Leave the door open, and leave quietly.

Due to a thievery by Father Time, who has robbed me of the luxury of many minutes and hours in the last long while, I have condensed many days worth of living into this one post. Condensed it like milk in a can, sickly sweet and far too sticky, minus the stickiness because this is a blog post, which is therefore intangible. Also probably not so sweet, as that's not really what I do. So not really like condensed milk at all, besides being condensed.

My brother who I haven't seen in many months just walked in the door. A soldier in the army in tropical Northern Queensland, he's here for Christmas, and is looking more tanned than ever. It's funny how many different colours the members of my immediate family are- our genetics are to blame (or to thank, however you like the think). My eldest sister has deep, dark brown hair, and eyes that range from hazel to bright green, depending on the light. And her skin is pale like pearls. My brother, the soldier, is the darkest of us all. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin. Then my other older sister has electric blue eyes, pale skin and ash brown hair. Me, dark blonde hair, light brown eyes, that are sometimes green in the afternoon, and skin quite dark, only a couple of shades lighter than my brother. My little brother is blonde-haired and blue-eyed, fair-ish skinned like my other sister- the youngest, who also has clear blue eyes and blonde hair which definitely reflects the Scandinavian that runs through our blood. But we all look related none the less. We are a family.



This day, Imogen and I drove around in my little car, hovering between conversations so deep that my mind feels full when I think of them, and silences so comfortable that testify to me the authenticity of our friendship.






Something magical always happens when are together, this day no different. We drove way out to the far end of the Hawkesbury, and turned into a small street to turn around. I felt like we should just keep going down this road, so we did. We turned at the end of the street, turned again, and then turned one more time, ending up at a small park with a tennis court and lots of nice trees. And then we heard the sound of a small engine, and a tiny quad bike with a pair of kids in helmets zoomed past. And then we decided we needed to have them in a musical Christmas item that Imogen would sing and share when the season comes about. We approached the helmeted kids and their small group of friends, and they agreed. Skip an hour later, and we had made a whole group of new friends, including their parents, and I had photographed a Father and his little daughter as I would a proper family shoot, and they were so grateful and excited, as they had hardly any pictures. And it's times like these that make me love photography, because it's important, to families and people and families and people in the future. These are only a couple of many, many photos taken, but the love this father had for his daughter was very, very present.

Then I closed my eyes and opened them again, a blink that lasted a month, bringing me to Blogshop Sydney, an internationally acclaimed workshop for Bloggers. I was lucky enough to make a little film of the goings-on of the day. You can view it here, on Designlovefest.
Studio Neon, the best of all venues.

A sea of Macbooks.

A wall of speakers. Imagine if they were all plugged in and working, playing your favourite song..!


Another short promo film creation, this time for Zoe of Pouch Handmade, saw me visiting a home which made me feel okay about having lots of 'stuff'. Little collections of this and that were everywhere in Eliza's home, in the most stylish of way. Being there made me long for living waaay up high up in the Mountains even more.



Tori is level-headed and wise and every time I see her, I drive home smiling. We went to the movies, something I rarely ever do. On the way there, 1 corner away from Tori's house, the light was singing through the trees and we had to hop out to make the most of it.


Me and Siri met Kate a year and a half ago, spying her at the Lansdowne Hotel, her voice fluting over the top of the bustle of Sydney. I don't think I'll ever forget hearing her for the first time. This led to that, skip forward to now, and I had the privilege of documenting some video footage of her recording a new album at Love Hz, the most beautiful studio in Sydney, which conveniently is located around the corner from my work.
Strings play on my heart, they are one of my favourite sounds, ever since I was 5 years old and picked up a violin for the first time. I really am genuinely excited for this new album to come out, because what I heard there on that day was sonic heaven. I may or may not have shed a few tears that day.


The Sydney Observatory was everything I had hoped for and more, made me feel insignificant but purposeful, confused but content, excited and depressed, everything, all at once. A night tour worth taking.

A strange film we saw in the dark while there, about Aboriginal myths relating to the stars.



Nick in the projector.


Maybe we should clean the car window, or maybe not.


Peta and some sparklers, at her 21st birthday celebration.


My sister.


Glenn & Em.


This is a little dog, Jack was his name, that I found on the side of the road in very much outback New South Wales, after scouting locations for a wedding. He was huffing and puffing and super thirsty so I filled up a little dish with my water bottle, and then drove around with him in the front seat looking for his home, which I found half an hour later.


The Swedish Embassy, where I felt bad having to ask for an English version of the passport form, due to my lack of bilingual abilities. I am now officially able to live and work freely in Europe and have my Swedish citizenship retained forever. This thought excites me a lot for the future.. Australia won't be my home anymore. So soon.



Cherry farmers and poppy growers, Canberra Regional Farmers' Market was one of the best places I have been. Walking around looking lame with a grin across my face as I observed the families carrying bunches of spinach and little bags of potatoes. Definitely a highlight in life, the inappropriate levels of joy I felt there.


Stripey shadows in Murrumbateman on a very, very hot day.


Making friends with my clients' nephew.


A mother and her daughter. Holding hands.

'Road tripping' on my own is a frequent occurrence, driving to and from weddings and shoots and other things. It is my thinking time and organising life in my mind time, and it is my favourite. Sometimes I stop and get out of the car, not because I'm tired or bored of driving, but really just to look at the world, because I like to.




And here we have come, to the end of the sweetened, condensed milk can, without the sugar, milk and the can. A condensed summary of life in the last little while. Thanks for readin'.