Underground Refuge Chamber

Some may say that I grew up with a relatively “sheltered” childhood. I have parents that absolutely and unconditionally love me and a brother that I can truly say is my best mate. I was given a good home, education and the space to grow and learn into the adult I am today. I was never abused or compromised the way so many other children are. The biggest gift my parents ever gave me was the courage to dream…

“You can achieve anything you want Heather, the world is your oyster”…

I now live that mantra each and every day and when I was 1km underground, 20 weeks pregnant and puffing from the thin air, I realised that every cell in my body believed what my parents had told me. I am living my dream.

Jumbo Drill

Falling pregnant was never a set plan or very thoroughly mapped out goal…but when are children ever like this?! So many people I know are unable to even fall pregnant and so I carry this child with a quiet pride and thankfulness that I have been offered the opportunity to give life. I hope to give a life to one that has been as open and inspirational as my parents gave to me.

One thing I have come to realise is that, not only do I truly love what I do, what I do is forever changing. I think we all strive to work out what it is that “makes us happy”. I think the best lesson I have learnt in the past years of working for myself is that what makes me happy is constantly changing. As soon as I let go of what I thought  would make me content, I started to really LIVE my life. Don’t get me wrong, I have pretty awful days as well but have managed to pull myself through them knowing that things always have a way of working themselves out…(my husband’s daily mantra)

This photo shoot was certainly a first for me. Being taken to a Nickel mine and taken underground is something I have never had the opportunity of doing. Travelling to 1km underground does have it’s many draw-backs and I “take my hat off” to the many people that constantly work underground to deliver an alloy such as Nickel so we can have batteries, cutlery, ceramics, stainless steel…the list goes on.

From this…

To This….

The Cosmos Mine is located right near Leinster Western Australia. (See purple)

As usual the people were so friendly and extremely helpful! A photograph was never too much trouble. I wanted to take this time to share with you my favourite images from the trip.

I am becoming more and more aware of the life that surrounds an individual mine site and how it paints the wider picture, it’s sense of purpose.  I have been invited to photograph at Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo Mine site a few times now but this long visit was one that definitely set itself aside form the others. I was asked to focus on the people. Capturing as many individuals and groups as I physically could in the space of 4 days.

As a result I gained a wider perspective on the Paraburdoo mine and it’s “life”. The machines were not just machines serving a purpose any more and operations were not just something that blurred into my backgrounds. Suddenly I was engaging with those who made it all happen.

Mining is a very fast paced work/lifestyle with the growing economy’s demands, not to mention individual consumers.  These people are those that make it all happen.

This post is short for a reason, to take the attention away from me and focus primarily on those who make up the culture that is Paraburdoo Mine.

After some time away and now well and truly back into a busy 2012, I have made a slightly drastic move to disconnect myself from the social media world and go back to my roots. Some of you may know that I have written short one liners, shared inspiring links of mine and generally engaged on Facebook and twitter. I have since realised how much these platforms have left me feeling disconnected with the community and so here I am, re-connecting with you all in what feels like a more genuine way for me. Today has been the first of many PD Days (Personal Development Days) where I am delving into the history of my art and studying where I fit into this ever evolving world of media.

My husband and I on a well deserved break in The Blue Mountains

I came across a wonderful article this morning which I wanted to share with you. Written about an extremely interesting documentary photographer called David Alan Harvey, it spoke of his career and developments as a photographer capturing amazing photo essays for the likes of National Geographic.

 David Alan Harvey 2006 (credit: Luis Montolio)

I found a quote of his so compelling:

“In order to speak beautifully, a photographer needs to be well-read in the history of the art that has gone before and interested in more than the mechanics of the camera.

Then you can start drawing on your own childhood, your own personal experiences and finally you end up having a point of view”

I do not pretend to place myself in a similar industry to photographers such as David but what I do relate to is their unrelenting passion in capturing images. My world of photography could not be more different but I too share the desire to research those that have gone before me, images that have already been created and how we have managed to get to where we are today.

No more is this reflection more present when I stand on a mine site gazing at the sheer size of what man-kind can create.

Onwards and upwards!

A Bientot

Looking Closer opens this Saturday, 29th October, at The Orangery Gallery in Shenton Park. It runs until Sunday 13th November. It has been an exciting journey towards my very first solo photographic exhibition and one that covers places I have visited all around the world.

