The girl is Melanie Watkins! The photographs are shot on film! Documents of a life lived in London and now Sydney, these images depict a sense of home, wherever that may be. There's a familiarity about them, something relaxed and welcoming.
Mel has just recently opened her Print Shop as well. It's where you can find 6" x 8" professional prints of her work for a small cost so you can put them on display in your home or give them to loved ones as gifts - HINT.
I had the privilege of doing an interview with her recently, as a way to introduce her work and her practice and find out why she does what she does.
HM: What
and who inspires the aesthetic approach to your photographs?
MW: I’m inspired on a daily basis, through
everyday experiences, through art and design exhibitions, film, music, fashion,
food, friends, the way the light may fall or small details I come across. I
always carry a camera with me as I find beauty in my everyday life that I must
capture on film. There are so many artists
and photographers that I adore and who inspire me, well known people and also
people I’ve come across through photography and art blogs.
HM: When did you first pick up a camera and
realize that photography and taking photos had a resonance with you?
MW: I was given my first camera for my tenth birthday.
It was a point and shoot film camera by Kodak. I absolutely loved it. I took
photos of everything, sometimes of the same subject but from different angles.
I remember asking my dad whether I could take photos with his camera when we
went on holidays as well. I have memories of sitting and just holding my Dad’s
Canon camera, it was heavy and it made a terrific sound when the shutter
closed.
I was also lucky to go to a High School
that had a B&W darkroom and we used this from about year 9 onwards. I
really enjoyed being in the darkroom. There is something quite magical about
seeing your photos appear in the developer bath. I then went to University at
Sydney College of the Arts and majored in photography and fell in love with
colour film and the colour darkroom.
HM: What
does it mean to you to take photos and capture a particular moment in time? How
does the process make you feel?
MW: I think it’s important not to get too wrapped
up in documenting a moment that you end up experiencing it through your camera.
Sometimes it’s nice to have memories that are captured in your mind’s eye,
rather than on a piece of paper or on file on your computer. But that said,
sometimes I will see something so beautiful that I feel the need to capture it.
As I know that moment will probably never present itself again. There have been
times when I’ve seen something and not had my camera and kicked myself. Or
sometimes I’ll be walking and I’ll pass something and then have to turn around
a few seconds or minutes later to go back and take the photo I almost missed.
One of the reasons I love shooting on film, is that I’m more discerning with
what I capture. I think about the photo before taking it. I think with digital
cameras you take more photos but the quality isn’t always as good. I also love
that you have to wait to have the film developed to see how the images turned
out. Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised and other times you might be
disappointed. That’s the beauty of film and it’s process.
HM: How
has your work evolved since you first started taking photos? Has the imagery always been the same? How have things changed from a technical
perspective?
MW: I guess thinking back to the photos I took
at High School and University, the images that I produced were quite often
staged. I would come up with images in my head, make a list and then go about
setting them up. I guess I thought more
directly about the narrative in each image. For a number of years throughout Uni
and after leaving I was really interested in personal memory and how I could
capture or trigger past memories through my imagery.
Then I had a break from photography, life
got busy and I stopped making work, I didn’t make time for it. Moving to London
re-inspired me, I started my blog and this gave me a push to start shooting
again. I gave myself deadlines for the blog and tried to update every two days.
Doing this, meant I started documenting my life through photography, I started
carrying my camera with me everyday, seeking out images. I guess my practice
became a little more organic; I wasn’t deliberately setting up photos or
over-thinking the imagery. I let myself be inspired by things I came across,
whether that was the food I was eating, beautiful afternoon light or my
friends. I think the images I make now
still hold narratives within them and I’m still drawn to similar aesthetics. But
I feel I’m open to more, perhaps this just comes with age and travel.
Technically, I miss not having a colour
darkroom to spend hours in. I still shoot on film, but use my computer as a
darkroom these days. I still really enjoy using point and shoot cameras, as
well as my heavier vintage Canon inherited from my Grandfather. I wouldn’t say
I’ve got the best technical skills. This is something I’d like to work on, but
I think I’ll always love shooting using natural light and film!
HM: You
recently moved back to Sydney after spending time living in London. What affect has location had on your
practice? Where is your favourite place to photograph?
MW: I lived in London for almost 5 years and
was lucky enough to travel through Europe on a very regular basis. This was so
great for my photography, it was exciting to visit new places, to be inspired
by different places, details, faces and landscapes I would come across. I took
hundreds of photos. So coming back to Sydney has been be a bit of a challenge
for my practice, as I’m not travelling nearly as much as what I was. However, having
been away for a decent amount of time, I feel like I’ve come back to Sydney
with fresh eyes. Familiar places have a new sense of beauty and I’ve enjoyed
discovering new places to photograph. I always carry a film camera with me and
if something catches my eye I’ll take a photo and this process hasn’t changed
since I moved back.
I don’t think I have any particular
favourite place to photograph… over the summer I enjoyed taking photos at the
beach, but also in the Blue Mountains. The landscape and the light are very
different from the U.K and Europe, so that’s been interesting for me.
HM: What
do you hope to achieve over the course of the next 5 years?
MW: One of my hopes in moving back to Sydney
was that I’d be able to have more time to work on my practice. I hope in the
next 5 years that I’ll be able to make some money from my photography. Whether
that’s from having my work published, selling my work through exhibitions or
through products that feature my work. I also hope to be working on more
creative collaborative projects. I’ve got a few ideas/projects in the pipeline
already – so you’ll just have to watch this space!
she is soooo talented and I love her work and this interview :)
ReplyDeletei know right! such a little star! You're work is beautiful too, lady.
DeleteThe snaps from your rooftop look familiar. i think we live in the same area :)
Happy you like the interview as well!
Thank you Hollie :) I live in Potts Point, I love the few over Elizabeth Bay....
ReplyDeleteits beautiful isn't it. we live in elizabeth bay and are lucky enough to have a view of beare park and the water :)
Delete