When I was a child in Australia, there was a popular ad campaign that ran on TV for a camera/film (35 mm) company. They had a really catchy song that had lyrics along the lines of,"...the colours of Australia, they have a different hue...No other country has them, they belong to me and you". Now this like other ads of the time seemed rather corny and probably the only reason I remembered it was because it was about a new type of 35mm film this company was producing that was supposed to make the colours look wonderful.
Just before my 21st birthday, I left Australia and moved to the United States. I was not intending to go permanently. I was only visiting a boyfriend there, but as we grew increasingly in love during my trip... and I came down with pnemonia (Boston in Winter), I was delayed a while. One thing led to another, and now years later, and two teenagers later, I am a dual citizen, an Australian-American. And I have lived in several parts of the USA.
And the colours here really are different. Or should I say colors? The browns are a darker brown. The greens are a more brighter green. Every color is just completely different hues!
When I travel back to Australia, I use a different filter, I take photos at different angles and have to pay FAR more attention to the light. And night photography is not nearly as easy as I find with a digital camera in the US.
This past week on my FB pages, I shared several of my favorite shots from Australia taken over the years. Some of the more surprising responses were from some of the Australians I knew. Queries from where the shots were taken to how on earth I managed to get that shot of that place. To be honest, this collection of shots have been the hardest I have ever taken.
I think the saying that you can never go home is not quite stated correctly. It is more that you can never quite see it in the same way ever again. Ask any person who has ever immigrated from any nation to another and they will tell you that it was one of the hardest things they ever did in their lives and no, they will never stop loving their home.
Home. That word has such a loaded meaning in many different languages. For writers, the advice given to them, is to write what you know best. For photographers, however, capturing "home" is one of the hardest things we ever try to bring to people. I know. I have agonized over it for years. Should I photograph the Opera House? (too "done"!) The Row Houses? (too generic and English colonial... could be anywhere!) For me, Australia, and especially Sydney where I grew up around the Harbour area is deeply personal and I want my photos to bring my favourite beach, my ferry rides, my mossy Harbour rocks along the Pittwater.... all of this to you.
You see, as a Photographer, my greatest fulfillment is to bring my visions, feelings and experiences to you. I want to share my home as best as I can with you.
My case is, of course, complicated by the fact that I now have TWO homes. And TWO difficult familiar places to photograph. I know what the tourists see in each and I know what the people who live here do day-to-day (in both homes). I think the day-to-day is the more "honest" expression of the cities. Oh, and there IS an everyday side to the suburban of Washington DC. Trust me. Not very exciting. But there is one.
So the next time a friend brings you some pictures from their home to share with you... make sure that you pay attention. Those are REALLY hard to capture. If you don't believe me, try it yourself. Try to get the essence of your home. I don't mean the physical buildings and such, but the sense of what it is like to live there and what it was like growing up in such a place.
Next month, I travel back to Australia to be with my Mum and Step-Dad. They now live up in the Blue Mountains, one of the most beautiful parts of bushland outside of the city - a huge tourist destination. It is a smaller town built on a mountain plateau (I believe) overlooking a wonderful green valley. It has gorgeous rock formations ... but the best is the bird life. Parrots of many different colors come from all over to visit the area in warmer months.
Maybe I'll take some more photos while I am there. And let you share a little more of my home with me.
