The Wanderer

Lisa Pires  |  Wattamolla, NSW National Park, Australia  |  lovenotephotography.com  |  facebook.com/lovenotephoto

” This was a very special session. My good friend Rachel had moved a few months before from Wales UK to Sydney and was having a hard time fitting in and getting used to Sydney life. Finding a place to live, finding work, making connections with people. It wasn’t what she imagined. So I planned this shoot with her to boost her mood, and took her to a very Australian place with Aboriginal connections. Wattamolla is one hour from Sydney in a National Park, you have to drive for half an hour through bush to find it. There the ocean meets a lake, there are waterfalls, great rock formations and of course very Australian flora such as bottle-brush flower and eucalyptus. I thought it might help her connect with her new country and see the beauty outside of the city. When I looked through the photos afterwards I felt it told a story, one of how she approaches the landscape unsure, afraid and standing out, and then gradually becomes a part of her new surroundings, exploring cautiously and eventually disappearing into the bush and then water. By the end of this session I felt like Rachel had a changed respect and feeling for her new home. ” – Lisa Pires