Recently we made a brief foray to the mainland for the weekend. Each year we try to travel to Sydney see the Archibald Prize exhibition, and this year was no exception. As well as seeing some amazing art, we got the chance to play in a big city again for a few days. If (or more likely, when…) the desire to move interstate grabs me again, I’d be very, very tempted to give life in Sydney a try.
A few weeks ago we packed our bags and left sunny Brisbane for a long weekend in Melbourne. The sale airfares we had meant our baggage allowance was limited to hand luggage, which forced us to be selective about the camera kit we took. While I’ve moved away from the old days of wanting to carry every lens we own when we travel, it was even nicer to just grab my camera with a single lens and go with that.
Of course that approach means we tend to end up just taking our favourite lenses. I’m still a portrait photographer at heart, and my go to lens remains my 85mm. What that means in travel photography, especially in a city environment, is that I focus on the detail, because I usually can’t be far enough away (and still within clear sight of my subject) to capture anything wider. That’s not a problem, it’s actually my preference, and it’s led me to what I think of as my “city fragments” approach.
It’s fun because it makes me look at the details around me, letting me hone in on them without the distractions of everything else that’s going on around me. It’s those little details that make cities so fascinating to me, and Melbourne is no exception.
shy fox photography 