Freedom Parlour

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Worldwide | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 5 photos

I am a young, enthusiastic 24-year-old girl from Melbourne, Australia, always living off new experiences. In 2009 I grabbed my DSLR & set off to travel New York to Argentina & I have never looked back. The unmatched happiness & desire to feel free was exhilarating as I discovered new things about myself, just as much as I was breathing in every landscape, human & animal through every country.

The first photo attached is an almond tree on a beach in Paraty – Brazil. I love how you can take a photo & hardly edit it, it can come out looking like a painting, or quite minimal in colour & noise but it says so much. Three of the five photos submitted are taken in Cuba. I found Cuba to be one of the most inspiring, diverse, almost dreamlike places I have ever experienced. From the food, to the people, to the landscapes, every moment was a blast. I tend to have more of an exaggerated type feel to my photographs, & you can really see that in the street shot in Havana & the tobacco fields. Lastly, my final shot chosen was taken in Cottesloe in Western Australia outside the Indiana tearooms on the beach. I love the rustic texture of the chain & it’s contrast to the open & clear beach.

This year, I was accepted into the Australian Academy of Design, in Port Melbourne. Earlier in the year I won the Photography Prize for ‘The Decisive Moment’ competition against all other tertiaries, after putting a strong goal on myself to really develop my postproduction. The reinforcement that I am on the right path has never been so accurate. To be a part of this travel photography scholarship & to be mentored by someone as renowned as Jason Edwards would be a dream come true & would truly face me in the right direction & set me on my way to being a professional travel photographer.