100 people - #18: Philip
Now Playing: black box recorder - start as you mean to go on
Topic: 100 people



Philip and I met in London in early 2001 when we both wound up working for the same company: a small photographic library which used to produce and manage product and lifestyle photography for Sony, Motorola and Argos.

Over mountains of invoices, we realised we had similar taste in music and films, and we both have a keen interest in photography.

Luckily for Phil (though, arguably, not at the time), he was only at the company on a temporary basis, and returned to Warwick after a few months; but we kept in touch on and off whilst I continued to work there until I left to return to Australia.

After I left the UK, we lost contact somewhat, but then came back in contact around late 2003 when Phil found me on Myspace.

Since then we've stayed in regular contact, our main topic of conversations remaining the same: photography, art, film, music, travel. We have quite different styles and preferences in regard to photography (Phil likes his verticals vertical and his contrast low; I have no quarrel with converging lines, and (mostly) like my contrast high); and drinking (he doesn't; I do); and sugar (he doesn't like sugar in anything; I can't drink tea without it), but we seem to get along well enough anyway.

Again, this portrait was taken at the Boiler Room Bar at Abbotsford Convent. I have some other portraits of Phil taking tea with a kookaburra that took a shine to us on our cabin verandah, but I'm not sure I'll get permission to post those!

100 people - #17: Vicky
Now Playing: howard jones - look mama
Topic: 100 people



Another of Becky's housemates, this portrait of Vicky was also taken at the Boiler Room Bar, before dinner at Lentil As Anything at the Abbotsford Convent.

I have another image where Vicky is more relaxed and with an open-mouthed smile, and has less of the appearance of an obedient child being told to sit up straight in class, but I chose this one because you can see her bright blue eyes, which really stood out to me.

After taking these snaps as we sat around talking, I took a bunch of shots of the four girls (Becky, Alex, Vicky, and Jess (not included in this project)) together, at their request. They had an easy repartee going on between them, evidence of their long-standing friendships.

100 people - #16: Alex
Now Playing: bonnie 'prince' billy - a minor place
Topic: 100 people



From 22nd March to 8th April 2010, I went on a road trip with Philip Ivens, (victim... I mean, subject... #18 in this project), flying from Brisbane to Melbourne, where we spent the first few days, then driving north through the eastern states (and territory) of Australia back to Brisbane.

In Melbourne we met up with a former work colleague of Phil's, Becky, (#20 of my 100 people project) and she and her housemates were good enough to put us up for the two nights.

Alex was one of Becky's housemates and, I believe, undertaking a hairdressing course at the time. Apparently she is now in New Zealand, and rumour has it, working in a brewery.

This was taken on our second night in Melbourne whilst having a pre-dinner beverage at the Boiler Room Bar at Abbotsford Convent, after Phil and I had spent a couple of hours wandering the grounds taking photos.

100 people - #15: Matthew
Now Playing: the cure - friday i'm in love
Topic: 100 people



Matt laid down the law to me quite a few years back about how I introduce him to people. That I was to introduce him as my friend, which he is, but that there was no need for the habitual back story.

So, I'll skip the explanation, and simply say that he and I have known each other a long time. Since I was an 18 year old in my first year of college, and he was 23 and working on the IT helpdesk at the now defunct record store chain that was Brashs. We met on the Collision dancefloor when I had blue ponytails and his hair was longer than mine. If I recall correctly, he was wearing his "lucky shirt".

Since then, he returned to university and, in his doggedly determined way, got himself a degree, and then proceeded to succeed within IT to where he is at today; via a stint living in London, and with a good side order of geekery and fascination with all things technological.

He (and his cohorts) introduced me to many things over the years: the joys of "Sammy madness" (black Sambuca shots) and pre-drink drinks; that if you were drunk and you don't remember it, it didn't happen; that dyslexics can code, it just takes a little longer; and further encouraged my love of The Cure.

It was Matt who first introduced me to the internet, and then seemed surprised when he came back eight hours later to find me still seated at his desk, in my pyjamas, not having eaten and possibly only having moved from my place to use the toilet.

Despite our quite different temperaments and sensibilities (he is excessively ordered, clean and tidy; outside of work, I believe in a filing system that is perhaps only perceptible to me), we share a love for indie music, dancing, drinking, loyalty, and talking to ourselves (though Matt is the only person I know who talks to himself more than I do, and only because he talks in his sleep). Those things are probably why we've managed to stay friends so long, irrespective of distance and long breaks between drinking sessions.

I took this two days before I moved from Melbourne to Brisbane, when Matt was good enough to let me crash at his for my last three weeks.

