photo diary - sydney

I've never posted a travel diary - let alone a photo diary - before on here, so I hope it's a little refreshing and interesting! I travelled to Sydney early in January to do some test shoots with models from Priscilla's Model Management, and it was my first proper visit to Sydney in years. I got plenty of time to explore, which I really enjoyed, and inspired by really gifted travel bloggers like Claire Alice Young and Julia Trotti, I started to take some pictures of the people we saw and the places we went.

I've never been a city girl (I think in the scheme of things, Canberra barely counts as a city itself!) so when mum and I arrived in the hot, smelly, sticky, bustling heart of Sydney with about 30000 kilos of luggage and a several kilometre walk to our hotel, I hated it. I felt smothered and, being spoiled by the sweet Canberra air, couldn't bear it when my nose was filled with the fumes of passing buses and cars. People everywhere criss-crossing the streets, not giving anyone else a second glance. It was a relief to get into the shower at the hotel room and wash myself of the city. I wondered whether I'd made a mistake in coming at all - what on earth was I doing in this massive concrete forest crawling with millions of humans?

somebody in the building opposite our hotel room likes trees - this appeared every evening when it started to get dark!

Of course though, there's always more than first meets the eye. I went to meet Jamie from the agency in the afternoon, and was relieved to discover Potts Point - a fresh, pretty suburb with plenty of trees and interesting shops. The humidity was still fierce, but there was space to think. After arranging my shoots with the agency, I stopped at a deli with mum and bought some diabetes-inducing sweets (that disappeared so quickly there was no chance for a photo!), and walked back to our hotel through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

we met all sorts of critters at the gardens.

As we walked back through the city, I conceded that it perhaps wasn't such a bad place after all. The architecture is gorgeous - nothing like you find in Canberra!

Saturday was my big location-scouting day, so I did what any shameless un-savvy tourist should do and took the big red open-top tourist buses around the city. I'm glad we did - they're actually a great location-scouting tool! They offer the opportunity to see places you didn't know existed and get your head around the city. 

Friendly bus driver asked for a photo - we were chatting and learned that his children live only a few suburbs away from where our home is. Small world.

HMAS Canberra... I was completely stunned by the scale of this ship. Modern engineering is certainly a marvel.

the Conservatorium of Music, where my amazingly talented friend Chloe will be studying this year!

Mum and I jumped off at Bondi to check it out and get a bite for lunch (Lush on Bondi has fantastic vegetarian/vegan burgers for anyone wondering) and despite the totally superficial feel of the place, I was kind of charmed. I think any place where thousands of people bare (nearly) all in front of each other, no matter their shape or size, is something to be celebrated - and Bondi is probably the biggest example of that in Australia.

In the afternoon, we continued on the big red bus loop and I found myself with all sorts of ideas about where to shoot. So many things going on in the city, it was fascinating to take it all in.

When we actually got down to shooting, I was completely inspired by the city and all its different facets. I produced some pictures like none I've ever taken before.

I shot at the Botanic Gardens with Gemma. The gardens are huge and so diverse - they made for a great location! Gemma was such a gentle soul.

It was so exciting to shoot with Amy - she's done a runway for Chanel before! We shot at Bondi beach on a bleak morning when there were barely any people around, and it was sort of surreal for me to be having this experience.

I ended up shooting in Pyrmont with Lara. There were so many interesting shopfronts and houses that made for a really interesting urban feel - not something I've explored a lot before.

In the spare time between shoots, mum and I got to explore the city. Another place mum and I visited was the QVB - and what a stunning building it is. I'm a complete sop for old, beautiful buildings and I was completely amazed by this one.

Rather naughty breakfast with mum...

All in all, I left Sydney totally inspired. In such a diverse and cramped place, with everybody literally on top of one another, you see, hear and experience things you didn't expect at all. I can see why so many creative people migrate towards large cities - such a mish-mash of places, spaces, thoughts, really gets you thinking. 

I'm interested to hear what people think about this blog post - as mentioned above, I'm not a practised hand at documenting my travels, but I really enjoyed taking pictures of the people and places! Do feel free to let me know what you think.

xx