I have written in the past, on a number of occasions, of my love of visiting produce markets around Melbourne. We are quite spoilt in that we have some amazing markets all relatively close to the inner city areas. The Queen Victorian Market, South Melbourne Market and of course my personal favourite the Prahran Market are all very accessible and have amazing fresh produce on offer.  There are loads more, but they are the ones I visit. And these markets usually go beyond being just a produce retailer. They each offer a broad range of cafe’s and restaurants – usually in a open air food court style setting.  They have other stalls selling everything from hardware and homewares to fresh coffee beans and hand made chocolates. Plus, they often have special events such as food festivals (the cheese festival at the Prahran Market was insane), night markets during summer and winter too.

I live only 500 meters from the Prahran Market so it is not uncommon for myself and the kids to take a stroll down to the market on a nice day on the weekend or even on my own during the school week. I get inspired with what I can cook with all that fresh meat and vegetables on view. Not ideal for vegans. Sometimes I will take a trolley and get a few days worth of meals and other times I will just stroll and not buy a single thing. Other than perhaps a good coffee. Regardless, I always ensure I take a camera with me. Usually it is the Fujifilm X70 and I chose this for a number of reasons. It is light and pocketable so if I am hustling shopping it is not a hindrance. It is also really discrete so people don’t feel like they are under attack by the paparazzi.

The images in this blog are from two or three different walks to the market within the last week.   The first was on last Sunday when my little boy and I walked down once the sun was out. We bought a bunch of stuff and before long our trolley was full.  We tried lots of yummy foods and eventually sat down for a meal in the outdoors food court. I had enough for four nights of yummy healthy family meals so that is a parenting win. The latest visit was earlier today. I walked down there on my own and just strolled around the whole market a couple of times.  Stopped for a coffee. Took some photos. And then headed home. Maybe an hour, hour and a half round trip all up. Not a huge chunk of my day. But enough to feel like I got out and got some air and recycled the noise in my brain.

So some of these shots are obviously from the market whilst others are from the journeys there and back. There is lots to see in your own local neighbourhood if you take the time to keep an eye out and have a camera in hand.  I find that this is often a good motivator for me as just these little walks and experiences give me ideas for other photography projects.  Regardless it makes me get out and about even in the middle of winter here in Melbourne….Which, when compared to other cities around the world, is really not a crazy winter. Sure it gets cold and windy but we don’t have to dig our way out of snow banks.  What do you love to shoot in your local neighbourhood?  Have you taken the time to look? Happy shooting.

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