I started photographing things from the ripe age of 10. Growing up, I struggled to articulate my thoughts clearly due to learning difficulties, and that often left me feeling misunderstood or unheard. But picking up a camera felt like discovering a new language \u2014 one that didn\u2019t require perfect words or explanations. It ignited a switch in me that I didn\u2019t even know existed \u2014 the ability to express how I saw the world, completely unfiltered and without restriction, for the first time in my life.<\/p>\n
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Photography became more than just a hobby; it became a lifeline. It taught me how to slow down and truly see \u2014 not just objects or scenery, but moments, emotions, and stories unfolding in real time.<\/p>\n
It opened up a deep sense of gratitude within me, a quiet appreciation for the fleeting, beautiful details we often overlook. And once I tapped into that feeling, I couldn\u2019t let it go. I became relentless in my pursuit of capturing that truth \u2014 that quiet magic \u2014 again and again<\/p>\n
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Who were you inspired by? <\/strong><\/p>\n My late father, Simon, was a journalist by trade but a poet at heart. He had a quiet gift for observation \u2014 always noticing the small, significant details that others might miss. He documented everything, not obsessively or for the sake of record-keeping, but simply to remember \u2014 to preserve the weight and beauty of a moment before it slipped away. That instinct to hold onto meaning through words or images is something I carry deeply within me.<\/p>\n One of my earliest sparks of visual inspiration came from stumbling across an issue of Foam Symmetry<\/em> as a kid. I must\u2019ve been too young to fully understand what I was looking at, but something about it pulled me in \u2014 the textures, the colours, the stillness and movement of the ocean all at once. It planted the seed of my obsession with the coast, and ever since, I\u2019ve felt most at home when I\u2019m hanging around the ocean with a camera in hand.<\/p>\n Lately though, my biggest creative inspiration has been John Witzig. His uncanny knack for capturing history, especially within the world of surf culture, is unlike anything I\u2019ve seen. There\u2019s a rawness and quiet poetry in his photographs \u2014 especially those taken at Bells Beach and beyond during the \u201970s. His work feels timeless and alive, like each frame is humming with the energy of a moment you didn\u2019t live through but somehow still remember. There\u2019s something in those images that moves me in a way I\u2019ll never quite be able to describe \u2014 and maybe that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Where are your favourite places to go and shoot?<\/strong><\/p>\n Bells \u2014 it\u2019s alive. It\u2019s more than just a stretch of coastline; it\u2019s a living, breathing presence. If you stand still and listen closely, you can almost hear the echoes of the past carried in the wind \u2014 the stories, the wipeouts, the quiet victories, the cheers from the cliffs.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a history embedded in the salt air and sandstone, something sacred that lingers long after the sets roll through.But it\u2019s not just the surf that speaks \u2014 it\u2019s the sky too. The ever-changing palette above Bells has its own rhythm. The shifting colours, the light, the textures \u2014 they move like music, in patterns that are never quite the same twice. Some mornings it\u2019s soft and muted, like the ocean\u2019s holding its breath. Other days, the sky cracks wide open with brilliance. It\u2019s in these moments \u2014 watching the land, sea, and sky dance together \u2014 that I\u2019m reminded why I keep coming back.<\/p>\n You get to invite five people to take photos of at surf break Winkipop. Who are you inviting and why? <\/strong><\/p>\n Shyama Buttonshaw, Thor Feldman, Dan Ross, Casey Mccrohan and Darcy Day.<\/p>\n Because of their ever-binding connection to the ocean and themselves, forever adapting, progressing, learning and willingness to be humbled.<\/p>\n What do you like to get up to when you\u2019re not behind the lens? <\/strong><\/p>\n I look after kids \u2014 half the week as a live-in nanny, and the other half as an education support at Aireys Primary School. It\u2019s a rhythm I\u2019ve grown to love. Being around them, every day reminds me of the true meaning of life: to have fun and be present.<\/p>\n Kids have this beautiful way of living in the moment, and it\u2019s contagious. Over time, they\u2019ve come to feel like family. It\u2019s not just a job \u2014 it\u2019s a connection.<\/p>\n I get to be a part of their world, to share in their curiosity, their milestones, their little wins. It\u2019s incredibly rewarding, not only witnessing their growth but knowing I get to play even a small part in it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/0U0A3226_27981.jpg\")
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