A weekend in Canberra - Part One

Having taken a break from our Australian galavanting over the pre and post wedding period, Tom and I really felt like we ought to get back on the ex-pat band wagon and start making incredibly long journeys for incredibly short periods of time, just to say we've been there. This trip, however, was not one of those.

This time we had purpose. This time we had actual, real people to see. And this time we spent an entire 31 hours in the same place to justify the 1300 km round trip.

So what am I getting to with my waffly intro? We went to Canberra last weekend!

Now, despite being the capital of Australia, this is one place that probably wasn't high up on my list of tourist destinations. Top that off with the fact that Tom has been there multiple times for work, and you might wonder why we planned the trip.

Well, back in November of 2011 I went on a three-day children's portrait photography course in Sydney, where I met a whole host of amazing people. One of those people was Christie, who is setting up a photography business just like me.

Over the past couple of months Christie and I have kept in close contact - well, relatively close given that she lives in Canberra and I'm in Melbourne.

I was looking for an excuse to visit her and to find a way to convince Tom that he'd want to return to the place he's been too five times too many already. Then it came to me.

FOOTBALL.

Yes, the Western Bulldogs were playing Greater Western Sydney in a round five extravaganza. I didn't even need to play the 'but we've got enough airmiles' card to convince Tom that we should go!

So, we set off early on a Saturday morning - Tom excited to watch his team, and me excited for a day of girly chat and photography fun.

Christie has spent the last 12 months taking a photograph of her daughter, EVERY SINGLE DAY. This is called a 365 project, and it is what inspired me to start my own version. There are two very unique things about Christie's project however:

1. Every image is of Eliza, documenting from her second birthday right through to her third birthday (just think how special is that going to be to her when she is older..)

2. Christie has recently completed the project and did not miss a single day.

Amazing!

I hoped that I'd get a chance to see the 365 in action when I was with Christie, and I was delighted to be asked to actually appear! So here is me meeting the beauitful Eliza:

Christie is an extremely talented photographer and I'd highly recommend you checking out the rest of her 365 project and her photography website. Great inspiration for others out there!

After an afternoon of food, drink and good gossip, I couldn't resist but get my camera out and have some fun with Eliza in the park. For me it was a great opportunity to practise (all my friends who are parents know I ALWAYS bring my camera when I see them to practise on their children!), and for Christie, it was a rare opportunity to see someone else shooting her daughter, and even get in front of the camera herself.

Here are a few of my favourite images from the impromptu session:

We ended our Saturday with a fab dinner with Christie and her husband, at quite possible the nicest Chinese restaurant we've been to ever! Great Chinese food in Canberra? It's obvious... isn't it!?

Stay tuned for Part Two, where Tom and I explore the national tourist attractions of Australia's capital city.