THE STORY
IN 2024, I LOST JACK. FIFTEEN YEARS OF MORNINGS, OF KNOWING LOOKS, OF A WEIGHT PRESSED INTO MY SIDE THAT FELT LIKE SAFETY. FIFTEEN YEARS OF BROWN EYES THAT HELD NO JUDGEMENT, ONLY KNOWING.
AFTER HE WENT, I SEARCHED FOR PHOTOS OF US TOGETHER AND FOUND ALMOST NONE. WHAT I DID FIND WERE A FEW FRAMES FROM AN ORDINARY WEEKNIGHT AT THE BEACH. A FRIEND'S CAMERA, NEITHER OF US PERFORMING. THEY BECAME EVERYTHING. BECAUSE YOU COULD SEE IT. THE WAY WE LOVED EACH OTHER.
JACK GAVE ME A NEW WAY OF SEEING. THE MOMENTS WORTH HOLDING ONTO ARE NEVER THE GRAND ONES. IT'S THE SMALL, ORDINARY, UNREMARKABLE ONES THAT ARE SOMEHOW EVERYTHING. THE COFFEE GOING COLD. THE BACK SEAT GLANCE. THE FAMILIAR PULL ON THE LEAD. THE STUFF OF A REGULAR TUESDAY THAT TURNS OUT TO BE THE WHOLE POINT.
DEAR JACK IS FOR THE LOVE YOU WANT TO REMEMBER.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER
I'M BRIDGET. I LIVE ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA WITH MY FAV HUMAN, COREY (HUSBAND) A BEAUTIFUL, CALM GERMAN SHEPHERD NAMED STELLA, AND AN ANXIOUS, DIVA OF A WHIPPET NAMED ZIGGY. MOST MORNINGS START WITH A FAMILY WALK FOR COFFEE AND END WITH ALL OF US PILED ON THE COUCH, DOGS FAR CLOSER TO OUR FOOD THAN IS SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE.
I CAME TO PHOTOGRAPHY THE LONG WAY AROUND. FOR A LONG TIME I LIVED INSIDE A VERSION OF MYSELF THAT WAS SENSIBLE AND COMPOSED AND LOGICAL. THE KIND OF PERSON WHO DIDN'T REALLY DO DEEP FEELINGS IN PUBLIC. IT TURNS OUT I AM, IN FACT, A DEEPLY EMOTIONAL PERSON. WHO KNEW? JACK KNEW. I KNEW. COREY DEFINITELY KNEW. LOSING JACK CRACKED SOMETHING OPEN AND WHAT CAME OUT WAS THIS. A CAMERA, A BUSINESS, AND AN OBSESSION WITH MAKING ORDINARY LIFE LOOK THE WAY IT ACTUALLY FEELS.
EVERY SESSION IS BUILT AROUND YOU. YOUR ANIMAL, YOUR PLACE, YOUR RHYTHM. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN GENERIC, RIGIDLY POSED SHOOTS WHERE EVERYONE STARES AT THE CAMERA AND NOBODY LOOKS LIKE THEMSELVES. I'M INTERESTED IN THE SPECIFIC WAY YOUR DOG LOSES THEIR MIND WHEN YOU PICK UP THE LEAD, OR THE PARTICULAR PATCH OF COASTLINE THAT'S YOURS, OR THE WAY YOUR CAT SITS IN THAT ONE WINDOW EVERY SINGLE AFTERNOON LIKE IT'S THEIR JOB.
I BELIEVE THAT YOUR LIFE, THE ACTUAL, SPECIFIC, TEXTURED ONE YOU'RE LIVING RIGHT NOW, IS WORTH ROMANTICISING. THE SLOW MORNINGS, THE FAVOURITE ROUTES, THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT HOLD YOU TOGETHER. I WANT TO CAPTURE IMAGES THAT FEEL LIKE SCENES FROM YOUR FAVOURITE FILM. THE ONE YOU'D WATCH OVER AND OVER.
BASED ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA, VICTORIA. AVAILABLE FOR TRAVEL.