067

Celine

Having just spent four months in France taking almost no photographs of people, it seems it was a call from destiny if that's possible when Celine and Dume, visiting Australia from France passed by our home.

Celine is Dume's partner in life, crime and all things generally.

An actress, writer and PR person who travels Australia for fun while it's snowing at home.  She markets drinking fountains for livestock when she's not writing her next show or demonstrating their rooftop trimaran.

She too, is off to Beachport South Australia shortly, to manage the public sculpture collaboration with Dume.

For more information about her professional life see her personal website (in French).

066

Dume

Dume, despite having a perfectly good boat of his own, kept eyeing off mine.

He is French, a sculptor and a terribly nice bloke to boot, so we swapped boats for the afternoon.  After a bit more time on the Sunshine coast, it's back in the campervan to South Australia where he'll be working with the community on a large art installation in Beachport in the early part of next year.

Some of his work can be found on the web at Dume Sculpteur.

065

Aussie



I didn't get her name, but I waved my camera at her and she nodded as she looked past me, scouring the member's stand for signs of celebrity.

Greasepaint and 35°C, humidity 85%.

"Green and Gold Malaria", Rupert McCall called it in his poem of the same name.

064

Murray



Murray is no stranger, we are both creatures of habit.

For half a dozen years or so we have met at the Gabba on the first day of the first Cricket Test of the new summer.

This year, he drove me to the match, and armed with such familiarity, I didn't ask him if it was OK to take his photo.

063

Didier



For four months I wondered why I couldn't summon the energy to photograph people. It wasn't because there was a lack of opportunity, more I think that every time we met someone they became lifelong friends and the question never arose!

Didier was one of them, although neither of us spoke a word of each other's language at the time. We chatted for twenty minutes or so after he caught me photographing his corn stash. He lives in the little village of Choisey, in the manner of his forebears, with neither heating or ill humour.

I should have concentrated more on this photo, I wanted to reflect the animation of our conversation, and the nature of it, but I tried to hard at a shutter speed that was too ambitious. He told us of the centuries it took to build the church in the village, and of how many generations had lived in his house before him, but we didn't understand enough to make sense of the conversation, any more than he will make sense of the Christmas Card from Australia when it arrives.

062

Tom and Lou



The amazing Tom and Lou are a British pair, who have spent much of the past decade sailing the world in their small yacht, before taking up residence on the 23 metre, 100 year old dutch barge "Herkelina" which they now call home as they trundle slowly round the French waterways.

I know Lou would have been rather a lot happier if I'd allowed her to put on her "pretty" face, but I'm afraid I rather like the one she had on at the time!

Despite appearances here, Tom was not trying to solve the problems of the world, he was actually codgetating on the fact that the English Cricket team were losing to Australia by a stupendously large margin.

Sadly for those of us who do not profess to be fans of English cricket, the 2009 Ashes Series did not go to plan!

061

Patrice



Patrice is the Capitain of the Port of Briare.

He was quiet keen to rub in the fact that his Capitainerie had actually been built a few hundred years before our country had actually been discovered by Europeans.

Nice bloke! (and that's probably the worst thing one can say about a Frenchman!)

060

Janice



Janice is from Taiwan studying Business in Adelaide. She is a good friend of a good friend, which I guess makes her a good good friend.

Her demeanour is not as pensive as this photo would indicate, but each time we mentioned her forthcoming exams a hint of apprehension crossed her brow.

I suspect that publishing this photograph will cost us an illustrated set of instructions on the baking of Orange Cake.

059

Frank, Anne and Josiah



This photo brought about a new kind of pressure.

I was happily clicking away at the Osprey on the rocks at Mooloolaba, when a bloke politely enquired if my camera was digital, and would I mind taking a photo of them releasing a balloon.

Anne and Frank explained that they'd lost a child, Jessica, through miscarriage, and she would have been one that day, so they had driven to the coast with their son to release a balloon in her memory as part of their reflection.

Being drawn into such a personal moment didn't help with the nerves, so I rattled off a few shots to try to make the most of the conditions, thankfully I decided not to use the flash to fill in the shadows, as I may well have missed the shot during the recovery time. Anne was clearly as nervous as I, and released the balloon a little early, or some may argue at exactly the right moment!

Thank-you to Anne and Frank for allowing me into their lives for a few minutes, and also for their permission to post this photo.

058

Trilby



There's not too much Trilby doesn't know about the bush, its plants and animals. She's pretty much a bush tucker encyclopaedia, and her knowledge comes from years in the bush working on fencing contracts and mustering.

She also has a pretty fair hand on Astronomy, enough to run the show at the Arkaroola observatory. Perhaps not amazingly, she learned that from books, while she was living under the stars, working from her swag as a Jillaroo.

