ARCHITECTS OF AIR

Snapshots from the incredible cocoon of colour that Exxopolis was.

The exhibition was marketed as a feast for the senses - in actuality, it was a feast for the eyes and perhaps the ears got a little snack in the form of ambient music, but the focus was definitely on the visual. The exhibition tent was a saturated expanse of colour where the beauty lay in the subtle shades created as blue bleeds into red, that bleeds into green and then into yellow, all in swooping arches. Quite incredible that it was all created by hand.

The camera struggled a bit in a darkened room so forgive the grain. 

TASTE MAKERS

Two days before exams and time for therapeutic harddrive scanning for un-posted photos... You wouldn't think that street food making, ice cream (Messina, Round Two) and food from upcoming restaurant reviews (that are very delayed, admittedly) would go together that well but they're all accomplishing the common purpose of making me wish for the end of finals so there's that, right?

Enjoy - I will be here sipping lemon water and ensuring I can prove all the elements of a murder charge.

SHE IS

A few favourite photos from Her: Versions of Womanhood performance from Verge Festival. Full set of photos on my Facebook page. It was a first to work with such an interesting space with such specific lighting, working around audience members and capturing the vivid expressions of moving, talking performers. 

SHINE IN STYLE

Some quick shots from the Style Masterclass hosted at The Galeries by Margaret from Shine by Three. It was a lovely evening with delicious vanilla and passionfruit macarons and champagne. Margaret was super inspiring, eloquent and generally so cheery, it was great to finally meet her (:

VIDINC 2013

This was the line to meet Ryan Higa at VIDinc.

I took a lot of performance photos (and recorded segments...does anyone want to see it on a potential Youtube channel?). They were all compositionally similar because I was stuck behind the VIP barrier and couldn't move so I was relatively sparing with the number of photos I chose to edit.

Below, my favourite photos from the day. 

For words (and extra photos you can't find here), read my full VIDinc recap at The Afterimage.

FRESH FROM THE OVEN

Unfortunately, I did not inherit my mother's talent for cooking and was not raised in a household where baked goods (let alone desserts) were a regular thing (we are more of a Chinese hotpot kind of family). Despite that, somehow I developed a fondness for pastries and basically all things involving shortbread and crumbly, rich, decadent sweet things that constituted your weekly serving of saturated fat (mm!).

But every once in awhile, I attempt to make things and, in this case, it was dark chocolate and walnut brownies, a beginner-level dessert if there ever was one.

Let's be honest, part of this was for the novelty of taking cooking photos on a sunny, well-lit day. No shame.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU DEVOUR

A collection of foodstuffs from the winter holidays, mostly from Oiden, Mappen & Takeru because Japanese food is my eternal low-budget-but-slightly-healthier-than-fast-food go-to eateries.

As we get older and the list of novelty activities (game centers, karaoke, sticker photos, laser tag, movies, art gallery hops) to do in the city slowly runs its course, a fun night out with friends has morphed into a dinner of good food and good conversation.

Are we getting old? Does Sydney need a few more exciting places to entertain young adults that doesn't involve clubbing and bars? (my VIDinc recap will be coming very soon on The Afterimage).

Should we be paying more attention to festivals and workshops? Should we be too busy with work and holiday internships? Or is the food just too good to pass on? Those are the questions.

AU NATUREL

The good thing about having various wildlife hanging around within petting distance was that we discovered some unsuspected kangaroo whisperer skills.

THE SEA HAS VANISHED

There is a story behind the poor man's tripod we set up in the middle of Cave Beach (Jervis Bay) and it involves thirteen photographers with a tenacious DIY attitude, a desire for some group photos and a lack of bystanders on the beach.

FLUORESCENT SPARKS

Favourite snaps from winter holidays. The famous Gelato Messina on a busy Saturday night and sitting under the harsh fluorescent lights of a nearby park that turned the gelato into richly flavoured otherworldly moons. My little camera worked hard without flash so forgive the slight motion blur. Lots of laughing conversation, gummy bears, 10pm Woolworths runs and sparklers.

Also - I now have a Facebook Page. Because Social Media Marketing 101 (but no, it's so I can share stuff with friends more easily than posting dozens of blogspot links on my Timeline)

HALF LIVES

Too many of these photos have been sitting in my harddrive without a blog post to call home and most are remnants of food shots and random events from last semester (and the beginnings of Winter Break). It's a veritable mess, really. We have black sesame drink foam art from Hana Hana, shots from uni society events, a Lorraine's Patisserie marscapone cake and glimpses of what I'm going to write about in my Takeru review and creepy Gelato Messina shots - more to come later.

But mostly just food (managing multiple blogs and WeekendNotes account is hard).

With second semester of uni set to suck out my soul for another thirteen weeks very soon, I thought I might as well post these shots up and get a clean start. I'm working on a post with my favourite shots from Winter Break as well, so keep an eye out (:

STOP AT CHECKOUT

I am a shameless snack-experimenter and I am particularly fond of snacks from Asia - I prefer them over brands like Cadbury or Starburst. Something about the packaging - especially snacks from Japan - is just so photogenic and the slightly different and occasionally 'out there' flavours just really appeal. I've written about the snacks on my WeekendNotes articles but here are my favourite shots from the series.

I still have to work on my bravado and my ability to not look suspicious when snapping photos at the shelves, but this Asian grocery 'photoshoot' is something I've wanted to do for a long time now, and I'm glad I finally managed to do it.

ELEMENT6

Photogenic food is always going to add brownie points to any restaurant. I am a pretty avid food photographer (and by that I mean I'm that person who quickly take photos of food at restaurants/cafes as they are served and do not style food in any way') because they are convenient and good subjects. Most of these are bigger versions of the shots used in my element6 cafe review on WeekendNotes (have a read if you would like) with a few 'outtakes' - ie. food I didn't eat and random shots from a lovely brunch with S, M and M

A STUDY IN SWEETS

No one can accuse Sweet Infinity of false advertising. Cold rainy days called for a lovely Red Velvet Cake slice to be shared with C and chai teas and lattes all around.

We concluded our adventures at The Strand with some more Bon Bon Fine Chocolate appreciation and crossed over to Pitt St Westfield for some oogling at the aesthetic loveliness of Laduree

THE STRAND

To start off this new photoblog, here's the first part of my post-exam adventures with C at The Strand arcade - a little pocket of warm lighting, old wood, wrought iron and stain-glass windows amidst the modern, minimal panes of Pitt St Westfields and the CBD skyscrapers surrounding it.

A lot of these were photographed through shop windows. I know the reflections are usually pretty distracting but I quite liked some of the effects. I'm working on developing the confidence to stride into a store and begin taking photos everywhere without feeling self conscious. Bear with me on that one for now.

The upper levels house quite a range of Australian designer boutiques, some of which really hit my 'beautiful interior design' weaknesses. Give me a couple of Alannah Hill chandeliers for a future home and I'm set

Displays of creations for the Australian Wool Awards are on display every floor at the moment and it took a large amount of willpower not to run away with a jacket or two.