Hi, and welcome to my blog, where I document the many aspects of being a writer and photographer. My primary work at the moment is to write content for various sites. I’ve written photography-related blogs, articles, guides, e-books, and product copy for over five years. In fact, I recently passed my 200th article written and published (in my name) for Shotkit. One of the earliest articles I wrote for Shotkit was a camera strap review for a local Australian company known as Lucky Cameras Straps. If you’ve been following along at home, you’ll know that I still write content for Lucky Straps and have become a part of the team. Along with Justin and Jim from Lucky, I host The Camera Life podcast, where we talk about everything and anything related to photography. Be sure to check out the YouTube channel for the back catalogue of podcasts.

I continue to write articles for the Lucky Camera Straps newsletter and website. For the most part, I write education pieces and guides to elements of photography. It’s a really fun job, as Justin (the founder of Lucky Straps) has given me the freedom to write content to suit his customer base. I also work on a number of admin tasks to help Lucky build community and connect with more customers. Lucky Straps HQ is based in Bendigo in regional Victoria, and I’ve been out to visit Justin in the past. It was a really brief catch-up, as it was shortly after the pandemic lockdowns ended. I decided that it was time to visit once again, and so we organised a couple of days for me to travel to Bendigo and catch up with the whole Lucky Straps team.

Bendigo is located 155km northwest of Melbourne and usually takes around two hours to drive from my home in South Yarra. However, given that we live in the inner city and it’s cheaper and easier to use public transport, I don’t own a car. Thankfully, there’s a frequent V-Line train that travels from Southern Cross Railway Station in Melbourne to Bendigo. It also takes about two hours; however, the beauty of the train journey is the ability to zone out and relax. I caught the 7:39am train to Bendigo and found it to be mostly empty. As a result, I had lots of space and the ability to grab a window seat. The train only made a handful of stops along the way, and I got to relax, play some Nintendo Switch, and enjoy the passing countryside. It reminded me a lot of the long train journeys I enjoyed while riding the Shinkansen between Japanese cities.

I arrived at Bendigo Train Station at around 10:00am, and Justin and his partner Yelana picked me up with hot coffee ready to go. We drove out to Jim’s home, where Lucky Camera Straps HQ is now located. Jim and Justin have worked together for years as wedding and event photographers. Jim has converted his garage into a workspace for Lucky Camera Straps and uses it to stock straps, fulfill orders, and add customisation options to orders. We spent the rest of the morning there while Jim and Yelana processed the most recent orders and prepared them for delivery. I took the opportunity to catch up with Justin and play around with a new leather camera strap prototype for smaller cameras like my Fujifilm kit. I also took lots of photos of the team in action for use in future Lucky Straps blog articles.

At lunchtime, the four of us, plus Jim’s dad, closed up shop and headed to the local pub for a counter meal. There’s nothing quite like a pub meal and time chatting with friends. Getting to know Jim and Yelena better was my priority, so spending time with them was great. After lunch, I checked into my accommodation for the night. I was staying at the Wine Bank On View in the centre of Bendigo. At the front of the Victorian-era property sits a bank building constructed in 1876 as the Union Bank of Bendigo. The bank building is now home to a gorgeous wine bar and restaurant. At the rear of the property, one of the former bank residences has been converted into a handful of one-room apartments, each complete with an ensuite and kitchenette. The room was gorgeous, with high ceilings and a massive ornate fireplace.

Justin returned to pick me up, and the two of us were off to visit the factory where the Lucky Straps leather is cut and sewn into camera straps. Andrew, the owner of the leather business, was on hand to walk me around the factory to describe and demonstrate each step in the manufacturing process. Some of the machines used to stamp out the leather shapes were massive and many more were decades old. It was great to see just how hand-made the leather straps were and that many of the manufacturing techniques were traditional. Andrew also created me a custom Lucky Straps wrist strap with The Camera Life logo embossed into it. It was fascinating watching the embossing process and the time and care that went into ensuring it was perfect.

Later that evening, Jim, Justin, Yelena, and I met at a local Bendigo restaurant: Harpoon Social Club. It was a small restaurant with a strong modern Tokyo aesthetic. The menu consisted of several Ramen dishes and many share-plate options. The food, staff, and overall vibe were amazing, and I’d highly recommend it if you’re heading to Bendigo. With dinner done, we said goodnight, and I wandered back to my accommodation—I might have stopped along the way to have ice cream from a local store.

Early the next morning, I met Justin, Jim, Yelana, and Grant (a friend of the group) for an early photo walk around Bendigo. We walked through Rosalind Park, the Conservatory Gardens, and into Central Bendigo. I was shooting with my Fujifilm X-E4 and XF 23mm f/2 and the freshly embossed Lucky wrist strap. We weren’t out for very long and ended up at Pogo Espresso for an amazing coffee. I said my goodbyes to Jim, Yelana, and Grant before Justin and I headed to another cafe for some breakfast. Justin and I chatted about some ideas we had for article content and also ways to build upon the Lucky Straps community. Before long, it was time to catch my train back home to Melbourne, and Justin dropped me off at Bendigo Station. I had such a great time getting to know the Lucky Straps team and learning more about the behind-the-scenes of the brand. I came away from the weekend feeling motivated and inspired to further support the brand. I must admit it was hard to be away from The Doctor and the kids, even for just one night. But I loved the opportunity and hope to return again in a few month’s time – preferably with her this time. Happy shooting.