Settling

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Thursday, October 14, 2010 | flickr photos

This series is about visiting North Fremantle, a suburb of Perth in Western Australia. I came here from Canada last year to visit my Australian boyfriend who I met while travelling in Turkey.

I arrived to a bit of an odd arrangement because he was living in his ex-girlfriend’s house. We could stay in her house for free while she went over East. It’s a beautiful old stone cottage on a quaint street with picket fences and bottlebrush trees.

I’ve now been "visiting" for just over a year. It takes time to settle, but discoveries like this perfect glass of Turkish coffee from a nearby café are a big help in finding my own space. Things like this turn you from ‘visiting observer’ into ‘involved participant.’ So at what point do I stop being a visitor?

My boyfriend and I got engaged this year and our friends made us this chopping board with a beautiful strip of Jarrah (an Australian hardwood) in the middle. I wouldn’t let anyone cut on it until I took a picture. Not exactly carry-on luggage, leading me to think I might be here awhile.

Lately, I’ve thought it would be nice if we got a place of our own. I think of all the addresses I’ve ever had and wonder what ours will be next. This number wall on my daily walk to the train counts the possibilities.

I took all of these photos on 35mm film using a Konica Auto S2 that my dad gave me and which I’m still learning to navigate. I like the idea of un-tainted photos so I don’t usually edit them at all, even if they’re digital. From my newcomer perspective I’ve tried to find details that others who have lived here for years can easily take for granted. I like using black and white film for how it forces you to focus on the contents of the photo and not so much on the colours. Having said that, three of these are in colour, which I also like!