Rains pause for Inner West Photo Adventure {Pregnancy Photographer}

Last Wednesday night I drove down the mountain to prepare for my early morning pregnancy shoot the next day. I didn't realise when Clare said it had been raining and she was nervous about the weather that the rain was actually torrential! The windscreen wipers were on full blast and their affect seemingly non-existent. However, we retained our humour and prepared ourselves for a fun photo shoot with drenched hair, colourful brollies and gumboots in the mix. When I awoke in the morning, I glanced out the window to see light grey skies with patches of blue sneaking through!

We laughed at the wonderful turnaround in weather and after a few shots with Charlie the pup at home, we went off on our inner west photography adventure. Clare has a fabulous energy and flair and we went out hoping to capture her wonderful belly as well as a bit of 'something else'...

I asked Clare to choose a location for our photo shoot that held a lot of meaning for her. She chose Callan park in Rozelle (in Sydney) as she used to walk around the water's edge and through the grounds when she first got together with her lovely man, Rob. So we went to capture the nature of the offbeat inner west with it's rambling old buildings ensconced in rambling gardens.

Just to add a touch more sentimentality, Clare brought along a handcrafted teddy-in-waiting that her mother had given to her at her Baby Shower.

I am always honoured to photograph a pregnant woman, especially at this special last phase when there is so much quiet excitement, an imminent end to this chapter of growth and such a large adventure in the future about to begin. In the planning there always a slight sense of urgency from the wonderful mother-to-be as after 36 weeks there is a chance that baby might choose to come sooner than our booking!

It was lovely to see how much Clare had enjoyed her pregnancy and to see her joy and anticipation of becoming a mother. I just love this photo (above) and seeing her inner strength as an individual and a woman. I think this little person about to arrive is going to be very lucky indeed.

All in all it was a lovely morning adventure with some absolutely beautiful results. Now we have created our artwork baby has permission to arrive ;)

Are you harvesting your dancefloor energy?

We went on an adventure to the Australian Museum to see the latest Climate Change Exhibition earlier this year and it was a great exhibition to visit.

I love an exhibition that has various ways of interacting with the information being presented. There as video, sculptural installations, computer generated interactive programs, and a nightclub dancfloor where you could dance your butt off and make the energy that lit up the dancefloo beneath you. Cool. Always the scientist, Mr K made sure to monitor how much energy he could generate.

The wall of postiive affirmations was a cool idea and it was great to see how many young people wanted to write on a card and share what they were going to do for their environment.

As it was a realistic exhibition I could see many would come away feeling quite grim although there were plenty of suggestions of small things that would make a small difference if people chose to take action.

I was surpised the exhibition was somewhat empty, I don't know whether that was because it was such a lovely day outside and Sydney was a the beach or the public are just a little tired of hearing about it. I'm not sure. I am definitely happy I went though. Well worth it.

A City of Villages - Sydney

Well, if you live in Sydney's inner city suburbs you may have already received a copy of the City Residents Guide. Recently I had the pleasure of running around the city for 2 days and meeting and shooting random people that resided in the inner city, accompanied by Jo Sharpe, the Editor of the Guide. Although we met a lot of great people and took lots of shots, below is a small snapshot of the suburbs we covered mostly on foot!

From Sydney Park and St Peters..

to the CBD and The Rocks..

from Elizabeth Bay and Kings Cross...

to Glebe and the Fishmarkets. I know it doesn't rhyme.

Last stop. Refern.

Photographer Treads Lightly..

Embarking on a mission w Mr K, I stepped aboard the light rail and rode into the city. Listening to the swish of the rails, and the chatter of passengers we watched the scenery blur by. We had some shoes to get. Today. Having each killed our only pairs of sneakers, that we had been traipsing in for over 9 years, we were both on the road to purchase.

We navigated swiftly through throngs of consumers, some meandering without a care in the world, others rushing for the Easter bargain, or their favourite brand. I liked that we had a list, not to be deviated from but to be adhered to. We made the purpose of the mission clear before starting out, so when bright blinking lights caught my eye and drew me to their doors, it was easier to stop in my well worn tracks and look where I was going, and ask myself if I really needed to browse in the beauty shop, the chocolate store and the trashy $2 shop. No, but they have 50% off... maybe I might need something if I just take a look...? Our last stop was the Kathmandu clearance store and I found the shoes that had been in my imagination but I didn't think actually existed. Simple's Eco Sneaks. We were done.

From shoe boxes made from recycled cardboard, to using carpet and old tyres, I was surprised and impressed by the way various materials had been used creatively after their first life. I did have to go through a few boxes to find a pair with great coverage of rubber on the sole of both shoes though. The first pair I tried had been worn down a bit low to the metal wirey stuff that is inside tyres and so it compromised the grip of the shoe and made it slippery. Not good in rain. Fair enough though, that happens with tyres. I didn't want to invest in shoes that were less than the standard they could be before I bought them. So we rifled like little squirrels inspecting their acorns and found the pair for me.

As I get ready for a brisk autumn morning walk, I pull my shoes' hemp heel up over my foot and tie up my laces made of recycled PET. I place my soles to the ground and bounce a little. Hmm. I feel... light.

So much of our consumption is based around our self image, how we want to look, how we want to feel. As my retread shoe soles were given a new lease on life, I feel I have invested in my future. It's a small step but it's one in the right direction. I paid less than $100 for my new shoes and in today's fashion for sneaks that's pretty cheap. And I feel pretty good.

The Simple website has a more in depth description of the materials and how they are utilised - with pictures! http://www.simpleshoes.com/ecoSneaks/index.aspx