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Posts in Film photography

#33 – Seven Years.

Seven Years

Today,

Seven years from now,

If and when

You see me standing

Across the road from you,

Will you have the courage to

Tap me on the shoulder?

Would you have prepared yourself to see

The swelling pain in my eyes

And tell me

How you let me

Pass you by?

Could you then

Finally understand why

You never really apologised

All this time?

On this day,

Seven years down the road,

Although we would have paced

Parallel paths

And skewed streets

To get to where

We thought we wanted to be,

I’m unsure if

You would see what I see.

Today,

Seven years from now,

I hope you’ll find me

And when our eyes meet,

The distance between us will melt away

Like fog on a summer’s day.

And I hope this time

You’d choose to stay.

With love, Emily.

Film photography, Fujifilm Superia 400, PoetryEmily Ung27 April 2016Poetry, Film Photography, Fujifilm Superia 400, Film, ThoughtsComment

#32 – Road Trip / Helensburgh + Sea Cliff Bridge.

Memories in film: a road trip last Christmas.

I went on a little road trip with Jenny, Alex and Jane last year on Christmas day. We headed down south to explore Helensburgh and Sea Cliff Bridge – taking snaps along the way.

Our first stop was Helensburgh: a popular place known for an abandoned train tunnel.

It had rained on Christmas Eve, and so when we arrived (some of us wearing white shoes – clearly not the best idea), we were welcomed with muddy tracks and murky puddles that we cautiously and carefully tried to avoid by balancing on the railway tracks. Let’s just say not all of us were spared

This was my first time visiting Helensburgh and the train tunnel, and I immersed myself in deep exploration – literally wandering deep into the pitch-black tunnel. I was told that the tunnel was home to glowworms - but I must have not been paying much attention (and paying too much attention to puddles in the tunnel) because I unfortunately didn’t see any. That just means I’ll definitely be going back to visit – this time with shoes more suited for the occasion.

About an hour’s drive from Helensburgh brought us to Sea Cliff Bridge.

I know a lot of people photograph Sea Cliff Bridge from atop a cliff – a higher vantage point that we didn’t know how to get up to (but which I did visit two weeks ago – a post for that coming soon after I get all this backlog out of the way). So instead, we parked at one end of the bridge and proceeded to walk along it.

We didn’t go up, but we did find a way down – and luckily so. We were able to get close to the crashing waves without the crowd and see a different perspective of the curving bridge. There were also a lot of interesting textures and surfaces that caught my detail-oriented eye, which compelled me to capture their found and fleeting beauty.

And now I’ll leave you with six lines I wrote and call a poem – one that I keep coming back to because of it’s enduring relevance to events; incidents that remind you to be less trusting and less sentimental (which is really depressing in my opinion - why live in a world like that?). I guess lower expectations = less disappointment, but that would also imply that disappointment is inevitable.

#261 – There’s no point maintaining a one-sided friendship.

If someone doesn’t value your relationship enough to be honest, truthful and considerate; if it’s come to a point where you’re the only one that’s giving, and receiving reluctance in return; and if you’re hurting because of it, darling it’s time for you to get out. Your thoughts and effort – your heart – are much better placed somewhere else.

Honesty

Honestly,

Honesty is a sought-after commodity

That you can give but never get back;

Rather, if I told you everything’s a lie,

Would I then be lying – or have you lost track?

Anything you say to this is a lie you must retract.

Honesty is honestly always the best policy xx.

With love, Emily.

Film photography, Fujifilm Superia 400, Poetry, Thoughts, Travel, Road TripEmily Ung19 April 2016Poetry, Film Photography, Fujifilm Superia 400, Film, Road Trip, Travel, ThoughtsComment

#31 – Dazed.

Dazed

I put one foot in front of the other

Like a soldier

Subconsciously marching.

I feel the wind in my face,

The breeze through my hair –

My peripheral it is obstructing.

My lips are left ajar,

Pupils pulsing with the beat of my heart –

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

And as I ponder the dichotomies

Of love and life –

I am left aimlessly wondering.

With love, Emily.

Film photography, Kodak Portra 400, PoetryEmily Ung14 April 2016Poetry, Kodak Portra 400, Thoughts, Film, Film Photography, BokehComment

#29 – Road Trip / Wyong Creek.

Who doesn’t love a good road trip?

I was lucky enough to go on one in July last year (I know, ages ago) – my first ever with friends! We set off the day after I came back from Melbourne and it was rather spontaneous. We had initially planned on going to Newcastle, but because of a few hiccups we frantically tried to find somewhere else to go away to. Despite the drama and trouble I had to go through, I’m so glad it unfolded the way it did – because we found a lovely Horse Farm Stay in Wyong Creek and it was the best thing that happened.

