I can’t say that I always dreamed of being a photographer. When I was young, I used to watch LA Law (giving away my age with that one!!! :p) thinking what they did was so cool and dream of being a lawyer. At Uni I majored in law and accounts (sensible -read boring – majors ;p)…and yet here I am years later doing neither of those things!

At 18 what did I really know about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life? My career assessments all pointed in that direction, so that’s what I did…and decided halfway through my 2nd year that I honestly couldn’t see myself doing either of these things long term. But I was halfway through and I couldn’t just stop now. So I finished my degree, started working in Insurance (don’t ask…) and from there made my way into IT. Yes, yes…again don’t ask.  hahahaha.

Even the very first SLR camera we owned actually belonged to my husband. He enjoyed taking pictures and mentioned wanting a decent camera. So as the only thing I could think of to buy him for Christmas one year – that’s what he got…. and THAT my friends was when the penny finally started to drop. It wasn’t instantaneous, but rather gradual, as I started using the camera more than him and after my mom gifted me with a beginners photography course at the National Photography College, it FINALLY dawned on me… THIS IS WHERE I BELONGED!

It took me awhile

It really shouldn’t have taken me as long as it did. I mean honestly, it was right in front of me ALL.THE.TIME! As far back as I can remember I was taking pictures or buying cheap little film cameras. I was always coming home with these funny little gimmicky cameras and would take endless pictures of whatever was around. Never realising that being a photographer could be a job that you do and people actually pay you – it’s too much fun to be a REAL JOB right?!?!?!? And that’s pretty much how I still feel. How can this amazing thing that I get to do each day, actually be classified as a job?

Job’s are supposed to be boring and what we do to fill our time, right!?!?! WRONG!!!! There’s a saying that goes “Do what you love everyday and you’ll never work a day in your life!” And it’s so very true. I think that if we are doing what God put us on this earth to do. Following the purpose and passion that He placed in our souls, then we are right where we are meant to be.

We’re made to thrive

We aren’t meant to just exist, but to thrive! When we’re doing what we love, when we’re excited to get to work each day because we can’t wait to see what the day holds…THAT my friends is when we know we’re right where God intended us to be…doing EXACTLY what He made us to do! And that’s how I know that I am right where I’m meant to be! I love what I do. I love capturing people’s memories. I love the joy I see on their faces or the excitement in their texts when they message me to say they love their pictures.

It’s not only about the pictures for me. It’s about the amazing people I get to meet too. Strangers who end up as friends. Sharing their stories, their joy. Being involved in their happy moments. It’s a privilege, this thing I get to call a job, because I get to help people record their legacy.

Capturing Everything

I love getting out my camera and capturing what’s happening around me. It’s almost like my camera is an extension of me. Friends of ours recently joked that it would be terribly painful to tour Europe with me because I stop ALL.THE.TIME! hahaha. (Good thing I walk quicker than most people so it doesn’t take me long to catch up) Not having lived in Australia very long I treat every excursion as an opportunity to be a tourist. There are so many photo worthy moments all around us. We don’t need to travel halfway across the world to be tourists. Try viewing your neighbourhood as a tourist attraction as see all the amazing wonders you uncover. Afterall – people around the world probably travel to your part of the world every year. Where you live might just be someone’s bucket list place to visit…and you get to live there every day!

Here are just a few of my favourites from in and around Sydney and New South Wales. Enjoy!!

 

And heading in the other direction, away from the city into the Blue Mountains. We visited Katoomba and Echo Point. The this first picture is of a rock formation known as the 3 sisters

 

And a little closer to home. A few shots from our neighbourhood