Photo group a focal point for freedom

FOR almost two years, a local photography group has been meeting with the aim of providing an open space for shutterbugs to get creative behind the lens.

Kristy Fox has been convening get-togethers for photography Facebook group Small Talk: Ballarat Photographers Collective since starting the initiative in 2022.

She said the group’s meetings are about creating an environment where photographers can create without limitations or technique in mind.

“I tell the people who join it’s not a democracy, it’s an anarchy,” she said.

“If people want to organise an event, they can just do it, or if they have an idea they can just post it.

“I prefer to call them photo walks rather than just workshops or classes. It’s not me standing telling them how to take photos because I don’t think that’s what photography’s about.

“For me it’s about entering into this space and we’re all taking about our shots and what we want to achieve. There’s all that crosspollination and that to me is glorious.”

Rather than regular, arranged events, the group has been meeting sporadically since its establishment.

Fox estimated about half a dozen photo walks took place last year including around Ballarat East and at the Botanical Gardens.

The group held their first event of the year at Victoria Park last week, and after a year-and-a-half of sporadic meetups, Fox said she’s keen to see the group consolidate and grow in 2024.

“With the new year coming in, we thought it was about time to start pushing things out there and to get this a bit more public,” she said.

“I definitely want to keep this local so we’re interacting with environments that we’re in all the time. There’s no lofty goals and no restrictions.”

Having moved to the region in late 2021, Fox said the group has also been an ideal way to make new connections with like-minded people.

“As you get older, it becomes harder to make new friends, particularly moving to a new city,” she said.

“The idea of having events that are creatively stimulating where you’re around stimulating people, it’s a great way to make connections.”