Hi, and welcome to my blog, where I ponder and pose my thoughts on my life as a partner, father, photographer, writer, and massive gaming nerd! At the onset of 2026, I made a commitment to myself to get out and about as much as possible with my camera. And then to create blog posts here to add story and context to my experiences. I set myself this challenge for several reasons. The first of which was to improve my overall mental health. Turbulent mental health has been a constant companion for as long as I can remember. If you are at all familiar with me or my writing here, you will know that mental health awareness is a big deal for me – hence why I am so open in talking about it. I grew up at a time when talking about mental health was a no-no, let alone dealing with it in an appropriate and safe way. Fortunately, I have an amazingly supportive partner and family, plus an incredible group of friends and colleagues. Taking my camera out to hunt the light is one of the best forms of therapy for me. By engaging in mindful physical activity, I deactivate the loud, negative internal conflict and activate the good vibes that elevate my overall mood. An improved mood leads to better images and experiences. So that’s reason one for pushing myself out the door to chase the light.

Another key benefit of getting out to chase the light is the overall improvement in my photography skills and experience. I am by no means a professional photographer and have never claimed to be anything but a dedicated enthusiast. 95% of my photography is about creating art by faithfully documenting the world I live in. I capture what is before it becomes what was. The other 5% of my photography input and output is capturing images to accompany my articles over at Lucky Straps, or for the odd publication. That said, many of the articles I write are about my photographic explorations. Speaking of Lucky Straps and The Camera Life Podcast, we host a Monday evening show every week (7:30pm AEST). Every week, we encourage our viewers to send in images for us to share live on the show and discuss. I love this segment and will often showcase a handful of my recent images. It is yet another great motivator to get out and capture fresh content every week.

Over the last two months, I have stepped up my game and have carried my camera with me wherever I go. With a camera by my side or always in my hand, my creative eye is turned on, and I am always seeing the light and potential compositions. It’s quite intoxicating and compelling. My poor partner is constantly hearing me say, “How good is this light!?” whenever we are out and about together. In fact, it’s become such a strong part of how I view the world that, should I happen to not have a camera with me, I curse myself for a fool for missing the opportunity to capture one scene or another. Over the last two months, I have been out with a camera for a walk almost every day. As a result, I have built a strong folio of street photography, with many of them among my favourite images in recent times. I have also noticed that through repeated forays to chase the light, my images have stepped up a notch over past work. Most of the images in this article are from those recent walks through Melbourne’s CBD, the new Metro Tunnel stations, and, of course, my regular walks through my neighbourhood of South Yarra, Prahran, and Windsor.

While I typically set to golden hour at the start and end of the day, I am equally as motivated to chase the light during the middle of the day or, more recently, at night. Golden hour affords incredibly golden light that elevates skin tones, creates long, deep shadows, and makes colour pop. As I have written before, I especially love visiting the Prahran Skate & Basketball Park during the golden hour. It’s such a great scene to photograph. As mentioned, I’ve also spent a lot of time recently in the Melbourne CBD. I am gradually relearning the best places to chase the light depending on the time of day and time of year. My internal compass and sundial guide my direction and sense of where the light will fall best. Given how many street sessions I have undertaken in the past month or two, I decided to just created a gallery post here.

That’s about all I have time for today. I hope that you enjoy this collection of work gathered over the past couple of months. It’s been a great experience for me, and as I mentioned earlier, I feel that my work is gaining strength of character and composition. It’s a journey that I embrace and have found great peace in the process while also enjoying improved mental health and overall wellbeing. Until next time, be safe. G