading Post, a demolition yard (or, more politely, supplier of second-hand building materials) at 34 Geelong St, Fyshwick.

I'm dedicating this shot to my friend Nerida, who launched the online version of Admin Bandit, an accounting software package for volunteer treasurers, just minutes before midnight on Tuesday. In her sleep-deprived and caffeine-loaded state, she will (hopefully) think it's hilarious!

Hitching Post Pony

This darling little pony is actually a hitching post from the days when horses were the mainstay of everyday travel. It’s such a whimsical piece — the idea of tying a real horse to a cute miniature is so amusing. The two would have been tied together, literally joined at the mouth by looping the leather reins through the metal ring. What a lovely detail!

I found a pair of these hitching posts at an antique store in the nearby town of Bungendore. I’d have them in my garden, probably guarding a gate or pathway, if only the price tag featured far fewer numbers.

Ram Man

I am married to a very patient man. Each October, we have a "fun" outing for World Toy Camera Day — I prance around turning ideas I've brainstormed during the week before into realities, while he lugs a bag full of plastic cameras. This year, I even coerced him to model; I found this filthy, disgusting ram's skull by the side of the road, and it was apparently very heavy.

Justin did get a reward, however. As soon as our shoot was over, he packed his bags for a road trip and weekend at the races with his friend, Chris.

Perhaps next year we should have a day for those poor souls — partners, children and gullible friends — who support toy camera nuts!

A couple of set-dressing details ... the background is my favourite latte-coloured sheet, pegged to the clothesline. Do you think I could get a job as a stylist?

Mr Hume's Hospitality

Dear Mr Hume,

Thank you for the recent opportunity to visit your homestead in Yass. Contrary to its name, Cooma Cottage is most grand, demonstrating your taste for Neo-Grec architecture. I am told you fell in love with the surrounding plains on one of your fruitful travels; what fine country for Merino sheep! It is a pity you were not home, although I am pleased to report the property is kept very well in your absence. I could just picture you in the drawing room and more than once thought I saw your shadow flit across the golden wallpaper.

Yours respectfully,
Kathleen Fisher

This image is my contribution to deLiver, an exhibition and swap of postcard-sized works by artists living in regional Australia, which will be shown in Alice Springs in October as part of the "Art in the Heart" regional conference and "Imagine Alice" local arts program.

In keeping with the theme of my locality and my relation to it, I've explored Hamilton Hume, who was Australia's first home-grown explorer. From the age of 17, Hume helped open New South Wales and Victoria to white settlement. He swapped his swag for a farm in Yass in 1829 and became the local magistrate, a position he held until his death in 1873. Hume's presence in the town, however, has lingered — the Hume Highway, Hume Bridge, Hamilton Hume Motor Inn and Hume Dry Cleaning Service are just a few examples.

Surprisingly, Hume's most impressive monument doesn't bear his name ... his home, Cooma Cottage, is now a delightful house museum. I took this image in the drawing room, and added the feeling of his continued presence by overlaying his portrait and a shadow. How ghostly ... I'm in love with this technique at the moment!

In true postcard style, the organisers are encouraging artists to write on the reverse of their works, so the above note to Mr Hume will appear on mine.

Beauty Steps

These are the final two in my series of four toy camera shots of the 2005 Miss Summernats Beauty Contest. I love, first, how the legs in the two shots match up and, second, the sassy ankle chains on the entrant's heels. She deserves a prize simply for walking along a narrow and raised plywood platform without a nasty trip-up!

You can see my other two shots here.

Wildside?

True to my all-or-nothing form, I leapt into the abyss of digital photography two years ago, learning how to scan negatives and use Photoshop just one week before an exhibition deadline.

Not that I didn't have a good reason — any photographer with a cat knows what a single long, fluffy hair does when it lodges against a camera's film plane ... I needed a crash lesson in using the Healing Brush Tool!

These four images were the result of that first digital experience. While I fuss about their punchiness now, but I was thrilled at the time, not just with my newfound skills, but also with the effort it took to get the shots in the first place — first, I created them in-camera by running the film through twice over a cardboard mask and, second, I waded waist-deep into a sludge-filled lake, holding onto my precious Truview (Diana-clone) for dear life.

You'll be pleased to know I met my deadline with just half an hour to spare. The pictures were part of Wildside?, a group show at Photoaccess in 2006 that explored the future of the rolling hills around Canberra. Here's my artist statement:

Bulldozers, dust and new houses — living not far from Harrison and Wells Station, Canberra’s newest northern suburbs, I see our city swelling every day. I’m struck most by the process of development: first, the open paddocks we call “nature parks” are scraped clean, with trees plucked and hills flattened; then they’re rebuilt, with new trees planted and new hills shaped to fit block sizes and road layouts. New homes seem to appear overnight, along with “for sale” signs inviting “country living in the city” — ironic as everything remotely country has been transformed into suburbia.

Looking at Gunghalin in general, I’m intrigued by the number of public sculptures of native animals — including pelicans, ibis, kangaroos, koalas and platypus. It’s as if replacing living, breathing animals with concrete replicas is another essential part of the development of Canberra’s open spaces.

My images, shot in-camera using a mask of cardboard and electrical tape, highlight the artifice of development by contrasting its signs and tools with these sculptures. At the same time, they highlight the notion of home — as homes are built for one species, they are taken away from others.

Not that I see myself living outside suburban development — in fact, I explored a home loan the same week I shot these images.

The Village Pony

I photographed this sweet rocking horse in the yard of an antique store in Bungendore, a nearby town. I must confess this was one of my early experiments with my then new Truview (Diana clone) in 2004 — yes, that's how long it takes me to process and scan my negatives!

I usually develop film within a year of shooting — just the negatives because it's cheaper and saves storing endless, often out-take, prints. They then languish in files until I have time to play with them in Photoshop. I used to think my older photography pals were a little strange for having a few years worth of film sitting around waiting to be processed, but now I realise photography's time-consuming nature makes this perfectly normal.

I've just done a quick count and I have 37 rolls of film waiting to either go to the lab or be processed at home!

Beauties and the Beast

Okay, so it’s a bit unfair to call professional drag racer Brett Stevens a beast. But one has to admit he looks like he’s swallowed a fire-breathing dragon or at least a rainbow in this shot. He judged the 2005 Miss Summernats Beauty Contest at the 18th Summernats Car Festival, held each January in Canberra. I must confess that I had absolutely no idea about this man they call “The Boss” until I photographed him, including the fact that he heads the largest motorsport team in Australia. But we do have one thing in common: the amount of cameras I own almost matches his collection of world and national records.

The second shot shows the winning contestants: (from left to right) Rachael Eve (third); Tanya Lazarou (first); and Corrie Lee (second). I love the perfect, yet totally accidental placement of the sprocket holes, red lines and yellow lettering across their faces and thighs.