This is a shot which has an extraordinary memory attached, as we spent a morning in the bush with herself and her children sniffing plants, chewing berries and generally trying not to freeze! Her husband Jack isn't too bad at the wheel of a Troop Carrier either!

057

Scott



Scott is based in Leigh Creek in North East South Australia, where he is an itinerant teacher for the School of the Air, which means he gets to drive around his "classroom" keeping contact with his students who are normally taught via the internet via sattelite, rather than HF radio as in days gone by.

Like many teachers he has a love for kids and learning which shines through.

He's also an active member of the Community Fire Service, and was one of those volunteers who headed out to Victoria earlier in the year when the monster fires were on.

056

Pru



Pru was too shy to be photographed "unless one of us was in it too", so I did the dirty on her, which explains the rather strange crop. She and her husband own Coward Springs, a railway siding on the old Ghan line, in the middle of nowhere on the Oodnadatta Track.

Apart from completing a masterful restoration (not renovation I hasten to add) of the statiion master's house, and the engine driver's cottage, they have turned the springs into a delightful Oasis, protecting the adjoining wetlands, but retaining the date palms planted by the original Afghan camel drivers.

They've set up a bush camping ground in the midst of it all, with structures created from sleepers and even track from the old line, and in their spare time run seven day camel safaris into the Simpson Desert, which after all, is on their back door.

Check 'em out at http://cowardsprings.com.au/

055

Janelle



I could talk about how I was going to post a photograph of Janelle at work, feeding the raptors at the Alice Springs Desert Park, presenting them to the assembled audience and captivating them with her sparkling personality, and the birds' understanding of her simple hand movements.

If I did that, I'd post one of my pictures of her hand feeding a great eagle in mid flight and it would be all very spectacular and you'd all love it. The truth is, I didn't want the "context" to detract from the subject this time. I just loved the way her complexion, hair and clothing tone so beautifully with the desert background, and yet her personality seams to beam through it all.

I'm so shallow that sometimes the colour is more important than the story or even the person... bah!

054

Pypes



Pypes has driven almost every road and track in Australia firstly as a heavy hauler, running road trains from Adelaide to Darwin at an average speed of around 50 kilometres per hour, but for the last twenty years as a tourist bus driver and guide.

He's also written a couple of books, and more importantly has a perfect example of that great Aussie trait:

The lean.

053

Jol



Jol was a difficult person to photograph as I wasn't sure how to portray him, so I chose this photo of him in his "office".

He is a paraplegic with limited use of his hands as a result of a car accident some years ago. That is where his story gets interesting though. He is an accredited 4WD trainer, arguably one of the best in the country, he leads off road expeditions and is the race director for the world classified off road race, The Finke Desert Race. To add a degree of difficulty to his off-road adventures, he does it all in a conventional ute.

His smile is infectious, his ability legendary so I didn't think there was a need show that his hands are so crippled he drives using a steel spike that inserts into a special slot into the steering wheel, attached to a sort of glove.

He's just one of those inspirational people that make the world a better place to be in.Here's his story.

052

Teresa



Teresa is from Adelaide, but for eight months a year she forgoes her nursing career in the big smoke to work with her partner in the Bakery in Birdsville.

The morning we visited her they'd sold all of the 26 loaves of bread they'd baked because some "selfish" property owner had come into town and bought twenty of them.

The bread rolls were delicious.

051

Franka



While this photo was taken quite early in the morning in Quilpie, we first caught up with Franka on the road between Quilpie and Thargominda.

She's riding her bicycle from Adelaide to the Gulf with no agenda other than to show others that "older woman" can do anything they set their hearts on. Her husband accompanied her in a small campervan as the support vehicle, and she was happily covering around seventy kilometres every day.

This is a real "souvenir" photo for us, and I'll happily fix it when we get home. The lighting was deliberate, I'm not sure that it worked and it was taken about an hour after sunrise.

050

Bill was stoking the campfire in the caravan park at Quilpie (look it up!). He's a travelling musician, playing mostly bush ballads, based in Tamworth (why does that not surprise me?).

He's been doing the pubs and clubs circuit in the far west for a few weeks while his wife looked after the grandkids at home, and bunged on a bit of a show each night at the caravan park.

048

Bob



I was wandering the streets of Nambour the evening before last, when I came across Big Bob.

The light was poor and I couldn't get a shutter speed high enough to cope with the movement in his err... girth. I'm not saying he's larger than life, but Bob is the Mayor of the Sunshine Coast Region, and plays harmonica in a blues band.

Of course he won his seat on the back of his electoral slogan:

Big Bob For the Big Job.

049

Julian



Julian is a delightful young Frenchman staying for a time in Toowoomba. We bumped into him at a friend's place and later in the day downtown, on his way to (what else) a French movie festival.