100 people - #13 & #14: Jessica & Michael
Now Playing: laura jean - the hunter's ode
Topic: 100 people



From memory, Jessica Tremp, or more specifically, her exquisite photography, was brought to my attention through a mutual friend, artist Paul Ruiz. At Paul's suggestion, I perused her work on RedBubble and instantly fell in love with it, as Paul suspected I would.

Once again, like James and Jo (#11 and #12 in my 100 people project), Jess and I finally met in person at an opening at Brunswick Street Gallery.

I then met, Michael, now her husband, at James and Jo's wedding, where this was taken. The two seemed like a perfect match and were living in a cute green cottage in Collingwood at the time. (Well, cute if you ignored the mini power station that appeared to take up the property behind their place!)

Michael is the guitarist and a vocalist with Melbourne bands, The Vandas and Gruntbucket, and along with Jessica herself, appears in many of Jessica's beautiful, dreamlike photographs.

Hopefully at some point Jess and I will be in the same place at the same time again, as I would still love to collaborate with her.

100 people - #11 & #12: James & Josephine
Now Playing: regina spektor - the flowers
Topic: 100 people



James and Jo met through RedBubble. Which is, coincidentally, how I met both of them.

Being Melbournites and into photography, it was somewhat inevitable that we would meet, somehow, somewhere. And, in our situation, that happened to be through RedBubble; where Jo worked, and myself and James posted work (separately, of course; I didn't know him then).

These two particular J's are always generous with their enthusiasm and encouragement, their support and inspiration. And extremely welcoming to those interested in photography and art.

From memory, we met in person the first time at a Brunswick Street Gallery exhibition opening (wasn't that how most RedBubble members in Melbourne met?!), though we'd been stalking each others' work on RB for a while.

So I was once again privileged enough to be invited to the wedding of good friends, and took this at their reception at The Social, at the Bay Hotel, not long before Jessica Madden (nee Tremp, next "victim") alerted me to the fantastic setting upstairs.

James and Jo have since gone on to other creative endeavours, including their daughter, Audrey, and their impending second child.

100 people - #10: Lisa
Now Playing: tindersticks - travelling light
Topic: 100 people



I met Lisa Dempster way back in late 2006 through a mutual friend.

At the time she'd just bought out Wannabee Publishing and re-branded it as Vignette Press. She was a fledgling independent publisher and on the verge of big things.

She entrusted the task to me to create the cover images for her first series of Mini Shots, which launched in 2007. The 10 volume collection of short stories published monthly from February to November 2007 were an early opportunity I was glad to jump at, and introduced me to a number of talented emerging Australian writers, and opened up other opportunities for my photography.

Lisa has recently sold up Vignette Press and is focusing on her role as director of the Emerging Writers' Festival. She is the author of Neon Pilgrim, a book telling of her adventures visiting the 88 temples on the Henro Michi; the editor of The Melbourne Veg Food Guide 2010 and the Australian Veg Food Guide 2011.

Lisa is equal parts passionate vegan, bike rider and Chihuahua owner; and more than that, an ongoing inspiration to me of what you can achieve in so many areas of your life when you put your mind to it.

100 people - #9: Mia
Now Playing: emily ulman - the book of love
Topic: 100 people



This portrait of Mia was taken on her wedding day in July 2009, when she married a former housemate of mine, Daniel (#8 in my 100 People project), at the Little Zephyr Kitchen in North Carlton.

I met Mia through Daniel when he and I were sharing an apartment in Fitzroy. They had met through university and shared lectures, and I watched their romance take shape.

I instantly warmed to Mia's easy-going nature, her happy countenance; and seeing the sparkle she was able to bring to Daniel's eyes, after seeing him go through some very low moments, was wonderful.

I also love that she shortens her full name, Efthimia, to Mia instead of the more common (at least in Melbourne), Effie.

Though not maintaining constant contact with Daniel and Mia once the lease expired and we found places of our own, I was pleased when I heard Daniel and Mia were to marry, and received an invite to their wedding.

Though the day did not go without a hitch (Mia lost her iPhone in the back of a cab), and Mia herself was a bit worse for wear (an intimate encounter between her face and some bitumen caused by a cycling accident only a week earlier had left her looking a little more like a battered housewife than a blushing bride!*), their wedding was a beautifully simple and laid-back affair (well, the wedding was. The couple themselves were both visibly nervous and ecstatic).

Mia and Daniel now live in Edinburgh, so I'm hoping to catch up with them soon.

*Though I'm sure some would argue I shouldn't have edited out the marks on Mia's face and shoulder from the fall, I figured she'd have enough photographs from the day showing them in detail; that it would be nice for her to have some memories without them. Mind you, her make-up artist had done a pretty impressive job in concealing the worst of the aftermath.

