I moved to Melbourne 4 years ago, and it goes without saying that a lot has happened in the time.
To say that I am not the same person I was then, is to wildly understate the amount of growth, evolution and change I have experienced since I arrived.
As photographers, we have the privilege of capturing and documenting the passage of time, and even though we do this for others, we often forget to do this for ourselves.
The images above served a functional and present-day purpose when I created them, but today they visibly document the way I have changed over the last few years.
Each one was taken around the same time as a major milestone or marker in my life, and when displayed together, they retell a story that only I know and can reflect on with pride, humility and gratitude.
I am so immensely grateful for all my past selves and their tenacity, courage, strength, resilience and fortitude, and these photos are a kind of time capsule that enables each one to be seen, continue to exist and give me strength.
I wish I had a ‘proper’ photo of ‘1 Feb 2020 Linda’ to complete the thread, but I’m super grateful to have the images I do, as they are a beautiful way to process, grieve, celebrate and mark the passage of time and growth as a human being.
Honouring yourself and your journey is an act of self-care.
To be alive is a remarkable and beautiful experience, please treat it with the reverence it deserves.
I will continue to collect these visual artefacts, and look forward to seeing how my story unfolds.
I hope this is a reminder to get professional portraits of yourselves and your loved ones.
Your anatomically incorrect selfies are going to die along with your iphone X 53, but a beautiful portrait is something you treasure forever.
Your anatomically incorrect selfies are going to die along with your iphone X 53, but a beautiful portrait is something you treasure forever.
Before I sign off, here are 5 of the big lessons that I have learned over the last 4 years:
1. You’re more capable than you can imagine.
2. Time, space and your environment can heal you.
3. Isolation is important. Your life is not a conference call or a committee - clarity only comes in the stillness and silence of solitude.
4. Most of your ‘weaknesses’ as a person are caused or inflamed by your environment. Change your environment and you will change yourself and your life.
5. A beautiful home (however you define this) is important. “Our thoughts change our spaces, and our spaces return the favour” – Steven Johnson.
To the next 4 years!
- Linda ✌🏻
To the next 4 years!
- Linda ✌🏻