I was recently gifted a scanner. Thanks to Gary. This now means I can scan any or all of my analogue work on an as needs basis. All I need is time. This image has always stayed with me since I made it around 1992. It is one my earliest successes using 5×4 inch film. However it never moved beyond a contact print as the emulsion had been damaged in a couple of places.
Now using Affinity Photo, I am at least able to resurrect it and use it online. I may some day get a commercial scan and make a big print from it. In what context I’m not sure. I use Affinity Photo because it has a perpetual license and a few technical advantages over PotatoeShop.
As we reach the end of summer here in Australia, I’ve been exploiting the the effects of La Niña. With the Melbourne Art Book Fair approaching rapidly, I was hesitant to head out to make pictures but this Friday the weather was just right, so I exploited that and made pictures for a couple of hours.
google earth view of the are explored
I initially set out to make some pictures as teaching aids, but as I was on a bridge near the ring road, I decided to wander towards an aspect of the Maribrynong river that has always intrigued me.
I started under the EG Whitten bridge. A sad spot in so many ways. So much rubbish just dumped. I am unsure about the status of the land under the bridge as well. I know that the edges of rivers up to the high tide mark are considered crown land, but this land is well above that and also bordered by some private land. The western side of the river seems mostly private. This has been heavily impacted by trail bikes and other uses. This is the part I found most interesting. As the bike riders reshape the topography.
An early influence for me as a student of photography was Joe Deal’s work, The Fault Zone Portfolio, a group of 19 silver gelatin prints that documented suburban life along the San Andreas Fault Line in Southern California. This place reminds me of that except the forces at play are much more human in scale.
I only took digital equipment with me on this occasion. Given what I saw I’m sure a return visit is in order with at least my Hasselblad. It would be no mean feat to cary this equipment in, but more than worth it under the right lighting conditions.
Maribrynong River from the EJ Whitten Bridge in 2019Rubbish, and sticker art under the EJ Whitten BridgeDirt Bike tracks litter the areaLandfill to the left and natural landscape to the right
Melbourne was recently placed into its 5th lockdown since the pandemic began. I found this one more taxing the previous ones. By about the 7th day I decided I needed to get outdoors. I decided to walk aimlessly. Walking aimlessly is harder than it sounds.
So I decided to walk into the park adjacent to our house. Then once on the other side of the park wander in the direction of some incongruous land. This land runs between a rail siding and the medium to light industry either side of it. This gives me access to places that are inaccessible any other way. Carrying a large camera (and tripod) in this instance may not have been permitted by the lockdown rules I suspect. So I carried my small Canon point and shoot as well as my iPhone 12.
I walked for about one and a half hours. I took approximately 6639 steps. Sadly I forgot to run my mapping software as I walked, so I’m using other software to trace my route. In this instance Aperture. I took very few iPhone pictures it seems, anyway. I manually added these images to Aperture’s map feature.
The place I walked, 23rd July 2021
All up I took 189 pictures. Below is a small selection of them in chronological order.
Parsons Reserve facing South East 2021-07-23 14:51:59Abstraction of urban forest Parsons reserve 2021-07-23 14:49:40Trees and silos at the Western edge of Parsons reserve 2021-07-23 14:53:52Wright Street with Silos in the background, 2021-07-23 14:59:00Linda Street Sunshine, facing South West 2021-07-23 15:04:47Looking North from the Freight Rail siding in Linda Street Sunshine, 2021-07-23 15:08:13Melbourne Container Park, from the rail siding. 2021-07-23 15:10:15Looking North from the freight rail siding 2021-07-23 15:11:50Track along the freight rail siding looking North with Melbourne Container Park in the background 2021-07-23 15:29:28Facing South West overlooking the old ‘Huntsman Refinery Site’. 2021-07-23 15:35:30. Soon to be a major infrastructure site.Melbourne Grand Prix infrastructure storage 2021-07-23 15:40:36Texture, of a pile of stone used as filler 2021-07-23 15:41:23Atop a rail siding overlooking Melbourne facing south east 2021-07-23 15:36:47CBD Skyline with Melbourne Grand Prix infrastructure in storage 2021-07-23 15:48:00Stony Creek and Environs looking West 2021-07-23 15:58:56Wright Street, Sunshine. Facing North East. Sunbury Train line in the background. 2021-07-23 16:04:52
The whole experience was definitely one of heightened senses, visual, aural and olfactory. This in my mind made the journey one that was entirely psychogeographic, even if only partially aimless.
Some changes are occurring in this area also. I have walked this area on and off since moving to Sunshine in 2000. When I next walk it, who knows? The ninth picture is about to undergo a major infrastructure project. This is one of the reasons I walked there. I shall return and use a film camera soon hopefully.
Walking during the pandemic allows me on occasion to capture rare moments in odd places. This is no exception. We have been confined to our homes and a 5 kilometre radius for what feels like an eternity now. Most of the time I have been busy working from home. The school term break was slightly different. I think these last two weeks I have walked more kilometres than in the last 2 years combined.
These freight trains a regular sight in Sunshine, however this is North Sunshine a section I rarely wander. As is often the case all I had with me was my Phone so I snapped off a handful of pictures, after processing them in Luminar 4, I chose this one.
I have Luminar “partner” account code. Clicking the above link helps me with some rewards. It’s a great replacement for Photoshop in my opinion.