He's a nurseryman by trade, but in chilly Toowoomba he's working as an arborist, and simply infecting anyone he can with the joy of life.

047

Rod



I'll bet you can't guess that Rod is a spanner-man!

He's the sort of bloke that can turn his hand to most things, and isn't afraid to tackle all sorts of challenging automotive repairs, which is why his workshop is full of old European cars and why he's trying to patent a hand operated mechanism for a recumbent bicycle.

In the late sixties he was a renowned motor cycle drag racer, and he started to build a replica of the old bike recently but his "management" reminded him that at his age that may not be so smart.

046

Tye


I met Tye in Kathmandu.

That's the outdoorsy sports place, not the trekking destination. He's a lot sharper than this photo I have to say, and a lot less concerned than perhaps he seems here watching the till do whatever it is that tills do.

045

Frank

Frank was having a dip while holidaying at Brunswick Heads, having taken time out of his busy schedule between snoozing, reading, chatting, and going to the pub.

It just seemed right to pull out the camera, even though strictly speaking he's a friend, not a stranger.

044

Maurice



There's no escaping it. Maurice is a cantankerous old bugger.

Can you tell?

He's done many things in his three score years and twenty, and can tell a great story, which he seems to do if anyone stands still within earshot. Like many of his age it seems that he cast his opinions in stone half a century ago, and he's mystified by how simple running the world should be, yet how hard "they" are making it.

043

Marie



Marie is in her mid eighties but still paints a mean eyebrow.

She's happy to talk about any subject really, but one gets the impression that she thinks she's old enough now, and is just waiting for God to collect her.

There's a contradiction somewhere which is difficult to comprehend as she obviously takes care with her personal deportment and clearly loves being round her family.

Perhaps age does weary them after all?

042

Peter

041

Ray



I'll confessthis bloke isn't a stranger, and it was actually his 60th Birthday party we were at but it seemed a shame not to use the shot!

Ray is the consumate barbecue chef, even on his birthday he spent the afternoon peeling green prawns, and the evening cooking them. He's a confirmed pyro-technician though, if he's not spraying aerosol near his barbecue, he's got a bonfire started with half a refinery of petrol.

It wasn't fancy dress. We live at the beach remember, sadly for the rest of the world, these are our "going out" clothes!

040

Tim


Dr Tim is an entomologist and happens to be an expert in Australian native stingless bees. He's just commenced opening an old rotten stump containing a hive of Trigonia carbonaria, as part of a "rescue" process, relocating the bees out of harm's way, and a few of them are just starting to show their displeasure.

Since they don't sting, they seem to sort of hover in front of one, and buzz things like "Come on, there's a nice chap, put the axe down and step away..."

It's OK, the old log they've lived in for decades is now gone and they have a lovely new apartment, safe from the bulldozer's grasp.

For more information on stingless bees, visit Tim Heard's website; sugarbag.net

039

Ben



Just when I thought another day would pass without seeing a stranger, Ben turned up at our door selling Karate lessons!

He was heavily tattoed on the arms as well. "Daisha" is his 16 month old daughter, the name of his son is emblazoned among the biomechanicals on his left arm, and he suggested that he may not do the same on his right arm if he were to do it again.

I told him it wouldn't be a problem, all he has to do is have another child and name it "Outlaw".

He'd been a farmer and a rifleman in the army before setting out to establish his karate business. He canvasses door to door for customers seven days a week, and runs non contact Karate classes at night.

038

Angela



Angela has been taking blood for a good few years, and she seemed completely bemused when I asked if I could take a photo or two as she jabbed me.

It was a dead-set conversation killer I have to say, and she was of no-nonsense stock, which isn't a bad thing when it's one's own arm being jabbed.

037

Tomo

036

Murray



Murray was quite happy for me to click around all sides, but quite frankly I liked his shirt and his pony tail and well, the way his skin actually actually appeared to be sun ripened, just like the tomatoes he was buying from the "everything $2.00 per kilo" man.

Around his neck hangs a big silver guitar pendant.

No, he hadn't been to Woodstock even though the (new) tee shirt said he had, and no, despite having a name like Murray, he isn't a Kiwi!

035

No



No runs the ancient Hamburger Trailer at the Fisherman's Road Markets. I don't think that's her real name, but it's what she says every time I ask her if she's going to tell me who she is and whether I can take her photo, so I just have to go with that.

She says it's not OK to take her photo if she knows about it, and reckons I'd never get one if she didn't. She has spent forever running around looking for people "with character" for me to photograph, (Yes that's her with Liam and Dodger yesterday, and it was she who pointed out old Victor a few weeks ago!) so I had to stake out her truck and wait till she was otherwise occupied to abide by her rules.

