Boxes. Lots of 'em.

Source: noiruste on flickr

Last time I had to pack up my life, I had to get it in a suitcase and a box or two for posting. This time around I get as many suitcases and boxes as I want, but I have to take EVERYTHING.

Old school books, tea light candles, bobby pins, the elephant with its trunk up, my 21st birthday present yum cha set... you get the idea. And what to transport it all in??

Last night, G and I hopped from one supermarket to the next between Croydon and Sefton Park, on the hunt for cardboard boxes. An easy task you might think? Perhaps, but let us consider these environmentally-responsibe recyclers and their enormous crushing compactors that churn out cubes of ex-boxes like Wall-E does trash.

"Sorry, we crushed them all."
"They're in the crusher."
"Nah love, we pulled 'em apart!"

No thanks - I don't want the waxy ones from IGA that had lettuce in them. Not the foam cooler boxes with a meaty aroma from the butcher. No luck at all at Coles and Woolies. We re-fuelled with Wok in a Box (I tried, too small), and carried on to Foodland Sefton Park.

Oh Holy Grail of Nightfillers! I asked and I received - Sultana Bran, Savoury Shapes, Samboy Chips (we even scored a leftover pack of BBQ chips in that one). Empty boxes by the bootfull! Big, intact, empty boxes.

Take that Budget Packing Supplies. Stick your $6 teachests and free roll of tape.

They Did

A few shots from their big day (and my first 'pro' job).

Keep on movin'

Everyone is on the move these days. Friends, family, strangers - everyone seems to be uprooting or moving and if they're not it's probably because they're stuck under a cloud of volcanic ash.

I use the term 'these days' pretty loosely, meaning more like 'this year' or 'at this time in my life'. Some are getting married, some are having babies, others are travelling, starting businesses, nine-to-fiving, job-hunting - and then there are the Floaters, those of us stuck wondering about the outcome of a still-verdictless life (watch the music-video above).

I think it's a Quarter-Life Crisis. Do the rest of the twenty-somethings feel the same?

At a wedding on the weekend, where I cut my teeth photographing somebody's Most Important Day, I had a chat to a very dear friend. She's been on the move as long as I can remember, studying abroad and now pushing forward in a career. I've taken cues from her - do what you love, have fun, etc, but the search for Something To Do has lead to more than I can handle.

Seeing the world opens your eyes to possibility and there are an overwhelming number of possibilities out there. What happens next? Which path to take? Get ahead in your career? Start a family before you're too old (not yet, thanks)? Travel more (yes, please)?

Last month I started a job I really like and has potential to keep me interested for a good while. Income - check.

Next week I'm moving out of home. Properly. That's one other step I need to keep going around the board - past Go and sadly not collecting $200 but shelling it out instead. My own roof over my head - check.

Direction and self-fulfillment and eternal happiness? That's on the way, right? I've already said finishing university was the easy part, it's just choosing a path to follow now that I'm having trouble with. What do you do when you want to do everything?

Little Miss Papparazzi

Here in little old Adelaide we often miss out on the bigger acts, but Tuesday night was an exception - if Big Names to you means Kick-Ass-Gangster types. If you are 15 and you got yo' lighters up, you were probably at The Showgrounds enjoying school holidays and staying up past 9pm ;) I was there - and I didn't pay $125 for GA tickets. I didn't even pay $170 for the Bling Ring... nope, I was there shoulder-to-shoulder with my Welso Security boys in The Pit - respekt.

We got to wait around by the side of the stage and watch the next acts pull up in minivans, get out in their fluffy white Hilton bathrobes and scurry past under the cover of big dudes with gold chains. Restricted to the first 3 songs of each artist, there was a bit of this waiting around to be done, but all the better to soak up a bit of My-Job-Is-Cool-At-Times under the big Ferris Wheel, and eavesdrop into conversations about why Akon was a no-show (stopped for drugs at the airport??)

Due to a rather strict release form, the only place these shots are supposed to appear is on the Glam Adelaide website - so I'm going to send you all over there to have a look at my close encounters with Kelly Rowland, Eve, Sean Paul, Jay Sean, Pitbull and Kardinal Offishal.

Full gallery at Glam Adelaide - thanks Kelly (Noble, and Rowland)!









Whoops! Must have slipped on the 'cut n paste' button...

Word Of Mouth

The great thing about sharing my work online is the audience and their reactions. I love getting positive feedback on my work, but what I love even more is the flow-on effect it can have! After Lily Grace's session, which featured on Facebook, I had a few enquiries from friends of friends and 2 weeks ago one of those enquiry turned into a booking.

I met Luke at just 4 weeks of age, and he's a pretty cute little man. His Mum and Dad are very proud and I like to think I was able to capture a little innocence before he gets stuck into bugs, dirt and footy. Thanks for letting me feature some shots here, and fingers crossed the word might spread even further!

A French Safari - Work in Progress

An update on my progress so far - be warned, YOU may be in this book and if you are, you should definitely buy a copy when it's finished... ;)

249 pages and counting!

Father Cheese

I'm still working on the book, and in the process have rediscovered some of the lost treasures I haven't yet published. Tonight I came across this guy who is the Priest at the Abbaye Hommes in Caen. It gave me a little giggle.

This is Père Fromage, or Father Cheese.

Souvenir Foto Final

The 6 weeks are up and here is my montage of my weekly assignments for Souvenir Foto School on my Tahitian Lime Tree. It was challenging at times to come up with a new angle on the same old tree, but the persistence paid off and I'm very happy with the results. Enjoy!

The End or The Beginning?

Once upon a time when I had almost finished Year 12, I picked a degree from the University Entrance Guide and come January was offered a place.

I went along for my first year - Economics (pass), Marketing Principles (credit), Accounting (withdrew)... and then I left. I wasn't sure that a Marketing degree would satisfy me in life - did I really want to sell crap to people that don't need it? I did some other things for a while, I filed papers and answered phones and went to night school to learn Sign Language (?). I rode horses for 6 months and passed that course, and then I applied for the police force and got rejected. Not enough Life Experience.

So I went back to University. I had my eyes on the prize and I concentrated a little more - Communication (distinction), Accounting Round 2 (distinction), Statistics (high distinction) and slowly but surely I got through the coursework around my full time job. I managed to get to Hong Kong for a month and also to South Korea on some short exchanges, and finally fulfilled my goal to study overseas for a year.

I got some more Life Experience and I forgot about the police force. I developed other interests and I eventually found a job where I can use my evil marketing powers for good - getting other people to go away on exchange.

And so, last week, 7 years later, I finished.

I'd like to think it was the end of books and classes, but I have a feeling it may have only just begun.