Melbourne is rich with interesting street art and hidden laneways. The urban detritus always catches my eye with the textures and typography from torn posters. This is a great one I snapped with my phone in Carlton.
I finally decided! I’m in…for this year’s @dothe100dayproject. I’ll be creating mini abstract collages using gelli plate prints. The effort of showing up and creating something for 100 days will allow for experimentation in my work and a focus on output. This provides an opportunity to explore ideas for larger works. So here we go!!! I can’t wait to see what everyone is up to.
Follow along on my instagram @lesley__bourne.
The start of a new year brings new creative opportunities. I’ve been getting back into some collage, experimenting with the Gelli Plate to make my own collage material. Exploring colour, texture and mark making has been so fulfilling and given me a deeper connection to my work. I’m intimately involved in the creative process and fostering a sense of personal connection and authenticity in my work. I’m excited about this new direction.
Here are a couple of my favourites so far….
I have embarked on a new project recently and this piece is my starting point for exploration. I have been capturing the ghost signs and architecture around Melbourne for the past few years. I am constantly inspired by the old buildings and the faded lettering, they are so unique and visually beautiful.
I decided to take these images a step a further. Using photo collage I can reassemble the image, making an everyday urban landscape into striking, surreal image that dwells in the space between real and imagined.
We’re still in stage 4 lockdown here in Melbourne, with 5km restrictions still in place. I decided to capture some of the stark scenes in the CBD.
Finders Street Station
Bourke Street Mall
Swanston Street
Flinders Street Station
I've always been drawn to night photography, particularly the urban landscape. There’s something cinematic about the mood a scene creates with colour and available light. With Melbourne in lockdown, I thought this would be a great opportunity to capture the quiet and lonely streets of my neighbourhood. These are some shots I’ve taken within 5km of my house on my evening walks. Night time has always been this time of mystery and uncertainty. That makes for an exciting an environment to work.
I’ve been looking back through the archives and it’s interesting to see ideas that don’t go on to be developed.
This is a photomontage I created in 2018. It’s inspired me to explore this technique further in combination with my urban photography.
It’s been a little while between posts. I haven’t had the opportunity to do much shooting since Covid-19 began. However, I did get manage to capture a few images in the city before we went back into lockdown here in Melbourne.
I’ve been eager to document the city in these unprecedented times but have been limited my neighbourhood. Here are a few of my favourites captured with my Fuji X-T100.
I find it really valuable to experiment with different ideas in my gluebook. I can explore different colour palettes and composition while working fairly quickly.
Due to current circumstances with self-isolation, I thought I’d take the opportunity to get back into some collage. Recently, my focus has been on photographic work but I’ve been feeling the itch to get back to some abstract studies. Here’s the latest one from my glue book.
So a little while between posts, but I’ve been very busy working on a new series these past few months. Many of you know my main interest lies in street photography and urban landscapes. Stylistically, I’ve taken a slightly more simplistic and graphic approach with these images.
Essentially, the goal of minimal photography is to be eye pleasing, with a very careful consideration of what should be part of the photo and what should be left out. Living in Melbourne has led me to become an urban photographer and some of the architecture is perfectly suited for this genre of photography. I’m also interested in exploring photomontage techniques as seen with the image below.
RMIT Building
When I go out hunting for minimal urban photos I tend to favour a simple sky, ideally blue and free from clouds. That guarantees a smooth background which is less distracting. Then I look for a single something I can isolate against that plain background, usually a section of a building, a sign or simple concrete shapes.
When my focus leans towards architecture, I search for buildings with repetitive elements, simple lines and interesting patterns. Through careful composition I aim to reduce the elements of the photograph to basic form and design.
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The minimalist images bring attention to symmetry, lines and patterns prevalent in the urban landscape. The images selected illustrate how exploring lines, structures and space rejects the banality of city scenes, reforming them into inspiring collages of geometric shapes. This an ongoing series I intend to continue exploring throughout the year. Stay tuned!
