The Experience
Carla and Duncan decided to move to Coffs Harbour from Canberra a couple of years ago. The area is incredibly lush, they live in a beautiful home up on a hill and they can see the ocean every day. They live a daily life that’s akin to a beach summer holiday – they sit on the balcony at breakfast each day, they have a swimming pool and the climate is beautiful. There’s an area in town called The Waterfront. Carla was particularly keen on this location for their Family Story experience. When they first moved to the area, she had some lonely days and missed Canberra, and so came here with Loki and Olivia to remind herself of why they moved there. She would walk on the promenade and show the children the boats and fish. It’s a melange of elements that form the experience… the atmosphere, the light, the salty smell, the sound of the ocean, the boats bobbing, the seagulls. The experience of being there is soothing, calming and comforting. Perrrrfect for their Family Story experience! So sit back, and let the images roll over you.
Carla and Duncan
lost their home in the Canberra 2003 bushfires. It was a nasty chapter in their lives at a time when they were newlyweds. I don’t actually like to kick off this post with that, because they’ve done such a good job of processing the grief and loss, and have successfully moved on. However, their past is relevant to what I want to say next.
I asked them what did you learn from the experience? and they said, that it’s just stuff. There are very specific things that that they feel sad to have lost…stuff though it is, they are specific things that carry particular sentimental value…a piece of jewellery, a dress that Duncan bought for Carla, Carla’s beloved toy from childhood and a cabinet they lovingly restored together. The smell, the touch, the experience of the item takes them back in time. Each item bears a link to the past and enhances the memory of that time. So without that item, sadness is felt because the link is now only committed to memory, there are no physical reminders to those specific periods in time.
It was very timely to have this chat with Carla and Duncan, because it is this very concept that is the heart and soul of BJP. I want my work to add meaning in your life. These are not just photographs, they’re just like Carla’s childhood toy. The images we create serve as a reminder to a certain period in time. They succeed at doing that because of their accuracy and honesty by way of the fly-on-the-wall style and the artful execution in post production. Someone described my work recently to me as classy photojournalism. Bang on. There is very limited direction and instruction from me in a BJP Family Story experience. I get so immersed in what I’m seeing at times that I forget to talk! I create a genuine family experience for you to enjoy. In essence, you’re buying family memories of that experience in the form of photographs.
As soon as a moment happens, it becomes a memory. How brilliant to be able to have the memory captured forever.
Here’s what Carla had to say …
Hi Beth
I just wanted to say thank you for the gorgeous photographs. We adore them and think they are just perfect! We will spend some time with them over the next week or so and then have a chat to you about where to from here in terms of ordering an appropriate package, etc. The kids love them too and keep looking at them and talking about how much fun they had with Beth, ‘the lady who took lots of photos’. I’d just love an album with the rich colour and glorious semi shine of the photographs on the page. I am also thinking of a few canvas images for the walls. I like the one you picked and also love the one of the four of us walking away from you all with our backs to you except for Loki…it reminds me of the wedding shot that is very similar but now there is an addition hanging off each arm… I would also love a canvas of each of the children, and, and, and…..it is just too hard to pick…I love so many of them for different reasons – a different look, a different gesture, a different emotion or thought that has been captured perfectly. Glorious! How wonderful to have such a record of our lives right now that will last us well into the future.
Thank you and we will be in touch soon…
Carla xx
B
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Beth