I felt that it would be a lovely opportunity to share with you one of the key images of the show and the story behind it. All the images in my exhibition, “Looking Closer“, speak about those moments of unexpected beauty and light that I stumble across while venturing through unknown towns and cities. I take pride in focussing on those little “nooks and crannies” that most may just walk straight on by.

“Torii”

If I could have lied on the ground staring up at the Torii, just like a child, I would have. The Fushimi Inari Shrine was something I had dreamed to see…to bear witness of such a sacred and visually inspiring place. When I saw it featured in the film “Memoirs of a Geisha” I can remember turning to Tom and saying “We have to go there one day!” (Tom is always so happy to go with the flow)

It was a cold morning, wet from last night’s rainfall. Sleepy eyed, Tom and I stumbled out from our gorgeous Ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn/lodge, and made our way towards the Torii Shrine. After a wonderful train journey, speaking to an elderly Japanese lady whom was so excited to hear our Australian accents, we eventually found the Shrine. Believe it or not it was quite tricky to locate.

The Torii poles line the mountainside for kilometers and I was almost silenced by its sheer beauty, yes it takes a lot to shut me up!

I trust that I have been able to capture a glimpse of the Torii and their majestic presence that has been such a significant symbol of Japanese Culture.

I hope you are able to come along and see what other images have created the dialogue of “Looking Closer”.

Namaste

Please view the exhibition video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-JnewWs8Cw

I have taken a good look through my portfolio recently and have been updating various images. While doing so I remembered back to a book I bought a couple of years ago, one that had such a profound effect on me. Annie Leibovitz’s “At Work”.

Annie is a photographer whose name is spoken on the lips of every budding photography student.  Me, on the other hand, only came across her work accidently as I have never formally studied photography and predominantly self taught. This meant that I completely missed out on the classroom chatter on the best or favourite photographers of the past and current times.

When I purchased her book “At Work” I did not anticipate the effect it would have one me.  Aside from the fascinating stories she shares with her readers, at the back are a series of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, one of which I still remember each and every day.

When asked “What advice do you have for a young photographer who is starting out?” her answer struck me:

I’ve said about a million times that the best thing a young photographer can do is to stay close to home. Start with your friends and family, the people who will put up with you. Discover what it means to be close to your work, to be intimate with a subject. Measure the difference between that and working with someone you don’t know as much about. Of course there are many good photographs that have nothing to do with staying close to home, and I guess what I’m really saying is that you should take pictures of something that has meaning for you. When I was a young photographer at Rolling Stone, I learned that what I did mattered. This may have been because I was published, but whether you’re published or not, you have to care about what you do. You might even seem to be obsessive about it.

After reading this I have consciously thought of what she wrote time and time again. My family and friends have always been willing for me to place a lens in their faces. Don’t underestimate the power of those moments even if no one else sees what you see…

Bec is always willing to have a good laugh with me

After buying my Canon 5D Mark 2 I was so excited to show my husband. I stopped by his work and this was the very first photograph I took!

Ali always manages to remain as the boss of the household! Work or no work!

It is great that those around me never take themselves very seriously, well they can’t really with me pointing a lens in their faces…

Very fond memories…capture them…

And lastly me…well my portrait isn’t taken too often and when it is…well let’s just say ginger biscuits are the best!

Well I can say that working for yourself has its ups and downs and loneliness is one of the down sides. A new client that recently took me on, helped to shift my slight sense of disconnection. I walked away with a massive smile on my face and may I add there is a lot to say for an “older” model…they were fantastic subjects!

The word Together from the thesuraus read:

all together, as one, closely, coincidentally, collectively, combined, commonly, concertedly, concomitantly, concurrently, conjointly, contemporaneously, en masse, hand in glove, hand in hand, in a body, in cooperation, in one breath, in sync, in unison, jointly, mutually, on the beat, side by side, simultaneously, synchronically, unanimously, unitedly, with one accord, with one voice

For me, all these words seem to jump out of the page. Being such a people person I really struggle at times with working in such a solitary way. It seems that I may not be the only one and I googled the word only to find that many musicians have sung about the word including Mr Jack Johnson…

And more famously John Lennon’s, ‘Come Together’…

I realise each and every day that we all crave to have that sense of connection with those around us.

Enjoy!

xxx

With my own parents now back in town for good, after living overseas for the past 3 and half years, I captured my father packing up boxes of old clothing and memories. It is amazing how our work/life can have such a big impact and really play a big role in creating the person we are today.

