Growing up in the sleepy city of Adelaide, I vividly remember my first time in Sydney. It was a weekend trip; a whirlwind really. One of those red-eye flights out of Adelaide on a Saturday morning. As the plane hurtled through the air, I began getting that feeling one has before you land at a destination you've never been to. What would the airport be like, how do I get to the train station again, what would the weather be like today? 

As soon as those wheels touched ground (shortly after I’d spotted the iconic Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge from the left hand side of the plane), I knew I was ‘home’.

This is a strange feeling for someone who has just stepped foot into a new place, but I could feel a resonation, a connection to this place; something I'd never felt for Adelaide.

Fast forward a few short years, and I’d then be living in Sydney. Me, the Adelaide boy who fell in love with Sydney. No matter how long I live in Sydney (hopefully until the day I die - uh oh, now we are talking death, isn’t this supposed to be a positive statement?!), I will forever stop and marvel at the key engineering feats of this city. Be it the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the City Circle rail tunnel, I pinch myself in awe of the beauty within this phenomenal city.

Since living in Sydney, I have began progressively upgrading my camera toolkit. Those who know me will tell you I am a huge Fujifilm advocate. I was the proud owner of a Fujica film camera in Adelaide, which I sadly sold before moving to Sydney. I share some of my film photos here on the site. There’s something ‘real’ about shooting in film. It’s tangible, it’s real and the photos are not lost into the abyss of digital photography. Now, don’t get me wrong, the modern-day conveniences of digital photography are simply too much to completely pass up for returning to film in its entirety, but I digress, I loved my film camera and hope to one day add another film camera to my collection. 

I love that everyone is a photographer these days. Controversial, I know. But having a camera on us at all times is a game changer. So much of photography is about timing, and the best camera is the one you have available. I try to be deliberate in taking my camera with me whenever I go out (especially if there’s a chance I will happen by the ocean, a beach, the city, some trendy decaying buildings, etc.), but the reality is that sometimes our iPhones (sorry Android peeps) are what we need to make do with. Now, it’s a different story when people laugh at me for having a camera when I could just use my phone instead… Steady on.

My bigger question around phone photos is what we do with them. When was the last time you printed a photo, had a picture framed, made a canvas, looked through a photo album. I know I am sounding old. If you are someone who is considering buying a camera, please do yourself a favour and do it. Your photos will be immeasurably better, your photography will become a deliberate action, rather than snapping some pics and never thinking of them again.

Moments are precious and photos help us preserve a moment, and tell a story. Join me in my passion for photography.