Over the past few weeks, I've got to know how long her carpet's been down in her bedroom, where each of her children live and what they paid for their houses, and pretty much everything else but her name! When I first approached her a few weeks ago, she had an apron that was ummm...well it had as much patina as the outside of her van. I really wanted that shot!

I had to take the picture this week, because if our relationship gets any closer, she'll end up being my mother.

034

Liam and Dodger



Liam didn't know if Dodger was an Australian Terrier or not (I think he is), but he told me he'd had him since he was "this big" (holding his hands a few inches apart).

033

Liz



Liz was paying for her train ticket to go to Gympie and then back home to Mackay after a short holiday with friends on the coast. She'd been working in Ireland for a few years, and after quite a bit of world girdling, was having a bit of trouble coming to terms with settling down at home.

032

Jim



Jim sells tickets for the Tilt Train and all the interstate services at Nambour Station. His little spot is like a travel agency, carpeted and separate from the rest of the station in a glass enclosure.

Nambour isn't a large station, but it was fifteen minutes before the train was due and he had a small queue, which he dealt with in a completely unhurried but efficient way.

031

Arthur



"Arthur" was from Balmain, and "up" at Sawtell for four days on an annual fishing trip with his boys. They hadn't caught a thing, but had seen a flock of "millions" of mutton birds swimming at sea that morning so he wasn't at all disappointed.

One of his other favourite pastimes while away, is swimming against the tide. Literally.

030

Len



Len is from Port Douglas in North Queensland. He flew in to Port Macquarie and caught the bus down to Sawtell to sit on this rock for a week. He says he never catches anything, but it's just a great spot to sit.

029

Lonnie



Lonnie is a Real Estate Salesperson in the Sunshine Coast town of Beerwah and I think its fair to say she talks with her hands!

I had to do a lot of selling myself to get her permission to take her photo, and it took quite a while after that for her conversation to "re-animate".

028

Ross



Ross was very busy. The demand for Siamese fighting fish on a Sunday morning has to be seen to be believed!

027

Rick



Rick does sell Bric-a-Brac. He reckoned it would be alright if I took his photo, because he had a receipt for everything on his stall. He'd sold a block of land recently so didn't have to work, but likes to sell bargains to people so the world is a nicer place to live in.

While we were there a customer purchased a record clearly marked $3.00. He kindly told her that that was the original price, not today's value ($5.00) but since it was Sunday he'd give her a 40% discount.

See, there are still people who are happy to give genuine customer service!

026

Graham



Graham is a retired farmer and just loves to fish. Playing with palm trees a few half days a week, keeps his hands dirty he reckons, although he says you wouldn't want to be doing it to feed a family.

025

Victor



Victor had "escaped" from the Buderim Gardens Retirement village for a hobble round the markets. I was goaded into approaching him by the lady running the hot dog stand who didn't want to be photographed. He was a patient old codger, all very dapper, with his ID tags round his neck and a silver snuff box that held a couple of raffle tickets and his shopping note.

024

Tom



It was Tom's first day as a market entrepreneur selling sunglasses at his table between the plant guy and the home baked cookies lady. He'd sold two pairs in a couple of hours, and didn't know whether to be discouraged or not.

023

Dave



Dave had been at work for a couple of hours and the sun was just starting to make it's presence felt. Clearly, the combination of Sunday Paper and the warmth from the new day was giving him a challenge just to stay awake until the customers arrived.

He flogs junk (I almost called it bric-a -brac, but it's junk) to the Sunday punters, and was happy for me to take my time while he went about his business.

022

Michael



Michael looked as though he was born to surf, but the reality is he's a drilling rig operator just arrived from the south, and had been at work all day in the sun.

021

Emma



I met Emma at the beginning of this project and asked her if it would be OK if I took a couple of patient view shots. (I don't normally carry my camera with me to the dentist!) She's one of a new breed of kind and gentle dentists who have television sets on the ceilings and wireless headphones, all very civilised really.

She just had time to do the prepartory work for a new crown for yours truly, with thirty minutes to spare before hopping on a plane "beck to New Zilland" for a friends wedding.

020

Jess



Jess and Wade were buying olives for a bit of a Sunday afternoon bash. She didn't want to have her photo taken because she didn't have any make-up on, but after I told her it was her arm I was mostly interested in she happily obliged.

019

Lorraine



Lorraine spends her life travelling alone except for her lorikeet in a 4WD van decorated with an Australiana scene that matches her hair in a vague sort of way. She wanders from market to market selling stories of her adventures, opals, artwork, and anything else she can gather on her way.

She did tell me her itinerary for the next month or two, but I'd need the whole internet to write it down.

018

Dianne



Dianne spends her weekday on the market circuit, giving away incredibly tasty samples of popcorn, today with some urgency as the humidity was turning it sticky in no time flat.

We ended up buying a Lotus plant for our pond, so sadly the popcorn budget was blown this time.