#TBT Throwback Thursday: Dear Cousin Sophie, Dutton Park, 2011

I was actually looking for a shoot I did at the Tivoli to post for this week’s Throwback Thursday when I came across this beautiful set of portrait photos of my dear cousin, Sophie - the daughter of artist Ian Smith. While Sophie was born in Brisbane she has grown up in Belgium so I can pretty much count the number of times we have spent together on my fingers. This particular visit was one of her longest stints Down Under and at the time we were both living in Dutton Park only blocks apart and spending lots of time together.

These portrait shots were taken on the empty block that is now home to the ‘Dutton Place’ apartments. We met at the block at about 4.15 am in summer and the sun was just rising. I remember the location being so lush with colour - the overgrown grass, the blue painted bricks. The developers have kept some of the stone brick walls we used to photograph in front of however the beautiful brick window that Sophie sat in was knocked down soon after - probably due to safety requirements.

Even after all this time I can remember the conversations we had. Sophie had giggled as she told me in her sweet Flemish accent that she had tried to cry in the mirror before leaving her dad’s home to get the perfect smudgy, eye make up look. I love her way of being incredibly dedicated to something but also being jovial about the dedication as if even the most serious things in the world are for fun. It’s hard to explain this characteristic in her personality but I love it.

These photos have quite a lot of Photoshop effects going on. I was trying to channel some Anton Corbijn for some of them. It’s not what I would do nowadays but it is how I worked with them at the time. I thought about posting the originals but then I thought what the heck, the true spirit of #TBT is opening a time capsule. So they are as they were in 2011 (very overworked) and I still love them.

I hope you enjoy looking at these photos as much did when I (re)discovered them.