My years on this earth, filled with triumphs and tribulations, have shaped not only who I am but also my perspective as a photographer. A life experience of good and bad, yin and yang, light and dark, shapes how I react, anticipate, and appreciate.

This experience protects me. Sometimes, too much. When I was younger, with so much future before me, I acquired some experiences that could easily have cost me that future.

As I grow older, facing the finite nature of the future, it is tempting to shy away from new experiences - to label them as risks. But these 'risks' are rarely perilous. Most often, they are simply uncomfortable, and it's in these discomforts that we find our most significant growth.

Comfort stifles creativity. Lately, the comfort of 'pretty' pictures has me feeling uncomfortable. Amazing sunrises, postcard landscapes, software exaggerated light and texture - the sameness of photography on Instagram.

In June 2023, I accompanied some photography friends on a photo walk. It was a cold winter night, and, to be honest, I wasn't keen to go. It was friendship and remembering how wonderful it is to experience the same place with different eyes that got me there.

Ray, one of my friends on the walk, made some snaps using an iPhone that helped me see this place I knew so well differently. While my photographs in this exhibition differ from those on Ray's iPhone, his pictures inspired me to search for a 'newness' in this familiar place.

A photograph usually freezes a unique moment. In some of my work, I encapsulate multiple moments - the fragments of what I see and experience - in a single frame. The result is a picture that compresses my observations into a blend of motion and emotion. With each lens opening, I strive to witness familiar places in a way that is uniquely my own.

These myriad moments exist individually compressed into a singularity. Like Forest Gump's box of chocolates, I'm curious to see what I'll end up with.

Sometimes, the process disguises the scene - I might have taken it anywhere. But that is impossible. The moments I find are unique to the place and time I witness them.

These photographs allow the observer to discover some points of familiarity in the scene. And there is always hope that, with the moments, I have captured a vibe. 

night surf is a series of 6x17 format panorama images. I made them at Merewether Ocean Baths that winter night when high surf surged over the rock shelf and across the pool. The artificial glow of poolside lighting blended with the natural world in an iridescent dance of exploding waves.

You can stand back to absorb the vista of the 6x17 format or draw close to experience every nuance of the museum-grade print. The thick, archival 310gsm cotton rag paper features a light texture, adding an extra dimension.

Only five copies are available in the three sizes, totalling 15 prints per image. This exclusivity nods to the unique nature of these moments, and the limited editions ensure that each print is a rare and cherished piece of art.