Last Friday I attended the Climate Strike in Melbourne. Organisers say roughly 100,000 people filled Treasury Gardens and Spring Street - dwarfing the crowd that attended a strike in March.
Almost 300,000 people marched in cities across Australia for the coordinated rallies - as part of the global movement - but Melbourne hosted the largest turn out.
The energy was incredible as droves of office workers, public servants, tradies, mothers and babies, and politicians joined the protest.
Here are a few of my favourite images from the day. Enjoy!
I’m always inspired by Melbourne’s architecture, the juxtapositions of old and new are endless and make for dynamic compositions. Lately, I’m intrigued by the reflections and the abstraction created by warped perspectives. Here’s a recent one shot on Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD.
Collins Street, Melbourne
In recent months I’ve been experimenting with some video. As an extension of my interest in Melbourne’s urban landscape, I decided to explore an experimental piece that captures the city through my eyes. I wanted to combine a variety of visuals that celebrate the aesthetic and the energy of the city. Using a variety of stills and video as well as some experimental editing techniques, I’ve aimed to to produce a collage of urban fragments. Experimenting with moving image has inspired many new ideas and look forward to exploring more visual ideas in the new year!
I hope you enjoy Melbourne Street.
Well a new year has begun and I’m back into it with some new collage studies. I’m aiming to create a lot more of these in the coming months. It’s great to experiment with smaller works to explore new ideas. I like to work intuitively with these and not overthink it or become to fixated on a particular outcome.
Stay tuned!
As part of ongoing documentary project ‘The Typeset’, Leanne Franks and I have collaborated to share our passion for old signs that have been preserved on building walls for long periods of time. The signage may have been preserved for nostalgic appeal or simply forgotten by their owner. We have set out to capture the ghost signs of Melbourne in all their unique beauty. Here is one from Burke Street in Melbourne’s CBD.
You can see more from the series here http://www.lesleybourne.com/ghost-signs/
I’ve been out shooting footage for a short film about urban Melbourne in recent weeks. As I hit the streets to capture the essence of the city, I had the opportunity to capture some stills in the process. It’s been great to look for interesting new scenes in the urban landscape. I’m always looking at new and interesting ways to document my surrounds. I was drawn to the abstract qualities of the reflections from buildings in the CBD and it’s inspired to me to start a new series.
Here’s the image that sparked my enthusiasm! Stay tuned.
Urban reflection - Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
I've been exploring surrealism in street photography for my latest body of work. Inspired by Trent Parke and his incredible black and white images that encapsulate an ethereal quality while shot in our everyday surrounds.
The master of street photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson was also influenced by surrealism. For me there is something really exciting about playing with ordinary reality, and making it surreal. We are turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
There are many techniques that have been used when approaching surreal street images. Strange juxtapositions and scenes, silhouettes, double exposures, slow shutter speeds to create blur and the list goes on. Personally, I think the key is to take photos that suggest more questions than provides answers.
I decided to shoot with the iphone for this series. In order to capture the intimacy of these moments I needed to be virtually invisible. Here are some images from the series, as I set out to capture the streets with new eyes.
Getting back into some mixed media with this piece. Inpsired by the detritus of our urban walls. I've been drawn to working in a mostly monochromatic colour palette with small bursts of colour and torn pieces of type, similar to that of the torn street posters.
I'm going to leave this one for a few days and come back to it for some final touches.
Mixed media on board.
Picturing Footscray is an open-entry photography prize that focuses on Melbourne's unique inner-west suburb of Footscray.
Established in 2016, Picturing Footscray invites photographers of all capabilities to explore the streets of Footscray.
This was my first time submitting for the competition. I used to live in Footscray and still visit frequently to take photos.
The opening night was held at VU Metro West, in a salon-style exhibition. There was an incredibly diverse range of images that celebrate the essence of this unique melting pot. Jesse Marlow, renowned street photographer was this year's judge and he presented the 3 winners. I've been inspired by Jesse's street photography since moving to Melbourne, so it was a highlight for him to be there on the night.
My entry for the competition is in the centre above.
Jesse Marlow presents awards on opening night.
