Projects and the ‘23 wrap

I make a point to write when I can, it declutters the brain. And most of us down here have at least 2 weeks off to enjoy the silly season, oh what better time.

Projects

I have three concurrent projects on the go; Nakakita, Waiting On and Kings X. Having concurrent projects on the go must something photographers can relate to. Writers get ‘writers block’, so having 3 concurrent projects seems to leave just enough space to breathe, but on the flip it’s not too many as to make it problematic.

Nakakita

First is Nakakita, which is the followup to my first “One day, isang araw” (13:41 Ted Forbes - a little ancient now). This is a collection of quiet desolate spaces, lonely mornings and cold memories of the night. Needless to say, this is something I really enjoy and have been plugging away for quite some time now.

I’m an early riser and on weekends frequent lonely spaces, usually up and down the eastern and northern coast. I hope to give importance to nothing - because nothing is something to someone and beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

Perhaps it's the soft morning light painting hues on a window, shaping not just colours but, more crucially, infusing meaning into the dawn of a new day. Or maybe it's the unhurried, rhythmic dance of the ocean, its gentle pulses reaching the shore. It's in these moments that I find myself in the utmost state of relaxation. Zen as we photographers call it.

I am hoping to have this all completed sometime next year.

The X

The 2nd project is based around Kings Cross, a once more notorious, seedier part of Sydney. It's an attempt to breathe life into the forgotten corners from the sordid clubs, strip joints and the lively people.

The project started 3 months ago, when I was casually shooting around the X. After some thought, I recognised that there was something there, a story waiting to be told. Since then, I’ve been frequenting the area like a mad man on weekends and shooting a mix of candid, in the moment shots as well as street portraits, and more well planned, orchestrated compositions.

I’ve also been documenting empty moments and easily overlooked odds and ends. The project has become an obsession.

I have no working title yet to date and have a self imposed deadline of June 24. And it’s coming along nicely.

Waiting on.. Volume 1

The final project “Waiting On..” is a street photography zine that is pretty much complete.

I have my selects, sequence / storytelling, layout, proofread and review done. And at the final stages of print.

Speaking of which, and extending my second post on publishers, I am giving Mixam another go primarily due to the price - head and shoulders the cheapest in the market. The one thing that bothers me is that for a cheap cheerful zine, the minimum print job amount is $100 i.e. if you’re zine $20, then you must order 5 therefore meaning you can’t print a single test zine. I am more used to printing a single test, review and potentially change a few things. The onus is therefore on you to get it right the first time.

With this project, I have designed and laid out the project myself and I am almost there. Targeting to have something in March ‘24.

Signing out

And now the sign out, you have made it this far and I am quite grateful that you did. If we know each other do drop me a line and tell me what you think of the projects - and what you have in store? And if your someone that lives in Sydney and we know each other on a personal level, I hope to catch-up with you soon my friend :)

As a final farewell, here’s to the new year bringing harmony and understanding. I hope we come together and bridge the divides. Until then, let the camera be our storyteller and weave narratives that bind rather than separate.

May you enjoy this time of the year.

JAN 24