Melbourne artist, Sarah Tomasetti, in her home studio. Photography by Emma Byrnes.
I do not think of my work life as being part of a rat race. Instead I make a conscious effort to carve out my own pace by working with people whose philosophy and output also match this ideal.
And I see my photography as much more than just a tool that produces pictures. This craft allows me to make genuine human connections and intimate observations. When working with creative people, photography can be a way of connecting with their practice and observing the incidentals. If all goes well the results are pictures that evoke a moment in time or an environment that otherwise couldn’t be understood so easily.
I think in pictures. I am constantly squinting at scenes before me, subconsciously applying the rule of thirds. Or anticipating moments in that split second before they unfold.
I have been taking photographs since I was 10. I was given a Kodak brownie camera for Xmas and immediately fell in love with the satisfying click and the sound as I manually advanced the film.
As time passed I realised that taking photos allowed me as an introvert to be right up close to the action without having to play a central part. Participating yet slightly removed, peeking out from behind the lens. I was quite shy as a child but was always a keen observer…watching and noticing. Picking up on nuances and energy. Photography enabled me to flex these muscles.
In high school I maintained an interest in photography but also loved culture and media, leading me to study Broadcast Journalism (with a sub-major in Photojournalism). Studying Photojournalism gave me a certain slant on photography ie the photographer needs to have more than just the eye for the photo. They must accurately portray an event or scene while still maintaining a fascinating composition. In addition, the photographer needs to be fast and fearless and be willing to push boundaries in order to get just the right shot. They also do not manipulate or enhance the photo in any way in post-production (or at least they shouldn’t?!)
During the course of this program I realised that I wasn’t ruthless/hungry enough to be a journalist (I was too sensitive at the end of the day and emergency zones were not my jam) but I definitely took away from that experience a fascination with the documentation and strong foundations for storytelling (especially with images.)
Over time I went on to do all sorts of interesting things (film-maker, web designer, barista, screen printer, fruit and vegetable store owner) including a design and animation degree. One of the things I enjoyed most about this period was learning about the Principles of Design. I also became adept at software editing tools such as Photoshop and Lightroom and really enjoyed the process of making images the best they could possibly be by cleaning things up a little bit in post-production (yep completely against the Photojournalism principles - yikes!)
These new skills combined to further inform my photography work - merging my intuitive, child-like curiosity and my reportage, photojournalistic approach with a more designerly, edited approach.
And this is how it culminates in the way I think of myself as a photographer now - working intuitively with people to document their environments whilst maintaining a very strong interest in the composition, and aesthetics.
See my photography website here.
Read further blog posts in the “intimate observations” series here.