OUT OF THE BLUE – Two local photo–graphers @ Dogwood Xing

At the end of 2014 we conducted a Nocturne project at Dogwood Crossing Miles – two of the participants were Roz Brownlie and Megan McNicholl. Their enthusiasm for making photographs resulted in some innovative and interesting contributions to the project.

On a recent visit back to Dogwood Crossing gallery we were excited to see that Roz and Megan had teamed up for an exhibition of their work in the John Mullins Memorial Gallery.

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In the post that follows the two Megan & Roz comment on their work…

 

Roz Brownlie: Out of the Blue

Having the opportunity to join the Surat Shutterbugs group has challenged me to be taking images every month to meet a specific theme. And challenging it is! I love the opportunity to meet with other wonderfully skilled photographers to share our skills and our knowledge.

Many of the images I have included in our ‘Out of the Blue’ exhibition have either been taken for the monthly challenges or have received the benefit of this (slow and steady) photographic growth. They also reflect the minutiae of my daily life, and my interactions and distractions. Hence, they are an extremely eclectic mix. I love patterns, textures, skies and a few weird things! I also had no idea until we had gathered the images together exactly how many of them featured (the colour) BLUE!

These days I am very inclined to be using Instagram, as the old adage of: ‘the best camera you have is the one with you’, is very true in my case. My smartphone is a constant companion in my travels both daily in the paddock, and further afield.

 

Megan McNicholl: Introduction to images

In September 2014 I visited my daughter Kate and her family in Hong Kong.

By way of introduction to Hong Kong Kate enrolled me in a photography ‘night walk’. It is hard to find the words to describe one’s first experience negotiating the streets of this vibrant city with a camera in hand. Suffice to say for me every aspect of life on the streets was worth capturing and left me feeling energised and wanting more.

My visit coincided with the Occupy Central civil disobedience movement which began on the 28^th of September. It called on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong’s financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong Governments did not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to “international standards.”

News of the Occupy Movement captured the imagination of the world’s media and I received many texts and emails from friends expressing concern for my safety. I found this amusing because at a local level people were getting on with their daily lives as per usual although not at all happy that it was taking much longer to get to work due to major traffic disruptions in the city centre.

On my last day in Hong Kong I was curious to have a look for myself.

Six days down the track the number of student protesters had dissipated as many had returned to classes leaving a diminished crew of students, lecturers and onlookers occupying the site. However the scene was still an eerie and powerful one – the streets were clean and orderly, local pedestrians were able to move about freely, the police presence was almost invisible and there was NO TRAFFIC.

Young people were gathered in small groups some doing their homework and others obviously more earnestly focussed on the pointy end of their reason for being there.

Those I spoke to were polite and also curious as to why I was interested in their cause. It became obvious to me that the tools for their non violent revolution were simple – mobile phones, umbrellas and post it notes.

There is not enough space here to share my experience in detail. However I hope my images capture your imagination and encourage you to want to find out more about the Occupy Hong Kong with Love and Peace Movement and the Umbrella Revolution.

 

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We would love you to follow our photographic journeys on Instagram.

@rozi_bee

@meganmcnicholl

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Thank you Roz and Megan