Just Another Smith...

Nearly a month into the job and I am now the main photographer on Set 8. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown. It seems only yesterday when I could barely hold the camera, and now I'm responsible for every shoot. I feel so much more confident in my abilities and have received some great feedback. Looking over photographs even from the beginning of the promo, I can see the improvement myself. After two weeks with the girls down by the coast in Warrnambool, I have since moved to Traralgon. This is a smallish country town and is very quiet compared to the last promo. To stay amused we have actually purchased a little speaker. Whenever it's a little empty, which is quite often, we treat ourselves to a little boogie. Being a team of two is a different experience to the three-strong team I was used to. We work together so well and are able to bounce off each other during the day. We have become known in the centre for our smiles and crazy dances. Galina is also a fant...

As of last week, I now work for a travelling photography company. I have relocated to Victoria and am currently training in a shopping centre close to the Great Ocean Road. My primary role is as PR and Photographer's Assistant. Today, I was thrown in at the deep end and taught to shoot children. Photographically, of course. My first day as a kid's photographer was certainly an experience. I don't think I have ever had to think and react as quickly before. I had so much fun, but boy was it exhausting. There is so much to consider; the lighting, the background, the framing, the angles, the pose, the use of props, the child's safety, the parents. Then you have the different ages, different genders and very different characters. All of which have to be assessed and altered accordingly within seconds. I felt a lot of pressure and at times I did feel like I was swimming against the tide. My first few "customers" were varied ages, a fair few toddlers and a newborn....

The wonderful Daryl and Steffi picked me up from the airport on Friday night, and by the time we got home it was basically midnight. I was shattered and really appreciated having "my" old room back to crash out. We'd agreed on a lazy start to the weekend so we could all catch up on some sleep. ~ Of course I was awake stupidly early, still not having shaken my strawberry routine. I tried to doze through the morning, but instead scrolled through social media and read a bit until I could be bothered to get out of bed. We headed to Fitzroy at 11.30am for brunch. Sam drove and I discovered a new radio station, Smooth, that is amazing. I knew every single song! The suburb was very hipster, with lots of graffiti and trendy cafés to explore. We decided on The Rose Café. The decor was gorgeous, very vintage and cool. I ordered a chorizo, capsicum (pepper) and onion jelly sandwich. It was okay, but not as delicious as I'd hoped. We also shared a chocolate zucchini ...

Australia Day ɒˈstreɪliədeɪ/ noun a national public holiday in Australia, commemorating the founding on 26 January 1788 of the colony of New South Wales.              -------------------------------------------- My Australia Day began with a trip to the small village of Sassafras. Daryl, Steffi, Sam and I had planned a brunch and ended up at a favourite of theirs, Miss Marple's Tea Room. We arrived too early, it wasn't open until 11am, so browsed the tea shop next door. Everything seemed very British, ironic seeing what we were celebrating. The tea room was gorgeous, a cottage with rose bushes and superb decoration -  and that was just the outside! There was also 50s music playing which I obviously had to have a little dance to, to everyone's amusement. We were the second group inside once the doors had opened at exactly 11. The inside was just as pretty, tea pots lined the alcoves and v...

After a rough nights "sleep" aboard the Greyhound bus, I found myself in Melbourne. I was tired, groggy and disorientated. After being basically thrown off I now had to find my way to the hostel in St Kilda. The station confused me somewhat, and so I resorted to Google. Apparently I had to catch the 96 tram, and so I set off to find the stop. Walked the wrong way up the road, why does this always happen when I'm carrying my rucksack?! Once I'd corrected myself I realised there was nowhere at the stop to buy tickets. Second realisation that there were no tickets, but a MyKi Card, had me seeking a 7 Eleven. 5 minutes and $16 later, I was finally ready to board the tram. I succeeded in not napping, no matter how much I needed to.. couldn't miss my stop! An hour into my stay in Melbourne, I reached Nomads St Kilda and relieved the weight of my bag. I couldn't check in until 2pm, it was currently 7.30am. I used the toilets and grabbed my sunglasses and suncream, ...