As I type I am nervously biting my fingernails. Today is a big day! And I mean big! I’m not sure if I mentioned in my previous newsletters that I am now the proud owner of a Toyota FJ Cruiser? You know those weird looking things that most people say are ugly but they are really super sexy? I mean some people say that Brad Pitt is ugly but surely that is just sour grapes. An FJ is the Brad Pitt of the Toyota world. They stopped making them in 2016 and Mr Pitt hasn’t made a good movie since then either so the similarities can't be ignored. So why am I so nervous? It is because I have ordered the biggest set of rims and tyres that won’t fit on the car and told the boys at Tyres and More Dunsborough to make them fit! Now there is a slight chance I will get a yellow sticker as soon as I drive it away but what scares me the most is the reaction from my wife when she sees the credit card statement. I gave her the price for 4 sets but I have to buy 5. When conveying my concern to Steve at the tyre shop he reminded me that fat tyres are safer and “you want your wife and kids to be safe right?” You can’t argue with that logic!
February has started well. When I’m not detailing the FJ,I am working on new images in preparation for the Margaret River Region Open Studios exhibition that we do every September. I am always surprised when I look back through my photos that there is some gold hidden away just waiting to be polished. As they say, you can’t polish a t#rd but sometimes you can make it smell less. I have taken some stinkers - photos that is - and managed to impress even the most hardened janitor. But then one persons poo emoji is another persons Monet. Photography is subjective and as hard as I try, I can’t please everyone. I’m reminded of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, now that was a stinker! Brads biggest poo emoji for sure.
My daughter asked me for some advice last night. She said, "Dad do you think this camera is a good buy?" It was an old Minolta with an on camera flash. I said NO! Why the hell do you want to shoot film? But she is adamant that is the way to go. Having started on film, I remember how hard it was. The cameras were average, mostly fully manual. No auto focus, soft lenses. The focussing was difficult and then once you had a negative you had to be a whiz in the darkroom to make it look any good. It was just a mission. However there was an authenticity to the process. No digital trickery or manipulation. What you shot is what you got. With the assault and insult of AI, kids these day want to see images that look real. They love the aesthetic but mostly they are done with fakery, with influencers and that polished perfection that doesn’t reflect real life. I am starting to get that. I think photographers have been on a quest to create the most breathtakingly beautiful photographs but somewhere along the way, authenticity and reality may have been a little forgotten. Maybe I need to go back to film too?
This month I am honoured to be included in a new book by Clare Andersen called “The Greenbloods”. Clare has interviewed many people who have been shaped by the wild. Keep an eye out for it in your local bookshop.
I am also very happy to be included in a new group exhibition being held in Busselton called, “In the Quiet of the Land”. It is from 7th Feb - 1st March at the Old Courthouse Complex and is part of the state wide Regional Arts Triennial 3.
Also a big change that has happened this month is Trishie, our longest ever serving employee, has retired. We had a great night with her on Sunday to say farewell. New to the CF cult, I mean team, is Dani. She is slowly working out getting me to do anything remotely boring is difficult and my attention span is similar to a phone addicted teenager in a maths class. Poor Dani, if you see her in the gallery, please offer her condolences.
Hope everyone has a great month and don’t forget to spend lots of money. It keeps the economy going. If you’re looking for some advice on massive wheels and how to get it past the ministry of finance hit me up!