Wyong Creek is about an hour up north from Sydney. We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights in the grounds of the Forest Hill Arabian Stud in Yarramalong Valley, in a little cottage house that comfortably fit the 5 of us. We found this place listed on Airbnb with instant booking and a very reasonable rate for us university students to afford. Our host Jenny was so flexible and welcoming, even with our last minute request to visit – she definitely made our first Airbnb experience a very pleasant one! I would definitely recommend her listing to anyone that’s looking to have a short getaway from the bustling city – she also has another little cottage that will fit a few more people.

Follow this link for Jenny’s listing; and if it’s your first time using Airbnb, you can sign up with my link for $27 off your first trip!

If you’re not familiar with how Airbnb works, it’s basically a platform where hosts can rent out a private room or entire apartment/house. It’s a great way to really immerse yourself in the place you’re travelling to and chat with your hosts who are locals and can tell you where to eat and what to do. It’s fairly easy to use and safe as well because members in the Airbnb community all have to be verified. My advice would be to read reviews diligently and take note of any cleaning/servicing fees and security deposits. It’s also a good idea to touch base with the host of the listing you’re interested in booking – let them know you and ask them any questions you might have. I found this post and this post on Jemimah’s blog very useful to getting started on Airbnb, so do give it a read!

Upon arriving at the horse stud, we immediately took to exploring the place and seeing the horses – and we loved it; laying our eyes on the vastness of the fields, breathing in fresh air and getting to pet and feed the horses – we even got to help round up some of the ponies (harder than it looks). It was my first time interacting with horses, and I was pretty (actually, very) apprehensive. I warmed up to them though – the horses were friendly.

In the evening we drove to Tuggerah Westfeild, which was about 5 minutes away, in search of groceries and dinner; ending the night back at the cottage house with some booze and telly.

The next morning, our host Jenny very kindly took us on a tractor ride around the stud to feed the horses, and boy, what a ride that was – that’s certainly another way to experience the horse stud.

Afterwards we chatted with Jenny about places we could visit and things we could do nearby, and she suggested hiring boats/kayaks – and so we did! Among the five of us we hired a rowboat and a kayak, then tried desperately not to capsize for an hour. It was fun – and a little daunting –floating in the middle of nowhere and having the lake all to ourselves.

In the late afternoon we took a scenic drive to Forresters Beach where we were treated to the most breathtaking views and a gorgeous sunset. I was so captivated by the colours that the sun, sky, sea and sand came together to produce. It was magical – and absolutely amazing.

See what I mean?

I also shot this trip entirely on film, and I’m so ecstatic with how the images turned out.

***

Later that night when we got back to the cottage house, the night sky put on a jaw dropping sight – a sky full of stars. Naturally, having not seen that many stars before, I went out in the cold to star gaze – lying on the gravel road and staring into space; admiring the starry night sky and basking in awe of mother nature, thinking thoughts and taking in the magnificent sight I was bestowed with. I even saw two shooting stars – and in a true moment of panic, I closed my eyes and wished upon them. Definitely a night I will remember for a long time to come.

After my little downtime session, I headed back in to warm up and we cooked some spaghetti and vegetable bake for supper, and ended the night with some good ol’ cards against humanity. Hilarious.

Our last morning at the horse stud was filled with such reluctance to leave – we were having such a pleasant and fulfilling stay and I was not looking forward to return to reality. After we were all packed and ready to leave, we spent some last moments with the horses, petting and feeding them – and taking heaps of photos of course. Then it came time to bid farewell to Jenny and the horse stud )’:

On the way back to Sydney we made a pit stop in Terrigal for some food and sweets, and I also took the chance to snap some photos down at Avoca beach.

Thank you for making this trip so much fun, my friends xx

A much needed escape; it’s been the most memorable yet.

With love,

Emily.

Film photography, Fujifilm Superia 400, Travel, Kodak Ultramax 400Emily Ung29 March 2016Travel, Road Trip, Film Photography, Film, Kodak Ultramax 400, Fujifilm Superia 400Comment

#27 – Summer Breeze.

Hayden and I met for the first time last December after connecting on Instagram.

We had an incredibly pleasant day exploring Kirribilli and Lavender Bay – apart from some dodgy Caesar salad I consumed for lunch. It was also my first time visiting Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden, and I was immediately mesmerised by its beauty to say the least. We spent a long while wandering through the garden – ascending staircase after staircase; discovering old furniture and machinery; stumbling across gorgeous flora that I couldn’t help but hold in my hand. Thank you Wendy, for sculpting such a magical place – so magical it would only be right to say it came from a fairytale. Such a gem tucked away in a quiet corner of Sydney, and you should read more about Wendy and her wonderful fruit of labour right here – a magical and eye-opening day indeed.

Hayden has also released his debut single ‘Lovers in the Moonlight’, which you can listen to on Spotify or download from iTunes! (Why not listen to the track while finishing this post?) Heh.

The following images are some film photographs I took from our little adventure – hope you like them!