Since returning back to the office and post processing hours, I have reflected on my passion towards Industry and Mining. I guess you could say I felt like I really “found myself” up in Parburdoo amongst such passionate people, industrial surroundings and my steel capped boots.

I can’t bring myself to wash the red dirt off…

So I looked back through my favourite photography history book, “Photography a Cultural History 2^nd Edition”, to gain more context of Industrial and Mining Photography. I have consciously chosen to develop and broaden my photography into Mining and Industry, as well as Architectural, Interior and Professional Portrait Photography.

Some of the photographers I look to for inspiration are the likes of Larry Burrows, Andreas Gurskey and Erk Almas.

Larry’s images always leave me breathless and reflective on our own mortality…

I am always transfixed by the colourful, patternlike imagery of Edward…

And the sheer beauty of Erik’s mind scapes…

But Margaret Bourke-White would have to be another that really stands out in my mind. THE first professional female photographer I ever read about and one of many firsts in the history of photography, I can’t help but feel compelled by her choice in subject matter. Known as “…the daring camera girl scales skyscrapers for art…” (Vicki Goldberg ‘Margaret Bourke-White: A Biography)

It is so lovely to feel a sense of connection to those that walked similar career paths in the history of photography…

Until next time…

It is so lovely to feel a sense of connection to those that walked similar career paths in the history of photography…

I couldn’t wait to share my latest adventure with you all. I was recently flown up to a small town in the Pilbara called Paraburdoo, Western Australia.

Although tired from a very early start, and a lack of sleep from the excitement, I just couldn’t help but quickly pull out my camera before even setting foot on the plane. I have travelled so much over the years but a beautiful sunrise over the planes still makes me smile.

Once I arrived in Paraburdoo, I was greeted by Karen, a wonderful lady and passionate employee of Rio Tinto. Within half an hour of being in the office Head Quarters I already felt I belonged. Passionate people and always with a smile on their faces. Shortly after arriving to the main office I had the opportunity to meet with Sinead Kaufman the Mine General Manager. Truly an inspiration to us all. A red head, shorter than me (yes yes it is possible), currently 7 months pregnant, has a 4 year old son and a unique ability to make anyone in her presence feel at ease.

Sinead, a manager unlike any I have met before. I was reflecting on how she has managed to gain such a high level of respect from hundreds of employees. I feel that her leadership qualities and passion towards relationships, set her aside from any General Manager I have met before. Sinead Kaufman is a true inspiration.

Then I had the pleasure of meeting Buck my Press Liaison. I was accompanied by Buck, a fabulous guide who knows the ins and outs of the entire mine site spanning some 50km. We drove constantly, observing the constant movements that come with an Iron Ore Mine.

Before visiting Paraburdoo, the perception I had was a sense that those in mining earn a fair amount of money and at times sacrifice a lot in the process. What I came back with was a realisation that most are INCREDIABLY passionate about their work, the land and being in the outback.

Always watching the sunrise and sunset, they work around the clock.

Tana, a mum, truck driver and team safety representative and great woman!

Rubin, a father 2 young girls and soon to be a 3rd, wonderful Maori New Zealander with a big heart.

It seems that my passion in yoga is now growing so quickly. I recently took some time to connect my yoga experience with my other passion, photography. You may be thinking, “Well, Heather why didn’t you do this sooner? It is so obvious?!”

I have now been practicing yoga for 10 years but my passion was reignited 3 years ago when I started to attend Yoga Om, an Ashtanga yoga school in North Perth. As my practice grew I became more aware of the burning desire to make yoga a more active journey. Ahhhhh yes the goals started to creep in!  What can I say, a dreamer and creative at heart.

Now, a teacher in training with the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Australia, I am excited about the unknown journey ahead.  I think that is what I love the most about it.

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like ‘If you live each as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right’. It made an impression on me, and since then, the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc, and former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.

A dear friend and I got together and brought a long last vision of mine to life.  With her career in yoga also launching we decided that it was time to collaborate.  I find watching and looking at imagery of yoga postures so beautiful. With this in mind, I am also well acquainted with the fact that the postures/asanas are just 1/8 of a yoga path. It is not about what is on the outside that truly counts and I meet people daily that are searching for that connection within themselves either through yoga or some other path. I make sure that I remember this each and every day of my yoga journey. At times I find it challenging as my work is predominantly focussed on the visual, outside world.