Melissa's Travels

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Australia | Friday, October 15, 2010 | 5 photos

These images were made in Falls Creek (Victoria, Australia), early in the year. On this day, fog cloaked the area in a disorienting—yet eerily beautiful—mantle.

A road that may lead anywhere, or cease, dropping me into an endless white expanse. Wire followed to its origin, before tracking back to the safety of a path. A tree, fleetingly glimpsed in a gust of wind, that disappeared almost as quickly. Branches fading from sight, where I knew there were more, unseen. And a stand of trees, bare from fire so severe in intensity; the heat and light of the blaze now unimaginable in this near-insubstantial world. I was never certain what would reveal itself next in a landscape devoid of the sweeping vistas witnessed on previous days.

I would relish the opportunity to work for, and learn from, Jason Edwards in developing my skills beyond photographing landscapes, to capturing fauna and the spirit of the people who live in our world. Lessons are best learned when we are put into situations and surrounds unknown and unfamiliar, and working outside our comfort zone puts every decision we make into sharp focus.

I am currently completing a Diploma of Photography (Sydney Institute of TAFE), and have had the pleasure of travelling within Australia since developing my ardour for photography several years ago. No stranger to hiking, camping, and early mornings, I have completed 200km of the Larapinta trail (100km on two different occasions), 100km of the Bibbulmun track, and next year I am looking forward to a 400km stroll through the Simpson Desert.

In the future I would like to combine my studies in photography with an education degree; to pass on my passion for photography and the unique nature of Australia, her wildlife, and her people, to following generations of photographers.