Hi, Nicole here. This is a little behind the scenes info on this project, to provide some context for you to enjoy the imagery more closely.

I’m part of a documentary photo collective called MAP Group. It’s a non-profit association of about 40 photographers across Australia, who share a commitment to high quality, independent documentary photography. We come together at various points of the year to collaborate on group projects together. This is part of an ongoing series of several small town projects where MAP group photographers document a country town and then donate the images back to the community as a visual archive.

We shoot independently, but we might all be in the town together on the same weekend, for example. So there’s a chance to catch up. There are two levels of community that I love in these projects, the community of MAP group itself and the support and camaraderie of that and the level of the community we’re documenting. We are often billeted out in the community. So it’s a really lovely and local experience. I wanted to document places that people find in small towns for solace and space.

So I headed to the water. I took a wander and respond approach. Then it becomes about observation and waiting for the decisive moment to capture that scene: A gust of wind, turn of the head, change in body language. These are the nuances that can elevate an image.

Thanks for taking the time to listen in today. If you’d like to chat about your upcoming projects with me, please call me or e-mail me through my contact page. Love to hear from you.