100 people - #8: Daniel
Now Playing: lamb - gorecki
Topic: 100 people



Daniel and I met in December 1999 in Cheltenham, England, a few weeks after my arrival in the UK on my first time living here. A university friend of my then boyfriend, David, Daniel showed us around Cheltenham (where he was residing at the time), Bristol, Oxford, and on subsequent occasions, pockets of London that he favoured.

Previous to our visit, I'd never been able to drink more than about 1.5 glasses of red wine in one sitting. I had a strange gagging sensation if I tried to drink more than that. However, Daniel welcomed us to the UK with a bottle of Louis Jadot Beaujolais, brie and camembert, and for the first time I enjoyed red wine.

Unfortunately Daniel had to return to Australia whilst we were still living in the UK, but on our return to Melbourne, we met again and, along with Anthony Horan, were two of the founding members of the Dick Laurent Remembrance Society: a regular team at the trivia nights at The Mitre Tavern. Where mine and Anthony's geography let the team down, Daniel's saved our skins. He joked one time that our geography was so bad, he wondered how we found our way to the pub each week. Of course, we responded it was thanks to the well-worn trail and the scent of alcohol.

On breaking up with David in late 2003, Daniel and I decided to become housemates and found a two bedroom apartment in one of the old converted MacRobertson buildings in the heart of Fitzroy. Our living quarters only being shared for 11 months, as the landlady decided she wanted to move family into the apartment, we managed surprisingly well together, given we have very different conceptions of "hot" and "cold" when it comes to room temperature, and we were surviving on an off-peak hot water system which barely sufficed for one person's shower.

An improvisational whiz in the kitchen, Dan has a knack with creating unusual and delicious meals (What?! You can put fruit in pasta dishes?! Genius!); he is astoundingly intelligent, but able to explain complex concepts, from philosophy to computing and science, in a way that even a dolt like me can usually understand; an utter coffee, music and food snob, but endearingly so; and someone who actually managed to make smoking a pipe at age 23 (and probably younger) seem cool.

Taken at his wedding reception when he married Mia (my next "victim") in July 2009 at the Little Zephyr Kitchen in North Carlton, Dan was probably the happiest and healthiest I've ever seen him. I was pleased to be a part of their special day.

100 people - #7: Aleksandar
Now Playing: aleksandar habus - having a drum machine doesn't make you an industrial band
Topic: 100 people



Once upon a time, about a year before Myspace existed, there was a social networking site called Friendster*. My younger brother, Peter, invited me to Friendster; and after realising that, no, my brother wasn't inviting me to a dating site, he was using it to network with other musically-inclined folk, I joined and set up a profile.

Aleks contacted me through Friendster as he was moving from Adelaide to Melbourne and looking for like-minded friends in his new city.

As it happened, we had a lot in common, and ended up chatting through IM for many hours before his move. Our first date, when he arrived in Melbourne to look for a place to live, consisted of gelato from Trampoline, 2.5 bottles of red wine, and Lost Highway. There might also have been some tag-team vomiting in there.

We went out for what seemed like a much longer time, but was actually only a few months. We no doubt appeared an odd pair: my 5'2"ish self next to his towering 6'5" stature. We spent most of our relationship watching arthouse films, and competing against each other at Scrabble.

Hailing from the former Yugoslavia, Aleks is a musician and a composer who moved to Adelaide with his family when he was about 13. His previous bands I know of were Teenage Girls, Booster Suction Inlets, Aleks Habus & The Amateurs, The Toys (a band I was a member of, playing glockenspiel and egg-shaker (w00t!) and reluctantly singing back-up. Playing some of Aleks' original compositions and covers of pieces as diverse as 'Alone Again (Naturally)' [Gilbert O'Sullivan], 'A Gentleman's Honour' [Philip Glass] and 'He Needs Me' [originally performed by Shelley Duvall in 'Popeye'] The Toys formed for a one-off gig at The Laundry in Melbourne, where all the band members played... well, toy instruments), and the last I know of, Under the Roofs of Paris.

I was commissioned by Aleks to photograph Under the Roofs of Paris shortly before I moved from Melbourne to Brisbane, and this image is taken from the shoot. By this time Aleks had swapped his trademark black death metal t-shirts, black jeans, oversized cardigans and unruly hair-hanging-in-his-eyes for a more suave suited-and-booted look, replete with a variety of funky cufflinks.

*I just went to see if my profile is still on the Friendster site, only to find it is now a social network for gaming; not the site it was when I joined. I am surprised it still exists in any incarnation.