All Quiet on the Photography Front

Life has been quiet over the last two months. I cracked a tooth and eventually, due to pain, had to get it removed. Luckily, I was able to crack into my savings to pay for both the endodontist and the extraction.

Before that, however, I took myself off to Ballarat, an inland rural town I love so much. Usually when I visit Ballarat, I take myself off to Lake Wendouree, this time I just focused on street photography.

Ballarat. Image by Teague Leigh.

I really love my trips away. They help me unwind from the stress of Naarm/ living in a city and help me recalibrate my neurodivergent brain. I hope to get away to more towns in 2026 and am saving for a European photographic tour in 2027!

On the 17th of November my support worker and I travelled to Vaughan Springs. Firstly, we visited Golden Gullies Walk in Vaughan where the track meandered along a river for a bit before traversing inland into dry scrubland.

Golden Gullies Walk. Image by Teague Leigh.

Then we visited the Specimen Gully Gold Memorial in Barkers Creek where there is a beautiful old, dilapidated stone house.

Specimen Gully Gold Memorial. Image by Teague Leigh.

Then we travelled further inland and upwards to Lang’s Lookout/Shepherd’s Flat Lookout in Harcourt North. The conditions were very dry, and my chest condition was irritating me, so we tapped out of walking all the way up Mount Alexander.

Lang’s Lookout. Image by Teague Leigh.

My only other photography adventure was on the 22nd of December. My support worker and I drove to the coast. We started out at Lake Connewarre to see if there were any birds, which there were, but we didn’t stay long because the mosquitos were ferocious!

Lake Connewarre. Image by Teague Leigh.

Whilst there a twitcher with a 500mm long lens (!) gave us the tip that there were nesting plovers at Ocean Grove Beach, so we made our way there. As it was very windy and somewhat cold and we couldn’t spot the birds, we didn’t stay very long there either.

So on to the main event. The whole point of the trip was the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse, which I have been to a few times now, but have never been blessed with a ripper sunset/ sunrise, so I am continuously lured there for a promise of a better sky. Unfortunately, this trip did not produce the sky I was after, so we left after a couple of hours. All was not lost though. I feel like this spot always produces excellent images and because the tide was low, I was able to capture some great rock pool images.

Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. Image by Teague Leigh.

That’s it, that was the past two months. It was a quiet Christmas with just Michael and I, and I saw in the New Year at a dance music festival at the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl, where I danced and walked 30,000 steps to Confidence Man, Carl Cox, and my favourites: Underworld. My arthritis is letting me know that I’m not as young as I once was, but I have no regrets. Shout out to the older straight couple I met and danced with who were from Canberra around the time I lived there and went to the same clubs and the same gigs and who have a trans son! What are the chances?!

This month (January) is Midsumma Festival, and I will not only be their professional photographer again, but I will also be having my own exhibition at the Meat Market, sharing space with the Deep Sea Astronauts from Sydney. The opening is the 28th of January, at 6pm, please come if you can.

My event advertisement. Image by wild_hardt

As always, I do not keep resolutions for the new year, other than to be better than the previous year. Here’s to 2026 and what it has in store.

Question of the month: Do you keep New Years resolutions?

Be kind to yourselves, each other, and the planet.

T.Leigh